Putting Up Herbs

I love herbs.  You can make anything taste fancy-schmancy by tossing in some aromatic herbs.  Not much in the fridge?  Got a couple of potatoes?  Roast them up with some herbs.  Got eggs and flour?  Whip up a crust, mix up some filling, and throw in some herbs for a delicious quiche.

Freshly-picked sage and lavender

This all sounds good and well, but herbs are just too expensive at the grocery store.  It's a pricey addiction.  Our local grocery has no bulk section.  Five dollars for a tiny bottle of thyme just ain't hittin' it.  After this summer, I will never buy herbs again.  

 I've never smelled anything more heavenly.

So far, I have dried some sage, dill, lavender, and parsley.  I'll get into the thyme, rosemary, and oregano later.  I plan on freezing most of my basil in pesto.  I'll be drying herbs all summer.  I'd like to have at least one quart jar of each herb, several smudge sticks of sage, and a little dried lavender to keep around the house.

Smudge sticks, here we come!

It's going to take a ton of fresh herbs to meet my dried quota, but I find the whole process very relaxing and enjoyable.  In the meantime, we have all the fresh herbs we ever want to eat all spring and summer long.

I really like using brown paper bags with holes punched in them.  It keeps the leaves clean, and there is plenty of air flow.  I have them hung up in the old chicken room/new office, which is the only dog-free zone in the house (besides the basement) so that the herbs will remain fur-free.