The Roundup of Weekend Herb Blogging #212

It has been fun hosting for Weekend Herb Blogging this past week. I learned of two plants/veggies that I've never seen or heard of before... that's what I am loving about this blogging event! Each week I am always learning about one or more new plant, herb, vegetable and/or fruit that is new to me from all around the world.

Anyway, Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly group blogging event that was founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. WHB is a creative way to share recipes & learn about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is currently managed by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once, and next week’s host will be Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.

Now, with no further ado I present you the roundup of WBH #212...

Miso Soup

I will start with Nate & Annie from House of Annie. They reside in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia and have a wonderful blog sharing home-style Asian & Hawaiian food from their younger days. Here they are sharing how to make savory Miso Soup entirely from scratch... looks easy and delicious! I LOVE that they are using miso paste made from non-GMO soybeans and its free of MSG. I've been on the lookout for recipes that uses seaweed (high in natural iodine & rich source of minerals) and would love to make this soup, minus the tofu. Thank you, Nate & Annie, for showing us how easy it is!

Coconut Sablés

Now I have Cinzia from Cindystar who whipped up a batch of easy & delicious looking cookies from her kitchen in Lake Garda, Italy. These cookies are very much like butter cookies with coconut added in and only requires 5 ingredients. I LOVE coconuts and these cookies are making me drool!

Thai Mushroom Soup

Rachel from Rachel's Ramplings and she comes from Gloucestershire, UK. This is her first time joining in with us... please stop by her blog and welcome her! From her kitchen she made a Thai Mushroom Soup that sounds like a wonderful change from the standard "cream of mushroom" which I'm not a big fan either. Her soup looks savory and comforting! Thank you, Rachel for joining us and welcome!

Strawberry Curd

Now our wonderful manager of WBH... Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once whipped up a beautiful & nourishing Strawberry Curd rich with egg yolks. I can almost smell the delicious flavors from her kitchen in Melbourne, Australia. Make sure you also make her delicious looking sfinci to go along with it! I must try this myself sometime... especially now that strawberries are at their peak time right now.

Cauliflower Terrine

Next we have sweet Mangocheeks from Allotment 2 Kitchen who thinks she has found her favorite way of eating cauliflower. This veggie is available year round in Britain, but is not very popular and on the decline. I wasn't fond of cauliflower as a child, but now love it stir fried or roasted & spiced with Indian or Thai flavors when they are available. From her kitchen in Scotland she made a Cauliflower Terrine which looks like a spiced up veggie-loaf. I think I'll have to try this out too... thank you for sharing Mangocheeks!

Black Bean Pork Rib Soup

Yeoh Cheng Huann from Eat.Read.Live. brought from her kitchen in Singapore a fast & savory soup made with black beans... high in protein, a great source of complex carbs and a great tummy-warming soup! Beans, in general, have been known as "The Poor Man's Meat" but is healthy, frugal and very filling. We love black beans and they are a staple here in Costa Rica. Thank you for sharing a simple, yet nourishing soup Yeoh!

Harvest And Cook the Giant Cardoon

Now here's something new for me... a plant/root called the giant cardoon. Graziana from Erbe in Cucina grew some in her garden and was able to harvest two plants. From her kitchen in Italy... She fried them up in butter, added cheese and topped them on top of crusty bread. I would love to have a bite of it!

Madre Cacao/Kakawate Smoked Fish

Here is another plant that I've never heard of called Madre Cacao or Kakawate. Ela from Everything's Herbed smokes a fish over kakawate branches and covers it with kakawate leaves. What kind of flavor do the branches and leaves give? I would love to visit Ela's place in Laguna, Philippines and try this smoke fish myself. Ela's father is a farmer and this tree is very useful for fencing around property, as a trellis for their vine-growing veggies. They even use the leaves of the kakawate tree to help quicken the ripening of fruits!

Roasted Vegetables w/ Cardamon

Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen shares a unique Thanksgiving side dish that turned out to be one of her favorites. From her kitchen in New Paltz, NY she spiced up a variety of root vegetables with Cardamon... a strong, but heavenly spice found in Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabian & Scandinavian cooking. Even though Cardamon can be expensive... a little bit goes a long ways. Sounds delicious!

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Vellutè w/ Rosemary

This is my favorite so far... Brii from Briiblog made what looks like savory pastries using pumpkin & sweet potatoes then spiced up with rosemary. I would love to sit in her kitchen in Valsorda, Italy and watch her make these! Make sure you stop by her blog and admire her lovely photography.

Mango Mesquite Smoothie

Lastly, I made a smoothie with mesquite powder & frozen mangos that is becoming a favorite in our home in Costa Rica. Mesquite is mildly sweet with a light, carmel flavor and great for baking. This traditional powder is not very well known in the modern age, but it is making a comeback as a health champ!

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Weekend Herb Blogging Host - #212

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a good weekend and Thanksgiving... we did!

This week... November 30th - December 6th... I am the host for the Weekend Herb Blogging and this is my first time! I am thrilled to be a part of it and hope you all will join in with us too.

Please read the simple rules and the history of how this blog event came about. Email me your submissions by December 6th @ these times:

• 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
• 10pm Sunday - London Time
• 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
• 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time

Can't wait to see what you all got in your kitchen this week! Most important, have fun :o)

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Eggplant & Artichoke Heart Galettes w/ Rosemary, Garlic, Chili & Goat Cheese

These galletes or "cakes" as we usually call them were inspired by a recipe from my sweet friend, Silvia @ Citron & Vanilla. Remember her? She was my special guest last week for Sweet Wholesome Wednesday.

Anyway, she made these delicious looking zucchini galletes and I had all the ingredients except the zucchini, but I remembered that I had a nice eggplant sitting in my veggie drawer... then I thought about the artichoke hearts sitting in the shelf of my fridge door (I HEART artichoke hearts!)... then I thought it would be better to use fresh rosemary instead of thyme... then I thought garlic should be thrown in too. I believe garlic is a "must-have" in pretty much everything I make... who can live without garlic?! Not me :o)

Now, for those who cringe about eggplant... here's a special technique that I learned a couple years ago that greatly improves the flavor. Eggplant contains a bitter juice that turns most people off and must be drawn out by tossing the flesh in sea salt and letting it sit for a hour or so. My hubby loves eggplant and noticed a change in the flavor when I started using this technique. He liked that the flesh tasted richer & dense and not as watery & bitter. The salting process really brings out the best of the eggplant. I hated eggplant, but when I learned this technique and tried it out... I now enjoy it very much. I learned something really interesting in my Nourishing Traditions book about eggplants and their history:

Although the eggplant is associated with Mediterranean cooking, its original home is tropical Asia. Primitive forms in this part of the world were very small and were invariably eaten pickled. The Europeans name for eggplant - aubergine - is derived rather circuitously from the Sanskrit vantin-ganah which means "antiwind vegetable".

Until the potato reached Europe from the New World, the eggplant was the principle starchy vegetable prepared in numerous ways, including fried like potatoes.

Eggplant contain carotenoids, B complex, particularly folic acid, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. It contains some protein and is a good source of fiber. Eggplant contains compounds called scopoletin and scoparone that block convulsions. African folk medicine values the eggplant to relieve nervous excitement and to counteract epilepsy. It is also taken as a natural contraceptive. In Korea, dried eggplant is used to treat a variety of illnesses, including measles, alcoholism and stomach cancer. SWF

Wow! Isn't it wonderful how God made these eggplants to not only be enjoyed for meals, but medicinally too?? One of the few things I hope to do with my girls when they get older and are homeschooling is to teach them (and myself too!) what purpose each plant, herb, fruit & vegetable has medicinally and nutritionally. I think it would be a great step towards appreciating our food before getting into the kitchen... what you think?

Now, these gluten-free galletes were delicious! Spicy & flavorful with a light aroma of rosemary & garlic... the chunks of goat cheese added a light sweetness and creamy texture. We enjoyed them on the side with my signature spaghetti & tossed salad... they were perfect. I will for sure make these again, but also try other veggies and possibly go from savory to sweet by using fruit... why not?!

Artichoke Hearts & Eggplant Galettes w/ Rosemary, Garlic, Chili & Goat Cheese

• 1 medium/large eggplant
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 10 Tbsp brown rice flour (or regular)
• 1 can plain artichoke hearts, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 3 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh goat cheese (or cheese of your choice)
• sea salt & pepper

Peel and thinly slice the eggplant. Place in a drainer or bowl and toss with sea salt. Let it sit for one hour for the bitter juices to be drawn out. Rinse under running water to remove the salt and squeeze tightly with your hands to remove excess water. Place in a mixing bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with flour to make a thick paste. If paste is thin, add extra flour. Mix well till the mixture is smooth. Stir in eggplant & artichoke hearts and mix till they are well coated.

Add rosemary, chili flakes, garlic and season to taste with sea salt and pepper (be careful not to add too much salt) . Add goat cheese and mix carefully so not to cream it... you want them to be chunky.

Heat a large oiled pan. When hot, pour about 2 spoonfuls of mixture into the pan and they should form into galletes or "cakes". Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve as a side with anything italian or with a salad for lunch.

This is part of the Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Lynne from Cafe Lynnlu. I am having fun being a part of this community of bloggers from all around the world and enjoying the wonderful recipes! Check out the rules if you are interested in being a part of it ... you don't have to do it every week, but it is fun & easy!

I will be hosting it next week... so join in with me!!

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Leek, Tomato & Rosemary Fritata

Lately, I've been making fritatas at least once a week and find them delicious, easy and a good way to spice up the morning's usual "eggs for breakfast". I love how I can freely use whatever herbs, veggies and spices I want to make this a frugal and nourishing breakfast (lunch & dinner, too!).

Here I want to share with you this yummy combination of leeks, tomatoes & dried rosemary. Leeks have a milder and sweeter flavor then the rest of the onion/garlic family, but contain many of the same beneficial compounds found in the family. The tomatoes are in season pretty much all year round in Costa Rica (one of the perks of living in a tropical climate) and are high in Lycopene which has been found to be protective against a growing list of cancers. And the rosemary... oh my... I love the sweet fragrance whenever I open the bottle or snip a few fresh springs of rosemary from my herb pots. So relaxing, yet energizing! This well known herb has been used to treat a wide range of ailments, including stomach upsets, digestive disorders and headaches. Rosemary has potent antioxidant & anti-inflammatory agents that protect our bodies' cells from damage by free radicals and a rich source of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol). No wonder this herb is so delicious!

Leek, Tomato & Rosemary Fritata

• 3 leeks, well rinsed & dried
• 2-3 cups ripe grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1-2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup cream or kefir
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup grated mozzeralla cheese

In a cast iron skillet, saute the leeks & tomatoes in about 1 Tbsp. each of butter and oil until slightly soft. Remove with a slotted spoon. Beat eggs with cream and rosemary. Stir in leeks, tomatoes and season with sea salt & pepper.

Melt the remaining butter & oil in the cast iron and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the underside is golden. Sprinkle cheese on top and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the fritata puffs and lightly browns.

Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Enjoy your breakfast!

This is my first entry for Weekend Herb Blogging 4th Anniversary hosted this week by Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once.

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