What do YOU do with the following?

Question

Sweet Basil
Bee Balm
Greek Oregano
Thyme
Lavender
Rosemary
Spearmint

Planted a couple of herb gardens....they're really doing well...but, with a few exceptions, I don't really know what to do with them. Any suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
Thank you

Answer 1

There's lots of things you can do with these herbs. You can use any of them fresh or dried. If you use them fresh, use twice as much as the recipe calls for dry herbs. If you want to dry them, you usually can find an inexpensive dehydrater at walmart or other such stores. It doesn't have to be fancy. Or if your oven goes down real low you can put them on a cookie tray and dry in the oven. The oven has to be very low or the herbs will bake instead of dry. They are dry when they crunch , crispy. Remove from stems and store in air tight containers. Even zip loc bags. If you have more than you can use this year consider giving some away. I know I always appreciate gifts from the garden. I wish I had enough room to plant 1 herb garden. Good luck! Also try recipezaar.com for recipes. You can search by ingredients.

Answer 2

Basil and oregano can be used in spaghetti sauce. I also cut it and hang it upside down in the garage to dry. You can then crumble it (taking out the stems)and store it in an air tight container for months. Thyme is good with pork, I put it on my pork roast. Spearmint can be used with ice tea. Just put a leaf or two in your glass. The others I haven't used. Bee Balm smells great in the garden. hope this helps!!

Answer 3

my best is..

mince 2 garlic cloves.. add to a large skillet containing a good dollop of olive oil and heat to release the fragrance of the garlic. toss in about 10 diced roma tomatoes and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. splash in a half cup of white wine. toss in chopped BASIL and OREGANO and toss the herbs into to tomatoes.. Season with salt and black pepper and simmer untill all is heated through. Serve over cooked angel hair pasta. (tomatoes should still be chunky.. )

I didn't cover everything.. but it's an excellent use of two of the herbs on your list!

(BEE BALM and LAVENDER are nice flowering and SPEARMINT is great steeped as a tea.)

Answer 4

I'll go out and snips a few tender tips off several plants including lavender, snip them small and mix into cheese for a sandwich or bagel spread. Never the same twice so is always interesting.
Ones you don't list but I use a lot is french sorrel, savory, parsley & burnet. Try sorrel with ginger and allspice in tomato soups. Replace spinache or chard with part sorrel for a tang either cooked or fresh.

Lavender is part of Herb Provence.
Blend lavender with rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, & thyme.

I snip them into salads. Not even into the dressing but part of the salad.

Make lemonade at home with two tips of rosemary added.
1:1 lemon to water or club soda
Sweeten with sugar
I use a bit of hot water to melt the sugar and add it to the lemon and herbs then add cold water.

1-2 sprigs cilantro torn or chopped
1-2 slices fresh jalapeno pepper
1:1 lemon juice: club soda

Bee balm is usual found in Earl Grey tea that I dislike so I do not use that plant except as a flower. I know people who use the flowers in Iced Tea. ~1/2 c flowers in a large jug of tea steeped together. I like that better than the Earl Grey.

Lavender shortbread- I use 2 T lavender buds to my shortbread recipe.
http://www.epicurious.com/members/member_recipes/recipe_views/views/1203683
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 in general.

I like to make tomato/basil pesto with either pine nuts or if I don't have pine I'll use walnuts or filberts. Basil is another member of the mint family so goes well with oregano.

Shove cherry tomatoes and other soft veggies like eggplant & zucchini onto rosemary twig then grill. Shove a skewer into a potato then replace it with a rosemary twig. Bake.

I like to mix a large amount of fresh herbs to layer in casseroles of tomato, potato, onion, or zucchini. I'll mix 2-3 T each parsley, basil, 1-2 tsp each sage, thyme, then grate 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Mix with 1/2 c toasted bread crumbs. Top with cheese and more crumb mix. Sometimes I add cardamom.

Use the flowers also. They are all edible and look good in a salad or omelet.
Salad dressing with fresh herbs 1 T thyme, 1 c parsley, 1/4 cup tarragon leaves, 1/3 c each basil & oregano leaves all chopped. 1Clove garlic, 1 bulb shallot, 2/3 c oil. 1/4 c water, 1/3 c vinegar,
Useing hand immersion blender, blend garlic, shallot, water, vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle oil in running blender. Add fresh herbs.
Use on blanched julienned green beans, julienned squash, & green salad.

Answer 5

Sweet Basil seasons spaghetti sauce.

Greek Oregano is wonderful incorporated in bread dough. It is also the signature aroma of pizza sauce. Good also in Mexican cooking; also to flavor vegetables or rice.

Thyme is used also with Marjoram to flavor soups and stews, cabbage rolls and some meats. [I use dried Marjoram with dried roses in arrangements.]

Lavender flowers make good tea and is good also in lemonade. [I use the dried Lavender flowers to fill sachets for the Bride.] The sachets can be placed in closets, drawers, bathrooms to create a calming aroma and to protect clothing from moths and you from mosquito's.

Rosemary is excellent covering a steak!
Also on roasted veggies. I use it occasionally for tea.

Spearmint, use for tea, in baking or as garnish.

If your area has violets growing they make excellent salads and the flower can be sugared for beautiful and delicious garnishes.

The Library has many cook books on herbs, they are full of ideas for these herbs and can entice you to plant more kinds as well. Have fun, that's what its all about.

Answer 6

Couldn't tell you what to do with Bee Balm other than look at it. You do some girly crap with lavender.

Basil, Oregano and Rosemary are for Mediterranean style cooking. I'll also use them, chopped up along with thyme and marjoram, to mix with vegetables and olive oil for grilling. I'll also use rosemary stems instead of wood chips for grilling. Gives you a different flavor smoke.

Answer 7

the basil you pick when its a full leaf and either hang dry and store in a spice jar .. you can use that in spaghetti sauce

same with the oregeno

the Thyme i use when grilled chicken or pork chops

lavender i use as a garnish on plates

Rosemary i also use on the grill on chicken chops or lamb....

the spearmint is also good on lamb and icecream....

any of these can be picked and dried so you can store then until you want to use them.. just let them dry so they dont mold when you store them good luck!

Answer 8

Use the basil, oregano, and thyme in spaghetti sauce. Use the rosemary as the skewer for kabobs, spearmint for ice cream.

Answer 9

I just plant and enjoy them. Some people snip them for cooking.