A Guide to Fresh Herbs & Spices
New ways to use spring’s flavors from your market and garden.
Spring is in full swing, and fresh herbs abound in the market and the garden. Here are some tips on how to use fresh herbs and spices in new ways in three kinds of warm-weather dishes.
Thinly chopped fresh herbs give salads a tasty kick without loading up on salt.
Use basil in
Arugula & Roasted Pepper Salad or
Goat Cheese, Citrus & Tomato Salad.
Some mint and thinly sliced garlic scapes (check your farmers’ market for this spring treat) to any green salad, like
California Spinach Salad, add a burst of savory flavor.
Use them in marinades to amp up the flavor from the grill.
Herbs and spices enhance the flavor of your meats — especially when they’re mixed into a marinade and given hours to absorb. Try this
Flank Steak Marinade before you heat up the grill.
Fresh herbs and spices are not just for foods. Even drinks taste better after a trip to the garden or through the spice rack.
Try adding a sprig of thyme to the pitcher when making some
Lipton® iced tea. Or, if you want something sweeter, make a
Cold Brew Cranberry Mint Cooler.
To make the refreshing flavor of
Lemon-Ginger Iced Tea wilder, substitute an inch-long piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped, for the ground ginger in the recipe.
Cloves and cinnamon put the spice in
Spiced Iced Tea.
For a more adult beverage, make some
Basil Mo-Tea-Tos.
Fresh herbs are often reserved for garnish in desserts, but if you make them the main ingredient, their crisp flavors can really excite the palate.
Add the leaves of two spearmint sprigs to
Grasshopper Milkshakes for an even fresher flavor, or try topping your next bowl of lemon sorbet with a teaspoon of crushed fresh cilantro for an Asian-flavored treat.