Rosemary does dry well. But don't grind it up. After it is dry just put it in a zip lock bag to store. Crush it up as you need it. Not before.

You can also wrap the herbs in paper towels and then into a zip lock bag and store in the fridge. They will keep a little longer this way.

The oregano will be wonderful in a Greek Salad or used to season lamb or chicken souvlaki or a leg of lamb Greek Style. It is also good in sauces for pizza or pasta. I use a lot of sage. Wonderful fresh in bread stuffing/dressing and in chicken or turkey gravy. Rub over a roast of pork. Rosemary makes a wonderful marinade for chicken, pork and lamb.

Ann

I love fresh rosemary, I just cut some a few minutes ago for soup. I always throw some in soup. While I like most herbs fresh, I prefer dried oregano. This is what I have on the stove now, but it doesn't use much rosemary:

TJÂS ROASTED RED PEPPER BISQUE

INGREDIENTS:
 1 jar TJÂs Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Dip
 1/2 onion, finely chopped
 2 tablespoons butter
 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
 3 tablespoons tomato paste
 ½ to ¾ cup heavy cream (or use fat free half and half)
 Salt to taste
PREPARATION:
1. Melt the butter in a deep saucepan. Add the onion and rosemary and cook for 5 minutes. Discard the rosemary.
2. Add the peppers and stock to pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Use stick blender to purée soup.
3. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cream and season with salt.

Fresh minced rosemary & sage along with pine nuts & diced dried figs make a wonderful addition to artisan breads...one of our favorites to accompany a large entree size green salad and/or a fish entree.

We don't eat a lot of Italian food because neither of us care for heavy tomato-based marinara type sauces. But, we LOVE homemade ravioli with a Brown Butter Sage sauce. (I usually make this in the fall though using butternut squash for the ravioli filling.)

Fresh thyme is also good in omelets or scrambled eggs.

I use both sage & thyme in savory bread puddings as an alternative to potatoes.

Speaking of potatoes, I made scalloped potatoes for Easter & used a bit of fresh thyme...delicious. It's also good added at the last minute to country-fried potatoes.

I like to just lay a sprig, or two, over the top of a roasting pork loin that has been studded with garlic cloves. (I also usually lay a few lemon slices under the rosemary sprigs.)

A great "paste" to smear over either chicken, pork, or lamb is minced fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, S/P, & finely chopped pistachios (or pine nuts) mixed with EVOO & the juice from the lemon used for the zest.

Rosemary is a powerful herb & a little goes a long ways. It's also a bit funky in your mouth unless minced very finely, IMO. That's why I, sometimes, just lay a couple sprigs across what I'm cooking rather than incorporate it into a filling or sauce.

All 3 herbs dry very well.

/tricia

Rosemary and oregano are wonderful fresh, however, they're almost as good dried. I don't use much sage, so I can't speak to that particular herb. I love rosemary with roasted potatoes and with chicken, and lately I've been adding it to my shrimp scampi. I never would have done that, but I had it that way in a restaurant and it was wonderful. Of course I love rosemary to start with! Focaccia brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with rosemary is wonderful. You can make it homemade or spice up store bought. Marinate some chicken with olive oil, lemon & the fresh oregano or sprinkle it over pasta with diced sundried tomato in oil, and some feta. I'm getting hungry!

Lisa

I use fresh rosemary in this flatbread.

Rosemary Flatbread

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, evenly divided
1 cup warm water
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine flour, yeast, salt and rosemary*** in food processor. Whirl a few seconds to combine. Add water, process until evenly moist. Add olive oil, continue processing until dough forms a ball. If needed, add more water, a tablespoon at a time to reached desired consistency. Knead by hand for 1-2 minutes until satiny smooth. Let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Spread into a circle on baking stone or pizza pan. Brush with a little olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and remaining rosemary. Bake 20-25 minutes. Mist 3 times with water during the first 10 minutes in oven.

*** I always add a couple garlic cloves, finely minced and a little fresh thyme when making.

Cathy,
That soup is a now regular part of my repertoire since you made it at PFPP. I always use dried rosemary in it though, since I never have fresh. So, I'll definitely be making that in the next few days. DH loves that soup!

I love the idea of using it in bread. I hope to make some bread this weekend since my house is currently devoid of bread due to Passover. Since I'm so new to bread baking, I'd love to see a recipe that calls for rosemary and/or sage.

Tricia, your "paste" sounds great and I'm definitely going to try that. Ann, when you use the rosemary for marinade, do you put in the whole leaves or chop them? I guess I'm sort of confused as to when to keep the leaves whole, and when to chop or crush them.

marigene,
Thanks for that recipe! Sounds perfect!

One question: how many envelopes of yeast = 1 ½ teaspoons?

An envelope of yeast has 2 1/4 teaspoons in it.
Lisa

If the rosemary is on the stem you can use it to grow your own plant.
Strip the leaves off a couple of inches of the woody stalk, put into a vase of water and watch the sprout legs grow :)

May, Just coarsely chop the rosemary. I don't really marinate meats, but I will drizzle lamb or a good piece of beef with lots of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary a few hours before I'm going to grill it.

Deborah, Thanks for the tip. I bought a Christmas tree shaped rosemary tree in December thinking I would have great rosemary by now but it died. So I only have a few spindly plants left from summer.

Ann, That looks fabulous. I usually make a horseradish and rosemary paste for the rib roast, I'll try this method.

May, Thanks for using the soup recipe. BTW, you mean you don't have a yeast spoon?

Here is a link that might be useful: Yeast Spoon

LOL Cathy! NO! I'm ashamed to admit, I don't have a yeast spoon. Who knew!!??

I'm new enough to baking bread that the idea of buying yeast in a jar is still intimidating. I prefer the packets. I guess I need to graduate, huh? I'm not sure I would be able to use up a whole jar quickly enough before it went bad. I'm sort of settling into a cadence of baking bread once every 3 or so months.

Hey May, it was only about 6 weeks ago that I had to call TeresaNC about yeast I had ordered. I didn't have a clue what to do with a this hard "block of yeast"; I thought I had to rehydrate it or maybe I accidentally gotten a commercial bakery order. She calmly informed me that is was pressure sealed and I just had to open it. Duh! I keep it in a Mason jar in the refrigerator.

As far as the spoon, you know I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a new gadget.

LOL Cathy, that's precious.

I love sage browned in butter on most any kind of pasta. You can even put in a few breadcrumbs and brown them up too. Something a bit different than regular pasta sauce. Good on perogies too.

I'd also probably make some stuffing with the fresh sage. We like to make mounds of it on top of pork chops and bake. It can go alongside roasted chicken pieces too. Doesn't have to be stuffed inside anything. We make that merliton/choyote dish that is just a sage stuffing with cubed squash, in this case merlitons, but any summer squash is good. Add ham or shrimp if you want, or not, then just bake in a casserole.

Fried sage leaves are a great garnish especially for squash or carrot soup. or pasta with a simple butter or EVOO sauce. Just heat a little oil in a very small saute pan and put in the leaves. They get dark and crisp almost instantly. rosemary works too but harder to do.

I grew a Rosemary bush from seed a couple years back. It is still going strong! I've found I prefer the rosemary dried... perhaps because that was the only way I've used it before growing this bush. In the summer I put it out on the back deck and when it turns cold I bring it inside. Living alone my dining room has been turned into an indoor garden because of the large double glass doors that provide light. I have pepper plants inside a rabbit cage to prevent my cats from eating them.... stupid cats want to nibble on cayenne peppers that sprouted a couple weeks ago.

One of my fondest memories of having kids around was the babysitter asking why the 5 year-old wanted spagetti with "sticks" in it.

As for cuttings they are very easy to grow new plants from. I recommend buying a jar of rooting hormone from a garden center. It is cheap and one jar lasts forever unless you are super gardener. All you have to do is slice the stem of a plant with a razor blade at the point where a branch/leaf sprouts from the main stem. A little dip in the jar of hormone and you plant it in some potting soil. Some die but most will sprout roots and become new plants. Works with all kinds of plants! A great way to share or borrow plants with the exact same flavor or flower desired.

: )
lyra

lowspark, this is a great question because I am just starting to use fresh herbs and I just got my first rosemary plant, so thanks for the question.

marigene, your recipe looks great, but how do I prepare the rosemary for the food processor and also later for spreading on top?

Thank you!

I haven't read most of the replies, so I'll add my tip and hope no one else has already posted it.

May, you could also preserve the herbs in salt. Just cover the herbs in coarse, sea salt.
I store mine in glass jars and label them. And, depending on the dish I'm making, I'll use either the herbs, or the salt, or both.

Sol

Sol,
I never woulda thought of that! So when you use the salt, it imparts the flavor of the herb?
Do you take the leaves off the stem and then cover them with salt?

May, I'm lazy. So I cover entire herb sprigs in sea salt, only because it's easier to fish them out when I need them.
Also, the flavor the herbs impart is subtle, but you'll notice it.

Sol

I tuck some fresh rosemary sprigs under the skin on bone in chicken breasts, also sprigs under the breasts - baste with a sesame salad dressing - bottled from the store if I am really short on time - cook for about 45 mins 350 oven - delicious! It makes the house smell heavenly. I will also cook a whole chicken this way (adapt the time accordingly). Serve with rice & a veggie.
To remove the rosemary from the stem - hold the stem tightly at the top, and pull backwards or against the natural way it grows.
To store the herbs longer - put them upright in a small glass of water, put a baggie over the top, and put in the refrigerator. You should change the water before it gets yukky.

May, I always freeze any leftover rosemary in a zipper bag and it does fine. I've never had fresh oregano as it isn't one of my favorite herbs. I have a sage plant so I have no need to do much with it except snip and use. I use sage in cornbread dressing,sprinkled on any chicken, in browned butter over pasta in Chicken Stroganoff and on Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust. I love it in flatbread although I'm no baker.

Good luck with you abundance and hope you enjoy it! There's nothing much better than fresh herbs.

Beverly

Trudymom, just strip the rosemary from the stems and toss them (not the stems!) in with the flour. I usually put the whole amount in the dough and none on the top as it ends up burning. Sometimes I add fresh sage, oregano or thyme, too.

You can choose whether to freeze your herbs, or to dry them. For myself, I prefer to freeze them.

OREGANO:
Oregano goes well with/in: Tomato sauce, egg/cheese combinations, breads, vegetables (especially squash, eggplant, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, capsicum), meats, fish, chicken, pizza, pastas, Greek salads and sauces. Soups, stews, stuffings, sausage and pork.

ROSEMARY:
Rosemary goes well with/in: Meats, poultry, fish, potatoes, spinach and other vegetables. Use fresh or dried to season, potatoes, sauces, breads. Fruit compotes, chicken and pea soups.

Use a sprig of rosemary dipped in olive oil to brush over barbecued or grilled meats.

Put a sprig of Rosemary into a jar of honey and use the honey for baking biscuits, cakes, breads etc. Or serve on scones.

Use a little Rosemary with eggs and cheese.

Try a little Rosemary with fish.

Experiment with Rosemary in jams, jellies and custards.

Add a little Rosemary to a fruit salad or to fruit drinks for a pleasant flavour change.

Sage goes well with/in: Meats (especially lamb and veal), stuffings, sausage, poultry, vegetables, cheese, eggs. Good in pork and rabbit dishes, or with root vegetables. Add to chowders, stews or gravy.

SAGE:

Put a leaf or two of sage in the cavity of a fish, brush with a little oil and grill or bake.

Add a little sage to apply jelly and serve with roast meats.

Chop a handful of sage finely, saute in olive oil with a little minced garlic. Stir in some chopped parsley, and toss into cooked pasta. Serve as a side dish with chicken, fish or meat.

Roast some sliced eggplant and red capsicum until tender, add a few sage leaves, mash or blend in a food processor until a dip consistency.

Grill some pieces of chicken until tender. Fry several sage leaves in butter for about 1 minute. Grate some cheese over the chicken, spoon some of the butter in which the sage was fried over the cheese, and garnish with sage leaves. Or serve fried sage leaves as a vegetable.

Sage leaves make an excellent substitute for toothbrush and toothpaste. Just rub a leaf over the teeth and gums to clean them and freshen the breath.

Dry-fry whole sage leaves until fairly crisp and serve over cooked pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some minced raw garlic.

If I were you, I would dry the extra oregano and sage and freeze them for later use. (The rosemary should be okay to freeze as-is).

My drying method involves the microwave oven.

I put a paper towel on a microwaveable plate, then sprinkle the fresh herbs onto it and cover with another paper towel.

I microwave on high for two minutes, then peek under the top paper towel. They should be pretty dried out but still slightly bendable. If not, I cook them one minute more and check again (repeat if necessary). They don't have a lot of moisture to begin with, so you want to be careful not to burn them.

When they are done to my satisfaction I take the plate out and leave it to cool, then put the herbs in a labeled plastic bag or other container in the freezer.

Guess why I underlined the word "labeled." I have a couple of mystery bags in my freezer, that's why! ;-) This method also works to dry rose petals for potpourri, which is how I first learned it.

May, take one or two of the rosemary cuttings, strip the needles off the botton and put it in water. In about a week or so it will root and you can plant it or just keep it going in water.

Sage leaves freeze great.

Sage brown butter sauce is nice!

Here is a link that might be useful: Michael Chiarello Sage Brown Butter

I didn't know what to do with my fresh Rosemary, so I started copying restaurants and making up my own.

First, I put EVOO and tarragon vinegar in a sealable bottle. I then either put a few leaves of rosemary or the stem in the bottle. I add some other spices. Later, I use it as a chicken marinade. Delicious!

Next, I make Rosemary cheese bread. The most simple thing (got from a restaurant in Nashville, TN) is that I put some EVOO in a saucer dish. I sprinkle with the rosemary, then sprinkle with freshly shredded parm cheese and fresh cracked pepper. I use this a dip with bread.