Saving Summer: Herbs

 Happy Monday.  I hope you had a glorious weekend.  

Our weekend was relaxing but lots of things on the summer "to do" list were accomplished. 

Our deck plantings still look great after the hot, dry summer.

I've love being able to snip some herbs while I'm preparing a meal and add their fresh flavor to the food.  I recently read about freezing herbs in oil.  The herbs can be defrosted and then used in soups, stews, and other foods later on.

The method is quite simple.  Use herbs that grow on a woody stem, like thyme, rosemary and sage rather than softer herbs such as parsley, dill, chives.  You can use basil in pesto.  Fill the compartments of ice cube trays with the herbs, chopping the larger pieces if necessary.  Add olive oil to each compartment so that the herbs are submerged in the oil.

Freeze the herbs in the trays and when frozen, pop them out and place in ziplock bags and return to the freezer.  Simple!  I'll be real happy I did this when there is snow on the ground and I have no fresh herbs available other than the grocery store.  If you've got an abundance of herbs, why not give this a try.