More Kitchen Herbs: How to Grow and Use Them in Your Cooking

Kitchen herbs are a great addition to every dish when used right and in the right proportion. The following four kitchen herbs are some of the easiest to grow indoors and include in your daily cooking. Read on for tips and help.

Thyme

Thyme is another herb native to the Mediterranean region and known for its very aromatic leaves. Thyme has been used for everything from incense to an ingredient in honey and even as a way to reduce muscular aches and pains. Because thyme is a low growing shrubby plant it is great to grow in pots and does very well indoors. Try to pot your thyme plant in a tall pot that it will be encouraged to grow hanging down the sides. Make sure the pot allows for easy draining and remember that thyme will be les aromatic the moister the soil is kept, so do not over water the plant. In the kitchen though thyme is best used in pasta that calls for tomato sauces and the leaves can be used fresh or dried. Thyme leaves are also great when grilled with meat, especially chicken.

Parsley

Parsley is an herb that is native to Europe and has a long rich history. Parsley was a sacred plant to the Greeks and used in funeral rites it was also believed to be useful in poisonous cases. The most common use for parsley now is as a garnish in most of our dishes. To grow your own parsley be sure to plant in moist loose soil. Also, parsley likes to be in the sun but does not require direct full sunlight. This is one plant that I especially love to grow because it is quick to cultivate and you can sow seeds continuously to always have some fresh leaves available. Use parsley to garnish salads and soup. The leaves are also great in herb butter and dishes with egg.

Basil

Basil is an herb that I love because of the wide variety it comes in, over the last few years I have experimented growing and including several types of basil. Basil is easily recognizable by its scent which is highly aromatic and sweet. Basil is a little harder to grow but can still be done indoors, the best time to sow seeds is in the spring but can be done during any season as long as you keep them in a greenhouse like container. Try growing basil plants in covered potted containers to provide a hospitable environment for your seedlings. Once your plants are established and blooming with flowers be sure to pinch the flowers off so that you get more leaf growth. In the kitchen use your basil leaves fresh or dry in any tomato based dishes. It is also one of the most important ingredients in pesto sauce.

Sage

Sage is native to the Mediterranean region but grows well anywhere where it has been planted for cultivation. Sage is probably best grown in pots because it is very shrubby and does not grow too tall. You can grow sage from cuttings or seeds and they will do great in well drained soil that is in direct sunlight. Sage is great in pasta dishes, but it goes best in meat dishes when it is used to saute.