A WORD ABOUT HERBS

There is nothing like the bright tang that parsley can add to a dish. A high note in the culinary chord, and what would pasta be without basil, oregano? But let's face it, herbs can be pricey and I don't know about you, but then wilt and die faster in my fridge than those bananas I just got 2 days ago. I love opening my fridge and seeing my herbs. I like to think of myself as Oh So together as a woman and a cook. A fresh stocked fridge to me is akin to a good hair day. Look! Look world, I can do it! I can bring it home and fry it in a pan! Training, working, being a woman, friend- all that takes time, time that just does not wait for those fragrant herbs going from bright vibrancy to wilty blackness. From kitchen goddess to sad crisper mucker.

I have devised a few tricks that I do with my cache-especially this time of year when the last of the extraordinary herbs like, verbena, cinnamon basil and the like are starting to wane from the farmer's market.

The first is to freeze them. I have packets of herbs in plastic bags that I store on the door of the freezer. I try to destem them first or at least loosen them from bands or ties so I can sneak a pinch with ease. These are best for the woodier herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme but I freeze everthing. Out of the freezer and defrosted the more tender leaves will be black and soft, so not great for a salad- but cooked into a dish it is a far better cry than dried herbs.

Speaking of dry herbs the next thing I do is to dry my own herbs. For years I used to hang my herbs but hated those dusty mess makers and would often end up tossing them anyway. A better method is to lay the herbs on a tray spread out and put into a turned off oven with a pilot light. Not only to they dry up beautifully but they keep a very nice color as well. So if it's at the end of the dinner and I KNOW I'm not going to get to those babies fresh, I'll pop them into the oven and in the morning pull them out, crumble them and put them into tins on my stove shelf. Warm herb smells first thing in the morning ain't bad, let me tell ya.

Lastly one of my favorite things to do with my herbs. I will make a melange puree and keep it in the fridge. This week was:

1c basil
1/2 c cinnamon basil
1/4c spearmint
1/4c oregano
2c parsley
2 anchovy filets in oil
1/4c fruity Olive Oil
1T capers
2 cloves of garlic
healthy pinch of salt and equally healthy grind of pepper
zest of 1 lemon and it's juice
3/4c water- vary amount to get a smooth paste consistancy- not too watery, keep it paste like.

This yielded about 2 cups of luscious fragrant sauce.

With this mix I can stir it into yogurt for salad dressing, tossed it into my stir fry, mix into your eggs or last night it was the sauce on the roasted fish for dinner. It won't last more than about 5 days-largely because you'll eat it all.