Using Herbs

Fresh herbs are awesome. They are also short-lived, expensive (since you throw half away most of the time), and annoying.

I keep all my herbs in little pre-measured herb ice cubes in the freezer. This enables me to have fresh-tasting herbs with no freezer burn anytime I want them! That's my solution to the "flavor versus convenience" conflict.

Herb-buying goes like this:

1. Bring home a packet of herbs. For example, rosemary.

2. Wash the herbs, and strip off all the leaves.

3. Chop the leaves nice and fine.

4. Measure the leaves about a teaspoon at a time into an ice cube tray, 1 teaspoon per cube.

5. Very gently pour water over them using the spray nozzle from your sink. If you don't have a spray nozzle, that's okay, just drizzle the water on gently. Only use enough to cover the leaves, not so much that there will be a big hunk of ice attached to them.

6. Place in the freezer. When they're frozen, remove them and put them in zip-lock baggies.

7. When it's time to use them, give them a quick rinse under the tap to remove any freezer burn crystals. The coating of ice protects the flavor of the herbs inside. If making a soup or sauce, just use as-is; otherwise, thaw in the microwave and drain first. They will taste as fresh as they day you bought them :)