Chive and Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

If you plant chives in your garden, the blossoms are a bonus. A lovely shade of pink, they add color and flavor to soups, stir fries and salads, but a little can go a long way.  The problem is so many come at once, I often give them away or don't use them all. 

Last week, I saw this fabulous idea for using chive blossoms on Facebook.  So after looking at a few recipes like this one and this very casual one, I came up with my own version.  You can follow my recipe or just toss some blossoms into vinegar and use your own proportions.

Chive Blossom-Apple Cider Vinegar  

Up to 2 cups of chive blossoms

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

Put the blossoms in vinegar in a glass jar with a lid.   Place jar in a dark place for 2 weeks.  Turn the jar once or twice a day.   When the vinegar is a nice shade of pink, discard the blossoms and store the vinegar.  

My Cooking Assistant isn't impressed with vinegar.

  

Use the best ingredients for this vinaigrette--organic oils, locally sourced garlic, and  a good quality balsamic vinegar.

And for the salad check out the greens at the farmers markets.  We planted micro greens.  I love the idea of eating tender young greens from spring through fall.  These will come up in 15 days.  Some researchers say these tender young greens are also more nutritious.  My idea for our garden was to stick with things that grow really well here.

It's a good thing we all like greens.  We also plant edible flowers.  I found this great list from Swanson's  Nursery.   I'm partial to johnny jump-ups, a kind of viola.  They grow like wildflowers in the Northwest.

We've grown lettuce ever since I was a puppy.  Here's me with our first crop--it was love at first sniff.

I'm not partial to vinegar, I wish it wasn't so tart.

Technically, we have to wait a few weeks to make this vinegar, so last night,  I used plain apple cider vinegar to make this recipe.  I got the original recipe from Jeff Miller at Willie Green's Organic Farm.   The recipe is listed in my book as Willie Green's Sun-dried Tomato-Balsamic Vinaigrette.  This version is slightly different because I used sundried tomatoes from a jar and omitted summer savory.  I'd serve it over a green salad and I'd also try it in a quinoa salad with corn, shredded carrots, chopped parsley and roughly chopped kalamata olives.

Chive and Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette

(Makes 1 1/4 cups)

3 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes (soak and soften, if dried)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chive vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons mixed shallot

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon agave nectar or honey

Combine all ingredients in a shaker bottle.  Shake well, then let marinate the covered container, at room temperature for 2 hours, shaking every 30 minutes.  Store this vinaigrette covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.