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New Ways to Use Fresh Herbs

Our kitchen-door herb garden at Buckhorn Inn has provided us with the freshest basil, savory, cilantro, oregano, dill, marjoram, curry and others. This profusion of tastes and aromas has inspired our kitchen staff to develop even more ways to use these herbs.

Compound Butter
What could add more flavor to a dish than a pat of herb butter? Simply mix softened butter with minced fresh herbs like chives, cilantro, tarragon or chervil and chill. Use with your next grilled meat or vegetables. Compound butters also are lovely on baked potatoes. Some combinations to try are dill with salmon, rosemary with steaks, oregano for bread—let your imagination go wild!

Basting Brush
A large sprig of rosemary can be used as a basting brush the next time you barbeque. The sprigs add an extra hint of flavor to the foods on the grill.

Salad Greens
You probably often use minced fresh herbs in your salad dressings. But why not roughly tear them and add them directly to the salad greens? Herbs like parsley and cilantro are perfect for this purpose.

Herb Sauce
We serve this bright green sauce as a salad dressing or as a sauce over grilled salmon.
2 tablespoons almond oil
¼ cup safflower oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper
Whisk the ingredients together. Makes about ¾ cup.

Summertime Coolers
Herbs like lavender, mint, basil and thyme are delicious in sparkling water, iced tea and lemonade.

Flavored Sugars or Salts
Dry your favorite herbs in the oven. Then mix with salt to provide lovely flavor when finishing a dish. Herb salt can even take popcorn to the next level! The same works with sugar. Mint sugar is perfect for sprinkling on fresh summer berries.