• "Lay fish or chicken over a bed of lemon balm leaves before baking; you won't need any other seasonings."
•"Stir the minced leaves into cooked rice or into clarified butter for dipping artichoke leaves."
• "Dried lemon balm is mainly used for tea. For other uses, it's better to freeze the leaves for later use, packed into plastic bags. They'll keep well for up to 2 months."
In his chart on kitchen herbs (page 87), he lists herbs that can be combined with lemon balm that won't overpower its sweet, citrusy flavor, including: "chervil, chives, dill, fennel, mint, parsley, shallots, and very carefully with garlic."
In another one of my favorite books, The Macrobiotic Brown Rice Cookbook, by Craig Sams, he talks about using herbs in these recipes:
• for Vegetable Stock:
" Use fresh herbs where possible, but keep it subtle. Many herbs develop bitter tastes if they are overcooked, so it may be better to add them in your final recipe." (pg. 34)
• for Rice and Greens:
"Add herbs generously to this recipe—fresh marjoram goes well, try fresh dill or fennel, sprinkle Japanese wasabi horseradish powder in it to give it more bite." (pg. 50)
• for Tom Kha Tofu soup, he mentions a tip for freezing chopped herbs:
"I use an ice cube tray to make cubes of chopped lemongrass or Thai ginger, a quick way of having these awkward-to-prepare herbs readily at hand." (pg. 106)
• for Herb Rice:
"You may wish to include a specific herb in your diet such as parsley, mugwort, or thyme. When the rice is cooked, stir in a teaspoonful or so of the herb and allow to stand for another 10 minutes. The steam and heat of the rice will draw out the herbal flavors. Adding herbs before cooking will lead to overcooking the herbs and destroying their flavor." (pg. 119, under "Preparing Brown Rice For Fasting")
In Essential Guide To Macrobiotics, Carl Ferre talks about using herbs in a beginning macrobiotic diet:
• "Seasonings are another way to spice up an otherwise "bland" diet. They are especially helpful to those whose taste buds are adjusting from the highly stimulating typical American fare to a macrobiotic approach.
• "Many seasonings may be used as garnishes for variety in serving or as a complement to help balance the effects of some dishes. For example, grated daikon or grated radish would be a good garnish for fish."
• "Cooking herbs and spices, including basil, oregano, cinnamon, curry, cloves, and others are used in small amounts." (page 20)
I found this recipe for "Lemon Balm And Yogurt Dressing for Green Salads" on page 89 of The Herbs and Spices Cookbook, by Christian Teubner and thought that it might be easy to modify for a vegan dressing:
(Add the herbs after mixing all the other ingredients together first.)
1/3 cup yogurt (or perhaps miso or tofu?)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped lemon balm
And finally, I can personally recommend this simple beverage:
To a large pitcher of fresh water, add a few sprigs of lemon balm and spearmint, and a handful of freshly picked strawberries. Allow to sit for a few hours in the refrigerator or a cool spot before serving. The flavors will be subtle, light and delicate, and the beverage is quite refreshing on a hot summer day. Cheers!
See also:
Lemon Balm Continued, Exploring The Many Common Names And Uses
Related Blog Articles:
My Notes On The Macrobiotic Centering Diet
