An Herbaceous Garden

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

Every year about this time I usually try to plant a small garden on my patio, and every year I fail miserably. But this year is different. Normally I just go about my modest garden with little more than a watering can and a prayer. This year I am determined to get it right, to grow my seedlings of hope into a full-on cornucopia of cooking delights, a bounty to be had with little more than a step out my front door and a pair of kitchen shears. Much to my surprise, so far the little patio garden is looking pretty darned good.

For someone who historically has been inept at keeping a garden going, one might wonder why each year I even bother to try again. Honestly, it is because every year about this time I head to the grocery store looking to buy herbs for dinner. On my way into the store, just outside the doors next to the houseplants, are entire carts filled with small pots of every herb imaginable, including those very same herbs I am heading into the store to purchase.

The really hard part is going inside to purchase those fresh herbs in their plastic cartons and realizing they can cost as much as the live, potted versions outside. And why, oh why, I wonder, do I keep spending so much on fresh herbs from the store when I could just plant a few of those little pots and have all those fresh herbs growing just for me right outside my kitchen? And so I try.

Fresh herbs are one of the best ways to add flavor to any dish. After a winter of using dry herbs to season roasts and spice up soups, fresh herbs used in everything from marinades to salad dressings are like taking a sharp bite into summer with every forkful.

Many people don’t use fresh herbs because buying them from the store can be both expensive and wasteful. At about $2 per carton, adding several fresh herbs to a dish can be a significant price increase. And then often you end up with herbs that you can’t fully use before they go bad.

That is why growing them yourself can be so beneficial. At the store recently the cost of one pot of live basil was exactly the same price as the harvested basil in a plastic carton in the produce section. I have a friend who buys large pots of live basil which his family will snip from regularly for several weeks. When they have used most of that up they will throw out what is left of the plant and go get another. The result is no unused basil rotting in the refrigerator, at less cost than going to buy some more basil every time they cook dinner.

If you are starting an herb garden, there are a few basic ones you might consider planting. Basil would be an obvious one as it will find its way into everything from pasta sauces to mozzarella and tomato salads. But also keep your eye out for other varieties like Thai and purple basil, each of which can be a unique addition to Asian dishes or offer a flavor twist when used in place of traditional basil.

Thyme is a great one to grow because you rarely need more than a sprig or two to liven up a soup or add aroma to the cavity of a roasting chicken.

Oregano is for those less-than-adept gardeners like me because it just does not like to die. No matter how much I have tried to kill that plant it just keeps on living.

Sage is a personal favorite and another hearty plant that can survive a winter as long as you don’t live in a place that gets snow.

Rosemary is another friend of beginner gardeners as it is can stand those days where you forget to water, plus its woody aroma is a friend of just about any food you can put on the grill.

The only herb to beware of is mint. For all its glorious varieties, spearmint, peppermint, and apple mint have a tendency to take over a garden not unlike a weed and, most likely, once you start with it, you will never get rid of it even if you try. Mint might be better left to the plastic carton from the grocery store.

Nothing is more inspiring than the thought of having fresh herbs just outside my kitchen to use in my cooking endeavors. I may not have the skill to be a farmer, but with some fresh soil, regular watering, and a little fertilizer for insurance, it looks this year like that seedling of hope just might flourish into a full on Garden of Eden for my culinary delight.

Serves/Makes: 2

• 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

***Salsa Verde***

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 anchovy fillet
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil PLUS
• 2 tablespoons olive oil