Herbs

[cape chef]

For the past 15-20 years I have always had a herb garden. As small as growing in coffee tins to as large as 30 by 30. I have finished cutting back my perranials and pulled up my annuals. I have fed the soil in hopes of a good spring growth. Pulled in some tender perranials (rosemary) to pick fresh in the winter. My favorites are Thyme,Rosemary,sage,oregano,Marjarom in all there different subs- as well as many types of mints, chocolate,pineapple,lemon,orange. I also love my French Tarragon and Chives for Perranials. Lemon Verbena'Basil (10 kinds) Camimille are what I like for annuals
I used the flowers from Pineapple sage this year for garnish, Thin bell shaped, deep red in color and sweet. As winter approches in New England I can't wait till spring! So what are your favorite herbs and why?
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[Isa]

Can I cheat a little and say herbes de Provence? It goes well into just about anything.


Otherwise I'll say thyme, rosemary and sage. I like the smell of tarragon but beside chicken tarragon and bearnaise I never know what to put it in.

[cape chef]

sisi, When I poach seafood in court bouillon I include tarragon. Also most of the foods I prepare with a Mediterranean base tarragon goes well, I love it with citrus as well, and have done roasted pears with blue cheese stuffing warm baklava with loquat and tarragon ice. Did this for a dessert wine tasting. Sounds strange-But taste awfully good with 86 Doisy ver Danes
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[shroomgirl]

Loquats cool...I love loquats!!! they grew in Baton Rouge...havn't seen them here.
I do a herb day cooking demo at a Perennial Farm every May and they send me out with a flat to fill for my home use...
Basil sweet and purple (mainly for garnish)
Thyme lemon and english
Tarragon...I use it alot...salad dressings, fish sauces, chicken salad, some pork dishes.
Rosemary...it's still alive even in the snow
parsley..flatleaf
lemon verbena
nastursiums...they do not thrive in my hands
lemon grass...I love lemon grass
I use alot of dillweed but don't grow it
HMMMM that's all that comes to mind right now
oh yeah I also raise lavender...it does not really grow well for me.

[cape chef]

Oh yeah Lavender!! Duh Bradski,,
Shroomgirl do you grow your own lemongrass?
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[shroomgirl]

Yep grows very well here as well as Baton Rouge......One of the few things that I have an overabundance of....the others I get every year thinking THIS will be the year that I do not kill nasturtiums or lavender...herbacide....nono please don't buy me you killed everyone of us you got the past 20 years......it's a sad thing...

Can't resist getting in on this one...YES I grow some herbs and will grow more next spring in my free-standing greenhouse. I have a potted rosemary, 28-inches tall, in my basement. It loves cool temperatures. A thyme in the living room, doing very well, and the Italian flat parsley in the greenhouse is still alive, despite temp going down to 16°. I have mint in the yard and I hope to do much more this coming spring. Oh I forgot, GARLIC, lots of hardneck garlic.

[momoreg]

You could put cilantro on just about anything, and I'd eat it.

[shroomgirl]

Cilantro is a tough one to raise. It goes to seed and needs to be replanted every two weeks. It used to make me ill just smelling it but I got over it....Breadfruit is another thing. Apparently these to have chemicals that give people that reaction.There are actually signs in Asia that have a picture with a slash mark through it....

Shroomgirl, isn't that jackfruit (I think it's also called durian)? There's an Asian fruit that supposed to smell so horribly that it's illegal to eat it in a public place, but it's supposed to be delicious.

Alas, almost everything except basil commits herbacide under my care . . . I think next year I'm going to try putting it in containers on the deck. Once it comes in the house, though, it will decide that life isn't worth living. Maybe it would be kinder not even to try.

Mmmmm . . . tarragon! Bearnaise sauce with salmon, tuna, steak . . . it took me a long time to get used to the taste of cilantro, too. It had a soapy flavor, kind of. I like it now, though, although not in huge amounts.

[Isa]

How could I forget salmon and tarragon. It's my favourite too. Thanks Cape Chef.

I grow herbs on my balcony during the summer. two flower box full of herbs. At the end of the summer I always try to transplant the rosemary, thyme, chives and basil so I can have fresh herbs during the winter. It never works, they always end up dying after a few weeks. I'll start a indoor herb garden next spring

[mudbug]

Great topic!

I just started 2 years ago with great success and am addicted. I'm most endeared to my little bay laurel. It doubled in size this summer and I hope it's going to become a wonderful tree one day.

My herb garden includes watercress, chervil, curry, cilantro, flatleaf parsley, dill, sage (reg, tri color, golden, and purple), basil, opal basil, creeping thyme, mother of thyme, French tarragon, chives, garlic chives, mints, catnip, scallions, edible ornamental hot red peppers, oregano, marjoram, lemon verbena, cilantro, and rosemary.

Gosh, we love them all. For the best baguette sandwhich you've ever had, try this : slice a baguette in half lengthwise, spread mayo along the bottom. Then top with fresh basil leaves, chopped black olives, sliced roma tomatoes (or oven roasted, herb infused, oil cured tomatoes), salt & pepper in that order. Watercress is fun and makes delicious soup.

shroomgirl, my favorite scent in the world is lemongrass . Do you grow it from seed? No pesto from your basil?

MaryeO, where have you been growing your herbs? Basil needs full sun all day to flourish , as with most herbs.

Don't know if I have a favorite cape chef, it's like picking your favorite child. Each has its own intrinsic qualities.

I'm still hanging on to most all my herbs inside. Tough when there is only one good south facing window. I think I'm going to have to sterilize and refertilize my soil though. I never did do anything before I brought them indoors to de bug them.

I'll have to cut them back today .

Does anyone dry their herbs on a regular basis? If so, how do you do it? I've heard of several methods: cool dark place in flat baskets for air circulation, food dehydrators, microwave, wrap in touille and put in crisper in fridge...

[Isa]

For all you ever wanted to know on tarragon check this out:
http://www.cheftalk.com/HTML/Education/tarragon.html

Yup, cchiu, the basil plants live and flourish in the tomato garden. In fact, the basil did much better than the toms this year; it didn't get hot enough for them. The edges of the deck get full sun most of the day during the summer, so containers are a possibility. Just so long as the SPCH (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Herbs) doesn't get wind of it . . .

[Isa]

where can I join the SPCH ??