Feedback Friday #1

Hi everyone!

Welcome to our first “Feedback Friday”! We hope to to feature this a couple times each month.

What is Feedback Friday? It is post written by one of our DTL Herbs customers. The customer will share with us all how they use one or more of our products.

If you would like to write a post, just drop us an email and we will be glad to answer any questions you have!

Now, I would like to introduce to you Lorie, a customer from one of our Farmer’s Markets.

Now, here’s Lorie…

We continually hear what chemicals are added to food. For instance, margarine is a few molecules away from plastic. A fast food chain has decided to remove a harmful chemical that they add to their "fresh bread".  A red slime was previously added to fast food burgers, of course it was labeled as safe for human consumption. MSG has been linked to Chinese food menus and I'm sure other menus.

We eat foods that have been labeled as GMO, which is defined as,

Genetically modified organism (GMO) an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.

My son asked me, "why do they have to add all that junk to the foods we eat."  I'm a Registered Nurse and a Certified Herbalist. I'm convinced that our poor health conditions in this country are a result of the chemicals that exist in our foods.

Thomas Edison said, "the doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care and prevention of disease."

Hypocrites, Greek Physician and Herbalist, Father of Medicine said, "Let your medicine be your food and your food be your medicine."

I was introduced to this fantastic small business, DTL Herbs, 3 years ago. Their attention to growing and harvesting herbs free from chemicals and pesticides is exactly what I look for in products. The research and development of herbal combinations is amazing. When shopping during the "warm" months at Farmer Markets where DTL Herbs sells merchandise, their fragrant herbs are intoxicating and freshness is apparent.

Many people are nervous in using herbs to cook. DTL Herbs has taken out any guess work when it comes to using the dried herbs. The combination of herbs is perfectly incorporated to produce a taste explosion that cannot be produced by store bought products. Herbs not only provide great tasting foods but also make your food healthy.

I enjoy making Chicken Soup loaded with fresh vegetables and I add, DTL Herbs (and all naturally dried, and grown, peppers from another local business The Garden Hoard).

I add All Purpose Seasoning Blend, to my soup the last 45 minutes of the simmering stage. The smells coming from the stove,  a warm bowl of soup, during a furious winter snowstorm are more than I can wait for completion.

I have never been disappointed in products purchased from DTL Herbs. Be adventurous, cook with herbs. Be healthier and get rid of the chemicals in your food. DTL Herbs is my choice for my food.

Thank you Lorie for sharing with us and for being such a wonderful DTL Herb customer!

C.O.R.N. Pasta Salad

Hi everyone!

Nope, this pasta salad has nothing to do with “corn”. It is:

C. = Clean

O. = Out

R. = Refrigerator

N. = Night

Pasta salad is one of those dishes that is very forgiving. You can just gather little bits and pieces of different leftovers, chop them up and add them to cooked pasta.

I decided to cook up this box of “Trio Italiano’ pasta for our salad tonight.

I had several different color bell peppers that were needed to be used up so, they got chopped and into the bowl they went.

I had a handful of black olives in the fridge, 3 pickled banana peppers in a jar, half of a purple onion, some tomatoes that had some bruised spots. a dab of feta cheese and some leftover ham. So, that is what was chopped and added to the mix.

Any fresh veggies will do in a pasta salad. Along with meats such as pepperoni, salami or ham. Bits and pieces of cheese is great in this type of salad as well.

Besides the pasta, the other key ingredient is, of course……

DTL Herbs Italian Dressing & Marinade!

The bottle above is the bottle we sell at the market. The bottle below is what we have on hand all the time at home. Which is about twice the size! LOL

We use this dressing all the time for different recipes!

Once you have coated all of the salad, put in the fridge for a couple of hours so all the flavors will combine. At that point you will want to add more dressing because the pasta will have soaked up quite a bit.

Now you have a quick meal or side dish all ready.

Ham and Pasta Salad

Hi everyone!

One of the things I try to always have in the fridge during this time of the year is some kind of cold salad.

Here is a quick and easy cold salad recipe.

Vegi Dip Pasta & Ham Salad 

Ingredients:

• 1 package of DTL Herb Chive and Dill Vegi Dip
• 3/4 – 1 cup of Mayo
• 3/4 - cup of sour cream
• 1/4 cup of chopped green onions
• 1 cup of chopped ham
• 1 box of pasta (your choice)

Directions:

Mix Chive and Dill Vegi dip with mayo and sour cream. Boil noodles. Once noodles are cooked, rinse in cold water. Toss in green onions and ham. Stir in Vegi dip. Put in fridge for at least an hour. Serve cold.

You can chop up some fresh chives or dill to garnish.

I made this salad three times last week because I kept forgetting to take a picture. This is when I would remember to take the picture:

This really is a yummy variation of a cold creamy pasta salad. You are going to love it!

Fresh Veggie & Herb Salad

Hi friends!

This is a repost from my other blog. I thought it would be nice to share a recipe over here using some fresh veggies and herbs!

For me, a picture of beautiful vibrant fresh picked vegetables is just as pretty as pictures of fresh picked flowers.

I decided a fresh chopped marinated salad was in order. I know we all have our basic chopped salad recipe. It could be as simple as sliced veggies and vinegar (I do that often throughout the summer). I thought I would share my recipe.

A lot of the herbs that are growing are at the stage where they need to be topped. This forces the young plants to get fuller and bushier instead of tall and spindly. They get topped several times. Although at this stage of growth, the plants haven’t fully developed their flavor yet, there will be a very mild taste to them.

This is fresh baby fennel fronds. Fennel is one of my favorite and most used herbs.

This is baby dill. The two of them look very similar. Both fern like and wispy.

I can’t give you measurements because it really is up to your taste and the amount of veggies you use. But, this is what I add to my salad.

• A mix of fresh chopped veggies
• chopped up dill and fennel
• salt and pepper
• Splenda (you can use sugar) between a teaspoon (for a small salad) or a tablespoon (for a larger salad)
• Fresh lemon juice (or lime)
• Rice vinegar

You can use any type of vinegar you want however, rice vinegar is a milder and less acidic vinegar than white vinegar.

Toss all the ingredients together and refrigerate for a couple of hours, tossing once in awhile.

What a I love about this salad besides being yummy, easy and quick is “no fat” and very little calories. When I crave something to munch on, it is usually something with some salt and crunch to it. This fills those needs quite nicely.

This is a standard salad generally always found in our fridge throughout the summer. Enjoy!

Insalata Caprese

Hi everyone!

Are you taking advantage of all the wonderful fresh produce this summer? If you don’t grow your own garden, the next best thing is to hit the local Farmer’s Markets in your area! You will find the most amazing and fresh garden goodness!

Here is a simple and delicious summer salad to enjoy from the bounty that is available at the markets.

In fresh Caprese cuisine, the past and present live together, in proper proportions. To honor a culinary culture that has made simplicity its forte with that "simplicity that is hard to get", of course. Source

What better treat than an Insalata Caprese

A Caprese Salad is one of the most simple salads with wonderful clean flavors. When making one of these beautiful salads, using gorgeous heirloom tomatoes makes it all the more stunning. I was blessed with these fabulous heirloom tomatoes from my friend Katie. She specializes in growing these beauties. I will be doing a post about Katie and her husband Christian and their business soon. I know none of us want to think about next Spring yet but, you are going to want to keep them in mind when you start planting next year because she sells seeds (online) for these stunning and amazing tasting tomatoes!

 

Making a Caprese Salad is very simple.

1. Slice tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and layer between the two.
2. Add fresh leaves of Basil
3. Drizzle with olive oil
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Drizzle with vinegar (optional)

Most people seem to like balsamic vinegar, I do too. But, we just finished a batch of Basil vinegar and I used that. Oh you would not believe the amazing smell of Basil in our kitchen when I made this salad! Divine!

 

Chive & Dill Vegi Dip~ Not just for dipping!

Hi everyone!

Sunday I threw a pork roast in the crockpot. The night before I rubbed it down with our Farmer’s Dry Rub. I knew Sunday was going to be a busy day and that is why I love crockpots!

Cooking the roast meant I would have two different meals from one roast. Do you do that? I really try to cook once for two meals whenever I can. Especially during the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen or because you are just too busy everyday.

So, on Monday I shredded what was left of the pork roast.

In a pan I made a gravy. Now, I think you should make whatever gravy you like whether it be a jar, canned, dry envelope or from scratch. I used a dry package of brown gravy and a dry package of mushroom gravy. I added one cup of water and one can of evaporated milk.

While that simmered, I grabbed a package of our Chive and Dill Vegi Dip.

I added the package to 1 cup of sour cream.

After the two were completely mixed together, I added it to the gravy.

Once mixed, I added the shredded pork roast.

YUM!  This would be great over mashed potatoes. But, I am serving it with egg noodles.

Now, here is a little tip: I keep a bottle of olive oil mixed with our Dipping Oil Herb Blend handy all the time. 

When I cook things like noodles, instead of just splashing some plain oil in the water, I like to add an herbed oil to boost the flavor of the noodles.

Once the noodles are ready just mix with the pork roast gravy. Simple.

A great thrifty leftover meal.

So, keep in mind, DTL Herb products are made to enhance food in different ways. Just because it says it is a “Dip”, don’t limit it to just using it as a dip.

Don’t forget our motto….

Herbs make good food taste even better!

For those of you who are unable to visit us at the markets, you can get our Chive and Dill Vegi Dip through DTL Herbs LTD Etsy Store now. We will be putting more products up as soon as we have the time! However, if you want any of our other products via mail, just drop us an email and we will get it to you!

Mint Glazed Fresh Fruit

Hi everyone!

Have you grown mint or currently grow mint? There are a lot of different mints out there. We grow Peppermint, Spearmint, Apple Mint, Chocolate Mint, Orange mint, Lime Mint and a couple of others.

I love all the mints. They can be used in so many ways. And they are generally so easy to grow. If you haven’t grown mint you will want to keep in mind that they grow and spread quickly and easily!

Keeping them in contained areas is you best bet otherwise, they will run amuck! We have our three main mints in oak barrels.

Apple Mint:

Peppermint:

Spearmint:

Besides using our mints in teas, mints are wonderful in so many other dishes.

Infusing them in honey makes a delicious glaze for cakes, pancakes, and other baked goods. It is also wonderful for glazing fresh fruit!

I made an Apple mint honey glaze the other day.

I used:

About a half a cup of honey

1 Tablespoon of dried Apple Mint

Bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Once it hits the boil, take the heat down to low. When it stops boiling, add about 1/4 cup of fruit juice and stir in. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

I used peach juice for this glaze. You could use pineapple juice, pear juice or apple juice.

Once it has cooled down you can pour it over your fresh chopped fruit and toss. If this glaze starts to seize up, just add a little more juice until it is liquid.

The leftover juice is so delicious! Use it in cakes or smoothies!

Even if you don’t have a lot of room, grab a planter and plant some mint. You won’t regret it!

I’m joining:

Foodie Friday

Weekend Cooking

Herbed Oil

Hi everyone!

One of the products we created and sell through our company, DTL Herbs LTD is an Herbed Dipping Oil Blend.

The above picture is from a presentation we did last week about how to use and cook with herbs. What’s the point of going without getting to try yummy treats right?

This product took us awhile to get just right because Troy and I LOVE herbed dipping oil whenever we went to restaurants that served it. We kept the flavors we liked and added the ones we thought would be tasty in it that they didn’t have in theirs.

When we presented this product to our customers last year, it quickly became one of our best sellers! It is always reassuring that our customers like the same things we do! LOL

Besides using it as a dipping oil with yummy chewy bread, we use this product here at home all the time for various things. When I make up the oil, I actually buy a medium bottle of extra virgin olive oil and use a couple of packets of the herbed dipping oil. This bottle stays near the stove all the time.

Instead of using plain olive oil whenever we cook, we use the herbed infused oil instead. It gives eggs, potatoes, pasta and whatever else that extra little herb flavor. Delish!

So, our Herbed Dipping Oil is not just for dipping bread into. Use it in all your cooking that needs some oil. It is also great brushed over homemade bread or rolls! I love to use it when I open a refrigerated package of biscuits or croissants, just brush the oil over before baking.

For those of you that don’t have access to our products (which we are still working on changing that and opening an online store as soon as we can!) you can certainly create your own Herbed Dipping Oil. Just play around and add the savory dried herbs that you like. It’s a trial and error type of thing until you get it the way you want. Believe me, WE know! LOL

You can create a Herbed Dipping Oil with fresh herbs if you like. However, you need to know that if you use fresh herbs you can only keep it for a couple of days in the fridge.

A fresh herb oil blend should be made only when you plan to use it all immediately!

Why you ask?

Fresh herbs contain trace amounts of water or moisture. The oil won’t support bacterial growth but, even the smallest trace of water will.  Botulism bacteria flourishes in this environment. Even in a sealed bottle. And please remember garlic is an herb and is one of the most moisture filled of the herbs.

Now I know what you are thinking, “Um, Diann? I see garlic in olive oil all the time at the store.” Yup, you do. However, commercial garlic (and or herb) oil products have been preserved prior to immersing onto the oil.

The way it is done commercially is to first preserve the water-containing garlic, herb, etc. with a strong brine or vinegar solution, then put it in the oil. The vinegar solutions used commercially are up to 4 times stronger than the vinegars you find in the supermarket.

So, have fun and play with herbed oils. They add great flavor to so many dishes!

 

 

Whole Food Wednesday

Herb Infused Iced Tea

Hi everyone!

Last week we gave the last of the 3 part presentation at Roosevelt High School. This presentation was about using herbs.

Since we have started our herb business we have discovered that people can be a bit confused about herbs. It is not an area everyone feels comfortable when it comes to using them.

After spending a huge amount of time educating folks at the Farmers Markets about herbs and then having many requests from organizations to speak about how to use herbs, we finally added this as a part of the presentations we now offer.

If you are not familiar with how to cook or bake with herbs, I believe it is best to keep it simple. Just add a little here and there until you start to find out what you like.

So, for this last presentation I prepared some very simple treats for everyone to try.

This post is going to show you how to do a simple Herb Infused Iced Tea.

Now, this is NOT herbal tea. This is a black tea infused with herbs. And “infused” means all the tea and herbs were NOT boiled.

How to:

Boil a kettle of water

In your pitcher add 5 bags of your favorite black tea. (Most common teas are black tea or a mix of)

Add in the pitcher a Tablespoon of dried Peppermint

Add 1 1/2 teaspoon of Dried Lemon Balm

Add one heaping teaspoon of Dried Stevia

Stevia is a natural sweetener and is basically calorie free.

Pour boiling water into the pitcher and let steep for about 30 minutes. The longer it steeps, the stronger the flavor.

**If you don’t have the dried herbs, you can use fresh herbs. Generally that means you need to use 2 to 3 times the amounts. And make sure you crush up (bruise) all the leaves to release the oils.**

Next double a piece of cheesecloth across the pitcher and strain into another pitcher. You can do this twice if you want but, generally by doubling the cheesecloth, once is enough.

Now refrigerate and enjoy!

Remember, you can try different herbs that you like in making an Herb Infused Tea. Play around with any of the mints and “Lemon” herbs (Verbena or Thyme). And you can use the same recipes to make a Hot Herb Infused Tea.

I will be sharing more fun and easy things that I made using herbs at this presentation in the coming week so, stop back by!

For more great recipes, check out these parties I am joining:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday

Herb of The Year: Rose

Hi everyone!

Does that surprise you? The herb of the year is the Rose? It surprised me when I heard about it last summer! I never think of a rose as an herb. However, if we refer back to the definition I posted:

What the word “herb” really means
A very fitting definition that defines herbs by their usefulness rather than by their appearance or botanical structure was coined by Holly Shimizu, director of the U.S. Botanic Garden. Holly says, ―Herbs are defined as plants (trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, biennials or annuals) valued historically, presently, or potentially for their flavor, fragrance, medicinal qualities, insecticidal qualities, economic or industrial use, or in the case of dyes, for the coloring material they provide.

Roses definitely fit into that category.

**Very Important: ONLY use culinary roses. NEVER use roses from a florist. They are treated several times with chemicals. Use the roses you grow if you do not use chemicals on them or look for local organic growers.**

Culinary Use

Rose petal and rose hips are used a lot to make jams, jellies, cordials, vinegars and sweets. Rose flavoured Turkish delight has been produced in Turkey since the 15th century and is known there as lokum.

Rosehip syrup is a natural source of vitamin C, containing 20 times more vitamin C than oranges by weight.

Recipe - Rose Vinegar

I found this recipe for treating mild headaches and as a gargle for sore throats. It's also good to use as a facial toner.

Quantities

• 3 Handfuls Fresh Highly Scented Rose Petals (red or deep pink give the best colour).
• 7 Tbsp's Distilled White Vinegar.
• 1 Tbsp Rose Water
• 1 Pint Distilled Water.

Method

• Place the rose petals in a glass container and add the wine vinegar
• Leave the container in a cool, dark place for 1 week, shaking the liquid every day
• Strain through a muslin cloth and discard the petals
• To use, dilute the 1 Tbsp of rose vinegar with 1 pint of waterSource: Herb Society.org

I will be sharing different things I try with roses this year. There are so many fun and interesting uses for them. Who knew?

A Quick Snack

Hi everyone!

I thought I would share another idea in which I use our Chive and Dill Vegi dip.

Soften up some cream cheese (I use this one a lot because of the lower calories but, still great taste).

I usually only make a half of the block of cream cheese at a time.

Once it is softened, add 1 Tablespoon of our Chive and Dill Vegi Dip and stir in completely.

Clean and cut up celery and cucumbers and spread with cream cheese mixture.

If you are making these for a party or get together, you could place the mixture into a plastic bag, snip the corner off and pipe it onto the veggies.

As you can see, I just made some up quickly for dinner.

Thank you for stopping by and we hope to see you at one of the markets! To check where we are, look on the sidebar on the right.