In the spring of this year, I did an overhaul of my herb garden. I pulled out EVERYTHING.
** here's a tip...never, never, never plant mint in a garden....it grows overwhelmingly, lol.**
I tried to just pull the mint last summer, but it would just come up someplace else. So I dug up my other herbs, and then Chuck tilled, and tilled, and tilled. Then I laid down weedblock and replanted my lemon balm, sage, and rosemary, and purchased new plants of basil, flat leaf parsley, oregano, marjoram, dill, and chives. It looked good....then everything got bigger.
**this is not the most recent picture, but I forgot to take a picture before the harvest, of course. **
Now what to do with all my herbs? A quick google search and I decided on freezing. It was messy, but I love the feel of having fresh herbs in winter.
First, pick and clean. This is my basil, the herb I tend to use the most. After picking off the leaves, into the salad spinner. I love my spinner.
Then I started chopping. I got this great rocking herb cutter years ago. I am a real sucker for kitchen gadgets. Which is quite funny since I don't really like to cook.
All nice and chopped. And guess what I discovered? Chopped basil will turn your hands green! hahaha
I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but I put the chopped basil into a bowl and added olive oil. After mixing it together, into a labeled freezer bag. I laid it flat and stuck it in the freezer.
Viola!
Now last night I was making spaghetti for dinner, and went outside to get herbs for the sauce, when I realized that I harvested so well, I needed to use some of my newly frozen herbs. And they were tasty!
Do you harvest and preserve anything? What is your favorite way to eat summer all winter long?
Be blessed,
Debbi
4 comments:
I am a bit jealous of your herb garden! Fresh herbs can make dishes taste so much better. I have a balcony, but lots of busses drive through my street, so I guess growing my own herbs and eating them, might not be very healthy. And the cutter looks like a nifty tool!
some herbs, like basil and rosemary, grow great in pots. if you have a spot on a shelf in the kitchen, just add a small light, and you'll have great tasting dishes. :)
I adore sweet basil!!!!! that's all we have here. and I have even bought "poor" looking plants but once they are in the ground they pop right back. basil is extremely easy to refresh. I have to try that with the tomatoes. (we have 24 tomato plants right now)
Used to do a lot of preserving, canning etc. when we lived in Canada and had access to glorious cherries from British Columbia, and their pears and peaches too. Then when I had a garden, the herbs were dried, as I fould they took up less space, and if dried from fresh, still tasted good when needed during the winter months. Nothing to beat a jar of canned cherries when the temperature outside is -56 degrees with a wind blowing!! Now find it's not worth it just for one, but moving nearer daughter with a garden of her own, with the equipment still to hand, think the urge may come over me all over again - with her taking the lead!
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