Weekend Herb Blogging #198 Roundup

Welcome to the roundup of blog posts and recipes that showcase the bounty of the Vegetable Kingdom in Weekend Herb Blogging #198. I was honored to once again host this popular and mouthwatering event. Bloggers from various corners of the world submitted entries using plant ingredients from Malaysia, Italy, Canada, Scotland, the United States, and Australia.

From Italy, we got an entry from Graziele of the very informative herb blog Erbe in Cucina. She grew some shiny red Shishito peppers, which she used in a stir-fry with shrimp, peas, sprouts and rice. Her post has information about growing these mild chili peppers and suggests several other ways of cooking them while they are green as well.


Muneeba (and her handsome cat Ozzy) blogs from Connecticut, USA, at her lovely blog, An Edible Symphony and prepared a fresh Zucchini, Tomato and Herb Tart to share with us. Her recipe calls for layers of sliced vegetables over a puff pastry crust, topped with an egg and cream mixture that gets baked until golden brown. A perfect seasonal recipe for us in the Northern Hemisphere.


Nate and Annie just recently moved The House of Annie from San Jose, CA to Malaysia and I certainly got a geography lesson researching the various locales in their blog post. Their blog post describes a lovely home-cooked meal they were treated to when they flew with their many suitcases from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, on the northern coast of Borneo. Their WHB entry describes a local fiddlehead fern variety, Paku, which was stir-fried with shallots, garlic, and belacan (shrimp paste).


Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen, the founder of Weekend Herb Blogging, shares a colorful Bulgur Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Parsley, Mint and Lemon. Bulgur is an easy grain to cook with, as it just needs to steep in boiling water to soften. For a gluten-free alternative to bulgur (bulgur is a form of cracked wheat), try quinoa, which is becoming more easily available in supermarkets and natural foods markets.


If you haven't yet had a chance to visit Brii's Blog in English, you are in for a treat. Brii is an herbalist who week after week prepares intriguing conserves, pickles, liqueurs and other wonders in the kitchen using a variety of garden grown plants. This week Brii shows us all how to make Aromatic Salt from a variety of herbs which she advises to "give away generously". Be sure to see her gorgeous blog with all of its photos from her many Italian Alpine treks.


Mint is the star ingredient in a Thai-inspired Spicy Chicken and Mint Salad made by Pam of Sidewalk Shoes. Pam is a Tennessee teacher by day and passionate home cook by night. My Crispy Cook heart was also warmed by her love of reading and the great book reviews she sprinkles throughout the recipes and cat photos on her blog.


Up north in Ontario, Canada, Jerry of Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants made an intriguing Peach, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Pizza. This sounds like a great combination of flavors and the added smokiness from grilling the pizza outside sounds even more heavenly.


Healthy and delicious recipes abound on Joanne's Eats Well With Others blog and this week the sidewalk fruit vendors in New York City tempted her with their blueberries. Joanne sends us all a slice of Blueberry Muffin Cake to make use of these seasonal berries.

Hailing from Sydney, Australia, our wonderful Weekend Herb Blogging Head Master, Haalo, of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once, introduces us to the Lebanese Cucumber. She cured some baby Qukes in lemon sea salt, caster sugar, lemon juice and herbs and they look mighty tasty. As Haalo notes, they make "a refreshing snack for the warmest of days."


Katie in Michigan made use of an overflowing box of veggies from her share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm to make a spectacular looking Stuffed Pattypan Squash. Her blog Eat This, has lots of other fantastic gluten-free recipes using whole grains, with an emphasis on fresh produce, natural ingredients and sugar alternatives.


After submitting a lesson to WHB last week on how to can tomato sauce, Cinzia provides followup instruction for canning whole tomatoes with basil, or Pomodori Pelati. Her bilingual food blog, Cindystar, showcases many other glorious recipes and many great photos of life on shores of Lake Garda.

From her garden plot in Scotland, Mangocheeks offered up a delicious round of pakoras made with golden beetroot and coriander. Her blog, Allotment 2 Kitchen, has many other recipes featuring her homegrown produce and tasty bits about Scottish cooking.


Finally, from upstate New York, your host, The Crispy Cook, blogged about my daughter's heartache at a recent soccer game and how she requested a most humble dish for dinner, Comfort Corn. Not my fanciest dish, but one which offered up a little solace on a plate.


Another interesting round of Weekend Herb Blogging and one which introduced me to a few new blogs, recipes and unusual plant ingredients. I now pass the torch on to Mele Cotte, who will be hosting Weekend Herb Blogging #199 from August 31st through September 6th. Thank you to everyone who contributed these great recipes. I have already bookmarked several to make soon. See you at Mele Cotte next week...