Tag: vegetarian

Discovering Tarragon

Published on by vermontfoodlibrarian4 Comments

“King of Herbs, tarragon with its gentle licorice, reminds us not to forget that miracles are possible.” – White Truffles in the Winter by N.M. Kelby

My husband and I found the perfect garden spot for growing French Tarragon. Every spring, the bright green slender leaves burst from the ground offering us this beautiful cooking herb. When added judiciously, it has a distinctive flavor complimenting dishes. I have added dried tarragon to soup, fish, vegetables, and chicken with success. However, I am just beginning to explore cooking with fresh tarragon.

This spring, I experimented with several new dishes. Two of my favorite is a Lemon and Tarragon Roasted Vegetable dish from Easy Veggie Ideas and Salmon with Dijon Tarragon Sauce by Des Kazda from Life’s Ambrosia. Both use fresh tarragon and are delicious! I have included a link to these recipes below and provided you with information about minor adaptations.

This Lemon and Tarragon Roasted Vegetable recipe is full of healthy vegetables. I omitted the butternut squash and replaced it with a colorful mix of fresh little potatoes (from The Little Potato Co., Canada). Before adding them to the pan, I cut the potatoes in half. I added two large cloves of garlic rather than the whole bulb suggested. Finally, to avoid bitter-tasting tarragon, I mixed it in at the end.

The roasted vegetables have been served with Salmon and over pasta tossed in olive oil.

The Salmon with Dijon Tarragon Sauce by Des Kazda was mouth-watering. I broiled Salmon rather than baking it. Then I “removed it from the oven and spooned a dollop of the sauce over the top” as directed. What a treat!

It’s exciting to see the garden awaken after the long Vermont winter. In spring, our perennial herbs along the garden fence are the first to arrive. I look forward to discovering more recipes with tarragon and other herbs from my garden. Happy Spring 2023! — Carole

Recipe Links below

Lemon Tarragon Roasted Vegetables Recipe Easy Vegetable Ideas

Salmon with Dijon Tarragon Sauce Recipe Life’s Ambrosia

The Little Potato Co. Little Trios

Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s Gimbap

Published on by vermontfoodlibrarian6 Comments

There is much in our world that inspires us to do what we love.

Recently my husband and I watched a fun Netflix series, Extraordinary Attorney Woo. In each episode, Attorney Woo Young Woo, an autistic genius, is involved in intriguing court cases. This Korean film is full of comedic drama and delightful romance. Attorney Woo’s innocence, fascination with whales, and whale-inspired revelations add to the show’s charm.

Throughout the series, Attorney Woo enjoys a delicious-looking Gimbap exclusively as her go-to food. I wanted to try making it for myself and began my search for a vegetarian Gimbap recipe. I discovered a vegan one from Lisa Kitahara’s website, Okonomi Kitchen. But before beginning the process, I had to obtain the ingredients!

Fortunately, we have an Asian Mart right here in Northern Vermont. The store is full of wonderful healthy-looking vegetables (even in the winter). The owner, Damber, is extremely kind and helpful! His locally-owned store is a treasure in our area. It has everything a person would want for Asian cooking and personal assistance that is unheard of in commercial supermarkets. Damber helped me locate unfamiliar burdock root and yellow pickled radish used in Gimbap.

Preparing Gimbap is a fair amount of work. However, the recipe made 7 long rolls resulting in almost 40 slices. My second session improved from the first one and I learned a few important lessons. 1. Salting enhances the flavor. 2. Spread less rice on the seaweed (Nori) and add more vegetables before rolling it. 3. Use a sharp knife for cutting, preferably oiled.

Continuing to discover Korean food has been amazing. Learning about food from other cultures helps us appreciate the diversity in our world. Watching Korean media and discovering Gimbap reminds me that there is so much to learn in this world. — jal meokkessumnida Carole

This video, Woo Young Woo’s Extraordinary Gimbap Tutorial will be helpful to anyone trying to make Gimbap. I recently discovered it and decided to share it

Discovering Sourdough Pizza

Published on by vermontfoodlibrarian1 Comment

Do you want to improve the taste of your homemade pizza? Make it with sourdough! Start with a basic recipe and you will notice the difference in taste right away. Don’t know how to make a sourdough starter? Watch the video at the end of this post!

King Arthur has a sourdough pizza crust recipe that includes adding 1/2 tsp of commercial yeast. I began making sourdough pizza with this recipe and it makes a great pizza dough. The King Arthur Pizza Flavor listed in the recipe is full of unnecessary ingredients. Instead, I add a touch of honey and reserve the spices for a rich Italian tomato sauce topping.

More recently, I discovered another delicious sourdough pizza dough! It requires overnight refrigeration, which improves the taste. No commercial dry yeast is used. This recipe makes a thick pizza crust full of air pockets that are associated with fermented sourdough. This pizza has a flavorful soft layer beneath the sauce ( Trick: Don’t add oil directly to the dough before adding the sauce). I always bake my pizza on an oven stone (this makes a big difference in the crispiness of the bottom crust). Avoid the bitter flavor of burnt cheese topping by adding it during the last few minutes of baking.

These pizza photo toppings include crushed tomatoes, with added basil, 1 tbsp of capers & olive oil. Vegetables are sauteed onions, garlic, slightly pan-fried broccoli, romano cheese, and feta. Sprinkled oregano and pepper are added once out of the oven.

Try making your own sourdough pizza using the links below.

Mangia! — Carole

King Arthur Sourdough Pizza (with commercial dry yeast)

Sourdough Pizza Crust by Baking Sense

Don’t know how to make sourdough? Below is an entertaining fun video about how to make a sourdough starter. The kids and the dog are so cute!

How to Make Sourdough with homesteader Jill Winger