Every summer, we grow our own vegetable garden, and along side the garden we grow herbs in pots.  And every year we have grand ideas of how we are going to use these herbs in all of the dishes that we make.

And every year we end up with several pots of herbs that we barely touch.

This summer we are on a mission to change that!

What requires a whole bunch of herbs, but is still easy to make and doesn’t require cooking (It’s hot. Who wants to turn on an oven, or even a stove-top!)?

Pesto, that’s what!

And since we’re really indecisive and couldn’t decide which herb we wanted to include, we threw a few different ones in and hoped for the best.

Lemon Basil, African Blue Basil, Sage and Arugula.  You want flavour?  You got it!  Paired with some toasted walnuts, garlic and a little lemon…

I made this dish for lunch today, and was so pleased with the end results. It is a quick and easy dish to make, and is the epitome of healthy fast food.

Moroccan Rice & Beans In Swiss Chard Wraps

Ingredients:

* 1 can Eden Organic Moroccan Rice & Beans

* Hemp Seeds (sprinkle at will)

* Raw Sunflower Seeds (sprinkle at will)

* Dash of Cinnamon

* Dash of Himalayan Pink Salt

* Swiss Chard Leaves (as many as you’d like, depending on how many wraps you want to make)

Note: This makes approximately 4 wraps.

Directions:

Heat the can of Moroccan Beans and rice over medium heat, until heated through. Add in salt, cinnamon, raw sunflower seeds and hemp seeds. Stir until combined. Clean swiss chard leaves thoroughly, gently removing stems. Scoop Moroccan Bean & Rice mixture onto middle of each chard leaf. Wrap gently and…

With the summer in full swing and the weather finally cooperating, it is time for all kinds of outdoor feasting, and with that, we need condiments.

After picking up my CSA veggies this weeek, I thought a great way to use up some cilantro, garlic scapes and kohlrabi would be to make Tomato BBQ Sauce (garlic scapes) Garlic Scape Bean Dip and Mango Cilantro Salsa (cilantro and kohlrabi).

Enjoy,

Tracy 🙂

First the Mango Cilantro Salsa. This is a wonderful salsa that is hot, cool, spicy and sweet all at the same time. It is truly an explosion of taste.

On the point of cilatro, this is a herb that you either love or hate. I have never met anyone who did not have a very strong opinion on cilantro. I am on the “love” side of the camp. If you truley hate the taste, you could substitute parsley.

Mango…

Nothing screams English garden to me as much as green peas and strawberries! And they both are flushing in my yard right now. This bright and sweet salad is entirely from a mid day wonder around the yard (with the exception of a small walla walla onion), the dressing is made with that yummy saskatoon syrup I made last week, blended into a zippy balsamic vinegarette.

Combine leafy and bitter greens with fresh mint leaves, toss in handfuls of fresh strawberries and handfuls of fresh snow peas garnish with razor thin slices of yellow onion and then drizzle with this rich berry blissful dressing: