***COOKING WITH HERBS***
If you want to learn how to use culinary herbs, grow them. A bushy, fragrant herb plant just outside the kitchen door is the best inspiration for culinary success.
If you've never used fresh herbs, start by following simple recipes that appeal to you. Most cookbooks offer a variety of dishes that require herbs for flavoring.
Another way to become familiar with herbs is to add them to food you already cook. Add snippets of fresh herbs to scrambled eggs, trying a new herb each time. Once you've developed preferences for certain herbs, combine them with others. In the same dish.
Culinary herbs should be used sparingly, to enhance the natural flavors of the other ingredients. Most herbs should be added at the end of a recipe; their flavors are released with gentle heat, but lost if cooked for more than 30 minutes.
Create unique flavors by combining herbs such as rosemary, bay leaf, Italian parsley, garlic, pepper, and salt.
A sharp kitchen knife is a must for mincing herbs. Rub leaves between your hands before processing to release their aromatic essential oils.
FROM LITTLE THINGS:
Growing just a few of the classics can give you endless culinary options. Bunch different herbs together for use in tasty soups, stews, and sauces.
***USING FRESH AND DRIED HERBS***
You can substitute fresh for dried herbs in most recipes. Since fresh contain more water, use two to three times more fresh herbs than dried measurements.
Fresh herbs are a great addition to salads. Add chopped or whole springs of basil, chervil, dill, oregano, thyme, tarragon, or whatever flavors you enjoy. Use blossoms from chives, borage, and rosemary to garnish the finished salad. Or wrap pate or softened cream-cheese bundles in fresh leaves such as nasturtium.
Use a mezzaluna to cut fresh or dried herbs such as rosemary, basil, and thyme. Add whole bay leaves to your cooking, but remember remove before serving.
Coat your favorite cheese in dried or freshly ground herbs, or add a sprig for color and flavor.
THE DAILY GRIND:
If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use your coffee machine to grind herbs. For the best flavor, use ground herbs immediately. Freeze leftovers in airtight bags.
