I've been growing rosemary in my garden for years.
Usually when I want to use some in cooking, I clip a few sprigs, mince it up and add it to the food. That works fine for the most part, but sometimes if the weather is stormy or I'm in my pj's and don't feel like trotting out to the garden, it loses it's appeal
This morning I decided to take measures to insure that there would be rosemary at the ready despite the circumstances.
Here the rosemary grows in the ground year round and, if I'm not careful, it will soon be a rather large shrub. So it is a good idea to prune it a bit every now and then.
After a light pruning I washed and lightly dried the trimmings.
Then I laid them out on the dehydrator rack that came with my counter top oven.
I've had this oven over a year now and just realized it had a dehydrate feature. :)
I guess it's time to put it to the test.
The door stays ajar while the dehydrating takes place inside.
The scent of drying rosemary is a bit like Christmas.
Once dried, I removed the needles from the stems
and ran them through my coffee grinder. Actually, I no longer grind coffee beans at home so it has been repurposed into an herb grinder.
I chose to grind it up pretty fine as sometimes despite how finely I chop it, rosemary is a bit woody. I think this will be just the texture I'm looking for when I use it on the potatoes I'll be roasting for dinner tonight.
If you are a fan of rosemary, what are your favorite ways to use it?
I love rosemary! I like making crash potatoes with it or adding it to the turkey along with other herbs. Looks as if you're in business with the dehydrator. I can only imagine how marvelous your home smelled. 🙂
ReplyDeleteI too like rosemary. I add it to roasted potatoes and carrots.
ReplyDeleteI love rosemary and have it growing all year long here, too. I like a few stems of it laid on top of beef stew as it simmers. I've not thought of drying it because those needles would be rather sharp and tough, but grinding it would make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteJust pruned my gigantic, years old, rosemary with heavy duty loppers - as Bob couldn't mow under it - actually the grass was dying from no sun! It's still huge but more manageable. I do snip bits often for roasting veggies, and I love a few sprigs on the kitchen window sill for fragrance! When I pass by the shrub I always rub my hands on it too! Lovely clean smell.
ReplyDeleteRosemary isn't hardy here in zone 7. I buy a new little plant every spring but rarely use it. Once I made a rinse for my hair. That smelled really nice.
ReplyDeleteI love rosemary. I use it on roasted vegetables - onions, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms. I also like to use it on pork.
ReplyDeleteI can smell the rosemary drying from here - I love it sprinkled on roasting potatoes. We often lose rosemary plants in the winter here as they are only semi-hardy in colder areas.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of grinding the rosemary and yes, I don't appreciate getting a 'stick' of rosemary in my mouth when it's snuck it's way into the dish. I have basil growing in a pot for my apartment. It really scents up my kitchen.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky that rosemary grows so well in your area. It grows well here (northwest IL) from spring - fall, but then it dies and doesn't come back. This is one herb I plant every year in my herb garden. I honestly don't use it too much; I find it too overpowering. I'd probably prefer it the way you made it - ground up. What kind of countertop oven do you have that it comes with a dehydrator feature? I have a Breville oven but it doesn't have that.
ReplyDeleteRosemary is something I am looking forward to trying. We have a plant growing next to our cement rooster. I will try drying it as you have. Thank you for sharing. Kathi
ReplyDelete