When I think of parsley, I think of chicken soup and what a delightful flavor fresh parsley adds to it. But a few cuts of parsley can perk up other dishes–even a simple side dish of rice. Toast your rice briefly in a lttle olive oil (a little brown rice or wild rice will add a nutty flavor), cook it till done, then toss in some parsley just before serving. You can also add a handful of nuts. If you’re a vegetarian, you can serve it as a main course. For more details of a recipe for wild rice and parsley, check out this one in the New York Times, which calls for cashews as the final touch.
Archive for July, 2009
Parsley can perk up rice
Monday, July 27th, 2009Sugar Snap Peas perk up any salad
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009I am replanting seeds for snap peas. Try, try again. Maybe we won’t get drought in August. Meanwhile, the farmer’s markets have locally grown snap peas and they are sugary and delicious.
They are not only sweetly refreshing eaten out of hand–a great way to introduce kids to veggies they will love–but they add a delightful crunch to any salad.
This afternoon I threw together baby spinach, corn [straight from the just-cooked cob], a small can of light-meat tuna and a handful of snap peas sliced on the bias and tossed right in. I used a Japanese ginger dressing but any oil and vinegar blend would work as well. Or your favorite dressing. The nice thing about a spinach salad is that it doesn’t need a drenching of dressing. Just a little goes a long way.
Basil as a Perk-Me-Up for Salad Dressing
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009Basil is flourishing in the garden plot and clay pot–growing so tall it needs to be pruned back. What to do with those clipped leaves.
I checked in with The Bitten Word and found a delightful last-minute use: Chop up a handful of leaves and add them to an oil and vinegar dressing. The Bitten Word suggests champagne vinegar, olive oil, a pinch of red pepper and some garlic. Sounds great but almost any oil-vinegar combo would be perked up by adding chopped up basil leaves.
Growing zucchini in a pot
Sunday, July 5th, 2009Well, why not? The ground has been so saturated with rain this year that it’s made growing veggies more of a challenge. My snap peas did not like getting so wet. I did stick some zucchini seeds in the garden–half a dozen of them. I have one shoot. But the zucchini seedling I bought at the plant shop–a seedling I was waiting to plant in the garden in hopes of outlasting the dreaded squash worm–has been put in a pot instead. 
It is thriving. Looks like a million bucks. Unfortunately, none of those beautiful blossoms are ones that will lead to fruit. But that will happen in time, won’t it? Or is a single squash plant in a pot doomed to a sterile life?
Stay tuned.