Thistle Dew! Farms, Teas 'n Bees

One of the most populary culinary herbs is sweet basil. The best flavor of purple basil comes from the Red Rubin variety. Especially good in Thai dishes is the Thai Basil whose leaves have a spicy aniseed aroma with hints of mint and citrus. All can be found at most seed and plant nurseries. If you are unfamiliar with the nuances of different basils, your best bet is to start with the sweet basil (most often used in Pesto). Basil is available in fresh leaves and in dried leaves, which are also sometimes called rubbed. Fresh leaves may be stored in a cool place or in the refrigerator for a very short time.

Also indispensable for many Mediterranean dishes, the fresh leaf has a sweet, clovelike spiciness and is excellent with tomato dishes. Its flavor is strong enough to stand up to the pungency of garlic, so it is often paired together like in Pesto.

If you have an herb garden with an excess of basil, you can dry the leaves and store in a cool dry, dark place (dried basil will retain itsr flavor for six months). Add dried herbs at the beginning and during cooking.

Add fresh herbs only at the end of cooking or upon serving. Many species of the basil herb exist, but the most popular is sweet basil. Basil is considered one of the most important and highly used herbs in the culinary world and is popular in the cooking of many types of cuisine.

The strong, clove like flavor is essential to many Italian recipes and it is paired most often with tomatoes. Basil is primarily used in sauces, pizzas, salads and pasta dishes. It is also the main ingredient used in pesto.

Available fresh or dried. Store dried chives in a cool, dry, dark place away from sunlight, heat and moisture. Will keep for 6 months to 1 year.

Chives are a mild member herb of the onion family. Chives has many uses and can be added to potato salad, baked potatoes, soups, salads, omelets, dips and spreads, pastas and sauces.

Use it anywhere you want to add onion flavor without the harsh pungency of onion. Best if used fresh. The flavor is lost in drying. Add fresh or dried chives at the end of cooking to preserve the flavor. However, once you taste fresh chives, you will know there is no comparison of flavor. Soon, you will probably want a fresh pot of chives on your windowsill, even if you have nothing else in your herb garden.

Store fresh chives in damp paper towel in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

You can also chop fresh chives and freeze them with water in ice cube trays to use later when needed.

Chopped chives lift many foods above the ordinary. Sprink them on soups, salads, chicken, potatoes, cooked vegetables and egg dishes. Blend chopped chives with butter or cream cheese , yogurt sauces and baked potatoes. Add toward the end of cooking or as a garnish.

Dill is available in weed and seed, both fresh and dried. Store dried seeds and leaves in a cool, dry, dark place away from heat, light and moisture. Leaves will keep for six months. Seeds will keep indefinitely.

Fresh leaves can be kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or chop finely and mix with one tablespoon of water and freeze in ice cube trays. After the cubes are frozen, place in plastic zip-lock freezer bags and return to freezer.

Dill or dill weed is an herb that produces clusters of small flowers from which dill seed is gathered and dill weed is obtained from the thin, feathery leaves. The light aroma of dill faintly resembles licorice.

Dill weed is good in soups, omelets, seafood dishes, herring, salmon, potato salads, and steamed vegetables. Dill seed is used in breads, pickling, cabbage dishes, stews, rice and cooked root vegetables.

Dill has a totally unique spicy green taste. Add whole seeds to potato salad, pickles, bean soups and salmon dishes. Ground seed can flavor herb butter, mayonnaise and mustard. The leaves go well with fish, cream cheese and cucumber.

Also known as finocchio, common fennel, sweet fennel, wild fennel and sweet cumin. Store in cool, dry, dark place away from heat, light and moisture. Seeds will stay fresh for 2 years. Ground Fennel will keep for 6 months to 1 year if stored properly.

Fennel yields an herb and a spice. The stems and leaves are all edible. The spice comes from the dried seeds, the herb comes from the leaves and the stalk and root are the vegetable.

Fennel is native to the Mediterranean and is one of our oldest cultivated plants. Roman warriors took fennel to keep in good health while their ladies ate it to prevent obesity.

The seed is similar to anise seed, but sweeter and milder. It pairs well with fish, but Italians also like to add it to sauces, meats & sausages. If you are familiar with the taste, it is probably from having it in commercially prepared sausages. Add the seeds to sauces, breads, savory crackers and water for poaching fish.

Stuff the leaves into oily fish like mackerel and sprinkle finely chopped stems and leaves on salads and cooked vegetables and can also be added to soups and stuffings.

The green-gray needle like leaves and spikes of fragrant purple-mauve flowers are known to almost everyone, but there are other varieties with green leaves and white, pink or dark purple flowers. Even if you don't use it in cooking, it makes a nice addition to any herb garden.

Lavender is an incredibly versatile herb for cooking. In today's upscale restaurants, fresh edible flowers are making a comeback as enhancements to both the flavor and appearance of food.

Flowers and leaves can be used fresh, and both buds and stems can be used dried. Lavender is a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is best used with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, and savory.

English Lavender has the sweetest fragrance of all the lavenders and is the one most commonly used in cooking. Lavender has a sweet, floral flavor, with lemon and citrus notes. The potency of the lavender flowers increases with drying. In cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. Because of the strong flavor of lavender, a little goes a long way.