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I’ve mentioned before that there are many foods that I did not like to eat, until I started to cook. Let’s add mushrooms to the list.

I found this Portobello Mushroom Salad recipe on Domestic Cat. The recipe mentions whole Portobello mushrooms but I bought the ones already sliced. I think I’m allowed to take a little short cuts once in a while.

I enjoyed making this salad and eating it. The mushrooms, sprinkled with dried oregano and thyme tasted perfect. The mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juiced, simply enhanced the taste. Last, I garnished the dish with one of my favorite herbs — chopped, fresh parsely (the flat leaf kind). I don’t think this herb will ever fail you as you prepare your meal. Any time I toss it on the food I prepare, it always seems to liven up the meal in taste and appearance.

The recipe does not call for red onions. However, I had some leftover chopped onions in the fridge and threw it into the salad. Mmm… Mmm good! I loved the crunchy texture with the soft, smooth mushrooms and the textured feel of the parsley. Definitely a good combination. Thanks, Domestic Cat, for this recipe! I’ve made it several times, now.

I’d like to submit this recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging. It is one of my favorite food blog events but due to my busy schedule, I haven’t been able to participate in quite some time. Parsely is one of my favorite herbs with which to use on food. I probably went overboard here with the parsley and put too much, but I don’t care! I love it! I don’t think I can have too much parsley. It tasted good with the mushrooms.

Everyone knows about parsley. I’d say it’s a common herb used by many (Middle Eastern, European, and American cuisine). However, I learned something new from Wikipedia. Among its many uses, parsley is used as a breath freshner. It works well against garlic breath. Hmm… I’ll have to remember that. In the mean time, if you want to know more parsley, you can visit Wikipedia.

Paz

Portobello Mushroom Salad
Domestic Cat

• 400grs portobello mushrooms
• fresh or dried herbs, such as oregano and thyme
• balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt, freshly ground blackpepper

Preheat your oven to 200-210 C. Quickly wash mushrooms under running water and pat dry. Using a mellonballer or a coffee spoon, scoop out the black flesh under their caps. This will help them to have a better colour. Place mushrooms upside down on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt and place herbs on their caps. Cook in the oven for about 30 mins or until soft. Remove the tray from the oven and transfer mushrooms on a cutting board. Cut them lenghtwise in 0.5 cm slices. Combine mushroom slices with the rest of the ingredients and check the taste. Balsamic vinegar especially goes well with this salad. Serve warm with meat or fish, or on its own. Enjoy!

*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables, or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn’s Kitchen, Sunday afternoon.

Interested in participating? Check out the guidelines.

Garden Sage (salvia officinalis)

It’s Weekend Herb Blogging time and I’d like to spotlight the herb Sage. Its name comes from the Latin word, which means health or healing powers. As far back as the Dark Ages, sage has been used for two purposes – culinary and medicinal.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used sage to do things like promote long life, cure sterility, snakebites, and depression. You can find a few modern medicinal recipes here. Sage is the best herb choice for killing bacteria.

This week, I made a jar of Marinated Feta from a recipe I saw on Haalo’s blog, Cook Anything (Almost) Once.

The ingredients contained a mixture of herbs. To achieve an Asian flavor in her marinated feta, Haalo chose to use coriander, chives, lime leaf, and parsley.

I opted for the Mediterranean taste by using fresh sage, basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme. It tasted very nice. Good feta and olive oil are the key here. I love feta cheese and this was a nice and different way to prepare it. Next, I’ll try Haalo’s Asian flavored version.

Domestic Cat also has a different recipe for Marinated Feta, which I plan on trying in the near future.

Thanks Haalo and Tülin for such enticing recipes!

By the way, recently, Sravanthi wrote a nice article for The Hindu Business Line called ‘Hot off the… blog!’ It’s about the world of food blogging. Our fellow food blog friends Sailu of Sailu’s Indian Food & Andhra Recipes, Napur of One Hot Stove, Sury and Cesar of (Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t, Vineela of Vineela’s Cuisine, Mae of Rice and Noodles, and Indira of Mahanadi are mentioned. So am I. You can read the article here.

Paz

Marinated Feta
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Haalo’s recipe:

Marinated Fetta
1 slice of your favourite fetta cheese
assorted soft herbs
freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, very finely sliced
fresh chilli, to taste, very finely sliced
good olive oil

First thing is the pat your slice of fetta cheese dry on a paper towel. Next dice into a smallish cube (maximum 1cm width) and place in a bowl.

Prepare the herbs - I like to maintain a theme with my herbs. This version will have Asian flavours so I’m using, coriander, chives, lime leaf, parsley. If I wanted a more Mediterranean feel, I’d use basil, sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme. Feel free to experiment with your favourites.

Add the sliced garlic and chillies and finely chopped herbs to the cheese. Carefully toss through. Generously grind over the top with fresh pepper, then toss again.

Pour enough olive oil (use a good oil - why sacrifice the dish and use a horrible tasting oil) until it covers the cheese. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge to allow the flavours to develop. You can if you like, place the herb and cheese mix into a sterilised jar, cover with oil and seal for a more longer life product.

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I found this unusual salad on Trembom in English. I call it unusual because I’ve never had a carrot and peanut salad before.

I’d been dying to try it, but didn’t have the peanut and sesame oil. When I finally bought the oils, I got to working in the kitchen. It didn’t take much work. That’s my kind of recipe – the easy kind.

I chopped baby carrots in half, added the peanuts, and then covered them with the red wine vinegar, peanut oil, and sesame oil mixture. Very different! I liked the combination of flavors and the texture of the salad. Can we say “Crunchy?” Boy, was it ever!

Valentina of Trembom in English recommends that if you decide to grate the carrots instead of chopping them, do not to grate them finely because it will take away from texture of the salad. I agree. The best part of the salad is the crunchiness of the carrots and peanuts.

This salad is great tasting, especially during these hot summer days. What’s more, its major ingredient – carrots – have great health benefits: They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins and help fight against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Could you ask for anything more? If you like carrots and peanuts, try this salad!

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging started by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. Read about this event below.

Paz

The Rainbow Room’s Carrot and Peanut Salad
Adapted from Forever Summer with Nigella – Nigella Lawson

4 medium carrots peeled and coarsely grated or cut into chopstick shape
75g salted peanuts
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Groundnut oil (*Peanut oil)
Few drops of Sesame oil

Throw the carrots in a salad dish followed by the peanuts and give it a good mix. In a separate container add the vinegar, groundnut and sesame oil. Pour it over the salad and just have a good time chewing away. Crunch, crunch…

Hello, Folks!

It’s time for the WHB roundup of entries! In case you’re coming across this event for the first time, here’s a short explanation: Every weekend, food bloggers, worldwide, write about herbs, plants, veggies, or flowers.

To read more about WHB, how it started, and a backlist of previous entry lineups, look here. Check out the guidelines if you’re interested in participating in next weekend’s WHB event.

I encourage you all to visit these blogs during the week to read more about the WHB posts and see some awesome photos!

Kalyn, thanks for the opportunity to guest host!

Paz

Spinach and Sorrel Chopped Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese (Sorrel)

Creative WHB event founder, Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen starts off our lineup. She blogs about sorrel, a perennial herb, and makes an original recipe of Spinach and Sorrel Chopped Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese. Appetizing!

Baked Peach with Almond and Amaretti

Gattina from her self titled blog prepares a healthy and lovely breakfast of Baked Peach with Almond and Amaretti. Succulent!

Neil from Food for Thought blogs about vanilla pod and a fun story of how he prepared meals for a professional that may intimidate many – an executive chef. One winning recipe was his Goat’s Cheesecake. Delicious!

Shiso (Japanese Basil)

Haalo from Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once focuses on two Japanese ingredients –Shiso, which is known as Japanese Basil and Umeboshi, known as Japanese Apricot. Haalo uses these two ingredients to make Iwashi No Umé Maki Yaki (Rolled Sardines with Plum Paste). Attention-grabbing!

Spaghetti Puttanesca (Capers)

Ruth from Once Upon A Feast blogs about capers, described as “a biennial spiny shrub.” She prepares a meal of Spaghetti Puttanesca, using Kalamata olives, anchovies and capers. Wonderful!

Ratatouille with Petrale Sole (Thyme)

Sher from What Did You Eat? features thyme for her WHB post and uses the herb in a recipe of Ratatouille with Petrale Sole. Yummy!

Spanakopita (Silverbeet)

Anna from Morsels & Musings spotlights Silverbeet also known as Swiss chard. She decides to use the vitamins and minerals-rich vegetables to make Spanakopita (Greek spinach and Feta pie) when spinach isn’t available. The results are a delicious dinner.

Nasturtiums

Christine from Christine Cooks showcases nasturtiums from her garden. She uses them in salads and as a garnish for salads, grilled chicken, or fish. Beautiful!

Focaccia topped with Fresh Figs and Fennel Seeds

Ilva from Lucullian Delights highlights fennel seeds. She makes a Sweet Focaccia, topped with Fresh Figs and Fennel Seeds. I believe her when she says it was really good. Thanks for not leaving me hanging, Ilva!

Please look below for the second part of the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup.

Rosemary Flatbread

Ulrike from Küchenlatein showcases Rosemary from her garden. Despite it being the hottest summer weather in 30 years, Ostwestwind decided to bake Rosemary flatbread. Her trick to baking in the hot weather? Bake in the evening when it’s cooler. Delicious!

Manathakali Chutney

Indosungod from Daily Musings blogs about Manathakali. Unsure of the English or Botanical name, Indosungod believes it called Black Nightshade. She grows them in her garden every summer and enjoys eating the berries with her daughters. She makes an easy chutney, which she recommends eating with rice. Very nice!

Vanilla Pod

Kitchen Mage of the same named blog writes about vanilla and shares a secret source. How generous! I agree with Kitchen Mage that vanilla is “anything but boring.”

Spice Chard with Pinenuts

Jmom from In Our Kitchen blogged about Spiced Chard and prepared a meal of Spiced Chard with Pinenuts. Lovely!

Roasted Corn and Tarragon Risotto on Fresh Tomato Salsa

Surfindave from The Serendipitous Chef focuses on tarragon. He writes about a tarragon tomato romance and a corn tarragon relationship. Then he shares two recipes for Roasted Corn and Tarragon Risotto with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Roasted Corn and Tarragon Risotto cakes on Fresh Tomato Salsa. Mouth watering! I wanna be a part of this relationship!

Capers

Cyndi from Cookin’ with Cyndi used capers in her dinner and decided to blog about them for WHB. She provides extensive information on these unopened green flower buds, which are grown mainly in Mediterranean countries (southern France, Italy, and Algeria) and also in California. Very informative!

Melon Balls with Fresh Mint

Gabriella from My Life as A Reluctant Housewife spotlights cantaloupes and shares a recipe of Melon balls with Fresh Mint. Very interesting information and very cool recipe, especially for the extremely hot summer weather we’ve been having.

Grape Tomatoes

Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener shares a Caprese pasta meal, which she calls I Wanted to be Airline Food. She made the after not being able to catch a flight to a family reunion. The vegetables come from her garden and include tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, zucchini, Vidalia onion and whole-wheat pasta. It’s a nice meal despite the disappointing airline experience.

Fattoush

Alanna of A Veggie Venture makes Fattoush, a Lebanese Veggie Salad that includes ingredients like chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, lemon juice and olive oil. She highlights Sumac (Sumaq), a spice used in the dressing. It comes from berries that grow in the Middle East and parts of Italy. Another nice meal.

Cherry and Buttermilk Soup

The Chocolate Lady of In Mol Araan makes a Cherry and Buttermilk Soup. Wow! I have a feeling it’s a perfect meal for hot weather.

Chickpeas Feta Coriander Salad

Last but not least, I blogged about cilantro and made a Chickpeas Feta Coriander salad. Perfect for summer weather!

Thanks, Everyone, for participating in the latest WHB. Thanks, Kalyn for starting the event and the opportunity to guest host. It’s been fun!

Don’t forget to check out the individual blogs during the week and read more about the WHB entries and see wonderful photos.

Have a great week!
Paz

Photo from Wikipedia

We’ve been having heat wave weather in my neck of the woods for the past couple of days. It’s simply too hot to stand over a burning stove and try to cook anything. As a result, instead, I’ve been making a lot of salads.

I found a nice, cool salad recipe on Trembom in English blog. Valentina has a wonderful blog in Portuguese and I’m so glad that she decided to make one in English. That way, I’m able to discover a lot of great recipes from her.

The Chickpeas Feta Coriander Salad recipe comes from the cookbook Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. That’s another cookbook I’m interested in getting in the near future.

Valentina wrote that the ‘chickpeas’ in the title attracted her to the recipe. Interestingly enough, the feta cheese and coriander (cilantro to me) in the title caught my attention. You see, I’m a big fan of those two main ingredients. I love feta cheese and cilantro is one of my all time favorite herbs. I’ve mentioned several times how chopping herbs like cilantro and smelling its fresh aroma rising from the chopping board can lead me to do my happy dance in the kitchen. Yes, seriously. I do the dance (See #9 here). You can ask my dogs.

I’ve learned that cilantro is a love-it or hate-it herb. It seems to inspire intense feelings in many people. I actually came across an online anti cilantro community with over 700 members. I can’t imagine not having this herb as a part of my meal, if a recipe calls for it.

Cilantro may be a controversial herb, but it’s used in several types of cuisines ranging from North African, Indian, Mexican, Tex Mex, Asian, to Caribbean.

A lover of history, I’ve enjoyed reading about the existence of cilantro from time immemorial. It’s been mentioned in Sanskrit texts, the Bible, the Medical Papyrus of Thebes. It’s said to be one of the plants in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans all used cilantro. It was also one of the first herb plants brought to the North America when the settlers arrived there. Clearly, it’s been around a long time.

The Chickpea Feta Coriander Salad calls for cilantro, mixed with flat-leaf parsley. The herbs acted like the icing on the cake for me. Or in this case, the most delicious garnish on the salad. I really liked the combination. I suppose if you don’t like cilantro, you can eliminate it and use parsley alone.

The chickpeas made the salad very filling. A really good quality feta cheese is the key to making the salad even tastier. My mouth still waters at the thought of the flavorsome feta cheese I bought.

The salad ingredients also call for red chili peppers, which I suppose is optional. The use of peppers also captivated me since I like hot and spicy flavors. I expected a sizzling tasting salad but the recipe pleasantly surprised me when the peppers blended very nicely with the rest of the ingredients to produce a cool tasting salad. Just right for this volcanic atmospheric-like weather we’re having.

By the way Elizabeth makes a different Orange, Red Onion, and Fennel Salad with ingredients that include dried chili peppers. Sounds good! Have a look!

This post is for the upcoming Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB) event started by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. You can read about WHB and its guidelines below the banner.

This week, I have the honor of being the guest host of Weekend Herb Blogging. If you are interested in participating, send me the link to your blog post by this coming Sunday, 3 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. E-mail your WHB links to: PazCooks AT yahoo DOT com. I will post a line up of the entries the following Monday.

Paz

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Chickpea, Feta & Coriander Salad
Adapted from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros

250g dried chickpeas(without skins if possible), soaked overnight in cold water; or 400g tinned chickpeas
250ml olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 or 2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
250g crumbled feta cheese
4 spring onions, green part only, chopped
25g chopped coriander
30g chopped flat-leaf parsley
Juice of 1 lemon

If using dried chickpeas, rinse them and put them in a saucepan, covered with loads of water. Bring to the boil. Lower the heat slightly and cook for 1-1 ½ hours, until they are soft but not falling apart. Add the salt towards the end of the cooking. When cooled, drain them and put the chickpeas in a large bowl, removing all the skin. If using tinned chickpeas, drain and rinse them before transferring to a bowl.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and fry the red onion gently until it is cooked through and lightly golden Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a few more seconds until you can smell the garlic. Take care not to brown the garlic. Leave to cool completely.

Add the feta, spring onion, coriander, parsley and lemon juice to the chickpeas and season with pepper and dash more salt, if needed. Add the cooled garlic oil and the remaining olive oil and mix through very well.