Monday, June 10th is a day to celebrate herbs and spices!
For the difference between an herb and spice, see the end of this post.
[pictured - some of my herbs on racks ready to go into the refrigerator.]
While many of our great vegetables and other foods have wonderful flavor on their own, most benefit from the addition of herbs and spices to really bring out all of the good taste. Some like rosemary with any starchy food (think bread or potatoes) just seem to life the maximum taste enjoyment of that food.
Most herbs and spices also have health benefits beside great taste, aiding digestion, helping to process fat better, anti-inflammatory and respiratory help are just some of the additional reasons to add herbs and spices to your cooking ingredients.
Dry herbs is the best way to preserve the flavor and usefulness of your garden's fresh bounty. I prefer drying in the refrigerator to maximize flavor (essential oils) and color.
Here is a link to my post on drying herbs click here.
In the above link I mention homemade dried bouillon -- some years ago I realized I could take the drying one step further and make my own homemade dried bouillon powder with all the great things from my garden. No additives, no chemicals, just dried herbs, spices and vegetables. And the taste is just amazing. It can be used for making broths, stews, salad dressings or as a rub on meats and roasted vegetables. Click here for that post.
If you wish help to grow more herbs, I have a PDF for sale listing 48 herbs with planting times, food pairing and some additional information click here to go to the page to order ($5 USD).
I just harvested my own dill and cilantro (coriander) seeds for use as spices and also to re-sow in the fall. Double benefit: I get a Spice (dried seed, root or stem of the plant), and can also grow the Herb (fresh leaf or flowers of the plant). A two-fer!
One last thing to consider drying -- edible flower petals for a lovely garnish. Pictured are pink rose petals from my native wild rose and nasturtium flowers. To this I also added some of my johnny jump ups. I could have added flowers from rosemary or basil, for example, but the mix would then have those flavors and I wanted to keep the flavor/aroma neutral.
I hope you have a flavorful day!
-- Catherine, The Herb Lady
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