ideas for using the chives in your garden, part 2

More uses for all of those chives currently popping up in the garden:

1. Chop them up and freeze them in a baggie for winter (if you haven’t gotten totally sick of them after all of this).
2. Add them to eggs (scrambled eggs, egg salad, quiche or frittatas)
3. Sprinkle them on salads and soups.
4. Sour cream and chives on a baked potato (my personal favourite).
5. Make chive oil and & chive oil salad dressing.
6. Make chive butter (cream together 1/2 cup softened butter, I small clove garlic and 1 tbsp chopped chives) to spread on warm biscuits or bread.
7. Make chive vinegar (I’ll be making some of this as soon as some of mine flowers).
8. Make chive biscuits or breads.
9. Add to soups and stews.
10. Make chive pesto (I need to try this one).

I wanted to use up the chive oil that I made on the weekend, so I made this salad with a few things I had on hand. My kids were sceptical – they think the chive oil looks like tomato worm guts. The small squeaky kid said she liked the taste (I called it salad with bug juice dressing, so she was briefly intrigued). I used half chive oil and half olive oil because the chive oil I made is pretty strong . You can use full on chive oil if you like, but I’m warning you that it is strong. Like birth control strong. Make sure that you have breath mints available.

 Chive Oil, Couscous, Tomato and Corn Salad

• 1 cup couscous
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1 tbsp chive oil (see this post for recipe)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (depending on how tart you like your dressing)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine couscous and corn with 1 cup boiling water. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Allow to cool, then add tomatoes and. Combine chive oil and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad; toss well to coat. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

* The dressing measurements are approximations. I add a little of this and that until it tastes right. You could also add in some honey, if it tastes too tart. I’m open to suggestions if you try it and make improvements. Salad dressings around our house are a little like lab experiments. You never get the same result twice.

Linking to Frugally Sustainable, A Delightful Home