got thyme on your hands?

(disclaimer* I'm trying to use the new blogger editor and as you can see so far I'm not very good at it. That or it doesn't work all that well. Sorry my post is a little jumbled, hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon.)

I don't know what it is about drying my own herbs that I love....mmmm, maybe it's because store bought herbs are so expensive and growing my own herbs is so cheap! Ya, I think that's it. Well, it's easy and if you've got some time/thyme on your hands that's about all you need. Seriously! I grow lots of fresh herbs in my garden through the year and use them as much as I can fresh. Once the season is over, I harvest everything that is left over and dry it for the winter. My favorite herbs to grow and dry are:

thyme
basil

parsley

lemon balm

lavender

oregano
rosemary

Here's how ya dry them.

1. pick them
2. wash them
3. dry them
you can either dry them in a dehydrator but if you don't have one (that would be me) then you lay them out on cookie sheets and cover them with paper towels to keep them clean. You leave them out somewhere dry (your oven when not in use, your laundry room, your kitchen if you've got extra counter space, the top of the fridge, just about anywhere warm and dry) for several days (if not a week or so) until they are dry. When I say "dry" I mean CRUNCHY dry.
4. crunch them. Yep, with your hands over a bowl or in a large ziplock (to contain them). Start crunching the leaves only. You don't want the stems or any of the flower buds...just the leaves.

5. store them in a small jar.

It's a little messy but it produces so much that you'll have plenty to give away even as gifts most likely. It should also be enough to last you through the year if not through two years depending on how much you dry and how much cooking you do.