Rosemary and Sage Perfume the Air

While I love to bake, I also love to cook, and there is nothing better than using your own home-grown plants to create the most delicious meals you will ever taste.

This summer my mom and I planted a garden -- ok, she stuck them in the ground while I dictated. There was a vegetable patch with corn, beans, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Across the path was my favorite area -- the herb garden. The scent of oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, and dill perfumed the air on many a muggy night -- not to mention the sweet smell of lavender, tucked neatly behind the tomatoes and garlic, drifting through air. MMmm.

Since summer is now through..boo..it's time to harvest what hasn't been thrown into countless pots of spaghetti sauce:

Apart from the oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt, everything in here is from the garden. And I have never tasted sauce that is more delicious. My sister hasn't either -- she gives her mom hell for opening a jar from the store.

A couple of days ago I dried my rosemary tree -- it smelled wonderful while I was cutting that sucker down and breaking the branches from the stem. I'm sure the smell will stay with me for days. This morning I dried sage -- the plant, not the cat, and made sage bundles for smudging The result -- many delicious meals flavored by my very own plants. And, the house smells divine!

Drying parsley is next, and in the meantime the cats will be chasing and pouncing on bugs brought in on the plants (Gracie is stalking some vile creature as I write this) . The advantages of pesticides are duly noted, however, will still not be used. Will just have to deal with insect infestation -- the cats will gladly help.