Cooking With Herbs: Chives and Dill

Herbs are a great way to add flavour to your meal. The common kitchen herbs are easy to grow either indoors or out. In fact, you can start them out and bring them in. All you need is a container, some soil, 6 hours of sunlight a day and the herbs and you are set to have your own herbs handy to add zest to your meals.

Chives are rich in vitamin A and C and are a member of the onion family. The stems of chives go great with eggs salads, cream cheese and soups while the flowers add colour and taste to a salad.

Chive and Garlic Spread

Ingredients:

½ cup low fat cream cheese softened

2 tbsp mayo

1 garlic clove crushed

2 tbsp snipped chives

Seas salt

Black pepper.

Preparation:

In a bowl whisk together the cheese, mayo, garlic and chives.

Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Scrape into a serving bowl and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Dill

Dill has been with us since the ancient Romans and was considered to eb a symbol of vitality for the Greeks.

Both the seeds and the leaves are used in the kitchen and each has its own distinctive taste.

Dill leaves tastes good with mild cheeses such as cream cheese and cottage cheese, omelets, mustard-based sauces, cold soups, potato salad and salmon.

Dill seeds compliment breads, meat stews, cabbage, rice and cooked root vegetables.

For the best flavour use fresh leaves. Cooking diminishes the flavour of fresh dill so add it just before serving.

Dill Pickles:

Ingredients; makes 10 pickles

10 picking cucumbers scrubbed clean

1 bunch fresh dill

5 tbsp sea salt

1 tsp dill seeds

½ cup white wine vinegar

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp pickling spice

Preparation;

Put the cucumbers and fresh dill in a 1 ½ quart sterilized, clamp-top jar.

In a sauce pan, combine 5 cups of water with the salt, dill seeds, vinegar, pepper corns and pickling spice.

Bring to a boil.

Leave to cool.

Pour cooled mixture over cucumbers.

If there is too much liquid, be sure to add all the spices to the cucumbers and discard any remaining liquid.

Seal jar and store in a cool, dark place for three (3) weeks before serving.

Refrigerate after opening.