Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously doubt
that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
try some.
I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to you
all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
(not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly

"Polly Esther" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
> Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
> Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously
> doubt that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to
> just try some.
> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to
> you all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried
> chicken (not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull
> peas.
> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly

If this really is all new to you, then start with the simplest presentation
of one herb. Pasta with oil and basil, pasta with butter and oregano, pasta
or rice with thyme in place of the basil. It's hard to be good at using
something until your tongue learns what it does.

On 05/06/2011 12:02 AM, Giusi wrote:
> "Polly > ha scritto nel messaggio
> ...
>> Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
>> Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously
>> doubt that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to
>> just try some.
>> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to
>> you all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried
>> chicken (not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull
>> peas.
>> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
>> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>
> If this really is all new to you, then start with the simplest presentation
> of one herb. Pasta with oil and basil, pasta with butter and oregano, pasta
> or rice with thyme in place of the basil. It's hard to be good at using
> something until your tongue learns what it does.
>
>

I just want to second this perfect advice.

Serene

--
http://www.momfoodproject.com

when will it be done, none of that is boring to me, no help on the ratios, i
use the "mom" calculator... when in doubt call my mom and ask, if she isn't
home, call sister and hope she has asked before and written it down, lol,
Lee


"Polly Esther" > wrote in message
...
> Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
> Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously
> doubt that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to
> just try some.
> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to
> you all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried
> chicken (not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull
> peas.
> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>
>

On Thu, 5 May 2011 22:34:13 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

>Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
>Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously doubt
>that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
>try some.
> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to you
>all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
>(not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
>between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>

Dried herbs are usually about 2 to 3 times stronger than fresh.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

> On Thu, 5 May 2011 22:34:13 -0500, "Polly Esther" wrote:
>
>>Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
>>Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously
>>doubt
>>that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
>>try some.
>> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to
>> you
>>all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
>>(not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
>> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
>>between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>>
"The Cook" <wrote>
> Dried herbs are usually about 2 to 3 times stronger than fresh.
> --
> Susan N.

Such nice, helpful responses. Thank you all so much. I think I'll begin
with oregano.
We are already friends and I'll enjoy finding out what difference the
freshness makes. Polly

On Fri, 6 May 2011 07:41:29 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

>
> Such nice, helpful responses. Thank you all so much. I think I'll begin
> with oregano.
> We are already friends and I'll enjoy finding out what difference the
> freshness makes. Polly

I think you'll come to prefer using some herbs always in the dried
state and some always fresh. The two herbs I always use fresh are
rosemary and sage. Basil is an "either/or" thing, depending on what
I'm making - and the herbs I prefer to always use dry are thyme and
oregano.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

The Cook > wrote:
> On Thu, 5 May 2011 22:34:13 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> > wrote:
>
>> Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
>> Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously doubt
>> that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
>> try some.
>> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to you
>> all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
>> (not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
>> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
>> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>>
>
> Dried herbs are usually about 2 to 3 times stronger than fresh.

As a single person, I cannot justify buying fresh herbs because they cost
so much and need so little for cooking. During the summer is the only time
when I use fresh herbs from my own garden. Someday I will learn to preserve
my own herbs.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

"Polly Esther" wrote:
>
>Where do I begin?

Dig up a small sunny patch of garden handy to your kitchen (4' X 6' is
plenty); plant parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, and chives for
starters. Buying small containers of live plants is the least
expensive method, certainly cheaper than buying herbs from the produce
market, and seeds can be pricy nor will you need more than a few
plants of each so seeds can be wasteful. Two parsley plants can
provide enough for a family all summer and way into the fall. If you
decide to plant mint use a large clay pot and bury the pot 2/3 into
the ground. Mint is extremely invasive, if not controlled it will
spread like wildfire and is very difficult to remove without killing
everything else... usually everything else dies and the mint comes
back.

>I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
>Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously doubt
>that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
>try some.
> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to you
>all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
>(not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
>between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly
>

On May 7, 1:47*am, Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:
> Dig up a small sunny patch of garden handy to your kitchen (4' X 6' is
> plenty); plant parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, and chives for
> starters.

Good selection. Personally I would substitute sweet marjoram for the
basil, which I just don't like, but that's just a matter of taste.
You will need to watch the watering - mint needs lots, parsley and
chives do not like to get dry, but oregano and thyme prefer a
moderately dry situation.

> Buying small containers of live plants is the least
> expensive method, certainly cheaper than buying herbs from the produce
> market, and seeds can be pricy nor will you need more than a few
> plants of each so seeds can be wasteful. *Two parsley plants can
> provide enough for a family all summer and way into the fall.

Parsley can be a problem because it is a biennial. In its second year
(or its first if you don't keep it well watered) it will flower and
then die off in the autumn. New plants will appear from the seed the
next spring, but parsley is slow-germinating and, depending on your
local climate, may not grow to a usable size until well into summer.
A solution is to plant more parsley in the second year so that you
have it all year round.

If the situation suits it, thyme will self-seed all over the place.
I've had it growing in cracks in the old concrete paving. Hyssop, if
you grow it, is also pretty good at spreading its offspring around.

>*If you
> decide to plant mint use a large clay pot and bury the pot 2/3 into
> the ground. *Mint is extremely invasive, if not controlled it will
> spread like wildfire and is very difficult to remove without killing
> everything else... usually everything else dies and the mint comes
> back.

Oh, yes, it needs to be controlled. On the farm it grew wild in a
stream (the best mint I've tasted); in town we grow it in an old
concrete tub that once held drinking water for the sheep.

LW

Lyndon Watson wrote:

> Parsley can be a problem because it is a biennial. In its second year
> (or its first if you don't keep it well watered) it will flower and
> then die off in the autumn. New plants will appear from the seed the
> next spring, but parsley is slow-germinating and, depending on your
> local climate, may not grow to a usable size until well into summer.
> A solution is to plant more parsley in the second year so that you
> have it all year round.

Some of my parsley came back for the first time this year. Strange.
It doesn't look quite the same and it appears to be bolting. Or
something. I'll be replacing it, we use a lot of parsley.

Every year I plant parsley and basil. Last year I planted some
of each in different spots, places I never planted them before
because they don't get sun all day. Basil in the front, parsley on
the side of the house. Both of them did much better than they've
done all the years past, and much better than the ones I planted
in full sun at the same time.

I'm going to try that again this year. I thought herbs liked full
sun.

nancy

On 05/05/2011 08:34 PM, Polly Esther wrote:

> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly

Use 3 times as much volume of fresh (that is, if you use a teaspoon of
dried, use a tablespoon of fresh).

Serene

--
http://www.momfoodproject.com

On May 5, 8:34 pm, "Polly Esther" > wrote:
> Where do I begin? I'm thinking I'll give cooking with fresh herbs a try.
> Finally, there are some available at our little market but I seriously doubt
> that they are fresh. The price wouldn't put me in the poor house to just
> try some.
> I think a lot depends on what I usually cook. Pretty much boring to you
> all. Spaghetti, pizza, red beans and rice, gumbo, pot roast, fried chicken
> (not really fried anymore), speckled butter beans with purple hull peas.
> Which fresh herb to try first? and what sort of general ratio do I use
> between recipes calling for dried and actually having a fresh one? Polly

Cooking and eating fresh herbs is different from using dried. In
particular, you nearly always want to add the fresh herbs at the last
minute so they really just heat and cook only slightly, if at all.
Their freshness and taste are thereby most appreciated. For example,
make your usual spaghetti sauce and add a lot of roughly chopped basil
just before serving. Use enough so it's noticeable.

Or, to highlight how fresh basil tastes, use some with scrambled
eggs. Roll basil leaves into a cylinder, slice across, and you get
long strips (chiffonade). Now melt some butter in a small skillet,
add the basil, let heat for a few seconds and then stir in the beaten
eggs. Cook as you normally do. Enjoy.

Or, to highlight how easy and rewarding this is, top your next pizza
with some basil leaves. You may have to experiment a little to avoid
overlong cooking that might burn the leaves. -aem

On Fri, 6 May 2011 11:46:12 -0700 (PDT), aem >
wrote:

> Cooking and eating fresh herbs is different from using dried. In
> particular, you nearly always want to add the fresh herbs at the last
> minute so they really just heat and cook only slightly, if at all.
> Their freshness and taste are thereby most appreciated. For example,
> make your usual spaghetti sauce and add a lot of roughly chopped basil
> just before serving. Use enough so it's noticeable.

Great advise, aem!!!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Thu, 5 May 2011 22:34:13 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

> Where do I begin?

Am I the only one who still hasn't figured out what you meant by
"pre-K"??? I know there is a vitamin K, but pre-k means preschool to
me.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"sf" <
> Am I the only one who still hasn't figured out what you meant by
"pre-K"??? I know there is a vitamin K, but pre-k means preschool to
me.
>
> With any background at all, I might have said Fresh herbs 101. I wanted
> anyone willing to help to understand that I didn't know even where to
> start. I've enjoyed and appreciated the responses. Lucky for me, the
> cranky pants and elite folks have been busy elsewhere. Polly

On Fri, 6 May 2011 17:39:10 -0500, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

>
> "sf" <
> > Am I the only one who still hasn't figured out what you meant by
> "pre-K"??? I know there is a vitamin K, but pre-k means preschool to
> me.
> >
> > With any background at all, I might have said Fresh herbs 101. I wanted
> > anyone willing to help to understand that I didn't know even where to
> > start. I've enjoyed and appreciated the responses. Lucky for me, the
> > cranky pants and elite folks have been busy elsewhere. Polly

Oh, okay... I was just wondering if I'd missed the boat on something
important. BTW: What's up with your quote marking?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.