'Cooking With The Kitchen Diva!' Time to Think Herbs!

What a glorious day today! I feel like the black cloud has been lifted... just personal opinion but I suspect a few of you are on my page.

I walked around outside in a shirt today and I watched the last bit of snow vacate my yard ... I couldn't be happier! It then occurred to me that now I have to start my planning, that is my herb planning. I like to grow my own because of course I cook up a storm and the herbs in the store are so expensive.

I thought about sharing with you the herbs that I use all the time and then showcasing some ways in which to plant them in the hopes that you will become excited enough to plant them yourself. They are so much fun harvest and have on hand.

The herbs that are must have for me are:

Mint, sage, sweet basil, rosemary (my all time favorite), dill, cilantro and thyme. There are more but first I want to say a little bit about these herbs in particular. There are a plethora of different flavored mint for example. I will bet you didn't know that mint can come in apple flavor or chocolate flavor? Did you know that there are different types of basil? Nothing that comes out of a spice bottle will compare to the flavor of fresh herbs. Worried about not using them all? Gift them to neighbors and family or save them for drying.

I think what I would like to do is list the herbs and suggest a few things you can use each one for. I have had many people ask me because they just don't know what to use them with.

Mint: mint can be used in iced sweet tea, regular tea, it can be chopped and sprinkled on watermelon with a little honey added for a really tasty treat. Mint is used in most Greek dishes; lamb pairs very well with mint.

Mint can be used as a garnish on most desserts, you can make a simple syrup and add mint, which can then be added to summer cocktails and also iced tea. (using simple syrup eliminates the sugar crystals in the beverage you get with granulated sugar). You can steep mint in hot water and add some honey and it makes a great tea. My favorite of course is... ta-da... my favorite, the "Mojito", my favorite cocktail ever.

Sage: sage leaves can be tucked underneath the skin of turkey or chicken and it will divinely flavor the meat while you bake it. The sage leaves can be chopped and added to the top of meat before baking. Sage can be added to a brown butter sauce and drizzled over butternut squash ravioli with a few toasted pecans added for crunch and you have one insanely awesome dish. Sage is a rather strong herb so go easy until you get the hang of it.

You can infuse olive oil with sage by heating olive oil and adding sage leaves and letting them sit in the oil for a period of time. Sage is great to use in chicken or turkey stuffing or dressing, which ever you prefer to call it. These are just a few fun ways to use sage.

Ok, there are a variety of basils as well. Basil of course can be used in any Italian cooking. I like to make home made tomato soup and add chopped basil to it, it is out of this world. You can make caprese skewers by taking a skewer and adding cherry tomatoes, (red and orange), a leaf of basil, a tiny mozzarella ball, a cube of meat of your choice and then repeat the process to fill the skewer. You can chop basil and add to your salads to really give the flavor a punch. You can also infuse the olive oil the same way I suggested with the sage.

My favorite! What can't you do with rosemary? You can chop it and use it soups, stews or gravy. You can sprinkle chopped rosemary on the top of chicken before you bake it, you can tuck it under the skin of chicken and turkey for added flavor. There is nothing like a grilled chicken breast with seasonings, olive oil and chopped rosemary.

My friend likes chopped rosemary on her popcorn with melted butter. Again, you can infuse olive oil in the same way that you do the other oils. Rosemary pairs very well with pork, chicken, turkey and you can even make rosemary butter by adding chopped rosemary to a stick or two of butter, add some lemon zest and a touch of the lemon juice. Thoroughly incorporate. Lay the butter on a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper and roll it up into a log. Refrigerate until ready to use. Then just slice as you need it. My finale'? Use some of this butter on a grilled steak and you will be in heaven.

Actually, oddly enough, I have always felt that dill gives me that "salty" flavored kick when I need it without using salt. Chopped dill can be used in so many things. Try using it in potato salad, chicken salad, egg dishes, I even add chopped dill to my hollandaise sauce when I am using it on top of asparagus or eggs benedict. I really like the dilled hollandaise on fish. Add chopped dill to your salads and try topping your summer tomatoes with dill and olive oil. Hope a few of these ideas help you.

You either love this little herb or you hate it. I haven't found too many in between folks out there. I happen to love it to no end. I find that cilantro is a perfect marriage to lime and sour cream. I use cilantro in fish tacos, salsas, any other tacos, most Mexican dishes, and I garnish just about everything with it. I love chopped cilantro in all my egg dishes even omelets. If you like cilantro, I would be willing to bet that you would like chopped cilantro on your summer tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Chopped cilantro adds a kick to lettuce salads with any crumbly Mexican cheese. YUM!

Fresh chopped thyme just begs for mushrooms to be added to it, and of course... butter. Saute' your mushrooms in butter with chopped thyme and use them on top of your steaks. Thyme can be used in soups, stews, on top of chicken, turkey, pork. Rubbed under the skin as well. It is great used in salads, on tomatoes... the sky is the limit. Thyme takes on a sort of lemony flavor, so anywhere you would like lemon, you can use thyme.

*** I prefer to buy my herbs already in pots rather than starting them from seed, that's just my impatience, but you can grow them any way you like.

*** I like to purchase my herbs at Linder's Nursery... they have big beautiful, healthy plants that really produce. Not all herbs are created equal. Some just don't produce a lot.