This past week I served lunch at the office. Everyone loves this, but little do they know they are guinea pigs.

They are experimented on with recipes I have never tried, so I don’t know if they taste good or not. I try to be conservative, though, and stick to what I know they like. (I don’t want to carry home a lot of yuk food and force it on my family!) Anyway, this past week’s menu was well liked, and there were no leftovers to carry home – whew!

In order to print the ones most liked, I will be brief on the content of my column. There is one thing I would like to discuss though, and that is the Gray Sea Salt with Herbs of Provence used in the potatoes.

Herbs De Provence is a mix of dried herbs with its origin in Provence in Southern France. It can contain several different herbs, but mostly basil, fennel, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, summer savory and thyme. The portion of each herb varies depending on the maker.

I purchased it at one of the local Italian specialty stores. If you don’t want to make it, you can find it at health food markets, or order it online, by doing a Google search. It is worth the search.

If you do want to make your own, it is fairly simple: mix one table spoon each of dried basil, marjoram, summer savory, and thyme. Also, add one crushed bay leaf along with one teaspoon of lavender, and fennel mix well and keep in a closed container. One of the small glass spice jars that you can get at most markets now works great. And, if you want a salty version, just add some course sea salt.

Other than that, everything is relatively easy and fun to prepare. Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes with Herbs of Provence

Most of this recipe is “to taste” because most everything should be added according to your individual taste. I was cooking for a crowd and used 12-14 med. potatoes, 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, six med. cloves of garlic, 1-1/2 tablespoons Sea Salt with Herbs of Provence and one stick of butter.

Red Potatoes with skins, scrubbed and quartered or

White Fingerling Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces

Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

5-6 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Gray Sea Salt with Herbs of Provence, to taste

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1 Teaspoon butter or Margarine, melted

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Scrub potatoes and dry off with paper towels or a clean dishcloth. Place in large bowl and coat with melted margarine and olive oil. Add all seasonings, and stir well with large spoon making sure all spices are mixed evenly. Place on large baking sheet, spreading out into one layer. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes are browned and somewhat crispy. You can turn potatoes half way during cooking time, but it is not necessary. Serve immediately.

Spring Asparagus with Wild Rice

2 c cooked wild rice

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 c cut asparagus, cut into 1” pieces

1/2 c celery, diced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 c diced onion

3/4 c sliced mushrooms

Cook brown rice according to package directions. In large skillet over medium heat, add oil, then vegetables, chicken broth and soy sauce. Stir fry five to six minutes. Stir in rice; cover and let simmer until vegetables are tender and liquid is absorbed.