COOKING WITH HERBS

Nana's Penne with Basil

Early in the day - Bring 2 quarts of salted water to boil in a large kettle. While the water is coming to the boil: Mix together in a medium serving bowl:

3/4 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar
1 finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Leave the dressing flavors to meld. Cook one 12 oz. package penne (or another macaroni shape of your choice) in the boiling water, according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool to the touch. Mix cooled pasta into dressing, coating thoroughly. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Try it with fried chicken or grilled steak and hearty slices of garden tomatoes! Add ears of fresh picked sweet corn and crusty bread and you'll serve a July meal straight from Nana's kitchen. We like this salad with most summer meals, and although any that's leftover is fine next day, we think it tastes best fresh.

Marinara Sauce

For 4 servings you will need:

1/2 cup good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp. finely chopped FRESH parsley
3 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot or sweet white onion
3 cups peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. Finely-chopped FRESH basil

Heat a large sauce pan. Add oil and garlic and sauté just until garlic becomes transparent (2 to 3 minutes). Add parsley, onion, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in basil. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta dishes. This sauce freezes quite well so when the counter is overflowing with ripe tomatoes it's a quick way to preserve them. We love it for pasta and pizza sauce in winter.

Cold Beef with Mustard Sauce, sliced garden tomatoes and corn on the cob. Yum!

Cold Beef with Mustard Sauce

For 4 servings you will need:

1 1/2 lbs. Top round or beef shoulder steak about 1-inch thick

Cook as desired, in a greased heavy skillet, or on the grill. 20 minutes for medium rare, 22 to 25 minutes for medium. Place meat on a platter. Let rest until barely cooled and slice across the grain into 1/2-inch slices.

Meanwhile prepare sauce:

2 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
2 Tbsp. Red wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 green onions with tops, thinly slices
1 banana pepper, seeded and finely-chopped
1/2 cup sour cream (substitute low-fat yogurt as dietary needs require)

Whisk together mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. Add pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until thoroughly incorporated. Add pepper, green onions and sour cream. Stir gently to mix. Drizzle some over the sliced steak. Serve with sliced ripe tomatoes, corn on the cob and the remaining sauce in a bowl on side.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Dumplings

For 6 to 8 Servings:
4 1/2 to 5 pound stewing hen, cut up
     (we often use breast pieces or thighs and legs)
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
    Wash chicken pieces and pat dry. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Toss in the chicken and coat thoroughly. Heat a think layer of shortening or salad oil in a large skillet; brown chicken on all sides. Drain off fat.

1 can Swanson's Chicken Broth
1 small onion - sliced
1 or 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
     To the skillet, add broth, sliced onion, lemon juice and rosemary sprigs. Cover tightly and cook chicken slowly until fork tender, slowly adding water if necessary to maintain liquid level at about 2/3 of original. A stewing hen may take 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Fryer pieces as little as 45 minutes to an hour. When chicken is done; remove chicken from liquid, discard, rosemary sprig, taste broth and adjust seasoning if needed. Add milk or water to raise liquid level to approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Return chicken to liquid.
    Prepare dough for dumplings; drop by spoonfuls into hot liquid. Cook uncovered 10 minutes; cover and cook another 10 to 20 minutes until fluffy.

DUMPLINGS
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup milk
    Measure flour, baking powder and salt into bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture looks like meal. Stir in milk.

Perfect Thyme Roasted Chicken

A good sized chicken
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, separated
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
6 or 8 red new potatoes, cut in half
(peel them if you want to, it's not necessary.
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Prepare the chicken for roasting: salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with a bunch of fresh thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Rub chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Layer the onions, potatoes and carrots in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, about a tablespoon of thyme leaves and olive oil. Turn the vegetables to coat with oil and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for about an hour and a half, or until the juices run clear when you insert a fork between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.

Country Baked Beef Pie

1 pound stewing beef, cubed
   Flour
1/2 tomato chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 tsp. chopped lemon thyme
   Clove of garlic
   Worcestershire Sauce
   A-1 Sauce
   Salt and pepper
Pastry crust

Dredge cubes of beef in flour and braise in the oven in an uncovered pan. Sauté tomato, onions, carrots, and clove of garlic in a skillet; add with chopped fresh thyme, to the braised beef. Cover with water and stew until tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, A-1 Sauce and/or Worchestershire Sauce. Place in a pie dish and cover with pastry crust. Bake until golden brown. Serve piping hot.

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life,
when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
                 Charles Kingsley

My Great Aunt Mattie made the best pickles in the world! As summer wended it's way into fruitful early autumn, while the cucumbers still produced abundantly and the dill weed had set seeds she made enough pickles to carry through the winter. Auntie would enthusiastically check her garden every morning; then depending on quantity and size available start a batch of pickles before the rest of the day's work got underway.

Today all that's needed to serve a dish of pickles with dinner is a trip to the supermarket. Trust me when I tell you - it's just not the same at all.

If you're interested in trying this old fashioned treat yourself - here are a few of Auntie's best pickle recipes.

Bread & Butter Pickles:

25 to 30 medium size cucumbers
8 onions and two sweet green peppers
1/2 cup pickling salt
Wash cukes, slice thin. Chop onions and peppers. Combine with cukes and salt and let stand 3 hours.
Cook together:
5 cups vinegar
5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Bring to a boil, add drained cukes, heat but do not boil.
Pack in jars and seal.

Dill Pickles:

Wash and pack cukes in jars with a generous stalk of dill weed, one bay leaf, one garlic button, one small red pepper and a generous shake of cracked black pepper in the bottom.
Boil: 6 quarts of water, 1 quart of vinegar, 1 heaping teaspoon powder alum.
Pour over packed pickles and seal.
Turn upside down till cool

Sweet Pickles:

Peel large cucumbers (picked before yellow). Cut in quarters and scrape out the seeds. Soak in weak brine over night, drain good and scald in boiling water. Then pack in jars. Make a syrup of one quart vinegar and two pounds of sugar. Add any kind of spices. Fill jars with boiling syrup and seal.

Sweet Cucumber Slices:

About 15 long cukes, or use more of the short type (not too mature). For 4 successive mornings pour boiling water on them. On the 5th morning, slice cukes fairly thin and cover with this syrup:
1 quart vinegar
8 cups sugar
2 tsp. salt
few drops green coloring
2 tsp. pickling spices
1 stick of cinnamon
Tie spices loosely in a bag. Boil the syrup and pour over slices: do this for 3 mornings. On the 4th morning, bring pickle slices and syrup to a boil. Pack in jars and seal.

A couple of thoughts - HOT liquids and sterilized jars are a must in the process but none of the old hand written recipes say anything about safety issues. Generations of women canned and they just knew how to do it, because their mothers and grandmothers taught them how. Today we get pickles at the store and what's a brine anyway?

If you have questions or concerns this link can help www.homecanning.com/