Eat In. Lemon grass.

One thing I love about housesitting is that you always find new things to cook with. You don't have the usual spices and seasonings you're used to and get to experiment with the things other people have without the commitment of a whole buying a whole bottle/tube/jar/pepper mill of something.

Last year I discovered white pepper this way. This year it's lemon grass. I love the taste of lemon grass, it's very refreshing, light, and citrusy flavor is perfect for summer. Gourmet Garden makes a line of ready-to-use seasonings which you can just squeeze into your pan. Gourmet Garden seasonings are easy to find at Von's, Albertson's, and Safeways.

I just added this to green fettuccine with freshly grated reggiano and it was delicious.

This seems like a good approach to using herbs you're not yet familiar with, as they're already ready for your veggies and Gourmet Gardens carries a variety of herbs including dill, ginger, chili pepper, and parsley.

The Israeli line of herbs Dorot, which I find at Trader Joe's, is also excellent for readymade seasonings, except it's in the frozen section. They're ready-to-use frozen garlic is excellent, and it's much easier than actually having to mince garlic. Their package of 20 cubes lasts at least two weeks for me, so I don't have to go out and keep buying fresh garlic.

-- Lauren Williams