I used to only use dried herbs to cook. Since we've moved here, I've started using fresh. I don't know why I made the transition, but I'm happier for it! Fresh herbs just make everything taste better! But, they're expensive!
This year, we built planters for our deck and loaded them with herbs and flowers. In part, this was to save money. In part, this was to teach our daughter about from where our food comes. With the stifling heat we've had, the herbs were ready to be harvested before I was ready to cook with them.
To reap the benefits of saving money with my own fresh herbs, I got to work!
1. I cut everything and piled them on my kitchen counter, watching closely for bugs to escape!
2. I washed everything in batches with my salad spinner.
3. I laid them on a towel to dry fully.
4. I got out fold-over sandwich bags and put in a serving of herbs per bag. I drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil in each bag and then stirred the herbs around in the bag to coat them with the tiny bit of oil. This helps them keep their color.
5. I folded the bags into themselves so that they were tightly wrapped and then put a piece of tape around the bag to keep it tightly closed. I wrote the name of each herb on the tape with a permanent marker.
6. I put all the small bags into one quart size freezer bag and tossed it in the freezer!
Now I'll have fresh herbs whenever I want at the price I want! I'm waiting for my next harvest now!
2 comments:
That's so great! I'm not even remotely a gardener, but I do occasionally think about growing herbs (eventually.) You're right, there's nothing like fresh herbs, but I rarely buy them because of the exorbitant prices!
I wouldn't mind a tip on how to get them to grow that voluminously! Maybe it's as simple as "move away from Houston". I'd buy that ;)
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