Herb garden

[itsgigi]

I have a basil plant which is taking over the garden. I know how to store it in the freezer, but does anyone know the procedure for drying it? Thanks for the help.

[LaraW]

I have dried basil a couple of different ways.

The first year of my herb garden I dried everything in the oven. What a pain! Last year I got a little smarter.

I have an old screen door that I set up in my extra bedroom last summer. I laid it across 2 milk crates so that air could pass underneath. I just laid the leaves out on the screen in a single layer, then covered lightly with a sheet. I just checked them every day or two and put them into jars when they were "crispy" dry.

This method is how I dried almost all of my herbs.

Herbs that have small leaves like (as the song goes) parsley, rosemary and thyme I just leave on the stem (the sage goes on the screen! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif ) I gather them into a bunch and tie them together with a piece of string. Then I tie a paper lunch bag around the whole bunch and let dry for a few days. You can sort of shake the leaves off the stems onto the bottom of the paper bag.

There is a really good book that I bought a few years ago called "It's About Thyme" by Marge Clark (I think that's her name) that is an EXCELLENT resource for herbs. She has lots of tips on designing a garden, ideas for good plants for first time gardeners to try, how to store/preserve them, etc.

Another idea for basil is to try making pesto. If your basil plant is taking over, you may have pesto coming out of your ears!

This is probably way more than you wanted! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by LaraW (edited 06-28-2001).]