Do you have a herb garden?
The thing I like about my herb garden is that even when the cucumber plants have not begun to blossom and all those stupid squash plants are blossoming everyday, but I still only see one squash, and the carrots and beets have all been rooted out by a neighborhood cat, so that there is no hope of a harvest any time soon... my little pots of herbs are growing steadily and I can walk out to the garden and pluck a handful of parsley or a sprig of rosemary and add a wonderful freshness to all sorts of dishes.
Every year I tend to buy at least one 'different' herb, something I haven't used much in the past. This year it was lemongrass. I bought mine for $4.50 in a pint size container at the farmers market. I repotted it in a 12" pot and trimmed it back to about 5 inches tall. Since then it has sprouted another stalk (which I've read that I could remove and plant elsewhere) and both stalks just keep growing. I trim it every so often and use the green clippings to season fried rice and soup. Lemongrass has a pleasant lemony flavor without being acidic. It almost reminds me of Trix cereal. Lemongrass has a very stringy texture so it should be minced and well-cooked before serving.
Lemongrass Simple Syrup
Use to sweeten a tall glass of iced tea or make your own natural soda by mixing with club soda.
Active Prep Time: 5 minutes. Steep: 1 hour. Store in refrigerator up to one week.
About a half a cup loosely packed lemongrass
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I use organic)
Roughly chop lemongrass and crush with a flat-bottomed metal measuring cup. Combine in small saucepan with water and sugar. Heat to dissolve sugar. Let simmer a minute or so. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit 1 hour. Strain out lemongrass pieces and store in the refrigerator.
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