From Terrace To Table

After several years of high rise condo living and trial and error, I've learned what grows well on my balcony and what doesn't.  I've tried and failed to grow tomatoes, green peppers, and flowers, but have figured out that I'm really good at growing herbs!

Last year I just grew basil as I wanted to see how herbs would do on my patio, which gets limited sun exposure.  Since it grew so well last year, this year I decided to expand my herb garden and I planted basil, oregano, cilantro, flat-leaf Italian parsley, and rosemary.  I "cheated" a bit and bought the herbs in plant-form versus growing them from seeds as I got a bit of a late start due to my move in May.  Everything has been thriving and I got to harvest my first herbs in early June!

Parsley and basil

Rosemary, a bit more basil, and oregano

I would love to grow my own vegetables as I grew up eating home-grown veggies but you just have to know your strengths, and patio vegetable gardening is not mine.  But it's still really fulfilling to make meals that utilize herbs I have grown myself!  I've already made a couple of things so I thought I'd share some photos as well as links to the recipe.  As Phil said, these meals are "Terrace to Table!"

First up, I used my oregano to make Greek Feta-Zucchini Turkey Burgers.  These tasted great but I'll be the first to admit that they did not grill well.  I think I should have added more GF bread crumbs as they were a bit too moist and did not hold together well  Or maybe I should have pre-baked them?  Further experimentation is needed.  They tasted great but they are obviously not very "presentable."  But in an attempt to "keep it real," I'm still going to share the photo because it's the taste, not the look, that counts...  right?  I served the burgers "naked" because the 2 grocery stores I went to did not have GF burger buns.  Such is the life of a gluten free girl...  The burgers went great with the Greek salad I served them with!

The next night, I used a whole lot of basil to make some lentil meatballs and marinara sauce.  I forgot to take a photo of the lentil meatballs before adding them to the sauce so you'll just have to take my word that they are in fact in there!  I made this dish last year as a vegetarian option at a party I hosted so decided to give them a whirl again.  Last time I made them, people ate them on buns as a sandwich filler but this time around we had them on top of GF spaghetti. 

Different night, same salad.  We love salad!

Not pictured is the cilantro that I used to make a southwestern black bean salad - which we actually ate as a dip with tortilla chips.  I'm currently drying the remaining oregano and the rosemary for future use and I'm still trying to figure out a use for the Italian parsley...

It's going to be a fun summer of cooking as I intend to find recipes that will utilize my herbs, which are growing like weeds thanks to the rain and warm weather we've had lately!

Do you have a garden?  Have you ever grown herbs?  What is your favorite fresh herb to use when cooking?  Mine is a tie between basil and cilantro.