Pools, parity and fresh herbs

KAREN WIGHT

I miss my garden. Secretly, I was hoping that the children would not

remember my promise: when the baby turned 6 years old, we could have

a pool. Unfortunately, Annie and Breck not only remembered, but they

were planning the pool’s groundbreaking at Mary Rose’s 6th birthday

party.

And so five years ago, it came to pass -- I lost my flower-cutting

bed, fresh herbs and vegetable garden, all in the name of progress

and keeping promises. For me, the call of chlorine only brings more

towels to wash and extra life-guarding duty. For the rest of the

family, it’s a built-in fun zone, an impromptu party and an instant

cure for tired minds and bodies. I’m outnumbered four to one.

Accommodating the pool meant relinquishing my favorite part of the

yard -- the secret garden behind the garage where I could let the

flowers go to seed, let the herbs grow randomly and let the squash

runners take over every square inch of ground. It was messy, but it

was functional. I’m missing the familiar nooks and crannies for my

garden to wander aimlessly and the hidden spots where I could store

rusty tomato cages, and where the leggy cilantro bushes could take on

gargantuan proportions.

But the thing I miss most are the fresh herbs. I miss snipping a

handful of chives and snatching a lemon off the tree. I miss the

fragrance of parsley waiting patiently for its moment of glory. I

miss throwing basil from bush to blender and whipping up an instant

sauce and I miss the colorful sage leaves that I tucked under the

chicken skin that made the entire house smell like Thanksgiving.

During a rebellious moment last month, I decided to recapture a

few square feet for my reincarnated herb garden. Bricks came out,

sprinkler lines installed and although the space is small, it’s

functional and it’s mine.

Since my space is (very) limited, I’ve decided to pare my herb

selection down to five favorites: chives, basil, flat-leaf parsley,

cilantro and sage. I love rosemary as well, but it grows in abundance

throughout the rest of the yard, so five additional herbal jewels

made it to the top of the must-have list: Basil is called l’herbe

royale and it earns this distinction by adding a pleasant flavor to

almost all savory dishes. Unless you grow the purple variety, basil

has beautiful, broad green leaves that are the key ingredient for

pesto. Basil is the main ingredient for marinara sauce, is great

stirred into eggs and livens up any salad. And, as with most herbs,

the more you cut it, the happier it is. Use basil prolifically.

Chives are members of the allium family. They have a mild onion

flavor. The tubular spears are terrific chopped into sauces,

potatoes, soups and vegetables. Chive stems make a great edible

string to tie bundles of asparagus together for a fancy Easter

dinner. Chives grow in clumps and make a great border for an herb

garden. Chive flowers look like giant, purple dandelion balls and are

very mod.

Cilantro is a staple in Mexican and Pacific Rim cooking. Any pico

de gallo worth its weight has fresh cilantro in it. The plants are

fast growers, but varieties like “Slow-Bolt” help keep the lanky herb

in check. Chopped cilantro is great as a condiment with curries,

salsas and stir-fries.

Parsley is valuable as an agent for blending flavors together. You

can put parsley in anything you cook. Well, maybe not dessert, but it

is extremely high in vitamin A, so use it liberally. My favorite

culinary variety is “Giant Italian,” a flat-leaf parsley. If you’ve

never had the French fries at Haute Cakes with chopped parsley and

garlic, you are missing a treat.

“The young sow wild oats, the old grow sage” -- a nice double

entendre for the most-used seasoning in America. You can’t have a

Thanksgiving dinner without liberal amounts of sage. It’s used in

stuffing, poultry, gravies, breads, butters and cheese dishes. The

fourth Thursday in November would be decimated without it.

I have rosemary growing everywhere in my landscape plan: front and

back; tall and prostrate; pruned and cascading. Rosemary makes

exquisite poultry dishes simple. Get a roasting chicken, wash it, put

a handful of rosemary, garlic and sliced lemon inside the cavity and

bake it at 325 degrees until the juices run clear. It’s gourmet

dining that is almost effortless.

If your herb garden runneth over, try this simple hors d’oeuvre:

Mince any combination of your favorite herbs like basil, chives and

parsley; roll a 6-ounce log of goat cheese in the herb mixture;

drizzle a little olive oil over the top and you have a piquant

appetizer that looks as good as it tastes.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Thursdays.