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Creative Tips for a Culinary Herb Garden
Digital image from The Cloisters Collection, 1925, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Now is the time when a tiny patch of earth seems most full of potential. Among the ruffled blooms and tasty vegetables that may soon fill your yard or community garden, carve a section for culinary herbs, and you might just transform the scent and flavor of your warm weather cooking. Since herbs grow best when snipped often, the more you use your herb garden, the greater the rewards. Plan a Garden Around Favorite Main Dishes When considering which plants to choose, think about the meals that carry you through the spring and summer.…
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Nectarine Sorbet
At its best, sorbet is simply fruit transformed. Crisp slices and whole berries are perfect in May and June, but by the last stretch of summer, I crave all sorts of icy but melty goodness. Late August calls for a lush cup of sorbet. This no-churn nectarine version will help to stave off the restless feeling that kicks in when we realize the days are getting shorter again. Flavorful and refreshing, it does not require any special equipment other than a blender, which you likely have on the counter already for cocktails (and mocktails!). Eat it icy or let it melt as you join me in an August wish: “If…
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Berry Iced Tea
When you’re headed for the road (beach trip!) or it’s too early in the day for cocktails, you still need something summery in hand. Drinks should be fresh and festive even when they are non-alcoholic. Long, scorching days signal access to ripe berries, making this the perfect time of year for an iced white tea with juicy raspberries and blueberries. White teas have a delicate sweetness that marries well with their flavors. Harvested when the tea leaves are still young, white varieties also are lighter and often more refreshing than green and black teas. I recommend selecting one with fruity notes for this recipe. Grab your muddler and read on.…
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Grow Something
Small, and sometimes secret, spaces make the best spots for growing. Acres of fields have their vast beauty, but I have always been drawn to the figs peeking out of a city garden or the potted olive tree. The most flavorful produce is often grown right where you live. It’s hard to get much more fresh than ripe, just-picked tomatoes, and the sweetest, albeit tiniest, strawberries I’ve ever eaten were from a plant I grew at the age of six. Whether you care for a lone berry plant or commit yourself to the summer-long haul of coaxing vegetable vines upward in a narrow yard, find a place to grow something.…
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Blueberry Barbecue Sauce
Of all the destinations on the Eastern Seaboard, the rugged shores of Maine have a particular allure. Rocky beaches, lobster in the rough, and the heavy scent of nearby forest meant vacation to me, while most of my childhood friends traveled south. My father and I climbed the jagged rocks by day, and the sunburned shoulders I had earned were covered by night, when there was a chill to the salty air. With the abundance of wild blueberries, breakfasts were sure to include pancakes dotted with them and syrups made from bursting the tiny fruits. Since cultivated blueberries are more widely available, I rely on them at home to make…
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