Preserving the Harvest: Making Herb Salts, Vinegars, and Syrups Before Frost

As the last golden days of fall arrive and the garden begins to slow, now’s the time to capture those fresh herbal flavors before frost claims your plants. Preserving herbs into salts, vinegars, and syrups lets you savor their fragrance and taste all winter long — or share them as thoughtful, homemade gifts.

🌿 Herbal Vinegars: Bright and Beautiful

Herbal vinegars are the perfect way to capture the essence of your garden in a bottle. They’re lovely for salad dressings, marinades, or drizzling over roasted veggies.

Try these combinations:

• Rosemary & Garlic Chive Vinegar – Earthy, aromatic, and perfect for roasted potatoes or chicken.
• Tarragon & Shallot Vinegar – Ideal for vinaigrettes and fish dishes.
• Basil & Oregano Vinegar – A perfect flavor to splash over tomatoes or toss with olive oil and pasta.

How to Make It:

1. Fill a clean glass jar half to two-thirds full with fresh (washed and dried) herbs.
2. Warm your vinegar slightly (white wine, distilled white, or rice vinegar with 5% acidity).
3. Pour over herbs, leaving about an inch of headspace. 
4. Bruise the herbs with the handle of a wood spoon.
5. Cover tightly and let infuse for 2–3 weeks in a cool, dark place.
6. Strain and bottle in decorative jars — they make charming kitchen gifts!

Add your creation to Backyard Patch Italian Dressing Mix or Lemon Chive Dressing Mix and enjoy at your holiday table.

🍬 Simple Herbal Syrups: Sweet and Soothing

Herbal syrups add flavor and flair to tea, sparkling water, mocktails, and desserts.

Flavor Ideas:

• Thyme & Lemon Syrup – Uplifting and bright; delicious in tea or with plain soda.
• Anise Hyssop Syrup – Lightly licorice and floral; pairs beautifully with gin-style mocktails.
• Lemon Verbena Syrup – Perfect for cocktails or drizzled over fruit salad.

How to Make It:

1. Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan.
   
2. Bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves.
3. Add a generous handful of herbs (about ½ to 1 cup) and stir for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and cover.
5. Let steep 30 minutes or until it reaches room temperature, strain, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Use these along with the drink suggestions in our Backyard Patch Beginner Mocktails book.

🧂 DIY Herb Salts and Sugars: Quick Gifts from the Garden

These are ridiculously easy to make and keep the essence of herbs long after the garden fades.

Herb Salt Ideas:

• Rosemary & Sage Salt – Great for roasted vegetables and meats.
• Basil & Marjoram Salt – Adds a burst of summer to pasta dishes.

Herb Sugar Ideas:

• Scented Geranium Sugar – Perfect for baking or tea.
• Mint Sugar – Adds a cool twist to hot cocoa or cookies.

How to Make It:

1. Layer salt or sugar with fresh herbs leaves in a shallow jar (or pulse in a blender).
2. Use a ratio of 4 parts base to 1 part herbs.
3. Allow to meld for two weeks, then remove leaves whole (if using a blender, spread out on wax papaer to dry for 48 hours before storing.)
4. Store in airtight jars.

Keep near the stove with a jar of Backyard Patch Herbs Seasonings as ready-to-use cooking aids.

🎁 Gift Idea: “Preserve the Harvest” Basket

Bundle your homemade herb vinegar, a jar of herb salt or sugar, and a bottle of syrup with one of our Backyard Patch Herb Mixes for a thoughtful, garden-inspired gift. Add a sprig of dried herbs and a recipe tag for a personal touch.

🪶 Suggestion:
A woven basket with a bottle of herbal vinegar, a jar of salt, a syrup bottle, and a tea blend or seasoning packet — all nestled in kraft paper and tied with a raffia bow.

🌬️ Don’t Let Frost Steal Your Flavor

Taking a few hours to preserve your herbs now means you’ll have a taste of summer all winter long. Whether you enjoy them in your kitchen or give them as gifts, these simple projects keep your herbal harvest alive — in the most delicious ways possible.

Gift Shopping? We have some suggestions - 10 gifts for the Special People in your Life

This selection of gifts includes Items from Backyard Patch Herbs and others from friends of mine on Etsy. I have grouped them by potential recipients. And if you want an extra Small Business Saturday coupon just join our Good Thyme Club and we will send out some special coupons to use Thanksgiving Weekend thru Cyber Monday!

For Him

Finding gifts for the men in life can sometimes be challenging.  But we found some great ideas:

DIY Grilling Kit - We make this great adventure gift so the recipient can blend their own grilling spices, from rubs to marinades they receive ingredients, containers and simple instructions so they can then regift in style.

If your man friends are budding mixologists, try out our Cocktail Kits:

From an easy just-add-booze Old Fashioned, to flavoring bourbon or making Faux Gin, these kits will let them stir up some great drinks for the holiday.

For Grandma/Grandpa

A fun welcome to visiting grandma and grandpa is this hand created Door Mat

If grandma or grandpa is a gardener, try out the Garden Stone personalized with names of family members.

Hostess Gifts

Give the gift of fun tastes with these Olive Oil Dipping Blends in a delightful gift box.  We have other versions as well, like Wassail and herb tea.

Teacher/Coach Gifts

This cute little Teacher Theme Ornament that can be personalized with the teachers name is a great idea

Celebration of teachers can include giving them something to do in their free time. Like these sweet Wassail blends that can be blended with Apple Cider for seasonal sipping.

 

For Her

Girlfriends, work associates, and other women in your life need a bit of fun too.  

Try out these Floral Book Markers for your bookish friends.

A great gift of flowers that will never fade or wilt, just like your friendship. Check out the variety of Crocheted Flowers.

And sharing a cup of tea even from afar is simple with this special Tea Cup Gift.  You get a vintage tea cup, tea bag and honey to sweeten.  Packaged wonderfully and shipped anywhere in the US.

Enjoy your holiday and time with friends and family!

Remember join our Good Thyme Club to get special discounts for Small Business Saturday!

Herbal Gifts DIY

Coming up on Nov 6 we are presenting our Making Herbal Gifts program at District 214 in the Arlington Heights, IL  Area, so I thought I could share this blog post I first wrote as a Guest post on the Supporting Artists blog in December 2012.  The best thing about this is it is timeless and these items are great to make and perfect as gifts.

Using and gifting with herbs is such a special holiday treat. I thought I would share a few simple ideas that you can use to herb up your Holidays.

As an herb gardener, I enjoy the scents and smells of herbs, but this time of year the smell of spices is just as appealing. I craft these simmering spices to give my home the smell of gingerbread even when I do not have time for baking.

Simmer Spices

§  6 whole cinnamon sticks, broken

§  1 Tbls. whole allspice

§  1 Tbls. orange rind

§  1 Tbls. whole cloves

§  A handful of pine needles or fir needles, or you can substitute 2 Tbls. of Rosemary

Place all the items with water to cover in a simmer pot or place in a saucepan on the back burner with enough water to cover and keep on simmer. Refill the water whenever it gets low and enjoy the smell of Christmas!!

Seasoned Nuts

This is a recipe I share with my friends each year. I make it to serve at open houses. As a favor or gift I give my Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend with the recipe attached to those visiting. It is simple and easy to make and you can change up the nuts to suit your palate. If you do not have any Cinnful Dessert Blend, try pumpkin pie spice or just plain cinnamon.

Stirring the seasoned nuts, just before the oven

Cinnful Nuts (Cinnamon Roasted Nuts)

§  1/2 cup pecans

§  1/2 cup walnut halves

§  1 cup peanuts (see note below)

§  1 egg lightly beaten

§  1 tsp. water

§  3/4 cup sugar

§  1 Tbls. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

§  3/4 tsp. salt

Steps:

Combine the nuts. Mix together the egg and water and toss with the nut mixture. Combine the sugar, spices and salt and toss that with the nuts until they are well coated.

Spread nuts in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Break up any large clusters and allow to cool.

(* NOTE: You can remove peanuts and increase the other nuts by ½ cup to make a different mixture. Or substitute hazelnuts for the peanuts.)

Inspiration Stimulation

When your creativity starts flagging because of all the pressure and use this delightful recipe for tea that combines sweet and savory herbs to construct a creative frame of mind. As a gift I tie 2 teaspoons of the herbs into cheese cloth squares or coffee filters and stack them in a decorative jar with a label including instructions.

§  1 Tbls. Hibiscus

§  1 Tbls. Lemon grass

§  ½ Tbls.Basil (Holy Basil if you have it is even better)

§  1 tsp. Rosemary

§  1 tsp. Cardamom seed (if you have pods crush and extract only the seed)

 

Combine in a container with a tight-fitting lid and use 2 tsp. per cup of hot water. Allow to steep 5 to 7 minutes.

Energizing Bath Bag Blend

Need more energy this holiday season? This combination of energizing herbs could do the trick. Create this blend of herbs and use it for yourself or make up a batch with your family and give them as gifts. The recipe makes 8 cloth bags of bath blend.

§  ½ cup lavender flowers

§  ½ cup peppermint

§  ½ cup spearmint

§  ½ cup lemon grass

§  8 drops lavender essential oil

§  10 drops lemon grass essential oil

§  5 drops peppermint essential oil

§  5 drops spearmint essential oil

Combine all herbs in a plastic bowl. Add oils by the drop and stir with a plastic spoon or spatula (not with your hands.) Allow to meld for an hour and then place about ¼ cup in a cotton muslin bag or heat sealed tea bag.

TO USE: Allow bath bag to steep in hot bath water for 3 to 5 minutes before bathing.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you like herbs, please visit my Shop where I highlight not only my cooking and tea herbs, but also baking mixes, soups mixes, and seasonal spices: www.backyardpatch.com or you can visit me at www.backyardpatch.etsy.com

 

 

Mini Mall with Etsy Freinds

This week I have been participating in a mini mall that highlighted 6 products from my shop as well as those of several of my Etsy Friends, we have glass bead crafters, vintage items, jewelry pieces, fun party favors and gifts, and special crafty items.  You can take advantage of the online shopping Mini Mall through Sunday December 9, 2018. With some special discounts and coupons!

It is an elective mix of items and the links will take to websites or Etsy shops so you can find other items by these same creatives.

I wanted to introduce you to the folks in this #MINIMALLETSY

The organizer of the Mini Mall was Elke of Ozark Glass.  She makes fused glass and glass bead items.  They have classical looks and the fused glass is very elegant.

Having lived and worked in Germany and  the USA, Elke has a broad interest in the arts and crafts. She has done sewn crafts as well as beading.  THe best part for her is picking the materials, coming up with the design, and the techniques. Her love is fused glass items so she sells other craft items to feed her fused glass habit.

Another member of the Mini Mall is a long-time Etsy Friend Elizabeth from LizP Originals. Liz makes great beaded ornaments and the lovely polished stone suncatchers.  For winter she is crafting beaded sweater  and scarf clips that are quite lovely.

                
Liz started making beaded items back in 1988 after getting married and moving to the US from Austria.  It sparked something in her, as she has not stopped designing since.  She is most proud of her new Christmas ornaments for pets, wing ornaments for pet loss and supporting special causes.  She likes to do custom work as well, so don't be afraid to ask!

Isabel of Isabel's Vintage has a great selection of vintage items that gifts for that distinctive person in your life.  My favorite in the Mini Mall is the men's neck tie from the Museum of Art. I like that her items go beyond the typical plates to more interesting vintage materials.

Jacqueline of JNJgiftsNcrafts is more traditional in her crafting with knitted items and sewn pieces, but she has nice variety.  According to Jacqueline she has been doing some sort of crafts all her life. She had a ceramic studio years ago and was taught to knit, sew, embroider, and crochet by her mother and grandmother. She says now that she is older she likes the extra money from crafting and has expanded it to include all areas of crafting . I love the bibs and the animal knitted hats, but my favorite item in the mall is the GIVE A FOX mug.  Do you give a FOX?

Chalk Couture is a unique member of our group.  Alicia also has an Etsy shop called TheMillers House.  With these chalk art based items you can create  your own chalkboards, farmhouse signs and vintage window items using the design elements special easy dry paints and washable paste colors.  It is a great set of accessories for those into the farmhouse design theme. Alicia is the individual designer working here and you can check out her website at tmh.chalkcouture.com or her facebook page

In a unique twist we have Oil Patch Burlesque. This fun party supply shop created by Terry, has hand crafted risqué items as well as other party supplies for your next hen party or raunchy gift item. They are fun, some are obscene and clearly even more fun and some are just hilarious. So indulge your naughty side and check out Terry and her penis chocolates (with nuts.) Terry has other shops with similar handcrafted edibles as well as those in the Mini Mall.

Last but by no means least is Aspen Tree Jewelry.  Frances is a unique jewelry maker and also a great customer of mine as well as an advocate for persons with disabilities.  In addition to lovely agate jewelry, she also designs graphics and has lived in all four time zones in the US!

I also like the mismatched earring sets, clever and different from what you might get elsewhere.

Of course this all came up because I have some Backyard Patch Herb items in the Mini Mall also and my fav is the Wine Dip Mixes that I made new this holiday season.

So visit and explore the Mini Mall and all that my Etsy friends have to offer you might find that perfect Holiday gift you never knew existed.

Another Edible Gift - Herbal Holiday Cookies

Check out the first post with Tarragon Mustard that also shows all the links for the Gift Card Giveaway.  You can enter the giveaway until Midnight on Wednesday November 22, 2017

This rosy cider simmers for just 10 minutes, making a great choice for drop-in visitors or last-minute parties. Great served with Christmas Cookies.

Rosie Christmas Cider

1 small orange, halved
1 teaspoon whole cloves
8 cups apple cider or apple juice
4 cups cranberry juice
1 tablespoon honey
6 inches stick cinnamon

Push tips of cloves into orange rinds.  In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, combine cider, cranberry juice and honey. Add clove-studded orange halves and stick cinnamon. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Discard orange halves and cinnamon sticks before serving.

Holiday Spice Cookies

Cookies always take some planning and a bit of effort, but the recipients of these cookie gifts will be grinning all through the holiday.  And the spicy flavor makes them a perfect complement to the Cider recipe above.

Chewy Spice Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 

3 1/4 teaspoons Cinnfull Dessert Blend*

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

3/4 cup vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat-free) 

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar 

1 large egg 

1/2 cup molasses 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, Cinnful Dessert Blend, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Using an electric mixer, beat the shortening and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined (do not over mix).  Place the granulated sugar on a plate. Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls; roll in the sugar to coat. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Using a glass, press the balls to a ⅜-inch thickness and sprinkle with more granulated sugar.  Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

*Email me at Marcy@backyardpatch.com if you want a substitute spice blend for the Cinnful Desert Blend mentioned in the recipe.