Leaf Celery (Kinchay)

Galangal – Alpinia galanga – is a rhizome in the family of ginger. We call it “langkawas” in the Philippines from the Indonesian or Malay word “lengkuas”. It is used mainly for Asian or Thai cooking but it has some medicinal properties too. It is considered an stimulant by homeopathic practitioners. It is also a…

Fennel is a perennial herb which belongs to the umbelliferae family which includes dill, celery, cilantro and parsley. Umbelliferae refers to how the flowers are formed. Used in ancient times as a treatment for arthritis and nausea, and as a sedative. It is also one of the three main herbs in making the alcoholic drink…

Flat Leaf Parsley is more commonly known as Italian Parsley. It is also one of my favorite herb that I use in cooking pasta just like the Sweet Basil. They are very good to use together especially in making pesto and also in almost all pastas and most Italian food recipes. I make sure I…

Lemon Verbena is my favorite herb in the garden. I like to use it for flavoring my tea. Ever since I recovered from cancer, I have to make sure to drink green tea for its antioxidant properties but I don’t particularly like the taste of it, so I have this idea of putting an herb…

Knowing herbs as an important part of our culinary world, I tried to study them and experimented on how to grow and how to use them in my cooking. Over the years, I was able to develop a liking to certain types of herbs and so I learned also how to preserve them by drying…

Pandan leaves is widely used in the Philippines as a food flavoring especially with rice cakes. I would consider it as a tropical herb just like lemongrass. The plant has long, green bladelike leaves just like the amaryllis, hence the botanical name pandanus amaryllifolius, with aerial roots and grows up to at least 3 ft….