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Good morning friends! How are you and how is your week going? I feel like a hamster on a wheel, I am running as fast as I can this week and I am getting nowhere. No matter, I will catch up in due time.
As you know my neighbors and my yoga studio have gardens that have been plentiful this summer, lucky for me I have been the recipient of lots of garden goodies. This week I have had a lot of fresh herbs to make things with and after I exhausted pesto, herb salads, and a few other recipes I decided to start to store the herbs for winter.
Here are two ways to preserve your fresh herbs.
1. How to Dry Fresh Herbs
a. Take your herbs and tie them in small bundles with kitchen twine, make sure to leave some of the twine when you tie the bundles so that you can tie a knot to hang the herbs.
I like to make bundles of mixed herbs, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, to use in the winter with chicken dishes, to throw into soups, and of course to use with Thanksgiving dinner.
I also make individual bundles of herbs.
b. Hang the herbs in a cool dry space for a couple of weeks so they are dry. I hung my herbs from a wooden spoon and then suspended the spoon from a shelf, you could also hand them on a hanger and then hang the hanger in a cool dry space.
c. Once dry, remove all of the leaves from the stems and store in small glass jars.
If you like to give home-made gifts for the holidays these herbs are a perfect addition to a gift basket. You could add jars of herbs to a basket with dried pasta, homemade sauce, a loaf of homemade bread and place it all in a colander.
2. Freeze Fresh Herbs
a. Wash and then chop the herbs.
b. Place the herbs into ice cube trays and cover with vegetable broth or olive oil.
c. Freeze the herbs, once frozen remove the cubes from tray and place in a zip top baggie, return to freezer until you need them.
I have made many batches of basil walnut pesto to store for the winter and to share with friends. You can find the recipe here. I think pesto is a perfect addition to your gift baskets for the holidays.
Do you dry and preserve your herbs? How do you do it? Do you dry them? Make pesto? Or do you have another method of preservation? Please share if you do.

The wonderful fragrances of the herbs are wafting this way! They look amazing and so green. I've made a lot of pesto and will still make another couple of batches as the basil keeps growing and is abundant. I freeze mine – individual small flat baggies for one time use such as adding to a pot of soup, also the smallest square Ziploc containers with enough for a hearty pasta recipe.
Another heatwave here – 94F and humid daily – rain coming at the weekend from the hurricane most likely.
Stay safe dear.
Mary x
I have never done that sort of thing.
Wow! I love this post. And the pictures are so beautiful.
Love you!