New Ways with Rosemary

Rugged Rosemary 
Slightly piney and pungent, rosemary goes well with beef, lamb, chicken or turkey. Add it to a pan of cubed or French fry cut potatoes or sweet potatoes before roasting in the oven with olive oil, ghee, coconut oil, or clarified butter. Add it to bean or meat and vegetable-based soups or stews, or to bread dough. It goes with salmon (more on this in a minute). But you have to know how to add it for best results.

Rosemary's relatives
This spiky evergreen bush belongs to the mint family, but its leaves resemble pine needles. Herein lies the problem. If you add whole leaves to a recipe they can over power the dish or get stuck in your teeth. Picky eaters will tell you they resemble lawn rakings. You can get around this by chopping the leaves before adding them to a recipe, but I have a better method. People who previously thought they didn’t like rosemary will often eat it without complaint if you follow these tips.

Dry it, you’ll like it better!
Cut branches of rosemary off a bush in your yard or ask a friend if you can collect a bag full or if they will bring you some. Stash them in a large paper bag. Don’t use plastic¬¬––it can trap moisture and make the leaves turn moldy. Place the bag in a cool dry place for one to three weeks, until they feel very dry, or hang branches of rosemary on a clothes line in your laundry room (if you have one) or in a spare bedroom using clothes pins.

Separate the sprigs from the branches
Strip the leaves from the branches by holding a branch with one hand and pulling down on the leaves in the opposite direction they are growing with your other hand. I do this over a large bowl or a colander nesting in a large bowl.

Sift the leaves from the chaff
Remove any odd bits of leaf matter and sift out any dirt. Store the leaves in wide mouth jars. Its easiest to get them into the jar this if you place a funnel over it, then stuff or pour in the leaves (they look more like needles) in. Dried rosemary leaves will keep well for a couple of years in a cool dry place.

Grinding rosemary
Don’t grind all of the rosemary at once. Just grind enough to fill a spice jar (about 1/2 cupful). After you used it up, you can grind more. This preserves more of the flavor. I use a spice-dedicated coffee grinder–––a coffee grinder used only for spices! If anyone in your house uses the grinder for coffee, buy a second one and label and dedicate to spices. Your dearly beloved might not take kindly to rosemary coffee, cumin coffee, black pepper coffee, chipotlé coffee, and whatever spices you’re cooking with.

Cleaning your grinder
Use warm soapy water to wash the top of the grinder, and then let it air dry, but don’t even think about using water or a damp cloth to wash out the bottom of grinder where the blade sits. You’ll ruin it. If you want to clean it, add a couple of tablespoons of white rice or organic cornstarch to the base of the grinder, put on the lid and give it a whirl. The starch will pull away resides from the last spice you ground.

Why I like powdered rosemary
It has a brilliant pale green color I don’t find with dried rosemary from a store whose age is always uncertain. It spreads evenly throughout a recipe, which gives it more mild flavor. You can sneak it into all kinds of recipes.

What’s so great about rosemary?
Recent research indicates that rosemary can help
-- treat headaches, stomach upsets, and digestive disorders
--prevent cancer and age-related skin damage
--improve the functioning of the liver
--increase circulation
--improve digestion
--fight inflammation
--reduce the severity of asthma attacks
--stimulate the immune system
-- curb the growth of harmful bacteria in food.
--block the production of free radicals (perfect when you’re grilling fish, poultry, or meat and you want to prevent the formation of harmful compounds).

Grilled Salmon with Rosemary
Before grilling salmon fillets, rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little bit of finely ground, unrefined sea salt. I like Celtic Sea Salt and Real Salt Real Salt. They contain more minerals than most salt and more flavor. Sprinkle lightly with ground white or black pepper, then liberally with ground rosemary. Rub the salt, pepper, and herbs in with the back of a spoon. Mist with a little more olive oil, and then grill until medium-rare. Preheat the grill on high but turn it to medium low after you add the salmon steaks. Cooking time will vary with the size and thickness of the pieces.

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[Healthy Eating]

We love your site and healthy lifestyle and natural food suggestions. We grow our own herbs, thanks for the suggestions on this page.