6 Reasons to grow an Herb Garden
My herb garden, currently. Sage, rosemary, chives, parsley and thyme. Since then I’ve added basil, to go with all the zucchini I’ll have soon!
Herbs provide fresh taste to food. Subtle, pungent, sweet, sometimes spicy….herbs provide a host of flavors to dishes we cook and are therefore a great resource to have on hand when cooking. It’s ideal to set aside a little plot in your yard and grow a few. Even if you live in an apartment or condo, you can buy a few containers and grow them in there. Here are six reasons you want to grow your own.
Freshness
Available at your fingertips
Variety
Better than dried
Cost savings to buying them
Fun to grow!
Let’s discuss each one.
Freshness - herbs provide freshness to dishes than enhance the ingredients to which they are added. Basil, for instance, is best friends with zucchini. Herbs make great additions to vinaigrettes and buttermilk Ranch dressing and are fabulous in sauces. They are delicious with both roasted meats and vegetables.
Availability - how easy to just walk out to your yard and clip what you need. Instead of running to the market and buying perhaps more than you need. When all you need is a little of this or a little of that. When you buy herbs, you may have more than you need so some may go to waste since they will go bad if you don’t use them up quickly.
Variety - getting a few key plants like thyme, basil and chives or whatever you like, you’ll have a variety for your cooking needs.
Taste - fresh is so much better tasting than dried! The flavors that are delivered to your dishes will be superior to anything out of a bottle.
Cost savings - for almost the same amount of money you’d spend on fresh herbs at the store, buy a plant instead and as it grows, you’ll have more at your disposal and overall it’ll be cheaper.
Fun - it’s fun to watch plants grow, to water and tend to them, and to cut them when you need some for a dish. Mediterranean herbs are the easiest to grow - they are hardy. Others are a little finicky, like dill weed, which attracts aphids, and basil, which draws snails, but with a little extra effort, these too can be enjoyed.
Herbs are healthy, add flavor and are fun to grow. Now, for a recipe. My favorite herby dressing: Buttermilk Ranch.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
Fresh herbs: 1 tsp. each parsley, chives, basil, chopped
Dried herbs: 1/2 tsp. dill weed
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 lemon, juice squeezed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum, to thicken the dressing (optional)
Directions:
Using a stainless steel bowl and whisk, whisk everything together and store in an airtight jar in the fridge for a week. If you don’t have sour cream, you could use more buttermilk and mayo as long as you come up with 1-1/4 cups total (more buttermilk than mayo though). Add the xanthan gum if you like your dressing a little thicker. A little goes a long way, so don’t add much!
Enjoy on all those summer salads you’ll be making soon!
