Lemon-Basil-Dill Salad Dressing

I love trying new products. I'm always scouring the grocery store for things I haven't tried yet. I'm always throwing things into my cart with no clue how I'm going to use them.

I bring them home and use them and sometimes I write about them or mention them in recipes.

It's even better when products come to my door and they don't cost me anything, because I get to play and there's no risk of wasting money. If I don't like the products, I don't write about them. If I like them, I usually end up buying them again and again. There are quite a few products that I got as samples that I now use all the time.

When Litehouse offered me some of their spices, I was intrigued. They call them "Instantly Fresh" and say that they refresh in liquid to become like fresh herbs.

Well, that's interesting.

I love fresh herbs, but I hate buying a bunch of herbs when I only need a tablespoon or two. In the summer, I grow a few herbs outside, and in winter, I have some potted herbs. But I also use a lot of dried herbs as a substitute. In some cases, I prefer dried herbs. In other cases, it would be nice to have fresh herbs, but dried are more convenient - and less expensive.

So the idea of convenient dried herbs that tasted like fresh - that sounded like something I could really use.

Out of all the herbs I was sent, I used the basil the most, simply because that's what I needed for recipes. I noticed that when I added it to tomato sauce it brightened and was very fragrant. But then, of course. I cooked it.

Then the lightbulb lit. I was using them like I'd use dried herbs when I should have been using them like fresh herbs. So I started thinking about how I use fresh herbs. First, I used the dill on cooked potatoes and on buttered noodles. Then I decided to make a salad dressing that would feature the herbs.

And here's the deal - the herbs really did taste fresh. I don't think anyone would mistake the chopped basil for a recently-picked basil leaf, but the flavor was more like fresh than dried..

This is going to be good for salad dressings, uncooked preparations like dips, and for a finishing herb like on the potatoes, or a final flourish of basil on pasta.

I didn't receive the cilantro to try, but I bought some, because that's one herb that always thwarts me.

I often buy cilantro to use in guacamole or salsa, but there's only two of us, so I often don't need the whole bunch. If I try to store the leftovers, it usually goes bad by the time I need more. Having a dried alternative would make sense for those times when I need just enough cilantro for one avocado's worth of guacamole.

So ... I bought it and I tried it, and it did rehydrate and taste like cilantro should. I have to say that I was pleased.

Lemon-Basil-Dill Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Litehouse basil
1/2 teaspoon Litehouse Dill
Pinch of Litehouse mint
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds black pepper
Pinch of garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a small jar and shake until emulsified. Serve on salad or vegetables.

Thanks to Litehouse Foods for sending me samples of their Instantly Fresh Herbs.

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Cheddar-chunk and chive sandwich loaf

At this point, I've thrown a lot of things into loaves of bread, but there's always more experimenting that can be done. Some new twist. A different combination of ingredients.

This time, my unusual ingredient is mayonnaise. It might sound odd, but it really isn't. Mayonnaise is mostly egg yolks and oil, and both are common ingredients in bread. And not only bread. I've used mayonnaise in cake recipes, as well. It adds moistness and a little bit of tanginess.

And it makes perfect sense in sandwich bread, since mayonnaise is such common ingredient in sandwich assembly.

When you're adding cheese to bread, you have two options. You can shred it so that it's well-distributed into the bread. Depending on the cheese, shredded cheese can almost disappear into the loaf.

Or, you can leave the cheese in larger pieces so it forms melted pockets in the loaf. This time around, I opted for larger pieces.

You can use either white or yellow cheddar for this recipe, but yellow cheddar will be more visible in the loaf.

Cheddar-Chunk and Chive Sandwich Loaf
This makes a great sandwich loaf, and it's nice all by itself. Or along with breakfast. If you toast it, be careful because the cheese will melt and make a mess of your toaster. On the other hand, of you toast it in a skillet, that cheese will get nice and brown and crisp.

1 cup water
2 1/4 teaspoons Red Star active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cup (13 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup regular mayonnaise
4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon dry chives

Combine the water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt, and mayonnaise in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix slowly until the ingredients are combined, then raise the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is elastic.

You can also knead by hand, if you like.

Add the cheese and chives and continue mixing until both are well-distributed throughout the dough. If the cheese seems to be breaking up as you mix, you can do this by hand.

Cover the bowl and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.

When the dough has risen, flour your work surface lightly and spray a 9x5 loaf pan with oil or baking spray.

Turn out the dough and form it into a log about 8 inches long. Try to keep most of the chunks of cheese from poking through the dough. Place the log, seam-side down, in the prepared loaf pan. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until the dough rises slightly about the rim of the pan, about 40 minutes.

While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the loaf until it's nicely browned, about 40 minutes.

Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

This makes a great sandwich loaf, and it's nice all by itself. Or along with breakfast. If you toast it, be careful because the cheese will melt and make a mess of your toaster.

On the other hand, of you toast it in a skillet, that cheese will get nice and brown and crisp.

This post is sponsored by Red Star Yeast, which is pretty easy for me since it's the yeast I use pretty much all the time. And I'm totally serious about that. I buy it in 1- or 2-pound bags, because that's how much of it I use.

Not only do I love their yeast products, but they've got tons of useful information for consumers. Need an example? Here's a post about how to check to see if your yeast is still viable. And if you want to ogle pretty food photos, be sure to check out their Pinterest boards. LOTS of awesome stuff!

You can find Red Star Yeast on:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
Instagram

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Basil Pesto Marinade/Dressing/Sauce/Drizzle/Dip #PantryInsiders

A local food emporium had samples of a basil dressing/marinade that I was pretty impressed with. But perhaps a bit too much garlic.

Let me explain. I happen to love garlic. But lately it seems like every recipe I make has an abundance of garlic.

Well, except the ice cream. 

But like anything else, there comes a point when enough is enough. Although the basil flavor in the dressing was lovely, I decided that there was just a smidgen too much garlic for me to spend the money on it. And then I remembered the bag of basil I bought at the farmers market. I had used some of the basil for a few recipes, but I had plenty left. So why not make my own garlic-lite basil dressing?

Besides the lightening of the garlic flavor (this still has a smidge), this isn't exactly the same as the dressing in the store. I decided to make it a little bit creamy by adding mayonnaise, and it also helped to emulsify and thicken the dressing.

I used Pompeian olive oil and red wine vinegar, since I've been working with them on their #PantryInsiders promotion. It's nice to work with companies that have products I use every day. And let me tell you, I go through olive oil like it grow on trees.

As part of their program, Pompeian hosted an on-air live olive oil tasting a while back. It was pretty interesting, and a little weird. I mean, how often do you sit around and taste a bunch of different olive oils?

But, it was a great way to really taste the differences. When I open a new bottle of olive oil, I usually taste it to see how sharp or peppery or fruity or mellow it is, but except when I was at a store that had samples, I don't think I've ever tasted that many varieties of oil.

After the tasting, Pompeian, offered to send us our favorite oil, and I chose the Arbequina, which is what I used here. It was the mildest and smoothest of the varietals, but with more flavor than the light olive oil.

My first use of this basil dressing was on top of some farmers market tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, but it would also be great as a salad dressing, as a marinade, a drizzle over pork, chicken, or fish, or even on pasta. Or for dipping bread into. Or ... hmmm ... I'm sure I'll think of other things.

Like spreading it on a sandwich, or mixing into some scrambled eggs.

Maybe I should go make some more. I might not have enough.

Creamy Basil Dressing

2 cups lightly packed basil leaves (and tender stems, if you like)
1/2 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons roughly snipped chives
1/4 cup Pompeian red wine vine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Several grinds black pepper
Pinch of garlic powder (optional)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Pompeian Arbequina olive oil

Combine everything except the olive oil in your blender or food processor and blend until the herbs are blitzed into small bits. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed to make sure you don't have any large leaves left.

With the blender or food processor running, add the oil. Or, if you prefer, you can transfer the mixture to a bowl and whisk the oil in. Or transfer to a jar, add the oil, and shake until combined.

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Keep in mind when you're tasting that you're not going to be eating this with a spoon - you'll be serving a small amount with other things.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate until needed.

This post is sponsored by Pompeian as part of the #PantryInsiders program.

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Shrimp with Herbed Olive Oil #PantryInsiders

This is the first of a series of articles I'm writing for Pompeian, makers of olive oils and vinegars. Right up my alley. I go through olive oil like it grows on trees.

hehe.

Pompeian has three oils in its Varietals Collection, which are oils made from a single variety of olive. I chose to work with the Picholine, since it's an olive I'm familiar with, but I've never tried a picholine olive oil.

The other two oils in the collection are Arbequina and Koroneiki.

One cool thing about these single-source oils is that you can look up the origin of the oil, including the mill, the country, and the harvest date. All you need is the lot number from the bottle. Or use your smart phone and scan the QR code on the bottle.

Mine came from Morocco.

Even better is that these oils are affordable - you're not going to have to dip into the college fund to make a salad - they sell for about $6.99 for a 16-ounce bottle, but I've seen them locally for less.

The picholine was described as "a medium-bodied oil with a green fruitiness, hints of herbs and a pleasing balance of bitterness, great for meats and sauces." So it was the middle-ground between the other two. I tasted it and started brainstorming. I wanted a recipe where you could taste the oil, but not just oil drizzled over something.

I decided to pair it with shrimp. And, I've got two options for you.

This recipe takes advantage of parsley stems - the part you're likely to throw away for other recipes. You don't have to use the stems, but if you bought parsley for another recipe, you might as well use stems for this.

Otherwise, use leaves and stems of about 1/4 of a bunch of parsley. Eyeball it - this doesn't need to be exact.

Shrimp with Herb Oil (or mayo!)

1/2 cup Pompeian Picholine olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Stems from 1 large bunch parsley
12 extra-large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup prepared mayonnaise (optional)
Lemon juice (optional)

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil on gentle heat in a nonskillet add the garlic and cook, stirring as needed. until the garlic is cooked and soft. It's fine if the garlic browns a little, but don't let it burn. If it does, start over.

Pour the oil and garlic into your food processor add the parsley and the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Process until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it to be.

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer and discard the solid bits - we're just after the flavored oil. Taste and add more salt, if desired.

Heat the skillet again with the residual oil - you can add more if you think you need it, but you shouldn't need more than a teaspoon or so.

Cook the shrimp in the skillet, turning them over when cooked on one side, until just cooked through.

Serve warm, drizzled with the herb oil. Drizzle with a bit of lemon juice, if you like.

Shrimp with Herb and Olive Oil Mayo

These shrimp, served cold, are excellent with a green herb-olive oil mayo. Here's how.

Put the 1/4 cup of prepared mayonnaise in a small bowl. Drizzle the flavored oil into the mayonnaise, whisking to incorporate it.

If you add it slowly and keep whisking, the oil will emulsify into the mayonnaise and it will stay thick, rather than thinning out.

Taste, after you've added two tablespoons of the flavored oil and add more oil, if desired - how much you add is totally up to you. Add more salt, if needed. You can also add a bit of lemon juice, if you like.

Serve the mayonnaise with chilled shrimp.

If you make more mayonnaise than you need, you can thin it with a bit of buttermilk or or milk and use it as a salad dressing or drizzle over vegetables.

This post is sponsored by Pompeian as part of the #PantryInsiders program.

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Okie dokie, Artie-chokey: Lemony globe artichokes with peas and herbs

Someone's cooking here, and it's not me.

Yep, the fella went into the kitchen, and he did an outstanding job. He shopped, he prepped, and he cooked. I photographed and gently guided. And I giggled a little bit. But that's to be expected. He never cooks.

Never-ever.

Okay, there was the Nashville Sneakers episode, but that was in the last century.

But I digress. Or I'm ahead of myself.

You see, I'm in this group called Cook My Book, and the idea is that everyone picks a cookbook from their collection and those books get mailed around in a big circle at regular intervals.

People cook recipes from the books and they write notes next to the recipes they've made.

And maybe cause some accidental spillage and staining. Oopsie. And then we sign the front or back of the book with notes to the owner and send the book to the next person on the list.

As we cook recipes, we post about them on our little Facebook group - what we liked, what we didn't like, what worked, and what we'd change next time. It's a great way to get familiar with a bunch of books and hang out with people who like to cook.

And eventually the books all make their way back to their owners with all sorts of scribbled notes and messages.

This is my first year. I'm thinking I might be a life member. It's a blast.

So, Bob's been hearing about this group and watching cookbooks come and go. And when he heard that my friend Sandra was in the group, he said, "I'd like to do something for her. I want to cook from her book."

My jaw dropped. Not that he wanted to be nice. But that he said the words, "I want to cook" and he was awake and not hallucinating or anything. But ... there's a reason.

 I had told him how Sandra took over this blog while he was in the hospital, and how she became such a good friend when I needed friends, and he wanted to do a little something to surprise her.

I don't know how surprised she is, but I'm still a little woozy at the thought of him using one of my sharp knives.

Coincidentally, I had my own copy of the book Sandra was sending around (Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi), so I gave him my copy so he could pick out a recipe.

He paged through it and mentioned that there didn't seem to be any meat. Maybe he was hoping for a pot of chili or a rack of ribs, but that didn't stop him. He was on a mission to cook something.

The book disappeared into the garage for a couple weeks, and when it emerged again, there was a sticky note on the page for Lemony Globe Artichokes.

I expected that he's pick a few and ask my advice. But no, he picked artichokes. Why? Because he knows how much I like them.

Okay, everybody ... awwwwwww

I had just gotten some glorious artichokes from Frieda's, so I was set with those. I told him that it made sense to cut the recipe in half (making two artichokes instead of four), which made the recipe slightly more challenging. But I was confident.

I wrote up a shopping list for him, so he could pick up a few things we needed. Mostly fresh herbs. Some lemons. Nothing too challenging. Frozen peas. I went with to document the adventure, and gently guided him close to his targets, but I let him do the hunting and gathering on his own.

He probably could have found everything without my help ... eventually, but I figured that asking him to figure out how much fresh tarragon was needed to yield 1/4 cup might be a little too cruel.

Even finding the tarragon could have been a challenge - I mean, it's not all that common. And cilantro sometimes masquerades as parsley, and we sure as heck didn't want to see that happen.

So I guided him to the right decisions, and to the correct peas in the frozen section. I like the petite peas, although the recipe didn't specify.

And then, before he got cooking, I set out a cutting board and provided him with tools as he needed them. Measuring cups and spoons. String. Hot water in a pot. A lemon squeezer.

As he used things and he didn't need them any more, I whisked them away. Just like magic.

Weirdest moment might have been when I was using my fingers to try to grab an artichoke leaf to see if it would tear off easily. While it was bobbing in simmering water.

And he said, "Don't you think you should use a tool to do that?"

Um, maybe. But this is - ouch - just as - ow, hot - easy - owie - and it just takes a second. When you do it all the time, it doesn't seem so odd.

So, I instructed a bit, helped just a tiny bit, and mostly just observed to make sure nothing went totally off the rails. I have to say that I was very impressed with his attention to detail.

He followed the recipe directions carefully, one step at a time:

Picking leaves off of stalks ...

Chopping parsley ....

Measuring chopped herbs...

Dicing onions ....

Prepping artichokes ...

It was interesting to see a non-cook cooking. The only slight glitch was that the artichokes could have been rubbed with lemon a little sooner, but no big deal. He did what the instructions told him to do rather than reading the instructions like a more experienced cook would have.

The biggest challenge was neatly tying the halved stuffed artichokes so they'd stay together while they simmered.

I estimated that we'd have artichokes on the table in an hour, but it was a tad longer. I didn't take into account the extra prep time needed when someone's not familiar with tools and methods.

But in the end, it was totally worth it. I liked the recipe, and it was a lot of fun to see Bob in the kitchen. I doubt it will become his new hobby, but maybe we'll try again another day.

As we were eating, I asked him if this recipe was easier or harder than he expected. He said it was harder. Then he asked if the recipe was easier or harder than what I normally do. I said it was about the same.

So there ya go.

Sandra, this one's for you!

Lemony Globe Artichokes
Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

2 globe artichokes
2 lemons, halved
3/8 cup fresh dill (a shy half-cup), finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 medium-small onion, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, smashed (through a garlic press, or finely minced)

Trim the artichokes so they can sit flat on their bottoms, and remove the toughest bottom leaves. Cut the artichokes in half vertically, from top to stem. Remove and discard the choke (cough-cough) and some of the small innner leaves, to make room for the stuffing. As you work, rub the cut surfaces with one of the lemon halves to keep the artichokes from browning. As you finish each artichoke half, place in into a bowl of cold water.

Mix the chopped herbs and onion with plenty of salt and pepper.

Drain the artichokes. Stuff the cavity of each half with the herb/onion mix so it's full but not overflowing. You're going to be reassembling them. You should have excess stuffing. Hang onto that - we'll be using that shortly.

Put the artichoke halves together and tie them with string to secure them.

Put the assembled artichokes in a pot that they will fit into snugly (this keeps them from floating or coming apart). Add the juice of one of the lemons (two halves), and then toss in the squeezed lemon halves. You might as well toss in the lemon half you used to rub the artichokes, as well.

Add enough water to cover the artichokes, leaving about 1/4 inch out of the water. Add  generous amount of salt. Simmer on low heat for 20 to 35 minutes. The artichoke bottoms in particular need to stay submerged, since that's the edible part and you want to make sure they cook. If need be, you can put a small plate on top of the artichokes if they want to float. Cover the pot during cooking, and cook until the artichoke heart is tender - stick a knife into the base to check - and a leaf should pull out easily.

Remove the artichokes from the pan and let them drain for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the remaining stuffing with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about three minutes, then add the peas, sugar, garlic and a few tablespoons of the artichoke cooking water. Cook for 2 minutes more, then taste and add more salt, pepper, or lemon, as needed.

Transfer the artichokes to serving plates or a platter. Remove the string and lay the halves with the cut side up. Pile the peas on top of each artichoke. Drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.

You can serve with a few wedges of lemon, if you like.

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Basil pesto, shrimp pasta, and some container gardening

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gro-ables. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's spring and it's snowing. Welcome to high-altitude Colorado, where we're likely to get snow in mid- or even late-May. Yes, I'm not kidding.

I started the Gro-ables pods that I wrote about here, so I could harvest some herbs for a recipe, but let's be honest here. It's SNOWING.

I considered planting them outdoors, but then decided that wasn't a good idea.

So, I started the pods indoors in pots, and I'll be moving them outside as soon as the weather becomes a little less hostile to tender green growing things.

They can stay in the pots I planted them in, since the basil, dill, and lettuce aren't going to need tons of space to spread. They'll be just fine.

This sprouted after just a few days!

When I got the herbs, I planned on making a basil pesto to go along with shrimp. Since my little herbs are, at this point, still itty-bitty babies and I needed quite a bit of basil for this recipe, I bought some.

And then I added pasta. Because it sounded good.

I have to say that I like the idea of having home grown herbs waiting for me outside - so much more convenient than running to the store when I need a spring or a snip of something.

The basil, according to the Sprout It site, is easy to grow, and likes full sun and normal watering.

All of the plants varieties are listed on the site, with tips on growing, and suggestions on how many plants per household are recommended. It's handy information for new gardeners who might not know the average yield from different plants.

But meanwhile, dreaming of summer and swaths of fresh herbs and produce, we have this:

Basil Pesto

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon macadamia nut butter*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove black garlic
Pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. It's fine if there are tiny bits of basil leaves, but you want it as smooth as possible.

*You can use any nut or seed butter you like here. I thought the macadamia nut butter was fun.

Shrimp and Pasta with Basil Pesto

1 pound shrimp, cleaned and peeled, and cooked as desired
1/2 pound rotini pasta, cooked
24 grape tomatoes, halved
12 kalamata olives, halved
Basil pesto (recipe above)

Combine the shrimp, pasta, tomatoes, olive, and pesto.

 Serve warm.

Drizzle with olive oil for serving, if desired.

Want more info on the Gro-ables? Check out the video!

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It's Thyme for Orange Dinner Rolls #TwelveLoaves

Wow, how thyme flies. The deadline is here to make another bready recipe with the group #TwelveLoaves.

The theme for April is oranges and my first instinct was to make something sweet. It would have been easy, since I've got a few jars of orange marmalade left from a previous orange frenzy.

But then I thought, no, I really don't feel like sweet rolls.

But what?

I love citrus, but I was stumped for just a little while. I didn't want to just toss some orange juice into a bread recipe and leave it at that. I wanted to add something else.

Then it hit me. (ouch!) Lemon thyme is one of my favorite herbs. So why not use plain thyme with some orange. Makes sense, yes?

That's exactly what I did. And then I made dinner rolls.

It's Thyme for Orange Dinner Rolls

Zest of 1/2 orange
Juice of 1/2 orange, plus water to make 1 cup
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast*
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dry thyme

Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is shiny and elastic. It won't be smooth because of the bits of orange and thyme mixed in, but the dough itself should be smooth and silky.

Or, if you're so inclined, mix in a bowl, then knead by hand. If you're hand-kneading, reserve some of the flour for dusting your work surface during kneading - you don't want to add more flour. Return the dough to the bowl when you're done kneading.

Cover the bowl and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled, about an hour.

When the dough has risen, flour your work surface very lightly and turn out the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces. For a tip on how to divide dough into thirds, look here.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray. Or you can use a baking sheet lined with parchment or sprinkled with cornmeal. I like the 9x13 pan because I have one with a cover, which is convenient for rising. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Form each lump of dough into a ball and place them in the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap (see how that covered pan is handy?) and set aside in a warm spot to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

When the buns have risen, remove the cover and bake the buns at 350 degrees until nicely browned, about 25 minutes.

Remove the buns from the pan and let them cool completely on a rack.

*If you're using Red Star active dry yeast, you can mix it directly into the dough - the pellet size is small enough so it dissolves. If you're using a different brand that has larger-grained yeast, combine it with the water and let it sit for a few minutes to soften, before you continue with the mixing and kneading.

About #TwelveLoaves

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess. #TwelveLoaves runs so smoothly thanks to the help of the lovely Renee from Magnolia Days and Heather from girlichef.

April's theme is oranges, following the gorgeous strawberry breads featured in March.

If you want to play along, choose a recipe that includes oranges in the recipe itself (not a jam that's alongside, for example). You can use oranges, orange marmalade, or orange zest in the dough or as a glaze, drizzle, or frosting. Whatever you bake, (yeasted, quick bread, crackers, muffins, braids, flatbreads, etc) have fun and let's have a delicious month of bread with oranges. Let's get baking!

Want more ORANGE? Check out these other lovely bloggers who participated this month:

• Blueberry Dreamsicle Orange Lower-Fat Quick Bread from Shockingly Delicious
• Brith with candied orange from Ma che ti sei mangiato
• It's Thyme for Orange Dinner Rolls from Cookistry
• Orange Biscuits from Magnolia Days
• Orange-Fennel Cake Doughnuts from girlichef
• Orange Marmalade Filled Sweet Rolls from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Orange Marmalade Scones from A Baker's House
• Orange Pull-Apart Bread from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Orange Pull Apart Bread with Orange Cream Cheese Glaze from Bakingyummies
• Orange Rolls from Basic N Delicious
• Orange Rosemary Boule from Food Lust People Love
• Orange You Delicious Honey Crescent Rolls from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
• Pizza di Pasqua from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rye and fennel seeds snails with blood oranges and red onion chutney from Rise of the sourdough preacher 
• Sicilian Orange Sweet Bread from Cake Duchess
• Strawberry and Orange Quick Bread with Candied Orange Marmalade from Hip Foodie Mom

If you’d like to add your bread to the collection with the Linky Tool, below, for this month, here’s what you need to do!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!

2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.

3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this April, 2014, and posted on your blog by April 30, 2014.

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Going Green. Thumb, that is.

Coming soon: Basil Pesto

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gro-ables. All opinions are 100% mine.

My dad used to grow a fabulous garden every year. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, peppers, carrots, radishes ... so much great stuff.

I've dabbled with gardening over the years, but recently I haven't spent a whole lot of time with planting anything. I have a few unkillable herbs that come back on their own every year, but that's about it.

This year, I was thinking about putting in a few extra herbs, so when I got an offer from Miracle Gro to try their Gro-ables, I figured it was a perfect opportunity.

Or maybe motivation.

Groables are seed pods. Meaning that you just insert the pod into the soil, and you're done. Well, there might be some watering and weeding, but planting has been made pretty foolproof. The pods are designed for younger consumers or people who are new to gardening, but I think it's great for me, because I just don't have tons of time to fuss with planting in the spring. I'm perfectly happy to have it made a little easier.

The seeds, according to the Gro-Ables website are non-GMO, and the pods keep the seeds at the right depth for planting with "growing materials" in the pods that help keep enough moisture near the seeds. There's also some appropriate fertilizer.

All the the pods are for food plants - herbs or vegetables - so people can plant a garden outdoors or stuff some plants into containers on a balcony or near a bright window.

I'm going to be getting basil, butter lettuce, and dill seed pods, which is perfect because I love all three.

It's a tad early for planting anything outside right now, but I like container gardening better, anyway. So these will be going into big pots so I can drag them indoors when it snows. Because I know for sure we're not done with snow. Really, really sure. *sigh* But hopefully I'll have some lovely seedlings popping out soon that will get me motivated to do some more planting this year.

Or at least I'll have some butter lettuce, dill, and basil, which is better than I did last year, despite my good intentions.

There's something soooo satisfying about going outside with a pair of scissors and coming in with just enough of whatever fresh herbs I want. When I have some basil to harvest, I'm looking forward to some pesto. And I have plans for that in a recipe. The upcoming pesto recipe won't be your basic pesto, though. The ingredient list includes:

Basil

Macadamia nut butter

Black garlic

Olive oil

Salt

Lemon juice

But that's all the hint you're going to get. You'll have to wait a bit for the full recipe.

For more info about Gro-ables, check out this video:

So ... are you planning a garden this year? Planting any herbs? Container garden? Let me know!

Yum

Mighty Feiny Chicken Wings

A while back, I "met" a guy named Adam Feinberg on Facebook, and he kept posting about his "mighty fein rubs." Fortunately, he was talking about spice rubs. Because otherwise his posts would have made no sense at all. And then I found out that his spice rubs were a local product.

Yep, he's from Colorado. Denver, actually. So, not a neighbor, but close enough. Recently, he sent me a lovely collection of rubs. And they fit nicely in the Ball dry herb jars I reviewed a while back.

Well, they fit after I used a little bit. And that's kind of the point, right? To use them.

First, I tried rubs on two steaks - the Citrus BBQ and the Original BBQ.

Then I made a batch of chicken wings on the grill.

We like wings, and they're a great thing to have on hand in the freezer for a simple meal. And leftovers are great cold, so I tend to make bigger batches.

Another nice thing about wings is that they can be cooked directly from the freezer. Since a rub wouldn't stick to frozen wings, I threw them on the grill, then when they warmed up enough, I sprinkled the rub on. When I flipped them over, I sprinkled rub on the second side.

I tried two different rubs on the wings - the Original BBQ and the Everything.

As I continued cooking and flipping the wings, I sprinkled on more of the rub to get a nice coating.

The wings were cooked through right about the same time the skin had a nice color.

And that was that.

Dinner.

But how about the rubs?

I used to be a snob about using spice mixes and blends, but I have to say that it's great to have spice mixes on hand that I can just grab and go. The Feiny's spices are all either no-salt or lightly salted, which is great - you can add enough flavor before you add too much salt.

And ... they're not just rubs. I used the veggie rub in a vegetable soup I made. And I'm sure I'll find more uses for all of the others. The Original BBQ might be my favorite. I'm planning on using that on some ribs I'll be making a little later in the week.

When I get around to making some more creative recipes with the rubs, I'm sure I'll be posting them. Meanwhile, I'm having fun just trying them out.

Yum