Virginia Real : Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme…

April 10, 2014

This past winter was hard on my herb garden. We don’t usually have extremely cold and snowy winters here in Virginia, but this year the frigid temperatures and dampness brought on by the heavy snows pretty much killed off everything except my sorrel and lemon balm. I wouldn’t have minded if some of the lemon balm had been killed off as I have to fight to keep it from putting out shoots to other parts of the herb garden. Since Mother Nature decided to do a purging of sorts for me, I’m starting over this year. I pulled out the old lavender, sage, and thyme plants as they did not show any signs of life. My chives did not come up and nothing is coming up where the basil grew last year. (Usually it self-seeds from the previous year.) Oh, well, nothing like a fresh start.

Yesterday, Charming used the Mantis tiller to till up one third (an area of about 4’x4’) of the bed so that I could plant new rosemary, dill, lavender, and parsley. The sorrel that survived the winter is on the opposite end of the herb garden, along with the lemon balm. Since Charming doesn’t trust me with the Mantis (I think he envisions an “I Love Lucy” episode with me being dragged across the yard by the thing), he will till the remaining two thirds of the area so that I can plant basil, thyme, chives, more lavender, and calendula in the coming weeks.

I love growing herbs! They are easy to grow, most of them are naturally resistant to insects, they release wonderful smells into the surrounding air, many of them have medicinal properties and you can use them to jazz up your cooking. Rosemary is my favorite herb. I often make rosemary butter to spread on my gluten-free bread and biscuits. This butter is great on any kind of bread, but can also be used to flavor vegetables such as cooked peas or corn. Making herb butter is a snap so anyone can make it. (It’s a great way to get young children interested in helping to prepare meals as it’s quick, easy, and doesn’t create a mess.)

Rosemary Butter

4 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature

1 four-inch sprig of rosemary, washed

Holding the rosemary over your cutting board, firmly grasp the sprig close to the tip. Use your fingers to pull backwards towards the cut end, against the growth of the needles, so that the spikes fall off the woody stem and land on your cutting board. Using a sharp knife, chop up the rosemary into ¼” to ½” pieces.

Place the softened butter in a small bowl and throw in the rosemary. Using either a hand mixer or a fork, mix the butter and rosemary until well blended. I usually let the butter sit for several hours or overnight to let the flavors meld. You can either let the butter sit on your kitchen counter so that it remains soft (no, you won’t die from eating butter that’s been sitting at room temperature) or you can refrigerate it.

Prior to going gluten-free, I used to make some really good Rosemary Foccaccia Bread. I used this bread to make roast beef and provolone panini sandwiches. Charming thought these were “awesome” and I always got favorable reviews from anyone who tried these. I’ll add the recipe here instead of under the “Gluten-free Recipes” tab because these sandwiches are not…well…gluten-free.

Rosemary Foccaccia Panini Sandwiches

3 medium onions, chopped
¼ cup olive oil + 3 tablespoons, divided
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ½ cups warm water, divided

½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 teaspoon coarse salt for sprinkling

In a large skillet, saute onions in 1/4 cup oil until tender. Let cool. In a
large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add sugar and let
stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil, the salt and remaining water.
Add 2 cups flour. Beat flour mixture until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to
form a soft dough.

While the dough is still in the bowl, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Add onions and half of the rosemary; knead until these are incorporated into dough, about 1 – 2 minutes. Place in a clean greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Pat each piece flat. Let rest for 5 minutes. Grease a jelly roll pan. Using your fingers, press each piece of dough into a circle, fitting both pieces of dough onto the same jelly roll pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Brush with remaining oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and remaining rosemary.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For Roast Beef and Provolone Sandwiches:

Cut each “loaf” of bread into four equal quarters, then slice each quarter horizontally so that you have a top and a bottom for each sandwich. Layer roast beef and provolone onto bottom pieces of bread, then add top portion of bread. Lay two sandwiches at a time onto a contact grill or panini press. Grill for 5 – 7 minutes or until cheese is melted and roast beef is heated through. Yum!