Saturday, July 25, 2009

"Thyme" on my hands....

“The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender, and with the brightest roses blushing in tufts all over the meadows. . . .” William Cullen Bryant

One of my favorite simple pleasures is my little herb garden.

Rosemary (oh, so fragrant!), thyme, two types of basil, a variety of mints, oregano, lavender, parsley, tarragon, and sage.

Early yesterday morning, before it got too hot outside, I decided to clear away some of the debris and clip back some of the overgrown herbs. Just being out there and breathing in the wonderful aroma is so nice. Sometimes you have to rub the leaf with your fingers to bring out the plants true fragrance...but, sometimes you just need to be nearby to catch some of the glorious "perfume".

The thyme and the rosemary seem to be the most prolific...sprouting out all over the place....so, these were cut back the most.

Some of the local backyard "pests" seem to be enjoying some of my basil...and the spearmint doesn't appear to be catching enough of the morning sunshine to flourish...and the parsley needs to be coaxed a bit to keep it full...but, all in all, my garden provides just enough touches of herbs to make me happy.

Last night Dave and I had a filet of fresh sockeye salmon. This variey of salmon is only available for a small amount of time and is really very tasty...so I try to get some while it is in season.

I had some panko crumbs and an abundance of fresh thyme so we tried out an online recipe for Panko Crusted Salmon. It called for rubbing a mixture of honey mustard and freshly chopped thyme on the top of the filet and then topping it with the panko, more thyme, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.

Sounds good, eh?

Well, it was a little disappointing in that it seemed to be lacking something. The fresh thyme was nice...but I have to figure out how to pop the flavors a bit more the next time that I try it. But, we enjoyed it anyway and I always love incorporating my fresh herbs into the menu!

Basil is still my very favorite in that I love to add it to fresh tomatoes...or just a regular salad. Ahhh...

Sometimes when I have fresh flowers in the house I will cut a few of the fragrant herbs and add them to the vase. It not only looks pretty, but it smells wonderful!

Oh dear.....am I sounding like Martha Stewart or what?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!

Have a nice weekend all...

3 comments:

Tabor said...

maybe it needed more salt? Or perhaps a little hot pepper sauce to pop it/ I love my herb garden as well.

listen for azure said...

Herb gardens are the best!

Beverly said...

love some herbs....I wish I had more sun....