foodperson.com

On the expectation of frost, I brought my potted herbs in Saturday night. It isn’t a huge collection—rosemary and bay laurel—but they’re wonderful to have around.

I gave up the rest of my herb growing years ago, as encroaching shade and the appearance of herbs in my Rolling Prairie bag made the effort largely wasted. In fact, I don’t think I grew either one of these herbs back then, when I grew parsley, dill, sweet basil, thyme, oregano and tarragon.

But I got some rosemary (at left in the pan, above) when I discovered how much I love potatoes roasted with rosemary and garlic—keep reading for the recipe—and also realized that Rolling Prairie rarely had rosemary. With it in a pot, I can keep it in a sunny location, and it seems to thrive in our heat and survive the relative dark of winter indoors.

Then a few years ago, as I was reading one recipe or another in Patricia Wells’s Trattoria cookbook (I have the original; don’t know about the recent editions), I read her bit encouraging people to grow their own bay leaves. I didn’t really see the point, but not long after I saw a little pot of bay laurel in a greenhouse at Howard Pine’s, and I thought, “why not?”

The plant that was about 6 inches high in a 3-inch pot is now in the 3-foot-high category, as you can see in the photo. If you must know, it produces far more bay leaves than I use. All investments should return so richly.

It’s also a sturdy plant. The first winter, most of the leaves withered and dropped off, and not the way deciduous trees’ leaves do. Instead, the outer edges became dry, and the dryness worked its way in to the stem. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I cropped the plant back to about 4 inches high. It promptly produced new shoots and has thrived ever since.

I could probably use some horticultural advice with it. Since it is, at heart, a tree, I wonder whether I should cut off some of the shoots and concentrate the growth in one, aiming to develop more branches. (Please chime in if you know.) Then again, I don’t aspire to having a towering tree too big to move in and out.

For now, I’m happy to have my green and flavorful companions sheltered from the frost. The rosemary looks wonderfully vigorous, but I know that it will suffer its loss of light. I’ll ponder moving them upstairs, where’d they’d get more light (because the neighbor’s house doesn’t cast a shadow up there) but probably get less water.

If you grow any herbs indoors, I’d love to know which ones work well for you. I’ve tried to do others, but these are the only ones I’ve had any success with. Time to check my new potato supply. This is a delicious dish, unless you don’t like garlic. (I hear there are people like that.)

Abruzzi-style potatoes

• 1 pound new potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

1. Quarter potatoes if small, or cut into thick slices. Place in bowl with olive oil, rosemary and pepper flakes. Toss to coat potatoes well.
2. Place in roasting pan, and roast 30 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring once. Add garlic to pan. Turn and stir potatoes. Return to oven and roast 20 minutes more, until potatoes are browned. Makes 2-3 servings.

(Recipe is based on one from Mary Beth Ricci, whom I was fortunate to meet and interview during my cooking column days.)