Fresh Herbs

One of the most delightful things about learning to cook is learning how herbs, which are virtually calorie free, can enhance even the simplest basic main ingredients, helping us achieve ever more kudos from the dear ones in our lives whose lot it is to consume what we've created in the kitchen. Our store of dried herbs (and we all have them in the pantry) are fine, as long as the bottle they're in isn't decades old. And, indeed, a teaspoon of relatively new dried herbs can do the job of a tablespoon of minced fresh herbs.

One of the most delightful things about learning to cook is learning how herbs, which are virtually calorie free, can enhance even the simplest basic main ingredients, helping us achieve ever more kudos from the dear ones in our lives whose lot it is to consume what we've created in the kitchen. Our store of dried herbs (and we all have them in the pantry) are fine, as long as the bottle they're in isn't decades old. And, indeed, a teaspoon of relatively new dried herbs can do the job of a tablespoon of minced fresh herbs.

This pasta of Italian flavors takes advantage of red peppers and fresh herbs still abundant in farmers' markets, or maybe in your garden if you've planted them. The recipe calls for fresh thyme and oregano, but many other herbs would substitute just as well. Think basil or marjoram. For dessert, sliced fresh peaches with a splash of liqueur (such as the Italian lemon-flavored limoncello) make a simple and refreshing ending. A simple biscotti alongside wouldn't hurt. Joe Gray writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

Fresh herb season is under way in gardens and pots throughout the area. So how about using them in a fast, easy and nutritious omelet? We're naming it Herbie and it's enough to feed two. And because it's quick to make, Herbie the Second won't add much time to making supper for four. Kids will like Herbie, too, especially if you use olive slices to fashion a face on the omelet. Sauvignon blanc will pair well with the herbs in the dish. For kids, a glass of milk is a fine partner. Renee Enna writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

If you've ever felt fresh-herb envy as Julia Child lays a feathery sprig of dill on the salmon or sprinkles the tiny, pungent leaves of thyme into the boeuf bourguignon, consider planting a kitchen herb garden. Fresh herbs are as divorced from their store-bought counterparts as Tupperware is from Royal Doulton. In addition, herbs are beauty for the eye and tonic to the senses. There is no aroma therapy like the heady scent of basil as you gather some for tomato and mozzarella salad. Growing herbs is eminently satisfying.

2006 Columbia Crest `Two Vines' Sauvignon Blanc From: Columbia Valley, Wash. Price: $8 Serve with: Seafood, creole cuisine This is simply an excellent value in a dry white wine. What jumps out of the glass is a powerful impression of figs, followed by nuances of apples, peaches, mulling spices and fresh herbs. It's not tremendously complex, but it's a smooth, satisfying wine without the rough edges sauvignon blanc occasionally shows.

Gourmet meals prepared in a jiffyIf you're a fan of the Food Network's game show "Ready ... Set ... Cook!" head to White Marsh Mall this Saturday. At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., two local chefs, Nancy Longo of Pierpoint (above) and Robert Taylor Jr. of Hamilton's, will be competing to create gourmet meals in 18 minutes using only $10 worth of groceries. Audience members get samples and coupons. The airdate for the show has not been announced.Salad pairs rice with fresh herbsHere's an easy but elegant salad to serve with cold chicken or hamburgers on a hot August day.Greek Rice SaladMakes 4 servings2 cups cooked rice1/2 cup vinaigrette, or to taste1/2 cup currants1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted1 tablespoon or more fresh herbs, choppedUse whatever fresh herbs are in your garden that strike your fancy - mint, oregano, basil or parsley are all good.

On a sunny windowsill or planted outside in bright pots, fresh herbs are a wonderful addition to a cook's kitchen.Even though my outdoor garden boasts dozens of herb plants in summer, I have a year-round herb garden by my kitchen stove that gets transplanted outside as the weather warms. A terra-cotta planter sits under three grow lights in an unused corner of the counter between stove and dish drainer. My favorite -- and most often used -- herbs are planted there. They yield harvests all 12 months of the year.

I'm noticing a large number of yellow jackets flying out from the top of my aluminum siding. Should I seal up their entrance hole? Can I use a household wasp and hornet killer against them?Sealing the entrance hole will only force these unwelcome guests to make an exit hole elsewhere in your wall. Household wasp and hornet insecticides are fine for visible, outdoor nests but should not be sprayed into wall voids. You'll be introducing a wet, flammable substance with little chance of actually destroying the nest.

Fresh herb season is under way in gardens and pots throughout the area. So how about using them in a fast, easy and nutritious omelet? We're naming it Herbie and it's enough to feed two. And because it's quick to make, Herbie the Second won't add much time to making supper for four. Kids will like Herbie, too, especially if you use olive slices to fashion a face on the omelet. Sauvignon blanc will pair well with the herbs in the dish. For kids, a glass of milk is a fine partner. Renee Enna writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

2006 Columbia Crest `Two Vines' Sauvignon Blanc From: Columbia Valley, Wash. Price: $8 Serve with: Seafood, creole cuisine This is simply an excellent value in a dry white wine. What jumps out of the glass is a powerful impression of figs, followed by nuances of apples, peaches, mulling spices and fresh herbs. It's not tremendously complex, but it's a smooth, satisfying wine without the rough edges sauvignon blanc occasionally shows.

Walk into a hopping tapas bar in Spain or a little osteria in Italy, and right at the front door you're likely to find a table full of bowls of vegetables. At first glance, you might think this is just one more sign that the end of the world is near: a salad bar in Europe? But there's one big difference: Most of the vegetables will have been cooked, and not just a little bit - they'll be almost limp. And they will be delicious. While modern cooks have made a cult of crispness since the introduction of nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s, it pays to remember that sometimes long cooking brings out flavor.

The first step in cooking with fresh herbs might be the one you take out your back door. On the deck or balcony or in a handkerchief-sized patch of ground near the kitchen, you can plant and harvest any of the 40 or more herb varieties readily available at most garden centers. Grocery stores have been stocking fresh herbs for two decades -- and have long outgrown the simple bunch of curly parsley once offered. But it is at garden centers that cooks will find herbs such as cinnamon basil, lemon grass or celery leaf -- herbs that are easy to grow and offer a flavorful dimension to cooking that doesn't add salt, fat or calories.

Three writers explore how the stomach paves the way to the heart If you want to make a good impression, you'd better do some careful planning. Oh, and keep it simple. RECIPE Peter Jensen offers his recipe for roasted salmon. PG 4F Never underestimate the charm of hearth cooking. A fireplace dinner can be a delicious dining adventure. PG 4F To impress, plan well and keep meal simple Roasted Fish in the Greek style Serves 2 two 8-ounce salmon fillets (any firm-fleshed fish will do)

This pasta of Italian flavors takes advantage of red peppers and fresh herbs still abundant in farmers' markets, or maybe in your garden if you've planted them. The recipe calls for fresh thyme and oregano, but many other herbs would substitute just as well. Think basil or marjoram. For dessert, sliced fresh peaches with a splash of liqueur (such as the Italian lemon-flavored limoncello) make a simple and refreshing ending. A simple biscotti alongside wouldn't hurt. Joe Gray writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

Kathy Hawkins is crazy about summer basil. She grows it outside, inside, everywhere she can. She even keeps a pot of it on the kitchen counter, so all she has to do is pinch off the leaves, chop them up and sprinkle them on her luscious homegrown tomatoes. With every pinch, there's a bonus. That heavenly basil fragrance fills her kitchen for hours. "I absolutely love that smell," she says. Hawkins, 46, is not an expert by any means, but she successfully grows lots of herbs every summer.

It may be the ugliest fish in the ocean, but, man, is it tasty. I am talking about monkfish, Lophius americanus, the bottom dweller that has an enormous head, serious teeth and a face only a mother monk- fish could love. Sitting on the bottom of the ocean, the monkfish dangles its modified spine, or "esca" in front of its mouth to attract prey. When a passing fish takes this "bait," the monkfish, also known as the anglerfish, swallows the fish. Monkfish have been reported to eat prey half their size, according to a fact sheet produced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and also have been known to venture up to the surface and chow down on water birds.

The first step in cooking with fresh herbs might be the one you take out your back door. On the deck or balcony or in a handkerchief-sized patch of ground near the kitchen, you can plant and harvest any of the 40 or more herb varieties readily available at most garden centers. Grocery stores have been stocking fresh herbs for two decades -- and have long outgrown the simple bunch of curly parsley once offered. But it is at garden centers that cooks will find herbs such as cinnamon basil, lemon grass or celery leaf -- herbs that are easy to grow and offer a flavorful dimension to cooking that doesn't add salt, fat or calories.

When fresh tomatoes are abundant this summer - and we have consumed all we can in salads, on sandwiches, grilled and in salsas before their beauty fades - we will long to make tomato sauce. But there's a problem: For a classic lusty red pasta sauce, chefs actually tend to prefer canned tomatoes, says Richard Stuthmann, chief of instruction at Baltimore International College. Fresh tomatoes "aren't consistent," says Stuthmann, "and they aren't the red color we expect." So take a middle ground and combine the bounty of the farmers' market and the garden with tomato paste to make a quick marinara.

It may be the ugliest fish in the ocean, but, man, is it tasty. I am talking about monkfish, Lophius americanus, the bottom dweller that has an enormous head, serious teeth and a face only a mother monk- fish could love. Sitting on the bottom of the ocean, the monkfish dangles its modified spine, or "esca" in front of its mouth to attract prey. When a passing fish takes this "bait," the monkfish, also known as the anglerfish, swallows the fish. Monkfish have been reported to eat prey half their size, according to a fact sheet produced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and also have been known to venture up to the surface and chow down on water birds.