How-To: Freeze Herbs (Cilantro)

If you're like me, sometimes you'll have more herbs than you know what to do with. And then sometimes, you'll be wishing you had that herb that you don't have.

The Everdale CSA offers free herbs as they are available. Never one to turn away from a good deal, I gathered up a large leafy bouquet of cilantro. Fine and dandy for summer and autumn, but how to keep cilantro-happy in the barren months of winter?

Freeze 'em! After a quick web search, seems like there are a few ways of freezing herbs:

• Freezing whole
• Freezing in water
  
• Freezing in oil

To solve this, I conducted a very un-scientific study to determine which of the 3 preserves cilantro the best, by trying all 3 methods and then later adding each one to a dish.

Result: freezing the cilantro WHOLE seemed to preserve more of the flavour than freezing in water or oil. Of course, none of the methods came close to the mellow aroma and crisp flavour of fresh cilantro.


How To Freeze Cilantro
Season: Summer to autumn

Trim the roots, and rinse very thoroughly. Pat or air dry.

If freezing whole: place cilantro in freezer bag, preferably in a single layer.

If freezing in water or oil: finely chop cilantro. Add to individual portion-sized containers (e.g. ice cube trays, pill pouches), or as a thin layer in a resealable bag (this will freeze in a 'sheet', and the amount you need can be broken off easily). Add just enough water or oil to saturate.

Freeze. Enjoy later.

Urban Foraging

One brisk autumn evening, I was downtown with 2 friends, walking home after dinner and a couple of drinks, when a spontaneous foraging moment reared its head.

Me: "Hey --- look over there, by that office building.... it's KALE!"
Friend #1: "That green plant? Are you sure???"
Me: "Helllll yeah I'm sure. It's definitely kale."
Friend #1: "Ok, be cool". Looks left and right, waits for other pedestrians to walk past.
Friend #1: *pick pick pick pick.....*
Me: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? Are you crazy??!?!"
Friend #1: "Hey, it's just going to go to waste anyway. This office building is just using it for decoration."
Friend #2: "......."

Well, Friend #1 was right. We walked by the same spot a couple of weeks later, and the remaining unharvested kale plants were wilted and dried up, ready to accept their wintery death.

Urban foraging ---- ethical or not? Discuss amongst yourselves. I'm not letting this kale go to waste. So here's a make-shift recipe if you ever find yourself with questionable kale in-hand.


Stir-Fried Kale
Season: Summer to autumn

Ingredients:

Leaves of 1 kale plant
2 cloves garlic --- minced
soy sauce
oil for frying

Directions:

Rinse the heck outta that kale. Not knowing how the kale was grown (... pesticides? fertilizers?), or what it absorbed from its surroundings (... car exhaust? doggie poo?), each wash will ease your mind a little more. Roughly chop leaves and blanch in a large pot of boiling water (30 sec). Heat a frypan or wok on high, add a little oil and garlic. Add kale leaves, and stir fry for about 2-3 mins. Add soy sauce to taste.

Recipe: Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos! Fun to say and pumps up your food know-how. This recipe was adapted slightly from Epicurious.com.


Tomatillo Salsa
Season: Autumn

Ingredients:

1 lb tomatillos --- husked, rinsed, and quartered
1 fresh hot chili pepper --- seeded and chopped
1/2 large white onion --- cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves --- roughly chopped
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
salt

Directions:

Coarsely purée tomatillos, chili pepper, onion, garlic and water in a blender. Transfer to a large heavy skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, then stir in cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste.