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As the executive chef at 212 Market, a downtown restaurant, Susan Moses uses a lot of herbs.

"They add so much flavor, and they're also full of vitamins," she said.

She incorporates them into all meal courses, including dessert. Fresh basil and lavender have become the stars of homemade ice cream. Even fresh thyme has found its way into sweet treats.

"Lemon thyme is wonderful," she said, also touting its ability to complement fish dishes.

Herbs can also be steeped into vinegars or oils.

Moses said she gets some of her herbs from local growers, and she also grows some herself.

For those looking to grow fresh herbs to use in cooking, Moses offered a bit of wisdom for preserving both flavor and quantity: Add dry herbs early but fresh herbs at the end of the cooking period.

"It keeps the flavor fresher," she said. "[Otherwise] you have to use so much more because they dissipate, and sometimes they turn brown if it's an acidic food like tomato sauce."

When using basil, she suggests dropping in the stems during the cooking process (to be removed later), and chopping in the leaves at the last minute.

1No space for an herb garden? No worries. Herbs are easily grown in pots or window boxes as well as in the ground.

2Moses said she likes to grow herbs from seeds, but one may also purchase starts, small beginnings of plants that have sprouted.

3Pick perennials. Moses refers to tarragon and thyme as her volunteers because they sprout back up each year without being replanted.

4Herbs are easy to care for. Just make sure they have plenty of water and sunlight, she said.

5Look for hearty herbs. Rosemary and lavender, Moses said, withstand heat well, and mint is almost impossible to kill. Mountain mint, she said, even stays alive through the winter.

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Copyright (c) 2011, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.  A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

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