Food Storage Spices

Seriously, do you have spices in your food storage? Because if we're all eating beans and wheat and rice we are really going to want something to spice it up!! The only problem is that spices lose their flavor over time. The solution? Plant herbs. Really. There are lots of perennial herbs, which means you plant them once and enjoy them for years. You can incorporate them into your regular flower beds or plant an herb garden. A nice potted herb will cost around $5, which is the same cost as a single bottle of most spices.

Here are a few easy, simple rules to growing and using herbs.

To use fresh:

If a recipe calls for dried herbs you would need 3 times the amount of fresh herbs.

To dry:

Herbs are best before they begin to flower. The have a more bitter flavor after flowering. Harvesting before flowering isn't always convenient for me, so if I can't get to them I will shear off the blossoms and toss them, keeping the plant growing without flowers for a bit longer.

When you are ready to harvest you simple trim the herbs off, usually leaving one or two sets of leaves on each branch. Don't cut the main stem, just take branches and leaves. I wash them well and lay them out on a towel to dry. Either place them on dehydrator trays and dry on low temperature setting, or you can gather them in bunches and hang them upside down to dry for a few days to a week. When they are dry, crunch them into a large bowl, pick out any pokey stems and then funnel into your spice jar. Easy and SO much better than store bought!

Some perennial herbs you can add to your garden would be: sage, rosemary (be careful, there are only a few varieties that are winter hardy in places with harsh winters), chives, parsley (this isnt' actually a perennial but reseeds and I haven't planted more in years), thyme, mints (again use with caution, they are vigorous!), lavender (yes people use this in cooking) and sorrel (a salad green that tastes like it has Italian dressing in the vein).

Tender herbs (annuals) that you can plant include: basil, cilantro, lemon verbena, anise, dill.

Somewhere that has a large selection of herbs and that will have the winter hardy rosemary here in Utah, is Willard Bay Gardens on hwy 89 just south of Willard City.