One aspect of edible landscaping I especially enjoy is trying new things. A gem I found along the way is lovage. It is a lovely bushy plant and great for cooking. Most sources I have read state that one plant is enough for a family but the two of us will easily use up all of the leaves from our three plants. I am making a stock now with it and love the its scent. I froze a lot of lovage this fall and enjoy using it for soups and other recipes. It has warmed up to 0 degrees outside. I have it easy today. I'm cooking soup while my husband goes out to battle the snow and ice in our driveway.
4 comments:
It is great to see your posts, especially now that I know whose garden I am looking at. :-)
I had lovage in my big garden across the road many years ago. I had bought a small plant from our local Farmer's market labeled 'Valerian'. I was amazed at how HUGE it grew and I knew after a while that it wasn't Valerian. I finally figured out that it was Lovage! I am glad for the seeds you sent, so I can try it again. I use celery a lot for soups, etc. but it is one vegetable that is hard to get organically grown, so this might be a good substitute. I do remember it smelling very nice....Valerian smells more like dirty socks, ha.
Oh Ruby, you could have our lovage! I can't decide if I like the scent or not. I do know when I trim it back, it scents the entire garden and my hands for hours! It gets so large that it threatens to overtake everything within four feet around it. That being said, I love it in my garden!
The first year I couldn't figure out how to cook with it but it looked nice in the garden. This past year we grew to love it in cooking and use small amounts of it in many dishes. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe for apple-lovage chutney soon- http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipes/recipe/show/Apple-Lovage_Chutney_3652
I do agree about the scent on my hands. It can be hard to get rid of and lasts a long time.
I'll have to try it in some things this next summer! (If it ever gets here....LOL)
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