Sunday 4 September 2011

Welcome!

After much procrastination and general dithering, I have, at last temporarily, welded myself to the computer and started a blog...

I love this time of year, when everything is starting to get ready for Winter. There is so much to do: tidying up the garden ready for Winter, harvesting, pickling, storing, planning, rediscovering the joy of winter woollies, starting to think about bonfires, enjoying the ever lengthening shadows and liquid amber sunlight.

The bees have gone mad for the thyme flowers this year so I've tried to leave it as late as possible to give the herbs a drastic haircut in the hope of gaining some more fresh growth before the weather really does 'turn'.


I couldn't bear to consign the thyme and rosemary trimmings to the compost so here's what I did...

I shook the trimmings free of insects, gave them a very brief rinse (so as not to rob them of too much fragrance), chopped them up, put them in a jar, topped up with oil (Sunflower or olive or whatever was lurking in the cupboard), gave them a good shake and placed on the windowsill hoping for a bit of late Summer/ early Autumn sunshine. 

In 2-3 weeks time I'll strain them and they'll be ready to use for cooking, salad dressing, putting in the bath, using as body oil, the list goes on and on and on... If you make bread try adding them to your mix where they will give a subtle hint of herb. My favourite is rosemary oil in sourdough- toast a slice and eat with honey- Mmmmmmm!  Mr TH likes to drizzle oil directly on to his bread instead of butter.

P.S.  The plate was a thrifty 30p bargain in a local charity shop.

11 comments:

silverpebble said...

Hello there! What a great first post.

I really have to try this - I never thought of putting it in the bath! That sounds lovely. Remind me, is the oil a greenish colour when it's infused? How easy is it to make a garlic oil do you think? I seem to remember Nigella uses garlic oil a good deal.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the weird world of blogging! Your garden looks lovely, and so does the rosemary oil.

dottycookie said...

Hello! Emma Pebble sent me over, and I'm glad I came because your oil looks scrumptious. Herb bread, mmmmm.

I never know what to do with all the prunings. Mind you, there aren't any rosemary prunings this year because my rosemary pegged it earlier in the summer. Oh well!

trash said...

Hello there, I too have followed Missus Pebble's kind invite and come for a nosey.

destrutoBoy and I have tried our hand at preserving lemons this Summer and I was given a few kilos of sloes last week. I shall work him around to growing herbs so we can try this.

Lina said...

Hello! As a fan of all things thrifty and frugal (especially fabric) I thought I'd pop over from Emma's and wish you best of luck in your blogging adventures!

Lina

Ali said...

Greetings! Emma sent me - welcome to blogging. And why didn't I think of that when I hacked the rosemary back this weekend - I did chuck some in the bath 'au naturel'.
Though our bushes are so rampant, I could just go and chop off some more, I suppose. If it wasn't pouring with rain.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to blogging! I hope you find it as intriguing, engaging and inspiring as I do. (Say thank you nicely to Emma at Silverpebble for sending me over here, by the way!)

It's when I have herb cuttings of woody herbs that I wish we had an open fire.

Calico Kate said...

What a really lovely idea for rosemary/herby oil. I particularly like the bath suggestion.
I ADORE sour dough bread sadly tho my OH and my hips don't so I can't make it to often, but such a treat.
Looking forward to future posts!
CKx
PS got here via SilverPebble & wanted to say how much I like your quilts.

Anonymous said...

Emma has sent me too. What a good idea for making flavoured oils, I must remember that when I trim mine. Be careful when making garlic oil, it can get rancid and make botulism. I believe that the garlic has to be dried and not left in for a long time. Please do some research before hand.

Your quilts are very different and that is what I like about them.

Twiggy said...

Hello there
I've come over from Mrs Pebble too. I have read all your posts and your quilts are wonderful, I quite fancy making some chilli oil, must do it rather than just think about it :)
Great blog!!
Twiggy

Thrifty Household said...

Thank you for the garlic oil tip! I guess the speedy method of heating garlic & oil in a pan for a bit might be the safer option... If I make it I'll get checking online first- thanks for the advice!

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