The past few weeks I have been very busy in my kitchen prepping for the colder months of the year. My garden has about run its course, so I’ve been finishing up with the produce, picking and drying herbs, and stocking up for the coming year. I thought I would share some of the things I’ve been doing in my kitchen.
A task I work on throughout the summer is picking fresh herbs from the garden and drying them. Here in New Mexico it is SO EASY to dry herbs. Just lay them out on a sheet pan, place on the top shelf of the pantry and wait a week for them to dry. Remove the leaves from the stems and store in a glass jar. I don’t pulverize at this time because they lose their flavor too quickly in powder form. This week I took inventory to make sure I had enough for the year. I have at least two jars of oregano, sage, tarragon, thyme, mint, and rosemary. I think that should be enough. A friend gave me some fennel last week, so I’m drying the seeds (far left).
Fresh basil and parsley, I grind into a purée and freeze. In my opinion, dried basil and parsley have no flavor, but the purée maintains that fresh herbiness of freshly picked herbs.
Once blended into a purée, I pour into small freezer containers and freeze. When I need some I’ll take one out, set it on the counter for about 10 minutes, pop it out of the container and cut off what I need. The rest I put back in the container and back in the freezer. I used to freeze in ice cube trays, but I found that my current method keeps it fresher. To see the process of making this purée, check out Amy’s post over at Savory Moments. I use her same method, but I do add a little salt and garlic to the blend as well as some parsley leaves.
So what kitchen tool did I use to make the basil purée? My new kitchen toy!!!!! A few weeks ago, Vitamix had its 100 year anniversary sale, so I broke down and bought one for a very good price. Oh, why did I wait so long!?! What a great kitchen tool. It blended up that whole bowl of basil in one batch, whereas my blender would have taken 2 – 3 batches. And puréed soups? They can’t get any smoother.
One of the first things I made with my Vitamix was a ginger garlic paste. I hadn’t made this in a long time because it was a lot of work getting it to purée in my blender. But in the Vitamix, it was a no brainer. Throw everything in, blend to a purée and you’re done. No constantly stopping to scrap down the sides. Just a few seconds on high and the job is complete.
With some of the last fresh tomatoes, I made this sweet and savory Red Chile Tomato Jam. I have two dishes that I make quite often that require it – grilled pork kabobs and a salmon dish that I hope to share with you later this year. I also like it on a hot buttermilk biscuit.
Along with stocking the freezer with roasted green chile, I have to make sure that I have enough dried red chile pods for red chile sauce throughout the year. So to ensure I was covered, I picked two pounds of dried pods from Sichler’s Farm. My favorite red chile pods!
Along with all of the garden prep, I have been doing a little cooking. We had a cold snap last week, so I made one of our favorite cool weather soups – Coconut Lime Soup with Wild Rice from Inspired Edibles. I pretty much follow Kelly’s wonderful recipe, but I do cook the wild rice separately and then pour the soup over the rice. This time, I had just picked some Swiss chard, so I cut it up and added it to the soup, with great results.
The cooler weather allowed me to use the bigger oven, so I made this savory Apple Cheddar Dutch Baby that I found at epicurious. It was delicious! I did halve the recipe since it is just the two of us. Even then, I still had enough leftover for another brunch. What I found curious is that I used the same size skillet as the recipe called for and, as you can see, it almost grew out of the skillet. Not sure how a batter with 8 eggs instead of 4 would have worked in this skillet.
Last, but certainly not least, I threw together this green chile chicken burrito with some freshly roasted green chile. A simple little burrito of leftover chicken, onion, green chile and cheese smothered in more green chile and cheese. OH YUM!
The past few weeks haven’t been all work and no play.
A couple of weeks ago Bobby and I took a few days and rented a house up on a cliff overlooking the Pecos River in northern New Mexico. This was the view from the back porch. A lovely place to spend the day.
From the porch there were a series of stairs that took you down to the river. Bobby did a little fishing, but mostly we just enjoyed the peacefulness, beauty and sounds of the river.
I’m linking this post to Sherry’s Pickings In My Kitchen. She does this each month so this month I thought I would share. If you love taking a peak into people’s kitchen, hop on over there.
Hi MJ, I believe once you’ve cooked with your own homegrown dried herbs, you’ll never use store-bought again. Thanks for the tip on the basil, we still use the ice cube method. We had a Vitamix when we lived in the US, but it uses a different electrical current than we have here, So we gifted it to our neighbor prior to moving. We’ve got a very good Swedish blender, but it’s not a Vitamix.
Oh, I want that burrito! Take care…
Your winter prep looks fantastic, especially all the herbs and spices put away from your own garden. Recipes that call for the wrong-sized pan are really annoying: I’m glad you found out in a non-destructive way!
best…. mae at maefood.blogspot.com
You had so many wonderful things in your kitchen, I wish my kitchen was stocked with all your goodies. As to the food, the simple green chile chicken burrito sounded especially good.
That’s awesome dear. Lucky you to get all fresh produce . I literally drooled looking at the burrito..
hi MJ
lots of good stuff here. your vitamix looks the business. i have a pretty useless one; i must buy a better version one day. i like to blitz parsley with a bit of salt and pepper and a tiny bit of EVOO and shove it in the freezer. so handy. Chicken burrito – yum and the dutch baby more yum. The red chilli tomato jam looks amazingly delicious too. thanks for joining in this month.
take care
sherry
You’ve had a busy time putting up herbs for the winter. I plant my (limited) herbs in containers and bring them in for the Winter. Yes, it’s been fun turning on the oven again. Love that Dutch Baby! Your Pecos getaway sounds wonderful. Joe and I have enjoyed our little day trips up north especially when it’s quiet with only the sounds of the river or rustling of leaves.
I should see if it’s dry enough in my kitchen to dehydrate some herbs—what a great idea. And that Dutch baby??? Wow!!
That apple cheddar Dutch baby has my mouth watering!
What a great post! I am so bad at drying my herbs, but I shall have to try this as we are getting our first freeze this week. I did stock up on a bushel and 1/2 of green chiles and pickled my jalapenos and made some jam, along with giardiniera, and lots of applesauce. Bumper crop of apples this year. Alex came home for the wedding and he made hard apple cider, so can’t wait to taste that! That Dutch Baby looks fab!
What a great tip about that pureed basil. I’ll do that next year. And shoot! Wish I had known about that Vitamix sale, I’ve been threatening to get one. Maybe Santa will be kind. 😉 Great post MJ.
What a great idea for a post MJ – you know I’ve started posts on drying herbs before but they grow so big that I end up bailing haha – I like how you set out the info here and In My Kitchen posts are among my very favorite (my friend Sally over at Bewitching Kitchen participates regularly) I love getting a glimpse of real life as you’ve captured it, including the view of the river and cliff (so cool) from your trip. I’m glad the colder weather inspired you to make the coconut lime soup (yay! so pleased you’re enjoying) and that dutch baby looks awesome but I see your concern about the eggs, that’s funny. Congrats on the vitamix! I could imagine it making short work of the purées and be a joy to work with… you’ve earned it.
Isn’t it great when you can swap/share herbs with neighbors – creating a complete set 😀 – we do that a lot with fruit. Your method of freezing looks good, I’ve been using silicone muffin cups (larger than ice cubes but not too big) and once frozen I can pop them out into a freezer bag for individual portions (I used to freeze food like that too when boys were younger). Thanks so much for this great post and for sharing the love 🙂 x
Dear MJ, I had so much to say to you and to ask while reading about the herbs…. until I saw the burrito, or rather THE burrito! Wow! It looks so extraordinary! I really must prepare it one day (though I doubt it’ll taste half as good as yours!).
Thank you so much for sharing your autumn preserving with us! I’ve been drying mushrooms for two past weeks. Unfortunately, not foraged but bought, though once dried they’ll still cost much less then if I buy them already dried. I totally agree about basil and parsley. I’ve never dried them either. I’m wondering… have you ever grown Mexican oregano?? I’ve never tried, I think it won’t grow on a balcony… And, of course, sage! You remind me I should really use it more often…
The mixer looks so exciting! I love so much buying new kitchen appliances and gadgets! (Even if I really don’t have space for them!). I have three different mixers in my kitchen… one for bigger amounts, one for smaller, one for spices & tough vegetables (ginger, lemon grass, etc. for curries). I wish I had one to do all this!
I really enjoyed this post. Lots of great ideas. I definitely will try the idea for the basil. The Thai basil grew well this year. We can’t get regular basil to grow. The oregano did fairly well and it is still producing so I am still drying this. The rosemary never stops. During freezes I just cover it and it keeps on going. The Apple Dutch Baby is a definite try too, Thank you for all this good information!
Thanks Darlin! Glad to hear that you Thai basil did well. Y’all had a rough summer. I’m surprised anything survived. Yes, the Dutch Baby is a definite! I served it for brunch with a slight drizzle of maple syrup. It was yummy.
I saved up and splurged on a Vitamix blender at a roadshow at Costco a couple years ago. What a luxury and what a necessity it turned out to be. I fix smoothies with anything I can find in my fridge and freezer and it carries my hubby over between a big breakfast and an early dinner. I am intrigued with your recipes and have been a follower for years. I must say that alas, I blinked (was sick) and there is no more green chile available now. I am saddened (distraught is a better word) as I have ONE sole baggy in my freezer and that is no way to face a long winter. Life can be cruel, ha ha. Seriously.
Thanks Meg. Thank you so much for leaving a comment. It’s always good to hear from my readers! I could kick myself for waiting so long to get that Vitamix. You’re right – just throw whatever you have in the fridge and have yourself a smoothie or a soup. It’s great! So sorry about your chile shortage. Bummer!!! Also, very sorry you were sick. Hope you are doing much better. Cheers, MJ
You have been a very busy girl! So wish we could have a garden or at least more than what we can have out on the balcony, but love seeing all of your delicious ideas. So, you just whipped up a burrito- hey! Sure wish you could whip one up for me as that looks downright amazing!
Thanks Bobbi. Yes, it’s the busy time of the year for me. I love it! Whipping up a burrito? That’s a no brainer in this house. Ha Ha.
Good’on’ya – as we say in Australia ! I hang my head in shame at letting my herb and small vegetable garden ‘go’ during the past bushfire and Covid seasons. We do have a plentiful supply of fresh herbs in our supermarkets throughout the year but I am really drawn to your fresh basil/parsley frozen containers as the fresh herbs deteriorate so quickly after purchase. Shall copy . . . Am also putting the tomato/chilli jam and the coconut soup recipes atop my pile . . . thanks ! And you did pick such a beautiful place where to spend a few restorative days . . .
Thanks Eha. You will want to make the jam and the soup over and over again. They are both so good!
I should try drying rosemary. We have loads, and I don’t like the commercial dried stuff. Maybe if I dry it myself it’ll be better. Anyway, loads of fun in your kitchen. I’ve never been tempted by a Vitamix, but maybe I should be — everyone who has one raves about it. And I don’t much like my current blender (I like it so little I rarely use it). Anyway, fun read — thanks.
Thanks John. Normally I would use rosemary fresh, but in herb blends and rubs, you have to use the dry form. It’s pretty potent. I didn’t use my blender much either because it was such a pain. That’s why I ended up buying the Vitamix (along with my BIL constantly bragging about his:)). I’m just amazed at what the Vitamix can do and it’s SO EASY to clean!!
I loved the tour though your kitchen and admire your industriousness. I am sure those dried herbs are significantly better than anything you can buy in the store. And I agree that dried parsley or basil or cilantro are not worth adding to a dish. My mouth was watering at that burrito. Your warm weather does result in some marvelous vegetables.
Thanks Liz. The dried herbs are definitely better than storebought! No comparison. I forgot about cilantro – agreed – it’s not worth drying either.
You were certainly a busy bee in the kitchen, MJ. I wish that I could be so resourceful and develop the skill of preserving dried herbs, I agree that your process of freezing in small containers and then breaking off only what you need and putting back what you didn’t use, is better than the ice cube trays. Does Bobby join you in the kitchen? What a lovely getaway both of you had in the last photos! I was just saying (literally) to Bill that we need to do our road trip drive soon (western to CO and then north until Banff. But then, we’ve got a lot on our bucket list. PS: That apple Dutch baby kooks crazy divine!
Thanks Roz. Yes, I have been a busy bee. 🙂 Not sure what I going to do once my garden totally gives out. Ha Ha. When I’m doing stuff like this, Bobby is usually working on his own tasks. However, he does help me with dinner which is fun. Traveling is hard when you’re still working. It’s been so nice in retirement to just take off for a few days here and there. You’ll get there soon Darlin! 🙂
That’s a beautiful view from the back porch of your rented house. I love those homemade dried herbs. Now I am hungry for some Dutch baby!
Thanks Angie. I highly recommend the Dutch Baby. It was delicious.