culinnovation.net
No
one was more surprised than I was when my husband and I planted our
first vegetable garden a couple of years ago. Long known among friends
and family as The Woman Who Kills Plants (even the supposedly
hard-to-kill ones), I found that I like gardening outdoors much more
than I like tending houseplants, and much to our surprise, we ended up
with a steady stream of lettuce, zucchini, and peppers all during that first summer (the tomatoes are another story for another day).
Last
year, encouraged by our modest success with the veggies, we expanded
our efforts to include an herb garden. In a four-by-four raised bed, we
planted two kinds of basil (Italian and Thai), mint, lavender, rosemary,
parsley, and cilantro. I chose my plants to complement my cooking
style, and that turned out to be a good plan.
The Italian basil yielded
lots of leaves for pesto and tomato sauces, the Thai basil encouraged me
to make Thai basil chicken throughout the summer, and the rosemary was
the perfect note for grilled pork tenderloin or pan-roasted potatoes. And while I didn't exactly
cook with the mint very much, it provided the perfect excuse to make
mojitos every weekend.
Not
everything was a huge success. The cilantro, sadly, was a bit of a
bust, and I might leave it off this year's team roster; neither did my
parsley win any prizes (a shame, because I throw it in almost everything
when I cook). I was hoping to use the lavender in some homemade soap,
but I never got around to it. The real reward to growing lavender is its
magnificent fragrance - I found it soothing to come home at the end of a
workday and wander out into my heavenly scented backyard.
Herbs
are a great choice if you're a budding gardener (no pun intended,
honestly) - they're easy to grow, and they don't take up nearly as much
room as vegetables. In fact, you don't even have to grow them outdoors,
which is great if you happen to live in an apartment or condo. You can
grow many herbs in pots in a window where they'll get at least partial
sun, and if your pots are pretty, your herbs will make a nice table
arrangement, too.
If you have a small deck, they'll be very happy out
there as well. If you do venture outside into the yard, you won't need
to do much, if any, soil preparation because most herbs grow as easily
as weeds (in fact, be careful where you plant your mint - it's invasive
and will take over the world if you don't keep up with it).
It's
time to plant; if you like to cook, consider an herb garden. I'm
definitely going with the basil again this year, the mint, lavender, and
rosemary are already underway, and I think I might add some sage and thyme to the
mix. There's really no excuse for not having an herb garden: they don't have to take up a lot of room, they'll make your house or your yard
smell great, and they'll inspire your cooking.
And once that mint starts coming in, here's one way to enjoy it:
Mojito (yields one drink)
- 6 or 7 fresh mint leaves
- 1 ounce of simple syrup (see note)
- 2 ounces white rum
- Club soda
- Fresh lime
- Ice
- Put the mint leaves, a wedge of lime, and the simple syrup into a tall glass. Break up the mint leaves and lime with a muddler
- Add rum.
- Add ice cubes and fill the glass with club soda; stir gently.
- Garnish with some fresh mint and another slice of lime if desired.
