Herbs are quite possibly some of the most versatile ingredients out there when it comes to cooking. They can deepen and enrich the flavor of whatever you might be cooking, turn a bland dish into one that *pops,* and even serve as a main ingredient in many recipes (traditional pesto made from basil, for instance). Herbs transcend borders and show up in all types of ethnic dishes, many of which are essential for regional cuisines and even drinks - think Insalata Caprese with bountiful leaves of freshly torn basil, Greek salads sprinkled with lemony oregano, chanterelles tossed in butter with tiny leaves of earthy thyme, and mojitos with fresh mint. And there is no season like Spring to capitalize on these little bundles of flavor, when fresh herbs start shooting up out of the ground and are ready to grace our tables for the next several months. Even better, they're one of the easiest things to grow and can be grown anywhere from tiny pots in the kitchen windowsill or massive fragrant herb gardens.

For healthy cooking, herbs are a cook's best friend. The scent and fresh taste of herbs can transform any dish from boring to spectacular without the use of lots of oil, heavy creams, cheeses or other flavorings that are typically not a (large) part of a healthy diet. This month for Heart of the Matter, we want to see the kinds of dishes you love to make with herbs. Choose a heart-healthy recipe where your favorite dried or fresh herb is an prominent ingredient and share it with the community of bloggers devoted to caring for your heart who participate in and read about this event. If you've participated in the popular Weekend Herb Blogging event over at Kalyn's Kitchen, then you've got the gist of this theme already - if you haven't, feel free to browse over there to get some ideas for how bloggers have incorporated herbs into healthy dishes - just make sure that your dish for the HotM event is heart-healthy. As always we ask that this please be a single event entry (please don’t use your post for other events, like Weekend Herb Blogging, that way we can keep things centered on healthy heart awareness - although please don't hesitate to submit different recipes to both)!

The rules: If you’ve participated before, you already know the basics. If you haven’t, check here, here and here for ideas on what “heart-healthy” means, and we hope that you’ll join us! Just send your entry to me via email (phillipslayden AT gmail DOT com) by midnight on Friday, May 29th and link to my site, The Accidental Scientist (and to the HotM blog if you’d like) and I’ll post the round-up on the following Monday or Tuesday on both sites. Thanks ahead of time for your participation - I'm already looking forward to using many of your recipes this spring and summer!

E for excellent

Thanks Ann and Jack! Really appreciated ...

HotM 14: Brunch, the round-up

We do breakfast in this house. I'm not sure what the difference between breakfast and brunch is, but, no matter what time we get up, it's breakfast all the way here. And looking at the entries this month, it seems to me that brunch is misnamed, because it seems to be interpreted as a cross between breakfast and elevenses. Brevenses, anyone? Elefast?























At Lucullian Delights, co-founder Ilva's OVEN ROASTED PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED ASPARAGUS is fantastic ... I've found that if you want to eat at least five-a-day, you've got to make a good start first thing. Here, the asparagus season is just beginning, so I think this is going to become a favourite.















Chris at Mele Cotte has made a Buckwheat Groats Scramble, and includes loads of useful information about buckwheat (aka kasha), and heart-healthy hazelnut oil.
















Ann at Redacted Recipes has made something that is sure to become a favourite with my funghi-loving daughter: Roasted Mushroom Breakfast Bruschetta. Ann's also included lots of nutritional information (I had no idea mushrooms were so good for you!), and a link to a site with help for those of us who can't poach an egg (I leave that to Horatio, who has been brilliant at egg-poaching since he was about six).













Aagje at Labelga gives us a new take on an old favourite: Porridge with millet flakes, dried fruit and nuts ... it's too easy to think that porridge can only be made with oats, and this makes a great change.


















Lisa at Little Bits gives us an original creation: Polenta, Tofu & Veggie Bake ... the silken tofu lightens the polenta, and there are loads of vegetables too. And for those of us afraid of tofu, Lisa gives some good tips for using the silken sort in everyday cooking.















Lore's healthy brunch is open sandwiches and a fruit salad. She makes a little cheese go a long way - which is one of the secrets of heart-healthy eating - and makes sure of plenty of fruit and veg to start the day.


















French Toast with Fruit is on the menu at Green Gourmet Giraffe. It's a vegan version, and well worth checking out .. rhubarb to go with it, too. Mmm























Jeanne at Cook Sister has made Oat and cherry muffins using a recipe from a muffin cookery book she bought on impulse the other day. I never have much luck with muffins, but these look worth a try - lots of oats, and nutty wholemeal flour.




















At Food for Laughter I found Something Light and Lovely - Artichoke Frittata, which I would never have thought of eating in the morning (see what I mean about breakfast and brunch?), but which I'm going to try. Lore uses bottled artichokes, and we'd have to, too, if we made it this weekend, but pretty soon there will be masses of fresh artichokes from the garden, and then this recipe will come into its own for me.










Nearly forgot ... here's my post about making porridge the slow way, using oatmeal, rather than faster flakes, and a polenta-ish way with any leftovers.

Let me know if I've forgotten anyone ... thank you all for taking part, there are lots of good ideas here for me to try for brunch in the garden on Monday, when we have a bank holiday. Michelle at Accidental Scientist will soon be making an announcement about next month's Heart of the Matter theme. You'll find this round-up, and all the previous ones too, on the Heart of the Matter website.



Related posts

Kippers - without stinking out the house
Smoked haddock
More things for breakfast
Kedgeree (my very first blog post)
Frying pan bread - a quick fix for the disorganised
Baked pears with pinenuts

Brunch

Posted by Joanna at Joanna's Food
























In this house, as you see, the most enthusiasm is reserved for a full English breakfast (although only the children eat sausages). We don't really do brunch, if that means a collision between breakfast and lunch - no matter how late we eat breakfast, they all always want some lunch. On the other hand, we do often have a leisurely weekend breakfast. No-one eats muffins here - and, anyway, over the years they've been amongst my worst culinary disasters.

Lucius and I often eat kippers, and another favourite is porridge. I've made this in a variety of ways over the years, and this is the nicest, although not instant. You need medium and/or coarse oatmeal, not the rolled oats that are easy to buy in a supermarket, nor pinhead oats, which are too coarse to cook in real time (overnight in an Aga is the usual method for pinhead oats, but I have never been a fan, they often taste overdone, reminiscent of school food). I have to go to the health food shop for oatmeal, which is about £1 for 500g.

The porridge you make with rolled oats is fine, it's just that this is better. Perfect for weekends, perfect for brunch, perhaps with a little blueberry compote for extra heart health.

Porridge

for each person:

50g medium oatmeal (or a mixture of medium and coarse)
300ml water

Use a sturdy pan with a thick bottom. You can start by toasting the oatmeal gently for two or three minutes, I'm not sure if it really makes a difference, and it's by no means essential.

Add the water to the meal, heat until it comes to the boil, then turn right down to simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, giving it an occasional stir. I use a wooden spoon, which is what my grandmother in Scotland used, and I have never met a Scot who uses a spirtle, I think they are just for tourists.

I don't put salt in my porridge, it can be added to the bowl - my Scots grandfather, a farmer who grew oats in Fife, used to eat his porridge with salt and not much else. I use skimmed milk and a dollop of lovely brown muscovado sugar.










If there's any left over, you can fry it up like polenta, and eat it with fruit compote. That's what I had for breakfast this morning - reheated slices of porridge and a little stewed apple. My grandmother used to give her leftover porridge to the dogs - in fact, I rather think she made extra specially.

What do YOU do for a heart-healthy breakfast or brunch? The Heart of the Matter website is a resource I often consult, so I'd love it if you'd take part this month.

The usual rules: If you’ve participated before, you already know the basics. If you haven’t, check here, here and here for ideas on what “heart-healthy” means, and we hope that you’ll join us! Again, we ask that this please be a single event entry (please don’t use your post for other events – that way we can keep things centred on healthy heart awareness). Just send your entry to joannacary AT ukonline DOT co DOT uk (could you use the title HotM, so they don't get lost) by midnight Sunday 27 April , linking to my site, Joanna's Food (and to the HotM blog if you’d like) and I’ll post the round-up on the Monday or Tuesday on both sites.


Related posts

Kippers - without stinking out the house
Smoked haddock
More things for breakfast
Kedgeree (my very first blog post)
Frying pan bread - a quick fix for the disorganised
Baked pears with pinenuts

HotM: brunch

yes there is a theme for April too

Just to let you know that there is a theme for this month too, see Joanna's announcement over here!

Party time - HOTM #13, the roundup

So here it is, the roundup for this month's HotM, or should I call it the party menu for HotM's first birthday? I'll keep it short because I want to post it in time for your Easter shopping in case you find some dishes that you want to make for your Easter meals! But first of all we, me, Joanna and Michelle want to thank all of you who have contributed to HotM during this first year, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't be celebrating today! Thanks!


Starters and finger food:


We have a wonderful Roasted Garlic Hummus to dip our vegetables in or to spread on our crackers, it is Kevin from Closet Cooking who has made it for us!



These little beautiful Spinach Party Balls With Lime are created by Lore from Natural Cuisine, they are just perfect for our party are they not?



Mansi of Fun and Food has brought the prettiest Vegetable Bread Baskets,



I added another dip: Eggplant Dip with Chikpeas and Hazelnuts.


Main course:


Sarah of What Smells So Good has made a tasty tomato soup called Blackened Tomato Soup, you start with the tomatoes in the oven which means that the soup must be a concentrate of good flavours! She also kind enough to provide us a list of its nutritious values.


Aagje, from Leafy Cooking, is bringing Chicken laarb or laarb gai (Thai or Lao salad with chicken) to the party, a recipe she has got her cousin who came come from Indonesia. Fresh and appetizing!



Next to this we have Ann's classic Cannellini Bean Salad, healthy and ever so versatile dish, check out her serving suggestions over at Redacted Recipes!



Our faithful contributors Jai and Bee from Jugalbandi has brought Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan), I love hot food so I know what I will add to my already full plate!



The inclusion of these Deep Fried Nori Shrimps might surprise you and I did confer with Joanna before accepting them for two reasons: one is that not all of us have 'ongoing' heart problems and if you follow the directions how do deep fry over at teczcape-an escape to Food you will see that you can do it in a healthy way. The second reason is that this just sounds too good not to be on this party table!



Spring Green Rice & Herb Salad, doesn't it look good? And healthy? It's LisaRene who brought it for us! Check out her recipe over at Little Bits!



And hurry up to get some of this Thyme-Braised Lentils with Petimezi and Pan-Fried Salmon from Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, I'm sure it wont last long!


I brought a Cauliflower Salad with Tomatos, Basil and Capers as well.

Desserts and sweets:



This party wouldn't be a party without Joanna, she is a big part of the success of the HotM event! She has made Pistachio marzipan and gives us suggestions on how to use it over at Joanna's Food!



And then we have Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe who has managed to make us heart healthy Spring Chocolate Brownies, I love it! Thanks!

HotM #13 Party Food

This month The Heart of the Matter - eating for life turns 1 year! For one whole year we have month after month been collecting heart healthy recipes at the HotM blog and with we I mean Joanna of Joanna's Food, Michelle of The Accidental Scientist and me but above all I mean you, all of you who have been participating! Thank You! We have done finger food, desserts, soups, pasta dishes, vegetables, fish and baking just to mention a few of the themes of the roundups this past year and here at the The Heart of The Matter blog you can go through all twelve of them whenever you need a heart healthy recipe. I'm sure you will find something over there, there are about 220 recipes collected and we hope they will continue to increase month by month!
One of the aims of this event is to show that eating heart healthy doesn't mean eating boring and I think that each and every recipe that has been submitted prove this. The event is aimed at all of us, not only for those of you who because of health reasons are obliged to eat heart healthy but also for those of us who are fortunate enough not to be restricted to a special diet; we all know how fickle life is so I think that eating heart healthy should become more of a rule than a exception. Don't you? So here we are with the first HotM anniversary and with Easter approaching so what else could we choose for the theme if not Party Food? We want you to send in the recipes of the food you would choose to serve at a party for Easter, food to eat together with others, the special food you want to share with your friends and your family on special occasions and because you love and like them the food is not only special, no it's also heart healthy! So you can send in recipes of almost anything as long as it is heart healthy, i.e. low in animal fat (lean meat, no butter, low fat dairy products etc.), no trans fat/hydrogenated fat, not too salty, not too sweet. If you need to know more, Joanna's got a post with basic rules that you might find useful. Send me (luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com) your entries before midnight the 19th of March and I'll do my very best to have the roundup posted the day after, Thursday 20th of March so that you have time to browse through the recipes to see if there's something you could make for your Easter feast or some other upcoming party! Link to the event so that we can spread some heart healthy awareness and remember that this is a single entry event so please don’t use your post for other events as we want things centred on the heart healthy aspect!