Herbs Abound (and a recipe...)

This weather is brutal for humans, but great for the herb garden - it's really lush. For the French Herb class last week, we got to use a lot of them, in a chilled herb soup, a strawberry tart, a bernaise sauce for steamed asparagus, and an fresh herb salad. The piece de resistance (hey, this was a French class, right?) was a a rack of lamb with a rub made with lavender. Maile brought over a beautiful bouquet (why can't I grow it like that? Damn her green thumb!). I partially dried it for several hours in my oven, which has a "Dehydrate" setting which works really well for the herbs.

As the summer progresses, we're going to continue to use the herbs in our class recipes, especially the kid's camps. I've found that the kids really love to cut them and use them in recipes. The fact that you can grow stuff, pick it, cook with it, and eat it, seems to fascinate them. They especially love decorating with edible flowers. It's one of the little ways we have of showing the little tykes where their some of their food comes from - the ground. Wouldn't I love to have some chickens! Backyard chickens, a beehive, and a worm farm: that's our goal.

I digress. As herbs grow wilder, I'll have to start filling the freezer with herbalicious compound butters (chive blossom is a favorite), make some herb vinegars, and put up some herb sugars and herb syrups. Oh, and pesto, which is easy to make and freezes well. There's nothing like popping open a container of basil or mint pesto in January. It's summer in a jar.

Chive Blossom Compound Butter
(1/2 Cup)

1 stick butter, softened
2 generous Tablespoons chive blossoms, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chives, snipped
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt to taste (you won't need it for salted butter)

In a bowl, smash softened butter, chive blossoms, snipped chives, lemon juice, and salt to taste. For into a 1/2 log (about the same size as the original stick of butter) and wrap tightly in wax paper or cling wrap. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Use on hot drained pasta, steamed or grilled vegetables, or toasted baguette slices.