Tribute to herbs
State chef, photographer team up on book
Cooking with verdant plants in spring is like a good, long stretch after a cozy nap. After a winter of braising meats and roasting butternut squash, the palate craves something piquant, tangy, even bitter. Enter herbs.
A plant is considered an herb when it is valued for its flavor, fragrance or beneficial qualities. Types of herbs range widely, from licorice-scented tarragon to cucumber-like salad burnet.
In between you can find plants that add notes of mint, citrus, onion, flowers and more to your salads, drinks and bath products.
Herbs contain antioxidants, and many herbs have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties — and all are delicious.
To share the wide appeal and usefulness of herbs, Jim Rude and Jena Carlin collaborated to write and photograph “Herbs for Flavor, Health and Natural Beauty” (Hobble Creek Press, 2017, $24.99).
Both Wisconsin natives, the co-authors met while working at Reader’s Digest. Rude is a food stylist and chef, and Carlin is a photographer. They launched a food blog (littlerusted
ladle.com) three years ago, and when a publisher approached them to do a book, Carlin suggested herbs, and Rude readily agreed.
Carlin lives with her family in Jackson, where she grows herbs in pots, cooks and uses her harvest in crafts and body care products.
There’s an entire chapter in the book dedicated to these projects, including directions to make your own lip balm, soap, cologne, candles and potpourri.
Rude, who lives in Janesville, began his culinary career as a chef but attributes his love of herbs to his mother, the late Phyllis Rude, who always had a large garden and who founded the Herb Society of Wisconsin.
Both authors learned about herbs from their mothers and consider the book to be a tribute to them.
“My mom and dad had a big garden at their home in Janesville, and the backyard was divided into two sections: my dad’s fruit trees and vegetables and my mom’s flower and herb garden,” Rude says. “She was always pointing things out to me, rubbing the leaves, encouraging me to smell and taste them.”
When he entered culinary school, it was easy to apply this informal herb training to his cooking.
When he was chef at the Hunt Club in Lake Geneva, he started an herb garden there, where he grew at least 30 different herbs and 20 edible flowers.
He says his love for herbs “blossomed at that point and it has been a passion ever since then, on a personal level.”
The book is a love letter to herbs, stunningly photographed with inventive recipes. It’s organized by herb, and each herb has recipes for appetizers, sides, main dishes, drinks and desserts.
Included herbs are basil, burnet, chives, cilantro, dill, lemon balm and verbena, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. Imagine grilled shrimp with chive blossom butter, fresh herb ice pops, lemon balm hummus and tarragon iced tea with pineapple.
Rude believes fresh herbs are on the precipice of being wildly popular. Although you see herb flavor profiles everywhere — in prepared foods, crackers, cheese — Rude wants more people to use them fresh. And he’s a believer in growing them yourself.
At his home in Janesville, he has a “living wall” of herbs, at least 35 varieties, a vertical planting that houses both perennials and baskets with annuals.
“It’s just so easy,” he says. “Just plant them, cut them and they keep growing back. It’s the perfect relationship between plant and people. They
grow better when picked, and we benefit from their growth.”
For a novice herb gardener, Rude recommends starting with the basics. Parsley is incredibly versatile and can be planted from seed or transplant.
It is a biennial, meaning it won’t come back every year, but it will often reseed itself.
Chives are a perennial plant that is very hardy and the first to come up in the spring.
Rude loves the emerald green stems, but he also loves to use the lavender blossoms in butter, vinegar and salads. Basil is a given. “I can’t imagine a kitchen herb garden without a basil plant,” Rude says. An annual, basil needs to be planted each year.
Rude’s other favorites are mint (will take over an area, so consider keeping it in a pot), thyme and lemon balm (another gregarious herb that likes to spread.)
“Lemon balm is not as strong as lemon verbena, which makes it more usable,” he says. “Add it to a salad or muddle it up, add vodka and you have a party.”
If you are an advanced herb lover, Rude has suggestions for you, too.
Consider salad burnet, a harder-to-find perennial herb that tastes like cucumber.
“It’s gorgeous,” he says. “It has jagged little leaves that fold up like a Venus flytrap with long, delicate stems.”
He also sings the praises of Cuban oregano, a variety of oregano with small, thick leaves, almost like a succulent. He loves tossing these into salads or stir-fries.
And although he doesn’t include them in the book, Rude adores nasturtiums for their colorful edible blooms and peppery leaves.
“The blossoms add a great spiciness to summer salads,” he says.
“Throw them in butter, guacamole or vinaigrettes. They add a little boost of color and they are so easy to grow.”
Herbs can be planted from seed or as sprouted seedlings (transplants). Tuck them in window boxes, planters or right into a sunny corner of the garden.
This time of year, transplants are available at local farmers markets and at one of the many garden centers in the Milwaukee area.
Casey Dembowiak, owner of Kellner Greenhouse at 3258 N. Humboldt Blvd. with his wife, Kelly, says they are currently well-stocked on many herbs and will be getting more throughout May.
Kellner has been family-owned for three generations and specializes in organic herb and veggie transplants.
Dembowiak says it’s easy for anyone to grow their own herbs, whether it’s in the ground or a sunny kitchen window.
Most herbs thrive in full sun with generous watering and feeding
(Kellner’s has lots of organic fertilizer and compost options).
He says the one exception is rosemary, which prefers a drier soil and thrives in a breezier spot that reduces the chance of mold and mildew.
Whether you have a garden or just a few square feet on your patio or windowsill, a few pots of herbs will give you ingredients for a zesty soup, a nourishing smoothie or a flavorful salad, right at your fingertips.
“Growing your own organic herbs is easy and economical,” Dembowiak says.
“Bring pots in from the patio to overwinter and continue harvesting in the kitchen. Then everything is just a snip away.”