Well, it’s 9:39 and I have yet to start studying for my test coming up (but I did study for a quiz and go over a Powerpoint), so I figured I might as well continue the trend and blog before I get down to business.
Plus, this’ll be another short one (lets see if I can be done by 10:00…it’s now 9:40).
In my CSA box this past week (another one comes tomorrow!), we received a giant bunch of cilantro. I like cilantro well enough, but Fritz despises even the smell of it. Seriously. It makes him gag and whine like a little baby.
That’s not even all of it, and this posed a problem for my ability to finish said herb before it goes bad. However, there is a solution! Some herbs take to freezing well (such as basil, mint, chives, and obviously cilantro), and then they are quite easy to use later (or much later!) in soups, stews, and other cooked dishes.
Here’s the trick (9:46–had to upload all the pictures).
Chop the herbs up veeeery finely and place in an ice-cube tray. Spoon water over the top just until it’s covered. Then freeze!
Quick and easy.
Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag and label it (frozen herbs look a lot alike when they are finely minced)! These popped really easily out of the ice tray, and the ice tray doesn’t even smell like cilantro (I was worried, with the whole Fritz-gagging thing).
In other (very exciting) news, we stopped by a garage sale the other day and found tons of lenses on sale that fit my new camera and cost (drumroll!) $20 each! The owner had something to do with a camera repair shop, and wasn’t sure if the lenses worked or not, so we had to have an impromptu photo shoot (9:50). Eber quickly complied.
Isn’t she gorgeous? She was actually standing across the street as I was trying out a zoom lens (we bought the one that took these pictures).
And one of my personal favorites:
We ended up buying two lenses for $30–quite the steal! I can’t wait to try them out on some beautiful landscapes when we go on vacation with the family in August to Canada. Should be a blast.
Unlike studying. It’s 9:55! Have a beautiful night!
You are such a smartie. 🙂
Thank You! this is the perfect post for me as i have been trying to find a way to store my herbs for ages!
also i nominated you for the sunshine award over at my blog 🙂 http://thewolfandthefox.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-got-sunshine-award.html
no, thank YOU!
Thank you so much, I always end up throwing away my cilantro and I too love it but am the only one in the house to eat it.
I’ve got another cilantro recipe comin’ up soon, so keep your eyes peeled 🙂
What an awesome deal on camera lenses!
Or you could just vacuum seal them in ziploc baggies (if you don’t have an electric sealer, the pump n seal is cheap and effective) and put them in the freezer.
I promise myself I will do this each and everytime I have a large bunch of herbs in the house and always forget too…and end up with a wilted bunch instead. Cilantro isn’t always easy to find here so I wish I did it more often. Thanks for reminding me!
All my herbs are coming in like gangbusters right about now, so this is a very handy dandy reminder! Thanks!
This is a great idea, but I’m curious, can you use the defrosted cilantro as you would fresh, or does the texture degrade (as it does with high-water content berries for example – I’m thinking of strawberries in particular).
use it in cooked dishes, and you could probably get away with using it in guac and salsa, but if you need to see nice leaves, then go for fresh instead 🙂
Such a great idea! I always have excess herbs so this is a super handy tip 🙂
I hope it works out just as well for you!
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