Spice of Life: Real Green Shoots

There is something very magical about taking a little seed, sticking it into some dirt, sprinkling a little water on top, and watching a tiny green plant emerge. I like knowing that the things that impressed me in kindergarten still impress me today (like caterpillars turning into butterflies! Man! How do they do that?!), and growing a little garden is no exception.

In truth, I do not much have a green thumb. Once, when I was little, I grew a bunch of multi-colored Cosmos which I loved and protected and visited every day after school. When most of them were eaten by some deer (that perenial northern NJ garden pest), I vowed revenge with the tenacity of the Bride in Kill Bill (Vol 1 and 2). I distinctly remember drawing a picture in pencil of a hunter's gun bearing down upon the deer and hanging it over my Cosmos, which must have alarmed my parents but gave me a certain kind of satisfaction.

In college I had some little plants that I'd buy in September for their bright and beautiful colors, only to have them die by November. The one exception was my cactus, Buddy, which lived for three years through Cambridge winters and moving summers (including a three-month stay accidentally locked in a box in my brother's spare bedroom). Buddy was a trooper, and I loved it dearly (some day the world will know Dave's quite terrific story-telling skills, including the sad and dreamy story of Buddy's past). Eventually, though, Buddy succumbed to some kind of cactus rot and went out with the trash one terrible day.

I'm getting back on that green horse, though, with my own little herb garden. Several weeks ago, I posted about my first gardening attempts, and now, I'm happy to report, they have all popped out of the ground (some, unfortunately, also seem to have gone back in). I still need to get off my butt and plant my other seeds (there is a giant bag of dirt I'm sure my roommates--new and old--don't appreciate), but here are some pictures of the garden!

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Spice of Life: Grow a Little Garden

One of my favorite tricks to liven up a meal is to play around with different spices. I love adding pepper to different foods--mac n cheese, potato chips--it gives it such a strong, distinct flavor. My Boo-Hoo Flu Soup was probably saved from banality by the heady mix of tarragon, rosemary, and thyme, and I discovered, after sampling different dishes at one of my favorite diners, that a layer of nutmeg in lasagna adds a beautifully rustic kick that distinguishes my lasagna from all the others in the world. In other words, I am a fan of herbs and spices.

But more than just their flavors, I like the idea of herbs and spices. There's something very intriguing about the fact that my little spice rack would have made me the Bill Gates of the 15th century, and it's nice to think that while our meals may have changed, my late, great, medieval ancestors probably shared a fondness for cinnamon (I mean, I assume). And herbs, with their little home garden feel, have all sorts of interesting properties and qualities that you just don't find in things like Twinkies (or I guess Twinkies probably have interesting properties, but none of them would really make you want to eat them).

This is just a long way of saying that I'll be starting a new column focusing on the herbs and spices chefs rely on every day, and even longer way of saying: I'm growing a garden!


The idea for my own herb garden came about many, many months ago, when I was frustrated at having to buy huge packets of basil and cilantro when all I really needed were a few leaves. Growing up, my dad maintained a lovely little herb garden which we regularly raided for tomato sauces and fish seasonings, but I remember it almost as much for the sheer entertainment of breaking off the leaves and smelling all the delicious fragrances.

I finally decided to start my own little garden today, with potting soil and seeds from Home Depot (observation: my local Home Depot's gardening department had been completely ransacked, with barely any seed packets left, while the Home Depot in my building in Manhattan had literally hundreds of options. Astoria beats Manhattan in the green thumb war?). My first container is now sitting outside my porch, looking adorable. While my prowess in the garden is probably about as impressive as in the kitchen (which is to say, not much), I'm hopeful I'll have cheery little shoots soon, which I can obsess over and take pictures of like I was an expectant mom (except expectant moms don't plan on eating their babies. except for hamsters).

I'll regularly update my little garden's progress, in hopes that by July-August I'll finally get to enjoy some lovely, organic, home-grown herbs. Unless I forget to water it, which happens sometimes...
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