Have you ever been in a hurry and just not felt like trying a new recipe? Yeah, we’ve all been there. Work deadlines, kiddos with soccer practice, choir practice at church all take precidence over planning dinner.
When my responsibilities take away from my meal prep, I fall back on some tried and true recipes. I can’t remember where or when I started using this marinade. It seems to work for all fish, chicken, vegges … even pork chops!
Recipe
This proportions presented here work for approx 1 lb or meat or veggies. If you want to cook more, simply multiply the proportions!
Ingredients
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1 tbsp chopped oregano
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsl olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Instead of chopping the herbs individually, simply pack each of the herbs into a measuring cup or spoon and put the entire mixture on your cutting board to chop. Don’t forget to put the herbs under the faucet and wash well before chopping. Then mix with the garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Cooking
For meat, you can let the cuts marinade for about 30 minutes in the mixture, then bake normally or you can simply pour over the cuts before baking. If you are marinading fish, don’t let the fish fillets stay in the marinade over 30 minutes. Chicken, pork or beef, you can let it set in the fridge overnight if you like.
With vegetables, I prefer using this marinade to roast or broil the veggies. You can put the marinade and veggies in a baggie, or simply drizzle over veggies in the pan.
You know I like my fish fillets, my big time saver is to cook all my fillets at one time with the same marinade. I’ve used this marinade with tuna, swordfish, halibut, salmon, cod, sea bass and tilapia and enjoyed the results. In fact, I’ve cooked the different fish together in the same oven — usually at 300 degrees — and simply removed each fillet when done!
Fresh Herbs vs Dried?
Sometimes the grocery store simply doesn’t have the fresh herbs. I do miss my old home where I had an herb garden and simply picked the herbs I wanted. In a pinch, dried herbs work just as well, you simply reduce the quantity because the drying process packs all the flavor into a smaller package.
The rule of thumb is 3 : 1 for fresh : dried for 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, use 1 teaspoon dried. It gets a little tricky when the recipe calls for 1/4 cup and you want 1/3 of 4 tablespoons. You can get really scientific and use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon or simply 1 heaping tablespoon!
I prefer the flavor a fresh over dried. The flavor pops for me. Some chefs point out that dried herbs often loose their health benefits after going through the dehydration process. It is highly unikely this recipe will heal your high blood pressure! So if you prefer dried, enjoy!
Herbology
For fun, you’ll find some interesting tid bits about the herbs used in this recipe in the sections below. Just because I’m reporting some supposed health benefits of these herbs does not mean they can cure what ails you!
Basil
Basil is a native plant to Asia and one of the most popular herbs in used for cooking. An old wives tale in Italy said that if a young man brought his intended a sprig of basil, she would fall in love with him.
There are more than 60 varieties of basil and the most popularly used is sweet basil, otherwise known as Ocimum basilicum. Basil is loaded with antioxidants including lutein, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin. Basil oil has also been used as an antimicrobial agent to soothe skin infections. Basil also contains engenol that can block calcium channels providng a potential to reduce high blood pressure.
Parsley
Parsley is native to the southern European region. In Greek mythology, parsley sprouted in the blood of Opheltes, the son of Lyycurgus and Eurydice. He was killed by a serpent as an infant and funeral games where held in his honor. These games were legened to be the origin of the Nemean Games.
Is it any wonder that ancient Greek warriors fed parsely to their horses to give them strength or used parsley garlands to honor heroes and warriors?
Parsley is chocked full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Like Basil, it contains lutien and zeaxathin, along with vitamin A. That’s a nice little eye health cocktail! It also is rich in vitamin K that contributes to bone health and vitamin C that supports the immune system.
Oregano
Oregano is forever associated in my mind with Italian food. It is native to the southern Europen region and was used both for culinary and medicinal purposes by ancient Greeks and Romans.
According to Greek Mythology, the goddess Aphrodite created oregano as a symbol of happiness. I guess that’s why “oregano” means Joy of the Mountain in Ancient Greek! Hippocrates (yep, ancient greek doctor) used oregaon to treat respiratory and digestive issues.
Oregano is rich in antioxidants, specifically carvacrol, thymol, and octacosanol. Carvacrol and thymol have been reported to decrease viral and bacterial infections. It is also high in fiber that is know to improve digestion. However, I highly doubt one can eat enough oregano to notice the affect of the fiber content! On the other hand, oil of oregano has been used to treat indigestion.
Thyme
Thyme was used in ancient Egypt as part of the mummifiation process, and they also used it as a pain reliver. Romans thought Thyme was a cure for poisons and it was given to solders to enhance courage. Thyme was also used as a medicinal treatment for the Black Death in Europe.
There seems to be some correlation between the ancient uses of thyme and it’s properties. Thyme oil appears to be effective indoor and outdoor pesticide. It can also be used as an antifungal. Plus thyme oil has been used to alleviate coughing and other bronchitis symptioms. As an herb, it contains vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, manganese, all of which can boost the immune system.
Just a few closing words …
Just because these herbs contain vitamins and antioxidants, I am not promoting the use of herbs over going to your doctor!
I personally believe that a well balanced diet is beneficial to health. But I also believe my doctor provides the best advice for any ailment that comes along.
Please, if you do have a health condition talk to your doctor instead of using a supposed “healthy food” from some blogger! Remember, I am not a trained medical professional or nutritionist. I’m just a person who reads a lot.