You’ve got that garden of herbs, in containers, in your windowsill, in your garden. You’ve made basil pesto, and added some parsley or oregano to pasta sauces. Well, there’s more you can do with those herbs you’ve been growing. A woman in my recipe swap got me thinking about other things to do with herbs to make your meals more flavorful. Thanks to Lisa at 47 Thoughts for getting the ball rolling on this. Those tips, after the jump…
- Add your favorite herbs to softened butter. Use it to roast a chicken or slathered on freshly-baked bread.
- Infuse vinegar or oil with your favorite herb. For vinegar all you need is a jar, some vinegar (I like white wine vinegar), maybe some garlic, and your herbs. Gently heat the vinegar, don’t boil, then pour it into your jar over the herbs. Tightly lid the jar, then store it someplace dark. For oil, warm, don’t boil, herbs in whatever oil you have on hand. Cool, strain, store in refrigerator and use within three weeks.
- Jennie Love used lavender to make lavender lemon soda. You can do the same, or try a basil-based combination. Or mint! I want to do this right this second…
- Marinated feta cheese. Oh, man, I want to do this. The folks over at Serious Eats store cubes of feta in a jar with your favorite herbs and olive oil (or, your special fancy herbed olive oil!). This one is on my to-do list this week.
- Use the mint that has undoubtedly taken over at least one container to make simple syrup. Use that infused syrup for homegrown, refreshing mint juleps or mojitos, or to sweeten iced tea.
Readers: what are your favorite things to do with fresh herbs?
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Kelli Best-Oliver
A former high school teacher, I'm currently a part-time writer/full-time doctoral student at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, studying leadership in education from a critical pedagogy perspective along with public policy. On the green side, I'm interested in local food and agriculture (Iowa girl, born and raised), sustainability education, DIY projects, and grassroots activism. I'm slowly turning my South City, St Louis home into an urban farmstead. On the hoping-to-be-greener side, I love reading, yoga, soccer, music, backpacking, knitting, pop culture and trivia, my Tuesday Night Dinner Club, traveling, Guitar Hero, dive bars, and sitting on front porches with my husband and a cold beer. I came to Green Options via a post on Sustainablog,working the St Louis angle to get Jeff to let me in. I have a personal blog chronicling (what else?) life in South St. Louis. Follow me on Twitter!
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[...] 5 Cool Things To Do With Herbs [...]
You can also make pesto. Basil pesto, mint pesto, cilantro pesto…
And use pistachio nuts or almonds instead of pine nuts or walnuts. Lots of combinantions your can do.
[...] probably need more oil and is good if you want a savoury version as you can add a few strong dried herbs or even chilli flakes to make the mixture more intense and grown up. Put the nuts or herbs in with [...]
my 6-year-old likes to eat them straight off the plant. calls ‘em lollipops.
I bought an Organic Girl salad box the other day that had cilanto mixed in with baby romaine. it was lovely, and got me thinking of using basil as the “lettuce” in a salad …