Herb Savor Pods

You know what I love more than going to a kitchen store like Sur la Table or Williams-Sonoma and buying kitchen stuff?  Someone giving me kitchen stuff!!  And it is just icing on the cake when a certain gadget really works as it is designed and becomes a revered item in your kitchen
 
Char and Chris gave me these Herb Pods.  They are used perpetually and keep herbs fresh in my refrigerator 3 times longer than they would last under normal circumstances.  Normal circumstances meaning me being lazy and tossing them in the vegetable bin or plopping them in a vase like a flower.  Officially they are Prepara Herb Savor Pods. My set came with 3 pods.



These pods are a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  These herbs have now been in the refrigerator for 3 weeks....3 weeks!  They are as fresh as the day I bought them.

There is a white chamber that looks similar to what I would imagine a cryogenics chamber to look like.  Hmmmm...... it also looks a little like Woody Allen's Orgasmatron.  Name that movie.

Take time to trim the stems of your fresh herbs (as you would fresh flowers before you put them in a vase).  Place the herbs into the chamber then snap on the front clear face.  There is a hole at the back to add a little water and place the plug into it.  Simply place the pods in the refrigerator and you will have fresh herbs at your fingertips for weeks.

The herbs that I have had success with using this nifty little contraption are parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and tarragon.  Basil does not do well in the refrigerator period (in my experience).

The bundle of fresh herbs I buy at the market is usually way more than I'm needing.  In the past I had to dry or freeze the leftovers.  Thanks to this smart little device I can enjoy them fresh without much waste.

An Abundance of Herbs

Sometimes I end up with herbs that will go to waste if I don't use them.  Sometimes the herbs on my patio are growing like wildfire so I'm blessed with an abundance.  Sometimes a recipe will call for a fresh herb that I don't grow so I rely on the fresh herbs at the market where you have no choice but to buy a large bundle of the herb.

When I find myself in this position, I freeze the herbs into ice cubes.

Recently I had an abundance of rosemary.  I stripped the leaves from the stems.  if you like, you can chop the herbs instead of leaving them whole as I've done.

Fill the compartments of an ice cube tray with the herb

Gently fill each compartment with water.   Place the ice tray in the freezer and freeze until rock hard solid.

Pop them out of the ice tray and store them in a freezer bag.  They are great to use when you need herbs for soups and stews; just toss a couple into the pot!

Herbed Olive Oil

In honor of St. Patrick's day this week, the theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is Go Green.  I wanted to make something that I can definitely use in my kitchen and that would be herbed olive oil.  I chose this recipe from Tessa Kiros' cookbook Twelve, A Tuscan Cook Book.  In Tuscany they call it Smicca; olive oil infused with fresh rosemary, sage and garlic.

Tessa suggests that it is worth making a large amount as it keeps for a long time if the herbs remain covered with the oil.  Since it is only Lovey and myself at home, I halved the recipe (as I do with so many these days).  Smear it all over a nice chicken for roasting and you can jazz up your roasted potatoes as well by giving them a nice toss with the oil before placing them in the oven.  Spread some of the oil mixed with diced tomatoes on some toasted ciabatta bread for a nice bruschette.  You can get really creative with this stuff.

Wash your rosemary and sage and leave to dry overnight on some paper towels.

Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and remove any tough stalks from the sage sprigs.  Peel your garlic and coarsely chop (if you go the blender route).  Drop them into your blender and pulse-chop.  My blender didn't do as good a job as I would have liked on the rosemary leaves but it chopped most of them fine and the leaves left whole were at least bruised and beat up enough to release their essence.  If you do this by hand, chop them very finely.

I put my herbs in a Mason jar (because I love storing all things in Mason jars) and added a good pinch of salt.

Add a good quality olive oil and stir it up.  Let it settle overnight then check to make sure all of the herbs are still covered.

Store in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator.  I'm keeping mine on my pantry shelf with it's cousins.

Smicca - Herbed Olive Oil
From Twelve by Tessa Kiros
Makes 1litre (4 cups)

Ingredients:
4-1/2 ounces rosemary sprigs
3-1/2 ounces sage sprigs
4 garlic cloves garlic
about 3 cups olive oil

Mise en Place:

• rinse rosemary and sage and allow to dry, preferably overnight
• strip leaves from rosemary and sage sprigs
• peel garlic
• measure olive oil

Method:
Chop the sage, rosemary leaves and the garlic very finely by hand, or pulse-chop in a blender.  Place in a jar, lightly salt and cover with oil.  Stir through.  Leave it overnight to settle, then check that the herbs are completely covered with oil.  Add a little more oil if necessary.  Store in a closed jar in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator.  This will keep for several months - just keep topping it up with olive oil.

I'm sharing this at IHCC