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Window Box Herb Garden 2011

Last year, we enjoyed our herb garden more than nearly anything else we planted.

This year, we decided that if a few herbs were good then more would certainly be better.
We need MORE basil! MORE parsley! More cilantro!
We are greedy herb-eaters.
 So we expanded.
Without further adieu, here is the Dark Family 2010 Herb Garden.

herbgarden5

First off, we have a little oregano...yummy in Italian dishes. The oregano shares a home with some chives that survived from last year. They braved the winter and lived to tell about it. [Insert Brittney Spears, "Stronger"]

herbgarden3

Chives have beautiful purple flowers that smell amazing!

herbgarden4

Living next door, we have parsley and cilantro which we grew from seeds in our greenhouse. They started out so teeny tiny...it's hard to believe how much they've grown.

(Also, if you look closely to the right of those plants, you can see where Jack has beat the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of our newly painted deck railing by jumping up on it to bark at passing joggers and their pesky little dogs.)

herbgarden2

This is David's favorite. We have a whole planter box full of basil (that we also started from seeds). David asks me everyday if I think we are growing enough. He's extremely worried about the imminent threat of a basil shortage...as we all should be.

herbgarden1

And lastly here's the rosemary and thyme. The thyme is a new plant, but the rosemary is also a winter survivor. [Insert Beyonce's "Survivor"].

A lot of these herbs are still a little too small to use much, but we have high hopes that in a few weeks they'll be ready-for-the-cooking.

Here's a recipe that we've dipped into the herb garden for a few times this season already:

***Herbed Chicken***
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallots (I use onions)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Cooking spray
Combine olive oil, minced shallots, rosemary, thyme, and minced garlic in a zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken breast halves. Marinate in the refrigerator 2 hours. Remove chicken from bag; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush the herb mixture evenly over chicken. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook for 6 minutes on each side or until done. (We cook ours on our outdoor grill and it is SO yummy!)

(Recipe from Cooking Light)

Do you have a herb garden? What are you growing?
mel

6 comments:

  1. We don't have herb garden. Can I borrow a herb? Or is it an herb? I still haven't planted my Carmen plants. Help?!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did basil, chives, rosemary and lavender in terra cotta pots on my porch with the same metal name plates (targets dollar bin). I use them pretty often for cooking I find when I grow them myself I am more likely to use them.Have fun with yours!

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  3. Great pics! Even better herbs. The chicken is awesome. Really looking forward to the whole chicken. And the thyme really makes fish taste delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just found your blog through a google search:) I'm hoping to start an herb garden on my deck and I'm wondering if there are any herbs that attract or rebel bugs? I have this vision of planting these lovely deck boxes only to be attacked by mosquitoes and bees while we try to eat outside:) (Can you tell I'm totally new to the gardening thing;)?
    Thanks!
    www.storiesfromtheshoe.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, I just found your blog when searching for transplanting coriander. I have a question. How did the coriander go from the jiffy greenhouse (I love those things) to the rectangular planter you have next to the chives or whatever? Did you put potting soil in there, and then put the little pods from the greenhouse inside the soil? I really am a newb at this. Does it matter at what point you do that? My cilantro plants have just barely sprouted cilantro leaves, and are still in the jiffy planter. I hope this is enough info. I'm planning on keeping them all in containers if possible. Thanks!

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