Herbs have been with humans since the dawn of recorded time and before. They have been used in a wide variety of functions and new uses continue to be found for them in the present day. Depending on who you ask, there are anywhere from 40 to 60 herbs to choose from and most of them are very simple to grow and use.

The reason that herbs can be used in so many different functions is because they come in different varieties. For instance, there are aromatic herbs that are grown purely for the scent they give off. The oils from these herbs can be found in candles, perfumes, and many other cosmetic and skin care products.

By far the most popular of herbs is the culinary herb. In fact, most people are familiar with only this kind of herb. Many gardeners grow a few varieties of culinary herbs such as basil, dill and chives. The beauty of some of these herbs is that you don’t need plant them every year since some of them are annuals and will appear without needing to be replanted.

The ornamental herbs are planted only because they look beautiful and you can create exquisite fresh or dried arrangements with them. They are usually found in and amongst the flowers in a flower garden.

There are herbs that have medicinal value. They are used to treat a variety of ailments to this very day. Although the Western medical community has not yet accepted or practiced curing diseases with the help of herbs, it has been a popular way of treatment in the Eastern countries. And, scientists are showing an increasing interest in the potential of herbs to cure disorders.

Even in the harshest of economic times people manage to have culinary herbs even if that means growing them on their own. These herbs are important to some because the food would otherwise taste too bland and tasteless without them. They are used to prepare marinades that add subtle but marked flavor to food. This flavor enhances the taske of the dishes.

Growing herbs in your garden is a fairly simple and painless process. But before you start laying out your garden and planning where what gets planted where, be aware that herbs are available as annuals, perennials, and biennials. This means that the herbs will be coming up at different times in the year so you will have to keep track of where you plant what herb and what its growing cycle is.

Most of the culinary herbs do quite well in soil that has been well drained but still remains fairly fertile. You have nothing to worry about if space happens to be limited outdoors because herbs do great when grown indoors as well. No matter where you intend to plant your herbs, be sure not to plant them too deeply in the soil or they may not have a chance to grow. When harvesting herbs, try to do so in the mornings because this is when the precious oils in the herbs are at their concentration and precisely when you want to pick them.

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Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1/4 cup coriander/cilantro leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon lemongrass very finely chopped
1 teaspoon galangal powder
1 tablespoon shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
1 tablespoon Thai chile peppers, finely chopped

Procedure:

Make sure the lemongrass is very finely chopped (put it through a food processor or grind in a mortar and pestle). Combine all the ingredients and stuff a sausage casing and form 4″ sausages, or form into patties or meatballs. Fry or broil until cooking to your taste.

Traditionally this is served with sticky rice. These sausages are also sold spiked on wooden skewers as popular “hawker food” throughout Thailand.

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce) frozen lobster tails
melted butter
lemon slices

Procedure:

Defrost lobster tails overnight in the refrigerator. When defrosted, cut the upper shell down the center of the back with scissors, leaving tail fan intact. Do not remove the under shell. I run my little finger between the meat and the shell to loosen from each other. Lift uncooked tail through the slit to rest on the top of the shell (this is called a piggyback lobster tail.)
Note: At this stage, the lobster tails maybe refrigerated until ready to bake. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place lobster tails on a baking sheet, brush each with butter, and bake approximately 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Serve immediately with melted butter and lemon slices. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

For mint-pepper glaze:
2/3 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

For lamb:
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 fresh figs, halved vertically
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly coarse-ground black pepper
Special equipment: about 30 (12-inch) metal skewers

For grilled eggplant:
2 eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly coarse-ground black pepper

Procedure:

Make mint-pepper glaze: In small saucepan over moderate heat, stir together jam, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Bring to boil, then lower heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5 minutes. Stir in mint and set aside.
Prepare grill for cooking: If using charcoal grill, open vents on bottom, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 4 to 5 seconds. If using gas grill, preheat burners on high with hood closed 10 minutes, then turn down to moderately high.
Prepare lamb: In electric spice mill or clean coffee grinder, combine cumin and coriander seeds. Pulse several times to coarsely grind. In large bowl, toss together lamb, figs, and olive oil. Add garlic, ground cumin and coriander, salt, and pepper, and toss gently to combine. Thread lamb cubes and figs onto skewers.
Prepare eggplant: Arrange eggplant slices on platter. Rub each slice on both sides with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill lamb and eggplant: Arrange skewers and eggplant on grill. Cook eggplant, turning once, until slices are golden and moist, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Cook lamb to slightly less than desired doneness (cubes will continue to cook after being removed from grill), turning once and brushing with glaze during last 30 seconds of grilling on each side, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.Arrange eggplant slices on serving platter, top with skewers, and serve.

Ingredients:

1 small can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 cup of water
2 sticks of cinnamon cracked
1 cup of evaporated milk
6 cup of milk
1/2 cup of raisins
1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

First, in a large cooking pot, add the water, 4 cups of milk, uncooked rice, cinnamon, evaporated milk, vanilla and nutmeg. Once on the stove, bring the liquid to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes. Then, add the sweetened condensed milk. Add a little water to the milk can and empty its contents into the pot, by this time the liquid should be simmering, on low heat. The milk should just barely simmer, with bubbles breaking only the outside edge of the surface. As the liquid begins to reduce, add the remaining milk in small increments as you continue to stir. As you add the milk stir the mixture so that it cooks evenly. Continue to stir intermittently, until the liquid has become a gooey paste. Then add raisins and cook for an additional 10 minutes on.

Ingredients:

1 kg. chicken
500 grams basmati or long grain rice
300 grams yogurt
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 large onions
3 eggs (yolks only)
cooking oil
salt
black pepper

Procedure:

Start by washing rice and soaking it in warm water (with added salt) for 2 hours. Then filter out the water. Chop onions into thin slices and fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash and cut chicken, remove skin, and fry in onions until color changes. Add some water and bring to boil. Turn heat down and let boil slowly until cooked, adding more water if needed. Remove the bones. While chicken is cooking, beat the yogurt until it is smooth. Dissolve saffron in half a cup of hot water. Add saffron, salt, pepper and egg-yolks to the yogurt and mix very well. Pour a few glasses of water in a large pot and bring to boil. Pour in rice and cook while stirring occasionally until rice grows longer and slightly softens (Take care not to overcook the rice. It should still be too hard for eating). Again filter out the water. Pour several spoons of oil and several spoons of the yogurt mix into a non-stick pot. Add a thin layer of rice and flatten using the back of a spoon. Add a layer of chicken on top followed by another layer of rice. Again flatten the rice. Spread several more spoons of the yogurt mix on the rice. Continue in this fashion until chicken, rice and the yogurt mix have been used up. Add some more oil on top. Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Place the pot in an oven (preheated to 250 F) and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Note that the longer Tah-Chin is cooked, the thicker the Tah-Dig (delicious crispy layer of rice at the bottom) will be. When cooked, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes. Place an inverted large dish over the pot and turn it over. Tap the pot in order to loosen the contents inside. The contents should fall on the dish in one piece with the Tah-Dig on the outside. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. gobo (burdock root)
1/4 lb. carrot
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. mirin
1/2 tbsp. sake
1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. vegetable oil

Procedure:

Peel gobo and shred it into very thin strips. Soak the gobo strips in water for a while and drain well. Peel the carrot and cut it into short and thin strips. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, and fry gobo strips for a couple minutes. Add carrot strips in the pan and stir-fry them. Add all seasonings in the pan and stir-fry well. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Makes 4 servings