SPICE GARDEN -OREGANO

     The thing to love about any spice is the captivating aroma which makes its flavor even more desirable, one such spice is oregano ,after all who could resist the smell of fresh pizza straight form the oven ? .Today i want to  share my experience of growing Oregano ,most commonly as know " pizza "spice .

     Ever since i visited Kerala's spice gardens i wanted one of my own ..but that seems like a Aladdin's Ginnie wish ,doesn't it?so i decided to grow herbs in containers which is not exactly the same but is none the less exciting .Oregano is an important culinary herb mainly used in middle eastern, Latin american and Italian cuisine.The dried herb is often more flavorful than the fresh, and also has a longer shelf life .The dry version is best for making pizza sauce, also it is available in powder form ,but i would not suggest using that because if the measure goes even slightly worng it can make the sauce very bitter.

Once while shopping in walmart we came across these seeds,they were very cheap, 1$ each -worth a try.I started off in a small germinating container with a few seeds and placed it on the window sill so as it can get aleast 4 hours of sun .The oregano being a Mediterranean herb needs a lot of warmth and sun to germinate and grow .It was mentioned in the directions that it will take 10-14 days for germination and so it did.Next step was thinning ,as the herb started to grow i replanted  it in a wider pot making four seedling share one pot -just to make it look like a bush.

Two weeks later it started to propagate new and plenty of foliage.

    Although i don't make pizza sauce or use it in any fancy dish, the plant of oregano is a valuable addition to my spice garden .I use it for simple dishes like fajitas , Spanish omelet and salad .

It goes really well with ripe olives and red bell pepper .There it is - the "secrete ingredient" of my kitchen.

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