Sage flowers omelet

In our backyard a lot of flowers are in bloom. The sage is really spectacular. We do use sage a lot in our cooking but mostly leaves and in the fall we make sage sticks.

We forget that a lot of flowers are edible, and I am always tempted to add a little elegant touch to a meal with fresh flowers.  Always know from where the flowers come from if you want to use them for cooking and check here the list of edible flowers.

This week I share with you a simple idea of a pretty and tasty breakfast, an omelet with sage flowers. 

It's very simple. Beat the eggs together until you see a lot of bubbles on the surface. Add salt and pepper. 

Slice finely sage leaves and add them to the eggs, along with the flowers you washed before hand and mix it together. 

Be mindful of how much sage you put in, it has a strong flavor.

I like to cook an omelet on a not sticking pan, a little bit like a crepe or pancake. I like it brownish on the outside but not too cooked inside. For that I wait the omelet is hard enough to be folded in two and I don't let it cook for too long. Adjust it to the way you like your omelet and enjoy ! 

Lavender Lemonade

Between my parent's home and mine, we have nearly 30 lavender bushes of different varieties that grow big and happy each summer.  Several of our English lavenders are in bloom right now, so my mom, my boys and I spent the weekend cutting fresh bouquets.  The lavandins are still a little ways off from blooming.  For now, we're enjoying the fresh bouquets hanging from our family room beams.

When I was in college, I worked at a cute little cafe that doubled as an antique store.  It was quaint and filled with all sorts of things that I adored.  I had my first taste of lavender lemonade there and thought it was such a refreshing treat during the hot summer days.  Since then, I make it every summer when lavender is in bloom.  Here's my very simple, very flexible recipe for a sugar-free lavender lemonade.  I hope you're enjoying these late spring/ early summer days, we sure are!

Lavender Lemonade

1 cup hot water

1 cup (about two handfuls) dried or fresh lavender buds

1 cup honey

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2-3 cups cold water

Start by making a simple syrup of with equal amounts of honey, dried or fresh lavender and hot water.  Let it steep for several minutes.  Add an equal amount of fresh lemon juice.  Dilute to your liking with cold water; I usually add 2-3 times the amount of cold water.  Adjust the sweetness/ tartness by adding more honey, more lavender or more lemon juice.  Enjoy!

Herb Infused Vinegars

My edible garden is starting to bloom around these corners!  Several of my herbs are happy as clams and showing their pretty blossoms.  Rosemary is still holding steady, chives are showing off right now, as are some of my sage and thyme plants.  As the weeks and months progress, additional sage varieties will blossom, peppermint will start showing it's colors and lavender will soon be in full swing.

I always enjoy snipping herb blossoms and using them in salads and other recipes.  One of my favorite ways of using herbs is infusing their blossoms in oils, vinegars, sugars and salts.  Today, I wanted to share a few photos of my process of infusing herb blossoms in vinegar.

It's very easy and gives such a nice added flavor to recipes that call for vinegar.  I start with gathering my supplies and sterilizing them (not necessary, but helpful).  Snip and wash your blossoms then pack inside a jar or glass bottle.  Fill the remaining space with vinegar, cover and refrigerate.  That's it!  Stir every now and them to mix the flavors.  The longer you let them steep, the stronger the flavor will be.

It's fun to experiment with different types of herb and vinegar combinations.  In these photos I used chamomile and lavender mixed with white wine vinegar, sage mixed with rice vinegar, thyme blossoms mixed with balsamic vinegar and chive blossoms mixed with red wine vinegar.

A few weeks ago, I tasted the most delicious raspberry infused vinegar, it was heavenly.  I also had a small piece of lavender infused caramel, which I'm so excited to try making later this summer when my lavender is in full bloom.

Have fun, and enjoy!

Beautiful Rosemary

Of all the things I grow in my garden, rosemary is one of my favorite herbs and one of the more challenging ones to care for.  Although temperamental here in the PNW, under the proper conditions rosemary can thrive.  Shrubs prefer well drained soil, lots of sun and protection from winter elements.

Rosemary is currently in full bloom here in Seattle.  One of my favorite ways to use it is paired with garlic in a hearty focaccia bread.  I've been using this recipe for years; it's versatile and can be used for pizza dough, focaccia bread or rolls.

Basic Pizza and Focaccia Dough

1 Tablespoon yeast

1/2 Cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Cup cold water

2 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing

4 Cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

For Focaccia, add:

1/4- 1/2 Cup chopped rosemary

1/4- 1/2 Cup chopped garlic

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and sugar and let rest for 10 minutes.  Add cold water and olive oil.  In a separate bowl, whisk together one cup of flour and the salt, then add to the water mixture.  Add the remaining 3 cups of flour one cup at a time.  Once it's too difficult to stir, turn onto a floured surface and knead.  Knead for several minutes, then place in a large oiled bowl.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to raise in a warm corner for at least 1 hour, or until dough is doubled.  Punch down and shape into desired shape.

At this point the dough can be used for pizza, rolls, or focaccia.  For focaccia, I shape it into a rectangle and fill one cookie sheet.  Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, sprinkle chopped rosemary and garlic (I use a lot!).  Let it rise for 30 minutes or so.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  After it's cool, cut into squares, slice horizontally and fill with your favorite sandwich fillings.  Tonight, we had yummy apple pecan chicken salad sandwiches.  They were devoured!  Enjoy!

overwintering kale & a spring soup recipe

as my husband & i were working in the garden earlier this month, we were surprised to find overwintered kale & spinach! what a treat!

overwintering is, simply put, lasting through winter. we planted our spinach & kale in our fall garden. we've overwintered swiss chard & kale before, but we were surprised to find these garden goodies in the spring after such a harsh winter. to overwinter greens, we usually heavily mulch the base of the plant in late fall with straw mulch or dried leaves.

i harvested fresh kale from the garden one morning for a delicious crockpot soup i had in mind that evening. it was delicious & full of flavor!

if you don't have kale growing in your garden right now, you can find it at the farmers' market in big bunches. fill up your market basket & come on home to make this soup recipe -

  creamy crockpot lemon, chicken & kale soup. 

we paired this soup with a sweet potato for dinner, but a nice hunk of bread would be nice. you could also make this soup vegetarian with vegetable broth & white northern beans. enjoy!

- natalie

ideas for tomatoes

i have been a stranger around these parts for over a month now. that doesn't mean the happenings around the farm have slowed down. not one bit, really. the work is never ending around here, but it brings about a feeling of satisfaction that can't be matched. there's always a project to complete, an animal in need of care, a garden to weed, produce to harvest & a bounty of delicious summer goodies to put up. we are thankful for this work & this season of abundance! 

abundance is indeed the word to describe this time of year. every day we come in from the garden with a basket of tomatoes, peppers, basil & cucumbers. i have pickled, canned, preserved & frozen baskets of deliciously ripe produce this summer. 

this summer i have also found two new, family-approved ways to enjoy these favorites in our garden. 

inspired by a flurry of women on social media, i tried that one pot pasta that so many have talked about. i was a bit hesitant at first to serve this up at dinnertime for fear of soggy noodles & flavorless sauce, but i can now confidently share that it was indeed a hit. that martha is a genius!  we mixed some garden tomatoes, purple onion, basil & garlic in with the noodles. easy cooking, easy clean-up & a delicious dinner. win, win, win!

i also tried my hand at roasting tomatoes. i chopped up tomatoes skin & all, both small & large, & placed them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. i spread a bit of olive oil on the top & then added a mix of salt, pepper, fresh rosemary & whole cloves of garlic. the small tomatoes roasted for about 3 hours at 225 degrees in the oven. the larger tomatoes took about 4 hours. 

we have enjoyed these slow-roasted tomatoes on salads, in leftover pasta & as a snack. i froze the leftovers on a cookie sheet & placed them in a freezer bag for the winter. just another way to enjoy this season of abundance during the cold winter months!

what are some new ways you have found to preserve the summer harvest? please share!

a favorite recipe: herbed summer squash & potato torte

lets talk about a recipe that's worth heating up the kitchen even in the heat of the summer. i am almost always against turning on the oven in the summer. it makes for a hot house & a cranky family. of course, i needed something that would make a fine meal from all of those potatoes, red onions & summer squash we harvested from the garden. this recipe came into my life just in time.

meet the herbed summer squash & potato torte. 

that smitten kitchen lady knows how to make magic happen with a handful of vegetables. i found this recipe on her blog & with a handful of adaptations, i was able to craft up a delicious meal with simple ingredients from my pantry. 

i want to give this lady full credit for her recipe, but i would love to share my version with the ingredients we already had on hand. 

instead of crooked neck squash, i used patty pan squash. it was a wonderful use of an otherwise forgotten vegetable. i also added a handful of red onion, some sprigs of oregano & a couple of snips of lemon thyme. i am always trying to sneak in a few fresh herbs & the extra bit of seasoning really added to the dish. finally, i substituted the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour & parmesan for mozzarella. i baked it all in a 9x13 cake dish & it made for a lovely dinner. 

i would love to hear some of your favorite summer recipes with fresh ingredients from the garden!

- natalie