From garden fresh to home decor, chives signal spring is here.
By Stefanie Gans and Melissa Lyden
DECORATE
farm to foyer
Canadian graphic designer Elizabeth Owen found backyard inspiration for her inaugural wallpaper collection, Farm to Table. “One day while I was poking around and looking for things to draw,” says Owen, “I discovered a hidden patch of chives growing wild.”
With greens lining the kitchen wall, herbs keep things springy even during the gloomiest weather. / wallpapered.com
BAKE
cupfake [kuhp-feyk]: the savory sibling of the common dessert item, cupcake.
“I thought for days about different frosting combinations,” says blogger Juile Ruble of her cheddar, chive and bacon cupfakes. Until she realized, of course, that “avocado would be so tasty with the combo.”
Ruble suggests waiting to prepare the avocado cream cheese frosting until prior to serving: “As the fruit oxidizes, it turns an unsightly shade of brown. It’s still tasty, but not as pretty!”/ willowbirdbaking.com
GROW
obey the almanac
Plant chive bulbs two- to four-inches deep, 12- to 18-inches apart and harvest about six weeks later, dictates the all-knowing “The Farmer’s Almanac.” Store chives in an airtight bag and freeze; dried chives don’t retain flavor as well as the frozen version of the green blades.
LEARN
family matters
“It’s like a bridge,” says author Julie Morris of chives’ power to connect grassy lettuces with the rest of the onion family. Because of its different composition from other allium members, chives are easier to digest than raw onions. They do, however, remain sulfur-rich which promotes joint and skin health, or as the California-based Morris says, “getting that glow.”
In her cookbook “Superfood Kitchen,” Morris creates a raw soup from chives, cashews, avocados, spinach and—sea buckthorn juice. “One of the best beauty berries out there,” says Morris, who continues the praise of the European and Asian coastal-growing fruit: it contains the rare omega 7.
COOK
tweet-cipe
@saffronmomma: butter, 3 eggs, smoked salmon, 2 t. chives. Scramble eggs in plenty of butter, toss with salmon, chives, s&p.
@MangoTomato: chopped hardboiled eggs with mayo, chopped radishes, chives and black pepper.
@JSanto4: snipped chives over tofu with a sesame oil-rice vinegar dressing with a touch of soy.
