🌿✂️ More Herbs, Less Blah: More Herbs Day – August 29 ✂️🌿
There is a point in every recipe when someone says:
“Add fresh herbs.”
And some of us interpret this as:
Three leaves.
No.
Today, we reject herb timidity.
More Herbs Day, celebrated August 29, is your official permission slip to grab the basil with both hands, scatter parsley like confetti, put mint in things other than toothpaste, and finally figure out what that enormous rosemary plant is planning to do with the entire corner of your garden.
Because herbs are culinary overachievers.
A handful of basil can rescue a boring tomato.
Dill can make a potato feel interesting.
Cilantro can divide an entire family.
Rosemary can make your kitchen smell like you've been cooking all afternoon when dinner took 27 minutes.
And mint?
Mint was planted in one innocent little corner of the garden in 2019 and now owns the property.
So today, we're using more herbs.
Not because a recipe told us to.
Because August handed us a garden full of them and they're not going to eat themselves.
🌿 Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This money will absolutely not be used to purchase another adorable herb planter when I already have six. Probably.
🌱 Herbs Were Useful Long Before They Were Garnish
Humans have been fascinated with herbs for thousands of years.
Long before someone delicately placed a single parsley leaf beside your restaurant entrée, people cultivated and gathered aromatic plants for food, traditional remedies, perfumes, religious ceremonies, preservation, dyes, and household uses.
Ancient civilizations including those in Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, India, and Mesopotamia developed extensive traditions around herbs.
Herbs traveled with merchants.
They grew in monastery gardens.
They appeared in household gardens.
They became part of regional cuisines.
And eventually somebody discovered that potatoes plus rosemary plus olive oil was an excellent reason to continue civilization.
🌿 Herb or Spice?
This feels like a question we should have settled before adulthood.
Generally speaking, culinary herbs are the leafy green parts of plants.
Basil.
Parsley.
Cilantro.
Mint.
Thyme.
Rosemary.
Oregano.
Spices often come from other plant parts.
Seeds.
Roots.
Bark.
Fruits.
Flower buds.
Cinnamon?
Bark.
Ginger?
Rhizome.
Peppercorn?
Fruit.
Cloves?
Flower buds.
Cumin?
Seeds.
So herbs and spices are related members of the “Thank goodness we're not eating plain boiled food” department.
🌱 The Great Cilantro Incident
We need to address this before proceeding.
Cilantro.
Some people taste:
Fresh.
Bright.
Citrusy.
Wonderful.
Other people taste:
DISH SOAP.
And they're not necessarily being dramatic.
Genetic differences involving smell receptors can influence how people perceive certain aroma compounds in cilantro.
Which means the cilantro argument at your dinner table may have biological backup.
Your aunt isn't trying to ruin taco night.
Possibly.
We can't speak to her other behavior.
🌿 The Herb Garden Personality Test
You can learn a surprising amount about someone from their herb garden.
Basil
You had plans.
Caprese.
Pesto.
Homemade pizza.
Summer dinners on the patio.
You are an optimist.
Rosemary
You bought one plant.
It is now a shrub.
You could season a wedding banquet.
Parsley
You purchased it for one recipe requiring two tablespoons.
You now have enough for seventeen recipes.
Cilantro
You need it constantly.
Yet somehow every bunch transforms into green refrigerator slime approximately 14 minutes after purchase.
Mint
You planted it directly into the ground.
You were young.
You didn't know.
It's okay.
Your grandchildren will still be dealing with it.
✂️ Seven Herby Facts to Sprinkle Around
🌿 Basil belongs to the mint family. So do rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, and several other familiar aromatic herbs.
🌱 Many herbs love being harvested. Regular trimming can encourage certain plants, including basil, to become bushier rather than tall and leggy.
🌸 Herbs flower too. Allowing some plants to bloom can provide food for pollinators, though flowering can change the flavor or leaf production of culinary herbs.
🧊 Fresh herbs can be preserved. Chopped herbs can be frozen in water, oil, or butter depending on how you plan to use them.
🌿 Dried and fresh herbs aren't always interchangeable in equal amounts. Dried herbs are generally more concentrated, so you typically use less.
👃 Much of what makes herbs exciting is aroma. Crushing or chopping leaves releases aromatic compounds—which is why rubbing rosemary or mint between your fingers smells so intensely good.
🌱 Mint spreads enthusiastically through underground stems.
“Enthusiastically” is the polite gardening term.
“INVASION” is what you will call it next summer.
🪴 Don't Just Admire the Basil. Do Something.
Make pesto.
Lots of pesto.
Chop herbs into softened butter and freeze it.
Make basil lemonade.
Add mint to fruit salad.
Put dill in scrambled eggs.
Make rosemary focaccia.
Add cilantro to tacos.
Dry oregano.
Freeze extra parsley.
Make herb-infused vinegar.
Tie bundles of herbs to dry.
Make chimichurri.
Add fresh thyme to roasted vegetables.
Use sage in browned butter over pasta.
Create a windowsill herb garden.
Take herb cuttings and learn which ones will root.
Share extra herbs with neighbors.
Make little herb bouquets for the kitchen.
Add basil to strawberries.
Yes.
Trust me.
🧈 Make “Why Is This So Good?” Butter
This is one of those things that takes five minutes and makes people believe you've developed culinary skills you absolutely do not need to correct them about.
Mix softened butter with:
Fresh parsley.
Chives.
Thyme.
A little rosemary.
Garlic.
Lemon zest.
Salt.
Roll it into a log using parchment paper and refrigerate.
Slice it onto steak.
Corn.
Potatoes.
Bread.
Vegetables.
Chicken.
Suddenly everyone says:
“What did you DO to this?”
Herbs, Linda.
I added herbs.
🌿 The Sniff Test
Here's a surprisingly fun family activity.
Put several fresh herbs into small cups.
Don't label them.
Try:
Basil.
Mint.
Rosemary.
Parsley.
Cilantro.
Dill.
Oregano.
Thyme.
Let everyone smell them and guess.
No tasting required.
You'll quickly discover that rosemary is basically the loud relative at the herb reunion.
It enters the room and announces itself.
🍽️ Tonight, the Herbs Are Not Decoration
No sad parsley sprig sitting beside the entrée tonight.
The herbs are doing actual work.
🍗 Green Goddess Sheet-Pan Chicken
We're emptying the herb drawer.
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs
1½ pounds baby potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the herb sauce:
1 cup packed fresh parsley
½ cup fresh basil
¼ cup fresh chives
2 tablespoons fresh dill
1 garlic clove
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions
Heat the oven to 425°F.
Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Arrange chicken and potatoes on a sheet pan.
Roast for 35–45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are golden.
Blend the sauce ingredients until bright green and creamy.
Spoon generously over the chicken.
Generously.
Today is literally called More Herbs Day.
Do not arrive here with a teaspoon.
🍅 The Last Good Tomatoes Salad
Late August tomatoes deserve respect.
Ingredients
Ripe tomatoes
Fresh peaches
Mozzarella or burrata
Large handful of basil
Fresh mint
Olive oil
Balsamic glaze
Flaky salt
Black pepper
Slice everything.
Pile it onto a platter.
Tear the herbs over the top.
Drizzle.
Season.
Eat outside while pretending September isn't approaching.
🥔 Crispy Dill Potatoes
Boil baby potatoes until tender.
Smash them gently onto a baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Roast at 450°F until outrageously crisp.
Toss with fresh dill, parsley, lemon zest, and salt.
Make more than necessary.
Potato math is unreliable.
🌱 Cucumber Garden Fizz – Mocktail
Ingredients
4 cucumber slices
6 mint leaves
2 basil leaves
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce honey syrup
Sparkling water
Ice
Gently muddle cucumber, mint, and basil.
Add lime, honey syrup, and ice.
Top with sparkling water.
Give it a stir.
It tastes like your garden has excellent hydration habits.
🍸 The Overgrown Garden – Cocktail
Ingredients
2 ounces gin
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
4 basil leaves
2 cucumber slices
Fresh thyme
Ice
Gently muddle cucumber and basil.
Add gin, lemon, syrup, and ice.
Shake.
Double-strain into a chilled glass.
Garnish with thyme.
Your drink now contains more vegetation than some side salads.
🍋 Basil-Lemon Shortcakes with Berries
Herbs in dessert?
Absolutely.
Basil has been waiting for you to stop pigeonholing it.
Ingredients
6 store-bought shortcakes or biscuits
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
Zest of 1 lemon
Whipped cream
Directions
Toss strawberries and blueberries with sugar, basil, and lemon zest.
Let them sit for about 15 minutes.
Split the shortcakes.
Spoon berries and their juices over each one.
Add whipped cream.
Finish with a tiny basil leaf.
Tiny basil leaf.
We've finally found an appropriate moment for restraint.
🍎 The Classroom Smells Fantastic Today
Elementary: Meet the Herbs
Set up a sensory herb station.
Students can look at and smell basil, rosemary, mint, parsley, dill, and thyme.
Ask them to describe each without saying:
“It smells like rosemary.”
Is it sweet?
Peppery?
Piney?
Lemony?
Fresh?
Strong?
Students can sketch leaves and compare their shapes, textures, and scents.
Then plant quick-growing herbs in classroom pots.
Bonus lesson:
Plants need light, water, and care.
Also, somebody will overwater the basil.
This is inevitable.
Secondary: The Chemistry of Smell
Older students can investigate why herbs smell the way they do.
Explore aromatic compounds and essential oils found in herbs, then examine how crushing, heating, drying, or steeping changes aroma and flavor.
Students could compare fresh and dried versions of the same herb.
Which smells stronger?
Which tastes different?
What changes during drying?
Suddenly seasoning dinner has become chemistry.
💼 Around the Office
Skip another bowl of candy.
Create an Herb Swap.
Anyone with a garden brings extra herbs in labeled bags or little jars.
Basil.
Mint.
Rosemary.
Thyme.
Oregano.
Parsley.
Then let coworkers take what they'll actually use.
No garden?
Bring a favorite herb recipe instead.
This has two advantages:
People get free ingredients.
And Sharon finally finds somewhere to send the 11 pounds of mint currently advancing toward her garage.
🎬 Movie Pick - The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Food, family, culture, competition, tradition, and the transformative power of flavor are at the center of this warm, delicious movie.
An Indian family opens a restaurant across the road from an elegant French establishment, setting up a culinary rivalry that gradually becomes something much richer.
It's exactly the sort of movie that makes you want to walk into the kitchen afterward and start smelling spice jars.
📺 TV Pick - Barefoot Contessa – Pick an Herb-Heavy Episode
For More Herbs Day, I want Ina Garten.
Not chaos.
Not a competition clock.
Not someone screaming because their soufflé has collapsed.
Ina.
A garden.
A giant bunch of basil.
A beautiful kitchen.
Jeffrey presumably arriving later.
Find an episode involving garden-fresh cooking, pesto, roast chicken, summer vegetables, or herb-filled sauces.
Then spend 30 minutes believing your own dinner party could be equally effortless.
It cannot.
But dreams matter.
🌿 Use the Good Stuff Before It Goes Bad
There is something almost ridiculous about how often we save things.
The good candle.
The fancy soap.
The bottle of wine.
The new notebook.
The pretty napkins.
The expensive olive oil.
The dress.
The herbs.
We grow basil all summer, admiring how beautiful it looks.
Then September approaches and suddenly we're outside at dusk saying:
“WHY DIDN'T WE EAT MORE OF THIS?”
That's late August.
It's the season of realizing the tomatoes won't be this good forever.
The evenings are already getting shorter.
The garden looks slightly tired.
The basil is thinking about flowering.
Summer is beginning to loosen its grip.
So use it.
Cut the rosemary.
Pick the mint.
Tear enormous handfuls of basil.
Make pesto and freeze some for February, when opening that container will smell like someone briefly reopened August.
Put the good herbs on dinner.
Use the good olive oil.
Light the candle.
Open the wine.
Wear the dress.
Life does not award bonus points for leaving the good stuff untouched.
And basil has never once said:
“Please save me for a more appropriate occasion.”
📱 Hashtags
#MoreHerbsDay #FreshHerbs #HerbGarden #GardenToTable #FreshBasil #HomeGardening #HerbRecipes #SummerGarden #GardenFresh #GrowYourOwnFood #SummerCooking #PestoSeason #CelebrateEveryDay #CelebrateQuirky #AugustHolidays
