Cooking with fresh herbs

                                                       Fresh herbs from the garden

 There are several recipes you can use fresh herbs in. Most of the time I just cut an assortment of herbs, chop them up and add them to dishes I prepare. 

Stuffed Shiitake with Insalata Caprese

Insalata Caprese is a Neapolitan dish from the island of Capri. It's a simple dish made with buffalo mozzarella, vine-ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil. This is a dish we make often in the summer. We decided to stuff our Shiitakes with this delightful summer salad. Just take your Shiitake Mushrooms and cut off the stems. Place Shiitake mushroom caps on a cookie sheet. Pre-heat your oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil over your Shiitake caps. Add some salt and pepper. Place in your oven for 10 to 15 minutes. While the Shiitakes are roasting make your Insalata Caprese. In a small mixing bowl combine chopped vine-ripe tomatoes, diced mozzarella, chopped basil, extra virgin olive oil with some salt and pepper. Stir all that together and let sit to infuse flavor. When your Shiitakes are done roasting add you Insalata to the mushroom caps. Buon Appetito!

Just a side note:

You can use your stems to make a vegetable stock or put them in a food processor and finely chop them for adding to a stuffing later. If that doesn't work for you, just throw them in your compost, they won't be wasted! 

Wooly Thyme

This is called wooly thyme. Isn't it cool? I just love it! I really just show this off. I have common Thyme that I use in most recipes. 

Sage

Sage is a special herb with a sweet, savory flavor. It is used in the culinary world as well as medicinally. It's leaves are grayish green with a silvery tint. Since sage is very delicate it would be recommended to add to your dishes at the end. If you are stuffing a turkey or chicken I highly suggest using sage. It will be absorbed into the bird giving off an amazing aroma and flavor. 

If you want more recipes or ideas cooking with fresh herbs just leave me a comment or email me. Also, check us out on face book. We post weekly what we will have at Pepper Place Farmers Market. This week we will have Star-Gazer lilies. Their scent is amazing. Come join us on Saturday for our log grown Shiitake Mushrooms, fresh cut herbs, organic eggs, and lovely lilies. Hope to see you there!