Eat Free. Live Free. G Free.  

Herbs for Gluten-Free Cooking by Carol Fenster

by info@gfreecuisine.com 19. April 2010 05:38
Fresh herbs make such a difference in our food! I’m not against dried herbs. In fact, they work better in certain recipes (such as long-simmering stews) because they don’t lose their pungency, but there’s nothing like fresh herbs. I have a pot of lentils stewing on the stove right now as I write this, and I tossed in a sprig of fresh dill. The smell is heavenly.

I know it seems ridiculously early to be thinking about growing your own herbs outdoors (we have snow predicted for tonight in Denver!), but it’s time to start planning which pots you’ll use, where to put the pots, and which herbs you’ll buy. Don’t wait until summer… the nice herbs are picked over and you miss out. Plus, we use fresh herbs at www.GfreeCuisine.com so you want to be ready to make those recipes.

Every spring I look forward to arranging pots of fresh herbs by my deck so I can quickly step out of my kitchen and snip what I want for the day. That’s me in the photo below doing just that.
 
Since fresh herbs cost about $2 to $4 per bunch in the grocery store, it pays to grow your own. And, some herbs come back each year. I have chives and tarragon peeking up in last year’s pots, ready to flavor my food already and it isn’t even May yet!

My pots also hold savory, basil, dill, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano, mint, lemon balm, and cilantro. When summer is over and the first frost is imminent, I dry whatever herbs are left and store them for the winter in glass jars.
 
During the summer, here are just a few of the ways that I use these fresh herbs:
-cilantro in Southwestern dishes like guacamole
-mint in green peas and my new favorite summer drink----mojitos
-basil in Panzanella (bread salad--one of my favorite recipes for summer when I can use  my home-grown grape tomatoes) (Recipe is in my book, 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes)
-thyme in poultry, salad dressings, and just about everything else since it's a favorite
-marjoram and oregano in Southwestern dishes and sauces
-rosemary with poultry and tossed with potatoes, spaghetti sauce, and any other way I can use it since I love the flavor. Snip the leaves off the woody stems and use the stems as skewers for grilling.
-any fresh herb can be mixed in with oil and vinegar to make vinaigrette
-I love making pesto from fresh herbs, especially basil. You'll find recipes for homemade pesto in most cookbooks. Pesto is best served soon after it is made because some herbs, such as basil, darken when exposed to air. You can pour a thin film of oil on top of pesto and refrigerate it to keep it until serving time.  Or, use a bit of fresh parsley to preserve the green color. I use pesto in vinaigrettes, tossed with hot cooked potatoes or vegetables, in potato salad, or in dips.  
-I make my own chicken, beef, and vegetable broth and using fresh herbs really makes them taste marvelous

So, dust off your green thumb and give home-grown herbs a try. They’ll reward you all summer long.

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags:

E-mail | Kick it! | DZone it! | del.icio.us
Permalink | Comments (122) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

Comments

Add comment


 

biuquote
  • Comment
  • Preview
Loading



About the Authors

Ann Bender & Karen Hutcherson
Marketers by profession, both Ann and Karen have a fondness for good food and healthy cooking. They understand the importance of the nightly family dinner and developed Relish! a premier menu-planning service (relishrelish.com). Relish! received hundreds of requests to offer the same type of service but to make it gluten-free. Because of the complexity of the product, they solicited the help of gluten-free cooking expert, Carol Fenster, to provide all of the recipes and many of her famous bread and dessert recipes!