That's So Swa!

  I was introduced this idea from the Chef Rainbow as a way to brighten any dish, and fell in love with it in the summer of '21 as my garden now has a wonderful variety of herbs. Basically you fine chop fresh herbs (chives, lovage, Thai and Italian basil, lemon thyme, oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and pepper&spear mint are what I have this year - use what you have on hand) and add in olive oil, salt to taste (lemon pepper if you want) and lemon juice / zest / rind to make a topping. To describe consistency....it's like you are using the oil, salt and lemon as a light medium to hold the chopped herbs together but not making a paste or sauce.  Wonderful on pasta, crackers with cream cheese, soups... anything that is bland and needs a flavour boost. Many recipes add garlic and chilli flakes but I think that's too intense. Save garlic for pestos and chili flakes for heat. Keep this as wonderful alternative to spicy / garlicy boosters. Keep calm and let the her...

  Just something to keep in mind when you have fresh peppers in the garden... so delicious! 1 habanaro pepper or whatever other pepper you've got growing. 1 chopped shallot or half small onion Juice of half or one full lime. Can sub lemon, or even vinegar in a pinch. The lime is the ideal though.  1 tsp or so of kosher salt Chop finely and mix. Delicious as a topping on almost all Mexican and Indian dishes. Anything that needs that green spark.  Of course if you add in tomato and coriander you're at salsa fresca, but sometimes I really just like a pure green topping. Letting the pepper be the star before the tomatoes ripen does them justice.  Oh! And if you have an unripe green tomato that falls too early like the one that did today, throw it in.  It's a great way to turn a mishap into a victory.