I like mincing herbs up and mixing with butter. Great on corn on the cob, corn roasted in the husk, great on grilled fish, steak, chicken. Also great on french bread lightly grilled. And of course delicious on baked potatoes and cooked veggies.

I also like to make tea with mint leaves brewed along with tea. Orange mint, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint....all yummy. Lemon balm also great in tea.

Boursin is one of mine.

BOURSIN CHEESE

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic, mashed & finely minced
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped (I prefer dried oregano, so I use less)
2 teaspoons chives, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1-2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dill
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

BEAT cheese and butter together. Add garlic, mixing well. Add finely chopped herbs, salt and pepper.

CHILL slightly and form into ball or log. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze. Serve with crackers.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:898610}}

Just browsing through the Herbs forum and happened upon this thread, and it reminded me of this recipe. I've made it many times and it always gets compliments. I use dried herbs so you'll need to adjust for fresh ones.

Special Herb Bread

This recipe was published in the Food section of the Los Angeles Times in the mid-1980's. It's always a hit and great with BBQ main dishes. Try heating it, wrapped in foil, on the grill.

* 1 C butter, softened
* 1 tsp. garlic powder
* 1 tsp. celery flakes
* 1 tsp. beau monde seasoning
* 1 tsp. sage
* 1/2 tsp. summer savory
* 1/2 tsp. rosemary
* 1/2 tsp. thyme
* 1/2 tsp. basil
* 1/2 tsp. oregano
* 1/2 tsp. chervil
* 3 Tbsp minced parsley
* 1 large loaf sourdough bread

Combine herbs with butter and mix well. Spread on bread slices and any remainder on top. Wrap in foil; bake at 350F for 30 minutes. About 10 servings.

jenn: do you spread on the herb butter, re-asssemble the loaf, and then wrap it?

dpinker1: I'm always snipping fresh herbs for recipes. I dry the excess and put it in a special container that holds all the dried snippings of all herbs. I use this mixture of miscellanious herbs in/on all sorts of foods..... the results are usually quite interesting.

Hi Westelle - Yes, I re-assemble the loaf after spreading the herb butter on one side of each slice, then I spread some on the top of the loaf if desired (probably not desireable if you are cooking for lo-fat eaters), then I wrap the loaf in foil.

This is one of our favorites.
GRUNE SOSSE
Minced chives
Minced parsley
Minced chervil
Minced borage
Minced tarragon
Minced savory
Minced watercress
Touch of dill
Oil
Vinegar
Touch of sugar

Mix all ingredients. Serve with fish or boiled potatoes. I also like to add minced sorrel, mache and/or sour cream to serve over potatoes. Chopped hard-boiled eggs can also be added.

I love to use my fresh herbs in June when they are very flavorful. Fresh mint is a real treat.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

About 30 grape leaves, large, healthy, and young. June is the best month to harvest leaves. Rinse and cook grape leaves until soft. Usually, a brief dip in boiling water is enough. Cooked leaves can be stored in a refrigerated brine of vinegar and salt.

Meat Filling

1 pound of ground lamb, veal, or beef
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 cup fresh mint chopped fine
1/3 cup fresh marjoram chopped fine
2/3 cup raw rice

Optional: chopped fresh dill, roasted pine nuts

Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Stuff each grape leaf with about a tablespoon of filling. Place stuffed grape leaves in casserole dish coated with olive oil. For each layer of stuffed grape leaves add more oil. Cover casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes at 3750 F. Serve warm or cool with lemon wedges.

During peak herb season, I like to go and cut fresh sprigs of what ever needs a pruning, sage, loveage, the various thymes, chives, rosemary, basil, ect, it's a matter of personal taste and what's growing at the time, and then stuff them into a cavity of a chicken or rabbit. I'll also throw in some onions, garlic, carrots. Nothing is chopped, just cut or folded small enough to fit inside, us working girls have to find shortcuts where we can.

Slow roast covered at about 200 to 250 degrees for a couple hours as you go about your gardening chores. Then uncover, turn the heat up and put some butter or oil on the skin to brown it. Let that cook until brown, take out, remove what ever you shoved inside and serve. The meat will be be fall off the bone tender and infused with all the flavors of whatever you shoved inside.

I also like to take my lemon thyme and lay it on fresh fish before I bake it.

And for those drinkers amonst us, take a stalk of loveage and put it in your bloody mary instead of a celery stalk, just crush it a little first, it does have a stronger celery taste than cerery, adds a kick to the drink.

Loveage is also good in anything that calls for chopped cerery, turkey stuffing for example. Just remember, it has a stronger taste and the stems do tend to be tough, just chop the leaves and use less than you would of celery. Loveage seeds are also interchangeable with celery seeds in a recipe. Loveage is a plant well worth growing if you have the space, mine get's about 6 to 7 feet tall. I use it to hide my ac unit, the only down side, it will fall over after a hard rain, it's best to stake it up.

And if you do kabobs, especially lamb, use the woodier stems of rosemary to string them on. If it's fresh cut rosemary, you really don't have to soak it, just strip the leaves. But if you dried rosemary stems for this reason, soak them first. Woodier sage stems are also great for chicken kabobs.

Nasturgium leaves and flowers add a extra kick to any salad, especially if you you use the flowers, they add such a pretty accent to any salad. Sorry the hostaholic in me talking here, also throw in some chopped hosta leave for texture and color. Yes they are perfectly edible, are a food source, not a decorative plant, in their native land, I chew on broken leaves all the time as I garden. I just don't use the ones I paid $100 for, only the more common, can't get rid of if I paid you, varieties. Lol. PS, take a hosta leaf, take out the main rib, spread with some cream cheese and ham, salami or pepperoni, roll and cut into bite size pieces, taste great. a wonderful appitizer and conversation piece at your next party. If people don't think your nuts before then, they sure will after that, lol.

Somebody stop me, I'm a herbaholic when it comes to cooking, I use so little salt, my herbs supply all the flavor I need.

HanArt,
I did a program on herbs at our church last Saturday and made your recipe for Boursin Cheese as a taste sample.
Everyone loved it and most asked for the recipe. It is very good and easy to make.........I'll probably keep that recipe in the front of my file!

Thanks,
Jan

Jan, I make HanArt's Boursin too. It's absolutely delicious!!!

Harper

Thanks for all of the comments. The only herb I have that is doing poorly is my rosemary. There are no leaves?? I am growing the Nasturgium and will try it in some salads. It is about 5 inches right now. Hope it grows okay, any tips welcomed!
Deb

Too many, too many. Rosemary chicken. Beef stew with thyme. Thyme (with cream sauce) chicken, Thai coconut/ cilantro/ and lemongrass chicken, pork medallions or chops with fennel and figs, lamb with mint leaves, basil/tomato sauce, zuppe de pesce with parsley, chicken francaise with parsley, cucumber sandwiches with dill and/or watercress/ land cress/ chives, greek chicken (grilled) with dill yogurt sauce, lavender shortbread, on and on..... I love to throw herbs in everything I'm cooking. :)

Thought I'd try something refreshing in Salmon Patties, and chopped a small sprig of lemon thyme and added it to the mixture....it was wonderful. Just the right touch of flavor!

Jan

Last Thursday I had the most uninteresting blue crab dish; maybe the lemon Thyme would have helped. It surely needed something.

"Tomato basil pasta" (saute garlic, add diced tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste, 1/4 c chopped fresh basil, cube good mozzarella and mix all with penne paste, serve immediately)

Anyone have suggestions what to do with lime mint?

I just posted on the Cooking Forum looking for a Boursin recipe and came over here to see....and poof there it was.
Not sure that's the one I remember...thought the one I remember was posted by CindyMac...or perhaps Chase...I don't remember that it had dill.
But I guess I can always omit or add to suit.
Linda C