drying tasty things - jes

As the other pictures I've posted show, we're big on gardens. One thing we planted extensively was herb, so I have embarked on my first step of preserving things from my garden for later use. There are far too many fresh herbs, so after reading a couple of books and settling on one method, I've begun drying a variety. I've started with spearmint, peppermint, thyme, and parsley. So far it seems to be working. I bought quilting circles at Michael's for a dollar each, and a few glass jars to store them in (hopefully it works well). The thyme seems to have taken to drying the prettiest, and I'm hoping that the mint is looking like it's supposed to. I promise I've been doing stuff on the inside of the house as well, but the gardening thing is really exciting for me. We had a garden last summer, but it did not get used as much of it should have and much went to waste. I'm hoping to keep that from happening.

Part of my enthusiasm comes from knowing that all the work I put into the garden now, will benefit Marshall and myself for months and years if we put in the right amount of time and effort now. Previous gardens always only held the promise of that season. This home will be one we stay in for an indefinite amount of time, and because of that any work we do is ours to keep. I love our gardens. Walking out in the morning with my first cup of coffee, watering the plants, tasting the herbs, keeping an eye on the tiny peppers and cucumbers growing from their flowers. It's so exciting. It also doesn't hurt that I kinda enjoy getting my hands dirty (so long as it's dirt-dirty) and I've been tearing through Michael Pollan's books and they are changing my life. His take on bettering what foods you eat is so practical and exploratory. My thoughts have been provoked to say the least. It's turning out to be a very rich summer.