• Put a couple sprigs of tarragon into a bottle of white wine vinegar and let it steep for a month or more. Strain out the tarragon and use the vinegar as part of a vinaigrette, to dress cooked vegetables or on fish or poultry.

• Chop a couple tablespoons of tarragon and add to a stick of softened butter. Use for making omelets, sauteing thin slices of meats and fish, and for moistening potatoes and corn.

• Add whole leaves to white sauces for eggs and fish - a tablespoon per cup.

• Add to mayonnaise with a few capers, a dash of buttermilk to thin , salt and pepper to taste - makes a good salad dressing or sandwich spread for delicate fillings like sliced chicken and many cheeses.

• Add a tablespoon or two of whole leaves to peas, spinach, broccoli or tomatoes at the very end of cooking times and garnish with whole leaves at table.

• Put a few sprigs of tarragon in the cavities of small birds -squab, Cornish Game hens, etc. - before roasting. A few sprigs slid under the skin adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the meat.

• Chop and sprinkle tarragon leaves over steamed vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, and potatoes, or leafy ones like spinach and chard, and finish with a few drops of tarragon vinegar.