Taking part this year in the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop where you’ll find ten days of gardening tips, recipes and giveaways! Decided the more the merrier and why not? Gardening is merry and fun. 🙂
Better yet, creating scrumptuous dishes with our produce makes it all the better. For new gardeners, herbs are a great way to begin the adventure and lend themselves to all types of recipes. A simple way to use herbs are by making pastes and freezing them. Not only will you lock in the flavor, but you’ll make it easy to enjoy the fresh taste of herbs all year round.
For a simple basil paste, I use about 4 cups of basil (or 4 oz. stemmed) and approx. 1/4 cup olive oil. Place the leaves in a food processor and drizzle with olive oil. I pulse to begin and then hit a steady high if need be. Transfer paste to freezer-safe bags, flatten to remove all air and place in freeze. That’s it! Fresh herb paste ready to use when you’re ready.
Variations include oregano and parsley. Use other herbs that don’t keep their same bright flavor when dried such as the mints, lemon basil, lemon balm or lemon verbena, and use cold-pressed nut or seed oils. Be sure to label the containers.
You can also use the freezer method for herb butter. Rosemary butter with a hint of lemon is one of my favorites. Cilantro, too! For full recipe and details, check my previous post: Where Garden Meets Kitchen. For those who want to forgo the paste and make a delicious pesto, use about 2 cups basil (1 large bunch), 3 med. cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated) and about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or less, depending on how thick you like your pesto. The key is to chop the ingredients using a mezzaluna knife (shown above) and not to use a food processor. If you must process, do. Your pesto will still taste delightful, but don’t tell your Italian grandmother. She would NOT be happy. You see, chopping vs. processing allows the flavors to blend into a true emulsion or paste, allowing flavors to retain their individuality.
For my giveaway, I’m offering up a spring mix of goodies including a basil dipping set for that basil you’re growing, a ceramic garlic storage, garden-themed notepad and scented gift soap. Once you try your hand at herbs, growing garlic should be next on your list. It’s easy, minimally fussy and makes a great companion in the garden for roses and your other vegetables. And when you need an organic pesticide? Garlic will be your new best friend!
To enter my giveaway, you can leave a comment, subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the upper right corner, follow BloominThyme on Twitter and like our Facebook page. Four chances to win! Remember: to be eligible for the grand prize, you must leave a comment with your email contact info. For my garden giveaway, use the rafflecopter giveaway box below and good luck!
Congratulations to Shadow on winning the prize! And a BIG thanks to all who hopped with us. 🙂 See you next year!
cilantro…love it!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Froggy
froggarita@gmail.com
Tried to leave a comment on contest, but showed up empty. My favorite new e
Herb is sage….I had fried sage at a restaurant as a garnish, loved it.
Parsley. When I am “gardening” I like to run my fingernails over a bar of soap so I will not get dirt under them. esseboo@yahoo.com
I use lots of fresh basil when I cook, and it’s especially great in salads. Thanks for participating in the hop.
ilookfamous at yahoo dot com
Awesome tip! Thanks!
Eallen99@juno.com
rosemary
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
I have basil growing all over, having escaped from my original patch. Thanks for another idea.
My favorite would have to be chives. I tend to use them the most when I cook so they are my favorite to grow! Nothing like cooking with something you grew yourself 🙂
savannahm1987@gmail.com
I love growing rosemary. The scent is amazing and the various ways you can incorporate them into your food or your take a bath with it.
greeniejoey at gmail dot com
Mint is my favorite because it’s so easy to grow. I’m looking forward to expanding my herb garden this spring, as there’s nothing like cooking with fresh picked herbs.
Thanks for the great herb tip! I’d never thought of doing that. My favorite herb as plant is thyme because it makes nice ground cover (fragrant too!). For cooking, I like to use sage a lot, especially in my butternut squash soup.
cchant86 @ yahoo.com
I like Parsley..Thank you for sharing your post!!
And thank you for the giveaway! I hope you have a great day! =)
Brandi
BLeigh1130 at yahoo dot com
I love cilantro cause we have a small salsa garden. I also love spearmint cause it makes my front porch area smell beautiful.
Mint… It is perfect for making your own tea’s and upset tummies… However it can get out of hand if you don’t cut it back… Just ask my mom… she now has a bunch of mint right by her front porch because she forgot about it on summer when we had huge garden on other side of property. Nothing like fresh mint. Thank you for being part of the hop.
j.m.platt83@gmail.com
Basil.
Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
My favorite herb to grow is basil. Thanks for the fantastic giveaway!
bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com
My favorite herb to grow is basil. I love homemade pesto!
sienkiel1821@yahoo.com
Love your herb butter tip. Your kitchen must smell amazing!!! I need to get my herbs growing!!! npi-sunyer@comcast. net
Hi! Great post! I love cooking with herbs. I cant grow them tho. 🙂 Thank you for sharing! 🙂
​And ​thank you for being apart of this awesome hop!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com