Herb's the Word
May 5, 2023
At Friends and Family Farm in Veneta, Oregon we grow a wide variety of culinary herbs.
Sometimes customers are unsure what to do with herbs, so we want to share some tips for incorporating more herbs into their cooking. Give these tricks a try and we think you’ll find that herbs can be so much more than garnish.
Eating more fresh herbs offer a range of amazing health benefits, and can also add a huge boost of deliciousness to your dishes.
In this post, we share some thoughts about why we grow herbs. We have ideas that will increase your confidence when cooking with herbs, and we also have a list of basic salad dressing and sauce recipes. They all offer highly customizable ways of putting herbs to good use.
(Pssssst….. The list of recipe suggestions is at the end of this post. Feel free to just scroll all the way down and get to cooking).
Why We Grow Herbs
Herbs are amazing flavor bombs. Adding herbs to your dishes often makes the difference between an okay meal and an amazing meal.
You may already know that Farmer Cody is a former chef?
One of the very first things I noticed about his cooking, is that he usually has a little pile of minced hardy herbs handy when he cooks - and he adds herbs from that pile to what he is cooking multiple times throughout the preparation.
Cody is not a big fan of being in front of a camera, but I will try to talk him into making a video for you all, to show how he prepares those herbs and how he uses them.
Another reason why we love herb farming is that they grow very well.
Many herbs are perennial, which means that with very little attention from us they keep coming back year after year.
Let’s be honest here, farming is hard work. So having a few crops that mostly take care of themselves, is one way we free up time and energy to tend to other crops.
And lastly, herbs are incredibly healthy - I once read that the herbalist’s secret is: Don’t sprinkle fresh herbs on your food. Toss it in, with a very liberal hand!
So, What Do You Do with Herbs?
When we think of herbs, we can distinguish between two major groups: the hardy herbs and the tender herbs.
The hardy herbs are those that have woody stems, such as Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Lemon Verbena, and Oregano.
Tender herbs are those that have more (you guessed it) tender stems. We can also think of them as leafy herbs, such as Parsley, Cilantro, Chives, Dill, Mint, Lemon Balm, and Basil.
The tender herbs can be easier to use in large quantities. They can be chopped and added to salads or sprinkled (liberally) over your finished dish.
You can see this highlight on Instagram where I lobby for more parsley in salads.
Generally, we don’t wanna cook tender herbs, as they tend to lose their flavor. So, add them shortly before eating, or use them in uncooked dishes (salads, spreads, summer rolls, etc.).
You might wanna use the hardy herbs a bit more sparingly - use them often, but in smaller quantities. They have stronger flavors and hold up well to cooking. You can use them in marinades, salad dressings, or in braises and soups, or with roasted meats or vegetables.
The hardy herbs are easy to dry, which is handy if you have more than you’ll use. Simply make a bunch (tie with string or rubber band) and hang them somewhere in your house where they can dry out. When they are dry and crumbly, you can put them into a jar for long-term storage. Personally, I like to keep them hanging in a handy place, because I know that makes me more likely to remember to use them.
Salad Dressing and Sauce Suggestions
To have some easy, back-pocket recipe ideas that will come in handy whenever you have herbs on your hands, I suggest you get familiar with these recipes. They are all quite basic, and incredibly tweakable. Most of them can be made with just a single herb or a mixture of different herbs.
I think it is important to think of these recipes as starting points – adjust them to fit what herbs you are trying to use up. But more importantly, adjust them to your liking.
I like my vinaigrette super tangy, so I always go heavy on the vinegar.
Maybe you like things more or less garlicky. Maybe you have a different vinegar at your disposal than what the recipe calls for. Maybe you wanna use a mixture of fresh and dried herbs. YOU DO YOU!
If you like it, you did well. If you don’t like it, see if you can make any adjustments to improve.
If you use dried herbs for any of these recipes, I suggest mixing it up well in advance of serving, so the herbs can soften up a bit.
Mix and match one or more ingredients from each category to make these sauces. You need at least one ingredient from the categories in bold. The other categories are optional, but add great flavor to your sauce.
Below the picture, I have added some recipes to get you started, if you don’t feel comfortable with improvising with these looser style instructions.
Here's a link to open this image in a new window - to enable printing and sharing
Shop our herbs here, and alliums here
Recipes
Vinaigrette
https://www.seriouseats.com/simple-vinaigrette-recipe (add any herbs you’d like)
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/herb-vinaigrette/
Yoghurt Dip
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/greek-yogurt-herb-dressing-3362642
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/herby-yogurt-dressing
Or another dairy-based classic, Homemade Fresh-herb Ranch
https://cookieandkate.com/ranch-dressing-recipe/
Chimichurri Sauce
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chimichurri-sauce-2
Tahini Sauce
