THIS MONTH: MAY 2011
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY & THYME
Cooking can, occasionally, be a mindless profession. Try picking, cleaning and chopping ten pounds of parsley and you’ll have some idea of just what I mean. There are times when you have lots of room to let your mind wander, and it’s during these vast stretches of solitude that I sometimes find myself making mental lists.
Today’s mental list is comprised of “Things I would like to accomplish this month, but may not have time to.” Top of the list, all time, number one goal for the month of May is: plant an herb garden.
My boyfriend, Nathan, and I live in a condo in Carlsbad, California and last summer we had a reasonably respectable planting of potted herbs out on our patio. However, as is our general luck with all things alive, an infectious host of bugs invaded the patio and killed off our small crop.
Since then, we have resorted to stealing “wild” herbs off the side of the road. Our Easter holiday was marked by doing a “drive by clipping” of a rosemary bush in front of someone’s driveway, which we later used to make a very delicious rosemary crusted ham. My apologies to our unsuspecting neighbors.
While drive by clippings are fun and often elicit the cheap thrill of getting not caught, you have to be careful, because eventually you will get caught and trying to explain to a stranger why you are standing in front of their house with pruning shears and a fistful of herbs can be an awkward experience at best.
In an effort to avoid such a situation, constructing a patio herb garden will be my project for the next month. I’ll keep you posted on the progress and hopefully, in the end, have something to show for myself. In the mean time, tune in each week to check out a new herb inspired recipe.
-Blue
HERB NAPKIN RINGS
Here’s a great idea for your next party: We bought woven, metal, napkin rings from Cost Plus World Market and tucked sprigs of fresh herbs into each one. Store the rings in your refrigerator until just before the party starts to keep the herbs fresh. The napkin rings look beautiful and add a nice scent to your table all throughout dinner!
