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life from the ground up

Real living in a processed world.

Herb-infused oil

By: Gabe6 Comments

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Since my herb garden produced so well this year, I wanted to come up with some other way of using them besides drying and/or freezing. So I had this grandiose idea of using them to make flavored oils and vinegars. The vinegar isn’t going to happen this year, but I did do a handful of oils – one with sage, one with tarragon, one with a mix of thyme, parsley, and oregano, and one with jalapeño peppers.

I used what I still had available fresh (which is surprisingly still quite a bit, given how late in the season we are) – I’d have done a basil oil too, but basil is the first thing to bite it when frost hits. Maybe rosemary or mint, too? If this turns out halfway decent, I’ll get an earlier start next year.

Anyway, I’d recommend starting with a lighter (taste) oil, like sunflower or safflower? I thought extra-virgin olive oil would probably have too much flavor of its own, and mask the herbs I added. Though it probably would have been good with the Italian mix. I didn’t measure anything, just added a few clumps of each herb to a clean bottle. Since I’ve never done this before, I have no idea how it’ll turn out, in terms of flavor strength. I could have added too much or not enough, but I won’t know until it’s done. I only added one pepper, again, because I’m not sure how strong it’ll be, and we’re not really fiery-hot kind of people here.

Once the herbs are added, fill the bottle with oil. Let it sit for a couple weeks to infuse. I’ve read that you can either leave the leaves in the bottle, or strain it after several weeks, but leaving them in may result in a slightly shorter shelf life (which should be several months). If it’s not strong enough, let it sit for a while longer. After the oil has reached a suitable flavor level, it’s ready to use. On what… well, I really didn’t think that far ahead, so I’m not sure. I just thought it would be fun to make, and I like bottles of oil with stuff floating in them. Weird. Maybe use as a base in salad dressings? Drizzle the sage oil over some homemade butternut squash risotto? Stir-fry some chicken and veggies in the hot pepper oil?

Anyone ever done this before, or have any good suggestions for use?

 herbinfusedoil

 

Homemade pizza with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella

By: Gabecomment

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No explanation necessary. Just take some fresh dough (or a premade crust), roll it out, brush on some olive oil, and toss some tomato slice, mozzarella chunks, and shredded basil on top. Bake at about 425 F for 12-15 minutes.

Let it cool if you can and try not to down the entire thing – it hits the spot on a cool fall evening.

Pesto change-o

By: Gabe1 Comment

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It kills me to do such corny titles. I give S a hard time with her sense of humor, mostly because it is corny, and mine is very dry. But, catchy titles are what draws the huge crowds. Right, huge crowds of readers? You don’t have to comment, I know you’re there.

So, I made some pesto yesterday. It’s a very simple recipe and prep, and it smells good.

I started with a bunch of basil, maybe 4-5 cups? I didn’t measure, but it was enough to fill a medium mixing bowl. In a food processor, throw a couple cloves of garlic, the basil, and a handful of almonds (again, didn’t measure, but it was somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup). A lot of traditional recipes call for pine nuts, which I don’t typically have in stock. I think you can make it with most any nut, with different variations on flavor. I’m not sure that I would make it with peanuts. Maybe just stick to tree nuts.

Pulse a few times, then while it’s running, drizzle in about a 1/2 cup of olive oil, and a pinch or two of salt. Process until it’s (relatively) smooth, about 10-15 seconds.

I suppose if you’re feeling ambitious, you could can this, but that’s way more work than I was interested in doing. I just fill an ice cube tray and freeze, then keep the cubes in a freezer bag. It doesn’t look very pretty, but on a cold winter night, whip up a batch of pasta and throw a few cubes in, and it’ll take you back to those warm, sunny July days. Or at least as close as you can get when it’s snowing with a 10 degree wind chill.

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