It has been a productive summer for herbs in my garden. They look and smell fabulous and, used with care, give varying depths of flavour when added to food. I have learned about growing and using many herbs, by trial and error, over several years and have come to rely on them to add interest and varying degrees of flavour to simple dishes. I love them. Having fresh herbs readily available can take foods from simple to special.
Two examples of my favourite lesser-known herbs are given here.
The slender leaves of Lemon Verbena can be added to fruits such as peaches and plums and anything where you might otherwise use basil such as tomatoes. They are also lovely, steeped in hot water, to make a delicious tea.
About ten years ago, in late summer, I bought a small pot of what I believed was flat leaf parsley. I was amazed to notice the following spring how much it had grown. It was about 2 feet high and, unlike parsley, had the distinctive scent of celery with a hint of a curry like spice. Until then I had not used Lovage, but I have experimented with it over the years and now use a stem instead of celery in stocks and soups and casseroles, or add a few of the leaves to a tomato salad, or beetroot, or scatter a few leaves, chopped, over chicken or fish. It is a delicious herb but has a strong flavour so use it sparingly.
I am sorry that these delights of the garden are coming to an end for this year, but I will look forward to their return next spring. In the meantime, I am experimenting with drying them. Just small bunches of each variety, tied with string and hung up in my kitchen not too close together. I know this method works for Oregano as well as Mint, Sage and Thyme so I am hopeful the experiment will work…..
See also:
A Simple vegetable stock – Bay Leaves – Drying Mint – Oregano
If you want a healthier and more environmentally friendly diet, a good start would be to cook from scratch, avoid buying ready-processed meals, and so avoid foods with a high sugar and salt content. Have a look at food labels, you will likely be amazed by how much salt and sugar is included and, worse, how many of the ingredients are not recognisable as food.
Sherbhert champions delicious, healthy and sustainable food where its production minimises environmental damage, exploitation, animal suffering and subsequent processing. Sherbhert’s recipes are simple and use mainly UK seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible.
Sherbhert occasionally recommends suppliers entirely because of their good produce and ethos.
