Rosemary & Thyme Flatbread

My rosemary and thyme bushes are really starting to take off. So, I wanted to figure out how I could use a lot of each herb at once. I remembered a recipe from smitten kitchen (one of my favorite cooking blogs) that I made a while back - rosemary flatbread. It was absolutely delicious - and easy as she says it is. Since she commented that other herbs like thyme could be substituted for rosemary, I decided to make a batch with thyme.

Due to a limited parchment supply, I cut four 8" x 6" squares - which made the flatbread a little thicker than a thin cracker. However, both versions were very yummy!

Links of Interest #2

Crafts/Projects/Ideas
Terrace Herb Display (made from Ikea GORM shelf)
A Space Saving Vertical Salad Garden
Host a Green Garden Party
Vegetable Patch Centerpiece
Three-layer Worm Composting bin (made from Ikea TROFAST bins)

Articles
The Farmers' Market Myth - cheaper or more expensive?
Can Eating Local Honey Cure Allergies?

Food/Drink
Homemade Herb-infused Vodkas
Five Ways to Eat Sugar Snap Peas
Hibiscus is in - although I have never had any food with hibiscus, it is one of my favorite flowers, reminding me of my time in Bermuda. I am excited to see it making a presence in drinks & food!

Plants
Using Plants As Air filters

Coleslaw

I love coleslaw..even the kind you get in restaurants! However, the kind that I grew up with was made with pineapple, and without vinegar! It adds a great sweetness and soft contrast to the crunch of the cabbage and carrots! Now that I think of it, I am not sure where this recipe came from, but I feel that it is unique enough to call it Saumsiegle Coleslaw, since my family has been making it for as long as I can remember!

Coleslaw made with first Market Prize Cabbage of 2010

Saumsiegle Coleslaw
~1 head of cabbage
~About 3-5 carrots (enough to balance out the amount of cabbage)
~canned pineapple, chunks or 'tidbits' (i tend to buy the rings and cut them to 'tidbit' size)
~miracle whip

Cut cabbage and carrots. Combine in bowl. Drain canned pineapple and dump in bowl. Add miracle whip until ingredients are coated (to your liking). Enjoy!

Vacationing with Veggies

Welcome Giddy Fingers! Thanks for following me! I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July! I had a wonderful, long weekend in Maine, relaxing and taking advantage of being in the outdoors! Kayaking, star-gazing, badminton, loons and lobster were all I was concerned with, while my growing veggies dealt with an impending heat wave in Boston!

Even though half the jar was eaten, I was inspired to have a photo shoot with one of my jars of pickled sugar snap peas while picnicking in Castine! I highly recommend this recipe from smitten kitchen if you want a break from eating the peas raw! My count is over 300!

Introducing...the Garlic Scape

They are so cool! In all its curling wonder, I experienced garlic scapes for the first time as my German White Garlic gets close to maturity! Since this is a hardneck variety, it produces a scape, a long, thin shoot that is initially curly. Scapes will eventually straighten out, harden and produce a flower - taking some of the plant's energy away from the bulb. Harvesting them before they straighten serves two purposes - a culinary delicacy & encouraging bulb growth.

On Sunday, I picked 17 scapes (out of 21 cloves planted last fall). I know that at least two plants are on the smaller side, but I should doublecheck how many plants there are!

I had heard that many people use scapes in stir-fry, on pizza, or make pesto. I am hoping to try pesto later in the week, but tonight I used the scapes as a pizza topping! I first cooked the scapes for a few minutes in the oven with a little salt & evoo. Then I placed them on my pizza (homemade pizza dough, sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & homegrown basil).

yumm........it was delicious!

Note: as pretty as the curled scapes look on the pizza, it was very impractical when trying to cut and eat it! I ended up cutting up the scapes in smaller pieces and putting them back on each pizza slice!