Growing Culinary Herbs

Where the growing is easy: Maryville woman makes good use of backyard culinary ...

Two steps off Linda Frye’s back porch are the reasons she never runs out of dinner ideas.

Walk out and you will smell what will be incorporated into that night’s specialty. There are containers of lemon verbena, flat leaf parsley, marjoram, sage, basil, cilantro, rosemary and mint. She has been cooking for about 40 years and loves to experiment with all types of foods. The best way to make them is with her fresh herbs, she said.

“I have a family that is everything — Filipino, my uncle is Sicilian, we have Greek and I grew up in Chicago. I have always been interested in stuff other than ours,” she said.

Frye and her husband Dan live in Maryville, and fellow workers at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee where Dan works have seen the fruits of Linda’s labor. He takes leftovers for lunch on a regular basis and always gets “What have you got today?” from those sitting nearby.

A way of life

She’s been cooking since she was 10. Frye said a lot of people use the excuse they don’t have time to cook dinner; she isn’t buying that. This retired 54-year-old said she was a single mom for 10 years and still managed to get something on the table every night that didn’t come from a paper bag or aluminum can.

For instance, she has a very simple recipe that uses the sage from her own backyard. Take the leaves cook them in real butter and then serve over pasta. That’s it.

Frye’s herb garden doesn’t take up a lot of her yard or garden either. She grows many of them in containers placed around the deck in her backyard. There is also a place nearby where both flowers and herbs are planted in the ground.

“It’s wonderful to walk out on your patio and say, ‘What am I going to make today?’” she said.

Frye is generous to share her favorite recipes. She also knows how to tweak them to her taste. She loves pesto but said the pine nuts used in it is much too expensive. “I make a poor man’s pesto,” she explained. “I use basil and olive oil and walnuts instead of pine nuts. It’s beautiful.”

Easy does it

It has been a scorcher so far here in East Tennessee and summer’s just started. Frye said most of the herbs she grows are easy, drought-resistant and love full sun. Watering, harvesting and pruning them back takes minimal time. And the rewards are so worth it.

She has friends who love to cook and learn from her. Neighbor Barbara Durham came over one recent morning as Frye gave a look around. Durham said it’s been fun to learn alongside someone with so much passion for cooking.

How to Grow Your Own Indoor Culinary Herb Garden

He fresh grassiness of a sprinkle of chopped chives over soup, the robust earthy flavor of fresh thyme leaves on roasted vegetables, and the heady aroma of just-picked mint in your tea are just a few of  the reasons it’s easy to fall in love with cooking with fresh herbs.

Fresh herbs offer us good looks, great flavor, and intoxicating scents. Luckily, these rewards aren’t limited to those of us with a garden; just a few pots indoors can supply you with a variety of flavor-enhancing culinary herbs all year long.

Cultivating an extensive herb garden is wonderful if you have a yard, but many people don’t have access to an outdoor space. Fortunately, it’s not hard to grow the same herbs indoors, even in a small space.

If you’re a novice gardener or don’t have much of a green thumb, growing an indoor culinary herb garden is an easy place to start.  Most herbs are sun worshipers, so all you need to get started is a nice, sunny place in your house for them to call home.

Each herb has a different aroma and taste. Choose ones you use the most often in your cooking.

Rosemary is an evergreen herb that is generally found in warm climates, but that will do well inside in containers in colder areas.  It has a strong aroma and flavor and is generally used in Mediterranean cuisine.

Basil is a member of the mint family. The most popular kind of basil used in Italian cooking is sweet basil, but another widely-known type is Thai basil.

Chives are a member of the onion family.  They grow in clumps like grass, producing hollow, thin leaves.  Another popular variety is garlic chives.  Both varieties have a mild flavor that is great with eggs or on top of baked potatoes.

Oregano is another Mediterranean herb with a strong flavor; it’s a favorite in Greek and Mexican cuisine.  Another herb with a similar flavor profile is Marjoram.

Thyme has woody stems with small intensely aromatic green leaves.  It is a classic addition to French cuisine and pairs well with numerous vegetables, meats and egg dishes.

Parsley comes in two main varieties: curled leaf and Italian.  The Italian variety is milder and most often used in cooking.  It adds freshness to a dish.

Sage is a beautiful herb, with a soft grayish green color.  Like oregano and rosemary, it’s another strong herb that should be used sparingly.

Growing culinary herbs

Growing culinary herbs

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The Herb Society of America's essential guide to growing and cooking with herbs