Hello again! I can't believe how much time has lapsed since the last time I posted anything. The truth is, for a while there I didn't feel like there was anything particularly interesting to report and every time I sat down to write I was left with a blank screen looking back at me. Everyone goes through a little writers block once in a while so I took a break and just went to camp and played all day with the awesome group of kiddos and co-workers (including my sister!) I got to spend a month with.
Once camp ended, I started thinking about writing again, but I just wasn't feeling very inspired, I hadn't done much in the garden lately, and so much has changed since the beginning of the summer I wasn't sure what to write. But before I got overwhelmed and gave up again, the thyme, an herb I have become particularly well-acquainted with lately, the thyme patch next to the garden gate broke out with these beautiful clusters of tiny purple flowers. I wouldn't have noticed it except there were a handful of bees buzzing around as I went to open the gate to check on the tomatoes and pick some kale for dinner. The flowers, and the fuzzy bees that were so attracted to them, stopped me in my place. I didn't know thyme flowered at all, and I had no idea how pretty they look when they do. I learn something new every day.
Now it's already the middle of August and summer is quickly waning. There is so much happening in the garden right now and I am in for a busy next few weeks just trying to cook and preserve as much as I can so it doesn't get wasted, though all this extra compost and leaf litter will make wonderful compost for next year's garden. As I mentioned, I've taken a particular interest in using the herbs we have in the garden this year. I am plenty used to things like fresh basil, cilantro, and parsley, we used them almost every day in Hawaii, but I've done little with fresh tarragon, thyme, mint, and oregano, the herbs that are so plentiful in our current garden.
As I learn more about herbs, the more I am falling in love with them for their versatility and effortless growth, but also for their simple beauty and powerful fragrances. I have started to toss a handful of at least one of our regular fresh herbs in my saute pan to add some extra flavor and nutrients. At first I was transfixed by tarragon's licorice-like flavor and started trying it in my potato salad (delicious) and my egg salad (not so good). When I tried adding a huge handful of fresh thyme leaves along with the mayo and red onions and the remaining chicken I had roasted earlier in the week, I unlocked this pretty little herb's true potential. Get yourself a little thyme start for your kitchen window, if for no other reason than to make this chicken salad (seriously, no other ingredients, just chicken, thyme, red onions, and mayo, not even salt). Trust me, it's worth it. I'm in love. Over sixteen years I was a vegetarian and now I am in love with thyme chicken salad. But try it, you'll understand. Dylan did.
I have also found a handful of fresh thyme the perfect way to compliment a stir-fry of onions from the garden and bulk sausage we've developed a fondness for from the Dorset Farmer's Market (Lewis Waite Farm in Upstate NY), particularly when tossed with whatever green veggie (kale, zucchini, spinach, chard, broccoli, etc) and maybe a few halved cherry tomatoes atop a bed of rice or mixed with some pasta. Seriously, I can't get enough thyme. It's fresh and clean, yet earthy and almost minty fragrance, it's beautiful and perfect little green leaves, and it's many, many uses. Apparently it's often used to make mouthwashes and can help battle melancholy when used as aromatherapy. After nibbling on a few leaves, I definitely understand the oral health care benefits and whenever I am around thyme I do find myself feeling a bit more content. But honestly, even if that's all in my head, the culinary uses of this herb alone are worth the tiny bit of effort it takes to keep a thyme plant alive and healthy. I never want to live without one (or a million) of these little guys again.
No comments:
Post a Comment