Colleen Vanderlinden
DCL
For the last few years, I have finally put effort into growing and maintaining an herb garden. I had always grown basil, mint, and parsley, but I finally went beyond plunking herbs in wherever I could find room and actually planted a nice little herb garden. In addition to my beloved basil and parsley, we're now growing chives, garlic chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary, borage, lemon balm, and sage. My cooking has been vastly improved as a result!
After living and cooking with herbs, I was not at all thrilled with the idea of spending all winter without them (or paying hefty prices for them at the grocery store.) I grow a few herbs on my kitchen windowsill, but that isn't really enough to get us through the winter. So I make a point of cutting and preserving my herbs before frost hits them. There are two easy methods I use: drying and freezing.
Any garden herb will work well with either of these methods, though some work better with one method than the other. Start by cutting stems from herbs that haven't started to bloom - herbs that have bolted generally won't taste as good. Wash and dry them well, then you're ready to start preserving.
