EATING in is the new eating out, if we're to believe what we see on TV. However, instead of reaching for a stock cube or a pot of condiments when you're cooking at home, turn to the garden. For real man appeal, you can't beat home-grown herbs.
Besides giving food flavour, they are so much better for you than loads of salt and they come with their own built-in battery of vitamins and biochemical magic. But which to grow? Any of the well-known culinary herbs, thyme, parsley, chives and rosemary are handy to have growing close to the back door and are easily cultivated in a sunny, well-drained bed of soil or tub of potting compost.
Exotic herbs have also shot up in popularity, thanks to the home cooking boom; basil and coriander are great "optional extras" that need warmth, so they're best grown in pots indoors on a warm windowsill in winter, or a container on the patio in summer.
Once you are familiar with all the more mainstream culinary herbs, it's worth branching out a bit and discovering a few long-forgotten "old faithfuls". Lovage is a multi-purpose herb which belongs to the cow parsley family. Stems were traditionally cut into 1in lengths and put into casseroles and stews for a strong meaty flavour.
Lovage was known as the vegetable Oxo cube for this reason, although the "bits" need fishing out before food is served. Fresh lovage leaves are useful as a flavouring, in much the same way as chopped parsley, for soups or in stuffing for chicken. Even the dried seeds can be used, crushed and sprinkled on salads.
Lovage grows readily in any moisture-retentive soil in sun or light shade or a large tub.When you cut a developing flower stem, more of them will shoot up from the base, so one plant is enough.
Leaf celery is treated as a cut-and-come-again crop. It has the same flavour as proper celery but it's much quicker and easier to grow. You can have it all year round if you sow it thickly in pots on a windowsill and snip the seedlings like mustard and cress, otherwise sow it in window boxes or tubs or put a row in a salad bed.
Use leaves and stems for flavouring stews or raw in salads. For anyone with a sweet tooth, add sweet cicely to your list.The young foliage, stewed with tart fruit such as blackcurrants or plums reduces the need for sugar. So if you plan on spending more time dining in, put a bit of time into your herb patch. It's the best culinary investment you can make - after a good set of kitchen knives.
ON THE TRAIL OF THE TUMBLING TOMATOES
When you don't have a greenhouse or enough room on the patio for a few tubs, you can still grow yourself a few tasty home-grown tomatoes in hanging baskets and window boxes or a trough on the conservatory windowsill if you stick to dwarf varieties.
You might have trouble finding suitable plants later but there's still time to raise your own from seed if you start straight away. Look for compact "tumbling" varieties such as Totem, Gartenperle, Balconi Red or Maskotka; there are also yellow-fruited forms of Balconi and Tumbling Tom if you prefer something a bit different.
And if you're expecting another miserable summer or you live in a naturally chilly area, it's worth looking out for a unique variety called Sub-Arctic Plenty, which has a similar size and habit but performs better than most in cooler climates. All of these will make short, rather floppy, bushy plants, ideal for pots; they can be stood anywhere with confined space or limited headroom, as long as it's sheltered and sunny.
What's more, tumbling tomatoes are very easy to grow because they don't need to have any side shoots removed and neither do they need more than a few short, twiggy sticks for support. They'll "spill" gently down over the edges of their containers. Simply water, feed and pick. Since the fruits are fairly small they will ripen a lot faster than conventional varieties. But if you're growing your own, buy some seeds and get going.
