Weekend Herb Blogging - Lemon Balm Iced Tea

Several years ago I planted a little tiny seedling of lemon balm in a partly shady spot next to my bridal wreath spirea. I thought that it might be nice for garnishes and I had heard that the lemon scent deters mosquitoes. Now, left unchecked, my lemon balm grows to the size of a small shrub each year and I scramble to cut it back every few days before it eclipses the plants around it. Last year, while I was unawares, it totally enveloped a small cottoneaster and killed it. Gardening, as I have learned, is no place for the faint hearted.

This year I have vowed to keep on top of this vigorous herb and use it as generously as I can.

For my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, a fabulous tradition of honouring herbs by Kalyn of Kayln's Kitchen, I have made Lemon Balm Iced Tea. This week's round-up is hosted by Cate from Sweetnicks, check out her site for more fabulous recipes starring herbs.

I feel that I must make an aside here. I have heard that iced tea is serious business in the southern United States and much debate is made on how to do it best. Here in Canada, I am sheltered from formal iced tea argument and have just brewed it in a manner that made sense to me at the time.

Lemon Balm Iced Tea

In a medium sized pot, add 7 cups cold water.

From your garden, cut down 2 giant fistfulls of lemon balm and rinse well, discarding tougher stems.

Add to the pot of water.

Add 1/2 cup of sugar or to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add 2 black tea bags.

Let steep on the counter for another 10 minutes and strain.

Allow to cool and refrigerate until cold.

Serve over lots of ice with lemon and a fresh sprig of lemon balm.

Any special dietary needs can be met by switching the sugar for your favourite sweetener.

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For this week's round-up click here.

Sugar High Fridays - Cranberry Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze

Sugar High Fridays -
Well who could resist a title like that? This is the name of the monthly challenge originated by Jennifer the Domestic Goddess. Hosted in May by Tartlette, the theme of the month is Citrus. This is more than okay with me as I am the rare type of girl who will take citrus over chocolate any day. Sorry if this offends anyone - especially you, Sheila. Friends anyway?

For this event I have made cupcakes. It is such a beautiful day today, these are just perfect for eating on the deck with a cup of tea while the puppies nose around for crumbs.

Cranberry Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze

From 125 Best Cupcake Recipes - by Julie Hasson

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line one regular 12 cup muffin pan with papers

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest
¼ tsp lemon oil or extract
½ cup milk
1 cup dried cranberries

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking powder.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs, lemon zest and lemon oil until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and milk, making three additions of the flour and two of the milk, beating until smooth. Stir in cranberries.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in pan and then on rack until completely cool. Glaze.

Lemon Glaze
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon
Whisk until smooth, drizzle over cooled cupcakes.

I topped the cupcakes with some edible flowers from a jar that was given to me. If I had some blueberries, they would be good too.

GYO, Grow Your Own - Herb Focaccia

I was very excited by the Grow Your Own challenge given by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. Growing food at my little tiny home with the little tiny yard has been one of the greatest rewards of moving to a house. There was really only so much I could do in a city apartment and I never seemed to be facing the right direction to keep windowsill herbs alive.

This year, like last year, I have gone overboard with my tomatoes and hot peppers (I gave up on sweet peppers as the bugs liked them too much) I am guilty of planting too many, too close, but somehow they produce nicely for me anyway. The only problem is that here in Southern Ontario, I won't see the fruits of my labour until August. Sigh.

Which leaves me with... Herbs! Well, there are greens too but they are a bit small yet. The herbs are lusty and verdant and just waiting to be of use so for this GYO I have baked up a Herb Focaccia to showcase the spring upstarts. Herbs are featured in the dough and as a topping.

Herb Focaccia

Dough
1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 package traditional dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil*

1 tsp kosher salt

1 generous cup chopped fresh herbs - I used chives and oregano

In mixer bowl, combine water and yeast with rubber spatula. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix with dough hook on medium for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can knead by hand. Dough will be sticky.

Scrape into oiled bowl, turn dough to oil all over and cover with a tea towel and let rise 1 hour.

Meanwhile - Cut 1 purple onion in half and slice each half thinly. Put aside with a generous amount of dry thyme leaves and rosemary.

When the dough has risen, oil a cookie sheet and press out with your fingers to get a dimpled effect. Put on your onion slices, rosemary and thyme. Press these into the dough with your fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil* and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let rise 1/2 hour on the counter.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes, until crispy on the bottom and edges.

*I like to use a garlic infused olive oil. I just take 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 head garlic, peeled, and put them in a small oven proof vessel with a lid at 400 for 1/2 hour. Let cool and discard garlic.

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What all did I grow for this recipe? Oregano, thyme (dried from last year's garden) chives and rosemary.

It's Up!

Only one week after Mother's Day, my shiny new pot rack is up. Two short weeks ago this was a pile of lumber, dowels, chain and hooks. But due to the magic of hubby, it has been transformed into my first pot rack. We had planned years ago to put one up over the island but it got put off as a fan seemed more important.
Hubs noticed that Laura Calder had one by her window on French Food at Home and got the idea to put it there. If you'll notice, he even left room for a little shelf at the top for my beloved Nordic Ware bundt pans. How thoughtful.
There is no limit to the dedication that man has for the woman, and the kitchen, that has fed him so well.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Lemon Parsley Lentil Soup

For my contribution to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, I have recreated a lemony parsley lentil soup that I had about 20 years ago in a falafel shop. I know that 20 years is a long time to think about a soup and really too long for a self confessed foodie to try to recreate an enjoyable recipe, but sometimes it takes a little shove, like from Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen - mother of weekend herb blogging - to take a long hard look at the parsley growing in my garden and think of what would best showcase it on this cool, rainy weekend.
This soup was a big hit with my family, especially with my daughter, the semi-vegetarian, who's favorite food happens to be lentils. I kid you not. I served it with some caraway rye rolls but any hearty bread would be a nice accompaniment. The stand out part of this soup is that the fresh elements - the parsley, lemon, tomato and garlic - are added at the end, maintaining their bright, bold flavours.

This week's Weekend Herb Blogging host is Gay from A Scientist in the Kitchen. Check out her site to find some yummy dishes from around the world starring herbs.

Lemon Parsley Lentil Soup - serves 4-6
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 rib celery, sliced
1 large carrot, diced
1 tsp salt
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or a mix of the two.
1 cup lentils
1 diced tomato
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped parsley
Black pepper

Rinse and pick over lentils.
In a small soup pot, heat vegetable oil on medium/high.
Add onions. Sauté until soft and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add celery, carrots and 1 tsp salt. Sauté 5 minutes more.
Add stock and bring to a boil.
Add lentils and bring back to a boil.
Drop heat to gentle simmer and simmer until soft, about ½ hour.
Add tomato and garlic, heat through. Add lemon juice and parsley, heat through.
Season to taste and serve.

Wikipedia -Parsley, Companion plant
Parsley is widely used as a companion plant in gardens. Like many other umbellifers, it attracts predatory insects, including wasps and predatory flies to gardens, which then tend to protect plants nearby. They are especially useful for protecting tomato plants, for example the wasps that kill tomato hornworms also eat nectar from parsley. While parsley is biennial, not blooming until its second year, even in its first year it is reputed to help cover up the strong scent of the tomato plant, reducing pest attraction.

Check out the round-up for Weekend Herb Blogging #133 to see what else is cooking!

Michael Smith's Banana Brownies

The Barefoot Contessa, my personal idol, won over her hubby, Jeffrey, with brownies. There is something about a moist, dense brownie that pleases the senses like cake cannot. They are over the top, hedonistic, reach for a drink desserts. This month's Food Network Canada Cooking Club Challenge is Michael Smith's Banana Brownies - and who am I to turn down a challenge? Besides, it contains bananas, it's practically health food.

Michael Smith’s Banana Brownies
Yield: 12
“A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour; you have to add your own!” Michael Smith.
Who can argue with that?

Ingredients:
1 lb. dark chocolate
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter
4 x eggs
4 x ripe bananas
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a small bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
In a separate bowl, mash together the eggs and bananas. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder and stir to combine. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and stir.
Butter and flour an 8” by 8” baking dish and pour in the batter. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the brownies are firm to the touch.
Note: Yields 8 large or 12 small brownies.
I followed the directions as they were, I just used chocolate chips rather than dark chocolate as they cost far less. Use what you like.
I did put parchment in the pan after buttering it and then buttered the parchment too. I left a little sticking up to use as handles to pull the brownies easily out of the pan after they had cooled a bit. Finish cooling on a rack before slicing. Then share with those you love. Or those you want to love. Maybe you'll win someone over.

Blog Party - Buffy Bash

This is the invitation to the 34th blog party, hosted by the magical Happy Sorceress at Dispensing Happiness.
I was immediately excited about this blog party as I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I used to watch it every week with my daughter. At some point she felt that she grew out of it but I kept on watching. I even bought her the figurines which she has kept in the packages and is hoping for future resale value!
Here, posing with the figurines, is my contribution to the Blog Party Buffy Bash.

Buffy Bash Cocktail
The Spiked SunnyDale (Spike-d SunnyD-ale) A very good cocktail to ease the stress of slaying and dating the undead.

In a brandy or cocktail glass,
½ cup ice cubes
Splash of grenadine and a maraschino cherry for colour, let it settle on the bottom.
1 oz white rum
1 ½ oz Sunny D
1 ½ oz ginger ale
Garnish with a coloured straw and something fruity
You can leave out the rum for an un-Spike-d SunnyD-ale.

I came up with this drink in the bathtub, trying to free-associate Buffy with alcohol.
Xander, Willow, The Master, vampire, hell mouth, witch, werewolf, Angel, the Bronze, Sunnydale -SunnyD-ale! Spike-d SunnyD-ale!
Ha! I slay me. I really do.
Poor hubby then got dispatched to the store for SunnyD - which we had only seen in commercials, who knew that there were different kinds? We used tangy original.
He was then rewarded with a refreshing glass of Spiked Sunnydale so all was well.
For the appetizer to go with it I went for a simple grilled chicken tender on a stake with a strawberry, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. A light appetizer to keep you in fighting shape.
I grilled the chicken tenders - just seasoned with salt and pepper - on a separate skewer and let cool. Then I threaded one on each bamboo stake (skewer) with a strawberry and drizzled both with balsamic vinegar. The strawberries have the added benefit of looking like human hearts but you shouldn’t dwell on that while you are eating them.

Go take a look at the Buffy Bash round up to see what the others are making...