Fresh Herbs – Adds Flavor and Aroma to all Dishes

I love planting my herb garden every year. I use all my fresh herbs when cooking.

Stepping onto my front porch and snipping fresh herbs as needed is a real pleasure. They are so easy to grow once established. Fertilize your herbs every two weeks.

This year I did an herb box for some of my herbs. I used a 9″ x 67″ box. I painted it and then freehanded tried to jazz it up a bit with the word HERBS and some basic herb pics. Picasso, I am not. But I had fun doing it

Adding the Plant Box liner

After painting the box and doing my fabulous artwork on it I had it lined. You need the lining so the wood does not deteriorate with the watering. It was lined with 6ml vapor barrier poly and 1″ holes drilled in the bottom every 3 inches for drainage. I used the same soil that I potted my container plants with.

I am going to share with you the herbs that I planted this year. I will include some great ways to use them and a few recipes.

Basil

Basil comes in many varieties. This is a strongly flavored herb that tastes like a combination of licorice and cloves. Basil can be used in many dishes, including pasta sauces and pesto. Fresh basil has more flavor than dried.

Basil Pesto is one of the most favoured ways to use Fresh Basil

How to use Basil Pesto

Pesto is delicious incorporated into many different types of appetizer recipes.

• It can simply be spread onto crostini and topped with a grape tomato half or a shaving of Parmesan cheese.
• Use pesto as a sauce for shrimp cocktail or practically any hors d’oeuvre that is accompanied by a flavorful dip.
• If you’d like to use the pesto as a dip itself for vegetables and chips, first mix it with a bit of Greek yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese.
• Baked brie is delicious topped with a bit of pesto. Put the wedge or round of Brie in a rimmed baking dish that can also be used to serve it. Warm the Brie in a 325 degreee oven just until the edges are melting and bubbly, about 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overheat it or the Brie will completely melt. Spread the pesto on top of the Brie. Extra pesto can be spooned around the brie, or placed in a separate bowl.
• Pasta is a natural partner for pesto. As you toss hot cooked pasta with the pesto, the heat brings out the fabulous flavors of the basil, garlic, and cheese.

Other uses for Basil

• Top whole leaves onto pizza.
• Finish pasta with whole or thinly sliced leaves.
• Blend it into sauces.
• Puree it into soups.
• Chop it up to add to a salad.
• Use it to garnish avocado toas

Fine Leaf Thyme

Fine leaf thyme is one of my favorite most used herb. I use it to flavor soups, stews, sauces, vegetables, meat, poultry (add to the stuffing), and fish dishes. It is often used in French cooking. You only need small amounts because of its intense flavor.

 Dry or Dehydrate Your Thyme.

Thyme is one of those wonderful herbs that retains many of its inherent, positive qualities once dried. I do not have a dehydrator, but air-drying and oven-drying are other viable drying methods that work fine

If you are drying or dehydrating other herbs from your garden, consider making a classic Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence (a mixture of Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Savory, and Thyme) blend. This year, I will blend all of the herbs I’ve dehydrated from my garden for a “cottage blend.” The flavor profile can change each year, depending on what grew the best, but thyme is always a strong contender.

Take fresh thyme leaves (no need to chop) and place them in ice cube trays. Cover them with water and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to freezer bags and use as soup starters or “flavor bombs” in winter stews and roasts. If you’re looking to use whole thyme leaves, just freeze entire stems of thyme in freezer bags. Once frozen, the whole leaves will easily come off the stem.

For a quick weeknight meal Instead of serving everyone individually, cook two giant pork chops (seasoned with garlic and thyme), then slice them up and serve family-style for an easy, elegant presentation.

Parsley

Parsley is a slightly peppery, fresh-flavored herb used to season many different dishes, and is often used as a garnish. Look for flat-leaf or Italian parsley, which provides more flavor than curly parsley. Dried parsley does not have the same intense flavor, so use fresh whenever possible.

It’s easy to dismiss parsley as merely a garnish, but used in quantity, its robust “green” flavor is delicious raw in salads, sauces, and marinades, and cooked in dishes likes quiche and soup.

Put chopped parsley on everything: Don’t chop it too finely — bigger pieces are prettier and have more flavor. Throw it with abandon on top of grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, a cold green-bean salad, stews, soups, pasta, hot or cold grain dishes like couscous or quinoa or tabbouleh 

Wrap parsley loosely in dampened paper towels and place in a resealable bag. Seal the bag and refrigerate. This method, which allows the herb to retain plenty of moisture, will keep your parsley fresh and wilt-free for 3–5 days

The curly leaf is probably the most recognizable, as restaurants often use it as a garnish on their plating.

Sage

Sage is an herb native to the Mediterranean. It belongs to the same family as oregano, lavender, rosemary, thyme, and basil. Garden sage is easy to grow—and a wonderful culinary herb that flavors meat and bean dishes (including that Thanksgiving stuffing).

HOW TO STORE SAGE

• Sage’s flavor is best when fresh, but it can be stored frozen or dried.
• Sage keeps its flavor better if stored in the freezer. Freeze leaves or stalks on a tray, then move the leaves into a zippered bag or container. Some cooks blend the leaves with oil, pack the ground mixture into ice cube trays to freeze, and then transfer the cubes to a container.

How to dry Sage

To dry, hang sprigs in a shady, well-ventilated area and allow them to air dry, waiting until the leaves crumble easily to store in tightly lidded jars.

The Quick Dry

1. Turn the oven onto it’s lowest setting.
2. Place a piece of parchment on an oven tray.
3. Spread the sage leaves out on the tray and place it in the oven.
4. It only takes about two hours or so but keep an eye on the drying herbs to make sure they’re not burning.
5. Remove them from the oven and leave it cool.

As a member of the mint family, this highly aromatic herb packs a lot of flavor and is said to assist with digestion, which may be why it works so well paired with fatty foods.

• It pairs well with poultry, lamb, and eggs
• delicious baked in biscuits or infused into oils or butter
• Roasting Pork on a bed of sage sprigs is another idea.
• Stuff whole trout with a handful of sage leaves and thinly sliced lemon then grill or pan-fries the fish.

Rosemary

The potent, woody scent of rosemary is instantly recognizable by chefs and home cooks around the world, well known for its use in poultry dishes, soups, spreads, and teas.

Make herbed bread and baked goods. Fresh and diced rosemary is a popular herb to add flavor and spice to savory baked goods and bread products. One of my favorites is Rosemary Focaccia: An airy Italian bread made with chopped fresh rosemary, olive oil, and flaky salt. Always a cottage favorite when the kids visit. They love it toasted.

Some Uses for Rosemary

•  Use extra rosemary sprigs to make flavoured olive oil.
• Rack of lamb rubbed with a mixture of garlic, sea salt, olive oil, and rosemary. Marinate overnight. Roast in a hot oven until cooked through.
• Herbed Rosemary Butter: A flavourful herb butter made with chopped fresh rosemary, minced garlic, and other fresh herbs. Add herbs to 1/2 lb of butter. Put on parchment paper and roll it into a log. Twist ends together. Refrigerate or freeze until needed. Slice butter roll and top your steak, add to steamed vegetables or crusty bread
• Rosemary Roast Potatoes: Skin-on new potatoes tossed in butter, salt, and chopped rosemary and roasted until golden and tender.
• Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary: Form a bed of rosemary, thyme, and parsley in a roasting pan. Lay cut up root vegetables on top, season with salt, and seal tightly with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Essences of thyme, rosemary, and parsley infuse roasted root vegetables as they cook in a 425ºF oven.
• Whipped Rosemary Goat Cheese: A creamy dip made with goat cheese, cream cheese, lemon zest, and rosemary combined in a food processor until light and whipped.

Chives

Since chives have a milder flavor, they’re perfect to add to soups, dips, mashed or baked potatoes, fish, seafood dishes and omelets. Heat destroys their delicate flavor, so add chives to dishes at the last minute. To maximize their taste, thinly slice, chop or snip with kitchen shears before using.

They’re frequently mixed with cream cheese to make a savory spread. Chopped chives on a baked potato add color and a contrasting flavor profile that pairs perfectly. Unlike their cousin’s scallions, with their wide tubes, chive stems are extremely narrow, which makes them particularly attractive as a garnish, whether chopped and sprinkled over a dish or draped whole across an entrée. Chive plants develop bright purple blossoms that are edible and also have a mildly garlicky, oniony flavor. It’s a good idea to remove them before they go to seed.

Spearmint

Mint is especially vigorous, so is best grown in pots and containers to prevent it spreading in the garden.

Ways to use Spearmint

Simply Dry It. People get stuck with the fresh side of the herb.

If you have an amazing mint bush growing in your garden, pick the leaves and put them in the sun and let them dry, and you can use them all year long.

• mixed with greek yogurt and cream cheese
• in salad dressing
• In your tea infuser

Other uses for Spearmint

• Make tea and add a few sprigs of mint. Mint almost sweetens the tea without any sugar.
• Make a mojito of course
• Add to hot lemon water
• Mint sauce for lamb: see recipe

Who would not love getting a little jar of Herb salt decorated with a little wooden spoon for serving? Great for Hostess gifts.

There are so many herbs that I could write a whole book on them and their uses. I have included in this post the herbs I have planted and harvested this year. It is such a lot of fun to experiment with herbs. Herbs are a great way to add flavor, color, and fragrance to dishes without adding extra fat, sugar, or salt. They also provide powerful antioxidants, and have a range of other health benefits! Herbs, like parsley, sage, rosemary, basil, and thyme, are leaves and can be used fresh or dried. Go plant your herbs and have some fun experimenting.

Please share yout favorite herbs with me and how you like to use them