Friday, February 20, 2009

Weekend Herb Blogging #190 Round-Up

It’s been an odd year. What with my father’s illness and death, and my 86-year-old mother’s decision to sell the family home, I’ve spent more time in Washington this year than I have since first coming to Alaska 35 years ago.

Family demands coincided with my computer’s system board burning out, leaving me woefully disconnected. I haven't been blogging, emailing, facebooking, or reading other people’s blogs. I miss my friends. I miss writing. I miss playing with pictures.

But little by little, I’m trying to reclaim my life. I’m back in Alaska, my computer seems to be fixed for the time being (knock on wood), and I’m cooking again. Now I just need to start blogging. I've started a piece about Alaska's versatile rockfish, and hope to complete it soon.

In the meantime, Haalo of
Cook (Almost) Anything, the current major domo of Weekend Herb Blogging, wrote and asked if I’d host WHB this week. I immediately agreed, and hope hosting helps get my blogging mojo back. Weekend Herb Blogging, originally created by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, is an international food blogging event open to anyone and devoted to exploring the creative use of herbs in cooking.

Here are this week’s interesting entries (please email me if I’ve made any errors or left anyone out):

Graziana of
Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs)
Italy
Jalapeños and carrots, in a base of mustardy yogurt, make a flavorful dip for crispy tortilla chips.

*****
Anna of
Morsels and Musings
Sydney, Australia

Peanut Butter Pie & Roasted Banana Ice Cream
In honor of her partner’s first visit to the mainland US, Anna made Maggie Beer’s peanut butter pie and paired it with David Lebovitz’s roasted banana ice cream. Anna says the pie was a “salty-bittersweet symphony” and the ice cream “has the most delectable flavor of sweet, caramelized banana.”

*****
Rachel of
The Crispy Cook
Saratoga County, New York, United States

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)
This year, when the wild grapevines on her property sprung forth, Rachel preserved her own grape leaves, and used them to make delicious stuffed grape leaves.

*****
Maybelle’s Mom of
Feeding Maybelle
Ohio, United States

Strawberry Thyme Stuffed Cupcakes
Maybelle’s Mom says thyme “really works well with the chocolate and strawberries in these cupcakes. Very little is used so it is subtle but … it adds a wonderful element.”

*****
Joanne of
Eats Well with Others
New York City, New York, United States

Rosemary-Grilled Tuna with Eggplant and Zucchini Relish
Joanne says her adaptation of Rachael Ray’s recipe “was delicious and went over really well with the parents.” The leftover relish paired so well with a melted cheese sandwich that Joanne may “remake the relish just for those purposes at a later date.”

*****
Katie of
Eat This
Haslett, Michigan, United States

Swiss Chard Two Ways
Katie had an abundance of Swiss chard in her CSA box, so sautéed the leaves with onions and garlic and roasted the stems with butter and parmesan.

*****
Tigerfish of
Teczcape: An Escape to Food
Singapore
Curried Potatoes and Mushrooms
Tigerfish describes her unsuccessful attempt to grow fresh curry leaves, and shares her successful and simple recipe for Indian-spiced potatoes and mushrooms.

*****
Kalyn of
Kalyn’s Kitchen
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Spicy Shrimp and Cucumber Salad with Mint, Lemon, and Cumin
Kalyn spiced up Ellie Krieger’s recipe for minty shrimp salad by adding cumin and
Sriracha sauce, and recommends taking this delicious salad along for summer celebrations.

*****

Pam of
Sidewalk Shoes
Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, United States

Garlic Scape Pesto
After her CSA box included garlic scapes three weeks in a row, Pam stocked her freezer with cubes of Dorie Greenspan’s Garlic Scape Pesto.

*****
Haalo of
Cook (Almost) Anything
Australia

Turnip Gratin
Haalo says she’s not sure whether it was “the variety of turnips used or the way they [were] cooked but these … had a subtle taste of horseradish - combined with that creamy texture it had us dipping in for seconds!”

*****
Brii of Briiblog
Valsorda, Lake Garda, Italy

Strawberry Jam with Coffee
Brii loves to experiment with jams and marmalades and says the stranger they are the more they fascinate her. Her latest experiment is Strawberry Jam with Coffee, which she says is “perfect with creamy yogurt, vanilla ice cream, or a simple panna cotta.”
*****
Cinzia of
Cindystar
Lake Garda, Italy

Tarte Tatin with Saturnino Peaches
Saturnino peaches are known as "tabacchiere" (snuffbox) in Italian. Cinzia says they’re very special with soft, sweet flesh and an intense aroma. They’re originally from the Mount Etna area, and are excellent raw and in desserts like Cinzia’s delicious tart.

*****

Bong Mom of Bong Mom’s Cookbook
United States

Bati Charchari
Bong Mom says, “This is a simple vegetarian dish from the kitchens of West Bengal, a state on the eastern parts of India. The dominating flavor is of mustard oil. The vegetables I have used are potatoes, carrots and sugar snap peas. I have added sumac to give new dimensions to the flavor.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weekend Herb Blogging #191 - July 6th to July 12th – is hosted by Cheryl from
Gluten Free Goodness. Please send your posts to cheryl AT eharrishome DOT comand include a photo sized to 300px wide.

25 comments:

Haalo said...

Thank you so much for hosting Laurie - everything looks so delicious and so many great ideas too!

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Welcome back Laurie...you have been sorely missed. A great round up of entries. Look forward to your recipes soon!

tigerfish said...

Despite all the disconnection from the computer, the round up is fabulous! Thanks for hosting :)

Peter M said...

Laurie, perhaps a disconnect from the electronic world is just what you needed for some clarity?

Welcome back and I look forward to seeing some dishes streaming through my reader soon!

maybelles mom said...

I had been out for months with a difficult (but almost finished) pregnancy, so I hadn't heard about your father. I am so sorry for your loss. And, I can imagine your mother's change is very hard. My mothers and her siblings are going through the same with my grandmother. Very hard.

This round up is great. And, hopefully the blog will give you some probably much needed respite and diversion from life.

Rachel said...

So great to see you back in cyberspace, Laurie. A great roundup for Weekend Herb Blogging!

Bong Mom said...

Thanks Laurie for including my "late" post
Beautiful round up

Kalyn Denny said...

Sounds like you've been having a lot of challenges. I hope things will even out now so you can spend more time enjoying your kitchen again. Thanks for hosting, great job as always!

Lulu Barbarian said...

Yay! Laurie's back! :-)

Maria Verivaki said...

welcome back to the wired world laurie - looking forward to seeing what you're getting up to

Maria said...

Welcome back Laurie! You've definitely been missed.

Great round-up and I look forward to reading your new posts!

Cindystar said...

welcome back on the web, Laurie, and nice to meet you!
thanks for this lovely recap!
a big huge good luck for the future!

Lisa Turner said...

I've been thinking about you lately, missing your posts. Very happy to know you are sharing your talents again. Take care and wishing you good fortune.

brii said...

ciao laurie, soo glad you are back again.
thank's for hosting, and me too hopes this will be a new begining for you.
a big hug to you, but also to your courageous mother!
baciusss

Joanne said...

Laurie!!! I've missed you!!!
Welcome back :) I, too, have abandoned my blog for some time now due to work, home renos and summertime activities but I will be following yours now that you have returned. And please let me know when the car raffle kicks in this year in Alaska because hubbie would like to purchase a raffle ticket.

Mariana Kavroulaki said...

Welcome back Laurie...I think of you often. Good luck for the future days.

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Cris said...

All wonderful entries! You were missed.

Susan said...

Real life does take you for a ride sometimes. Hope you're nearly ready to get back in the driver's seat.

Great round-up, Laurie. It's good to see you.

Unknown said...

Welcome back to the blog world. I have missed you. I am sorry to read about your family's hardships. I hope you are doing well. I love this blog post! Take it easy, and enjoy the rest of your summer.

I too have had a few family speedbumps. Both of my in-laws' health went down pretty hard on Mom's Day. His dad had emergency brain surgery and got MRSA bacteria, and is still in ICU, and his mom has been falling a lot due to a type of dementia affecting muscle control, and has to be in around the clock care now. And we are in the process of buying a house on top of that. During this time, with little time for fun, I have really cherished reading food blogs like yours. It is a pick me up for sure!

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the chocolate doctor מרת שאקאלאד said...

beautifully done. It is good to have you back.

ayura said...
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