Lemon Basil is an herb you might want to include in your herb garden. It has a wonderful smell of citrus and basil at the same time. I always want to grow this herb so I can use it to add some zest in my tea drinks, hot or cold. Keep it well watered. Pinch the flowers as soon as it start to encourage new set of leaves to grow.
Lemon Basil is a special type of basil for me because I use it to flavor my green tea just like the lemon verbena. It really has that refreshingly good taste when you drink the tea with it. I always keep lemon basil in my herb garden but this one started to flower no matter…
A gardener friend of mine gave me this plant but I don’t know the name. He’s Vietnamese so I figure I have to look it up as a Vietnamese plant. But since I have tasted it, it reminded me of the sorrel plant I used to have in my garden. It tasted the same, sour…
Kinchay is an herb like celery but it is mainly the leaves that are being utilized. It is equivalent to lovage. I use it in stir-fries, chop suey, fried rice and noodles especially pancit bihon. Kinchay would also go together with green onions as a garnish for rice soup we call arroz caldo. The Kinchay…
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…
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….
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…