The Basil I seeded just a few weeks ago is already in need of trimming. Since I want the Basil plants to be full and bushy, I needed to pinch off some of the leaves and stem. But what can you do with the trimmings? Here's how to preserve fresh Basil so you can enjoy it all winter long. Basil is great to use in pretty much any Italian dish. Basil pesto is also pretty … [Read more...]
Growing Lovage – A Perennial Herb
Have you ever heard of Lovage? What IS Lovage? It is not a common plant and many people have never heard of it. Lovage is a wonderful plant that gets quite large. It's a herb and you can pick the leaves to add to your dinners fresh. It's related to Parsley although it grows a lot larger! Lovage levisticum officinale is the proper name. Earliest history comes from Greece and it's moved … [Read more...]
Prepper’s Dehydrator Handbook – Book Review
I've just finished reading the Prepper's Dehydrator Handbook, written by Shelle Wells. I was hoping to pick up some tips AND find some great recipes and mixes. And I DID. If you need a book geared towards dehydrating for beginners, this book works! And if you have experience drying foods but want some great recipes, this book works for that too. Dehydrating for … [Read more...]
How to Dry Herbs
We use a lot of herbs in cooking and so we always have some growing in the gardens. We grow Oregano, Lovage, Parsley and Chives which are all perennial herbs. Plant them once and they should come back each year with new growth. Our climate (Zone 3) dictates that we have to mulch the Oregano heavily for insulating over winter, if we want to plant it right into the ground. Usually I grow the … [Read more...]
Drying Lovage and other Herbs
We have perennial herbs growing in the garden, so every year we get to enjoy harvests. We use them fresh in cooking, but we also dry the herbs to use in the winter. Here's my method for drying herbs for use all year long. Drying Herbs: This is lovage. It tastes a lot like celery but it's stronger. It's great to use in soups or stews. You can see it … [Read more...]
Growing and Using Stevia
Last Spring, I came across some Stevia plants while picking up some bedding plants. I remember just a few years ago, even the seeds were hard to find and when I did, they were very expensive. Now the price has come down somewhat, and they are being sold as bedding plants as well. This is great for those of us who want to grow Stevia. How to Grow Stevia I picked up two … [Read more...]
Bay Laurel
It would be lovely if we could grow bay laurel up here but the Winters are far too cold. We're fortunate that one of our Valley friends also has a house down on the Coast. And in their yard, is a bay laurel. They often share their supply of harvested bay laurel leaves and we appreciate it. I sometimes wonder if I should get a small laurel and just keep it in the … [Read more...]
Harvesting and Drying Parsley
Herbs are so easy to grow and they are super easy to preserve over the Winter. The only negative thing is that dried herbs never taste as good as fresh herbs. That's all right by us - we would still rather harvest and dry our own herbs, just so we know that they haven't been sprayed with any chemicals. By now, the Parsley has been trimmed many times, mostly to keep it from … [Read more...]