It is such a joy to chat with you all on delivery days – your enthusiasm and ideas are contagious and inspiring. Someone looking on this week at a drop-off location said, “Boy, it must feel good to make people so happy.” Yeah, it does. But the mutual sharing with you – food, recipes, life, stories – makes me super happy. So thanks! Here are a few more tips for using the veggies in this week’s box –

Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Roasted Peanuts
from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

3 Tbsp raw peanuts
2 tsp roasted peanut oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
1 1/2 lbs bok choy
2 Tbsp peanut oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 3 Tbsp water or stock
1 tsp roasted peanut oil

Fry the peanut in t tsp roasted peanut oil until golden. Chop with the pepper flakes and a few pinches salt and set aside. Slice off the bok choy stems and cut into 1-inch pieces. Leave the leaves w hole. Set the wok or a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 Tbsp peanut oil and roll it around the sides. When hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the bok choy and a few pinches salt and stir-fry until wilted and glossy. Add the soy sauce and cornstarch mixture and stir-fry for 1 or 2 minutes more until the leaves are shiny and glazed. Add the crushed peanuts, toss and serve.

More Ideas for Using Herbs
My mother-in-law is a a Master Gardener and a great champion of herbs. She’s been making and using various delicious concoctions with herbs since I’ve known her. This week she sent me some herb butter recipes and some ideas for making herb vinegars, which are a great alternative to drying herbs for use later. She makes herb vinegars in the spring and summer and uses them as a substitute for liquids in recipes all year long. This is a fabulous way to get dill flavor into your potato salads and

Basil Butter
1 cup fresh, sweet cream butter
2 tablespoons to 1 cup Basil leaves, destemmed and chopped fine
Soften the butter to room temperature and then cream it with a wooden spoon( or mixer or food processor- this is an old country recipe). Throughly blend in the basil. Using wax paper, form into a log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate.

This is good on french bread with pasta or any bread or buns, you can saute vegetables in it, stir it into pan juices for added flavor. If you are making bread or biscuits, add a little herb butter to the batch.

Herb Vinegars
Flavored vinegars are a simple way to add zest to your salads, sauces, marinades and desserts without any added fat, sugar or salt. Vinegar of all sorts is a preservative, but the best suited to these herbal mixtures are apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar and rice vinegar. However, when using purple opal basil, chive blossoms, nasturtium flowers or other strongly colored herbs, you’ll want to take advantage of the pretty dye and use plain white vinegar which will turn lovely pastel colors.

Dry and wash whichever herbs you intend to preserve. Moisture will cloud the vinegar. A rule of thumb is to use one cup of vinegar per 1/2 cup of fresh herbs. Use double for dill. Using glass jars that have been washed and sterilized in boiling water, place the herbs in the jar, bruise with a wooden spoon and pour in vinegar. Set in a sunny window for several weeks, and turn occasionally. Or heat vinegar til nearly boiling and pour over, then you can use the vinegar in a day or two.