Saturday, April 24, 2010

Basiled Egg Scramble


Basiled Egg Scramble

Melted cheese and basil turn simple scrambled eggs into a gourmet treat that’s easy to fix. A quick breakfast on their own, these eggs, served with an English muffin and piece of fresh fruit make a nice lunch for 4. Serve with a garden salad and juice for a light dinner.

Beat 8 eggs with:
  •  ½ cup of milk  
  • ½ cup of fresh, minced sweet or lemon basil. (¼ cup of dried basil will work if the fresh is not at hand)
Melt 1 Tablespoon in pan

Cook the egg mixture, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are almost set.

Sprinkle with 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
Salt and pepper to taste
Cover and remove from heat.
When the cheese has melted, give the scrambled egg mixture a quick toss and sprinkle with paprika.

Herbal Egg Casserole

Herbal Egg Casserole

This easy casserole recipe is for six servings, more if served as part of a buffet,  but any leftovers can easily be reheated. English muffins and wedges of avocado, along with herbed tomato juice, will make it a complete meal.
The nice thing about it is that it can be prepped well ahead of time so that the cook isn’t overwhelmed at the last minute.

Cook and crumble 12 slices of bacon

Peel and slice 12 hard boiled eggs and layer them in a buttered casserole

Blend:
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of mayonnaise
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or celery soup)
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly snipped chives
Pour the mixture over the sliced eggs

Pop into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes
Sprinkle with paprika and the crumbled bacon and bake for 10 additional minutes.

Herbal Recipes for Holiday Brunch


I hope you don’t plan on making mom do all the cooking for the holiday. Shame. The budget may not allow the whole family to eat out on this special day, but Mom can be pampered in her own home if someone steps up to take on some of the food preparation.

The first step to making Mom feel special is to bring her a nice cup of  herbal tea and make sure she has her feet up. If time permits, have a cup with her and catch up on each others lives. Tell her not to be alarmed at the noises coming out of the kitchen, and assure her that the kitchen will be left as found, or as close as you can manage.

Being the organized person that you are, you’ve already made sure that all the ingredients for the dishes chosen are in place in the kitchen, so get to work.


This easy casserole recipe is for six servings, more if served as part of a buffet,  but any leftovers can easily be reheated. English muffins and wedges of avocado, along with herbed tomato juice, will make it a complete meal.
The nice thing about it is that it can be prepped well ahead of time so that the cook isn’t overwhelmed at the last minute.



Melted cheese and basil turn simple scrambled eggs into a gourmet herbal treat that’s easy to fix. A quick breakfast on their own, these eggs, served with an English muffin and piece of fresh fruit make a nice lunch for 4. Serve with a garden salad and juice for a light dinner.


These yummy herb and cheese wedges go with eggs as well as they do with hearty stews and soups. A perfect addition to any brunch.


Add to the variety with your own version of pancake or crepes.

Pancake Rollups

Herbed pancakes stuffed with ham are a special treat, whether served as part of a buffet or as a side dish to a light meal. This recipe calls for the herb sage, but you should experiment with other herbs until you discover the perfect crepe batter. Once the batter is perfected, move on to other savory stuffings. Cooked sausage, fruit preserves or whipped herb cheeses are all proven winners in my family.

I simply add freshly chopped herb and cheese to pancake or crepe butter and cook as I would the plain ones. From then on, it’s all experimentation. I’m thinking of offering a choice of stuffing for my next brunch, letting guests choose their own rollup fillings.

Herb Seasoning for Eggs

Make up some packets of egg seasonings to give an extra zing to deviled eggs or egg salad using equal parts of:
Ground celery seed
Onion granules
Dillweed
Store in an airtight container and add to your egg mixture according to taste.

Whipped Garlic Butter

If you’re like me, warm bread and butter is a gourmet treat all on its own. But if you really want to impress people, herbal butters are the way to go. Garlic butter dresses up not only fresh bread, but rice, hot vegetables and grilled steak.

Simply crush 4 small garlic cloves and add them to a cup of softened butter. Beat until you have a fluffy herbal butter. Put in a tightly covered container and refrigerate.
Use the mixture within a week.




Divide and Share Your Garden Herbs

As you do the spring cleanup of the herb garden, you’ll probably find shoots from the perennial herbs and want to take a quick break for a cup of herbal tea as the scent from the fresh, tender leaves surround you. Before you start the teakettle, take the time to divide the thyme, chive, oregano and mint plants first, and turn that fresh herb tea time into a gathering with friends. Present each guest with a potted herb you’ve taken from your garden and trade herbal recipes and gardening tips.

Remember not to let your guests thank you for a shared garden plant. By gardening tradition, that thanks is done by passing a rooting or division on to someone else.

Once back to the herb garden, look over the upright thyme and lavender and give them a light groom. Don’t pull them out, even though they probably look quite dead. It takes a bit longer for new growth to show on the old branches of these herb plants. The deadwood can be identified and removed later in the spring, once the new growth has sprouted from most of the branches.

The tarragon, sage, lavender and thyme probably look like they won’t survive, but leave them alone. Pull the weeds, but don’t cut back the herbs until strong new growth appears.

As the April showers bring the herbs to life, continue to divide root clumps and runner roots so that the herb plants get good air circulation. When your friend’s gardens are full, consider donating the potted herbs to clubs holding fundraisers. Senior citizen clubs are often filled with gardeners who would enjoy receiving a living herb plant. Make sure the pots are properly marked with the name of the herb.

photo under morgueFile Free License