erbs and veggies

I wanted to share with y'all what we've done with erbs and veggies grown in our garden. (Thought I would experiment with leaving off that "h". . . it isn't really necessary, right?)

Thyme & Parsley

These are so easy and low maintenance! They are both growing great and are really convenient to have for lots of different recipes. Fresh parsley is SO much better than dried parsley flakes- I highly recommend it. Fresh thyme is so fragrant and its teeny tiny leaves are really easy to strip right off the stems and into your lasagna, quiche, etc.

Basil

I have used basil for a few different things, but the thing it has been the most useful for is PESTO! If you have made it before, you know that pesto requires a LOT of basil leaves which can get expensive. It's so nice to be able to pick it from the backyard. Usually I already have the parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil in the house and I just use whatever oily nut I have on hand. Walnuts work splendidly in the place of pricey pignolis (pine nuts).

Tomatoes

We had a bunch of ripe red chopped tomatoes in a salad yesterday- YUM! I've also been a little adventurous and tried a few new recipes. Roasted tomatoes with pesto turned out to be a yummy side dish with our spaghetti and meatballs the other night.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tomatoes-roasted-with-pesto-recipe/index.html

I also made a batch of fresh tomato salsa a couple days ago with the guidance of a more experienced salsa making friend- thanks Emily!

Cayenne Peppers

We have one ripe cayenne, and I'm a little scared of it. Suggestions?

Jalapenos

I have used our jalapenos in sausage meatballs. . .

http://jimmydean.com/recipes/zesty-sausage-cheese-balls.aspx

and the aforementioned salsa. Our jalapeno plant seems so tiny to be producing these beefy peppers, but hopefully it keeps 'em comin'!

Bell Peppers

Well, our orange bell pepper plant is alive, but hasn't grown an inch since we planted it two months ago. Maybe if the heat dies down a little it will have a sudden burst of energy, but I think it is destined to just sit there and do nothing. We do have two yellow bell peppers though (one of which is almost changed completely from green to yellow so I think I might pick it today!!). I haven't used any of our own bell peppers yet, but I see some delicious omelets in my future.