No-Knead Bread with Herbs

This is adapted from Mark Bittman's NY Times bread recipe. It's so easy and makes an outstanding, dense, European-style bread.

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal as needed.

*Herbs: choose any, or a combination of: rosemary, parsley, sage, marjoram, oregano, garlic chives or regular chives. Chop fine until you have about 1 tablespoon.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least about 18 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Have ready 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped *herbs and scatter over the dough surface. Sprinkle dough with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound, very tasty loaf of herbal bread.

Lemon Balm Cake from Nature's Garden

Lots of people asked for the recipe for my cake that appeared in the Spring issue of Nature's Garden magazine. Here's the recipe and I hope you enjoy it.

Lemon Balm Rose Cream Cake

Herbs used:
3 tablespoons freshly-chopped Lemon Balm leaves
2 leaves Lemongrass (the leaf, not the bulb), snipped fine with scissors....it’s important to snip with scissors, not expect the food processor to do it)

Recipe:
1 package Duncan Hines or any brand Lemon Supreme cake mix

Combine the liquid ingredients called for on the box...usually 1 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oil. Put that liquid in a blender with:
3 tablespoons freshly-chopped Lemon Balm leaves and
2 leaves Lemongrass which have been snipped up with scissors first. Pulse-blend until the herbs are fairly well pulverized. Add that to:
The dry cake mix and eggs, beating well and pour into two oiled, floured round 9 inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool.

With a cake slicer, slice each cake in half, making 4 thin layers.

Filling:
1 large package instant vanilla pudding
1 large (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened to room temp.
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon Rose syrup if available, or:
1 tablespoon dry strawberry Jello powder
In food processor, pulse blend ingredients, then stir in by hand, one small carton Cool Whip.
Fold together well and refrigerate for several hours.

Spread about 1/2 inch layer between the first and second layers of cake. Place the second cake on that, and cover the next layer with the filling.

Put a layer of fresh edible rose petals over that, add the third layer, repeat with filling and roses, then place the fourth layer on top.
Cover it with filling and dot liberally with fresh strawberries or blueberries and fresh rose petals or pansies. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

For information about which roses to eat and which ones have the best flavors, look for my book, How to Eat a Rose on my website, under "Books."

Fresh bread with herbs

This bread is so easy a 6 year old can make it! Just add a couple of teaspooons of your favorite herbs to Mark Bittman's NY Times no-knead bread recipe (see the video here). I am not a very good bread baker - it takes a warm kitchen for good bread baking. But this recipe has only 3 ingredients and is virtually foolproof and I make great bread from this recipe. Time, not you, does the work. Go here for the recipe. The bread is so good, you will eat the whole loaf in a day! I like to add a combination of rosemary, marjoram and a touch of garlic. Or sometimes a bit of thyme with the other herbs, too. Here's what my golden marjoram looks like in January, when it turns a rainbow of color. See more plants in their winter colors at my garden blog.

Easy Vegetable Dip

Good recipes are born out of necessity. Sometimes, at least. My Easy Dips book is filled with lots of easy dip recipes. And I could go next door to the office and look in my book. (One of the reasons I write books is so I will know where to find my recipes when I put them together). But I was in a hurry and company was coming and I needed a dip, fast. I went to the pantry to see what I had. Here's what I found and I was really pleased with the results. I don't use those instant soup mixes for dips, but this time it was handy.

2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise (Helmanns)
1 package Knorr instant vegetable soup mix
1 cup frozen peas, not thawed
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon chopped fresh celery leaves or fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Put everything in the food processor and process until the peas and corn are moderately chopped. Scrape dip into a bowl and refrigerate for an hour before serving. It's delicious with celery and cucumber slices, chips, etc.

And if you would like something really special to serve with the dip, check out my Easy Homemade Crackers Using Herbs. "Really?" you ask. "People actually MAKE homemade crackers???"

You bet. Crackers are easier to make than cookies, they will impress your guests, and most important, you get to make healthy crackers you don't have to feel guilty about eating! Wheat-free, or whole grain, they are all in my book.

Poultry Seasoning, you can make

You can buy the seasoning from the store, or you can make it from your own herbs. Use this in holiday cooking, for turkey, chicken, pheasant or other foul. The recipe is from my book, Great Herb Mixes You Can Make, which you can find on my website.

Poultry Seasoning
(all herbs should be dried)
2 tablespoons sage
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary

Pulverize well in food processor. Use 2 teaspoons per average-sized chicken (2-3 pounds). Add 2-3 teaspoons for making chicken or turkey stock, and add to taste for cornbread stuffing.

Mint Chutney

Pudina Chutney - Mint Dip (Northern India)
Chutneys are often served as a side dish, like we would serve a relish, to accompany meats or vegetable dishes. Chutneys are also eaten by dipping with torn chapati bread, or toasted pita bread pieces, and this also goes well with tandori chicken, or any kind of baked, barbecued or broiled chicken wings. This recipe comes from my good friend, Puneet Sharma, who grew up in New Delhi, India and currently lives in Washington, D.C. Find more recipes in my book, Easy Dips Using Herbs.

2 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh coriander
3 green chilies or jalapenos, seeded
1/2 teaspoon *roasted cumin seeds
2 cups chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Dash salt
Pinch of black pepper or cayenne, optional

SIDEBAR:
*To roast cumin seed, place them in a medium-hot skillet and shake or stir until they give up their pleasant aroma, about 1 minute. Cool, then grind in blender or food processor.

Combine ingredients in food processor and process to a smooth consistency. Makes about 3 cups. Serve with Buffalo chicken wings!

Won Ton Dipping Sauce

Another dip recipe from my book, Easy Dips Using Herbs. This came from my Chinese chef friend, Eddie Chong, from Malaysia. He taught me to make this outstanding sauce at the same time he taught me how to make won tons when he visited recently. The dip is traditional for serving with won tons, and makes a great party food or one course of a bigger meal.

1 large onion, cut in chunks
4-6 medium-to-hot, fresh red peppers, such as seranno or jalapeno, seeds removed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine onion, peppers and garlic in food processor and chop to a medium-fine consistency. Heat oil in skillet on low heat and add the vegetables from the food processor. Stir, continuing to cook on low heat until the oil takes on the color of the peppers. You’ll notice as you stir that the peppers will change colors, darkening a bit and the fragrance will be less onion, and more of a tasty-smelling blend. In a bowl, pour the vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste the mixture, it should be salty, slightly sweet and a bit sour. If too sour, add some more sugar. Mix, then add the mixture from the skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature with freshly steamed or fried won tons. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.