This is what you need to get more creative with (and take the fear out of buying) all those gorgeous fresh and fragrant herbs you’re seeing in the market.

Herbs+ is a field guide to almost every kind of basic herb you use for cooking.

A great photo with each herb helps illustrate exactly what the herb looks like. The Culinary Ideas tab gives info about how an herb tastes, how it’s usually used and how you can use it in a dish (ever thought of using sorrel with strawberries?).

There are also tips on the herb’s medicinal use— did you know that chives help prevent premature aging? (I’m loading my basket with chives this weekend at the farmers market!)

The gardening tips are especially useful, if you’ve got the terroir for such an endeavor. You’re not going to be able to grow cloves in Chicago, but rosemary will thrive… and most likely even survive the winter.

If want a deeper dive, there’s a link to Wikipedia to give you even more info about the herb. The App also a handy tab for taking notes.

Like I said in the beginning, this is a very basic guide… it won’t have some of the more exotic herb cousins (for example, Thai basil or Mexican oregano). But it’s an easy way to learn about herbs and push past your reticence to try a new strange smelling little green bushy thing.

And besides… this App is 100% guaranteed to spice up your phone. Just had to say it.

You go girl!

Tomorrow is the first annual National Girl Scout Cookie Day  and this year the gals in green are working social media like a boss.

✔ Twitter: @girlscouts #onemorebox

✔ App: available for iPhone or Android

✔ YouTube: How to Buy Cookies (really?)

✔ Facebook: Enter the One-Day Only Contest!

✔ Pinterest: Pin Your Cookie

✔ Blog: Updates On GS Cookie Day

See what I mean… I’m not exaggerating!

And if you happen to be in New York City, look for the Girl Scout Cookie Food Truck. Again… no joke. They’ll be tweeting exactly where they’ll be selling all your faves: Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos and Samoas.

Wonder if they’ll also have that new shitake mushroom-infused cookie, Mango Crèmes? (No, I’m not kidding…)

Not quite sure about that one yet…

This is a really, really great idea, and hopefully it will become part of the way we eat; I just wished a fast-food joint hadn’t come up with the idea first.

McDonald’s restaurants in Australia are testing out a free iPhone app that lets consumers know EXACTLY where the food they’re about to eat comes from.

But really, don’t you think that if you’re seriously concerned about what you eat and where it comes from, you wouldn’t be eating at at McDonald’s? I’m just saying.

The App is called “TrackMyMacca’s” (the Aussie nickname for McDonald’s). It uses GPS tracking, food packaging codes and image activation software to cross-reference with McDonald’s supply-chain data.

The App then lets diners know which farm, bakery, ranch, or food plant the ingredients originated. It even provides the name and a photo of the farmer, fisherman or rancher.

If a diner just wants to know about a specific ingredient, say, the hamburger buns, they can ask for specific details. The App gives them information like “Fresh buns are the building blocks of a good burger. That’s why our Martin Place restaurant could have up to three deliveries a week. You’ll find our bakers at the Fresh Start Bakery, not far away in Liverpool, New South Wales.”

Okay, I admit this is great marketing, which McDonald’s has been known for since the beginning of time. Still, at least the company is recognizing that more of us want to know WHERE OUR FOOD COMES FROM! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is ultimately good business.

Here’s a look at a YouTube video demonstrating the App. Let me know what you think: