Sunday, May 2, 2010

Spring Herbs

No wine for the last few says as I'm plagued with a horrible spring cold.  Today was the first day in the last three that I even felt like eating.

It's been raining again for the last three days and the spring herbs are loving it.  Pictured here is the tarragon that is growing in a huge pot outside the front door.  The lemon thyme is going great guns and the sage has a large number of buds and we should soon have a lot of purple blooms.  The chives are spreading and blooming, the rosemary is back in the ground for the summer, the lavender is sending up tendrils to bloom and the mint is taking over a hillside.

Today's meal featured the tarragon.  There was a pan seared chicken breast that was finished  in the oven while a reduced chicken stock was added to the pan along with some shallots.  When that reduced again we added a small amount of heavy cream and some chopped fresh tarragon.  There were some carrots and shallots sauteed in butter with more of the fresh tarragon and some brown rice.

A Sauvignon Blanc would have been wonderful, and a chardonnay would have just as good.  Another day or two and the nose and taste buds should be recovered. The only bright side to the cold is that it is occurring now instead of next week.  There are some serious dinners and some wonderful wines on the agenda and those won't be spoiled by having a plugged head.

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