Making Chamomile Tea

I made chamomile tea today and it was so easy! Here's how I did it.

I started with our lovely chamomile plant that bloomed beautifully this year.

I cut it back to about 8 or 10 inches tall and then bundled the bouquet and hung it to dry.

After about a week, I clipped off the dried flowers from the stems.

I had to separate the stems out one by one, which leads me to think that it might be easier next time to bundle them more evenly so that I can cut straight across and have less stems to pick out.

Ta da! Tea in a container. A teaspoon per cup is enough for a medium-strength tea. I'm sincerely hoping for another harvest this year, but with my love of chamomile tea, I think I'll need to plant a few more plants next year. Once I try the straight tea, I'm going to try adding some of the other dried herbs to create a fun blend. More on that another day!

Yesterday's Garden Salad

I finally got my salad ready in time for a late dinner, but it was worth the wait! Just being in the garden in the cool of the evening cutting my own food for dinner was so pleasant. Represented here are oak leaf lettuce, romaine, arugula, sorrel, thyme, chives, sage, basil, dill, carnations, and a pansy. The flowers that look like daisies are Chamomile flowers, and they weren't part of the salad, but are now hanging in the kitchen to dry so that I can make some tea.

I washed everything and picked out the older, tougher lettuces and tossed them. After a really good wash, I spun them in the salad spinner to dry and set them aside. I washed and finely chopped all of the herbs and put them in a bowl. To the bowl I added some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, the juice of one lemon, and salt and pepper. After whisking, I tossed it with the lettuce and then added chopped pansies and carnations to the top along with an avocado given to me by a neighbor. Yum!!

Thyme for a recipe

My thyme needed to be cut back so I brought some into the house to put in vases and then I also decided to use it for dinner. What a delightful smell! I grabbed a big handful and washed it under the sink before tucking it in (flowers, stems, and all!) between some frozen chicken breasts that had been seasoned with salt and pepper. I put a little lemon zest on each one and then squeezed the juice from the lemon over the whole thing. About 2 tbs. of olive oil drizzled over the top finished it off and then I baked it uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Because I put them in the oven frozen, it was so easy! I served it with the harvest grains from Trader Joe's, which is a mix of baby garbanzo beans, red quinoa, and risotto and then we had a side of steamed asparagus topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Yum!

Lovely Lavender

I've been so excited about flowery recipes that I just had to start early. I made some lavender orange chocolate bark tonight to share with friends and, while a little heavy on the lavender, I am encouraged! I used white chocolate chips, orange zest, and culinary-grade lavender purchased at World Market. I set out to Home Depot this morning in search of Spanish Lavender for the garden, but didn't find any yet since it is still early in the planting season. Once I can find some and get it planted, the hot days of summer will surely yield a crop of lovely lavender and I'm still looking for more fun recipes for it all. Some I remember finding in the past are things like lavender lemonade, lavender scones, and lavender jelly, not to mention savory preparations for meats like lamb and duck. Ah, the promise of what's to come!