Herbs Indoors
Bringing In Your Culinary Herbs
Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Oregano, and Basil are excellent herbs to bring indoors before the first frost. As long as you have a sunny window in your kitchen you can keep cooking with fresh herbs all winter long. There is nothing like coming home to the smell of a home cooked pot roast made with fresh herbs on a cold chilly day. Listed below are some of the uses for these herbs. There are so many herbal cookbooks and medicinal herbal books available to you now that it would be a shame not to use them. I would strongly urge you to obtain the correct proportional amounts and recipes from these books before
trying out any of the items listed below.
Parsley – Biannual
Culinary: Add leaves raw to salads. Finely chop and sprinkle over egg dishes, soups, fish and boiled potatoes. When cooked, parsley enhances other flavors, but add towards the end of the cooking time.
Cosmetic: Add leaves to facial steam and lotion for dry skin and to minimize freckles.
Medicinal: Chew the leaves raw to freshen breath and promote healthy skin.
Rosemary – Evergreen
Culinary: Toss fresh rosemary flowers into a salad. Add leaves sparingly to meat dishes, especially lamb and pork. You can also add to baked potatoes and make an herb butter for vegetables or fresh baked bread. Scatter stems on the BBQ to discourage insects.
Cosmetic: Add leaves to your bath to stimulate blood circulation. Use as a facial steam. Makes a great potpourri.
Medicinal: Leaves aid in fat digestion and stimulates blood supply.
Sage – Perennial
Culinary: Infuse flowers for tea. Scatter flowers in salads. Mix leaves with onion for poultry stuffings. Cook with fatty meats such as sausage, pork, and duck. Make sage butter or sage vinegar.
Cosmetic: Use leaves in facial steam. Use as a rinse to condition and darken gray hair. Rub on teeth to whiten. Use as a mouthwash.
Medicinal: Leaves help to combat diarrhea. Helps with digestion. Tea helps reduce sweating and soothes coughs. Sage should not be taken in large doses or for a long period of time.
Oregano – Perennial – Evergreen
Culinary: Leaves are great for chili, pizza, and egg and cheese dishes. A good rub for roasting meats. Greek oregano is stronger than Italian.
Cosmetic: Infuse leaves for a relaxing bath.
Medicinal: Chew leaves for temporary relief of toothache pain.
Basil – Annual
Culinary: Basil’s rich flavor compliments garlic. Use leaves in pesto sauces and Mediterranean dishes. Can be used to flavor vinegars. Basil in the kitchen deters flies.
Cosmetic: Infuse flowering tops and leaves for a refreshing bath.
Medicinal: Infuse leaves in a tea to aid digestion.