Making the Most of my Herb Garden



I have to admit, when it comes to my herb garden, I don't do a very good job of using them to their fullest potential. Sure I'll go out and cut a handful of basil for some pesto or a couple of pieces of rosemary for some roasted potatoes, but more often than not, my herbs just sit there looking and smelling good.

This summer I was determined to get the most out of them both now and in the months to come so I decided I would dry some and freeze some. The method you use depends on the herb you're dealing with. Heartier herbs like lavender and rosemary are perfect candidates for drying, while more delicate herbs such as basil are great for freezing.

The key to drying and freezing your herbs is making sure to harvest them from the garden early in the morning before the sun dries out the essential oils from the herbs. After harvesting big bunches of basil, lavender and rosemary, I started with the drying method for the rosemary and lavender. It couldn't have been any more simple. I shook the herbs to get rid of any little critters that might have been hiding in the herbs, tied up the bunches with kitchen twine and secured them to a hanger which I hung in my laundry room where it's cool and away from direct sunlight.



The dreaded salad spinner

 

There are a couple of different methods to use when dealing with basil, but since I'm all about the easiest and least time intensive, I chose the freezer method. I rinsed the basil in a sink full of cold water and 2 teaspoons of salt (again, to get rid of the critters), plucked the leaves from the stems and used a salad spinner to get rid of the excess water. I made one interesting discovery during this process - my daughter Amanda's dog Sophie (who is living with us while Amanda is in the Army) is not a big fan of the salad spinner. In fact, once I started spinning away, she promptly ran upstairs and hid under the bed and wouldn't come down until I had put the salad spinner back in the cupboard.

After removing the excess water from the basil, I spread the leaves on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Into the freezer they went and by evening, they were frozen and went into a big freezer bag. Now I have a ready source of basil when my hankering for pesto hits in the middle of the winter.

When the rosemary dries it will go into a spice bottle. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the lavender -maybe I'll make some nice sachets to go under my pillow. Whatever I choose to do with all my herbs at least this year I can say they didn't go to waste.

I found the following website extremely useful during my herb adventures: http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/DryingHerbs.htm