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NVLife_MayJune_2014

sage thoughts The Adventurous Kitchen by chef ken frank Tarragon Borage Nasturtium Tarragon, borage, and nasturtium In this article, we’ll explore three unexpected tastes, foraged from your herb garden. I’ve always been of the mind that French tarragon was the only one with any culinary value. While Russian and Mexican tarragon both have a similar minty licorice flavor profile, they’re just not as intense. On the other hand, French tarragon is very finicky, difficult to grow from seed and doesn’t tolerate hot weather well. Mexican tarragon thrives in our local climate and grows into an attractive shrub covered with beautiful tiny yellow flowers in the fall. While it may not displace French tarragon in any of my favorite recipes, I recently discovered it makes delicious and unusual iced tea. It couldn’t be simpler: Take a big handful of just-cut stems, rinse and place in a gallon jar. Add hot filtered water and allow to cool. Serve over ice. Beats any energy drink or soft drink, hands down. Borage, once established in your garden, will volunteer forever, and unlike some volunteers is not invasive, just prolific if you want it to be. Covered in little blue flowers, it is beautiful and delicious. Both the flowers and leaves are edible and indeed quite tasty. The leaves, which should be eaten while young and tender, have a pleasant cucumber flavor. The flowers are slightly sweet, with a cucumber note, too. They’re great tossed into salads, though my favorite trick is to freeze them in ice cubes to make stylish lemonade or cocktails. Nasturtiums naturalize like crazy here, too. They will come back every spring and keep blooming until they freeze. Related to watercress, they have a nice peppery flavor. The leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible. Tender young leaves add a nice spicy note to salads. They make an interesting peppery addition to a rare roast beef sandwich. The flowers are just plain pretty on anything. Both the flowers and larger leaves make nice garnishes on tray of hors d’oeuvres. If you’re really determined to use the entire plant, the tender green seeds can be pickled like capers. Bon appétit! 72 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine. c om


NVLife_MayJune_2014
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