My Rosemary-Lavender Oven Fries!+The Best Recipe for Collards I've Found!

Friends, You've gotta try this one! A variation on roasted potatoes I've posted earlier, inspiration for this version came to me as I was walking around my yard, enjoying noticing the little changes that are apparent day by day this time of year.  I had planted a tiny rosemary seedling by our stone path several years ago and it is now somewhat of a fragrant hedge! Since my daughter's friend would be with us for dinner, I was inventing in "kid food mode" translation: potatoes and pasta!

This is the way my stream-of-consciousness-head works:  so then, "potatoes--rosemary?  mmm yeah, very rustic french countryside!" I grabbed a few twigs of rosemary. Then, "french countryside? -- lavender!" -- At this point I was thinking in visuals, gorgeous rolling hills of lavender fields off the terrace of the room my brother and I shared in the south of France when we accompanied our father on one of his business trips oh, so many years ago! (Youth is so wasted on the young, wouldn't I now love another trip like that!) So I walked around to the back patio, where I have a large pot with a lavender bush -- I grabbed a few sprigs of that as well and then went in to open a bottle of Bordeaux. Enough of my dream-sequence -- back to the business at hand! (hope you didn't just catch ADD from reading all that!)

Here's the Recipe:

Rosemary-Lavender Oven Fries
Ingredients:
6 small-medium russet potatoes, cut into wedges (6 wedges per potato)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves pulled off the woody stems
2-3 sprigs fresh lavender, leaves pulled off the woody stems
Freshly ground pepper, several generous grinds
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It is important that all the herbs are coated in the olive oil, otherwise the flavor will be too "charred". Arrange the wedges on a metal pan -- I put them skin-side down, since a flat surface will  sometimes stick to the pan. Do not use a glass pan -- 450 degrees is too hot even for Pyrex! Put any loose herbs and oil over the top of the potatoes. Roast for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crispy. 
Serves 4, generously, as a side dish


When these potatoes are roasting the whole house will be enveloped in aromatherapy! The flavor is very subtle and lovely, and the fries are good with, or without organic ketchup! Don't skip eating the herbs -- they fall apart in your mouth!

Along with the potatoes, I also made a main dish for myself, which wound up being another side for all the others -- Hilary's "Sweet Curried Collards" from her amazing blog {Plate+Simple} (my link works from my dashboard, but not from this post so please google {P+S}). Hilary! We are so happy about your book project, but we miss you! Please come back to the blog soon! Seriously, Midlife Vegan readers, you have got to check {Plate+Simple}! Though Hilary is on a hiatus, her old posts are such a joy!

{Plate+Simple}'s collards -- holy, holy garbanzos was this good. This just may be my favorite vegan meal! Everything's in there -- vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, cancer prevention (turmeric and other spices in the curry). I urge every one of you to go get Hilary's recipe right now and make it.

I've shown my hand today in this post. When I am inspired and creative, I must appear to be a mess. No theme, no plan, no organizational skills, just delicious art. I realize this will rankle the nerves of those of you who have got it all together, but there it is.

Hmmm, the south of France, India . . . no theme. On second thought, here's the theme:  GLOBAL! Truthfully, this was one of the most satisfying, delicious meals I have had. Ironically, the flavors and textures of each dish were perfect compliments. I also had a little green salad on the side in a Peter Rabbit bowl (I love eating out of this relic from my kids' early childhoods!) with goddess dressing and dried cranberries, which went so well with the sweet orange of the collards. I LOVED this meal!  Hope you enjoy it too!