FoodwedsHerbs

Eat My Words

2012-01-31T16:02:00.004-05:00

Words Worth Books and Uptown 21 Host a Preserving inspired Meal

Waterloo book store, Words Worth Books and the hip restaurant, Nick and Nat's Uptown 21 team up on Thursday March 22 for an evening featuring a menu using preserves from Pat's latest book, Preserving (2011, HarperCollins).

Join Pat as she takes you through the seasons of 'putting by' the best that the garden or market produces. Learn how easy it is to freeze and can foods and how to use those gems in fast, fresh dishes.

Eat My Words

2012-01-31T16:01:00.001-05:00

Winter Roots

2011-12-12T16:13:00.004-05:00

Underground Eating

Dig deep and you will find that from beets and burdock to turnips, turmeric and yams, plant roots are some of the most humble and unassuming – and at the same time underrated – foods we can eat. Economical, healthy, and tasty, roots have been important to humans since the dawn of time.

Now cooks and chefs are rediscovering what early peoples and herbalists of all eras have always known: underground roots, tubers and bulbs of many plants are not only nutritious and satisfying as a food, but they often carry concentrated healing components.

By their very nature as producers and storehouses of energy for the entire plant, roots are full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, proteins and other tremendously important nutrients. Potatoes, for example, provide "per land unit, more energy and more protein for the human body in a shorter time than any other crop (five times more than soybeans, corn or wheat)." (From The Essential Root Vegetable Cookbook, Sally and Martin Stone; Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., NY, 1991.)

Read the rest of the article as it appeared in Vitality magazine here, and download Root Slaw and other root recipes.

Candied Citrus Peel

2011-12-03T11:26:00.018-05:00

Candied Citrus Peel

Simmering citrus peel in a simple syrup made from granulated sugar and water is one of the oldest forms of preserving the unique fragrance and taste of citrons, oranges and lemons. This method may be used for any thick-rind citrus fruit or for fresh ginger but oranges are the best for eating as a candy or dipping in chocolate.

Makes about 2 cups (500 mL)

2 Navel oranges

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) granulated sugar

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) water

about ¼ cup (50 mL) extra granulated sugar for coating

1. Wash oranges by scrubbing them with warm, soapy water. Rinse well and trim away the ends of the oranges.

Cut the oranges into quarters and remove the inner flesh sections, leaving the rind and pith intact. Set the inner flesh aside

Cut the peel into strips that are roughly 1/4-inch by 2-inches .

2. In a saucepan, combine peel strips with 2 cups (500 mL) of cold water (the strips should be generously covered). Add ½ tsp (2 mL) salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil gently for 2 minutes. Strain, discarding the water. Repeat this step 2 more times. Rinse well with cold water.

3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Add drained peel strips, reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir the strips once to distribute them evenly in the sugar water but after that, leave them to simmer without stirring. Check on the pan occasionally to make sure that the syrup is simmering gently and not scorching. A heavy bottomed pan is essential. After 1 hour, check on the pan every few moments. The water should be almost evaporated and the strips should be translucent and soft but not mushy.

4. Meanwhile, prepare parchment or waxed paper by sprinkling it with 3 tablespoons (45 mL) granulated sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and using tongs, transfer the candied strips from the syrup to the sugared paper. Toss well to coat the strips and sprinkle with more sugar if needed to evenly coat them. Use a fork to separate the strips. Let cool and dry overnight on the paper over a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for 1 week or pack into freezer containers, seal, label and store for up to 9 months.

Use: Dip the candied peel in chocolate and use as a sweet confection; use to decorate cakes, muffins or chop and add to the batter of baked goods. I have used them as swizzle sticks for cocktails and they are especially nice with rich chocolate mousse or brownies.

Winter Preserving

2011-12-03T11:05:00.004-05:00

Winter Preserving

While Thursday December 22 is the actual date of winter solstice this year, where I live in Bruce County Ontario, we have snow on the ground. The Santa Clause parade comes to town today and I have a new ice scraper for the car windshield–all signs that winter has arrived.

Helen Hatton asks, "What's more perfect than a homemade holiday gift, especially when it's absolutely, delightfully edible and delicious? When it comes to holiday food gifts, just can it!"

Read the entire article or download it and the recipes in PDF format HERE.

Happy Holiday Preserving!

BookSigning Event in Toronto

2011-12-01T22:18:00.006-05:00

Join Pat and Nettie at All the Best Fine Foods, 1101 Yonge Street, Toronto on

Friday, December 9, 2011. We will be signing Everyday Flexitarian books.

See you there!

Canning Video

2011-11-21T09:53:00.005-05:00

Global Morning Cans!

Last week I went to the home of Morning Show co-host Daru and together, we made Scarlet Mango Chutney. In less than one hour, we made the pickling spice, cooked the chutney and filled the jars. Watch the results by clicking on the screen to the right-

Scarlet Mango Chutney

While this chutney is piquant enough to stand up to the spiciest of dishes, it is not the color one would expect: it is flaming red. I love the beet/mango combination and the cider vinegar, candied ginger, turmeric and pickling spice combine to transport one back to Bombay and turn of the century England, with its curries and chutneys.

I challenge you to try this scarlet version before going back to the traditional, glowing orange mixture, but if you really must have yellow chutney, simply substitute grated butternut or acorn squash for the beets.

Makes 8+ cups (2+ L)

4 to 6 mangoes (about 4 lbs/2 kg)

1 cup (250 mL) raisins

½ cup (125 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) apple cider vinegar

¼ cup (50 mL) apple juice

¾ cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar

2 tbsp (25 mL) Classic Pickling Spice Blend (page xx) or commercial pickling spice, wrapped in cheesecloth

1 tbsp (15 mL) ground turmeric

1 tbsp (15 mL) pickling salt

4 cups (1 L) shredded beets

2 cups (500 mL) chopped onions

½ cup (125 mL) chopped candied gingerroot

1. Dice mangoes following. You should have about 6 cups (1.5 L). Transfer mango to a large bowl and combine with raisins and lime juice.

2. Heat 5 1-pint (500 mL) jars in boiling water and scald the lids, lifter, funnel and tongs.

3. In a Maslin pan or canning kettle, combine vinegar, apple juice and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add turmeric and salt. Stir well and hang the pickling spice bag so that it is immersed in the boiling mixture. Add mango mixture, beets, onions and gingerroot. Stir and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally for 30 to 45 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.

4. Fill hot jars, leaving a 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles and add more hot chutney if necessary, to leave a 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) headspace. Wipe rims, top with flat lids and screw on metal rings. Return jars to the hot water bath, topping up with hot water if necessary. Bring to a full rolling boil and process jars for 10 minutes.

5. Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes before removing jars to a towel or rack to cool completely. Check seals, label and store in a cool place for up to 1 year

Use: The beets in this chutney make it more savory than traditional mango chutney, so it may be liberally used with grilled and roasted meats and hearty winter casseroles and stir-fried dishes.

Judy Creighton, Canada Press

2011-10-21T10:58:00.004-04:00

Stunning book on preserving local harvest is a guide for all seasons

book Preserving: The Canning And Freezing Guide For All Seasons (HarperCollins, $29.95)

The Canadian Press

Just because the harvest season for locally grown fruits and vegetables is waning is no reason not to keep on canning and freezing what is on hand.

In fact, following the seasons and “putting down” the bounty of local produce can be a year-round activity for anyone who has decided to catch the trend and make it their own, says Pat Crocker, home economist, herbalist and an award-winning author of eight cookbooks.

Her latest endeavour is Preserving: The Canning And Freezing Guide For All Seasons (HarperCollins, $29.95).

“What if you froze a lot of last summer’s strawberry harvest and want to make it into jam for Christmas gifts?” she asks. Well, it is really a no-brainer and it frees up the freezer for other items.

Most of all, Crocker wants to catch the wave of newly minted fans of getting back to basics, especially those who are interested in preserving foods for year-round consumption.

click here to read the rest of the story.

Thanks Judy, as a long time food journalist, you know what Canadians want and need. I appreciate your comments on Preserving.

–Pat

Mennonite Market

2011-09-30T17:30:00.005-04:00

Basia took me to the Mennonite market on the road to Wingham.

We found squash, gourds, corn, Indian corn and other root fall crops there.

I will be testing recipes and generally having fun in the kitchen in the next few days leading up to our Thanksgiving.

Meantime, I urge you to get out and find the variety of squash you love.

This is either Heart 'O Gold or Sweet Dumbling, if you know the Latin name for this squash, please let me know. Names aside, try it. I'm sure you will love it.

Radio Interview

2011-09-02T10:53:00.003-04:00

Listen UP!

Tune in tomorrow, Saturday September 3 for Pat's interview on Good Day with Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert.

Pat will be discussing her new book, Tagine with Phil.

tagine cooking

2011-08-30T14:40:00.005-04:00

Some of the early responses to my new book, 150 Best Tagine Recipes are great. You can see my Pomegranate Molasses recipe at What's Cooking in Your World.

What about you? Do you own a tagine? Do you like the flavours of North Africa?

More Praise for Pat's Tagine Cookbook

Pat's Preserving Book

2011-07-31T16:14:00.005-04:00

Coming Soon...

Preserving by Pat Crocker

You have to see this book to believe it! My newest book (HarperCollins, Publisher) is all about how to preserve fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Following the seasons, Preserving has information on varieties and gives hands-on tips for beginners and long-time preservers.

But what is so special about this book is that it shows you what you can do with the incredible chutneys, jams, jellies and conserves you will want to make.

...Look for this incredible, 527-page, full-colour book in stores mid-August.

Making Comfrey Oil

2011-06-16T17:04:00.020-04:00

Do you know this plant?

It is sometimes called 'knitbone'

and the most common name is

Comfrey.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

has a long history of healing

wounds and I have used it to

heal the top of a finger that got

caught on the wrong side of a

French knife.

So when The Big Guy had severe

skin problems on his face–a

nasty red rash that was itchy and

got worse every time he was

stressed–he used comfrey oil

as a salve.

The Big Guy digs!

You will likely not be able to get the entire root. Much of this root snapped off, but we were still left with a significant amount of root with which to make the comfrey oil.

It is this strong taproot that makes it so difficult to completely remove comfrey from the garden once it has taken a hold. Wherever the root snaps off, a new shoot will appear!

The root is about ten times stronger than the leaves, but I have used the leaves as a poultice on cuts and scrapes.

Using a hose, preferably outside, wash off as much dirt as you can from the root before bringing it inside. Scrub the root using a brush and warm soapy water.

There will be some dirt that clings to the inside of the hollow parts of the root, but it will settle to the bottom of the jar and can be strained out with the chopped root after the oil is infused.

Chop the root into rough pieces that are about 1/2-inch in size.

Fill a mason jar about 2/3 full with the chopped comfrey root. Pour oil over and leave about a 1-inch headspace. I am using sweet almond oil for this comfrey because it will be used on the face. I like sweet almond oil for salves and oils that will be made into creams for the face. For oils and creams that will be used on the hands or feet, olive oil or other vegetable oil is fine.

Cap the jar and leave in a sunny window or in the sun in the garden to steep. The active and healing components from the root will infuse the oil in about 1 or 2 weeks. After that, you can strain off and discard the root parts and store the comfrey oil in the refrigerator.

New Book by Pat Crocker and Nettie Cronish

2011-04-06T12:14:00.003-04:00

Everyday Flexitarian Available in Stores- First Canadian flexitarian cookbook hits the shelves.

Feed vegetarians and meat-eaters with one recipe, master new ingredients and techniques, learn how to reduce your meat intake without suffering. Engage in tolerance in the kitchen. The Everyday Flexitarian cookbook by Nettie Cronish and Pat Crocker shows you how to do all that and start enjoying mealtime again.

Try the Buddha Dragon Bowl (with lemongrass and rice noodles or add broiled shrimps) and the Lentil Mushroom Moussaka (with baked salmon) and finish the meal with Ancho Chile Cranberry Brownies. The book is a must-have for families choosing to embrace a healthier and more sustainable diet.

2011-03-31T18:47:00.003-04:00

Lester Brown: The Planet's Scarcest Resource Is Time

Analyst, author and founder of the Earth Policy Institute Lester Brown discusses how unprepared the world really is for the growing effects of climate change. According to Lester Brown says "food is going to be the weak link for our civilization as it was for so many earlier civilizations."

The average North American city is about 3 days away from totally losing its food reserves if there were to be a crisis.

Watch the video on the Organic Consumers Association site, here.

2011-03-28T08:22:00.003-04:00

Bunnies at Bumble Tee

check out bunnies and all the great original animal designs by Shannon Alexandra here!

Ears also available in blue.

2011-03-24T18:50:00.002-04:00

Toronto Bakes for Japan – April 10, 2011

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. (Howard Zinn)

What: A simple concept – a bake sale to raise money for Japan.

When & Where:

Saturday, April 9, 2011, 9 am to 1 pm (New!)

Farmers’ Market at Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave, Toronto

Sunday, April 10, 2011, 11 am to 3 pm

Liberty Noodle, 171 East Liberty St, Toronto
The Rivoli, 334 Queen St W, Toronto
Cafe Diplomatico, 594 College Street, Toronto (New!)

(We are hoping to add more venues across Toronto to the list. We want to make this BIG! So if you have any pointers or would like to help us with a venue, please use our Contact page to get in touch or drop us an email at torontobakesforjapan@gmail.com.)

Who: Kind and committed people from across Toronto coming together and using their talents for a great cause.

To Whom: 100% of all proceeds from this initiative will be donated directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Why: Because we can; we must.
I woke up on a day that appeared to be like any other. I remember I was out of milk and could not find my keys anywhere, and this was really ruining my morning. Distracted, I turned on the television and then stood dumbstruck for the next ten minutes as visions of horror unfurled on the screen. Japan had been hit by a massive 8.9 earthquake. Over the next few days, I watched as the country was hit by one disaster after another. My heart broke a little each time I saw the images of death and destruction, of kids being scanned for signs of radiation, of rescue workers searching for the bodies of victims, of survivors trying desperately to find their loved ones. I sent up a silent prayer each time, but I wanted to do more. And then I read about the The Great Kiwi Bake-Off, which raised $16,420 for clean-up in the Christchurch earthquake, and Samin’s BakeSale project, which raised $23,000 for Haiti last year! I bake almost every week, and I know so do hundreds of passionate food lovers all over Toronto. If we all put our efforts together, can we make a difference? I really believe we can.

How: ~~Right now, this event is just an idea, words on a page. I am going to do everything I can to make it a reality. But I can’t do it alone. I need your help~~ This event is no longer just an idea; many kind and generous people are helping us make it a reality. But we still need your help – all you talented bakers, artists, event organizers, collaborators, volunteers and potential customers out there.

1. If you want to participate, use the Contact page or drop an email to torontobakesforjapan@gmail.com and tell us how you would like to help. The sooner, the better because the event is only 3 weeks away. Many thanks!
2. RSVP: You can RSVP to the event on Facebook.
3. Spread the word: Today, if videos of funny cats can go viral, why not word of a good cause? Share the link with anyone you think would like to help. We can use all the hands we can get.
4. Check this site or Facebook or Twitter (hashtag #BakeForJapan) for more details.

Yogurt

2011-02-22T09:06:00.002-05:00

Why is Balkan-Style Yogurt Thicker?

Eric Akis of the Victoria Times Colonist attempts to answer this question.

Read the theories put forth by leading experts including Pat Crocker. Click here for the story.

Yogurt

2010-11-26T12:59:00.003-05:00

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies Reviews Yogurt Bible

I love it when I stumble upon something totally unrelated to the topic I am researching- not so great when I spend (waste) the next 3 hours in dreamland, but that is not my point here.

NATASHYA KITCHENPUPPIES

A home cook, cookbook reviewer, recipe tester, tippler, and Bread Baking Babe... whose life has gone to the dogs.

wrote an awesome review of my Yogurt book.

Thank you, Natashya KitchenPuppies!

Ever noticed that some people's last names reflect their passion? Wonder where the Kitchenpuppies originated from? ; )

Foodbuzz Festival a HIT

2010-11-10T16:06:00.009-05:00

New friends and Good Times

Foodbuzz Smash Success!

Once again the stops were pulled and the corks flew as we nibbled our way across SanFrancisco for the second Foodbuzz Festival.

OOooPs, she caught me with a morsel of pure enjoyment at the taste pavillion Friday evening.

Thanks to Gina- Whats for Dinner, who made these awesome cookies as her personalized gift.

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival

2010-10-02T16:07:00.009-04:00

My Garlic Cup Runneth Over

Just back from my fourth year as a speaker at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival and still stinking! I'm loaded with fresh garlic. Probably enough to get me through to January, when I will have to beg organic garlic from one of the several Canadian organic growers near where I live.

The fabulous garlic pictured at the left is Spanish Roja, grown on Free Bird Farm at 497 McKinley Road, Palatine Bridge, NY, 13428, USA. Their booth at the festival, shown on the right, was overwhelmed with eager garlic enthusiasts.

Spanish Roja is a hardneck garlic in the Purple Stripe category.

Canadian Thanksgiving

2010-09-30T19:06:00.001-04:00

A New World Dinner

Harvest time has always brought humans together to feast and frolic, and to give thanks for the bounty of the earth. For Canadians, the National day to give thanks is on the second Monday in October every year.

While the American Thanksgiving is closely associated with the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Mass in 1620, Canadian Thanksgiving roots run deeper. In fact, in 1578 Martin Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to celebrate and give thanks for surviving a trip to our northern Atlantic waters.

What would you serve for Thanksgiving Dinner if you could only use native North American foods?

I would start with a salad of tomatoes, avocado and sunflower seeds, dressed with pressed cashew nuts mixed with maple syrup.

Turkey with wild rice and chestnuts or pecans would be using authentic North American foods, but it wouldn't be roasted because roasting foul is a distinctly European method of cooking birds. My authentic North American turkey dish would be cut into parts and simmered in a mole (mole ay) of spiced sauces and pastes of nuts and seeds, spices and herbs, peppers and tomatoes.

Side dishes in our strictly native North American foods meal would consist of potatoes, corn, beans, pumpkin and squash. Dessert would have to be something with chocolate or vanilla or peanuts or all three.

Try my easy and authentic Maple Nut Squash this Thanksgiving. It's designed to be made in advance and popped into the hot oven to heat through while the big bird (roasted of course) is carved.

Maple Nut Squash

13-inch x 9-inch (3L) baking pan, lightly oiled

preheat oven to 350°F (180° C)

3 cups cubed cooked squash

1 cup applesauce or chutney

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

freshly ground sea salt and pepper

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or cashew nuts

1. In prepared baking pan, combine squash, applesauce, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Grind some salt and pepper over. Cover with a lid or foil and heat in preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes. Garnish with toasted nuts.

To roast squash: Use Hubbard, butternut, acorn or pumpkin for this side dish. Scrub and prick with a fork. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in a 350° F (180° C) oven for 45 to 65 minutes, or until the flesh pierces easily with the tip of a sharp knife. Remove from oven and cool. Cut into quarters, scoop out seeds and set aside or discard. Trim away the rind. Cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes and freeze or store, covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

2010-09-29T16:22:00.004-04:00

Thanks for voting-

I made it through the first challenge, but found myself spouting and demonstrating about the Stinking Rose, at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, where over 40,000 people enjoyed the hot autumn days in Saugerties NY.

So I missed the 3pm deadline on Monday to post my 'Classic from another Culture' challenge, and am out of the running. I had a Moroccan Tagine using saffron and dates lined up for this challenge and so this recipe will find its way into my next book..

Thanks to all who voted for me.

You can still vote for other great food blogs. See all the contestants for Challenge #2. And vote for your favourite!

For this challenge, my vote went to bellalimento, let me know who you like in this round.

see you at the festival in November, pat

2010-09-20T19:11:00.005-04:00

Vote!

As my latest post explains Challenge #1 as archived to the right voting is now open and the hunt is on for the best of the food bloggers.

Here is how it works- If you like my blog, click on 'see my profile' in the official contestant square on the right of this page.

That will take you to my bio and that's where you vote. You will see a box on the left with 'my trophies' and a tiny yellow square where you can click to vote for me.

Thanks, Pat

Project Food Blog, Challenge #1 Chiffonade**

2010-09-14T18:07:00.019-04:00

It's a Chiffonade** of a Contest

The Biggest contest to hit the food blogging community is Project Food Buzz, a deliciously interesting competition designed to sift through the hundreds of cyber food wordsmiths for the quintessential food blogger.

OK. I'm in...along with 1,818 other eager, food-slinging, photo-snapping entrants. There I am, way down at the bottom, around 1,400 profiles down.

So my job is to submit a blog and yours is to vote for the best of the best. Not hard, a bit like counting the shards of basil in my Mediterranean Herb Paste. Here we go: Challenge Number 1, from the fingers of the folks that think of these things, "..we're asking you to create a blog post that defines you as a food blogger and makes it clear why you think you have what it takes to be the next food blog star."

My name is Pat Crocker. No Kidding. Patricia Crocker: mother, daughter of British immigrants to Canada and father, son of robust Newfoundlander fisher-folk.

Nothing extraordinary there, but wait. While researching saffron for my cookbook, Tastes of the Kasbah, I happened to find a reference to the origins of my surname (I knew it had nothing to do with cakes from a box!).. In fact, it was a direct quote by the Reverend William Harrison, who in 1587 wrote that English saffron farmers "were known as Crockers", that gave me food for thought.

Hm. Pat Crocker, a.k.a. Patrius Crocus, descendent of English saffron farmers researches, grows, cooks, photographs and writes about herbs and their extraordinary relationship with food: Food Weds Herbs.

Stay tuned right here, because on Monday, September 20th I will be announcing that voting is open and I will give you the complete information about how you can vote your favourite food blogger to fame and frolic at the second annual Foodbuzz Festival.

**Oh, and Chiffonade?

That's where you take the finest of basil leaves and stack them up against one another.

Roll the whole lot into one big, fat cigar and cut them into finely shredded strips for flavoring melting-pot dishes.

Back to School

2010-09-07T09:33:00.021-04:00

Back to Breakfast

When it comes to food, science has proved some things and disproved others. But one thing it has really nailed is that breakfast, that first meal after a long fast, really is the most important one of the day.

Recent research on the glycemic index (which lists foods from high to low in their ability to boost blood sugar levels) indicates that proteins and whole grains–two slow to digest power foods–can boost food satisfaction and energy that can last into the evening. So according to the latest knowledge, a good breakfast doesn't just see us through to lunch time. It is still keeping us from hitting that low blood sugar low around 2 or 3 pm, when high-calorie snacks are so tempting and irritability is creeping into our mood.

This is good news for school age children, teenagers and working adults because it means a well-planned breakfast can curb endless munching later in the day; keep us focused; and best of all, promote fat breakdown instead of its storage.

According to this new information, top-of-the-morning meals of whole grains, fruit or vegetables, cheese, yogurt, chicken and/or fish are the very best healthy breakfast combinations.

I like to make buckwheat and apple pancakes–lots of them–and freeze them so that I can use one or two on busy mornings. I stuff these incredible wraps with whatever I happen to have in the fridge: shredded cheese, hard-boiled egg, sliced or grated; cooked ham, cut into strips; cooked chicken, shredded; cooked chickpeas or other lentils; hummus; lettuce; chopped cooked vegetables; cooked brown rice.

For great breakfasts, make great healthy dinners and just cook extra so that you can have some the next morning. Stir-fried vegetables with chicken or fish; baked chicken in tomato sauce with wholewheat noodles; or any of the vegetable and protein dense one-dish meals in my Vegetarian Cook's Bible make nutritious choices for breakfast.

What whole grain, protein-packed breakfast combination do you favor?

Buckwheat, Apple and Cheese Breakfast Burritos an original Pat Crocker recipe

1/2 cup rolled oats or granola

1/2 cup spelt flakes*

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tbsp organic cane sugar or brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

pinch salt

1 apple, shredded

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup rice or soymilk or low-fat milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

*spelt flakes are found in whole foods stores but if not available, use old-fashioned rolled oats instead

1. In a bowl, combine oats or granola and spelt. Stir in boiling water and let stand 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a batter bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary and salt and stir with a whisk. Add apple and nuts. Make a well in the center.

3. Stir milk, egg and 2 tablespoons of the oil into soaked grains. Pour this mixture into dry

ingredients and stir just enough to combine.

4. In a large skillet or griddle, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Spoon 1/4 cup pancake batter onto hot skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until pancake is lightly browned on bottom and bubbles appear throughout batter. Flip and cook 1 minute or until lightly browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter, re-oiling the pan as needed.

5. Serve immediately or cool and wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator for 4 days. Pancakes can be frozen individually on a baking sheet, then stored in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Suggestions for Filling

shredded cheddar, Swiss or other hard cheese

hard-boiled egg, sliced or grated

cooked ham, cut into strips

cooked chicken, cut into strips or shredded

cooked chickpeas, kidney, black or navy beans

cooked lentils

fresh greens such as spinach, sliced cabbage, sprouts, broccoli

cooked or raw chopped vegetables or fruit

chopped Bell or hot chile peppers or fresh tomatoes

chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley, oregano, savory, thyme, rosemary or tarragon

chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, cashews

seeds such as sesame, sunflower, poppy, chia

homemade spreads like hummus or pesto

To Fill Breakfast Burritos: Distribute 2 tablespoons of cheese and about 2 tablespoons of a protein ingredient (cooked egg, ham, chicken, fish or beans) along one half-side of a buckwheat pancake. Top with 1/4 cup greens and 1/4 cup vegetables or fruit; sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs over all. Fold pancake in half. Secure with a toothpick. Heat in the microwave or oven just until the cheese melts.

Chile or Chili?

2010-08-29T16:23:00.007-04:00

Hot Chiles Bite Back

I have had heated conversations with people who are adamant that chile is a South American country and not a hot pepper. Chili, according to them, is the only spelling for the Capsicum peppers.

What do you think? Is it chile or chili?

For incredibly hot chile recipes like Harissa, Black Bean Chile and Turkish Stuffed Baked Eggplant, click on the full article in Vitality Magazine.

New Book by Pat Crocker

2010-08-04T08:49:00.006-04:00

Yogurt Bible Makes Its Debut

It's secret was discovered perhaps by ancient nomadic cultures or shepherds of long long ago. It was the topic of intense scrutiny in the 20th century, when a Nobel Prize-winning Russian biologist, Ilya Ilyich (Elie) Mechnikov (Metchnikoff) formulated the theory that it held the key to longevity. Now, science has shown that 'friendly' bacteria in yogurt actually helps humans to digest their food, improves nutrient and mineral (especially calcium) absorption, boosts the body's natural defenses and fights off harmful bacteria.

Pat Crocker's new book, The Yogurt Bible explores the science and the art of YOGURT. With over 200 recipes, this is a book for people who wish to learn how to make their own yogurt. It's a book for yogurt lovers who want to incorporate it into the foods they love to cook and eat. It's a health book, a how-to book and a cookbook filled with original recipes by Pat Crocker.

Learn more about this exciting new book, just released by Robert Rose, Publisher.

Tell me about your yogurt stories. I want to hear all about your adventures with making, eating or cooking with yogurt: The good and the bad! All stories are welcome.

Ozark Mountain Herb Festival

2010-03-17T11:17:00.004-04:00

Visit the beautiful Ozark Mountain Folk Centre and meet Pat Crocker.

Join Pat, Susan Belsinger, Tina Marie Wilcox and Judy Barrett for a Spring Herb Extravaganza!

Dinner Feast and Keynote Speech by Pat Crocker April 29; Seminars April 30 and May 1 2010.

Pat Reveals Food Secrets

2010-03-02T12:58:00.002-05:00

Cilantro? Nanaimo Bars? Cod's Tongues?

Read Pat's Answers to some of Cuisine Canada's Burning questions:

go here for the interview.

VEGAN WINS!

2010-02-12T10:21:00.002-05:00

Vegan Bible by Pat Crocker wins BEST IN WORLD

Vilified Herb Revisited

2010-02-01T08:44:00.003-05:00

Do you know what herb these tools from the late 1800s were associated with?

Hints: These intricately patterned and lace-like, silver or silver-plated utensils were not used to serve cakes and pies or other desserts. Their use was part of a social ritual that took place mainly in the hours of the late afternoon in some 30,000 bistros, cafés and bars in and around Paris.

Go to the Cuisine Canada site to read the rest of this story.

2010-01-08T17:37:00.002-05:00

"Vegans Don't Have the Lock on Vegetables"

Pat Crocker comments in the Toronto Star

Wednesday January 6, Vegetables aren't just for vegans.

Jae Steele will make you mad for collard greens if you pair them with mashed sweet potatoes and chipotle-spiked black-eyed peas.

Pat Crocker has just the recipe for kale – she stir-fries it with broccoli in an udon noodle dish with gingered peanut sauce.

Terry Walters can get baby bok choy into you in a chickpea dish that takes minutes (really) to make.

The three women aren't all vegan, but they've all written cutting-edge vegan cookbooks. And it's not just vegans who are buying the books.

"It's mainstream people," says Crocker, a Neustadt, Ont., author.

Read the whole article by Star writer, Jennifer Bain. And while you're at it, check out my Vegan Bible at your local bookstore.

2009-12-07T18:45:00.003-05:00

Roses in December

If you grow roses and are not conscientious about deadheading them, you know that you will have plenty of rosehips right now. I cut them from the plant and hang them upside down to dry before using them in all sorts of ways– in scented mixtures and spice blends, tea blends and as a flavor ingredient in icing, cakes and jelly.

Do you have rosehips? How do you use them?

If you don't have access to your own organic rosehips, you can still make rosehip jelly. Look for dried and cut organic rosehips at whole foods or health food markets or in commercial tea blends. For the fragrant jelly left, I combined dried hibiscus flowers with dried cut rosehips in equal amounts. If your rosehips haven't completely dried out yet and you want to use the following recipe, double the amount so that you would be using 1 cup chopped fresh rosehips.

Rosehip Jelly

Makes 6 cups

3 or 6 rose stems with rosehips attached, optional

4 cups water

1/2 cup chopped dried rosehips or combination petals and rosehips

6 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch liquid pectin

1. Wash and immerse 6 1-cup or 3 two-cup canning jars in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until ready to fill. If you are planning to float a stem with whole rosehips still attached, cut the stems to the height of the jar. Using a razor, remove the thorns from the rose stems and set aside.

2. In a deep-sided saucepan or canning kettle, bring the water to a boil. Add rosehips, cover the pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

3. Over a large bowl, strain off and discard the rosehips. Return the rosehip infusion to the saucepan and add the sugar. Over low heat and stirring constantly, bring the liquid and sugar to a hard boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute. Stir in the pectin and stir the liquid for a minute.

4. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle jelly into hot jars, one at a time. Add a rosehip stem to the jelly. Add more jelly until 1/4-inch from the top of the jar. Wipe the rim clean and cap with the flat part of the canning lid. Screw on the band and return the filled jar to the canner. Fill remaining jars.

5. Top up the water in the canner if necessary to bring the water at least 1-inch above the tops of the jars. Cover and bring to a rolling boil and boil constantly for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

2009-11-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

You MUST see these amazing fabric designs.

Christina Weber screen prints gorgeous designs on linen tea towels.

Check out her site for tea towels and aprons .

go here, then come back and tell me what you think.

Name That Herb

2009-11-13T16:53:00.012-05:00

Jerusalem Artichoke

Thanks to Simon, who dropped off these little gems. Congrats to Herrick Kimball, who knew: ..Those roots look like Jerusalem Artichokes. I have a bunch of them here. They are good sliced up raw on salads. That's the only way we have eaten them.

Some people call them Sunchokes, I guess because they look like and actually are sunflowers and the other common name, Jerusalem Artichoke is a bit confusing because many people assume that they are related to artichokes of the thistle family. In fact, Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is a native American plant. The common name may have come from the Spanish word for sunflower, girasol...Jerusalem. I don't know.

What I do know is that they are delicious and filled with energy and good food value.

I roast them with other root vegetables and have shredded them for salads as Herrick does.

This week, here's how I cooked my gift from Simon.

Jerusalem Artichoke Scallop

In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 cup chopped mushrooms. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. You can add fresh or dried sage, rosemary or oregano to this as it cooks.

Meanwhile, using a mandolin or food processor, slice about 6 Jerusalem Artichoke roots, 1 carrot and 1 parsnip.

In a greased casserole dish, arrange 1/3 of the sliced artichokes, carrots and parsnip. Spread 1/2 of the onion-mushroom mixture over. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 3 tbsp flour over and pour milk into the casserole to cover the vegetables.

For this scallop, having just come back from the foodbuzz festival, I had a beautiful, triple cream Brie, which I sliced very thin and arranged half over the vegetables.

Like a true scallop, the second 1/3 of the sliced artichokes, carrots and parsnip are arranged over the brie. The remaining onion-mushroom mixture goes over that layer. More salt and pepper, flour and milk to cover the vegetables. Remaining brie and the final layer of vegetables, flour, small pieces of butter and milk to cover it all. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and bake in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour.

THANK YOU FOODBUZZ

2009-11-11T09:43:00.004-05:00

THANK YOU FOODBUZZ

It was a foodie frenzie! It was a culinary herbalist's heaven! It was the first Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco, and I am just back and filled to the brim with good food, great memories and contacts to fabulous new foodie friends.

So for the rest of the month of November, I would like to dedicate this blog to Foodbuzz and all of their sponsors, who provided an absolutely outstanding festival.

The pict on my banner above was taken with a long exposure and no tripod, but I really liked the dreamy lights and the clouds and the blaze of orange off the building--sort of a symbol for the experience. The shot is from the outdoor rooftop of Hotel Vitale, which was the first event in our whirlwind weekend. Cocktails by MIDI and drinks by SKYY, the mood was perfect.

Our stay at the Galleria Park Hotel was divine, a perfect boutique hotel for the perfect weekend.

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANK

Pat Does Claudia's Baked Eggs

2009-11-01T13:42:00.019-05:00

What was that thing that comes just before THE FALL?

Right. The PRIDE thing.

So. How did I get from this...

...to this?

This may not have disaster written all over it, but in MY world, a plate looking like this spells DISASTER.

The Big Guy ALWAYS cleans his plate. Especially at noon on a Sunday when the Saturday paper still holds lots of interesting tidbits. And today, it was the paper not the plate that had the interesting tidbits.

I thought, 'easy'. This will be an easy Sunday Brunch. My friend Claudia has her incredible 'Baked Eggs with Spinach and Pancetta' on her blog now, and since she loves this dish, and I do have spinach in the refrigerator, I thought, "this will be a snap and The Big Guy will be hungry by now since we both have been working. Well. He has been working, I have been on the phone with Claudia talking about the FoodbuzzFestival next weekend. (Is anyone out there going?)

First, I heated 2 tbsp/25 mL oil and 1 tbsp/15 mL butter in my favourite cast iron skillet, which btw, I'm still cleaning as you read this- no matter WHEN you are reading this.

Claudia uses onion and garlic sauteed in oil and some balsamic. Thinking, or NOT as the case turned out, "TBG likes potato", I'll add one here, so I shredded 1 onion- not the sweet Mayan, I only had yellow- and 1 potato. Add to the pan, stir constantly...because once the starch in the uncooked potato hits the hot oil, it is going to glom up the bottom of the pan. YUP. Big time! No problem. I will just take my sharpened fish lifter (my fave tool, btw) and scrape the bottom. Key is to tell everyone to keep the pan on LOW. EGADS. I've got it on medium-high. Oh well. This is why we TEST recipes, eh?

I rubbed in some of my just-dried sage and rosemary, now all safely inside for the winter. Claudia didn't add any herbs. OOOOPS. just checked her blog. She added balsamic vinegar, oh well, it's in the oven now. That little slip won't make a difference.

Claudia doesn't actually tell us how much spinach to use, but hey, I write cookbooks. I KNOW these things. I added a 6 oz/227 g bag to the pan because I love spinach. I forgot that The Big Guy isn't all that keen on spinach.

When she say's "break 2 eggs into the 'nest' of spinach", I thought, aha, I'll clear out little spots right down to the pan so that the eggs nestle in the vegetables while they cook. I used 3 eggs: 2 for The Big Guy, he's working today. This could be where I began my descent...or was it way back when I decided to add the potato?

I was going to serve it with my Red Pepper Sauce- Tune in next blog for the recipe.

I added a bit of Turkish Paprika, but only to MY egg. The Last thing I wanted to hear was, "hm. What's that red stuff?". Oh, no. This dish was going to be my Sunday Brunch House Special, just like Claudia makes...

I Was SO PROUD! It looked GREAT.

What is YOUR little red flag when you know people are just telling you they like what you just cooked? Mine is "hm. What's that green stuff?"

Today I sort of snapped, "It's spinach. Just like that green stuff, pesto that you guzzle by the gallon."

So, right then I knew it had to be spectacular or TBG wasn't going to go back to the gallery raving.

It was OK. Perhaps not a FALL, but a stumble for sure.

The egg yolks were too hard (I like them runny) and I definitely added too much spinach. For success and raves, you will need to follow Claudia's recipe.

And if you have any questions about how to do this better than I did, ask her. I'm still trying to figure out how she gets the yolks to stay runny...

Herb Paste

2009-10-24T09:38:00.005-04:00

Herb Paste

Similar to pesto, but with more body, herb pastes can be made from any flavour combination- hot/pungent spices, lemon herbs, Mediterranean herbs, and on and on. Hot chiles are often combined in a paste for rubbing on meats destined for the BBQ. I have made pastes with spikes of cinnamon and cardamom for Indian inspired dishes. The point is that having a concentrated hit of flavour at hand can be a time-saver in the kitchen.

By now, most of the North American garlic crop has been harvested, dried, braided, festival-ed and tucked away in cool, dry places for fall and winter meals to come. So with all this stinking rose at our disposal, I would like to share one of my favourite recipes for preserving and using the king of herbs.

For more fall garlic recipes and to read more of my article about garlic, visit Vitality magazine.

Questions about growing/using garlic?

ASK ME!

Mediterranean Herb Paste

Make and use this in several different dishes in a week. It can form the basis for a vinaigrette dressing, soup, dips, spreads and even be used as a flavoring for savoury muffins and scones.

10 garlic cloves

1/2 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped

1/2 cup fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves, snipped

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp sea salt

1 Tbsp tarragon or white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse garlic in food processor three or four times or until garlic is finely chopped, or pound in a mortar and pestle. Add sage, thyme and rosemary. Pulse three or four times (or pound until mixed in) until finely chopped. Add mustard and salt, pulse until blended.

Gradually add three tablespoons of oil, processing as blended. Add vinegar and remaining olive oil and process until well blended.

Hitting the Wall

2009-10-06T11:43:00.003-04:00

Hitting the Wall

Just wondering if anybody has hit the wall with their blogs? I would love it if you would TELL ME ABOUT IT.

I started out in the spring this with great enthusiasm, hit my stride and found that even though I am writing now for long hours, I could still muster up the words to keep in touch on a weekly basis. Although I do have to admit it: my blog did become a bit boring and predictable. OK it got tedious and REALLY academic.

Then my computer crashed. Funny how the physical world gives us a gentle nudge. I took my 'forced vacation' while the techies replaced my hard drive and I slowly got my computer's data back up. I wanted to tell you about that and just jump right back into the blog routine, but I didn't.

Then I went to Hudson Valley to speak at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, stayed a week and I wanted to tell you about that, and still, I didn't.

I am totally re-thinking the nature and purpose of this blog and while I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, hang in there with me and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I want to make this the best HERB weds FOOD blog in the ethernet.

You be the judge. Just give me some time and any SUGGESTIONS for what you would like to know would be very helpful.

Meantime: Check back here soon and I will tell you about the herb gardens and my lunch at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). That's me above in the American restaurant enjoying one of the finest meals I have had in a long time.

The Big Taste of Bay

2009-09-02T11:50:00.004-04:00

The Big Taste of Bay

With its sweet, slightly pungent balsamic aroma and spikes of nutmeg and camphor, the beauty of cooking with bay is that it releases its flavour slowly, which makes it an essential herb for slow, long cooking techniques.

Indeed, stocks, soups, stews, sauces, marinades, stuffing and pickles benefit from the addition of fresh or dried bay leaves. Garnishing cooked or cold-pressed paté or terrines with a leaf or two infuses the spicy essence of the Mediterranean, its native homeland. Fish dishes are enhanced by the combination of bay and fennel. Lamb and other robust meats may be stewed or grilled with bay as a key ingredient. Bay adds the characteristic flavour to béchamel sauce; while tomatoes, oregano, thyme and bay are the foremost ingredients in tomato sauce. Bay is a popular herb used to flavour wines and it is positively brilliant in baked bean and lentil dishes.

Go visit Vitality magazine for original recipes and read the rest of my article on using bay in cooking.

NAME THAT HERB WINNER

2009-08-24T20:49:00.007-04:00

Clove Pink - The herb of Shakespeare

Books go out to all who wrote and correctly identified this week's NTH.

Chuck writes: This little flower takes me back to my Aunt Bea's (yes not only Andy Taylor of Mayberry had an Aunt Bea) little front garden planter. Both she and Mom liked all forms of Dianthus, but especially those with lots of fragrance. Bea had a hardy clump of clove pinks there in the planter alongside old-style petunias that became really fragrant about dusk. They were big fans of porch sitting, so as a kid not much interested in their grownup conversations, I got plenty of time to check out what was growing there, before it got totally dark or the mosquitoes drove us inside.

Your photo looks like a very primitive, single carnation, especially the foliage, but I suppose it could be one of the other Dianthus. I can almost smell the spicy fragrance from down here below the border.

But I thought true pinks were the primitive, single variety and the big, showy versions are referred to as carnations?

One of this week's winners, Keena used my hint about gillyflower. Here's what she has to say:

a quick internet search of "gillyflower" brings up a Encyclopedia

Britannica article: "any of several scented flowering plants,

especially the carnation, or clove pink (Dianthus caryophyllus), stock

(Matthiola incana), and wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri). However, the

gillyflower of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare was the carnation."

your image is specifically that of the pink, though.

Clove Pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) What's in a name, eh? Well in this particular name, as in most, a lot. First off, the term 'pink' doesn't refer to the color of the plant, instead it is referring to the serrated edges of the flowers. To create these edges in fabric, one uses 'pinking sheers', pink meaning zig-zag or serrated.

Anyone who has ever smelled these delightful herbs knows that they emit the most delicious odor resembling cloves, caryophyllum being the Latin name for the spice we call cloves.

Many of you mentioned that they were most familiar with the salmon-colored pinks and I am as well, this vibrant pink color you see in my photo above, being unexpected in the plants I put in the garden this year. I can tell you, that when I made my clove pink syrup from my salmon pinks, the syrup turned a beautiful burgundy color, so the deep red pigments must somehow be lurking in the petals of even the salmon-colored pinks.

For those of you who are surprised to learn that you can eat these wonderful flowers, they have been used in the past to flavor wine. A word of caution: do not try eating the carnations in your next floral arrangement. They will have been sprayed and treated with chemicals to make them last longer.

If you grow clove pinks, try my recipe for syrup. You can use it to flavor drinks in the same way as you would use Grenadine. Drizzle it on ice cream or puddings or use as a coulis. The color is amazing. Gently rinse the flowers under cool water and pat dry. Gently pull the petals away and discard the sepals and stems. You can half this recipe if you only have 1/2 cup petals.

This is essentially a simple syrup that will thicken as the sugar is heated in the water. Don't over boil or you will get soft candy.

Clove Pink Syrup

1 cup fresh clove pink petals

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1. In a saucepan, combine clove pink petals, sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the syrup thickens, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Pour into a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Label and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

NAME THAT HERB WINNER

2009-08-12T11:27:00.011-04:00

Calendula - The edible healing herb.

Congratulations to Wendy- send your address and claim your prize. I will mail you one of my little herb handbooks or the Summer Recipes book, your choice.

Cheery and bright, these prolific annual flowers jump around the herb garden in colors ranging from orange to yellow and every shade in between. Their seeds look like something out of the dinosaur age.

When you pluck the flowers for a salad or to make calendula butter, they give off a very delicate and pleasant floral aroma and taste. This lovely aroma strengthens on drying the flowerheads. Jane Hawley-Stevens, who uses calendula in creams and other cosmetic products dries calendula that she grows organically. Here we see the drying cabinet she uses:

The nice thing about drying the flowerheads is that we get tons of seeds to plant for next year. Actually, unless you are vigilant in deadheading the flowers, you will get a good crop next year anyway. In fact, I have heard of gardeners ripping the plants out (along with their hair!) after a few years of calendula going to seed. But that won't happen to you because you will be drying and using all those beautiful petals in soups, stews, butters and using them fresh in salads.

Here they are growing wild on a tiny Atlantic island off the coast of Brittany France:

...and planted out in an Arizona garden in the middle of a Pecan Farm:

One summer day in 2007 I think it was, I visited Four Elements Herbals in Wisconsin about an hour drive from Milwaukee. It was one of the most enchanted places I have ever seen. Owner, Jane Hawley-Stevens took me on a tour of the Chakra Garden and then delighted me with a lunch (pictured below) of homemade bread, Wisconsin cheese, cauliflower and pickled beet salad and a beautiful summer salad made with cabbage and other greens and flowers she grows on her beautiful land. The large flowers are nasturtium and the petals are calendula.

Feast your eyes and enjoy.

NAME THAT HERB WINNER

2009-08-03T15:19:00.003-04:00

GOOSEBERRY This Week's Featured Herb

Congratulations to Chuck and Heather-

here's what Chuck has to say about Gooseberries: At first glance, I thought the herb of the week was a white currant, but currants aren't usually green, so it must be a gooseberry. It lacks the striping that I'm used to seeing on gooseberries, but green, golden, red, or white sounds a lot like a gooseberry. I had some of the thorny devils for a few years, but never really got excited about either the flavor or the pain of the thorns. Once in a while, I'll read a catalog description of one, "as big as a plum" and think about trying again. I do like the ripe fruit, all by itself, but the unripe ones made into a pie don't thrill me at all.

...and Heather-i don't have gooseberries anymore, but we had several bushes when i was growing up. i love the flavor, and think gooseberry pie is one of the best desserts on the planet.

So there you have it - Love it/Hate it.

I have actually been fooling around a bit with the thorny devils myself, and here's my take on Gooseberry Cordial, a very nice drink syrup to have on hand if you, like Chuck donk't want to make gooseberry pie:

Lemon-Lime Gooseberry Cordial

This is an adult lemonade. Sharp and fragrant with citrus and sugar lingering on the tongue, it makes the perfect mix for summer cocktails at the pool, barbeque or deck.

Makes 4 cups 1 L

4 cups gooseberries

1 L water

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup chopped fresh lemon verbena

4 cups caster sugar

1. In a Maslin pan or canning kettle, combine the gooseberries, water, lime, lemon juice and lemon verbena. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The gooseberries should be soft.

2. Remove from the heat and pass through a colander, pressing down firmly on the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. Pour the syrup into a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Serve: mix with carbonated mineral water in a 1/4: 1 ratio.

NAME THAT HERB WINNER

2009-07-24T07:39:00.006-04:00

ANGELICA- this week's NTH

It's difficult to identify plants from such a small picture, I know. This week was a bit more difficult because the flower resembles other plants, Queen Anne's Lace being the most popular guessed.

At the very last moment, Susan came through with this week's herb: ANGELICA. She collects one of this week's books as her reward. Tune in Monday for next week's NTH and your chance to WIN.

Angelica archangelica grows wild where I live, but I never use it from the wild because it so closely resembles deadly hemlock (Water Hemlock), which grows in the same locations, in wet, boggy areas. ALWAYS USE CAUTION WITH WILD PLANTS. Hemlock is toxic.

If you purchase angelica from a local herb farm, you know that you have the correct herb.

I have candied the young stalks in a simple syrup. This takes several days where you simmer the stalks in the sugar/water mixture for 30 minutes to an hour and then cover the saucepan and let it sit for 24 hours in the syrup. Next day, you repeat the process. After 3 or 4 days, the stalks have absorbed the sugar and the next step is to let them dry before storing in an airtight container.

I use candied angelica in drinks, to decorate cakes or cupcakes and to flavor desserts. Its anise flavor is mild and fragrant.

In the summer when the huge leaves are abundant, I use them to wrap salmon and trout for grilling. I soak the leaves in a bucket of water for at least an hour or overnight, prepare the fish with pesto or tapenade, and wrap the angelica leaf around each portion. The fish steams inside the leaf pocket, lending its light anise flavor to the fish (you could use vegetables in place of the fish).

Of course, the leaves may be eaten cooked or raw like any leafy green.

ELDER

2009-07-20T10:45:00.008-04:00

Elderberry Trees

Some very early translations of the Bible mention a small, stringed musical instrument named sambuke. The frame of this instrument was made from the hollow branches of the Sambucus or elder tree. There are many different varieties of Sambucus, most being more shrub than tree. The variety that grows wild here in Bruce County is Sambucus canadensis, which bears dark purple, almost black berries. This variety has naturalized here, the elder tree being native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.

I have used both the flowers and the fruit in recipes and there are many recipes for elderflower or elderberry wine. The flowers form in large, creamy-white flat-topped clusters and their taste is somewhat bitter when nibbled right off the tree. (DON'T try eating any wild plant until you have verified it as edible. There is a dwarf elder that bears poisonous berries!). The fragrance and pleasant taste of the flowers is developed with the syrup or wine-making process, or in cooking them. I have made elderflower fritters by dipping the flowerheads in a light batter and frying them in olive oil.

The berries, which you see just forming in the shot below, taste a bit like blackcurrants and are made into conserves and jam. As the berries form and ripen, the stems that once bore the flowers turns from green (top picture) to dark red (picture below). You can substitute elderberries for currants or gooseberries in preserving recipes.

Elderberry Syrup ©pat crocker

In anticipation of the elderberries, which won't be ready to pick here until late August, early September, this is my recipe for a smooth-finished, rich and fruity, sweet-tart syrup. Splash it into white wine or champagne, sparkling mineral water, smoothies, milkshakes and all sorts of cocktails and mocktails.

1 lb elderberries or red or black currants

grated rind and juice of 1 orange

1 cups water

1 cups granulated sugar

1. In a saucepan, combine elderberries with orange rind, juice and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil for 2 or 3 minutes, crushing the berries with the back of a wooden spoon. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a non-reactive bowl. Press the pulp to release as much of the juice as possible.

2. Meanwhile, sterilize a 1-pint (2 cups/500 mL) jar in hard boiling water for 15 minutes.

3. Return the juice to the saucepan and stir in the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil hard for 1 minute. Skim and discard any foam. Pour hot syrup into hot jar. Cover with flat lid and metal screw band. Allow to cool completely. Label and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

NAME THAT HERB WINNER

2009-07-17T16:23:00.003-04:00

Name that Herb Winner

DMMCW

YOU were correct in naming this week's herb as Elder.

The picture is of an elder flower.

Congratulations.

Please e-mail me- pcrocker@riversongherbals.com

you can choose one of the following books:

The Gurus' Guide to Serenity

Summer on a Plate by Anna Pump and Gen LeRoy

or one of my herb handbooks:

oregano

kasbah herbs

pelargoniums (scented geraniums)

Bay

2009-07-10T11:35:00.007-04:00

The Big Taste of Bay

Congrats to the 2 individuals who knew that this week's NTH is Bay. This is the arbor in France from which the small detail on the right was taken. How wonderful it would be to live in zone 8 were it grows to be a tree, not the twig I have here in Bruce County.

Bay is one of my favorite herbs because with its sweet, slightly pungent balsamic aroma and spikes of nutmeg and camphor, the beauty of cooking with bay is that it releases its flavor slowly, so that it is an essential herb for slow, long cooking techniques. That's why I call it one of the Big Tastes- it hangs in there for the long haul, not like some of the other more delicate herbs that are really flash-in-the-pan tastes.

Indeed, stocks, soups, stews, sauces, marinades, stuffing and pickles benefit from the addition of fresh or dried bay leaves. Garnishing cooked or cold-pressed paté or terrines with a leaf or two infuses the spicy essence of the Mediterranean, its native homeland. Fish dishes are enhanced by the combination of bay and fennel; lamb and other robust meats may be stewed or grilled with bay as a key ingredient; bay adds the characteristic flavor to béchamel sauce; tomatoes, oregano, thyme and bay are the foremost ingredients in tomato sauce; bay is a popular herb used to flavor wines; and it is positively brilliant in baked bean and lentil dishes.

Boquet Garni is the French name for a bundle of cooking herbs tied together with string and used to flavor slow-cooked dishes. Whole fresh sprigs and leaves are preferred but dried herbs are a practical option. The traditional Boquet Garni combination is thyme, parsley and bay. Often the sprigs of thyme and parsley are wrapped in a large bay leaf, tied and hung to dry and stored in a cool, dark place for using throughout the winter months.

Sweet dessert dishes also benefit from the addition of bay. Custard, poached fruit, sweet sauces, simple sugar syrup, and rice desserts are richly complex thanks to the addition of bay.

Bay complements the following herbs in foods:

Allspice Oregano

Cardamom Parsley

Garlic Sage

Loveage Savory

Marjoram Thyme

I have found that many supermarkets are now selling fresh leaves in the produce section, so look there first–besides being more flavorful, the fresh will be larger and less expensive than dried bay in a jar. Fresh leaves store best if wrapped in a moistened tea towel and placed in a sealed plastic bag on the door of the refrigerator. Fresh leaves need to be rubbed or crushed to release their aromatic compounds. Eventually the fresh leaves will dry. Keep dried bay leaves whole in an airtight container in a cool dark place. Store dried bay leaves for one year and then replace with fresh because the essential oils dissipate over time.

Usually whole leaves are added to foods at the beginning of the cooking time and removed at the end. One or two whole leaves are enough to spice up a dish that serves 4 to 6 people. Rarely are bay leaves shredded before using, except when being used in a tea blend, because the smaller bits are too difficult to remove from the cooked dish. Even more rare is ground bay because the whole leaves flavor dishes without the trouble of grinding.

What people often overlook is Bay's big taste in desserts. Try these poached peaches with the Bay Custard and tell me what you think?

If you have any unusual ways of using bay in cooking, I sure would be happy to hear about them and post them here for other BayHeads.

Poached Peaches with Apricot Ginger Sauce

Use other fruit such as pears, nectarines, apples and plums in place of the peaches.

Makes 8 halves

1-1/2 cups apple juice

1/2 cup white wine

Half vanilla bean Half

1 3-inch licorice root, optional

1 bay leaf

4 peaches, halved and stoned

1/3 cup finely chopped dried apricots (or roughly chopped fresh)

1 tsp finely chopped candied ginger

1 cup yogurt, optional for garnish

1. In a large skillet, combine apple juice, wine, vanilla, licorice and bay. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Add peach halves, cut side down. Cover, reduce heat and gently simmer for 7 minutes or until peaches are crisp-tender.

2. Remove peach halves from poaching liquid, set aside. Remove and discard vanilla, licorice and bay from poaching liquid. Add apricots and ginger and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced and syrupy.

3. . Arrange peaches on individual plates, spoon apricot sauce over. Garnish with yogurt if using. Serve immediately.

Rosemary Custard

Infusing the milk as it heats imparts not only the flavor of the herbs but their medicinal benefits as well.

Serves 4

1/2 cup soy or rice milk

1 whole (3-inches) vanilla bean

1 bay leaf

1 sprig rosemary

12 oz firm ‘silken style’ tofu

1. In a small saucepan, combine milk, vanilla, bay and rosemary. Cover and bring to a light simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and cool with lid on. Strain and discard vanilla, bay and rosemary.

2. In a blender or food processor, process tofu for 30 seconds or until smooth. With motor running, add infused milk through opening in the lid. Custard should be blended and smooth. Store: Cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

Serve: Spoon over poached pears, peaches, cherries or baked apples. Pass as a sauce for gingerbread or breakfast grain dishes.

Lady's Slipper

2009-07-03T09:09:00.011-04:00

A Northern Orchid

Driving into Cypress Lake Hiking Trails this past Monday, we spotted clumps of these beautiful native orchids growing by the roadside. A quick bound out of the car and I had some good shots.

Also called 'American Valerian' (probably due to its most common use, I'll get to that later), Lady's Slipper really does look like a dainty slipper. Well, I think it really looks like Minnie Mouse's shoe. The Latin name is Cypripedium pubescens or C. hirsutum, Cypripedium being Greek for 'Venus's slipper'. I have even seen it referred to as 'squirrel shoes'. A bit sloppy on their dainty paws I would think...

Not surprising that I would find at least one orchid on that trip up the peninsula in Bruce County even though it is late June. The Bruce Peninsula is rich in native orchids– some 44 wild species, giving the Bruce Peninsula the "distinction of having one of the greatest varieties of natural orchids in North America". WOW. The town of Tobermory hosts an Orchid Festival in the late spring every year.

Probably the best known of all the eastern North American orchids, Lady's Slipper is protected from picking or transplanting in many areas, so capture only on camera.

Here's a site that is actually cultivating Lady's Slippers and that sells the plants.

With a limited range: Nova Scotia to Ontario in Canada, Minnesota, Alabama and Nebraska in the United States (has anyone seen them in New England?) we need to be respecting their habitat: rich woods and thickets.

I found a great description in Stokes Nature Guides: A Guide to Enjoying Wildflowers by Donald ad Lillian Stokes. (My 1984 edition has a different cover, so hopefully the one listed on Amazon has the same information.) Does anyone have the book shown on the link? Does it have a 6 page description of Lady's Slipper?

As for uses, you can't eat the flower! And nowadays, you can't dig the roots, but I find it interesting to note that the roots of Lady's Slipper were once combined with and infusion of the bark of sassafras, along with cinnamon or lobelia and used externally as a liniment. [Native Plants by Richard Alan Miller. OAK Inc. publisher, Oregon, 1988]

Maud Grieve, in her book, A Modern Herbal says "The roots of several varieties...are employed in hysteria, being a gentle, nervous stimulant and antispasmodic, less powerful than Valerian."

And THAT is the reason the plant is sometimes referred to as 'American Valerian'.

Book Reviews

2009-06-30T08:36:00.005-04:00

Vegan Cook's Bible

As you know, this book has just won GOLD in the first, annual Living Now Book Awards. Here are a couple of reviews for this book, now available at Amazon and independent book sellers.

The Englewood Review of Books

NBC Los Angeles

Pat, you had me at Poached Peaches

It's SCAPE Time!

2009-06-27T07:24:00.007-04:00

The Scapes are Ready

Most professional garlic growers have taken off those long, goose-necked green seedheads by now, or they will do so very soon. Scapes are generally removed on or close to the longest day of the year (summer solstice), in order to let the plant concentrate on the business of growing fabulous garlic bulbs all summer.

All this labor-intensive activity means that chefs and home cooks are overwhelmed in their kitchens with the bounty of these fresh and tender vegetables because there are literally tons of them coming off the garlic being grown for market here in Ontario.

Like asparagus, fiddleheads and fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes, scapes are around for such a brief window of time that I tend to use them in everything and I like to develop at least one new recipe every year. I always freeze scapes because they are so easy to keep that way: no blanching required. Simply cut into 1- or 2-inch pieces, or chop fine, measure into 1- or 2-cup amounts and pop into freezer bags, seal, label and freeze for use later in soups, casseroles and stews.

This year, I developed a Garlic Scape Pesto using some of the organic scapes so graciously given to me by Simon deBoer.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Wash scapes in cool water, drain and pat dry. Snip off the seedhead and tougher tips. You can eat the seedhead if it is very small and still tender. Cut the long stems into shorter lengths to fit the bowl of the food processor. Pulse for a few seconds until coarsely chopped. See photo above.

Add 1/2 cup sunflower seeds or pine nuts to the bowl of the food processor. [Any milder nut such as blanched almonds or pecans can be used in this mild-flavored pesto. I like to use sunflower seeds in my pestos because they are grown locally and do not go rancid as quickly as pine nuts.]

Add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Parmesan or Romano cheese to the bowl of the food processor.

Sprinkle 1/2 tsp freshly grated sea salt over, less or none if the sunflower seeds are salted

Measure out 1 cup of the best quality hemp or hazelnut or olive oil. Cover the bowl with the lid and turn the food processor on. Slowly drizzle the oil through the opening in the lid while the motor is running and keep adding oil until the pesto is the consistency you like.

Depending on how I will use the pesto, I add more or less oil. For example, for the Garlic Scape Potatoes above, I wanted a slightly thinner sauce and so I added more oil. For a dip or spread for bruschetta, I would want a thicker consistency and so would add less oil. Play around with the right balance for you.

Wait! What's MISSING?

Garlic, of course. The green garlic scapes have a deliciously mild garlic flavor combined with a slightly nutty, almost asparagus taste. I don't add cloves of garlic to this pesto, but you might want to. Taste first and then decide. In the same way, you can add other green herbs like basil, sage, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme. I would recommend adding a handful of any single or combination of herbs to the pesto, chop with the scapes, add the other ingredients and then taste to see if you need more.

Green Garlic Pesto Potatoes

1 lb small or fingerling potatoes

1/4 to 1/2 cup Green Garlic Pesto

On a rimmed baking sheet, combine potatoes and Green Garlic Pesto. Roast in 375° F oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender.

2009-06-26T17:11:00.003-04:00

WINNER!

YAY! Thanks to all who entered the 'Name that Herb' contest. It was a riddle in a riddle. The last post was, of course, parsley. And CONGRATS to all who knew that pitcher of green was parsley. But the combination of 4 of the past herbs was "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..." and congrats to Elle- who WINS the Deen Family Cookbook!

The garden is growing, so stay tuned to more chances to WIN as you Name THAT Herb!

Award

2009-06-15T10:39:00.004-04:00

Vegetarian Cook's Bible wins Gold

The first annual Living Now Book Awards has awarded my Vegetarian Cook's Bible the GOLD MEDAL in the Cooking/Natural (Organic, Vegetarian, etc) category:

4. Cooking/Natural (Organic, Vegetarian, etc.)
Gold: The Vegetarian Cook’s Bible, by Pat Crocker (Robert Rose)
Silver: Ten Talents: Natural Foods - A Diet from the Garden of Eden, by Rosalie Hurd, BS & Frank J. Hurd, DC, MD (Hurd Pictorial Edition)
Bronze (tie): A Good Catch: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from Canada’s Top Chefs, by Jill Lambert (Greystone) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Raw, by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi, and Jennifer Murray (Alpha Books/Penguin Group)

Thanks go to the whole team at Robert Rose publishing. Their health and healthy cookbooks are outstanding.

Award

2009-06-09T22:56:00.006-04:00

The Gertrude B. Foster Award

It was with profound joy that I met new and longtime friends in Grand Rapids last week for the annual Herb Society of America Conference.

..And where I received the Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature. Thank you to my Herbal Friends-

THE GERTRUDE B. FOSTER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN HERBAL LITERATURE

The Gertrude Bates Foster Award is intended to encourage the dissemination of accurate herbal information and to recognize outstanding researchers, educators, and authors who exhibit exceptional scholarship in a published non-fiction book, which serves to inspire the “use and delight” of herbs. This award, established and funded in 1998 by the Connecticut Unit, honors Bunny (as she was known) and herpioneering role in the renaissance of herbal interest. She was known and respected in this country and abroad for her extensive contributions to the knowledge and interest in herbs and horticulture and for her generosity in sharing plant material, research, lecturing, and editorial leadership.

Selection of this recipient is done with the botany and horticulture chair, the communications chair, and the curator of The National Herb Garden serving in an advisory role.

Riversong Garden

2009-05-29T08:46:00.008-04:00

The 'P' Garden

Since moving to the country in 1987, I have always had a herb garden. BIG herb garden. We went from downtown Toronto to Riversong cabin: 18 acres on the Saugeen River in Grey county. There we planted the first of several 'teaching gardens' from which we gave our famous Herb Walk and Gourmet Lunch programs.

The Herb Walks were an all-day affair, starting with a light herbal breakfast and introduction to the herbs of the season, and moving on to a tour of the roadside, meadow and riverbank wild herbs surrounding the cabin. The climax to the day came with a 6 or 7-course meal that featured all of the wild herbs we had gathered along our walk.

In fact, my first cookbook was a compilation of the three-season recipes I had developed over the 6 years of leading the Riversong Herb Walks. With subsequent moves, the herb walks became a memory only, and I moved on as well..

Which brings me to my newest herb garden. We call it the 'P' garden because TheBigGuy–landscape designer and head gardener poobah–decided that the center of the raised garden should be in the shape of a P (for my name, in case, like me, you didn't get it the first time).

First we tracked the sun as it came around the mill, which looms higher on the south side than even our building, because as everyone knows, herbs need 8 hours of sunlight to thrive. Then we designed the raised beds and TBG built them. Living in a small village with its own brewery has some definite advantages, and we were offered 21 25-kg bags of spent grain from the beer-making process, which we mixed with 3-way soil. [The soil was actually hot when we started planting out the herbs.]

While TBG was hauling around soil and grain mash, I was up on the second floor pouring over Richter's catalogue. About 200 plants were ordered, and last weekend, they went in. Here in southwestern Ontario, the golden rule of planting is "not before the 24th of May weekend" due to rogue frosts that are prone to devastate new seedlings.

A whole week later and two days of obliging gentle rain, and the plants are looking exceptionally healthy...enough so, that we have already enjoyed the first of many fine green salads...

Herb Society of America

2009-05-29T07:31:00.004-04:00

I'm in Grand Rapids

I'm off on the annual herbal adventure with the Herb Society of America June 3 to 7 at their annual conference. This year is special for me because I will receive the Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature.

While there, I will be joining other herb experts and enthusiasts on garden tours, seminars and workshops. I am planning a guest blog for The Herb Companion magazine on the garden tour/s, and will highlight some of the events here and I will be on the prowl for new ways to use herbs in foods when I get back, so check back here the week of June 8.

For those of you who are always looking for my next herbal recipe, I do apologize–I have been developing, testing and photographing, but they are all recipes for my latest books and I can't make them public before they are published. Once back and settled into my routine though, I should be able to share one great herb recipe a week all summer.

NAME THAT FURRY THING

2009-05-26T11:25:00.004-04:00

It's Alive!

Here are the first of the 'furry things' - Hope you had fun with them!

They were all photographed at the end of April, early part of May.

The fungus isn' t exactly a plant, but I threw it into the mix as a dried up thing.

Promise to get the last three up shortly.

Almond-Orange Cake

2009-05-16T13:00:00.005-04:00

Sweet Cicely the Star of this Flour-less Cake

Gerarde (The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes, 1597) writes about Sweet Cicely, "It hath leaves of a very good and pleasant smell and taste like unto Chervil and something hairy, which as caused us to call it Sweet Chervil. The leaves of the Sweet Chervil are exceedingly good, wholesome, and pleasant among other sallad herbs, giving he taste of anise seed unto the rest. The seeds, eaten as a salad while they are yet green, with oyle, vinegar and pepper exceed all other sallads by many degrees, both in pleasantness of taste and sweetness of smell and wholesomeness for the cold and feeble stomachs. The roots are likewise most excellent in a salad with oil and vinegar, being first boiled, which is very good for old people that are dull and without courage."

For more information on both the cultivated Sweet Cicely (M. odorata) and the native plant (O. chilensis), visit my guest blog on Cuisine Canada .

Almond-Orange Cake

8-inch springform pan, lined with parchment paper and lightly buttered

preheat oven to 375° F

Serves 6

1-1/4 cups blanched almonds

4 eggs, separated

1 cup caster sugar, divided

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sweet cicely

grated rind and juice of 3 oranges (about 1-1/4 cups juice and 3 tablespoons rind)

1 tablespoon Anisette or other anise-flavored liqueur, optional

1. Using a food processor, chop the almonds until they are coarse. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with ½ cup of the sugar until thick. With the motor running, add the yolk mixture through the opening in the lid, processing until the mixture is thick and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the orange rind. If the mixture is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the orange juice, until it is of batter consistency.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sugar over and beat until the peaks hold their shape. Fold half of the meringue into the almond mixture until just evenly mixed. Fold the other half into the almond mixture, being careful not to over mix in order to keep the air in the whites.

3. Spoon the almond mixture into the prepared springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until set in the center and a light golden color. Cool and transfer to a serving plate.

4. Make orange sauce: In a saucepan, combine orange juice and remaining sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Adjust heat and lightly boil for 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur if using. Drizzle the orange sauce over the top of the cake and let sit for 20 minutes or longer before serving.

5. To garnish, lay fresh sweet cicely leaves over the cake and sprinkle icing sugar or cocoa over the leaves to impart a leaf pattern. Garnish the serving plate with fresh sweet cicely leaves.

Rubarb's Ready

2009-05-14T11:54:00.004-04:00

Rhubarb is Rarin to Go

In Bashia's garden, from this taken on April 16, 2009

...to this, taken today!

stay tuned for rhubarb recipes.

Wild Leeks

2009-05-09T19:02:00.005-04:00

Wild Leek Loaf

Green and garlicky and fresh, wild leeks are going to star in my potluck contribution to the Women's Culinary Network meeting in Toronto on Tuesday evening. I am looking forward to seeing my foodpals and smoozing.

This is not a potluck like any other potluck and I did angst over the dish that I would slide onto the groaning board. Would my humble loaf sidle up to that of a well-known daily paper editor? Or would it rub rims with the globetrotting best selling cookbook author/photographer's exotica from Thailand? Who knows. But for sure I wanted to bring something that would tell a little bit about me.

Where to start? Probably with my moniker: Culinary Herbalist. THAT sounds good. Even though I tell people I am from Toronto, which I am, I live in the country now: Bruce County, Ontario's beef country and the gateway to the Bruce Peninsula.

So why not bring something that speaks to wild herbs: Wild Leek Loaf. Perfect.

But like anything, there is a knack to cleaning these small bulbs. You can see the shovelful that we took at the top of the blog.

To clean wild leeks:

Grasp the leek in one hand.

Pull the short, dirty outer layers of white skin back over the roots.

Snap off the root end along with most of the dirt.

Wash bulbs and leaves in running water, drain and dry.

Here is my recipe for one of the most flavorful plants found at our feet.

Wild Leek Loaf

1/3 cup chopped wild leeks, save 6 whole, with leaves for garnishing the top

2 cups chicken stock

½ tsp salt

1-1/2 cups couscous

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

1 small zucchini, diced

8 oz/228 g mushrooms, chopped

½ cup chopped roasted red bell pepper

1. Line a 2 L (8 cup) loaf tin with plastic wrap, letting it overhang on the long sides. Lay 1 or 2 the wild leek(s) on the base of the tin, set aside in a cool place. Set aside remaining whole leeks for garnish later.

2. In a saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and stir in salt and couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the garam masala, coriander and red pepper flakes if using. Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute. Add the remaining oil and cook the zucchini and mushrooms for 7 minutes, or until soft. Let cool.

4. Add the onion-mushroom mixture and the red bell pepper to the couscous. Cover and chill for an hour. Press the mixture into the tin, pressing it in and around the leek on the bottom of the tin. Fold the plastic wrap over to cover. Weigh down with food tins and chill overnight.

2009-05-08T11:03:00.006-04:00

Horsetail

Both Chuck and Simon know their horsetail. Perhaps because they are both farmers at heart and see it popping up in fields.

The picture to the left was taken last Sunday and already it is over a foot high. You can see where it is muscling out everything in its path.

Here's what Chuck has to say about the species of horsetail growing near him:

Your mystery plant is what I have always known as horsetail, an Equisetum species I believe. The horsetail I know has vertical ridges on the stems, and is very abrasive, I think due to its high silica content. Sometimes it is called "scouring rush" for this property. It's what Jim Long uses in his foot soak for toenail fungus, too. It grows along ditchbanks here like the "gone wild" photo you sent, usually on the shady side of the ditch or in slightly moist sites, where more aggressive grasses predominate. For all I know, there may be hundreds of species of Equisetum. The trouble with common names is that they aren't usually that uniform across geography.

Chuck sent this link for more interesting information on both Eleocharis and Equisetum (horsetail and other interesting common names).

Name That Furry Thing

2009-05-06T21:59:00.002-04:00

Tune in on Friday May 8 for the new Mystery Herb but just in case you are hankering for a new challenge, here is my Name Those Furry Things- probably only once will I do this.

Basically, these are all plants. Well. One might not be a plant exactly, but none are animals.

I have not manipulated or rotated the photos, just cropped them.

I don't know what you will WIN if you name them all. Some sort of BOOK. Give it a shot and I will post All of your guesses...

Horsetail

2009-05-06T21:19:00.007-04:00

Congrats to Simon who correctly named Horsetail as the Mystery Herb. My little herb handbook, Oregano is going out to him or he might want this book if he doesn't already have it.

Horsetail- Simon gathers it and dries it to a powder for some of the best silica locally grown.

I used horsetail in hair rinses and to soak my nails to strengthen them. I have even made a tea from young horsetail gathered before the end of May.

This is the little spore head - this was taken Sunday May 3.

A WASP in my Scales?

2009-05-06T11:26:00.003-04:00

Help, Waiter! There's a WASP in my Scales

I know he's small and, well, sort of helpless. I know better. He only looks helpless because he's behind glass. The glass of my food scales for heaven's sake. I managed to spend [PatSpeak: waste] a good half an hour watching him crawl all over the place this morning.

Then TheBigGuy came along to see what had caught and actually held my attention for so long, and without a "sorry little guy" warning, pressed down on the scales causing the measuring arm to swing over, something like a windshield wiper blade, and the thing disappeared.

I think I can see a wing still clinging to the arm. And happy to have been of great help, TBG was gone, leaving me to ponder this: Where has TLG gone? And will I ever be able to weigh ingredients without a thought about his body lying somewhere in the lower mechanism of the scales. And then, are the scales now accurate? or should I be allowing for TLG's bodyweight? But how to calculate the loss of his weight over time as he dries up and turns to dust?

These are the deeper questions that arise in the life of a foodie.

Wild Leeks

2009-05-03T15:31:00.009-04:00

Foraging for Wild Food- All in one day

Here it was the first really really beautiful day of spring for us here in Bruce County and TheBigGuy and I were out along the trails. We happened to be in the right place at the right time, because there were so many things blooming.

I was especially tickled to see the wild ginger (Asarum canadense) in bloom because that single burgundy bugle is hard to see growing as it does from the base of the 2 heart-shaped leaves. And it lasts for a very short time. We gather the rizomes of the wild ginger that creep along the top of the forest floor. It can be used in teas and dried for winter blends.

Too early for the leeks to bloom, and once they do, it is so hard to find them because the leaves have died back, but right now is the perfect time to dig. Of course we made sure we only took one shovel full from the largest patch, leaving 90% of the patch to keep growing for future years. I plan to use them in a bread stuffing for a fresh roasted chicken tonight.

Of course, always growing right near the leeks, and always in deciduous forest, is Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), the medicinal and helpful plant especially for women's ailments. We caught it at that perfect time when the yellow bloom is at its peak and you can see the small blue berries that grow larger as the season progresses.

Bloodroot, that plant that stays wrapped up in its own leaves until the afternoon sun warms it and it unfolds into the delicate white flower we saw today. Native peoples used the blood red root as a skin and fabric dye.

Guest Blog

2009-05-01T12:38:00.003-04:00

I'll be at the Herb Companion every month with a new post.

Visit the Herb Companion and view my Green Garlic post with a Roasted Chicken and Green Garlic recipe.

Check out the Name That Herb Contest today. This herb is used in some cosmetics and old English texts tell of its use as a pot scrubber. It is a very old form of plant life. WIN a Kasbah or Oregano or Pelargonium herb handbook by correctly naming this herb.

Vegan Cook's Review

2009-04-28T10:20:00.002-04:00

Here's a Really Cool Site

For those of you living on the healthy side of the food world, this is a site for you. It's called Food that Fits and the creator, Abbie, a fitness enthusiast, has all kinds of tips and recipes of great food for people who are active.

She recently reviewed my latest book, The Vegan Cook's Bible, and has posted all of the recipes she tried. With photos and comments on the ingredients and the taste of the recipes, she really gives an excellent critique of what works for her.

Check it out here.

Name That Herb Winner

2009-04-27T09:40:00.007-04:00

Congratulations to Jamie

Thank you Jamie for correctly identifying this week's Mystery Herb. A copy of my oregano handbook is winging its way to you.

Because I love the unique flavor of anise, I love this herb. This week's mystery herb is Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata). A perennial herb, it pops up in the garden very early in the spring.

This picture was taken last week in Simon's garden and already it is well on its way to full growth. In his garden it grows at least a couple of feet tall- it must be very happy in his garden, I never could get it to raise that high.

I use the fresh leaves in spring salads and cooked with other greens like Swiss chard, beet tops and kale, to add a note of sweetness to balance their bitterness. It can be chopped and added to both sweet and savory breads and cakes and cookies.

I dry and team it with other herbs for a rich tea blend. In fact, I almost always include Sweet Cicely with all my tea blends because it adds just a note of vanilla, anise and sweetness..

In the fall, this herb will be featured again because there are some wonderful things you can do with the seeds.

Tune in Friday for next week's NAME that HERB- Friday May 1

Oatmeal Cookie Challenge

2009-04-25T10:16:00.002-04:00

I must say, there is nothing like a good Cookie Challenge to get my blood sugar spiking. This one is a healthy one, the oatmeal sitting a bit lower on the GI scale, so it should keep me from going over the edge.

Here is my entry for the Oatmeal Cookie Challenge at Savor the Thyme. Since it is from my Vegan Cook's Bible, it has no eggs, but once you try the flaxseed alternative, you might find you like it. Of course, you can definitely use an egg in place of the flaxseed.:

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies..a pat crocker original recipe

If you use spelt flour, the cookies will be thin, lacy and crisp. If you use all-purpose wheat flour, they will be a bit firmer, but still crisp around the edges. Don’t crowd the cookies because they spread and require lost of space on the baking pan. From The Vegan Cook's Bible (Robert Rose, publisher), with permission.

Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C)

2 Baking sheets

Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies

2 tbsp ground flaxseed

½ cup rice milk or soymilk, divided

¾ cup spelt flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup solid coconut oil

2/3 cup brown sugar

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup large flake rolled oats

½ cup shredded coconut

1. In a bowl, combine flaxseed and 3 tbsp of the rice milk. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes or until gelatinous.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir well with a wire whisk or fork.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil with the brown sugar. Beat in the remaining rice milk, vanilla and the flaxseed mixture. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Add the rolled oats and coconut and mix until combined.

4. Using 2 spoons, drop about 2 tbsp (dough onto baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. Cool the cookies on the pan (about 10 minutes) before lifting on to a cooling rack.

Note:

Working with Coconut Oil – Non-hydrogenated, naturally saturated oil from coconuts does not contain trans-fatty acids. It is a significant plant source of lauric acid (anti-viral properties). Because coconut oil remains solid at room temperatures, it replaces butter for cookies and cakes, but is not as soft as butter at room temperature. For creaming, use a warm bowl and position it by the pre-heating oven, but do not put the bowl directly over heat because the coconut oil will melt quickly back into a liquid. However, if this happens, remove to a cooler spot and let it firm up again before creaming.

Refrigerate remaining coconut oil after opening.

It Starts with Stock II

2009-04-22T21:40:00.020-04:00

Mushroom Soup

So here I was with this Moroccan-Spiced stock, quite possibly the finest I have made [it likely won't come together quite like this ever again]. And mushrooms always being in season, lucky for me because I had a hankering for Mushroom Soup.

See that monogrammed 'C' on the soup spoon? A long time ago, when life was a lot simpler and I was about 8 or 9, I saved–I don't remember how many–Campbell's soup labels and sent them away for 6 spoons. They actually had them engraved with any initial you wanted and, well our last name being Crocker, I just naturally went with the 'C'.

Now I have the spoons and I don't think I have told anyone that story in a very long time.

Mushroom Soup is always different [let's be honest: every recipe is different for me, because I find it just so darned hard to follow a recipe- even/especially my own.] Anyway, today being EARTH DAY and all, I thought an earthy, brothy, rich brown soup would help celebrate the day in down-to-earth style.

Here's my LOOK and COOK* Recipe

In a large saucepan or soup pot of some heft, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. [Don't put the oil away, you may need a drop or two later.]

Meanwhile, in a food processor, chop 3 cloves of garlic and a piece of candied ginger.

[The garlic is essential, the ginger is not, but ginger and garlic are part of my herb triology, thyme being the holy ghost here because I didn't happen to have any fresh or dried.]

Leave the garlic and ginger in the bowl of the food processor and add a red onion, peeled and quartered. [just because I didn't have any yellow cooking onions, or I would have used one of those and kept the red onion for a salad.]

Chop and add to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.

Chop rutabaga. Wait! Rutabaga? Trust me. No one will know and you will have boosted the nutrient quotient way up. Here I cut the rutabaga in half, then cut 4 3/4-inch slices, peeled and coarsely chopped them before chopping in the food processor.

Add to the pan. Cook and stir constantly for 5 minutes. [Here you may have to add some more olive oil to keep the onions and the rutabaga from sticking to the pan. And here is where a heavy-bottomed pan and low heat are your 2 best friends.]

Add 1 or 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. [this is optional but I do like the nutty flavor of mushrooms sautéed in pure butter.]

Add chopped mushrooms [about 2 lb mushrooms/6 cups chopped], cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes

Add chicken stock [8 cups here- I got carried away with taking the photograph and might have only used 6 cups of this most precious nectar, ah well, so the soup was slightly thinner than I might have liked, but TheBigGuy never put his spoon down]. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or longer.

Add salt to taste.

Serves 6 or 8

**Look and Cook Recipe- a sneaky/ recipe format where I really need to re-test for exact amounts, but just don't have the time or inclination. It's hard to develop, test, style and shoot recipes solo [winge-winge]. Don't get me wrong, I can do it, it's just that the weakest link gets dropped. And for me the tedious testing link is the first to go.

It Starts with Stock

2009-04-21T16:11:00.004-04:00

Patience

Every couple of days or at least once a week, I make stock. It is usually when I have roasted a chicken or perhaps a roast of beef, lamb or pork, or a ThanksDay turkey. But usually it starts with chicken bones.

Back it up a bit. When I trim broccoli and cauliflower or take the outer leaves off of cabbage, I tuck them into a plastic bag in the freezer. That way, I always have vegetable matter to add to the stock. In the stock above, I had roasted a shoulder cut of beef in tomato sauce and added vegetables to the pan. Since there is only TheBigGuy and me at home now, I had a lot left over- even after the next day lunch. So the roasted veggies, the braising tomato sauce and some frozen vegetable trimmings went in along with a handful of dried parsley.

If I am hanging around all day, I bake the bones: arrange in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, roast them in the oven at 350°F for about an hour. If I am making a vegetarian stock, I always roast the vegetables to begin because it gives a richer-tasting stock. In that case, I quarter a couple of onions, cut 2 carrots and 2 parsnips into 2-inch pieces, peel a handful of garlic cloves and toss them all together in a roasting pan If I have other vegetables like turnip, beets, rutabaga, I quarter those and add them to the pan as well. Drizzle with olive oil and roast as above.

So in this case, I had a secret soup weapon: leftover preserved lemon sauce. Last week I made a Tagine Chicken with Moroccan spices and a chopped preserved Lemon. Now TheBigGuy will eat anything I put in front of him, but he sniffed the fragrant lemon sauce on the chicken and put down his fork. First time I have seen him actually play with his food.

So I rinsed off the chicken and served it cold in a salad next night. And froze that Lemon Sauce in 2 cup containers. I knew that I could safely add it to a soup stock and the fragrant lemon would be lost. Sure thing. The Morrocan spices held up and the lemon went away.

So back to making stock: Everything - the baked bones or veggies, the vegetable trimmings, herbs and a few whole allspice berries or a couple of star anise - gets added to the bowl of a slow cooker. Leftover vegetable cooking water or strained water that has been used to reconstitute mushrooms or sun dried tomatoes or just plain water is added until it covers the stock ingredients by 2 or 3 inches minimum. Simmer on 'low' for 24 hours, cool, strain and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store in 2 or 4-cup containers in the freezer for up to 3 months.

I used 8 cups of the stock in the photo above in my Mushroom Soup. Recipe to follow.

Name That Herb Winner

2009-04-20T13:43:00.007-04:00

Congrats to Simon de Boer- who correctly identified last week's mystery herb: Rhubarb.

It's still all wrapped up in itself, but the brainy leaves are bursting through and in places, you can see the beginning of the stalks.

I took some photographs around Owen Sound and further south around me, at Neustadt, ON. Both gardens seemed to be at the same point despite the hour difference.

Here you can see the beginning of the stalk.

It's actually a vegetable, not the fruit of the plant, but because we use it mainly as a fruit, most people just think of it as such.

Rhubarb is high in potassium and contains a fair amount of iron. The amount of calcium in 1 cup cooked rhubarb is twice that found in milk.

The action of rhubarb on the body is as a laxative, as most youngsters have at one point learned the hard way.

But that is what makes it such a great Spring plant: it acts to cleanse the system and make it ready for the green fresh vegetables and herbs to come.

Cooking mellows the tart taste and softens the laxative effect.

Caution: Never use the leaves of rhubarb, which are toxic and inedible due to the high concentration of oxalic acid in them.

Watch for some incredible fresh rhubarb recipes once those stalks get longer.

Next Name That Herb: Friday April 24

garlic greens

2009-04-19T18:41:00.002-04:00

This just in from Simon:- I guess the garlic is really poking through..

I picked a whole bag of garlic green from my perennial garlic patch and am drying them down .It makes the most wonderful garlic powder you can imagine . I have Indian friend who make great chutneys from green garlic , truly an under used aspect of the garlic industry . Indians use garlic as soon as it emerges in the spring as I see you do .

Review

2009-04-17T16:00:00.002-04:00

Nice review here by Paula Nemerson over at Super Chef!

Roasted Plum Salad

2009-04-17T10:59:00.003-04:00

new link:

Check out Rose Kennedy, the Fearless Foodie on MetroPulse. She likes my Roasted Plum Salad.

Spring Greens Dressings

2009-04-16T22:03:00.004-04:00

Dress it Green- Part Three: The Dressings

So here we are. We have the acid and we have the oil. We are ready to combine them with herbs and other ingredients to dress the Spring greens that will be here soon. Light, tangy citrus dressings let the peppery taste of the greens shine through while creamy garlic tones even out bitter notes for a headier taste. And, of course, the only truly great dressing is one you make yourself.

Vinaigrettes

In its simplest form, vinaigrette is an emulsion made from oil, vinegar and salt. Often Dijon mustard is added along with traditional herbs like tarragon, thyme and marjoram. Creative chefs and kitchen gardeners are experimenting now with different cold pressed oils [see part two], fruited vinegars [see part one], puréed vegetables and other less traditional flavors to make exceptional vinaigrettes with zing. The ratio of vinegar to oil is generally one part vinegar to three parts oil. If lemon juice is used in place of the vinegar, the amount of lemon juice should be increased.

Champagne-Raspberry Vinaigrette

3 tbsp raspberry vinegar

2 tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine

1 tbsp honey mustard

1/4 tsp salt

pinch freshly ground pepper

3/4 c nut oil [see part two]

Wisk together the vinegars, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, add the oil in a slow, steady stream until completely incorporated.

Makes: 1 cup

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise uses traditional vinaigrette ingredients but keeps the oil and acid (lemon juice or vinegar) suspended together through the use of eggs. What used to be a tedious job-- the oil had to be added drop by drop while whisking or beating constantly-- is now ever so easy with the click of the cuisinart. Remember to store fresh mayonnaise in the refrigerator [ever wonder what they put in the commercial product that it can be stored on the shelf and keep for months?] and use within 2 days.

Tarragon Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice or herbed vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Put egg yolks in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the steel knife. Whisk for 2 seconds. With machine running, very slowly pour in oil in a steady stream and process until mixture is thick. Keep machine running and add lemon juice and tarragon.

Makes: 1/2 cup

Riversong Brown Mayonnaise ...a Pat Crocker original recipe

This is one of those culinary things that just happen. I was writing my Healing Herbs Cookbook (now out of print) and wanted a zippy mayo-substitute. I fooled around and since I knew I loved roasted vegetables, I thought I could get something that had the same consistency as mayonnaise, but without the eggs and the calories. Now I make up lots of this tangy purée and use it everywhere: as a spread for grilled fish, tossed with rice or mixed with anchovies for crackers. It's one of those condiments that will prove to be so versatile in the kitchen. The downside? Its brown. But as far as I am concerned, white isn't exactly organic.

2 onions, peeled & quartered

1 leek, trimmed, washed & coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled & halved

3/4 cup walnut or hazelnut oil, divided

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp freshly grated sea salt

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Spread onions, leek and garlic on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the oil. Roast in hot oven at 450° F for 15 - 20 minutes, until browned, stirring frequently.

Remove vegetables from oven and spoon directly into a small bowl.

Stir in the remaining 1/2 c of the oil, basil and salt, cover and allow to sit overnight or

at least 4 hours to blend flavours.

Purée vegetable mixture with vinegar in food processor and store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

To Use as a Dressing: Whisk together 3 tbsp purée with 1/2 cup orange juice.

Walter

2009-04-16T20:47:00.006-04:00

Basia's Bad Boy

He was all cocky and struttin' his stuff [sorry, just couldn't resist]. And he was not quite as friendly as the girls.

He did pose, so I can't fault him, but there was a certain aloofness about him.

And then his chick started grooming him. She didn't leave his side. So do they have a favorite? The mysteries of the hen house.

Basia's Girls

2009-04-16T20:03:00.006-04:00

Basia's Girls

While I was over at Basia's garden visiting her rhubarb [ooops! Did I say that out loud?]...her hens came over to see what I was doing.

This is where they spend the night.

I think they must love Basia very much because they were not afraid and they hung around me. Not even the dogs bothered them.

This is where we get our eggs for the Lemon Curd and other culinary capers we [well mostly me] test and taste.

Anyway, I'm laying on the ground wondering what they are so busy eating, when I happen to look down at my arm and its crawling with these sort of beetle-ant-spider things.

and then I met Walter...and the penny dropped.

2009-04-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

The flowerheads appear in the spring and then the leaves make their appearance. The aerial parts of the plant are mainly used to treat cough and bronchial congestion but some foragers dry the leaves and blend with other herbs as a salt replacement.

Daffodils almost up

2009-04-15T18:46:00.000-04:00

Searching for Fiddleheads

2009-04-15T18:30:00.000-04:00

Searching for Fiddleheads in Bruce County

Out along the stream banks today looking for fiddleheads. Absolutely no sign anywhere. Must be too soon, but I did get wood violet (viola sororia) and when I lent down to brush away the leaf litter, the sweet violet odor wafted up.

2009-04-13T13:21:00.000-04:00

Here's a good review of my Vegan Cook's Bible. Gosh tho the comments get intense.

2009-04-13T12:12:00.000-04:00

Monday April 13 2009

I know. I'm late in my weekly post. Visiting friends and Easter...I had hoped to get some killer shots of oils for the Dress it Green series, and even took my camera to Toronto, but alas, did not have time to source out the nut oils for shooting.

Until I can get the next real post up, here is an article I originally wrote on cabbage for The Herb Companion magazine and it is now appearing on the Health News Digest. Oops- I see you have to type in 'cabbage' in the key word to get to the article.

Dress it Green: Part Two

2009-04-08T08:59:00.000-04:00

Dress it Green- Part Two: The Oil

We're talking here about dressings for the spring greens soon to grace our salad bowls. And while I love olive oil and cook with it in many recipes, I just like a change right about this time of year. Add to that the fact that I think the perfect oils to use in Spring vinaigrettes and dressings are the nut oils or perhaps safflower oil.

Health-wise, there are a couple of things to consider. First oils are fats and they deliver the same measure of energy to the body regardless of their origin- 90 calories for every 2 teaspoons. Second, oils are classified as being saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, depending on the type of fatty acids they contain. Generally, we cook with olive oil because it has a higher smoke point, meaning it won't break down at higher heat and it is healthier than saturated oils or fats such as shortening, lard or butter [although for flavor, I often use part butter and part olive oil]. There are other health benefits in olive oil and perhaps at some later date I shall get into all that. The key to using the mono- and polyunsaturated oils is their heart healthy properties.

For now, let me tell you about the nut oils I will use in my Spring dressings. Not inexpensive, nut oils are made with crushed nuts that are roasted to a brown paste. During this process, some oil runs off and is collected, then the toasted paste is pressed using hydraulic pressure to separate out the remaining toasted oil from the nut solids. The run-off oil and the toasted oil are filtered, mixed and bottled. It is the heat that extracts the distinctive nutty aroma and flavor. Usually you can purchase small amounts of walnut, almond, pistachio and hazelnut oils. And that's good because of the price and the fact that a small amount of nut oil goes a long way.

Walnut Oil:- A polyunsaturated oil, which means you can cook with it [but at the cost, why would you?], walnut oil is not extracted under heat like the other nut oils. It is delicately walnutty in flavor and perfect for spring salads. Use it after roasting or grilling vegetables or meats to impart that uniquely walnut flavor, just don't use it for deep-frying or in the skillet. There are several brands of walnut oil out there. I like La Nogalera.

Almond Oil:- I first used almond oil [called almond douce or sweet almond oil and while made from almonds, not made using heat] for my herbal face cream recipes. It is delicate and light and didn't sit on the skin too long, making it feel greasy. But I never ate my creams. Think of using almond oil in recipes were almonds are an ingredient. So you could lightly oil the baking sheets or pans of almond cookies or almond cakes. Sole brushed with almond oil and then sprinkled with slivered almonds is very nice. Spectrum oils are organic and high quality.

Pistachio Oil:- Strong green in color and with the distinct pistachio flavor, this is a rarely used oil, but when used with citrus fruit, pears or some of the red and mahogany rices, it can be the one key ingredient. Roland Pistachio oil looks like it is produced domestically, but again La Tourangelle is very fine.

Hazelnut Oil:- More delicate than walnut oil, hazelnut is a monounsaturated, definitely not suited for frying, best used in dressings. For a real hit, combine a glaze or dressing made with hazelnut oil with toasted hazelnuts. It goes rancid fairly quickly, so buy in small quantities and store in a dark glass container [I just don't like plastic] in a cool place. Amazon sells La Tourangelle Roasted Hazelnut Oil but I would never use the three-pack before it turns.

Pecan and Macadamia Oils:- Keep in mind that the nut oils will be a more delicate aroma and flavor as the nuts from which they are pressed. La Tourangelle offers a Pecan oil and the Now brand is available online.

Watch for...Dress it Green Part Three: The Dressings

2009-04-06T23:27:00.000-04:00

Monday April 6, 2009

So now it seems that the good people over at Maine Food and Lifestyle blog love my Black Bean Tostadas from my latest cookbook, The Vegan Cook's Bible.