How to Dry Herbs in your Microwave

Dear friends,

Waaay back in 1999 and through 2001, I published an herbal newsletter, The Country Cottage Herb Gardener. I've recently found copies of those files on an old back-up disk (yippee!) and decided to share some of the short articles with you.

This one explains how to dry herbs in your microwave. It's timely because many of us have an over-abundance of things like basil and rosemary right now. It's a good time to harvest it and dry it for winter use.

A honeybee loves the blooming rosemary

When the weather just won't cooperate enough to let you dry your herbs outdoors, or when it is too humid indoors, you can dry some herbs in your microwave oven.

Some herbs that can be dried for cooking or crafts in the microwave include basil, dill, mint, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, lavender, tarragon and others. The basic instructions are simple. Simply place two paper towels or an old cotton towel on top of a flat microwave-proof plate or tray. Place the clean, dry, individual herb leaves flat on the paper towels in one layer. Cover the leaves with another paper towel.

Place the plate in the microwave and cook on high (100%) power for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the plate from oven and allow to cool. Check to see if leaves are thoroughly dry by crumbling some between your fingers. If they won't crumble and still seem to be moist, microwave for an additional 30 seconds at a time until they are dry.

In our experience, a handful of herbs (or about 4 or 5 short stalks) of basil, rosemary or sage will dry in 3 minutes. Of course, allowing for differences in individual microwave ovens, yours may dry the herbs in more or less time. Experiment a little and see what happens!

Nice fresh rosemary, ready to be dried

This is certainly faster than the other drying methods, and the flavor seems to be consistently good. Try it sometime! Aunt Jewel, an imaginary friend who lives in Nameless, Texas, loves to use her microwave because she says it gives her more time to watch her soaps on TV! ;-)

Happy trails from HOT Texas!

bobbi c.

New Texas Garden Craft Novella Available!

My new novel, DYE, DYEING, DEAD has just been released in all e-book formats. Paperback is in the proof stage and will be coming soon!

I've finally combined a lot of my interests into one book---Texas gardening, natural dyes from plants, and a cast of quirky characters. 

You can purchase it on Amazon, Smashwords for all e-reader devices and the Apple store and can read free excerpts at each of those places.

Yes, rosemary is a dye plant!

CAST OF CHARACTERS in Alphabetical Order

* Buddy Byers – owner of Buddy's Hardware Store & Sundry Sundries –

somebody went nuts on him with the tattoo gun

* Buster Briggs – gruff, no-nonsense good ol' boy county sheriff, likes pie

* Mrs. Eula-Mae Bunch – Belligerent troublemaker and garden club president

* Flora Martin – mother of Oma and Alma Martin

* Pastor Garvey Holt – Pastor of the First Christian Baptist Free-Will Church

* Ginger Marshall – Kendra's friend, 30-something, a local art-quilter

* Harry Bunch – Eula-Mae's son

* Jack Adams – AKA Mr. Magoo, AKA Jack-of-all-Asses. Kendra's and Jewel's neighbor who says he witnessed the murder

* Jeremy Clifford – Kendra's best pal, late-20s, sidekick and partner in mayhem, theatrical, works at Do-Lolly's Diner in downtown Nameless

* Jewel Moore – 60-something, Kendra's aunt/roommate, avid gardener, fiesty,

widow for three years

* Deputy Jim Wyman – Kendra's love interest, smitten with her

* Kendra Louise Harper – 35-year old folklorist, author and sometimes sleuth, gardener,

divorced for five years

* Lolly Larue – owner of Do-Lolly's Diner; sassy, middle-aged, wise

* Nora Rogers – Nameless librarian, early 40s, studious

* Oma and Alma Martin – owners of a small organic farm outside town, hippy gals

* Sarah Wilson – owner of Sarah's Needles & Threads, small downtown yarn shop

* Verna Holt – Pastor Holt's devout wife, fond of classic fashion

* Virginia Marshall – Ginger's smart fourteen-year-old daughter

Kendra Louise Harper is a folklorist, avid gardener and accidental sleuth. All she wanted to do that nice fall day in September was to help her Aunt Jewel conduct a Natural Dyeing with Plants workshop for some ladies from the Nameless, Texas Garden Club. Before the workshop is over, a dead body lay face down in a pool of glass and indigo in Kendra's courtyard garden. The next door neighbor swears that he saw Aunt Jewel whack the victim over the head with a silver hammer.

        

No one else really believes Aunt Jewel killed Mrs. Bunch--that is, except maybe the sheriff. And he's the one who counts. He'd just as soon throw Jewel Moore in jail as look at her. But he has no solid proof; he's not going to waste his time trying to prove her innocent. He'd rather bide his time and wait for the murderer to slip up and come to him.

Kendra decides that if anything is going to be done to get her aunt off the hook, she'll have to do it.  Along with Kendra's friends---a very colorful waiter at Do-Lolly's Diner named Jeremy, Deputy Jim Wyman (Kendra's love interest), Ginger Marshall (a local art quilter) and her friends---she sets out to prove that her aunt is innocent.

The victim, Mrs. Eula Mae Bunch, was not a popular person in Nameless. As Kendra gathers information, she realizes that Mrs. Bunch was probably the most unpopular person in town---for good reason. As one resident said, "That old woman is meaner than a room full of peckish wolverines."

Why is Kendra's neighbor so sure that her aunt killed Mrs. Bunch? And if she didn't kill her, who did? And why?

And there are other mysteries in town. Who chopped down Jewel's indigo bush in her own yard? Who is the inebriated stranger that shows up to Eula-Mae's funeral? And what does an erotic romance novel have to do with all of it? Tongues are waggin' in Nameless! Things haven't been this exciting since George Leroy Johnson got the back of his britches caught in the revolving door at the old Railroad Hotel and was pitched out the middle of Main Street with his wherewithalls showing.

DYE, DYEING, DEAD is the first novella in the Nameless, TX mystery series and features Kendra Louise Harper, Folklorist.

Other short stories in the series feature Kendra, Aunt Jewel and the quirky residents of the small agricultural town located about 30-miles east of Austin.

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

FINAL Cover for DYE, DYEING, DEAD

Dear friends,

Since I posted the cover of my new novella, things have changed a bit. I did a re-design ('cause I can!) and came up with something different. Since the whole point of the story is about natural dyeing with plants (and not just indigo), I decided to use one of my favorite photos on the front. Yes, those of you who have my little herb cookbooklet will notice it's the same photo, only Photoshopped to change the colors. :-)

http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/p/new-dye-dyeing-dead.html

 

 

I'm happy to be able to "meld" or merge my two interests, finally! This new novella features Kendra Louise Harper, a Texas folklorist who studies the lore and legends of Texas, including the use of dye plants! My "Aunt Jewel" character, featured in several of my "Nameless, Texas" short stories (available individually on Amazon), is an avid (obsessed) gardener with a vintage house and huge old-fashioned garden. Sound familiar? :-)

Kendra has an interesting array of quirky friends who are into things like bookselling, quiltmaking and other fiber arts,  theatre, etc.

The book will be out mid-August, and I'll post the purchase link here then.

Until then,

Keep on diggin' and plantin'!

bobbi c.