Pretty Garden Tips

I really enjoy learning to cook dishes from other countries, especially a couple of my favorite Mexican meals. Do you enjoy tasting scrumptous international meals? Like me, you cultivate a lot of the ingredients if you start your own themed kitchen herb garden.

Just about any herb you’ll need for your flavorful dinnerscan be cultivated in your herb garden.

A themed kitchen garden can be raised in the ground or you can raise your themed kitchen garden in pots.

Look no further than these recommendations for your own themed culinary herb garden:

• Asian: From Thai and Vietnamese to Indian and Chinese, Asian cooking has so many tastes and spices to choose from. Some fantastic herbs to plant in your Asian-themed garden are lemongrass, cayenne pepper, cardamom and anise. Try the licorice flavor of anise in your next Indian meal, or use its warm sweetness in your baked goods. You can brew it with your tea as well as add it to your cookie dough for a special treat. Although it used to be pretty popular in American cuisine, it kind of died out, but in the last few years has made a resurgence in the kitchen.

• Mexican: Would you like to have a bit of a Mexican herb fiesta? Some spicy beans and rice or nachos will quickly hit the place. The best Mexican recipes usually include these: Cayenne pepper, Cilantro and Garlic.

• Italian: Just about everybody I know has their favorite Italian pasta dish. My favorite is baked ziti with grilled herbed chicken. The best I ever had was my mom’s which included all these great herbs: basil, fennel, parsley, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. You can add garlic to all your favorite Italian dishes and savor the oniony flavor! Put a little of it on your roasted chicken and add it to your soups and stews. You can even put some chopped garlic in your mashed potatoes. Be aware, the longer you cook it, the milder the flavor becomes so don’t overcook it!

• Middle East: Dishes from the Middle East and north Africa are only growing in popularity lately. There’s such variety in the array of herb plants used in Middle Eastern cooking. Add chick peas, couscous and figs to your pita and herb yogurt sauce for something extra special. Try these herb plants to spice up your Middle Eastern dishes: cardamom, garlic, parsley, rosemary and saffron.

• German: You can have your own Oktoberfest any time you like if you’ve got all the right German herbs. For authentic German dishes, experiment with these herb plants: chives, dill, horseradish, sage and thyme. Horseradish, which is related to mustard, is a wonderful condiment, opening the sinuses while adding tang to the taste buds. Use horseradish to add an extra twang to beef, fish, cream cheese spreads, potato salad, mayonnaise and meat loaf.

One of the great things about herb gardening it that herbs are a gift that keeps on giving. Once you cut off some lemongrass for your pad Thai, it will grow back. Sometimes it can grow back bigger and fuller than it was before.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Fresh Herb Gardening. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

Tags: fresh herb gardening, gardening, growing theme kitchen herb garden, herbs, kitchen, themed gardens

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