For some reason unknown to me, when i click on the cauldron in the fire it no longer tells me how many herbs are needed. i tried exiting the program and restarting it but it didn't work. just wondering if anyone else is having this same problem.

Doesn't quite work that way...

Dragging a villager to the pot before the stew is done will tell you how many herbs are needed, and this only when there is food/water in the pot already.

before all i had to do was click on the pot.

Check to make sure that your fire isn't out. There's a _bug_ that makes the fire look like it's burning when it's not.