Herbs!

Since it was only about 100 degrees outside today, I decided to pick herbs to dry. This is the second batch I've picked for myself.

They are really nice right now...I tend them frequently and keep them picked so they have lots of new growth. I cut them with scissors and take only the top leaves. They are more flavorful than the lower leaves. If the plants are very large, as my basil and parsley are, the lower leaves get very large and sometimes a little "woody". I didn't pick very much dill as I want it to go to seed.

All you have to do is cut them, wash them off - I use the sprayer at my sink - and lay them out in an airy, bright place on a kitchen towel. Make sure you are able to identify them when they dry, sometimes it's hard to tell. When they are completely dried out, place them in an air tight container...I use glass canning jars...and keep them in a cool dark place. They should be brittle to the touch. If they are not completely dried they will mold after being sealed up.

I put two gallons of whole tomatoes, peeled and cored, in the freezer yesterday. Gosh they have been good!

Kept Little Man the other day. He really keeps my on my toes! We have a large floor fan going in the living room to circulate the air conditioning. It can be tilted to blow straight up or at an angle. I was in the kitchen and heard what sounded like a barrage of BB's going off. I looked around the bar and Little Man said Ooooh Nooo! He had tilted the fan to blow straight up and dropped a handful of kibbles dog food in it. My living room looked like a herd of goats had come through - there were pellets everywhere. I'm sure there are still some under the couch but I'm afraid to look.

Stay cool!

Spaghetti with fresh herbs...

is a very good thing!

Brown the ground beef and drain to remove fat.

Chop onions and fresh garlic, add to pot.

Slice about a pound of fresh mushrooms, add about three cans of stewed or diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste and 3 cans of water, and a cup of wine. Instead of adding tomato sauce, I use a jar or can of prepared spaghetti sauce (Prego, Ragu, etc.). That gives it a little boost. Season with Worcestershire, a little salt and pepper. I found a pepper and dried Worcestershire blend that is really good. If you are going to use dried herbs, add them now.

Let your sauce simmer a while.

Fresh herbs are not nearly as pungent as dried, so gather and clean a good amount. I used fresh parsley, oregano and basil, about a cup loosely packed. Chop them fine and add to your sauce.

Simmer the sauce until the herbs are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Serve over pasta with fresh grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread. I usually cook an entire package of spaghetti...all you have to do is rinse it under hot water to reheat.

We had Little Man overnight and he has discovered that he can go pick his own berries! Hubby thought his hand was bleeding only to find that he'd been picking ripe blackberries and eating them as fast as he could. The green ones were not nearly as tasty as the ripe ones...we found several green ones on the ground. We finally had to make him come inside - we were afraid they would make him sick. Big Guy rolled over for the first time yesterday...maybe soon he can go pick berries with his big brother.

This is my "little" patio tomato. It has done very well and is responding to the kind words I give it every day.

Have a great day!

Herbs

We couldn't stand it any more...the weather has been beautiful and we went ahead and planted our herbs in the front yard bed. We're a little gun shy about putting the tomatoes in - there always seems to be a cold snap that sets them back, so we won't plant them until the end of the month.

The plants are really nice right now, basil and sage are my favorites. We also put in rosemary, oregano, dill and flat leaf parsley. They will produce throughout the summer and I keep the plants picked to encourage new growth. I have a dehydrator with several racks that I use to dry them and store them in glass jars. They will last a long, long time into next winter.

We've been painting the spare bedroom and doing a litttle spring cleaning so Hubby has been grilling dinner for us. Haven't decided what to have tonight, but I'm sure we'll come up with something. Hmmmm...chicken maybe.