Herb-tastic!

Sorry, I know it's been a while but I needed some recovery time after that Easter dinner. I promise I'm cooking tonight but in the interim I thought I would regale you with the tale of my housewarming gift from Jared.

About a week after I got here Jared presented me with a large box the size of a microwave. The photo on the box looked like some kind of a bright white kitchen appliance with plants growing out of it. Yes, my boyfriend had given me the Aero Garden.

Now, though I admittingly love watching infomercials, I have never purchased one of those products that promises to cure something that wasn't so hard to do in the first place (like keep a blanket on your lap while you talk on the phone - snuggie). I was skeptical of this glowing R2D2 garden. I had two cute tin window containers growing herbs in my kitchen (slowly, but growing nonetheless)  and I didn't think the Aero Garden was really for me.

But the smile on Jared's face and the thoughtfulness of it melted my cynical heart. He knew that because of this cooking project I was buying herbs often and wanted to grow my own. He also knows that I'm not much of a green thumb and the Aero Garden is pretty brown-thumb proof.

Here's how it works. There is a tub with six holes where the seed pods go. I'm growing basil, oregano, thyme, mint, dill and chives. You fill the base of the tub with water every two weeks or whenever the light in the front goes off to tell you to (see, idiot proof!). There's an arm in the back which can be raised as the herbs grow and it holds a cover with two florescent light bulbs that act as simulated sunlight for the herbs 16 hours a day.

It only took a day to start to see progress. It's been about 24 days now and I have big beautiful basil leaves, tall, thin dill and chives and the rest are chugging along just fine. And those aforementioned herbs in the tin tubs have actually started perking up and leaning towards the Aero Garden!

I'm holding off on the pesto chapter in Everyday Italian until I'm ready to pick my basil leaves. Jared bought himself one and hopes to grow tomatoes and other veggies in his. I cannot wait to make a homegrown Caprese Salad! Well half home grown unless we plan to start growing and pressing olives for oil and milking cows for mozzarella.