Better Home Cooking Basics: #36 Wait Until the Last Minute Before Serving to Add Fresh Herbs.

If you're a good boy or girl scout & are preparing dishes ahead of time that call for fresh herbs, leave them out until you're ready to serve. Then chop or tear the herbs & add them to your dish. This way the flavors will be the freshest & the fragile herb leaves won't blacken or wilt.

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

How-To Store Fresh Herbs

I don't have much luck with keeping potted plants alive. The green thumb gene seemed to skip over me since both my mom & grandma could grow a jack a bean stalk from a Mexican jumping bean with googley eyes glued to it. I really love fresh herbs, one day I'll grow (not kill) my own but until then I'll probably continue to buy them at the super market. In hopes to keep them as fresh as possible my new goal is to do a better job of storing them. It's actually really simple & only takes a few minutes of prep.

Teeny Tasty Pesto Taters

The other night I got home early enough to attempt my version of coq au vin (chicken in wine) which takes a bit of time and patience to make. I also whipped up these adorable teeny tiny potatoes that I bought at Trader Joe's as a side. When it came time to eat the hubs said "oh wow, so good" I looked up delighted thinking he was impressed by my faux French culinary skills of making coq au vin for the first time.  But no my husband was talking about the potatoes that took minutes to make and were pretty much the after thought of the meal.  So instead of blogging about the labor of love that was the coq au vin I'm writing about the damn potatoes instead!  

These teeny tots are quick, simple, tasty and just pretty darn cute.

What you'll need:

• 1 bag of teeny tiny potatoes
• 1 handful of parsely
• 1 handful of basil
• 1 handful of arugula
• 5 stalks of thyme (leaves only, discard stems)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper

Make it:

1. Cut potatoes in half.
2. Place potatoes in a pot and add water until the potatoes are covered. 
3. Add salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Cook about 10-15 minutes or until fork tender.
5. In a food processor add all herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped.
6. Add olive oil until thoroughly combined.
7. Drain potatoes and toss with pesto. Serve warm.