Herb: Rosemary

 

Rosemary is one of those wonderful herbs that makes a beautiful ornamental plant as well as a welcome culinary seasoning. We grow it every season outdoors on our deck. Rosemary is most closely associated with the cooking of the Mediterranean area. However you don't need perfect sunshine, sea mist or even a never ending summer to successfully grow rosemary. In fact, more rosemary plants suffer from too much attention than from too little.

Rosemary is a native of the Mediterranean but is most commonly used in roast meats and vegetables. Rosemary is incredibly versatile and works particularly well when used in conjunction with tomatoes and garlic. It is one of the most widely used herbs in the UK and is a familiar ingredient in all sorts of dishes. Rosemary can be used fresh or dried for cooking, but it has more flavour when used freshly picked from the garden (take care to wash it thoroughly) and eaten within just a couple of hours.

Rosemary and Meat

Rosemary enhances the flavor of many types of meat, including lamb, pork and chicken. Simply place a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or sprinkle dried rosemary on top of the meat before roasting. Lamb can be flavored by inserting chopped rosemary into small holes pierced into its skin. Rosemary can also be chopped and added to a marinade for Mediterranean-style meat and fish dishes.  My favorite is a blend of lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, and chicken! It also makes a delicious ingredient in stuffing, simply strip the leaves from the stem and finely chop them. Add them to your favorite stuffing mix or make your own.

Rosemary and Vegetables

A few sprigs of rosemary placed in the roasting dish with a medley of vegetables (such as carrot, potatoes, parsnip and beetroot) and garlic will really boost their flavors. It gives enormous flavor when finely chopped and added to "bubble and squeak" (potatoes and cabbage) and can be used to flavor gravy.

Rosemary goes well with most potato dishes, including roasted and mashed potatoes, and the Spanish tapas dish “patatas bravas”. Why not try adding rosemary and garlic to baked beans and serve them with toast or a baked potato?

Mediterranean Dishes

Rosemary works particularly well with garlic and tomatoes and is traditionally used in Italian dishes to flavour pasta sauces, meats, fish and pizzas. Finely chop the leaves and add them to pasta dishes and tomato sauces.

Rosemary and Barbeques

Rosemary is a versatile herb when barbequing food. You can add a delicious homely scent to the smoke by throwing a few fresh sprigs of rosemary over the barbecue coals. The hardwood stems also make excellent barbecue skewers once they have been stripped. Simply thread them through meat and vegetables and place them over the barbecue. You’ll have the added benefit of the stems imparting a subtle rosemary flavor to your food.

Herbs: Basil

 

Probably one of my favorite herbs in the kitchen, for multiple purposes is Basil. It remains a staple part of our container gardening on our deck.  Basil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb of the mint family, sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries.
Basil, originally from India, is a half-hardy annual plant, best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Northeast Asian cuisine of Taiwan and the Southeast Asian cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, often sweet smell.
There are many varieties of basil, as well as several related species or species hybrids of the same name. The type used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil and holy basil which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including holy basil and a variety known as 'African Blue'.
Varieties of basil (some common, some geographical dominance)

• Sweet basil

• Thai basil
• African blue basil
• Camphor basil, African basil
• 'Dark Opal'
• Dwarf basil, French basil
• Hoary basil
• Holy Basil, sometimes known as Spice basil
• Lemon basil
• Crispum
• Purple basil
• Queen of Siam basil
• Rubin basil 

Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. In general, it is added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor. The fresh herb leaf should be torn, never chopped to avoid blackening edges. It can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being quickly blanched in boiling water. Fresh basil is also a component in bruschetta, in sauces, flavored oils and Caprese dishes. The dried herb also loses most of its flavor, and what little flavor remains tastes very different, with a weak flavor.

Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto—a green Italian oil-and-herb sauce. Its other main ingredients are olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts.

Some information here was taken from Wikipedia