Food 'n Drink » Herbs http://www.eatndrink.net Food and Drink Meanderings Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:32:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 My Hate of Parsley http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/04/my-hate-of-parsley/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/04/my-hate-of-parsley/#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2007 16:54:59 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/04/my-hate-of-parsley/ Parsley If my food heaven is Ice Cream, then my food hell has to be Parsley. Well okay there are others too, but the one that annoys me so much is Parsley. Why? First off I can’t stand the taste. Usually I would avoid foods I don’t like, or they’re usually big enough to take out of my food, eg. Mushrooms. However recently, when we’ve been eating out in restaurants, I’m seeing more and more parsley being chopped up and thrown over food, regardless of what it is. This makes life a lot harder to take it out of my food as it’s chopped small and there’s too much of it. However, despite it being so small it still manages to over power the food and sometimes ruin the taste.

Why oh why do chefs feel the need to put it on everything? A sprig of parsley is fine, I can pick that off in one go, but it seems like flat leaf parsley is the fashion and it needs to be chopped and added to every meal. I’m quite suprised they don’t put it on your dessert too.

Why not ask for it to not be added? Because I feel stupid saying ‘oh and if you put parsley on your meals could you not on mine please’. It doesn’t state that parsley is added to the dinner, so I often don’t even think about it and to be honest it sounds a bit arrogant to say that without the knowledge of whether it’ll be on the food. Then of course, by the time you get your meal the last thing you want to do is send it back and ask for another minus the parsley. It’s about as bad as the other week when I ordered a Steak and Ale Pie and found carrot and mushrooms in it too. Steak and Ale pie doesn’t have veg in, especially veg I can’t stand (cannot stand over done carrots whatsoever).

Chefs listen up, get all ingredients on your menus, put parsley in a jar as a seasoning for people to add similar to salt and pepper. Don’t assume everyone likes it cos it’s just ruining your food!

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/04/my-hate-of-parsley/feed/ 0 Preparing for Summer http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/01/preparing-for-summer/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/01/preparing-for-summer/#comments Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:52:59 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/01/preparing-for-summer/ Leaf Today we’ve been out at the local garden centre to pick a few things up (and for me to gaze at the Cockateils!). We got some seeds for a couple of types of Chillis, Spring Onions, Radishes and also some Red Onions. We’d already decided that we weren’t going to grow Potatoes this year. They require a lot of space which we don’t have, and the only patch we have free is north of a hedge so besides the high sun in the summer, most of the patch will never get any direct sunlight.

So instead we decided to use the front of this patch for chilli plants and then to cover the rest with gravel to keep it looking neat. We’ll also put some more chilli plants in to the bed which has garlic and shallots there at present. These will be taken up towards the end of June so the Chillis can stay in pots until then and should be perfectly happy going into the beds then.

I’m looking forward to the garden this summer. Last year I concentrated on just a few things and wasn’t aware of what else we could do but this year I’m hoping to really get some worth out of the effort I’ve put in. I’m looking forward to being able to sit out in the garden in the evening and enjoying the sights around me (obviously after we’ve been out for a 10 mile bike ride!).

I’ve also got my herb garden up and running now. Coriander, Basil, Chives and Thyme are all planted and sitting in a mini garden box in the kitchen by the back door. I’ll move it to the greenhouse once all of these winds die down and I know it won’t blow away! That’s providing the remains of the fence is still there (most of it has blown away!!).

What are you planning to grow this year? Would love to hear about the less ‘normal’ plants and food being grown. Sometimes you don’t realise what you can grow in this country until someone else they’ve grown it.

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2007/01/preparing-for-summer/feed/ 0 Cookbooks Galore! http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/cookbooks-galore/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/cookbooks-galore/#comments Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:56:01 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/cookbooks-galore/ Books I managed to end up with 4 cookery books and a book on herbs for Christmas this year. Boring to some but it’s great from my point of view! My favourite has to be the River Cottage Cookbook as it’s more than just a cookbook, it also briefly covers info on gardening and also when to expect which fruit and veg throughout the year which is handy to know what to expect is fresh and what is most likely past its freshness (like the ‘fresh’ Asparagus on our supermarket shelves right now!).

The other books included a book on keeping a Herb Garden, Jamie Oliver’s new book, Ainsley Harriot’s cookbook and a 1000 recipes book. Unfortunately no Gordon Ramsey so I’ll just have to have a look through his myself and pick the best one to get :)

I also got a jar of the dry ingredients for making double chocolate chip muffins off Dave’s neice Ashleigh who had come with us to the Farmer’s Market in Chester at the start of December and bought the jar from there. A good idea (I mean the jar, but it’s a good idea as a present for me too!!) as the jar is quite decorative but just needs some basic extras such as egg, water, butter to make the muffins. Can’t wait to have a go with those!

Hope you all got some good foodie presents for Christmas.

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/cookbooks-galore/feed/ 0 Shallots are Growing! http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/shallots-are-growing/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/shallots-are-growing/#comments Sat, 02 Dec 2006 21:45:56 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/shallots-are-growing/ Shallots Had a look out in the Garden today (braved the cold weather for a minute!) and saw shoots from a couple of the shallots coming up, about 2 inches high. Woohoo a couple are already showing! The others along with the garlic should be coming through soon. It seems strange watching some stuff grow whilst the other is still dying off but I guess that’s the life-cycle of a garden.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to start on my indoor herb garden to get some new herbs started ready for moving outside in the spring. I’ve got seeds for Basil, Coriander, Fennel and Thyme. I may run through my herb directory and see what else I could grow that I’d find a use for. All suggestions gratefully received!

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/12/shallots-are-growing/feed/ 0 Review of the Good Food Show http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/11/review-of-the-good-food-show/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/11/review-of-the-good-food-show/#comments Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:43:10 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/11/review-of-the-good-food-show/ The Good Food Show started today for a 3 day show in London. We arrived just before 11am and the hall was already half full. However there were plenty of stalls there for everyone. We took a wander around the ground floor, watched a few demos and then had some lunch. Then wandered around the food stalls up on the gallery and then went back to the ground floor to do some shopping!

So what’s there? There were a selection of stalls selling gadgets and equipment. The best buy has to be the Chamy cloths for sale. The guy demoing these showed just how much water these cloths soaked up without even trying. Not just on smooth surfaces but off a piece of carpet too. Each pack came with two large cloths and a smaller window cloth for £10 and it was buy one get one free. There were other various equipment for sale. Knives for sale (although one sales pitch was for a knife for £20 which looks and sounds identical to the one that is being advertised on TV at present for £3.99 from Woolworths!), kitchen pots and pans, a nice look Magimix stall (I do fancy one of those!!) and also a stall selling the air free vacuum boxes. I bought a two set of these boxes which can be divided in up to 4 compartments each, for just £10. For anyone who doesn’t know what these boxes are they are simply storage boxes but you pump the air out by using a little handle, and then it seals the box and prolongs the shelf life of the food by at least double the usual amount of time. I figured that being able to keep fresh food fresher for longer would be very handy, especially come next summer with growing and picking our own. My parents have similar boxes and have been very impressed.

There were plenty of stalls for taste testing, also several stalls cooking and selling food such as turkey rolls, bacon rolls, sausages, burgers and more. There were also a fair few wine stalls and a few spirits stalls too. During the day I’ve tried chocolate covered sesame seeds (like smarties!), chilli jam (set my tongue on fire), organic roast chicken, chocolate dipped in a cherry balsamic vinegar, fresh danish pastry, a Baileys type drink (I forget the name now!), various wines and sausages. I bought Dave a bottle of the hottest chilli sauce I could find (I had to take the stall owner’s word for it as I wasn’t prepared to try it!) and we bought my Dad some Olives stuffed with anchovies (he liked them so that was good!). There was plenty more that I could have bought but until I have my own kitchen I’d just rather eye up a lot of stuff and plan my future haven!

I was a bit unhappy that I didn’t get to find either of the things I’m after. A stainless steel drum food grater for use with small items such as garlic and it’s especially good for parmesan cheese – we used to eat lunch in Bella Pasta now and then in Cardiff and they used one of these for the parmesan. Much safer on the fingers and it looks good too! The other item I’m after is a chef’s white jacket, short sleeved. I have a long sleeved one however it’s a little big and baggy for me now. I’d hoped to have perhaps found a stall selling aprons and perhaps a couple of jackets as I’m constantly ruining clothes when cooking with oil or tomato (the usual culprits). I know I could probably find one online however I’d rather be able to try it on first as I don’t have the easiest shape to fit (I’m a woman afterall ;) ). However, I’ll continue looking for these out in town. I’m due for a shopping trip in Liverpool at the end of this month with a friend so I’m sure we’ll have a look around and see if we can find anything there.

So all in all a good day. The only downside is that it was quite busy probably due to it only being 3 days long (and it being the first day of the show too). Also a lot of the food for sale was quite expensive – £3 for a bacon roll. Probably needs to be to cover the cost of space at the show. If you’re off there this weekend I recommend the Chamy cloth bloke and the air tight vacuum boxes. Oh and of course, have fun ;)

Forgot to mention, I also bought some Fennel herb seeds so I’ll be seeing if I can grow these indoors over the winter ready for moving outside in the spring :)

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/11/review-of-the-good-food-show/feed/ 4 New Herb Additions http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/10/new-herb-additions/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/10/new-herb-additions/#comments Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:35:15 +0000 Sarah http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/10/new-herb-additions/ Out in Oxford on Friday I came across a shop that had a Bay Leaf Tree for sale outside. Whilst I didn’t have this on my list of herbs wanted my Mum happened to mention that my Uncle had one in his garden. Considering the tree was for sale at £17 I figured I’d rather have a few free cuttings off his! So today he came over with a large branch (apparently the tree is two storeys high!), as well as some Thyme (one of my wants) and lastly a Curry Leaf Herb, more commonly known as Strawflower.

So thanks to my Dad I’ve got these cuttings all potted up, plus I’m getting some Lemon Balm off him as well, which will all just add to my herb garden :) All I need is some Fennel now and I’ll be sorted! Have to say, the Bay Leave on it’s own comes across as a normal leaf, but the minute you break it and smell the aroma it’s an amazing smell, I’ve never smelt Bay leaves before and I was quite impressed with the smell from them. I certainly can’t wait to cook with them :)

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/10/new-herb-additions/feed/ 0 Growing Rocket Indoors http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/growing-rocket-indoors/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/growing-rocket-indoors/#comments Sat, 16 Sep 2006 09:21:26 +0000 Sarah http://www.dietspot.co.uk/2006/09/growing-rocket-indoors/ With the summer seeming like it’s given up now for the rest of the year my lettuce and rocket have not really been happy. I’ve had lettuces out in the garden since July and they’re just not growing like they should, and are clearly now too far gone to eat. The lack of sun has really killed off the salad growing, only the tomatoes are still happy! Most of the rocket I started growing at the end of July has either been stripped by caterpillars or just died off. So I’m going to have a go at growing the rocket indoors, as this is such a great herb to have growing to add to salads and sandwiches. Hopfully I can get some special matting which will hold water so that the roots are always kept moist, and if it’s placed in a window that gets the sun I’m hoping it will thrive with the warm and sunshine and obviously no rain (or butterflies!).

If I’ve got space I’ll also try doing some mixed leaves or little gems as well, as they both say they can be grown in pots. It may be a slower process but if it means we can grow lettuces for a couple more months then it’ll be worth it.

I’m also going to look into growing Watercress after a post on Eating Britain about Home Grown Watercress. Watercress is really good for you and is great to use in salads, sandwiches and even smoothies. Plus the heightened calcium content can also aid in Weightloss.

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/growing-rocket-indoors/feed/ 4 Roasted Plaice with Cherry Tomatoes http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/roasted-plaice-with-cherry-tomatoes/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/roasted-plaice-with-cherry-tomatoes/#comments Thu, 07 Sep 2006 07:53:01 +0000 Sarah http://www.dietspot.co.uk/2006/09/roasted-plaice-with-cherry-tomatoes/ I cooked this dish last week and have to say I’ve never tried roasting fish before but it was a nice change to the usual grill or pan fry methods.

Need:
1 fillet of Plaice per person
Half a garlic clove per fillet
Spring Onion
Cherry Tomatoes
Fine Beans
Basil Leaves
Olive Oil
Dry White Wine
Fresh Baguette
Fresh lemon

Wash the plaice and score the skin side 2-3 times diagonally. Place the fillets in a roasting dish. Slice the garlic and sprinkle over the Plaice. Roughly chop the basil and sprinkle over the fish too. Then add the spring onions, chopped, and cherry tomatoes. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil, and cook in an oven at 180 deg C for 15 minutes. During this time blanche any veg you may wish to add, fine beans and asparagus are good choices. After 15 minutes add the blanched veg and 5 table spoons of the dryest white wine you have (the sweet it is the more you’ll taste it, so this is purely a matter of personal taste, however a dry white wine will usually produce a better result). Roast for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with a wedge of lemon and freshly cut baguette and don’t forget to finish off the opened bottle of wine!

I found that the basil gave the fish such an amazing taste. The basil wasn’t too overpowering at all and really complimented the fish well. Of course this dish can be done with any flat fish such as Lemon Sole.

Diet variations:
Atkins – use the absolute dryest wine possible as this will contain less carbohydrates. Also you may wish to go for something other than tomatoes as these can be quiet sweet and higher in sugar. Red pepper is a good alternative. Of course, omit the baguette.

GI Plan – Similar to the Atkins diet, dryest wine and omit the baguette. Add more veg to it to compensate for the lack of bread.

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/09/roasted-plaice-with-cherry-tomatoes/feed/ 0 Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/06/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-salad/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/06/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-salad/#comments Wed, 28 Jun 2006 08:35:12 +0000 Sarah http://www.dietspot.co.uk/2006/06/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-salad/ Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil SaladTomatoes on their own can get a bit boring after a while, but these days you can walk into a supermarket and pick up a small box of Mozzarella balls/pearls or even a block (if you plan to use a lot or perhaps make pizza another day) and easily spice up the tomatoes into a nice little salad that goes great with a main meal or part of a bigger salad.

You need
Plum or Cherry Tomatoes (ideally but any tomato will do)
Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella – Balls or Pearls are the easiest but a block will do, cut into chunks
Handful of Fresh Basil leaves

Method
Depending on the size of the tomatoes, cut into cubes. For most plum tomatoes just cut into quarters, for cherry tomatoes either leave whole or cut in half. Do the same with the mozzarella block, if you just have balls or pearls, leave them whole. Then chop the basil leaves into half or quarters, depending on their size. Then simply mix together in a small bowl and serve fresh.

It’s very simple but tastes great.

]]> http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/06/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-salad/feed/ 0 Potato Salad http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/06/potato-salad/ http://www.eatndrink.net/2006/06/potato-salad/#comments Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:58:53 +0000 Sarah http://www.dietspot.co.uk/2006/06/potato-salad/ In my opinion, shop bought potato salad is just not worthwhile. The potato seems undercooked and more powdery/bitty than real potato salad should be. So during the summer, when I fancy potato salad I’ll cook up my own. New potatoes are in the shops from around April/May time. The smaller the better but midsize ones are okay too, you just have to cut them down to size. Potato salad is so versatile it goes with virtually everything. I think of summer dinners and I can see a bowl of potato salad on the table. BBQs, Quiche, Steak, Chicken dinners, Fish, and more. In fact potato salad is so good it can just be eaten with some salad.

You need:
New potatoes, baby new potatoes are best but anything small and ideal is fine. Keep the skins on.
Mayonnaise – personally I prefer Hellmans, original or Light goes fine
Some olive oil
A handful of fresh Chives

Method:
Boil the potatoes in water, in their skins. New potatoes do not go as soft as winter potatoes so use a skewer or sharp point of a knife to check on them. When the skewer goes through semi easily then they’re ready. Allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes. You can cook up a batch and leave the rest in the fridge if you wish. Potato salad can be made from semi warm potatoes and cold potatoes. Once they’ve cooled, put the small ones into a bowl and chop the larger ones to smaller manageable sizes and place them in the bowl too. Then chop your chives in 0.5-1cm long sections. Put all of the chives into the bowl with the potatoes. Then drizzle over some olive oil and add a little mayonnaise.

Depending on how many potatoes you have depends on how much oil and mayonnaise you need. Why the oil? The oil means you can use less mayonnaise which can sometimes have an overpowering flavour. You could also mix a little sourcream in with the mayonnaise as this gives a creamier taste.

The chives in this dish really make a difference. I’ve never tried garlic chives in it however normal chives gives a little hint of an onion taste. Perfect for any meal with salad.

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