This time each summer, my herb garden is really in full bloom. The heat of the summer sun intensifies the intoxicating aromas. I walk by my plants and, with a light brush of my hand, I inhale lemon, licorice, and clove. I also begin to ponder how to use this beautiful and aromatic abundance before it all goes to seed.

My favorite way to use herbs is fresh, lightly torn, and tossed into a salad. A typical summer salad in my kitchen includes our butter lettuce, a garden sorrel leaf, torn lemon balm, a few leaves of sweet or Thai basil, a chop or two of tarragon, and a topping of lemon thyme.

I can’t seem to eat enough salads to keep up with the growth, so today, I am making sauces and garnishes out of my herbs that offer a flavor punch to grilled chicken, vegetables, and meat.

Each of these recipes comes with suggestions for substitutions, so use whatever you have growing in your garden (or what you bring home from a farmer’s market visit). They are wide open to your creative take using my recipes as quantity guidelines.