There was a time in the not so distant past when getting mail was still fun. Now my mailbox is a block away stacked with the other community boxes and if that's not drudgery enough every day, rain or shine (bad knee), once I get there and pick up the mail it's typically nothing but garbage. I mean really. I come home and sort the vast majority of it into the trash before ever walking inside. Still there are a few bright spots. I got a lovely card from a friend a few weeks ago after my brother died and was reminded of how thoughtful those feel; far different than an email that's for sure. It means the person really had to put some thought and time into sending you either condolences or warm wishes. I'm going to do those more often. It's also where I still get excited each time I get an issue of a favorite magazine and I'm not ashamed to admit that Bon Appetit still fills that bill. I'm not a Gourmet snob; I enjoyed Gourmet but was able to make more every day meals for friends and family from the pages of Bon Appetit and I still find some real treasures among those pages.
Including this dish for Zucchini and Potato Fritters with Garlic Herb Sauce. Even though I may no longer have a huge garden and grow mounds of squash that I don't know what to do with, I'm still always on the hunt for a new recipe for zucchini. I do have young neighbors who are in the beginning stages of garden glow and they grow plenty for the whole street I think! When gifted with some squash and wondering what to do with it I spied what seemed to be the perfect fit for me. I LOVE fritters and fried mashed potatoes so how could a dish consisting of both the ubiquitious zucchini and potato along with some of my fresh garden herbs not be perfect?
Yes, there are herbs in the fritters but it's the herby, tangy, slightly sweet sauce that I loved so much I could bathe in it. OK, can I take a tangent for a moment? I don't use the word bathe very often and even now when typing it, I had to chuckle. See; my maiden name was Bathe. Not pronounced as per Mr. Webster but a German thing pronounced Ba-thee with a long 'a.' Barbara Bathe...wow it's been a long time. I so want to scuttle my ex's name that I kept for the kids sake but I'm not going back to another unpronounceable German name that I have to spell EVERY single time! Mark my words, one day I will be Barbara Baker. OK, tangent over...but I had to do it!
I chose Cooking with Herbs for our Progressive Eats event this month (it's been a YEAR!!). I wanted to make something using the fresh herbs from my garden. I have 3 huge pots of herbs. Two contain an assortment of tarragon, thyme, chives, cilantro and oregano. Another has mint and rosemary and the third? While some may still be singing the tune, 'It's all about the bass' I prefer my ditty to be 'It's all about the basil.' Lots and lots of basil. While this zucchini dish sounded really up my alley, as I started to mention before getting totally off track, the coup de grace is the sauce. Yogurt and fresh herbs, honey, garlic and olive oil. Yeah, I know...it is as divine as it sounds. I made few changes to this recipe but I did not run out for parsley; I think when it comes to fresh herbs almost anything goes so thyme stood in and it was lovely and a bit more flavorful even. The original recipe specifically called for 'Yogurt - Not Greek' and well, that was unnecessary. I used Greek yogurt and it was fine so it's what I recommend.
Be sure to check out the fantastic dishes from my friends after the recipe...because really, 'it's about the HERBS!!!'
Cooking with Herbs
Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is all about herbs and is hosted by Barb Kiebel who blogs at Creative Culinary. With gardens coming on strong, it's a great time to add herbs to your menu and we've got them; from appetizers to drinks to desserts!
If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With , a theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. After a successful first year of more traditional themes, this year you'll see us doing more open ended themes beginning this month when we're Cooking with Herbs...and anything goes!
We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.
