Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Culinary Herbs


While Hubby was out planting our pumpkin plants this weekend, he happened to trim a bunch of oregano. His quick trip into the house resulted in me exclaiming, "how pretty, let me get my camera!" 

The oregano that we planted last year has been especially vigorous recently with the mix of warmth and rain. 


We decided that the best way to be sure to use all this oregano was to dry it, which required separating the one large bouquet into several small ones. 


With twine tied tightly around the stems, the little bouquets are dried hanging upside down in paper bags. The bags keep the oregano free from dust and debris. 

It just a few days, the leaves will be nice and dry and can be removed from stems. Stored in a nice tight jar for extra freshness, there's nothing like using your own herbs in the kitchen. 

Wouldn't dried herbs make the loveliest holiday gifts? 

I'll have my assistant get on that...

There is no assistant, but I'm making a list of things for him/her to do anyway! ; ) 

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25 comments:

  1. My Little BungalowJune 5, 2012 at 12:38 PM

    Very pretty, indeed! Our oregano is thriving too. In fact, my husband just planted rosemary and parsley in our herb garden and had to take out some of the oregano because it's taking over. I didn't think to dry it. Good idea. I'm going to give it a try.
    Claudia

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  2. ShaylaJune 5, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    SOOO pretty!!!! I wish I had herbs around :D

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  3. SuzanneJune 5, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    My oregano is taking off like crazy too! I love drying it then packaging it up for gifts--people always love it:-)

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  4. SailaJune 5, 2012 at 2:17 PM

    Oregano is quite efficient at self-seeding but it is not difficult to weed the unwanted plants. And who wouldn't want to have lots of it, with all the butterflies and bees that adore it too?
    Lovely photos!

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  5. WindlostJune 5, 2012 at 3:01 PM

    Wonderful. I dried my thyme last summer and loved having it later on...

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  6. He Who Loves an Old HouseJune 5, 2012 at 4:26 PM

    How lovely, Trina! I can smell it from here!

    -Tim

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  7. debra @ 5th and stateJune 5, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    you take the simplest thing and with your eye and camera turn it into something stunning and refreshing
    happy gardening
    debra

    ps; for a childrens garden once, we planted pumpkins. as the pumpkins grew and became the size of a baseball we carved their initials into the flesh. they then had their very own one to watch over. as the pumpkins grew, so did their initials. they were fascinated

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  8. the gardener's cottageJune 5, 2012 at 5:17 PM

    haha, trina. you do have 2 assistants they just don't know it yet. xo janet

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  9. JennyJune 5, 2012 at 8:19 PM

    Beautiful oregano photos! I'm now inspired to go cut a bunch of mine to dry - as soon as it stops pouring outside!

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  10. Chrissy...The Apothecary ShopJune 5, 2012 at 10:07 PM

    Artwork in its own right...lovely photos!

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  11. KitJune 5, 2012 at 10:34 PM

    So very pretty and what a bunch! I can just imagine a bride coming down the aisle with this bouquet. Maybe an Italian wedding?....LOL Kit

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  12. ChristiJune 5, 2012 at 11:23 PM

    Have you seen all of the wonderful products in the Williams Sonoma agrarian catalog? They have a lovely (and very simple design) iron drying rack for herbs. I have been eyeing it for a while now.

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  13. MichelleJune 6, 2012 at 2:25 AM

    Your pictures look so good. My herb garden was doing great. At least till now. We found out it will get down to 30 degrees tonight. Unexpected cold front. I hope they all make it thru. Time will tell.

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  14. kayce hughesJune 6, 2012 at 9:15 AM

    Those photos might be your best yet!....perfection.

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  15. la maison LaFortuneJune 6, 2012 at 7:14 PM

    I never thought to dry my herbs. I'm lucky to live where my herbs thrive year round, with some tlc when we have the sporadic freeze.

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  16. DeniseJune 6, 2012 at 9:21 PM

    Thank you so much for the paper bag tip. Lovely photographs!

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  17. designchicJune 7, 2012 at 8:52 AM

    I can almost smell the delicious scent. And the idea of drying it for holiday gifts is wonderful!!

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  18. AnonymousJune 7, 2012 at 11:48 AM

    Thanks for this wonderful post! I had no idea it was so easy to dry herbs (I'm such a city girl). I really want to try it.

    Can one make pesto with fresh oregano? I know you can with basil. Just a thought.

    -Maggie

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  19. DianaJune 7, 2012 at 2:33 PM

    So beautiful! I love the smell of oregano and you just inspired me to harvest a bunch of mine for drying. I don't know why I never thought of doing that before! LOL... beautiful photos as always. :)

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  20. JeannieJune 10, 2012 at 3:33 PM

    Would love to see how you package it.

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  21. How2homeJune 12, 2012 at 4:23 PM

    Really lovely photos and oregano is one of my favorite herbs. When you plant your herb garden, did you follow some sort of guideline? I plant mine around this idea (www.eieihome.com/blog/how-to-plan-and-plant-your-own-herb-garden.html), what about you?

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  22. Tina L. HookJune 12, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    The time has come for me to try this. And I adore that holiday gift idea.How long do they last once dried?

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  23. Jan's cameraJune 15, 2012 at 1:15 PM

    You make oregano look beautiful. Lovely bouquet.

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  24. TinaAugust 5, 2012 at 12:56 AM

    What a wonderful idea! I so wish I could grow my own herbs. I always have trouble with bugs. I can grow Rosemary but that's about it. I hope you will share photos of your pumpkin patch:) that I would love to see

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  25. AnonymousAugust 21, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    That oregano looks fresh! I can imagine how its aroma smells like. Your husband must have a green thumb. A job well done for him! I wish I can grow some of it too.

    -Katelin Mccaig

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Thank you for leaving your thoughts. Kind regards, Catherine