Parsley is a wonderful all purpose herb! The great thing about it, is that it's so widely available in markets that even if you don't grow it you can find it easily. I put fresh parsley in every dip and spread I make, whether it's in the recipe or not!  Add it to soups and sauces, egg dishes, stuffings, bread dough, stews, fish dishes...I could go on and on. Puree parsley leaves wiht a small amount of olive oil and freeze in small plastic containers, or ice cubes trays (remove these when frozen and place in bags). You can also freeze the parsley leaves on trays and place them in bags when frozen-simply remove, mince and add to the dishes without thawing!

Do make sure you wash parsley well in very cold water to remove any soil that's hiding amoung the leaves.

Use this mixture to stuff chickens before roasting: 1 cup chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon zest or minced lemon balm and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Below is another chicken recipe as well as a dressing. Parsley is an all purpose herb and as you become accustomed to it you'll find many new uses for it.

Lemon Herb Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken breast with skin

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, thyme and chives

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

8 thin slices of lemon, with peel

Mix the herbs, butter, garlic and half of the salt and pepper. Loosen the skin of the chicken-do not remove-and rub the herbed butter under the skin-dividing between the chicken pieces. Insert 1 or 2 lemon slices under the skin as well. Smooth the skin back, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 4 degrees for 40 minutes or until juices run clear. You may also broil or grill for 10 minutes to crisp the skin after the main baking.

Parlsey Chive Dressing

Ingredients:

2 tsp. wine or herb vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or green onion

1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

Combine the ingredients with a whisk and serve with mixed greens and tomatoes.

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