Since we have moved into our very first own home, I have loved pottering in the garden! It’s not very big, we have a concreted outside sitting area and a little backyard, but just enough to get me excited about planting lots of edible things that we can see grow and harvest. Today I am setting out to create my Capsule Kitchen Herb Garden!
I get a little overexcited at times and often I find myself at the market wanting to adopt all sorts of little seedlings, take them home and nourish them so they will bring us joy and food – win win, right? Ideally I would love a veggie patch but even in my enthusiasm I have to admit that I cannot do everything at once. So I have been limiting myself to potted tomatoes and herbs. The potted tomatoes have had a tough life as my little boy likes to get in there and pick them the second they show the faintest sign of turning red. Most of the time I let him. It is so wonderful to see him enjoy being outside and learning where some of our food comes from and how great it tastes if you grow your own.

Adding fresh herbs means adding love to your meal

Fresh herbs are such a treat to add to your cooking. You can grow them in the smallest of spaces, on windowsills or balconies and you save a lot of money tending to a few pots rather than buying them every time a recipe asks for them!
When Reg and I got married, the table decorations at our wedding were simple potted herbs. We made little signs for each of them that read ‘Reg and Katrine’s Herb Garden’. We took them home to our balcony afterwards and they gave us (and our dinner guests) joy for many years.  I still have rosemary in our backyard now that stems from this day. Our guests took home a seed bag of herbs to plant some of their own. It still makes me happy thinking about that.

Herbs create astonishing flavour and make all the difference in the meals you create. For me, adding herbs means adding love to a meal. Plus you add extra greens, that’s got to be a bonus too!

Fresh herbs can help you re-live beautiful memories!

On our honeymoon we went to Vietnam, one of our most memorable holidays. What a beautiful, sensual country with food that has made such an impact on us. It is bold and simple at the same time, incredibly flavourful and mesmerizing. What amazed me the most was the use of fresh herbs. We are blessed with wonderful food here in Melbourne, so Vietnamese Mint, Thai Basil etc. were not new to me, but to experience it as a staple in everyday life and everyday cooking was breathtaking. It really was the herbs that took the foodie experience to the next level! It wasn’t the spring roll, it was the spring roll wrapped in two types of mint and a lettuce leaf that made me jump with joy. The Bun Cha topped with mountains of green, fragrant herbs, not all of which I could identify. Just writing about it now makes my mouth water…

Depending on which country you live in or which country you visit, the herbs grown and used are so different. So cultivating a little herb garden in my backyard makes me either remember flavours of home (I grew up in Germany but have been living in Australia for the past 8 years) or flavours of holiday memories – who wouldn’t want that! Occasionally I can be found chewing on a little curly parsley because my Omi grew it under her kitchen window and it awakens beautiful childhood memories of summers spent at her house.

Lets create our Capsule Herb Garden!

In a Capsule Kitchen sense, I will have to limit myself. I don’t HAVE to, but if I don’t I will get carried away and have pots and pots of herbs wilting away because I’m not really using them.

Herbs I already have:

Mint
Vietnamese Mint
Terragon
Rosemary
Oregano
Sage
Thyme
Lemon Thyme
Lemon Balm

(I also have a Lemon Tree and a Lime Tree. Not herbs, but nevertheless a big part of my Capsule Kitchen! Once they start to carry fruit that is, haha.)

Herbs I have on my list to get:

Bay Leaf
Basil
Parsley, curly
Parsley, flat
Chives
Thai Basil

That should complete our herb garden nicely. Later on I will review my herb usage, because sometimes I get caught up in what I would love to use but never actually do. 15 different fresh herbs are quite a lot. Then it’s about either seeking out specific recipes that use them and adding them to my capsule recipe collection, or saying good bye to that herb all together. We’ll see :).

Which herbs are you using in your cooking? I’d love to know! Especially if you have a recipe to share :).

Much love,

Katrine.