Started my herbs

[slewfoot]

I love to cook (my Father was a chef) I do most all the cooking in our house She sits back and enjoys the results. I have my own cook book I have put together over the years, has a hundred or so pages.
That said I hate to use the store bought dry spices in little jars and buying fresh can get expensive. So today I went to my favorite department store, Home depot, and bought Sage, Dill ,Basil, oregano, and , thyme came home and got it all potted here on the patio. Went online and ordered organic non GMO garlic bulbs to plant. These are the things I use the most.

[Baglady]

Lucky you to have the weather to grow things outdoors this time of year. I don't have enough window space to have plants indoors. I tried garlic once, (outside). Apparently it takes more than one season to get it going good.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
What are some of your favorite things to cook? I'm looking for an old recipe for Italian pasta sauce. We grow our own tomatoes. I remembered someone told me many years ago, to make a good sauce, use a beef bone for flavor. You ever heard of that?

[Inor]

Mrs Inor has been growing many of our herbs for the last few years. She grows them in pots. In the summer, they go out on the deck. In the winter they come inside. She even has a Rosemary bush and had a Basil tree/bush thing. I am not sure what happened to the Basil, maybe dead?

You are right, fresh herbs are so much better than grocery store herbs, and cheaper.

[slewfoot]

I remembered someone told me many years ago, to make a good sauce, use a beef bone for flavor. You ever heard of that?
Yes I have and have done it . It does add a good flavor to the sauce .
As for the garlic you cannot use store bought garlic to plant, it is treated to stunt growth in the stores. I bought from an online store that sells seeds and garlic bulbs for planting.

[slewfoot]

Mrs Inor has been growing many of our herbs for the last few years. She grows them in pots. In the summer, they go out on the deck. In the winter they come inside. She even has a Rosemary bush and had a Basil tree/bush thing. I am not sure what happened to the Basil, maybe dead?

You are right, fresh herbs are so much better than grocery store herbs, and cheaper.
I also have rosemary and chives growing out in the garden area.

[slewfoot]

[QUOTE=Baglady;41475
What are some of your favorite things to cook? [/QUOTE]


Tonight's dinner
chorizo chipotle meatloaf.
1 pound ground beef (I use grass fed)
1 pound ground chorizo
1/2 pound bacon
2 medium carrots chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/4 white or yellow onion minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp.. garlic powder
1/2 tsp.. sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 tablespoons of chipotle mayo. If not available use regular.
Chopped green onion for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
place all ingredients except for bacon , mayo, and green onions in a large bowl and mix well.

put mixture in a 9x5 baking dish cut the bacon strips so they fit across the baking dish.
layer the bacon down the baking dish , overlapping slightly and covering all meat mixture. tuck the sides so the ends will not turn up while bake.
Place in oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. then turn the broiler on and cook for less than 5 minutes just to brown the bacon. don't let it burn
garnish with chipotle mayo and green onions. Enjoy

To make chipotle mayo put some mayo in a bowl add chipotle sauce and stir . Be careful and don't make it so hot you can't eat it.

[Deebo]

Slew, put together a cookbook???
I just purchased a nice vase, to grow green onions in, according to the net, you can get several cutting from one stalk.

[slewfoot]

Slew, put together a cookbook???
I just purchased a nice vase, to grow green onions in, according to the net, you can get several cutting from one stalk.

I did Deebo, simple really, we eat strictly or as close as possible to Paleo. We buy all organic certified no hormone or chemicals added to feed or injected . we buy grass fed half beef and whole hog about once a year . only wild caught fish and organic chickens.
We avoid all sugar's , Flour made from grain and some other stuff, we use almond and tapioca flour instead.We use natural raw honey as a sweetener in recipes .
beef and meats are organic certified grass fed, and no hormone or other chemicals injected . wild caught fish and organic raised fowl.
In order to do this, over time I took old recipes that I for the last 44 years of married life and changed ingredients to fit our type of diet.
it is a work in progress.
The above recipe for instance is an old meatloaf recipe with some ingredients changed and some added to fit what we like to eat.

And some I have made up myself.

[slewfoot]

use a beef bone for flavor. You ever heard of that?how I discovered this is we were in Rome Italy and went into a pizza place and it was the absolute best pizza I ever ate; my wife thought it was in the sauce so I ask how they made their pizza so much better than what I get at home, he told me that a lot of places use bone broth when the make their own sauce so I do that when ever I make a sauce use the broth instead of water.
I get neck bones from a slaughter house. Bones in and Bring a couple gallons of water to a boil then turn to simmer for 3-4 hours. I put 2 cups to a seal a meal and freeze.

[hawgrider]

I love to cook (my Father was a chef) I do most all the cooking in our house She sits back and enjoys the results. I have my own cook book I have put together over the years, has a hundred or so pages.
That said I hate to use the store bought dry spices in little jars and buying fresh can get expensive. So today I went to my favorite department store, Home depot, and bought Sage, Dill ,Basil, oregano, and , thyme came home and got it all potted here on the patio. Went online and ordered organic non GMO garlic bulbs to plant. These are the things I use the most.
I grow all the herbs in the growing season here and then dehydrate them and store in canning jars. The chives though will grow outside all winter though. They are planted on south side of house right up next to the foundation. Its crazy they grow all year snow and all!

[slewfoot]

I grow all the herbs in the growing season here and then dehydrate them and store in canning jars. The chives though will grow outside all winter though. They are planted on south side of house right up next to the foundation. Its crazy they grow all year snow and all!
lucky enough living here in SW Florida I can grow them year round and pick as needed. I grow them in pots in case we get one of those once or twice a year light frosts I can bring them in.

[Baglady]

how I discovered this is we were in Rome Italy and went into a pizza place and it was the absolute best pizza I ever ate; my wife thought it was in the sauce so I ask how they made their pizza so much better than what I get at home, he told me that a lot of places use bone broth when the make their own sauce so I do that when ever I make a sauce use the broth instead of water.
I get neck bones from a slaughter house. Bones in and Bring a couple gallons of water to a boil then turn to simmer for 3-4 hours. I put 2 cups to a seal a meal and freeze.

That's amazing Slewfoot. THAT is the recipe I've been trying to find! Old Italian pasta sauce. I know we'll have to grow different tomatoes for this, (Romano??)...
If it's not too much trouble, could you give me that recipe?

[slewfoot]

That's amazing Slewfoot. THAT is the recipe I've been trying to find! Old Italian pasta sauce. I know we'll have to grow different tomatoes for this, (Romano??)...
If it's not too much trouble, could you give me that recipe?
Baglady, I have to leave in a few minutes but when I get back I will be more than glad to post my recipe for pasta sauce. Yes Romano is the best flavored for pasta sauce. Or anything else you use tomatoes for, I even use them on hamburgers.

[Baglady]

Baglady, I have to leave in a few minutes but when I get back I will be more than glad to post my recipe for pasta sauce. Yes Romano is the best flavored for pasta sauce. Or anything else you use tomatoes for, I even use them on hamburgers.

For sure, it's a busy time of year. I'll be spending most of this morning "battening down the hatches".

[slewfoot]

That's amazing Slewfoot. THAT is the recipe I've been trying to find! Old Italian pasta sauce. I know we'll have to grow different tomatoes for this, (Romano??)...
If it's not too much trouble, could you give me that recipe?
Here it is Baglady.
1 pound stew meat or any cubed cheap cut of meat, use grass fed if possible .Trimmed of fat.
1 tablespoon or so of light olive oil.
1 yellow onion chopped.
1 medium carrot shaved down with a potato peeler ( this removes the acidy taste from the tomatoes some people put a couple tablespoons of sugar to do this.)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced.
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce.
10-12 Romano tomato's pealed seeded and chopped.
1 6 ounce can tomato paste. ( more or less depending on how thick you want it.)
2 (tomato paste cans of bone broth).
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped fine.
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped fine.
1 teaspoon of sea salt or to taste.
ground pepper to taste.
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. I f you like a little Spicer add more to taste.

Directions
heat the olive oil in a large pot , add onion and sauté until translucent.
add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add beef or meat of choice and brown.
stir in the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper, Add the pepper flakes and bring to a boil.
Add in the tomato paste and bone broth. stir until paste has dissolved, and more paste and broth to achieve the consistency you want.
Fresh spices if available and the Bone broth whether it beef or pork is what makes the taste.
cover and simmer for 3 hours.
Refrigerate over night., longer it sits the better the taste.
Enjoy.

If you use this for pizza sauce you can remove the carrots with a fork and omit the meat.

[Baglady]

Here it is Baglady.
1 pound stew meat or any cubed cheap cut of meat, use grass fed if possible .Trimmed of fat.
1 tablespoon or so of light olive oil.
1 yellow onion chopped.
1 medium carrot shaved down with a potato peeler ( this removes the acidy taste from the tomatoes some people put a couple tablespoons of sugar to do this.)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced.
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce.
10-12 Romano tomato's pealed seeded and chopped.
1 6 ounce can tomato paste. ( more or less depending on how thick you want it.)
2 (tomato paste cans of bone broth).
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped fine.
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped fine.
1 teaspoon of sea salt or to taste.
ground pepper to taste.
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. I f you like a little Spicer add more to taste.

Directions
heat the olive oil in a large pot , add onion and sauté until translucent.
add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add beef or meat of choice and brown.
stir in the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper, Add the pepper flakes and bring to a boil.
Add in the tomato paste and bone broth. stir until paste has dissolved, and more paste and broth to achieve the consistency you want.
Fresh spices if available and the Bone broth whether it beef or pork is what makes the taste.
cover and simmer for 3 hours.
Refrigerate over night., longer it sits the better the taste.
Enjoy.

If you use this for pizza sauce you can remove the carrots with a fork and omit the meat.

That sounds amazing! Thank you so much! I'll be canning the sauce.
Can I make my own tomato sauce? Instead of buying the 15 ounce cans?

[slewfoot]

That sounds amazing! Thank you so much! I'll be canning the sauce.
Can I make my own tomato sauce? Instead of buying the 15 ounce cans?
Of course, and it will taste much better than the canned.

[Arklatex]

Cool post slewfoot. We grow a few here as well and are adding more each year. We have mint and lemon balm for tea. That stuff has taken over its own little patch and comes back every year. Best part is that ants hate it so you can scatter it around as a natural deterrent. We have basil and cilantro as well. There is wild onions all over the place out here, they are small, spicy and easy to find. I use them in place of chives and they are excellent on baked taters!

Next spring I hope to start a patch just for herbs. Specifically I want a medicine garden of perennial herbs like st Johns wort, echinacea, etc. Next to that I want a patch of perennial cooking herbs like dill and fennel, etc.