A great way to incorporate flavor and aroma into a dish that you are cooking is to add a bouquet garni. This is a French term directly translated as "garnished bouquet" and is made by bundling herbs (traditionally, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and fresh bay leaf) usually tied together with a string and dropped into the dish being cooked. Other items that typically go into bouquet garnis are crushed garlic cloves and peppercorns.

By the way, you don't have to stick with the traditional herbs for all of your dishes. You can vary what you include in your bouquet garni based on the type of food you're cooking. For example, in heartier dishes like beef stew, try using marjoram, oregano, rosemary, or sage. For light soups, try using basil to brighten the flavor. Experiment with the different combinations of flavors.

You can purchase tea infusers like the one on the photo or something similar at local kitchen equipment stores, department stores or online like Enjoying Tea dot com.