This is Starwest's nitrogen-flushed double wall silverfoil pack.

This lemony flavored grass has a hot and spicy surprise waiting. The blanched white end of each stalk holds wondrous flavor. And the coarse leaves make great sun tea.

This sweet-scented grass is a traditional food seasoning in India, Indochina, the Congo, the Seychelles, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Lemongrass is so basic to Thai cooking, one of the world's great cuisnes, that many Thai restaurants call themselves 'Lemongrass.'

Thai Prawn Soup with Lemongrass 'Tom Yum Goong' (Classic Thai piquant soup):

http://www.recipebookonline.com/asp/viewrecipe.asp?ID=547:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Number of Servings: 5
Calories Per Servings: 75

Ingredients:

20 prawns, medium size
4-5 cups water
3 shallots (or small red or purple onions), finely chopped
2 stalks lemon grass, lightly pounded, cut into 1 inch long segments
2 table spoons fish sauce
2 slices fresh or dried galangal root
20 small mushroom, halved or whole
2-3 teaspoons zest of lime
3 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 habanera or Birdseye chili peppers
5 coriander leaves and spring onions

Directions: Wash the prawns and shell them without removing the tails. Pour the water into a pan. Add the shallots, lemon grass, fish sauce and galanga root. Boil for 3 minutes. Add the prawns and mushrooms, and cook until the prawns turn pink. Add the lime zest, lime juice and chili peppers. Cover and remove from the heat. Sprinkled with coriander leaves and chopped spring onion and serve hot. Add two tablespoons Tom Yum Paste to three cups boiling water, add 1.5 teaspoons salt, add mushrooms and prawns, add 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, add 5-7 birdseye chili peppers and onions, and serve garnished with cilantro. Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup with Lemongrass (Canh Chua Tom):

http://www.soupsong.com/rshrimp6.html:

Piquant and sour, this Vietnamese soup is an explosion of textures, colors, and shapes. It will have you gasping for breath, wiping your eyes, and begging for more. Serve hot to 6 people as a first course--or to 2 as a main course.

1 cup rice, prepared in a rice cooker or saucepan as directed
¾ pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved for the broth
3 stalks lemongrass, with the green stalks cut off from the white bulb and reserved--and with the tender inner heart of the bulb pounded flat, minced finely, and set aside
4 cups water
1 15-ounce can straw mushrooms, drained
1 small tomato, peeled and cut into thin wedges
1 lime, grated and juiced
Garnishes:

2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
1½ cups bean sprouts
3 Tablespoons lime juice
4 Tablespoons nuoc mam (fish sauce)
chili oil or Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce, to taste and to pass separately
Cook the rice as directed, and reserve. Ready the garnishes and set aside.

Prepare the broth by bringing 4 cups of water to a boil with the shrimp shells, then adding the lemongrass stalks and removing from heat. After a minute, strain out the shells and stalks.

When ready to serve, add the mushrooms, lime juice and grated peel, minced lemongrass heart, and tomato to the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer for 2 more minutes. Pour into a tureen. Stir in the garnishes. Take to the table and serve at once, passing the rice and chili sauce separately.

Lemongrass is also known as fevergrass. It has been used for centuries to treat fever in India. It has traditionally been used to cure skin complaints and was burnt to kill germs. Its main constituent, citral, was discovered to be a strong, cleansing antiseptic, and used to deodorize clothing and footwear. Dried leaves were burned to keep the mind alert.

The leaves are used to make an aromatic, antiseptic bath. Lemongrass makes a soothing aromatherapy experience by placing a mesh bag with a handful of leaves under the running bath water, then letting the bag soak in the water with you as you bathe. Very relaxing – and the lemongrass oil is very good for dry skin.

It is used in low-cost citrus soaps, perfumes and cleaning agents. Through its anti-bacterial action, it is good for skin complaints, sore throats and respiratory problems. Also effective against headaches. The oil will also repel insects.

A limited study done at the University of Wisconsin revealed that some people taking prepared Lemongrass capsules (140 mg) daily for three months experienced a significant reduction in cholesterol levels, and that their cholesterol levels returned to their previous highs when they stopped taking the preparation. Obviously, this indicates that Lemongrass may help reduce cholesterol in certain individuals.

Lemongrass tea is a mild sedative, and can relieve congestion and coughing, and upset stomach.