Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Take that spice aisle!

Growing herbs is one of those things that I never saw myself doing.   It sounds more outdoorsy and earthy than I am.  I don't have a garden and it seemed high maintenance to grow them.  Why would I grow herbs when I can get them so conveniently at the store?   I really enjoy dishes prepared with fresh herbs.  But they are pricey and I rarely ever used the entire package leaving the rest to eventually end up in the garbage can.  So after my Mom gave me an oregano plant a couple of years ago, I just had to try it.   

The plants are heartier and easier to grow than I thought.  I wrote about my herb pot survival back a few months ago.  They seem to do best in a pot that's at least 12".

To my surprise, the oregano has done so well!  


There's no way I can eat that much, so I guess it doesn't stop here.  I had to try and preserve that flavor by drying it.   After a few internet searches, I ran across this method.

Bundle a few of the branches and tie them together:




Place them in a paper bag with a few holes cut out of the bag.  I had to write the date on my bag because I knew I would never remember when I started this process!


Gather the bag around the stems and tie it closed.


My sunroom, warm and airy (gets very sleepy in there...zzZzz...), was the perfect place to leave the bags.


After about 2 weeks, it will be nice and dry.


Remove the leaves from the stems.


The oregano is ready to store.  The instructions say to store in a jar or ziploc bag.


I prepared another batch and changed the date on the bag.


Not bad at all!  

I'm currently freezing the fresh thyme, but now I'm going to try drying it, too.


So take that grocery store spice aisle!!

Linking with

Tasty Tuesday
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4 comments:

  1. That's great! I have never tried to dry oregano, but I love the idea.

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  2. Herbs are expensive. I should try this. Thanks for posting this.

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  3. As an avid herb gardener, I loved seeing this post. I prefer dried oregano to fresh. Happy cooking with your herbs! Thank you for linking this tip with See Ya In the Gumbo. Happy to have you stop by!

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  4. What a great idea! I tried growing herbs once when I was in my early 20s and it wasn't pretty! Now that I have a little more of a green thumb, I'll have to try this :) thank you so much for sharing at All my Bloggy Friends this week! I hope to see you again next week. Have a great weekend, Kerry :)

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