The Power of Herbs

Recently, the Husband and I attended an Edible Garden class at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum that focused on Herbs. It showed me that I have always underestimated how important herbs are to any meal or dish. I have a skinny cabinet in my pantry full of dried out herbs, neatly lined McCormick bottles, but they are laughable when you realize how much flavor is in fresh herbs. Of course, I still use my dried herbs, but with our greenhouse addition I hope to be using many more fresh herbs in my cooking.

The flavor packed into a fresh sprig of rosemary or basil can make a meal. Maybe, instead of considering whether you should cook chicken or fish, focus on the flavor you want. What herb are you craving? And what will bring out the beauty of that Herb?

This dreary weekend, we were dreaming of Spring, which inspired me to cook a meal focused on displaying herbs. Rosemary and Basil were the stars, incorporated into Bruschetta, an orange salad, basil in pesto pasta, and the flavors of a pound cake were enhanced by some lemon zest. Its amazing how seemingly small additions completely change and enhance the flavor of the entire meal.

The Menu:

Stuffed Olives

Bruschetta with Rosemary and Mozzarella

Orange and Basil Salad

Pesto Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Marble Pound Cake

The Bruschetta and Salad are recipes from the book The Best of Thymes by Marge Clark. This cookbook is amazing because it is organized by herb. If cooking this way appeals to you, I can’t recommend this book enough.