So I not a big fan of butter.  Especially because it adds to the waist line but butter with fresh herbs really make it hard to pass at the dinner table.

Here are a few that you can play with that even I can whip up relatively quickly.

Herb Butter

1/4 lb butter

2 tablespoons Thyme

3 tablespoons Marjoram

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Olive Herb Butter

1/4 lbs butter

1/2 cup chopped Nicoise Butter

1 Tablespoon Rosemary

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Blossom Butter

1/4 lbs butter

2 tablespoon assorted herbs ( opal basil, marjoram, chives, thyme)

3 tablespoon edible blossoms( sage, rosemary, calendula, nasturtium)

A pinch of salt & white pepper

To make the compound butters, add all the ingredients for each recipe to a food processor and mix throughly.  Remove the mixture and form into a log shape, rolling in plastic wrap.  Freeze until ready to use.  To use, cut in circular slice.  It is used to spread on bake pita chips, vegetables, fish and meats.

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Basil is a great herb.  Visually attractive and a nice fragrance. Basil is used in loads of recipes, can be kept fresh in the refrigerator in a dry plastic bag for a few days, freezes well.

My favorite thing to do with Basil?  Is to drink it!  I am not a drinker at all, don’t even have an occasional cocktail, just don’t want the edge to come off..yeah I like being high strung unless I am on vacation.

Years ago we offered a cooking demonstration once a month with a local chef that taught us how to prepare a wide variety of things and always something for fun.  Once we made Fortified Basil Lemonade Cocktails.  Here is how you do it.

2/3 cup sugar

Zest and Juice Lemon

1/2 cup water

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil

1 oz Dark Rum

1/4 cup sparkling water

Start by making a syrup, combine all ingredients except the basil in a  2 1/2 qt saucepan.  Bring to a boil and continue boiling until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  When ready to use, combine syrup and basil in a food processor and blend for 20 seconds.  Strain through a cheese cloth.  This is now your new Basil syrup.

Here is the good part, use 1 oz Dark Rum adn 1/4 cup sparkling water into a highball glass and add the Basil syrup and garnish with a fresh cut lime.  You now have an incredibly edible…knock your lights out cocktail. Be careful, consuming these may lead to someone getting luck.

Genovese Basil Full sun 18 – 24 Annual Ocimum basilicum

Genovese Basil Genus: Ocimum basilicum Common Name: Basil Print this page Features Harvest sprays of leaves by cutting stems just above two new sprouting lateral branches to get lush regrowth. • Fragrant Foliage • Heat Tolerant Ornamental Characteristics Foliage Color Green Height 18-24″ (Tall) Spacing 10-14″ Habit Upright Container Plant Style Filler – Intermingles well with other plants to fill in the middle ground of a combination Plant Needs Duration Annual Bloom Time Grown for foliage Hardiness Zone(s) Annual except in zones 9 – 10 Hardy Temp 25°F (-4�C) Exposure Full sun Water Needs Normal Maintenance Easy Uses Landscapes and containers adding lavishly to rice dishes, poultry, fish, potatoes and vegetables, dressings or marinades.

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Parsley..not just for garnishing.

We have been experience wonderful cooking for about a year now with some help from Chef Lori Gandy.  Each week she helps out with making everything work for us.  Watching caloric intake, fresh quality foods and using the right ingredients.  She not only has expanded my use of ingredients but has introduced me to so many things I would have never tired.  I am a chicken man.  Just Chicken…I tell her that all the time.  I love chicken so much that I could eat if all day long.

My boys love the super special french fries, what makes them special?  Parsley and Sea Salt.  Chopped parsley splashed with sea salt and a bit of cayenne pepper( In New Orleans..you have to bring the heat to everything) really adds some great flavoring to average fries.  I don’t or should say can not eat the fries( I am just about 40 yrs old and for a guy..”fried” doesn’t go in my mouth)

Foods that Parsley likes:

1. Any kind of Potatoes & Rice

2. Everything else.  Chicken, Casseroles, Lamb, Steak as well as Fish

Some things you may not know about Parsley:

1. It causes birthing issues if consumed as a drug for pregnant women( hey..stop huffin the parsley)

2. High in oxalic acid which helps develop kidney stones

Neapolitanum Parsley Full sun 10 – 14 Annual Petroselinum crispum Neapolitanum Parsley Genus: Petroselinum crispum Common Name: Flat Italian Parsley Print this page Features A must for every herb garden! It will be your most used herb. Contains more Vitamin C than an orange. Also, great source of Vitamin A, several B vitamins, iron and calcium. • Landscape Plant Ornamental Characteristics Foliage Color Green Height 10-14″ (Medium) Spacing 9-12″ Habit Mounded Container Plant Style Filler – Intermingles well with other plants to fill in the middle ground of a combination Plant Needs Duration Annual Bloom Time Foliage Plant Hardiness Zone(s) Annual except in zones 9 – 11 Hardy Temp 20°F (-7�C) Exposure Full sun Water Needs Normal Maintenance Easy Uses Landscapes and containers Use in landscapes and herb gardens.

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So growing Thyme requires a few simple things, Heat & Dry Conditions.  It requires routine fertilizer and if you select to fertilize organically, use a kelp based fertilizer( increase pungency)  Thyme is from the Mint family and there are up to 400 varieties in the wild today.  Thyme is a Mediterranean herb and does well mixed with similar herbs of it region.  Adding Thyme to breads, pasta and pizza is traditional.  Thyme is even used in some perfumes and used to preserve meats.

See the Information below from Proven Winners website for detailed tag information.

Sun or partial sun 6 – 8 Annual Thymus vulgaris

Genus: Thymus vulgaris Common Name: Common Thyme Print this page Features Bright purple to white flowers in summer • Attracts Butterflies • Drought Tolerant * • Fragrant Foliage • Landscape Plant *Even drought tolerant annual and perennial plants will need water for the first few weeks while they get established. Shrubs and trees will need to be watered for the first year after they are planted. After this, little or no supplemental water will be necessary when planted in the ground. No plant is truly drought tolerant in a container; water is necessary for all plants in containers. Ornamental Characteristics Flower Color White Foliage Color Green Height 6-8″ (Short) Spacing 10-12″ Habit Mounded Container Plant Style Filler – Intermingles well with other plants to fill in the middle ground of a combination Plant Needs Duration Annual Bloom Time Late Spring to Early Summer Hardiness Zone(s) Annual except in zones 5 – 10 Hardy Temp 0°F (-18�C) Exposure Sun or partial sun Water Needs Dry to Normal Maintenance Easy Uses Landscapes and containers This plant will beautify your garden all season Growing Tips Trim stems as necessary to control growth.

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