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The end of the summer gardening season is bittersweet, but has
its own rewards. This is the month that almost all kitchen herbs are
producing in abundance, ready to snip in big bunches whenever you
feel like enjoying them in the kitchen. Here are some of the best
ways to utilize their bright herbal flavors and perfumes.
Fresh Herbal Teas
If you like the pleasant soothing lift of a good herbal tea, late
summer is a great time to start making your own blends. It's fun to
experiment with different combinations of tea herbs and you're sure
to find delicious mixes that suit your own taste buds perfectly. I
also enjoy combining different blends of black teas with fresh tea
herbs if I'm in the mood for a caffeinated pick me up, especially in
the late afternoon. Good tea herbs include all the mints, chamomile, scented basils,
bee balm, bronze fennel, anise hyssop, lemon verbena and lemon balm.
To make a good herbal tea, start with 2-3 tablespoons of coarsely
chopped fresh herb leaf for each cup of tea. Put the leaves into a
warmed teapot, then cover with freshly boiled water, figuring a cup
is 6 ounces. Let the tea steep for several minutes to release the
essential flavors from the leaves. Serve with honey. I also vary the
flavors by adding 3 or 4 orange slices to the pot, 1 whole clove, or
you can pour out the fragrant teas into tall glasses and serve with
peppermint or clove or cinnamon candy sticks as sweet stirrers. Make
great herb iced tea drinks by brewing extra strong hot tea and then
pouring it over ice cubes made from your favorite fruit juices.
Garnish with fresh strawberries or slices of pineapple or orange and
lemon to make the chilled glasses even more inviting. Experiment with different tea leaf mixtures. I find a mix of
peppermint and chamomile especially delicious and also enjoy fennel,
lemon and candied ginger root steeped together. Tropical fruit
juices are lovely combined with mint tea as are the leaves of
scented geraniums.
Herbal Vinegars
Mild, fragrant herbal vinegars are wonderfully versatile
condiments to have at hand. Besides using them in salads of all
kinds, I splash a little into the sauté pan after cooking chicken
breasts or fish fillets and use them to deglaze a pan. These
vinegars are also a great no-fat way to season steamed veggies like
green beans, kale or brussels sprouts. Mix it together with a good olive oil, or to
brighten potato, rice, or pasta salads.  My favorite herbs for making vinegar are all the various basils,
dill, rosemary, oregano, tarragon, lemon balm, lemon thyme, garlic
chives and peppery bright nasturtium flowers. I also relish
vinegar seasoned with a combination of garlic cloves, rosemary, and
little hot chiles. If put up at the end of the summer season, the
bottles with their tinted contents make handsome holiday presents,
especially if you make several kinds. I usually try to make
different kinds of scented basil vinegars because their pretty
colors compliment their flavor so handsomely; cinnamon basil vinegar
is a soft pink, lemon basil vinegar is champagne color, and opal
basil is a deep rich garnet hue. Similarly, nasturtium vinegar has a
warm and brilliant bronzy-red color.
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Renee's
Garden Seeds shopping list:
Salad Leaf Basil
Italian Pesto Basil
Sweet Green Basil
Scented Trio Basil
Mrs. Burns' Lemon Basil
Lime Scented Basil
Garlic Chives
Dukat Dill
Smokey Bronze Fennel
True Greek Oregano
Bodegold Chamomile
Amazon Jewel Nasturtiums
Vanilla Berry Nasturtiums
Copper Sunset Nasturtiums
Empress of India Nasturtiums
To purchase these and other Renee's Garden Seeds, click here
Try
these great recipes from Renee's cookbooks:
Scented Basil Vinegar Chicken
Herb Jellies
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To make herbal vinegar, I prefer to use rice wine vinegar as a
base to steep the leaves. Other vinegars including wine vinegars,
plain distilled vinegar or cider vinegar are often suggested, but I
find their strong flavors overwhelm the aromatic herbs. Be sure to
use unseasoned rice wine vinegar. If you have a supermarket or
discount store that stocks Asian style products, finding it in bulk
should be easy. If you cannot obtain rice vinegar, use a mild
flavored white wine vinegar in its place.