7 ideas for your summer herbs
We're making herb bouquets, fancy pants omelettes, and butter boards
Did you plant a culinary herb garden this spring?
This time of year, fresh herbs feature prominently in our cooking. I particularly love having parsley, chives, and basil on hand in the summer months, which I find myself harvesting regularly from our backyard terracotta planters.
We don’t really have a sunny spot for a proper vegetable garden in our yard—we’ve tried and failed two years in a row at tomatoes here. But a small herb garden is achievable even for the novice gardener with limited outdoor space (read: me). Anything we plant ourselves tends to be so much more flavorful than what we buy at the store. Love to feel that smug satisfaction when I skip over those $4 packs in the herb fridge at Whole Foods, knowing I’m going home to my personal parsley plant, don’t you?
Sometimes the abundant basil growth will inspire that night’s caprese; other times, I’ll just pop out the back door and snip something to toss with whatever leafy greens looked good at the farmer’s market.
My go-to herbs to plant are:
basil
oregano
parsley
rosemary
dill
cilantro
thyme
mint
green onion
chives
sage
I love the look of a wild and unfussy herb garden, with a couple of varieties spilling out of a few big containers. Some herbs are admitted uglier than others (looking at you, cilantro), so sometimes I’ll add in edible flowers like nasturtium or lavender to pretty up my pots.
July is when my herbs really start thriving–so I’m always trying to think of ways to make the most of them. Below, sharing a few ideas to reap the rewards of your culinary herb garden:
Assemble a little herb bouquet for a friend. My friend Victoria, who has the most lush garden one can have in Colorado, always brings me a bouquet of homegrown herbs tied up with a pretty ribbon. I plop them into a simple glass vase or sometimes mix in a few flowers—looks cute AF on your kitchen counter.
Snip green onion or chives over your soft scrambled eggs—or make a fancy pants French omelette. Sprinkling green onions or chives over your daily eggs is the littlest luxury. Join me in romanticizing your breakfast ritual. On the weekends, sometimes I’ll put in a request with my husband/chef for Kenji’s tender fancy-pants omelette, with chopped chives, parsley, or tarragon folded in.