Having Fun with Gourmet Herb Food

Last Wednesday I gave the program Being an Herbal Gourmet at the Aspen Dr. Branch of the Cook Memorial Libary in Vernon Hills, Illinois.  It was a wonderful group of patrons and we had  great time talking about herbs. 

Originally the program was to have a tasting and explaining style but the Health department had other plans.  So instead we did a demonstration workshop with many pass arounds.  The patrons were given recipes and instruction sheets and at the end of the program we gave out a few samples of Backyard Patch Herb Mixes and Seasonings. 



The samples are in the big green bag and the items
 in front we gave away as a door prize.



There were 102 registrations for the program and an amazing 96 people attended.  Here are some pictures of the crowd.

Earlier Arrivers always get special pictures

Even early we had many visitors

A full house by the introduction

For the first time I have pictures of myself giving a program because one of the people in the front row volunteered to take them.  I look very goofy in a few of them but it was still great to see pictures of myself actually speaking.

In the program I discussed and demonstrated how to make Herbal vinegar, Herbal oil and how to blend herbs both fresh and dry together.  Recipes from the program can be found on the Program Recipes page on the blog.





Making dill herbal vinegar



Toward the end we made a few items with our vinegar and oil including a salad dressing and a stir fry.  The stir fry was made with sage oil, fresh dill and fresh thyme demonstrating a sweet, a savory and a pungent herb combination and how the flavors work.  Just before serving a tossed in a dash of Purple Basil Vinegar.

Check out the How Tuesday tomorrow for step by step instructions on how I made the Lemon Herb Oil that I also demonstrated that night.

It was a spactacular program, one I think can be done just about anywhere for any sized group.  The staff and patrons of the library were very sweet and helpful and I sure hope I get the chance to go back there again, because that was a whole lot of fun!