Why Herbs are Cool Again

I ran into an old work friend at my local garden center yesterday. She was interested in planting a few herbs in her garden this season. She isn't a great herb enthusiast or a lover of the cozy cottage garden look in outdoor landscaping. She isn't a dedicated cook, either.

She shared some interesting information about herself I didn't know before: She cooks almost exclusively on weekends and considers it a chore. She does love her kids to distraction, though, and thinks that using fresh herbs will make her traditional dishes a little more appealing to their modern sensibilities.

 Her kids are teenagers or older, and part of their upbringing included years of channel surfing the cooking shows on the way to more interesting programming. You know -- those shows that make cooking look so organic and easy the average nine year old could become a cordon bleu chef during summer vacation.

These days, her kids tend to frown on meatloaf but think mini-meatballs made with lamb, seasoned with rosemary and served on a bed of kale are pretty cool. They think pork chops the way grandma used to fry them up in a cast iron skillet are passée, but can really get into 50 garlic clove chicken deglazed with Marsala wine.

It's a new world in the kitchen as well as out, and my friend wants to update her recipes a bit without having to spend exorbitant prices for fresh herbs from the produce department of her local market. (And aren't they hideously expensive!) I started thinking about herbs as innovative and trendy rather than the basic culinary flavor building blocks they actually are. A rosemary shrub might be pretty and refreshingly maintenance free by your backdoor, but it could also be a subtle symbol that you've earned your stripes in the kitchen. Forget the fact that rosemary landscaping groundcover is the plant du jour at your nearest mini-mall or business park and see it as the poodle skirt (or fondue pot) of the modern age -- an accessory that identifies you as one of the cool kids -- or cool grownups.

Here's the kicker that I really thought you'd appreciate: Grandma -- or her mom -- probably grew rosemary, (and oregano and sage and garlic and thyme) in her garden. She grew and harvested those herbs just the way she harvested water in a rain barrel and dug up potatoes (and picked apples) for the root cellar every fall. Everything old is new again -- in the most amazing ways.

 So, start an herb garden this year. You can use herbs to beautify your landscape, enhance your culinary prowess (and save money doing it), dabble in homemade remedies for minor ailments, provide raw materials for your crafting projects -- and prove to your kids (or neighbors, or co-workers or in-laws) that you are pretty cool after all.

If you're just getting your feet wet (or your hands dirty) with herbs, these posts will get you started:

• Laying out Your Herb Garden
• What Soil Do I Need for Herbs? 
• 10 Herbs for Your Spring Garden 
• Top 10 Most Overlooked Herbs 
• Tips for Growing Herbs Indoors