I love cooking, but have a terrible palate. One time I went to this dark table dining experience. You know, the one where the entire room is pitch black and without being able to see what you're eating, your other senses, especially taste, are supposedly heightened. You get to choose your main course and dessert ahead of time, so you know what you're expecting, but the appetizer was a mystery dish and you only find out what it is at the very end. I remember eating it and thinking, wow, what a delicious mushroom. Well, turns out it was a stuffed tomato. Go figure.
But despite my bad sense of taste, I do love the aroma of fresh herbs, and even though dried herbs are much more convenient, they're just not quite the same. The problem with fresh herbs though, is that they're not always available, and even if they are, because most recipes only require a small amount or a few sprigs, I usually end up wasting most of the package, making the overall cost quite expensive. Fresh herbs don't last very long and there's only so much roasted chicken I can eat in a week.
So a few years ago, I thought, why not try growing my own? I was surprised by how easy it was. I went to my local garden center to purchase a few herb plants since I was too impatient to grow them from seed. I repotted them into those small terracotta pots with saucers, placed them by a sunny window sill, watered them when the soil got dry, and ta-da! Delicious fresh herbs! Here are the 5 herbs that I highly recommend because of both ease of growing and taste.
1. Parsley
Credit: pintando la luz
Parsley makes a wonderful garnish. Not only is it so aromatic, it also makes all my dishes look so much more fresh and appetizing. Parsley is also an important ingredient in tabbouleh, which is a great way to use up your parsley if you find yourself growing an abundance of it.
Credit: Markus Winkler
I personally prefer the curly leaf variety, for no reason other than I find it looks more attractive when chopped up and sprinkled over my dishes. Another very common variety is the flat leaf parsley, which some say has a stronger and more robust flavor.
2. Mint
Credit: Eleanor Chen
I find myself using mint mostly in beverages. I love adding a handful of fresh mint to lemonade, and of course, how can I not mention mojitos? Another super refreshing way to stay hydrated during the summer is to keep a pitcher of water with sliced cucumber, mint leaves, and lime slices in the fridge. Subtle flavors with maximum hydration!
Credit: Alex Block
Mint is super easy to grow. So easy in fact, that I had to plant one of them outdoors when it started taking over my window sill. It's been a few years now and the mint still comes back reliably every spring.
3. Basil
Credit: Lavi Perchik
Basil is, hands down, my favorite herb. After I learned how to make homemade pizza dough a few years ago (surprisingly easy by the way), margherita pizza became my go-to when I have absolutely no idea what to eat for dinner. It's also a very fragrant herb and smells wonderful when chopped chiffonade and tossed together with fresh tomatoes, bocconcini, and olive oil for a simple salad.
Credit: amirali mirhashemian
When growing your own basil, it's important to pinch or cut off any flowers that eventually grows. If allowed to flower unchecked, the plant will soon go to seed, stop growing, and eventually die. There's nothing you can do to prevent the flowering as it's just part of its natural growing cycle, but if you're vigilant about removing any flowers as soon as you see them, it'll help stop the plant from going into reproduction mode.
4. Rosemary
Credit: Zé Maria
Roasted rosemary chicken anyone? Rosemary is another perennial favorite in most kitchens, probably because it's so versatile. Rosemary lamb, potatoes, and steak – the possibilities are endless.
Rosemary sprigs can also be used to decorate a formal dining table. I got this idea when we went to a fancy dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. Fold white linen napkins using a front pocket napkin fold and tuck a sprig of rosemary into the front pocket. Simple, but beautiful!
Credit: Paul Hanaoka
Just be aware that rosemary is actually a shrub and can easily grow out of control. I love rosemary so much I planted another one outdoors in the garden and it basically turned into a miniature tree in just a few years. To keep it small enough to manage indoors, simply cutting back its stems isn't going to be sufficient. You also have to stunt its growth by taking it out of its pot, cutting off some of the root material, and repotting it in a pot of the same size every spring so that it's not given the opportunity to grow any bigger.
Do you love using fresh herbs in your cooking? Try growing your own indoors and let me know how it turns out!
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