Keeping an Herb Notebook

One of my first herb books was Phyllis Shaudys The Pleasure of Herbs: A Month-by-Month Guide to Growing, Using and Enjoying Herbs (Storey Communications, 1986).

On page 20 just at the beginning of the book, she suggested keeping an herbal notebook, in which you put your herb wish list and things to try and other information gleaned from books and seed catalogs.  I took her notebook advice and wrote down herb lists, growth information and then sketched in my garden and what I want to plant here and there.  This started me on quest for information about herbs that has only multiplied over time.  I began with one notebook that exploded into another and another and a garden journal and then another and soon I had hundreds maybe thousands of pages of information.

After 20 years I can’t use just ONE notebook anymore.  I have multiple books I carry around with me to jot down ideas, plants to try, books to read and uses for herbs that books, people, blogs, and other places suggest.  These notebooks sit on the shelves my grandfather made (with a few cookbooks).  When they started to number into the hundreds I realized they were impossible to sort through to find what I wanted so I had to take them apart and place them in folders.  This information expanded into file folders of ideas, plant and gardening lists and craft ideas.  Those folders now fill two filing cabinets.

The reason I share this is to let you know that no matter how you begin saving or collecting information about herbs it’s perfect!  Organization can always come later!

I now collect notebooks with herby and garden themes so I love pulling them out and writing things in them.  My new favorite is the wire bound book with the elastic band and the period plant sketches on the cover which I picked up at Target!

While I was taking all these pictures I found an herb chart from Clark’s Greenouse of San Juan, Illinois (which unfortunately closed back in 2007) that gave some great information on the cooking uses of 9 basic herbs.  Here is the information I discovered:

       Herb                   Soups               Meats/ Poultry     Cheese/eggs/fish      Vegetables

Basil	Vegetables, tomato (seafood dips)	Beef, pork, veal, lamb, meatloaf, liver, stews	All egg rice and cheese dishes, all fish and shellfish	Tomatoes, salads, squash, beans, carrots, beets, peas
Dill	Tomato, pea beef soup, borsch	Lamb, corned beef, creamed chicken	Any cheese dip, egg and cheese, tartar sauce	Potatoes, Peas, Cauliflower, sour cream dressing
Marjoram	Clam chowder, minestrone, onion soup	Beef , veal, stews, chicken, pork, sausage, stuffings	Cheese and egg dishes, creamed fish, gravies	All vegetables, tossed green salads
Oregano	Bean or tomato soups	Pizza, spaghetti, meatloaf, all game	Fish sauce, poached eggs or omelets	Seafood salads, all mushroom dishes, onions
Rosemary	Rea, chicken or turtle soup	Stews, veal, lamb, chicken, pot roast	Baked or fried fish, omelets, scrambled eggs	Cabbage, broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts
Sage	Chowders and soup stock	Dressings, stews, pork sausage	Egg dishes, and baked fish, cheese	Beans, tomatoes and onions
Savory	Chowders, bean, onion or lentil soup	Pork, veal, lamb, chicken dressings, stews	Egg sauces, cream cheese	String beans, lentils, vegetable or potato salad
Tarragon	Vegetable, tomato and any chowder	Chicken, chops or steaks, beef or ham, beef or lamb stew	All egg dishes, fish or lobster, tartar sauce	Peas, beans, asparagus, tomato seafood salad
Thyme	Onion soup, fish or clam chowder	Beef stew, lamb, veal, game, pot roast, meatloaf	Cheese dishes or sandwiches, fish, scrambled eggs, lobster or shrimp	Salads, peas, tomatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage slaw

If you like the idea of cooking with herbs, but are not sure, even with a chart like this how to begin, we have made it easier.  Just use one of the herb seasoning blends created by the Backyard Patch.  We have a blend ofr poultry, one for meat and seafood, as well as blends for salads, soups and more.  See them all here: