Did you know that growing your own fresh herbs is really quite easy and that it is very rewarding and satisfying as well? Fresh herbs also elevate flavors in your recipes far beyond what dried herbs do. Not a lot of space or time and attention are required to grow herbs either. So, what are you waiting for?

All you need in order to grow your own herbs are a couple of containers with drainage holes that are large enough for the herbs to spread or large enough to plant two or three herbs in one container, some potting soil, some sand (sandbox type is fine), and Styrofoam packing peanuts, rocks or broken bits of brick, or chunks of broken pottery or stoneware. Put the Styrofoam peanuts or other chunky stuff in the bottom third of the container, use the sand for the next third, and top it off with potting soil on the top third. Then you plant your herb(s) in the potting soil. Herbs don’t like really wet roots, so be sure not to over water them.  The purpose of the sand and the bottom layer of your container is to aid in the drainage process to keep the roots from becoming too wet, but if it hasn’t been raining much and if the soil feels dry or the plants are looking a bit wilted, put a little water on them every now and then.

Growing herbs in containers allows even people living in small spaces like apartments to grow them. No matter what your space constraints are, just pot them and put them on the balcony, outside your front door, or outside your back door. You can even grow them in smaller pots on a windowsill.  The main thing is to place so that they are convenient for you to get to. After all, the object of growing them is to use them! If you are growing them outside, you can pretty much let Mother Nature take care of them. If they are where Mother Nature can’t help much, water them when the soil is dry or if the plants are looking wilted.

Most herbs do just fine in whatever light conditions are available, but if they are in the direct Florida afternoon sun, this could be somewhat harsh for them. Filtered sunlight is best for herbs. The best thing you can do for your herbs is to use them once you plant them. Snipping off a few leaves or stalks to use in your recipes will promote healthy growth or thickening of the plant, which produces more foliage for you to use.

Ok…so now that you have your containers ready for planting and you know where you’re going to put them, what herbs should you plant? Some of my favorite herbs to grow and use are rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, chives, dill, mint, cilantro, marjoram, and sage. You can plant some herbs together in the same pot, but be sure to go online and look which plants pair well together.

If you also love tomatoes, you can make a delectable caprese salad using basil from your herb garden. You’ll need 2 cups balsamic vinegar, 3 whole ripe tomatoes slicked thickly, 12 ounces mozzarella cheese sliced thickly, fresh basil leaves, olive oil for drizzling, and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat and cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet and allow it to cool. Arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter and arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction. End with a sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Enjoy! Oh, and you can store any extra balsamic reduction in the fridge for a later use.      Bon Appetite!

I have been cooking for a very long time now, and I have always enjoyed it. I especially love cooking for my family and friends, particularly in the past several years. I learned most of what I know about cooking from my Gommie (my mother’s mother), my mother, my mother-in-law, and one of my husband’s grannies. They were, or are, wonderful home cooks who learned from their mothers and grandmothers, so the cooking I have learned from them has been a tradition that has been passed down through several generations. I am now passing the knowledge I have down to my children.

As a child, I really didn’t have many opportunities to learn how to cook from Gommie or my mother. Since we had a really small kitchen and Gommie was picky about not having anyone in the kitchen while she was cooking and I don’t remember my mom doing much cooking, I would watch from just outside the kitchen. When I was about eleven, or so, we had moved to a larger house with a much larger kitchen. That’s when I was finally allowed to hang out in the kitchen while one of them was cooking.

My mother was also very patient with me when, on occasion I would announce that I was going to cook dinner that night. I would be confident in my abilities to a point, then I would begin to second guess myself and call her at work with questions like “what temperature do I put the oven on?” or “how do I know how much salt to add?” Each question, of course, was a separate phone call. As I got more into my teen years, I became too busy to spend time in the kitchen. Fortunately, by the time I was in college and still living at home, I was more interested in learning from them and I took advantage of their tutoring. When I married a few years later, I knew my way around a kitchen fairly well, but over the years my cooking has definitely evolved and improved.

 In the early years of my marriage, I cooked passably well…some things were okay, some were really good, and some were utter and complete disasters. I did find out, however, that I did have a knack that I apparently inherited from Gommie and my mother – I could put things together and come up with a meal or a dish without a recipe, or I could take a recipe and modify it to suit my family’s preferences and it would turn out to be really good. In the past several years, or so, I have settled into what my husband calls my ‘Gourmet Stage’ of cooking. I am unafraid of trying recipes that have more than four ingredients or complicated instructions, and I try different techniques and methods. Fortunately, most dishes I have attempted have been successful.

This all leads me to my latest cooking adventure…something I have dreamed of for about five years…I have enrolled in a techniques cooking class at Truffles and Triffles, a lovely cooking school located in the heart of Orlando in College Park. Marci Arthur is the owner and Chef who owns the school and teaches the classes, and she is a delightful, knowledgeable, and fun teacher. The class I’m taking began on Sunday, September 8th and runs each Sunday in September, ending on September 29th. Last week we made several pork dishes, asparagus with hollandaise, along with many other delectable dishes and sides. This week chicken was our focus, with a wonderful roasted chicken with cornbread stuffing, carrot soufflé, coq a vin, baked rice, and several other amazing entrees and sides! I highly recommend Truffles and Triffles to anyone who enjoys cooking, would love to learn more, or just wants to have a fun afternoon or evening among friends.

Fall is the time of year for cooler weather, which  we are long overdue for, those wonderful fall aromas that waft from the kitchen, and football. Yes, here in the south, we take our football and tailgating very seriously. In my house, we take it so seriously that on Saturday afternoon or evenings in the fall, you will find us tailgating in our own way. Sadly, we don’t often find ourselves actually attending a live game either at UCF (Go Knights!) or at UF (Go Gators!), so we do our own version of tailgating – we do indoor tailgate parties. Based on the same principle as traditional tailgate parties, they revolve around fun, food, drinks, family, friends, and did I mention FUN? 

On the tailgate menu this weekend for the Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes game, we have ribs, green bean casserole, chips and homemade dip, and chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, and since we’re watching a game with Miami, we are drinking (in moderation, of course) pineapple cocktails. Sadly, no coconut is involved since my hubby doesn’t like it, but since I love pineapples, I’m still happy! For the recipes, please click on the documents below.

Our entire family loves college football games. It has been a Saturday tradition since Randy & I were married almost 33 years ago that we spend every fall Saturday watching the Gators play football (sorry Knights fans, but Randy is an Alum of UF and they have had a football team for a lot longer than UCF has!).

We raised our children with Saturday Gator games, dressed our son in football clothes when he was little, and our girls in Gator cheerleader outfits, complete with pom-poms and orange & blue ribbons for their hair! Our little grandson’s have all learned the Gator Chomp and the signal for a TD at a very young age and their favorite colors in the fall are orange & blue or black & gold, since we now include UCF in our football traditions.

                                         
It’s September, so that means that fall is almost here! I don’t know about you, but I am definitely ready for the crispness in the air that fall will bring. Ok, I know this could be a while around here…it is Central Florida after all. We typically don’t herald in our fall-like weather until mid- to late October, but if we’re very lucky, we could begin to feel a slight coolness on our breezes before too long. But, hey, at least we still have a lot of warm weather left to enjoy going to our beautiful beaches, gardening, and watching our children or grandchildren romp and play outside.

Speaking of which, my little grandson, Connor (19 months) enjoys playing in the backyard and helping his granddaddy and me work in our yard! Sometimes I think he ends up wearing more of the soil from the garden than there is in it, though!

Fall also brings the promise of wonderful food that, whether it is available year round or not, sometimes just should only be eaten and enjoyed in the fall. Butternut Squash Soup comes to mind, as does Shepherd’s Pie. I did cheat a little recently and baked a Shepherd’s Pie, though. At least no one complained that it was too early in the year! Well, I’m sorry there was no time for a recipe in this post, but perhaps next time.

                                               Cheers and Bon Appétit!      
                                                                    – Sharon