Save your volunteers

I let 4 fennel plants go to seed last year simply because they were so beautiful and the butterflies loved them. This spring I wrestled with my practical self - rip the seedling out, you need the space for everything else and my tree hugging self - you can't kill those beautiful little plants. I am so glad that the earth mother won out. I now have dozens of 1-2" flat bulb fennels that finally do have to be thinned because they are shading their neighbors too much. Their flavor is more intense than an older bulb and I have been using them in as many ways as I can - saute with fresh snap peas, as a bed for grilled fish, chopped in salad, sauted whole as a veg, all stems and fronds with shallots for stock for fennel risotto. A serendipitous bit of reciprocal benefits: my garden didn't look bare when other seeds were germinating, the tender lettuces benefitted from the shade and the garden will still not look bare without them. Best of all they lived to taste great.
In my cooking and gardening I really enjoy the challenge of trying to make the most out of what's there.
Now if I could only find a use for all the dill .....

Christina
I can really empathise with your post, from the sharing of the garden with wildlife (50% for them / 50% for me is a fair deal IMO), through to the reluctance to thin out crops (let them all have a go).

Luckily there will be 101 suggestions for the dill from people eminently more skilled/qualified than me, but barring the traditional salmon suggestion, perhaps as part of a herb salad they'd find a way of blending in?

regards

Ian

I have a great recipe for a tomato-dill quiche that also uses gruyere. Let me know if you'd like it and I'll post it from home. I love love love fresh dill.

Now if I could only find a use for all the dill .....

Christina, use the dill up as soon as you can...I find that the life cycle of dill is not that long.

Cynthia, I would love to have the recipe. It might be perfect for a primi for Saturday's dinner. Thanks.

I think I am ready to give up on growing dill. This is the third year I have grown it and just about the times it gets large enough for me to use on a regular basis, it dies. I find that the dried dill I buy from Penzey's is fine for most uses. I do like that fresh taste in my salads however.

I'll post it tonight, Christina.

Bob, Karen, I must have dill on steroids ! They are among the first seedling in the spring and I have plants going to seed in October. This year I have a forest of dill popping up in mulch around trees, between paving stones, in the flower beds. I planted a new variety- fern leaf dill- smaller and even more lacy. I also put bronze fennel in back of the border. I figured the 3 varieties might look nice together. I hope I'm not sorry next year.
I do think that early season dill tastes different but my plants last throughout the season.

Tomato and Dill Quiche

Pastry for a 9 inch pie (1 crust only)
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter
4 eggs
2 cups cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large tomato, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375F.

Saute the onion in the butter until translucent.

In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and dill.

Arrange the onions in the bottom of a pastry lined pie pan. Sprinkle the cheeses on top of the onions, then arrange the tomato slices on top of the cheese.

Pour the egg and cream mixture over all.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the quiche is golden brown and the custard is firm.

Serves 6-8

Note: I often make this without the pie crust for a quick brunch dish.

Every year I transplant a few tomato volunteers out of the compost pile to see what they become. Sometimes cherry, sometimes beefsteak. One year Brandywine.