Aerogarden Update

I posted a few weeks ago about my new Aerogardens that I bought in the hopes I could have freshly grown herbs and veggies despite my black thumb.  I promised an update, and here it is!  Aren't you excited??  I thought so.  Calm down, people.  No autographs, please.

The verdict is:  My Aerogarden is great.  No, really.  I love it.  It was extremely easy to use, and it produced herbs and veggies relatively quickly.  You may remember I got two of the gardens.  The first, I used to plant starter seedlings for transplantation.  The seedlings were ready to transplant much earlier than the instruction book indicated - two weeks instead of four - and the whole thing was quite simple.  Now, once they are transplanted, well, then we're back to my black thumb, but I'm trying my best to keep them alive, I really am.  Most of them are doing well, but I have a hard time remembering to water them.  The fact that the Aerogardens blink lights at me if the water gets low, which is only every couple of weeks, is very helpful.

My second Aerogarden was immediately planted with a combo of herbs and salad greens.  I began using both salad greens and fresh basil about a week and a half - not even kidding - after getting the Aerogardens delivered.  The salad greens were at baby 'spring green' stage at that point and the basil plant was small, but usable.  Now, two weeks later, I have used the salad greens several times for salads and for greens on sandwiches, and have harvested each herb at least once and some several times.  I am very pleased with the production of the Aerogardens and with how easy it is to use.  It's a monetary investment, but for someone with no gardening ability whatsoever, I think it's totally worth it.  I won't have to buy herbs from the grocery store at all this summer. 

A couple of days ago I harvested herbs from the Aerogarden for a brown butter - herb sauce I served with dinner.  Here's what I did:

Brown Butter Herb Sauce
4 Tbsp butter (not margarine)
2 Tbsp mixed fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint, chives, whatever you like)
1 tsp capers, roughly chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, heat butter over low heat.  It will bubble and then the bubbles will lessen, and the butter start to get lighly browned.  When the butter starts to change color, let it cook another 10 seconds or so.  There is a fine line between 'brown' and 'burned,' so keep an eye on it.

When the butter is brown, add the herbs, capers, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper.  Stir and remove from the heat.  Serve immediately over boiled potatoes, green beans, fish, or whatever your heart desires.

Happy gardening!