Grilled Cabbage With Spicy Thai Dressing Recipe

The first time I had grilled cabbage it was a revelation. I was completely caught off guard by how delicious it was. The simple cabbage, elevated to a nutty, smoky, still slightly crunchy experience.

The Kale Salad

Joshua McFadden says, “This is the raw kale salad that changed my life.” Seems he was caught off guard by the impact his salad had on the world. He says it was because he could not get good quality salad greens in winter that he was forced to be creative and find an alternative ingredient. It is amazing what possibilities can be created when the regular is no longer an option...

Cilantro Lime Crawfish Chopped Salad Recipe

In the heat of summer I love this citrusy, light, and refreshing ceviche-like chopped salad. It is satisfying and yet not heavy.

Beet and Tahini Dip Recipe

Slather this on sandwiches or burgers. Mix it into a tomato and cucumber salad. Scoop it up with fresh veggies or crackers. Eat it straight out of the fridge with a spoon, no one will judge.

Coffee-Spice Rub Recipe

This is a great dry rub to have in your arsenal. I feel like something about the coffee really enhances the umami meatiness of the meat you are grilling. Goes great on some lamb steaks. Feel free to adjust the heat level to your preference.

Koch-kocha Recipe

I was visiting a friend’s family, who actually had immigrated to this area from Ethiopia. The grandmother, head of the family, came in with carrying some gourds filled with an array of delicious foods. Some sort of meat stew, a large piece of flatbread, and this spicy green sauce.

It was one of my favorite meals of that time. I will never forget the sensation of the sweat dripping off my body, a combination of the heat and the chiles, but it was so good that you just had to have one more bite…

Carrot Top Chimichurri Recipe

Carrot tops; one of the most under-appreciated greens in the garden. Let’s change that! This recipe showcases their herbal, earthy, subtly carrot-ish flavor. Try using this sauce as a top on grilled meat hot off the barbecue or a platter of roasted vegetables.

Gochujang Sauce Recipe

I love the kick and depth of flavor that gochujang adds to everything I stir it into. This Korean staple is made from chilies, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, salt, and sweeteners that becomes a thick, sticky condiment that’s spicy and pungent in flavor. Totally delicious.

Ginger Simple Syrup Recipe

Ginger simple syrup is easy to make, takes no more than a few minutes, stores well, and leaves you with plenty of ginger syrup for all your cocktail and cooking needs.

Mulberry Barbecue Sauce Recipe

There are so many recipes for mulberry pies, jams, and sweet deliciousness, but it is kind of more difficult to find some savory options. I think there is a lot of unexplored potential. Anything that you can use a blackberry for, you could use a mulberry for. I find that they work perfectly in this spicy, sweet, acidic barbecue sauce, and early summer has arrived! As the temperatures start climbing for us, our grilling season begins.

Sourdough Starter Cracker Recipe

What am I to do with all of the discarded sourdough starter? I know the question has probably run through your mind because as a shepherd to this living creature, it kinda feels awful to simply throw it into the bin (even if it is a compost bin).

Carrot Top Salsa Verde Recipe

I had a really difficult time deciding whether to call this recipe Carrot Top Pesto, or Carrot Top Salsa Verde. As you can see, the salsa verde won, but it was a close tie. This is my fusion of pesto and salsa verde with carrots tops in center stage. Think of this sauce slathered on grilled meats, kebabs, or roasted vegetables….

Carrot Margarita Recipe

carrots — Carrot Margaritas

Early summer in a glass

As surprising as a margarita based off of the delicious early summer carrot could sound, I find it incredibly satisfying. Sweet, yet earthy, with a good kick of ginger, I declare this margarita wonderfully refreshing.

Foraging Etiquette

Just coming back from harvesting wild elderflower, foraging etiquette is on my mind. I hope that by reading some of the recipes here on The Blue Heron Project, you might feel inspired to go out and forage for some of the wild bounties your land has to offer. It is so fulfilling to head out into the wild with an empty bucket and coming back home with a bucket full of wonderfully delicious things.

The truth is though, the act of foraging must be done responsibly. If you want to come back year after year to the same stinging nettle patch, or the same elder bushes, you need to make sure that you are harvesting in a manner that is sustainable.

English Pea Toast Recipe

I remember as a little girl sitting in the sink helping my mother shell peas. It is one of my favorite memories. Fresh peas from the garden are nothing like the gross green things that come from a can. Still to this day, if I have a bunch of peas to shell I will sit upon the counter with my back against the cabinets and my feet in the sink shelling these little green globes of deliciousness. It is one of my happiest places.

Elderflower Fritter Recipe

Gebackene Holunderblüten

Roasted Beets, Avocado, and Sunflower Seed Salad Recipe

Roasted Beets, Avocado, and Sunflower Seeds Salad

Your new favorite early summer salad

“Joshua McFadden has the soul of a farmer, and his recipes are beautifully in tune with the seasons and the land.” - Alice Waters

I knew the moment this cookbook arrived I was going to love it. The first time I opened the book, it flipped open to this recipe and I made it, right there, right then, and it was delicious.

Why you need to use a scale in your kitchen.

kitchen scale — Why you need to use a scale in your kitchen.

One tool to make you a better cook and baker.

I realize that if you don’t have a scale and you come across a recipe that only uses weight as a measurement it is annoying. I get it. It is just so darn simple to measure things in your handy dandy measuring cups. It is what you are used to, and it’s probably how you grew up cooking. I am not saying it is wrong, but if you want to become a better cook or baker - ditch the cups and get a digital kitchen scale.

Compound Butter Formula

So this is not a recipe. It is an invitation to get creative. I usually have a couple of versions of flavored butter in the freezer, and when I need them, they are there, patiently waiting to be used. I just slice off as much as I need and then pop them back in the freezer for another dish another day.

Merguez Sausage Recipe

The best burger I have ever had was from a cute little place called Tabor Tavern in Portland Oregon. 1/3 lb. lamb patty, harissa, balsamic onions, feta, arugula, all on a brioche bun. I just checked the menu, and they are still serving it. I have never been quite able to reproduce that flavor, but it opened my mind to how well-spiced lamb is suited to be used in a burger. This flexible sausage recipe can be pumped into links, flattened into patties, or rolled into meatballs.