herbs

Although I try to eat a well-balanced healthy diet, I often feel a little lacking in the veggie department — do you? Bland foods bore my palate and I find some veggies a little on the dull side. If the lack of flavor is your issue, here are some easy, clever ways to spruce up your veggies for snacks or mealtime.

Keep reading to learn how.

Although the title is a mouthful, these chicken breasts are super easy to put together. There's no marinating involved, so you can make the chicken at the last minute, even on a weeknight. In the recipe, plain chicken breasts are grilled and once they're cooked, they get doused in a mixture of herbs, citrus juice, and oil.

That's where the fun comes in: use whatever herbs and citrus you want! When I recently made it, I used lemon juice and parsley, but the possibilities are endless. Orange juice and tarragon, lime juice and cilantro, lemon juice and basil, even grapefruit juice and rosemary would work! Want to experiment with citrus and herbs? Read on for the technique.

With its strong familiar fragrance and structured bright leaves, mint is an easy herb to identify. It also thrives when growing and can take over the pot it's planted in, so it's best to grow mint in its own area. If you have mint in your garden, you might end up with a surplus of the flavorful leaves, but there's plenty of ways to make use of this hearty herb. Here are some suggestions:

1. Use as a flavoring agent in a salad. Think outside the box and toss chopped mint with fresh peas for a fast side dish or peaches for a slightly sweet fruit salad.
2. Make mint pesto. Instead of serving the pesto with pasta, offer with a protein like shrimp or lamb chops.
3. Make homemade mint chip ice cream. Before making the custard, the milk is steeped with tons of fresh mint.

Read on for more minty ideas!

Herb butter, or compound butter as it's sometimes called, is a great technique to have in your Summer cooking arsenal. Actually, herb butters are so awesome that I use them year round! But in the warm months, there's a plethora of fresh herbs to choose from — parsley, basil, oregano, etc.

The method is easy: you combine a bunch of chopped herbs and seasonings with room-temperature butter. Use the butter immediately or roll it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once you've made the butter, there are countless ways to use it.

Rub it under a raw chicken's skin before grilling or dot onto just-grilled steaks. Smear on bread before toasting or corn-on-the-cob after cooking. Toss with cooked pasta or shellfish. The recipe is incredibly adaptable, so choose the herbs that you like. Ready to learn how it's done? Read on.

Basil is the Summer's most beloved herb, and when it's in season, I simply can not get enough of it. While classic preparations like pesto and pizza margherita are great ways to use basil, there are plenty of other methods that highlight the fragrant herb's wonderful flavor. Here are six suggestions for making the most of that basil bounty.

1. Drinks. Unlike some herbs, such as rosemary, basil has a subtle earthy quality that's not overpowering. Think of it like mint and use the delicate leaves in a beverage or cocktail. Add muddled basil to lemonade, bellinis, or gimlets.
2. Salads. Basil is an essential ingredient to Caprese salad, but it also adds freshness to any mixed green salad. Simply toss torn basil leaves with greens and you've got a sophisticated take on the mixed green salad.

Get the rest of my ideas after the break.

Having fresh herbs on hand is essential if you're an avid home cook — or bartender! But unless you have a flourishing herb garden, it can be frustrating to purchase bunches of fresh herbs every week, only to watch them wilt and dry out in a couple days. Luckily, there are a few easy tweaks you can make to your herb storage to keep them fresher longer, allowing you to add more flair to your dishes and drinks!

• Parsley and cilantro: These delicate herbs are a lot like fresh flowers, so treat them the same way. Trim their stems as soon as you get them home, and stick them in a small glass full of water (bud vases or empty milk or cream bottles work well). Spritz them with water, cover them loosely with a plastic ziplock bag, and put them in the fridge. Every couple days, change out the water and give the stems another small trim to keep them fresh.
• Mint and basil: Follow the same steps as above, minus the plastic bag-fridge step. Mint and basil do better at room temperature; mint, in fact, is so weed-like, if you put it in front of a sunny window, it may even start to send roots down into the water and sprout new leaves.
• Rosemary, thyme, and oregano: These hardier herbs will brown and mold if kept in water. Wrap them loosely in damp paper towels and then in plastic wrap, and keep them in the crisper or in your fridge door — the warmest spot in the fridge is ideal. Swap out the paper towels for fresh ones every couple days.

Any tips to add for storing fresh herbs?

Source: Flickr User suzettesuzette

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Amazing steamed clams......

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