Tuna is on our menu for today but since John is our meat, poultry, and fin man and he is at work today, we are being flexible and swapping out the tuna. John has asked for pasta with meat sauce and who am I to turn him down. (Plus I love this dinner!)

We have a tiny backyard, really just a patio with some beds around the edges. In my picture you can see that it is mostly paved and the edge of John’s decrepit old grill.

Our patio with parsley and oregano on the lower left and sage on the upper right

I try to get as much space for growing herbs as I can. The biggest problem is that it is almost entirely shade. I even keep some herbs in pots so I can move them around during the day to where there might be a patch of sunlight. Having fresh herbs to put in our dishes really makes a difference.

A line-up of thyme, chives, mint in a pot, oregano, basil in a pot, more oregano and Italian parsley

Even if you only have a windowsill, growing herbs is very fulfilling and gives you a nice fresh taste in your cooking. I used oregano and basil in my spaghetti sauce.

Whole grain spaghetti with a ground beef and herb tomato sauce