Mar
13

Herb Garden

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I’m back from Cameron Highlands, stayed there for 2 nights at Equatorial Hotel in Brinchang. It was so cold… and raining most of the time. There was nothing much to do except to go shopping for veggies, strawberries and hang around at the pasar malam (night market). Here’s me taken this morning in front of the 2 room apartment we stayed.

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Anyway, the only interesting thing is our visit to the Agro Technology Park under MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research & Dev. Institute). They have a small herbal garden there.

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You get to see the various herbs that we use in our everyday cooking (and baking..). I don’t think many of us is familiar with how the actual plant looks like, cause they can only grow in moderate weather such as Cameron Highlands. Like me, I am used to seeing the dried version. MARDI plants quite a selection of herbs here, some I know, and some I’ve never heard of before.

A photo of a rosemary plant :

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The close up :

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I use dried rosemary recently to sprinkle on my focacia bread. This herb is also perfect to flavour grill meat.

Oreganum Marjoram:

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It is supposed to be a close relative to the oregano. The one we use for pizzas and many Italian dishes. Can be used to replace oregano, but it has a sweeter and milder scent.

Basil :

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Basil or ‘selasih’ is famous in Thai cooking, to make pesto, salad or use dried for potpourri. Another popular English herb is dill which is suitable to go with fish, egg dishes or soup. The seeds can be used in bread and to make pickles.

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Up next is thyme :

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Thyme is commonly use to flavor meat, soups and stews. And works well with tomatoes and eggs.

Not forgetting our ‘ketumbar’, coriander or another name for it, cilantro :

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Isn’t it pretty, a coriander with white-purplish flowers. The many uses, as mentioned below.

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And these are some of the herbs which I’m not familiar with.

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Apparently the plant above has flowers which can be used as natural food colouring.

Here’s a picture of the plant call Stevia. Have you heard of it before ? Stevia is a sugar substitute and is an alternative to artificial sweeteners. Sold mostly in organic food store.

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Lemon balm tree :

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An ingredient in mosquito repellent, used dried in potpourri and as flavoring in ice-cream.

Well, there are a few more herbs, but not really related to cooking or baking. I wish I have my own herb garden. Wouldn’t it be wonderful ? I hope MARDI would keep up the good work in maintaining this Agro Park. If any of you happen to visit Cameron Highlands, don’t miss this park located at Tanah Rata. A very educational trip indeed.

 

divingphilippines says:

Nice Post

Kak Anie says:

i don’t really have a ‘Herb Garden’ s such…. just a plant o two of this n that…. of course i have all d usual …like serai, daun pandan….uggh this pun dah mati…dimakan itek-itek belaan suami….have to replant masih tak buat lagi…n i have halia, kunyit, lengkuas…n bunga kantan…..eemmm i LOVE planting n gardening!! n i have a number of medicinal plants like Mas Cotek, Sambung Nyawa, Belimbing Tanah, Petawali…. well i m crazy abt planting n gardening…. i do have a number of ‘foreigners’ in my garden…. gladioli n iris…to name 2… but sometimes i wish i have d same passion for cooking….!! That would make my family happier….. Hope your passion boleh berjangkit to me….

Akak duduk Besut, Tereangganu…v nice place…. don’t miss my hometown KL much…xcept d family of course….they r in Cheras Baru…originally from Kg Baru…. eemmmm kami ni cari tempat baru2 aje…. rumah arwah nenek d Kg Baru tu disewa Indon now….

Thanx zillions for d recipe……

Wassallam….

Min says:

Waalaikumsalam Kak Anie.. bestnye akak ada herb garden macam tu.. saya kat rumah ni ada pokok pandan, daun kari dan yg sewaktu dgnye aje la. Akak dok kat Msia ke or kat oversea ni ? Nanti saya postkan resipi for the potato scones ok.. Thanks for visiting.

Kak Anie says:

Assalamualaikum w.b.t…

Like your Blog very much…i can learn a lot from it….emmm can i get your potato scone recipe…?

kak anie had most of those plants u featured in your Herb Garden post….. growing in my garden…Dill, Rosemary, Cilantro, n stevia…kak anie said ‘had’ coz they have all died out on me…. also had pineapple n apple mint n catnip…..d latter 2 r still growing …..even had lavender/Lavandula angustifolia…. died musim panas yang lepas…. n dill…well sampai masa ia akan mati …itz not a perennial….thankfully i still have cinnamon n sweet basil growing…n a capsicum plant….which is at d moment fruiting….!!

BTW d plant u mentioned that u do not know d name of….itz nasturtium….d flowers r edible…

K min…keep up your good work….emmm can I have your potato scones recipe….?

Wassallam…kak anie

Min says:

Val, aku gi bakery kawan aku tu, tapi tutup pulak.

Min says:

Su, akak gi bawa Ibu Mertuaku..camno nk ajak.

sue says:

gi cameron tak ajak…

val says:

min, best nya di cameron tu kan.u tidak geok o.best best best. u tidak go ur fren,s bakery shop ke?min best kan ada visitor nama rachel lawat ur blog.keep up the good work!!