Dill: All Around Wonder Herb

Dill is one of my all-time favorite herbs, I use it in just about every savory dish I make and when I forget on occasion to add it, not only do I notice the difference, but I miss it! What, exactly, is dill though and why is it so popular?

A highly aromatic herb, dill is best used fresh, it loses it's potency rather quickly when dried, so if you cannot use fresh dill the next best thing is freeze-dried. If you've had dried dill, but not fresh, you might be thinking, "Wow, that's not dill at it's full potency?" No, it isn't at it's full potential dried, which I didn't realize for years until I bought fresh dill, (kind of wished I hadn't, it's made my JUG 'o dill seemingly last forever, since I keep running out to buy fresh,) so if you've never had it, see if your local grocer sells it, it's so worth the extra money.

Perhaps one of dills greatest claims to fame, however, is that it is said to soothe the stomach and this may be why, even unwittingly, dill is used in a wide variety of spicy dishes. It's known not only to settle the stomach, but to also prevent gas. The stereotype of pregnant women craving pickles possibly has a seed of truth in it, I know when I was pregnant with my daughter for the first month or so all I could keep down were foods that had a high dill content.

Dill seeds are even more potent than their fern-like leaves... while the leaves are used in lighter dishes, such as potatoes, dips, fish, curries, egg dishes and rices the seeds go excellently with the heavier fares, such as hearty stews, thick crusty breads, cabbage dishes and pork.

Here are some tips on growing the perfect bunches of dill:

Start with organic planter strips, they're small, but mighty! Begin indoors in the windowsill that gets the most sun in your house, making sure to place the planters on platters to avoid spreading dirt and water all over the place.

Unlike most plants, dill should be planted close together, since it has a tendency to fall over easily. Once you've the seeds planted and watered loosely cover the organic planters with plastic wrap. This will help keep the moisture in the soil, helping you avoid drying out. Also, it will create a greenhouse effect that helps the seeds germinate more quickly.

Once  you've some good shoots going, don't thin them out, dill plants can grow upwards of three feet tall and will need the support of one another (and possibly staking,) to remain upright.

Once you feel that you have some hearty looking plants going, transfer them to a deeper planter, dill has long roots.

After the first cultivation, replant every ten days for continuous dill crop.

What you will need:

Oil:

Peanut Oil

Herbs and Spices:

Fresh Dill

Fresh Chives

Chili Powder

Black and Red Pepper

Sea Salt

Vegetables:

Potatoes

Onions

Garlic (Okay, I know, technically speaking not a vegetable, but it fits better here.)

Meat / Eggs:

Smoked Kielbasa

4 Large Eggs

Cut potatoes into small bite-sized pieces. In a large skillet heat peanut oil, (tastes awesome with potatoes,) until smoking. Carefully add potatoes.

Begin slicing onions into slightly larger bite-sized pieces and add to potatoes once potatoes are growing translucent and 3/4's of the way finished.

While waiting to add the onions, in a separate area of your cutting board, cut garlic into slivers, save for later.

Next, after you have added your onions, but before you've added your garlic cut kielbasa up into bite-sized slices, add sausage and garlic together.

Chop dill / chives, save aside.

In a separate mixing bowl mix together eggs, scramble, (I like to add a dash of milk to the eggs, it makes them fluffier.) Cook in separate skillet until 3/4's of the way finished, set aside.

Now, here's where the magic starts... season the potato, onion, garlic mixture with chili powder, black and red pepper and sea salt, then add partially cooked scrambled eggs, mixing thoroughly.

Next, when mixture is about 2 minutes away from being finished, (sausage and garlic are starting to brown nicely,) add fresh chopped dill and chives.  Like most herbs dill loses it's potency when cooked, so try to add both the chives and the dill at the last moment.

I love this recipe.  It's akin to a skillet recipe, it's super easy and doesn't take a whole lot of time to make.  My favorite potatoes to use when making this is the Dole Golden Butter potatoes, they're really striking with the chives and dill, perfect companions!  What about you guys, though?  Is there anything you would add?  Subtract?  What are your favorite dill recipes?  Below are some featured hubbers with dilly deliciousness of their own to offer, please take some time to check out their dill recipes!