Herbs!

[Scythe Matters]

I cook a lot with herbs since I grow my own (hey - that's not what I meant and you know it!). So I thought we need a thread on herbs and how to use them.

First off, a wonderful herb I've discovered; lemon thyme. It grows easily and is pretty hardy. It will die back in the winter but will come back in the spring. It has a wonderful lemon scent and can be used to make a soothing tea. But it's shining moment comes when paired with chicken or white fish. It is a perfect accompaniment. You can just lay sprigs on top and bake as usual. Or strip the tiny leaves off the stem and sprinkle them over the dish. Or - and this is the best - make lemon thyme butter.

Take a stick of butter and let it soften while you grind the leaves very fine (I have a Bullet mixer and it works wonderfully). Then just add about 1 tablespoon of the thyme to the butter (to taste). Use this on fish, chicken, turkey, veal... and mild protein. It's also tasty melted over veggies.

You can even make a jelly out of it! Wonderful for the middle of winter, it will remind you of summer with every bite. Here's a simple recipe (can be used for any herb jelly):

Gather about 2 cups of fresh herb leaves. Wash and drain them, then coarsely chop and macerate them then place in a medium saucepan. Use the bottom of a glass to crush and macerate the leaves. Add 2 cups of water, bring slowly to a boil, and boil for just 10 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes to release the herb leaves essential flavor.

Strain 1 1/2 cups of this liquid from the pan and pour through the strainer (I add cheesecloth to it to make sure) again into another large, deep saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of plain (unseasoned) rice vinegar (if you can't find rice vinegar, use regular distilled vinegar), a pinch of salt and 3 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. Bring the mixture to a hard boil, stirring constantly. Once the boil reaches the rolling stage, add 3 ounces of liquid pectin. (I use Certo brand). Return this to a hard boil and cook for exactly one minute, then remove saucepan from the heat.

Skim off any foam and pour the hot jelly into 4 hot, sterilized 1/2 pint jelly jars. Leave 1/2 inch head space and seal at once with sterilized 2 piece canning lids or melted paraffin. The lemon thyme makes a lovely golden-green colored jelly.

Experiment with different herbs. Rosemary goes well with beef, mint with lamb of course, basil with veggies... try mixtures, too. Have fun!