Whether you're channeling Martha or just trying to get through Thanksgiving without an exploding turkey, a solid holiday dish requires a hefty dose of fresh herbs to dial up the flavor and bring on the festivities. When prepping your dish, it's essential to start with fresh herbs for maximum impact. Sure, dried and powdered herbs work in a pinch, but there's no comparison to the real thing.
Since the holiday season can make even the most organized schedule go haywire, the good folks at Gourmet Garden created the ultimate solution for too-busy cooks. Gourmet Garden's Lightly Dried herbs preserve the flavor, aroma, and nutrient content of fresh herbs, but give you a full month of shelf life when refrigerated, compared to a mere week's worth for most fresh herbs. That's a whole lotta pumpkin bread!
Whether you're hosting the whole family or bringing a dish to share, use the following recipes as a building block for a seasonal meal. From an easy soup to comforting, spiced pumpkin bread, these three reimagined staples will get your creative (and cranberry) juices flowing this holiday season.
Easiest Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger and Garlic
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add squash, cover, and cook 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender.
2. Add Gourmet Garden Ginger and Gourmet Garden Garlic to soup and stir.
3. Using a blender, purée soup to a smooth consistency. Serve with a drizzle of cream or crème fresh.
Gingered Cranberry-Pomegranate Relish
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Combine water, sugar and Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Ginger in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
2. Add fresh cranberries and dried cherries, cooking until dried cherries begin to soften and fresh berries begin to pop, stirring often (about 6 minutes).
3. Remove from heat. Stir in apricot jam, lemon juice, allspice and pomegranate seeds. Cool completely. Cover and chill until cold (about 2 hours).
Pumpkin-Ginger Bread with Walnuts and Flax
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in bowl. Mix well. Stir in pumpkin and Gourmet Garden Ginger until blended.
2. Sift flour, flax seed, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and cloves together.
3. Add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Stir in water and walnuts.
4. Pour evenly into three greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
Find Gourmet Garden's Lightly Dried Herbs in the produce section at Safeway and Raley's.
