by Dina Psichogiopoulos

Created on: March 12, 2009

Cooking with herbs adds a colourful and mouth watering dimension to your cooking. Once you get the taste of cooking with herbs it is hard to go beyond seeking them out for their flavors to use again and again. For instance, the taste of tomatoes is greatly enhanced when you add just a few leaves of the humble basil. It is like eating liquid perfume.

Basil also goes extremely well with tomato sauces. Imagine that with a bowl of freshly cooked pasta. A very gratifying culinary and hunger satisfying experience.

Common garden herbs are not so common in taste when you are touched by their exquisite taste and full bodied aroma. Try rosemary with lamb and you will certainly notice the difference.

Rosemary is a very strong robust herb which blends well with the strong full flavour of lamb. Mint with lamb is also a favourite combination. The clean fresh taste of mint blends well with the meaty taste of lamb.

Garden grown herbs are much more intense in taste than your market bought variety. They are also very easy to grow and cultivate. Keep them watered, weed free and pest free and they virtually take care of themselves.

Some grow rampant in the right conditions and can quickly take over your garden patch. Mint does that. It springs up everywhere. Some need to be sown regularly to keep a good supply on hand to use when needed. Coriander is such a herb. It grows and quickly goes to seed. But the effort in re sowing and replanting is worth it.

Coriander is a beautiful tasting herb that reminds me of spring. You can add coriander to a fresh garden salad as well as many cooked dishes. It has a clean freshness and aroma that is appealing in many dishes. Your garden fresh coriander added to your cooking will stimulate your senses and certainly increase your appetite.

Remember that herbs like coriander the seeds can be harvested and used when the fresh plant is unavailable. The home grown coriander seed is very aromatic and flavour filled and does not compare to the bought dry seed from your supermarket.

Try a basic meal of tossed garlic prawns with garlic and a few leaves of coriander and the smell and taste is so appealing you look forward to devouring it. Yet, it is such a simple dish. It is quick to make and very, very flavorsome.

No doubt by adding herbs to your cooking, a simple meal is transformed. You cannot wait for meal time. What a wonderful way to look forward to meal times. Your senses have already anticipated the outcome. Yummy food! Very satisfying!

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