
Preserve Summer Herbs for Winter Cooking
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- Cut only healthy branches from plants. Remove dry or spotted leaves. If necessary, rinse with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove lower leaves from the bottom inch of the branch.
- Gather together 4-6 branches, and using string or rubber bands tie them into a loose bunch. Punch several holes in a paper bag and label it with the name of the herb. Place the herb bundle upside down in the bag. The bundle of herbs should not be crowded or cramped. Tie together the exposed stems of the herbs and the open end of the bag. Hang the bag away from direct sunlight in a warm, airy room like a garage or mudroom.
- In two weeks see how drying is progressing. Keep checking weekly until herbs are dry and ready to use. Dried herbs retain more of their flavors when the leaves are stored whole in airtight containers.
- Harvest the freshest, healthiest leaves.
- Spread the individual leaves on a small tray or cookie sheet. Freezing the individual leaves flat and separated will prevent them from freezing together into an unwieldy brick.
- Put the tray of leaves into the freezer.
- When the leaves have frozen solid, gently place them in airtight containers, and return them to the freezer. Very tasty!
- Stuff 2-3 individual leaves or a spoonful of chopped herbs into ice cube trays.
- Fill the tray half full with water. Make sure the leaves are submerged in the water. (They will tend to float, but we'll fix that with the next step.) Put the half-filled trays into the freezer.
- Once the cubes are frozen, finish filling the trays with water. The leaves will no longer be able to float and can be completely surrounded with water. Now place the tray back into the freezer to freeze the cubes until solid.
- Once the ice cubes are formed, remove them from the tray and store them in zip-closing freezer bags.
- When ready to use, toss the whole ice cube into the dish you’re cooking. Yum!
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Autumn Blaze maple is the only maple tree to consider for planting at this altitude. There is no other maple that thrives in our mountain soils and extreme weather conditions. Critically important is that it stands up to our winds better than other shade trees. Maple trees are harvested in late summer, and because of generous rains, this year’s crop of Autumn Blaze maples is really nice. Expect an annual extreme growth of 3 feet or more from this shade tree. Its autumn colors glow like embers in a blazing hot fire, thus the name. This tree is perfect as a street and driveway tree, for patios, hot sunny walls, and any place that needs shaded relief from summer. Summer is the ideal time to plant a new shade tree. It will have time to establish a nice root system, and then, come autumn, it will be ready to show off its spectacular blazing red colors. There is no pest that is a problem to this tree.~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
