Tag: basil

Salad Dressings: Vegan

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Event, Refrigerating, Topic, Using1 Comment

Last weekend, Twice as Tasty recipes had the honor of being featured at the 2016 Montana Cup, a regatta hosted by the North Flathead Yacht Club in Somers, Montana. As usual, the club provided two breakfasts and one dinner for more than 150 hungry sailors, but this year there were a few twists. With the help of Sailors for the Sea, NYFC hosted its first Clean Regatta, working to use less, recycle more, and source locally throughout the event.

After the reusable cups had been cleaned and the winning skippers had been awarded insulated picnic baskets with durable place settings, the real results were in: resounding success. Not only is the club discussing how to implement more clean practices throughout its season, but so many people requested Twice as Tasty recipes that I’m offering bonus posts. Learn to make Vegan Green Goddess Dressing and Vegan Roasted Raspberry Vinaigrette

Cucumbers

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Canning, Ingredient, Using2 Comments

As a kid, I helped my mom processed dill pickles in vinegar brine and what my family called “sweet pickles,” which tasted nothing like the ones on a restaurant burger. It was years before I learned that what I considered sweet pickles were typically sold as “bread-and-butter” pickles. They fall somewhere between the tangy dills and the sugary sweets. And I could eat them by the jar.

When I started canning on my own, pickles were in my first jars. They’re easy to pack and process, the vinegar ensures food safety, and the options for spices in the standard brine are endless. My mom followed the version in the old Ball Blue Book, but Ball has since updated its recipe and other authors have inspired me to make a few tweaks to the flavorings—and to use the brine once the jar is empty. Learn to make Better Bread-and-Butter Pickles and Braised Breakfast Potatoes

Zucchini

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Using1 Comment

Zucchini and yellow summer squash—if you don’t grow it, you’re bound to know someone who does. It’s as versatile as it is prolific: grilled, baked, pickled, fried, sautéed—the list goes on.

But besides pickling it, how do you save it? Grate and freeze is my choice: you won’t want to feature it on a plate, but it can be used in a range of recipes year-round. Grating is particularly ideal for zukes that seem to go from inches to feet long overnight. The recipes here use fresh ingredients for a light in-season meal featuring zucchini pancakes and cucumber-and-tomato salad. You can as easily adapt it for winter using frozen produce and different preserved accompaniments. Learn to make Zucchini Pancakes and Fresh Asian Salad

Basil

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Ingredient2 Comments

I love basil. Its flavor really only pops when it’s just off the plant—and boy, does it pop. Sweet, Italian, lemon, lime, Thai, purple—there are so many options, all with a slightly different taste. Unfortunately, once the garden winds down, that fresh taste is difficult to find, particularly if your house, like mine, lacks a sunny windowsill. Dried basil is a kitchen staple off-season, but it lacks the full summer flavor.

That’s where pesto comes in. Its texture and flavor don’t match the basil leaf you pinch off the stem and slip into your mouth while you harvest, but it will remind you of that leaf when you drop a cube into a dish midwinter. I prefer to save my basil as a pesto base—minus the pine nuts and Parmesan—so that it’s versatile. The same technique lets you make pesto with other ingredients, such as pea shoots and garlic scapes. Learn to make Basil Pesto Base and Spring Pesto with Pea Shoots

Cherry Tomatoes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

In the shortest days of winter, I crave the freshest produce. Forget sweets or chips—I yearn for cherry tomatoes, raspberries, and other garden goodies. I suppose the desire for sun-kissed fruit and veg as the snow falls is the main reason this blog exists: Every summer, I play with new and better ways to preserve homegrown produce that we can eat year-round. This blog is all about sharing those ideas with you.

I use “cherry” to describe many tiny tomatoes: Sweet 100s, Sun Golds, Black Cherry, my favorite Yellow Pear. We go big, growing a mix of cultivars to eat like candy off the vine and turn into a pasta sauce easily recreated from frozen toms in the coldest months. These bite-sized bursts of flavor are so simple to save for winter, you’ll wonder why you’ve never done so. Learn to freeze cherry tomatoes and make Pasta That Pops

Herbs

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dehydrating, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Herbs are a great place to start when it comes to dehydrating—and gardening. Perennial herbs need little care once established and come back reliably in their beds year after year. Some annual and biennial herbs are self-seeding, making them seem perennial when they sprout unaided each spring. Those that need to be resown annually are often happy in pots or even on a sunny windowsill in even the smallest space tended by the newest gardener.

Most herbs get a production boost from regular cutting. Such plants quickly send out new shoots, becoming bushier and healthier the more that they are used. Hang some of those cuttings or throw them on a dehydrator tray, and you’ll never buy another jar of dried leaves. You can store them separately or combine them into a grab-and-go mix. Learn to dry herbs and make Italian Seasoning Blend