Herb Tea Jelly

This is a great way to make a jelly that is different every time you make it by simply using a different herb tea.  Use your own tea blend or any of the 22 versions of herb tea available from Backyard Patch Herbs to make a perfect Herbal Jelly you can give as a gift or serve to guests.  I love Calming Spirit, Lemon Lavender Splash, and Lavender Peppermint as my favorites to make jelly from.  These photos show jelly made with Calming Spirit.  The lavender makes a darker jelly so it does not look pale and plain. If you are interested in learning to can jellies and other preserves, check out my Community Ed classes.

Basic Herb Tea Jelly

1 3/4 cup water

14 tsp. loose tea in one or more tea infusers or a coffee filter

1/4 cup orange or related juice

3 cups sugar

1-3 oz. package of liquid pectin

Directions:

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and add tea.  Steep for 30 minutes.  Remove tea bag or infusers add juice and sugar to brewed tea and bring to full rolling boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add pectin, return to full rolling boil and allow to boil for 1 full minute.  Skim off any foam.  Pour hot jelly into prepared jars and process in a water bath for 20 minutes.

Makes 8 to 12 1/2 pint jelly jars.

This jelly is a great combo to use with cream cheese or in our Surprise Muffin Mix.

To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: SCJSep

To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018

For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:

   January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)

   February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)

   March - Jambalaya (JambMar)

   May - Ham and Shrimp Dishes (ShrHamMay)

   June - Bread recipes (BreadJun)

   July - Grilling (GrillJul)

   August- Garden Delights (GardAug)

   September - Salsa, Corn and Jelly (SCJSep)

   October - Squash Dishes 

   November - Pumpkin Recipes 

   December - Herbal Cocktails 

Lemon Verbena Lady's Pineapple Sage Jelly

This month the theme is corn, salsa and jelly.  I have located a few herb jelly recipes from some great herb jelly makers, with salsa and corn recipes from my archive to utilize the fact that the tomatoes and corn are at their prime.  I am teaching some canning classes this fall so I thought I would experiment with recipes I can include in the classes and share those with you!

This first recipe is a Pineapple Sage Jelly - I love this plant and unlike many herb is flowers very late in the season and is a great nectar plant for late season pollinators.

Lemon Verbena Lady's Pineapple Sage Jelly 

Makes four ½ pint (8-ounce) jars 

As many of you know my favorite herb is Lemon verbena.  It is not native to zone 5a, so I grow it in pots, but I have traveled to Guatemala and seen it in its natural habitat growing 6 to 10 feet tall. Early in my herb career I found the blog of LemonVerbena Lady.  Someone who loves this herb as much as I do.  A writer for many years for Herb Companion and Mother Earth News, she was a maker of herb jelly regularly and I love her recipes better than most I find.  So with a Jelly theme, I thought I must share one of hers first.  She suggests that you use one 12-ounce can of Old Orchard Pineapple Juice, frozen concentrate, reconstituted with 3 cans of water instead of a purchased pineapple juice.  She says one can will give you enough juice for three recipes of this jelly.

2 cups of pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups pineapple sage leaves, packed
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, white wine vinegar OR lemon juice, your choice of one
1 pinch of salt
1 pouch of liquid pectin

Directions:

Wash and dry the pineapple sage in paper towels, then coarsely chop it. Put the pineapple sage in a large saucepan, and crush the leaves using the bottom of a glass. (or use a food processor.) Add the juice, bring slowly to a boil, and boil for 10 seconds. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes to steep.

Photo courtesy of Lemon Verbena Lady

Strain 1 1/2 cups of liquid from the saucepan and pour through a fine strainer into another saucepan. Add the vinegar of your choice (or lemon juice), salt and sugar, and bring to a hard boil while stirring. When the boil can't be stirred down, add the pectin. Return to a hard boil that can't be stirred down and boil for exactly 1 minute, then remove saucepan from heat.

Skim off the foam and pour the hot jelly into four hot, sterilized (in boiling water for 10 minutes) half-pint jelly jars. Leave 1/2-inch (or less) headspace and seal at once with sterilized 2-piece lids. I just leave my lids in hot water not boiling until you need them. Can the jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

To use: I would use this jelly on thumbprint cookies, cream cheese and crackers for a quick appetizer or a teaspoon or two as a glaze for the last 15 minutes of baking chicken or pork.

To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: SCJSep

To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018

For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:

   January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)

   February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)

   March - Jambalaya (JambMar)

   May - Ham and Shrimp Dishes (ShrHamMay)

   June - Bread recipes (BreadJun)

   July - Grilling (GrillJul)

   August- Garden Delights (GardAug)

   September - Salsa, Corn and Jelly (SCJSep)

   October - Squash Dishes 

   November - Pumpkin Recipes 

   December - Herbal Cocktails 

Anise hyssop - Herb of the Week

Last week I visited the Morton Arboretum and photographed a Golden Anise hyssop.  I love this plant, but had never seen a version with yellow leaves.  That was when I realized I had not done an herb of the week on this amazing bee and butterfly attracting plant.  

 

So this week’s Herb of the Week is 

                Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum).

The Native Americans found many uses for this North American native plant. The Cheyenne drank a tea of this herb to relieve a "dispirited heart." The Cree included the flowers herb in medicine bundles, and the Ojibwa made a protective charm of it.  The dried plant has been burned as an incense. Because of its height it makes a great back border in contemporary gardens and if you love butterflies in the garden, this plant will attract them, along with hummingbirds.  There are some who believe it has protective qualities and should be planted near the back door. It's a wonderful addition to the cottage garden.

This native perennial plant is 2-3½' tall, branching occasionally near the apex. The four-angled stems are light green.  The leaves are up to 4" long and 2" across, broadly lanceolate in shape they can end up a bit rounded in a mature plant.  They edges have a slight serration. They look a bit like catnip, another mint-family member, but larger.  The upper surface of the leaves is conspicuously veined and dull green, while the lower surface is white. The foliage has an anise scent. A member of the Mint family (Lamiaceae) they do have a square stem.  The small purple flowers are arranged in dense whorls that are crowded along the spike becoming more colorful toward its tips. The flowers bloom in scattered locations along the spikes for about 1-2 months from mid- to late summer. 

Almost any form of bee is drawn to Anise Hyssop flowers so watch if to see a parade of honeybees, bumblebees, digger bees, masked bees and Halictid bees along with and various butterflies, skippers, and moths. Deer, squirrels and other mammals  normally avoid consuming this plant as the anise scent of the foliage is repugnant to them. The anise scent may also deter some leaf-chewing insect species.

To Grow

The preference is full or partial sun, and will inhabit moist to dry conditions. The soil can consist of loam, clay-loam, or contain some rocky material. Anise Hyssop is generally disease resistant, but can drop leaves in a drought.  Occasionally, slugs and insects will feed on the leaves, creating holes. This member of the Mint family is more resistant to drought than many others.

Typical habitats include openings in dry upland forests, upland areas of prairies, scrubby barrens, and thickets. Cultivated forms of Anise Hyssop are often grown in flower gardens; these cultivars are often hybrids and vary in their fidelity to the wild forms of this plant. 

One popular variety of Anise hyssop Agastache scrophulariaefolia (Purple Giant Hyssop), has flowers with similar coloration to Anise Hyssop. However, the foliage of Purple Giant Hyssop doesn't have an anise scent and the undersides of its leaves are green, rather than white. Purple Giant Hyssop is hairier than Anise Hyssop, and it tends to be a taller plant. 

Anise hyssop is easily grown from seed, either by starting indoors as you would tomatoes or by sprinkling outside in spring or fall. Fall-planted seed will remain dormant and then sprout in the spring; this is the way mature plants sow their seed, after all. You can also winter sow Anise hyssop seeds. Your established anise hyssop will produce plenty of volunteer plants for you to share with friends or use to expand your planting. Fortunately, they’re extremely easy to transplant. Plantings can be increased by root division, too.

Seeds require light to germinate, so barely cover at room temperature to germinate 5-30 days. Keep soil moist but not sopping.  Don't put in direct sun. Transplant to 1 ft apart in rich soil and full sun or partial shade - stalks will be stronger in full sun. It might need staking in partial shade. It will thrive in full sun in well-drained garden soil

This perennial generally blooms the second year from seeds but might bloom the first year if it is happy. Cut it back by 1/3 after blooming, and it will get bushier and rebloom. Plants get 3-6 feet tall. Anise hyssop is hardy from zone 5 to 9.  It self-seeds readily and its roots travel underground, but it is not too aggressive. Deer avoid it, but rabbits generally do not.

To Use

Herb lovers claim it as a culinary herb, using the fresh or dried leaves in tea and crumbling the tangy flowers over fruit salad.  Bees love the flowers, and so do herb crafters, as blossoms retain their fragrance and color when dried.  As a result be sure to use it as a cut flower and in potpourri, and the flowers dry nicely to navy blue (the dried seed heads look pretty nice in the winter garden, too). 

This herb smells like black licorice and in fact has some chemicals in common with licorice, but the scent also has notes of lemon, pine, sage, black pepper, and camphor giving it a complex scent and flavor. The leaves or flowers are edible and can be used to sweeten tea or flavor sugar or quickbreads and muffins (add 1/2 cup chopped fresh flowers). Trim the flower heads and use fresh or dried in a tisane (herb tea), or separate the tiny flowers from the main stem to dot over the top of a fruit salad or garnish a summer cucumber soup.

Steep the leaves in milk for flavoring when making ice cream. You can make anise-hyssop honey by putting some dried leaves in a jar, pouring warm honey over them, and leaving the leaves in the honey for a month so the honey to soak up the herb taste. Make some delicious butter cookies by adding 2 tablespoons of the fresh minced flowers to a basic butter cookie dough. The flowers make a nice garnish for iced tea too.

Steep 2 teaspoons of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried herb in a mug of hot water for 7-10 minutes for a slightly sedating and tranquilizing tea.  Anise Hyssop is native to the US, so Native Peoples used it regularly in madicinal brews.  The Cheyenne drank a tepid tea of anise hyssop to relieve the pain from coughing with chest colds. This herb produces sweating, and the Cheyenne also used it for sweatlodges. The Cree added it to regular tea to improve the taste, the Dakota and Omaha people flavored cooked foods with it, and the Iroquois made it into a wash against the itching of poison ivy.  It's also a traditional poultice for burns.

Medicinal Properties

Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum leaves have antibacterial properties and are taken as an infusion to alleviate coughs and colds. Anise is a carminative, warming digestive aid. So beyond the medical uses mentioned above among Native American Peoples, it has other well practiced uses, like Anise Hyssop clears excessive dampness in the stomach and spleen and heaviness in the chest. It is used as a preventive for heat stroke and summer colds.

The leaves are used topically as a compress for angina, burns, fever, headache, heatstroke, and herpes. The plant is excellent in baths and foot-baths for simply cooling off or for treating sunburn and fungal conditions such as athlete’s foot and yeast overgrowth. I use it in tinctures for colds, sore throats, flu, and respiratory problems. I craft salves with an anise hyssop base for wound healing. Poultices made by mashing fresh leaves into a paste and applying to wounds and injuries is also very effective due to is antibacterial properties. 

Recipes

Strawberry Anise Hyssop Jelly

An Original Recipe by Christine, lifesalasagna.blogspot.com

Makes about 8-9 4-ounce jars (about 4 half pints)

4 lbs fresh strawberries

2 cups sugar

12-14 large (24-30 small) Anise Hyssop leaves gently rinsed and patted dry

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

Stack Anise Hyssop leaves on a cutting board and slice into wide 1/4-3/8" chiffonade.  Add to large 6-8 quart pot with the sugar, give it a stir. Wash, trim and chop your strawberries, adding them to the pot, and stirring occasionally as you work. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.  When the berries are starting to cook and just before they reach a simmer, give them a good smashing with a potato masher or back of a large spoon. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir gently, occasionally.

Remove from heat and begin draining berries in small batches.  Stir gently with fork and remove all of the Anise Hyssop herbs and unripened strawberries that did not cook down.  Do not press solids as you do not want any in your liquid. Return liquid to the stove on high heat and bring to a full boil. Boil liquid down by about half, stirring often. This will take about 20-25 minutes. 

Return the strawberry solids to the pot and add the lemon juice. Stir well and reduce heat until a gentle simmer can be maintained. Stir frequently so that it does not scorch until a small dab of jam placed on a frozen plate, and returned to the freezer for about a minute, is firm.  It will not gel but will have a nice, non-runny consistency. This will take about 5-7 minutes.

Not canning:  Pour into sterile hot jars and allow to cool before refrigerating. Use within 1-2 weeks.

Canning:  Pour into sterile hot 4 ounce jars, 3/8" headspace and process for 5 minutes.

You can make this in smaller batches by reducing the recipe and sticking to proportions:  1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 4-6 Anise Hyssop leaves to each 1 lb of strawberries.

Anise Hyssop Syrup

20 leaves (1 handful) anise hyssop

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain and refrigerate.

Cough drops

You must make a syrup with sugar, not honey to make cough drops, but you can use raw sugar or brown sugar instead of white sugar and it will work just as well.

Instead of pouring your strained hot syrup into a bottle, keep boiling it. Every minute or so, drop a bit into cold water. When it forms a hard ball in the cold water, immediately take off the heat. Pour your very thick syrup into a buttered flat dish. Cool, then cut into small squares.

A dusting of powdered sugar will keep them from sticking. Store airtight in a cool place.

Strawberry Anise Cocktail

1/2 oz anise hyssop syrup

3 oz vermouth

1 oz vodka

2 ripe strawberries, washed and stems removed

Directions

Place ice and all ingredients except the strawberries into a cocktail shaker.  Place a fine mesh strainer over the cocktail shaker and press the strawberries through it with the back of a spoon to "juice" them into the shaker.  Shake until nice and cold and strain into a glass.

My Scent Surpise from the Lemon Verbena lady

Recently I entered a giveaway on the blog of my herbal freind Lemon Verbena Lady.  I enter herbal giveaways when ever I run across them because you never know what might happen.  Well, this time I WON!

Here is the amazing scent collection I received as a result.  It was actually in a basket (there was some question about that happening) and included a cute herb tea towel, I think I will take with me when I give lectures.

Many of the scented items were crafted at the Village Herb Shop in Chagin Falls, Ohio, where Lemon Verbena Lady took a recent trip.

If you look carefully you will find that there is a Jingle Bell Potpourri, a Simmering Spice Blend, a cleaning spray and a room spray and some reed scent diffusers with a great "strung popcorn" scent.

There was a short note inside which said look for a few surprises as well.  I am guessing these wonderful Herb Jellies were part of that surprise.

Now I have never been to the Village Herb Shop, even though it is not far from my hometown.  It opened after I moved to Chicagoland, but I have corresponded with Kathleen Kips the proprietor on many occasions and I recommend a trip to the shop if you are ever in the Cleveland area.  Kathleen is most noted for her knowledge of the Language of Flowers and Herbs and has a wealth of information on the subject to share.  The shop is located in a great victorian and surrounded by gardens.

There was one extra surprise that made me jump for joy!  You see that bright orange folder?  That is an herbal mustard seasoning from the Reppert's herb shop The Rosemary House  in Mechanicsburg, PA.

That seasoning is called the Mayor's Magic Mustard Mix.  The Mayor refers to Mr. Reppert the former Mayor of Mechanicsburg.  Since Mustard is a passion of mine, I cannot wait to try this and all the recipes included.  The Rosemary House is known for their special seasoning blend called Roastmary about which my husband says I make nothing that can compare to its perfect blend of seasonings for roasting meat and vegetables.  I've given up trying to copy it and just buy a proper supply each season.  Here is the link if you wish to do the same: Roastmary!

So a super big thank you to Nancy, the Lemon Verbena Lady, for this special package of herbal surprises that arrived just in time for the holiday!  That wonderful ornament/decoration is already hanging on my herbroom door!

How Tuesday - Purple Basil Jelly

It has been some years since I made jelly and I decided that I was putting it off because of my small kitchen and for jelly that was not really an issue.  To prove that to myself (and perhaps to you if you also have a small kitchen,) I made Purple Basil Jelly.  Last week before the temps went below 40 and took out the basil crop, I needed to rescue all those herbs.  Since I had to harvest every basil plant that left me with the surplus needed to make this recipe.  I did it in an evening after harvesting the plants so you do not even need to set aside a day or something to accomplish this.

I actually shared this recipe in the newest issue (November/December) of The Essential Herbal Magazine.  Now would be the time to order your subscription to get this and other seasonal end-of-year recipes as well as other articles for the herbal minded person!

The recipe follows all the pictured steps.

First I washed and air dried the harvested stems.  I laid them out on paper towel and turned them a couple of times while I got the other materials together and grated the lemon zest.

I measured the basil leaves into the measuring cup, pressing them down to make sure I had an entire 1 1/2 cups of leaves.  Then I placed the leaves in the empty saucepan and bruised them with my fingers. 

Adding the lemon zest, spices, 1 3/4 cups orange juice orange juice and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar to the pan after the herbs were well bruised. 

Using a medium temperature, I brought he mixture to a boil slowly.

Once it was fully boiling I took it off the stove and poured the contents into a bowl, placed a cover over it and let it steep for 30 minutes.

After the mixture steeped I poured it into my jelly colander.  using the wooden plunger to press down the herbs and extract all the liquid.  You do not normally press down on the materials when making jelly as this will make the mixture cloudy, but the dark color and use of balsamic vinegar in this recipe means it will already be dark and cloudy so you might as well extract all you can from the herbs.

Once I had at least two cups of liquid I measured that back into a saucepan, added the 4 cups of sugar, one cup at a time and brought it to a full rolling boil.  You can see how just adding the sugar started to thicken the mixture and I had not yet added the pectin.

Once it was fully boiling and foaming I added the liquid pectin.  It comes in pre-measured pouches of 3 ounces so you need to make a recipe that crafts 4 to 6 pints to use this amount of pectin.

Bring the jelly back to a full boil so that it is rolling and foaming, then set your timer for one minute.  Stir constantly or the mixture will scorch.

Once you have allowed it to boil for 1 minutes remove it from heat and  skim off the foam that collects on top.  My mom always liked to eat this while it was still warm.

Once you have skimmed off the foam, pour the hot liquid into hot sterilized jars.  I generally leave the jars in the hot water I boiled them in until just before the jelly boils then I remove them from the how water and drain them on a towel.  By the time the pectin boils for one minute I can flip the jars over and fill them right away.  When I take the jars out of the hot water I slip the metal mason jar lids into the hot water and leave them in the water until I am ready to seal each jar with a lid.

The hot lids are placed on top of each filled jar and the rings are screwed on finger tight.  Then you place the jars in a water bath and boil for 5 minutes.  Normally you water bath for 10 minutes, but herbal jelly will get runny if you go that long so only boil covered for 5 minutes.  Then remove the jars to a heat protected surface and let cool.  The lids should pop fairly quickly.  Any that do not should be kept in the refrigerator and eaten first, the others will keep for 6 to 12 months or longer.

Notice my empty jar in the middle to keep the others from falling over into the empty space while boiling.

Recipe --

Purple Basil Jelly

1 1/2 cups packed purple basil leaves, washed and air dried

zest of 1 lemon

3 whole cloves

2 allspice berries

1 3/4 cups orange juice

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

4 cups sugar

3 ounces of liquid pectin

Crush the basil leaves with your hands and place in a saucepan.  Add the lemon zest, cloves, allspice, orange juice and vinegar, then bring slowly to a boil.  Transfer to bowl and cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve pressing to extract all the juices. Measure 2 cups extracted liquid into a saucepan.  Add the sugar and bring to full rolling boil.  Stir in the pectin and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat, skim and pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.

Stop back in a week and I will have some recipes for using the Purple Basil Jelly.

Holiday Gift Making Series - Food Gifts

This year I’m trying to put a more personal spin on the gifts we give.  I have always given herb blends and many years I have given cookies, truffles and the like, but this year, I decided to use the garden bounty in a different way.  I have come up with several ideas, a couple of which I have shared already.

Food items are always a hit and rather than giving a mix or two this year, I am actually going to make up a few items and put them in a basket.  Instead of a theme, like breakfast or dinner which I have done in the past, I am going for an herb sampler of items.  Making the time to create a gift from scratch is well worth it, most people you give a homemade gift will recognise the love and effort that went into the gift making it more special than anything you can buy in a shop. 


Here are a few recipes for herb infused items you can bake up and give to your friends too:

Savory Herb Crackers
Here is the recipe, for detailed instructions for making these, check out the how to I did back in July.

Rosemary Crackers How to!


Herb Scones
Baking up a pan of scones is probably the easiest gift to create.  They have a good shelf life and you can make them as a mix or as the baked finished product.  They also do not require special tools and the variations are endless. and most versatile recipe you can create.  For other scone recipes, check out this past post.

Tea Party Currant Scones
4 cups flour plus 2 tablespoons, divided

¼  cup white sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest
3 sticks (1 and one-half cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (see testing note)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried currants
Egg wash made from 1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water or additional cream
Crystallized sugar for topping, optional

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, zest and pieces of cold butter. Beat on low speed just until butter is the size of peas. (Alternately, whisk together dry ingredients and work butter in by hand.)

In a small bowl, whisk together schnapps, eggs and cream. Turn mixer on low and add liquid in a slow, steady stream and mix just until mixture is blended, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, toss currants with 2 tablespoons flour. Add to bowl and mix for a few seconds just until distributed. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and make it into 2 balls. (Note: due to the large amount of butter and eggs, this is a very sticky dough. Add flour as needed to form into balls. It will firm up when chilled.)

Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press or roll chilled dough out to one-inch thickness and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut scones of desired size. You can re-roll scraps but they may need to be re-chilled first. Place scones on a greased cookie sheet and brush with egg wash or cream. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.  Bake 13 to 20 minutes depending on size until golden brown.  Yields about 60 mini (2-inch) scones.

 Herbal Jelly
Scones can be topped with jelly or with Devon cream or even lemon curd, so try this!

Savory Jelly

1 Tbls. fresh or dried summer or winter savory

½ cup boiling water

1 ½ cup unsweetened cranberry juice

3 cups honey

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 box powdered pectin

Make an infusion (tea) of savory and water.  Let steep 5 minutes or more.  Strain.  In large sauce pan combine juice, honey, and infusion liquid and bring to boil.  Add pectin, stirring at all times.  Heat until mixture reaches a hard boil.  Boil hard for 30 seconds and give a sheet test.  Once it passes the sheet test remove instantly from heat. Pour into sterilized jars with a sprig of fresh savory in each, seal.

Sheet test –

Dip a metal spoon into the boiling syrup.  As the boiling mixture nears the jellying point, it will drop from the side of the spoon in two (2) drops, (not a stream).  The jelly is finished and should be removed from the burner.

Bouquet Garni
Bouquet Garni is traditionally bay, thyme, rosemary & parsley, but I believe you can mix your own bouquets to work with your favorite ingredients.  You can combine the herbs and place them in cute squares of fabric or muslin bags.  And put them in a bale jar or basket with a few recipes.  You can add an herbal vinegar and a bottle of quality olive oil to make a perfect seasoning package.

Here are some suggestions for a selection of Bouquet Garni bags that will compliment different types of food.

For Meat – 1 teaspoon each Nutmeg, Thyme, Chervil and Tarragon.
For Fish – 1 teaspoon each of Tarragon, Dill, Mint and Lemon peel.
For Vegetables – 4 Bay Leaves, 2 teaspoons Parsley and 1 teaspoon Thyme.

Herbal Vinegar

1 cup fresh herbs (of your choice)

2 cups wine or rice vinegar

Place the washed herbs in a jar with a plastic lid and bruise them with the handle of a spoon.  Cover them with vinegar of your choice that you have warmed in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes. 

Seal the jar with a non-reactive (plastic) lid and let sit for at least two weeks shaking daily. Strain using cheese cloth or a coffee filter and rebottle. 

For detailed instructions, check out the How-to-sday on Making Vinegar.

Herb Quick Bread
Quick breads do not have yeast ahdn have no rise time,so they make a quick and easy gift.  You can use your imagination here too, but I have given two recipes to try.

Herb Quick Bread

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         3 tablespoons sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1 tablespoon caraway seeds

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·         1 egg

·         1 cup fat-free milk

·         1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Transfer to a 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Herb & Cheese Quick Bread

Ingredients:

·         2 cups flour

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon dried basil

·         1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1/4 teaspoon dried sage

·         1/4 cup margarine or butter

·         1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or 1 cup Monterey jack cheese

·         1 egg, , beaten

·         1/2 cup yogurt

·         1/2 cup milk

·         1/8 cup poppy seeds

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut in margarine or butter. Combine cheese, egg, yogurt and milk, and add to other ingredients. Dump into a round or square 9-inch pan, sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Make up a basket of culinary herbs & spices to give as a gift.  You can include your own home made herb tea blends, give them pretty labels, add a herb mug and pack them all in a basket for a herb tea fan. Or pack a selection of dried herbs and spices into some little amber glass jars which you’ve labelled with the name of the contents, add a few loose herbs such as bay leaves, cinnamon sticks or even dried orange slices, cover in cellophane and finish with raffia to make your own personal herb and spice gift baskets. If you’ve grown and dried your own herbs not often available in supermarkets such as lemon thyme, chocolate peppermint and rose geranium, you can add them to your basket. Or make Rose Geranium, Vanilla and Lavender sugars and put together a gift basket for someone who likes to bake, slip in a few recipes, biscuit cutters and whatever else takes your fancy.  You can make themed gifts too, like an Italian herb gift basket for a friend who loves pizza and pasta.

If you are too busy to craft these items, check out the Backyard Patch.  We have herbal vinegars, scone mixes, cracker mixes and even soup mixes, that are entirely hand-blended with herbs we grow ourselves.  An entire selection of Backyard Patch items can be seen on Etsy and if you use this code: PASSPORT10, you will get 10% off.