Herbs

Here's the scoop on using herbs...dried and fresh.

Recipes often call for fresh herbs, but we don't always have those on hand. So here's a guide for using dried herbs in place of fresh herbs:

If your recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon of fresh basil -- use 1 tsp. dried basil (1/3 of the fresh)
If your recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh parsley -- use a little over 1 Tbsp. dried parsley

What if you have fresh herbs you want to use in place of dried herbs? Now you have to triple the amount called for in the recipe.

If your recipe calls for 1 tsp. dried basil -- use 1 Tbsp. fresh basil
If your recipe calls for 1 Tbsp. dried parsley -- use 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley -- heck just put in a 1/4 cup!

One more thing. Be sure to add dried herbs at the beginning of the cooking process so their flavors are released. This is just opposite of fresh herbs -- add those at the END of the cooking process so they don't get brown or lose their fresh flavor. Usually I add fresh herbs just after I put my food in the serving bowl -- not in the food while it is cooking. It gives your food a nice earthy flavor.