Posts Tagged ‘growing theme kitchen herb garden’
Growing a Themed Kitchen Herb Garden
I collect cookbooks and like to experiment with interesting dinners from other culture like a Mexican mole. What about you? Like me, you grow many of the ingredients if you start your own themed kitchen herb garden.
You can cultivate the major herbs in your own garden and have the freshest ingredients to add to your recipes, or experiment on your own.
You do not need a special location for your themed kitchen herb garden. You can cultivate them in containers or in your usual garden bed.
Here are some suggestions on growing your own themed kitchen garden:
- Asian: There are a lot of different cultures and folks in Asia, such as Thai, Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese, so how could the food be boring? Some fantastic herbs to cultivate in your Asian-themed garden are lemongrass, cayenne pepper, cardamom and anise. Try the licorice flavor of anise in your next Indian meal, or use its warm sweetness in your baked goods. You can also try it in tea as well as in baking a savory-sweet cookie. The growing popularity of Asian cooking has helped it fall back into favor in the US in the last few years.
- Mexican: Not a week goes by when I don’t chow down on a Mexican meal. Some spicy beans and rice or nachos can quickly hit the place. The best Mexican recipes always include these: Cayenne pepper, Cilantro and Garlic.
- Italian: Just about everybody I know has their favorite Italian pasta dish. Mine is lasagna, of course. Among the best herb plants to use in your Italian dinners are basil, fennel, parsley, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. You can add garlic to all your favorite Italian meals and savor the oniony taste! Put a little garlic on your roasted chicken or add it to your soups and stews. You can even put some chopped garlic in your mashed potatoes. Be warned, the longer you cook garlic, the milder the flavor becomes so do not overcook it!
- Middle East: If you haven’t tried any of the exciting and flavorful foods from the Middle East and Northern Africa, you are missing some fabulous dishes. There is such variety in the array of herbs used in Middle Eastern cooking. Add chick peas, couscous and figs to your pita and herbed yogurt sauce for something super special. Try these herbs to spice up your Middle Eastern dinners: cardamom, garlic, parsley, rosemary and saffron.
- German: You don’t have to wait for October to cook up an Octoberfest meal at home if you have the right herb plants used in German cuisine. These are a couple of the best and most often used in authentic German dishes: chives, dill, horseradish, sage and thyme. Horseradish, which is in the mustard family, is a great condiment, opening the sinuses while adding tang to the taste buds. Use it to add some extra twang to beef, fish, cream cheese spreads, potato salad, mayonnaise and meat loaf.
Unless you use too much of your plant in cooking, your herb will keep growing and provide you with ingredients for other meals. When you remove a few leaves from your sage plant, it can grow back. Most herbs appreciate being cut back from time to time and will likely grow bigger and fuller as a result.
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
Here is more information on Fresh Herb Gardening. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
