Herbs de Provence

Last summer I picked up a jar of seasoning at TJ Max, one of my favorites, to try out. It is called Herbs de Provence. It was in a beautiful little jar. Turns out I love it. I am about out, so I will need to concoct my own recipe soon, or find another jar to purchase. The mixture of herbs is a wonderful of blend of aromas and tastes. Yet, it is not overpowering. We have had it on chicken, fish, potatoes, and even on fresh cucumbers with vinegar and oil. If you don't make your own I would at least try to find a jar to try out.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon lavender
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons thyme
4 teaspoons summer savory (or 1 tablespoon winter savory)
2 tablespoons tarragon
2 tablespoons of marjoram

Spices and Herbs! Oh my!

Along with my baking organization, came my organization of my spices and herbs. Can you tell I was a bit stir crazy!?!?!? But, I am ready for all that may come my way. . . for cooking anyway. Here is my list of essential herbs and spices.

The Basics for Everything

• Olive Oil
• Salt (Kosher and table)
• Pepper (ground and pepper corns)
• Bouillon Cubes (chicken, beef, and vegan)
• Garlic
• Vinegar (Balsamic and Salad)
• Soy Sauce
• Honey

Herbs and Spices

• Oregano
• Parsley
• Basil
• Paprika
• Thyme
• Sage
• Bay Leaves
• Cumin
• Ginger Root
• Chili Powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Cinnamon Sticks

Seasoning Mixes I LOVE that save cooking time!

• Steak Seasoning
• Creole Seasoning (Emeril's in particular)
• Greek Seasoning (Cavenders)
• Italian Seasoning
• Cinnamon and Sugar Mixture
• Seasoning Salt
• Herbs de Provence (French mixture- recipe to follow)

Freezing Herbs

Pam and Louis gave me an Aerogarden for Christmas. It has been really fun watching everything grow! The first group that I planted was a variety of herbs. Well since some of my plants were reaching the lightbulbs I decided I needed to trim everything back. I wanted to save the herbs so that I could use them as I cooked. I looked up how to do this and found this great idea to freeze them in ice cube trays so that you can simply pop an herb ice cube into whatever dish you are cooking. Genious!! It was super easy. I froze mint, purple basil, and italian basil. The website (wikihow) recommended freezing the basil in olive oil, not water.


Here's the Aerogarden before I cut the herbs.

The website recommended blanching the herbs (I only did the mint only) to make them last longer...up to 6 months. To blanch them, you dip them in boiling water and then immediately into ice water. I then put the mint into the food processor to chop it up finely.

This is the basil. I added olive oil and chopped away!

Here's the final product. Mint cubes on the right (frozen in water). Purple basil in the middle (in olive oil) and Italian basil on the left (also in olive oil).

Can't wait until the rest of my herbs get a bit bigger and I can freeze some more!