Lose Weight, Get Creative, Love Life – Embrace Herbs!
Magazines of all shapes, sizes, and topics have been raving about the benefits of using herbs for cooking. They add flavor and dimension to any and all recipes with zero calories, zero fat, zero sugar … they are little miracle plants!
Most folks know about the usual herbs – parsley, basil, pepper, rosemary – from buying the dried versions at their grocery store. If you want to truly experience food at its finest (without a huge cost), grow your own herbs. Even apartment dwellers have enough space to cultivate anywhere from 3 to 10 herbs at a time. But what do you grow? and how? When do you use them? and in what?
Finally, there is a guide for all those questions – The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs. The idea of having a one-stop-shop for information on growing, cooking, and baking with herbs caught my attention immediately. In addition to all that, The Herb Society of America’s guide offers a unique glimpse at the history of herbal plants and trees, along with some of their past uses.
Most people think of herbs as something you just add in towards the end of a recipe – you know, an accent. Not so! No matter what you are cooking or baking, herbs are a vital element to bringing out the true flavors of all foods. By growing them in your own kitchen (or bedroom or living room), you not only get the ability to use fresh herbs, but you also foster that priceless connection between man and nature. A little dirt is good for you. 
Of course, one of my favorite sections of the The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs is the recipe section. It is much bigger than I expected and I could cook for months on end from this book alone. Everything from soups, salads, breads, and beverages to sauces, entrees, side dishes, and desserts … especially desserts (I have quite the dangerous sweet tooth). The first on my list to try are the Mint Chocolate Pound Cake (page 215) and the Lemon Basil Tea Bread (page 219). I would not be arrogant in saying that every cook’s bookshelf needs this guide.
Growing up in a family that didn’t have time for anything that didn’t come in a box, visiting my grandmother’s house was a haven because her spice rack was almost as big as her sink. The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs brings back many of those happy memories and gives me a chance to start creating some unique memories of my own.
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Any person with a taste for something sweet should grow Stevia. Its leaves have 300 times the sweetness of sugar, but it has very little effect on blood sugar. Thank Wikipedia for that little tidbit. Herbs are also wonderful for attracting pollinators like honey bees to your flowers and vegetable gardens. African Blue Basil will get four feet tall and wide and be covered with bees. This is a good thing! Bees are not aggressive when they are out foraging.