Last year I wrote about my dream of having an herb garden, despite the difficulties of living in a city and not having very much land or space to do so. A year later, I’m happy to report that we now have the beginnings of a lovely little windowsill garden. What began as a couple of potted plants has now grown into several potted plants, a box of little seedlings, and a full planter box. We’ve happily spared no inch on the windowsill. Now that we’re cooking a lot more, and trying to be more creative with what we cook, it’s been a huge plus to be able to have a variety of fresh herbs on hand. It’s also been a fun quarantine project, between planting new seeds and watching their growth, and picking out different herb varieties to add to our collection — which now includes three kinds of basil (sweet, purple, and thai), two kinds of mint (apple and mojito), parsley, chives, cilantro, thyme, and scallions.

There are so many wonderful benefits to growing herbs. For one, you don’t have to worry about running to the grocery store ad hoc to pick up herbs you need for different recipes; you can simply walk over to your windowsill and fetch some (which is especially convenient during this time). There is also the added benefit of not worrying about the perishable bag of herbs you bought from the store going bad in your refrigerator; when you have herbs steadily growing in your home, you can just go grab what you need for your meal, and not worry about having to quickly use the rest. On top of all this, there is the wonderful benefit of herbs giving you a reason to experiment with different flavors, and to use your fresh herbs to take your meals to another level. I am a strong believer that (almost) all meals are made better with herbs.

Above: Cod with tomato and herb butter, made lovely with lots of fresh parsley.

Whether it’s adding parsley or basil to fresh pasta, or topping your tacos with a sprinkling of cilantro, or chopping chives to throw into an omelette, or enhancing your cocktails with some mint, there are so many ways you can combine herbs into your dishes and drinks; and you can also make some really lovely sauces, soups, and pestos. While herbs aren’t always the centerpiece of a meal, they are the incredibly important supporting actors that make the leading actor in a meal that much better. In addition to enhancing the taste of a dish, herbs also look super lovely on any plate, and add a level of detail that really makes a meal sing.

Some of my favorite herby recipes of late include: rosemary focaccia bread, cod with tomato and herb butter, Thai spicy basil fried rice, parmesan-crusted chicken, savory scones with goat cheese and chives, and cilantro lime slaw. But this is by no means an exhaustive list, as I’m now driven to add fresh herbs to almost any dish I can (and happily so!).

Above: Homemade focaccia bread, topped with plenty of rosemary, parsley, tarragon, and basil.

I hope this inspires you all to start your own little herb gardens. The beautiful thing about starting a mini garden is that there is no set structure and there are no set rules to follow — you can grow any number of herbs or varieties, and you can do so in your yard, on your windowsill, or in any corner of your countertop where sunlight touches. You can also limit your collection to just one or two herbs (basil or parsley, or whichever herbs you use most frequently), or expand it to a large variety. Now is the perfect time to experiment with fresh herbs with all the extra time at home, so give it a try and have fun with it!

Happy cooking, and much love,
Ash

I’ve always viewed cooking as an art — the creative mixing of ingredients, flavors, and textures to build even just a single bite, or a full-course meal. When I cook, I feel both like a scientist and an artist, combing what I know goes well together, and experimenting with new combinations to achieve (what I hope will be) something delicious. The way that an artist combines her paints, a cook combines her ingredients. With the extra time at home these days due to the largely worldwide stay-at-home orders in place, I’ve had more time to experiment in the kitchen (my ‘art studio’) and really expand the art meets food idea in new ways, and most recently, through focaccia bread (my ‘canvas’).

When I set out to build my first focaccia garden, I wanted to make sure first and foremost that the end product would taste good. As much as I love presentation and appreciate a lovely looking meal, I value taste above all (if it tastes good, I’m sold; if it looks beautiful, that’s a bonus). Because focaccia is an olive oil-rich bread, I turned to herbs (parsley, rosemary, chives, and tarragon), colorful veggies (baby bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and red onions), and a variety of olives that would all marry nicely together into a lovely, delicious bread.

When it came time to assemble the ingredients, I tried to think as an artist would, varying colors, textures, and shapes. I drew inspiration from all of the beautiful flora we’ve been seeing on our neighborhood walks, and tried to mix up the variety.

The end result was both beautiful and delicious, and made for some lovely snacks, soup accompaniments, sandwiches, and flatbreads (topped with mozzarella, basil, and sliced tomatoes, and popped in the oven, yum). The best thing about building a focaccia garden, though, is that there are no rules. You can use whichever ingredients you have on hand, and you can design something simple or elaborate. The mixture of olive oil, herbs, and roasted veggies is perfect in any combination. So go forth, and create!

As always, happy cooking, stay healthy, and be well.

xo Ash