Chives – Ripley Farm

Availability: May

Storage tips: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Chives should last at least a week.

How to eat: Chives are primarily used as a garnish for soups and salads. You can also throw them into a stir-fry at the end for a little extra flavor. Or put them into a veggie broth. Simply chop crosswise into little rounds and sprinkle on top of foods. Or you can put them into homemade dips or salad dressings.

How to preserve: FREEZE: You can chop your chives up and freeze them for use over soups later. Their consistency will not be exactly the same as when fresh so after they're frozen they are best used in soups or in a dip or something where they'll be blended in and not so much in salad.

Chive and Lemon Vinaigrette

¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup fresh chives, minced
1-2 tsp prepared mustard of choice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
Salt to taste

Whisk together and store in fridge.

Garlic and Chive Yogurt Cheese

Did you know you can make your own soft, spreadable cheese, similar to chevre? Oh yes, you can! And you can even flavor it yourself to make it fancy! Here's how I do it:

1 quart plain unflavored yogurt
garlic, minced
chives, minced
salt, to taste

Strain the quart of yogurt through cheesecloth until about a pint of liquid has released out, between 12-24 hours. You can do this at room temperature, doesn't need to be refrigerated. Then remove your now thicker yogurt from the cheesecloth into a bowl. Add garlic, chives, and salt to taste. Mix throughly to achieve a creamy texture. Refrigerate and use as a dip, spreadable cheese, in salads, or wherever you want to. Or just use your finger, it's so good!

Sour Cream and Chive Dressing

½ cup sour cream
2 TBLS olive oil
¼ cup fresh chives, minced
2 TBLS lemon juice
1 TBLS lemon zest
1 TBLS prepared mustard of choice
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk together and store in fridge.