Herb Harvest
This weekend I harvested a bunch of herbs from the garden and processed them for later use. Right now I have this beautiful sage tied in bunches and hanging in protective bags while it dries, this is going to make some really tasty stuffing on thanksgiving!
I let one area of my cilantro go to seed; this is also hanging in protective bags drying out so I can collect the coriander seeds. The flavor of the fresh seed is so sweet, pure and the aroma lingers in your mouth.
I have so much mint its silly. Trust me I have done everything I can to go through it one mojito at a time, but I’ve been losing the battle. I spent close to 3 hours picking mint leaves while sitting on the deck; it was a gorgeous day outside. I then had to wash, spin dry and process into simple syrup. Now I have mint leaves at their peak packed in syrup for mojitos or to glaze some roasted game meats, even for a simple dessert sauce.
Meet The Boys
These photos are from a photo shoot at Primehouse last summer for the Anti Cruelty Society of Chicago. From left to right – Mr. Peabody, Oswald & Bentley.
This is Mr. Peabody; he is a Beagle & West Highland White Terrier, 13 years old and the perfect gentleman. I refer to him as Peas; he has seen it all since I moved to Chicago almost 14 years ago.
Bentley, 100% Beagle! He is 7 years old and thinks he is king of the world. Loves to steal any tidbit of my cooking that he can, loves to garden without dad as well. The only problem is that he doesn’t share the crops with me; he keeps them for himself. Last week he ate about 30 radishes before I noticed him in the garden.
Oswald, the big baby! Ozzie is 3 years old and a Weimaraner. Full of energy and loves to play catch with the ball. True to his German heritage, he doesn’t know when to quit, he plays until he can’t walk and then rests for a few and goes right back to playing ball. He is a big boy around 70 pounds but thinks he’s a lapdog! Ozzie loves to cuddle, usually falling asleep with his beloved toy ball under his chin.
Chicago Green City Market Chefs BBQ
This past Thursday Chicago Green City Market held its annual Chefs BBQ, it was an honor to cook at this event. We had a great time as expected; the best was to see the smiles on our farmer’s faces and their families. We see them every week and the market is usually crazy busy so it’s nice to see them not working and enjoying themselves!We topped our table off with sod which we later planted at the market in a bare spot by a bench. Our Himalayan pink salt served as our landscape blocks containing our herb garden featuring sweet basil, opal basil, rosemary, lavender and sage all from Nichols Farm. Some hand tools from my backyard, a few flower pots, Templeton Rye bottles and the usual business cards etc… We were ready to go and had about an hour and a half to kill so it was great to walk around and talk with other chefs and catch up before starting to cook. We grilled 35 day dry aged ribeyes and served them with a German style potato salad made from what we dubbed Nichols farm “cobblestone potatoes”, knob onions, bacon and Templeton Rye whisky. Smoked river valley shiitake mushrooms and Green Acres super sexy carrots shaved into a slaw. It was a fun night and a huge success, we brought enough plates for 700 servings and ended up serving over 850 servings, I’m glad we prepped extra!
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