Backyard Harvest: Coriander

 coriander flowers

I hope the weather warms up soon or I won't have anything to do my Friday "Backyard Harvest" posts on!  I am starting my spring and summer vegetable and flower seeds in egg cartons outdoors and they are germinating very slowly at present.  I have only lived in Adelaide for two years so I don't know if this cool spring weather is typical.  

The subject of this week's post is coriander.  In Australia coriander is usually grown as a cool season crop because in warmer weather it goes to seed too quickly.  I use fresh coriander leaves in all the usual ways: in curries and salsas, as a garnish and to make coriander pesto.

Some people think coriander smells disgusting, like squashed bugs, but I really like it.  Once the plants set seed I collect the seeds and use them in cooking and for next year's crop.