Friday 18 April 2008

Herbs, herbs, herbs

picture: dille & kamille

Cooking with fresh herbs is my addiction (ok,ok, I do have other addictions but they are not the subject here!)

I adore the scent of fresh basil, rosemary or cilantro. And what about going with your hands through a bunch of lavender leaves and then smell your hands. Heavenly!
This is one of my favorite recipees, easy and soooo fresh, yummy! (a dipping sauce to combine with beef skewers for example):

Ingredients
:
1 cup of fresh basil leaves
1 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 small chile, seeded
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
1/2 cup of chunky peanut butter

In a food processor combine the basil, cilantro, mint, chile, garlic, fish sauce, lime sauce, and peanut butter and process until smooth. Transfer to a small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigarate until 30 minutes before serving (the dipping sauce can be made up to 1 day in advance). Try it and let me know if you liked it (or not...).

Water
: mint goes very well in bottles or jars with table water but why not trying something new? Use some basil in it. Gives a great, different flavor to the plain water (use a whole bunch of basil sprigs and just hang them in the jar!).

Herbs, for cooking but also for decorating: I often use herbs as table decoration: the huge rosemary sprigs that are for sale here are a wonderful possibility. And so is a little twig of basil combined with a neutral colour napkin.

Ok, one confession to make: I can't keep my herbs alive... I buy and buy and buy lots of plants in small containers, but after a week, they're brown, dead, not one single green leave is left. What do I do wrong? Too wet? Too dry? Tell me!

Have a spicy weekend & enjoy the sun!
Love, C.

9 comments:

Anja said...

Too dry!!!
Ja, echt hoor. Die kruidenplantjes bij mij in de vensterbank (zie album 'cucina') krijgen om de dag een sloot water waar je u tegen zegt. Wel heerlijk, dat moet ik je zeggen. Ik heb nu ook Artisjok in mn vensterbank staan, voor decoratie... oogst nogal wat commentaar :)

stadtgarten said...

I love herbs, too. Thanks for the recipe of the dipping sauce, it sounds delicous and I will try it as soon as I have enough grown herbs in the garden (it still is very cold and wintery here)
I Think it is no wonder that the herbs that you buy in supermarkets don't last - they are not made to cultivate them. We have had currently an article in our newspaper about those pots with herbs. You can only cultivate them if you give them new soil directly when you bring them home.
Good luck with the next ones!
Have a nice weekend, groetjes, Monika

Roelina said...

Dat recept lijkt me erg lekker!
Wat je kruiden betreft bij mij gaan ze ook altijd snel dood. Dus ik heb geen tip voor je.

fijn weekend,

Groetjes Roelina

Splashes of Pink and Mint said...

Yummie, klinkt heerlijk!!! Bedankt voor je culinaire bijdrage!

Solange said...

Dat ziet er goed uit.
Ik net ook even de voorgaande post bekeken, die had it gemist en ik moet zeggen dat het oranje feest er heel goed uit zag! Mooie foto's en die tafel is mooi gedekt.

Wat fijn zeg al dat personeel, heerlijk! maar ik snap wat je bedoelt van de mensen in huis. Ik heb een werkster en het is erg prettig, maar toch, als je je huis voor jezelf hebt, is dat lekker rustig he?

geniet lekker van je eten en dank je voor het recept!

Solange

The Farrier's Daughter said...

Your blog is so lovely. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a message-I love to have new visitors!

A home far away said...

Hi!
I am glad you liked the picture of HImla and yes it is a shop with beautiful thingsHere is the adress: www.himla.se

Have a good weekend!
Hugs from Singapore

Siliani said...

Olá, adorei seu Blog, mas tem uma coinsidência incrível,a muito tempo atrás conheci uma menininha que se chamava Chantal que veio da Holanda para o Brasil e morrou ao lado da minha casa por muito pouco tempo.Por um acaso vc nunca morrou em Apiúna Santa Catarina?Passa no meu blog vou adorar sua visita.Beijos

Vivian said...

Ola!! Adorei o teu blog
Sobre o fato dos seus vasinhos de ervas morrerem, olha nao se preocupa, eles tem mesmo uma vida util... mas procure nao molhar muito. Uma vez por semana um pouco de agua esta de bom tamanho. Outra coisa, geralmente esas ervas gostam de muito sol, a hortela por exemplo, quando eu plantei aqui em casa, ela so vingou no sol, plantei uma muda embaixo de uma sombra e ela nao viveu muitos dias rs
bjos

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