My Blog List

Saturday, April 12, 2014

YOU DON'T GROW HERBS? IT'S EASY

There is hardly a day goes by when I don't go out into the garden to snip a few herbs to add to my dinner. So when I came across a recipe that called for parsley, mint and basil it was easy to go out into the garden and gather what I needed. Recipe later. Imagine how much 3 bunches of those would have cost at the grocery store? Always one of the most expensive items, per weight, in the produce department.


I call this area the herb garden because this is where you will find most of my herbs.


From top left garlic chive, lemon balm, chives, basil,Mexican mint marigold, sage, oregano, Italian parsley with Swallowtail caterpillar, mint, rosemary, thyme and curly parsley. The parsley, being a biennial, is going to flower but I have started new plants for a new crop. It's easy to tuck in a few herbs among your flowers. Most will grow with a modicum of sunshine, especially the ones that don't flower. Chive flowers can be used in salads. Mexican marigold mint is our Texas substitute for French tarragon which is difficult for us to grow. I also have lemon grass in another part of the garden. A few stalks survived from the large plant I had growing for several years.
So let's get to the recipe. Apparently this comes from a restaurant called Fresco in NYC. Thank you Fresco. It's a winner at our house.


In a bowl toss baby spinach with ½ cup fresh torn basil, ½cup chopped mint, ½cup chopped flat leaf parsley, 1cup frozen green peas thawed, 2 T sliced spring onions. I made a vinaigrette with dijon mustard a dash of agave syrup and some juice from one of my Meyer lemons. Whisk in olive oil until taste is balanced. Season with salt and pepper and toss salad. Serve with grilled crostini topped with goat cheese. Enjoy.

9 comments:

  1. I love this part of your garden, and the way you grow your herbs. I used to have some herbs in the garden and in pots on the terrace but somehow they're all gone now. Thanks for reminding me to grow some again.
    Delicious looking meal, and healthy as well!
    Marian

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your herbs look so good as part of the garden. I also keep plenty of herbs growing in pots near the back door for various recipes.

    Fresco is a very nice restaurant and a favorite for lunch when we lived on the east coast.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love growing herbs! It is so nice to have fresh ingredients right at your fingertips! What kind of mint are you growing? It looks very lush. I have three types growing in containers now (I don't want them to take over the garden) - spearmint, peppermint, and English mint, but they all have very small leaves now...nothing that I can really harvest. I'm wondering if it is the type of mint I'm growing, or if I just need to care for them in a different way so that I can have nice big mint leaves for my future recipes. Do you have any suggestions?
    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  4. Inspiring pics! I will try your salad recipe once my basil is ready this year. They are tiny seedlings now. They did not survive the hill country winter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, I'd certainly enjoy dinner at your house---that looks delicious!

    I grow lots of herbs, but am not very creative in the cooking department. I need to do better with that. Most of the herbs are just there for their scents .
    I love how you incorporate them into your plantings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful herbs. Here fresh and dried herbs are really cheap so I don't grow them at home, but fresh baby spinach is really expensive and I never get the chance to eat it. I sowed some last fall and bugs ate everything.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice selection Jenny! What about dill and fennel (I like bronze fennel)? I end up growing way more herbs than I ever use... so wish I could get rosemary to overwinter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How wonderful Jenny! I barely have enough room for my succulents but I would love a small herb garden! Yours is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments unless they are spam comments which will always be removed in comment moderation.