Charlie has a really good herb garden growing in the front of his redneck yard so when I rode over there to show him my brand-new birthday scooter, he bequeathed me with several bags full of basil, chives, fresh bay, rosemary...what on earth was to be done with the bounty? Well, I made a ton of pesto and froze some of it.
But there was still lots more, so I found some lovely mild peppers and gorgeous purple and green okra from the Decatur farmers market.
The okra doesn't stay purple after cooking though, it's just like that to make you want to buy it. It's like fancy plumage on a bird. The peppers and okra got put into another delicious
summer vegetable broil with lots of fresh basil and other herbs at the end.
Something else I did with my herb collection was a simple dish of roasted potatoes completely covered in redneck rosemary (folks without their own redneck herb connection can just use regular rosemary).
What made it especially exciting was the potatoes I got were
spectacular (from the same guy at the Decatur farmers market with the Darwinian okra). One of the two types I bought--at first I swore they were fresh green peanuts, so I ran up to pick through them, and holy shit! Little teeny potatoes!
I combined those with amazing Andean purple potatoes--not only are they beautiful, but there is a great nutty flavor in them.
Everything just got tossed up with salt, pepper, olive oil...and a whole lot of rosemary.
But there was still lots more, so I found some lovely mild peppers and gorgeous purple and green okra from the Decatur farmers market. 
The okra doesn't stay purple after cooking though, it's just like that to make you want to buy it. It's like fancy plumage on a bird. The peppers and okra got put into another delicious summer vegetable broil with lots of fresh basil and other herbs at the end.
Something else I did with my herb collection was a simple dish of roasted potatoes completely covered in redneck rosemary (folks without their own redneck herb connection can just use regular rosemary). 
What made it especially exciting was the potatoes I got were spectacular (from the same guy at the Decatur farmers market with the Darwinian okra). One of the two types I bought--at first I swore they were fresh green peanuts, so I ran up to pick through them, and holy shit! Little teeny potatoes!
I combined those with amazing Andean purple potatoes--not only are they beautiful, but there is a great nutty flavor in them.
Everything just got tossed up with salt, pepper, olive oil...and a whole lot of rosemary.
We grew a bunch of those purple potatoes this year. They did pretty well considering the relatively poor soil we planted them in. Anne says they seem creamier than other varieties. I can't tell as I pile on the butter and sour cream.
ReplyDeleteThey really do taste different! To me it was a chestnut-y nuttiness. I guess chestnuts are sort of creamy too, so maybe Anne and I are getting the same sense of flavor from them.
ReplyDelete