Although spring officially started on March 21^st, we have had snow flurries as recently as last week (that’s here in eastern Missouri-western MO had much more than flurries!)!  Nasty!  So of course I have no flowers planted and my teeny-tiny garden was still empty (well both of my teeny-tiny gardens were empty except for some lovely asparagus spears in the middle of a weedy patch in one of them).

With three days in a row of sunshine, on Wednesday I decided it was finally time! I went out and bought some flowers, vegetable plants and onion bulbs and got started!  My herb garden is my favorite part of the garden (probably because it is really the only successful part) so I started there.  I was lucky that I had some parsley, cilantro, chives and thyme make it through the winter (and not so lucky that the running-rampant oregano also survived. It is a big, beautiful, fragrant bush, but the herb is so strong that more than half a teaspoon in any recipe dominates the whole dish. It is just such a healthy and pretty  plant that I can’t bear to dig it up, so each year, it takes over more of the garden and I hack it back and it grows some more.  Anyone who wants some oregano, please, come cut some anytime!)

Today, I planted more parsley, chives and thyme. I planted lots of basil (not including the basil I planted inside in little peat pots over two months ago, the stems of which I could still thread through the eye of an embroidery needle! We have a wonderful greenhouse here in town-I’m going to let them plant those seeds in the future!). I also planted some rosemary, a new one for me, but I have a roast beef recipe that calls for rosemary and the result is the most wonderful smelling (and tasting) gravy, ever!

All of the little plants smelled so good, I can’t wait for them to take hold so I can start using them!

Here are some of the dishes I use these herbs in:

Chives: I love chives with potatoes-baked potatoes, potato soup, mashed potato casseroles. Yum! They are more mild than regular or green onions, so I use them whenever I think other onions might be too strong and they also add a pretty bright green color. Chives are great in risottos, in addition to the white onions most recipes call for, with steamed carrots, in frittatas and in dips.

Basil: As chives are to potatoes, basil is to tomatoes I add basil to red Italian sauces, and soups that contain tomatoes.  I love a basil-based pesto, with toasted nuts, delicious! Plus you get to “chiffonade” basil and that word is such a cool cooking term! (basically roll the leaves up and cut them into little strips).

Thyme: The go-to herb for poultry (along with sage, but it’s not one of my favorites-it’s fuzzy, like it’s the peach of the herb world – not an appealing texture to me). Anyway, stuff a brined chicken with lemons, onions, thyme and rosemary prior to roasting. Oh my, the chicken is flavorful and the gravy (strained) is delicious!

Rosemary:  It is a strong herb that goes well in meat dishes. Roast chicken (see above in thyme paragraph) and roast beef are good with rosemary. Rosemary isn’t pleasant to eat (kind of crunchy and tough), so I always strain meat juices and discard the rosemary leaves before making gravy.

Parsley: The list of dishes you can’t use parsley in is shorter than those you should use it in! Parsley is a mild herb that I usually add near the end of cooking as it doesn’t stand up to long heat. Potatoes, risotto, soups, salads, tomato sauces and salad dressings all are tasty with the addition of parsley.

Cilantro:  Ole! The herb used in many Mexican recipes. I love it in pico de gallo, guacamole, chicken tortilla soup and marinades. My problem growing cilantro is that it matures quickly, way before my tomatoes, peppers and onions are ready and by the time I’m ready to make salsa, I’m running to the store to buy cilantro. I might try planting some cilantro seeds this year as well as the plants from the nursery. Thanks for helping me think this through!

Note:  We have had two days of rain since I started writing this post and my poor tomato plants are still sitting in their little plastic pots, looking enviously at their pepper friends who did get planted before the deluge. Maybe it will clear up over the weekend???