I am having my doubts about my garden this year due to the invasion of squirrels who have voracious appetites. My beets are completely gone, the green beans are decimated, the sorrel was nibbled away to stems, and I’m just waiting to see what they will attack next. Last year they ate every bell pepper plant I put in the ground, but they are much worse this year. I’ve tried cayenne, fake owls (oh yeah, that worked…they ate the plants right under the owl’s tail feathers!!), pungent garlic/onion/cayenne spray, etc., nothing seems to work. I have, however, just borrowed a pellet rifle fro a friend and hope to rid myself of the vermin this weekend. Squirrel stew anyone?? J
The upside is that they don’t seem to be interested in my herbs thank goodness. I have thyme, oregano, lemon balm, rosemary, dill, fennel, basil, onions and garlic all growing like weeds and no one/thing seems to be interested in eating them. This is a good thing. I will harvest bunches on Friday night and sell them at the corner on Saturday morning, plus will be putting bunches on the dehydrators this weekend. I keep myself well supplied with fresh herbs during the summer and dried herbs all winter long, plus share with friends and family. Son Erik and wife Debbie moved to New Mexico last year, and when we went to visit, I took them every dried herb I had in the cupboard to stock up their new home and Erik, the cook guy, was so pleased. So when I get a new batch done, will be sending some along.
Herbs are so fabulous for adding zip and zing to dishes and they help boost flavor when you are watching the sodium/salt content in your food making dishes less bland and more palatable. I love fresh sorrel, basil, thyme, and fennel in salads. I also enjoy going out and picking fresh herbs and bringing them in to use I recipes…fresh oregano and tomatoes put into piping hot cooked pasta and drizzled with a little olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, and parmesan is a fabulous quick, filling, easy, and budget friendly recipe and everyone loves it.
One of the favorite recipes using herbs in our house is Dilly Bread. It uses dill seed and cottage cheese for a unique and very pleasing taste. It’s easy to make, I’ve never had it fail, slices nicely for sandwiches, and can be served in chunks with a stick of soft butter to go with bread and salads to round them out and make a great meal. I have not perfected a gluten free recipe yet, but am working on it and will post as soon as I get it up to standard.
So enjoy those fresh herbs of summer, and bake up some of this fresh and tasty bread to enjoy with salads and soups of the season….really good with the Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup recipe posted a couple days ago!
DILLY BREAD
¼ c. warm water 1 dry yeast package 1 T. sugar
1 c. cottage cheese 2 T chopped onion 2 T. melted butter
1 egg 1 t. salt 2 ¼ c. flour
¼ c. wheat germ 1 T dill seed
1 egg 1 T. water
Pour water into blender stirring in yeast and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Blend 10 seconds. Add cottage cheese, onion, butter, egg & salt. Mix 10 seconds. Combine flour, wheat germ & dill in large bowl. Pour in liquid from blender. Stir with wooden spoon until pulls from sides. Grease large bowl. Place dough on floured board and knead then put into greased bowl. Let rise until double. Grease 2 loaf pans…punch down dough and divide in half. Shape and place in pans. Let double. Preheat oven to 350…mix egg and water and brush on loaves. Bake until brown about 35-40 minutes.
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