Help him to make some bread, or scones, or even fresh pasta, keeping one lot plain, the other with herbs added. Savoury crackers are another way of doing it. Another very simple idea is a jug of water, one just water, one with a sprig of mint, or lemon balm in it. Taste the difference! He could experiment with other herbs, too, like ordinary tea, basil, thyme, rosemary, whatever. Tell him he'll be making a cold-water infusion. That should blind him with science! He could have a row of jugs with a different herb in each, and little plastic medicine cups for taste-testing. He could, of course, make a real tea, using boiling water poured over the herb. He won't need to wait so long then for the flavours to infuse. Put a fresh sprig of the herb in the water for decorative purposes. Don't forget to label each jug so he can remember which herb is what. Get some cream cheese. Make cheese balls. Keep some plain, to the others, in small batches, add an assortment of herbs, or just roll the balls in the herbs. Parsley, chervil, chives, sesame seeds, garlic (or garlic chives), paprika are some suggestions. Make a small batch of spaghetti bolognese sauce, minus onion, basil etc. Just the meat and tomato base. Then take half of it and add in the herbs. Taste the difference!

Such a fun gift! I have made lots of vinegars, and enjoy them very much. First, don't actually boil the vinegar, but do heat it to just below boiling (full boil can alter the vinegar, which should be avoided, though I would guess that it would take a lot more than a few seconds of boil). Also, you don't really want to 'cook' the herbs, but the heat helps. I usually go until it's steaming, then use it. Reasons--the heat helps pull the oils out of the herb leaf. Also, some recipes call for leaving the herbs in the vinegar after they've steeped. I would avoid this--most herbs get really yucky looking really quick, and can lead to the vinegar molding as well. A couple of exceptions are garlic, dried chili peppers, and rosemary, which is strong enough to hold up to the acid levels. Other herbs really aren't worth it, and once the vinegar level gets lower than the herb, that's when you can get mold issues. Other tips--keep an eye on them, trying them every few days until they get to the level you want. Some herbs don't take nearly as long, and oversteeped can cause bitterness--I generally do 2 weeks at a max. (did a garlic chive blossom that really only needed 4-5 days). It's the more tender leaf ones that don't take as long. If you start noticing any difference in flavor, but would like them stronger, strain that batch of herb out and add more for a second infusion. Try some different vinegars if you'd like--I love the garlic chives in a seasoned rice vinegar for stir frys. Red wine vin with rosemary and garlic is also nice, especially for veggies. Champagne vin is a little spendier, but nice with tender herbs like lemon thyme or basil.

I just got out a book from the library the other day called "Making and Selling Herbal Crafts" by Alyce Nadeau. I had a lot of good ideas in it and some good recipes too. Some of the recipes were for Sage Blossom Vinegar, ideas for a culinary gift basket, Lavender Cookie Recipe, Tea bags, Tea blend (with peppermint, spearmint and lemon grass), and Herbal Bath Refresher. There were lots of other things too those were just some that caught my eye. The author also mentions baking breads with herbs, which really got me thinking. Last year I sold Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread and both did very well almost sold out every time. So this year I wanted to make some more different types of bread. Looks like I will have to see if I can find some recipes for herb breads. I know what you mean about wanting to do it all. Right now I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the new plans I have made for myself this year. I am thinking some will have to wait for next year, but how to choose? While I was searching for information about luffa gourds I came across a tread that included this recipe for luffa soap: "Hi, in order to make loofa soap, your loofa should be fully dried. You may need to purchase dried loofa from your local craft store if loofa is not dried in time. Loofa Soap Recipe: Cut the loofa into slices depending on the size of your mold and the desired effect you wish to have. Round, Rectangle...using whole slices, shreds or chunks of loofa etc. Carefully melt glycerin chunks in a glass measuring cup in your microwave ( or low heat on the stovetop in a coated pan ), approx. 40-60 seconds depending on the amount you are melting. Be sure to add a few drop of fragrance if you choose when melting. Once melted, pour soap into molds and let cool. Loofa will sometime pop up, I use something small to keep it down and then correct the cosmetic flaw once it has cool. This is usually not noticed as it is the bottom of the soap. Once cool, pop out of mold, add a ribbon or two, place in a decorative basket and prepare for the ohh's and ahh's your son will receive as he hands these out to relatives for Christmas." It seems pretty simple and if you were to had herbs in the soap then you would have two ingredients that you grew. Below I also linked the full thread if you were interested. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Luffas

Well, this morning was the big taste test and of the four vinegars the white wine had the most interesting flavor (it is also the oldest). The scuppernong tasted kinda ordinary but still had some fruitiness to its aroma. The red wine had no flavor and the apple cider vinegar was nothing special (I had high hopes for it, since it was made from organic apple cider and since I use a lot of apple cider vinegar and like the flavor). Now I have to strain them and bottle them and allow them to finish curing(ageing) and hope for better flavors to develop. bud wi - when I moved here the grapes were just ripening and I could barely control myself. The place I worked had an entire row of about 15 cultivars - each with its own distinct flavor and ripening time. You can actually get a headache from the sugar content if you eat too many of them. I started trying different recipes with them which disgusted the locals. They claimed that the only reason people grow them in their back yards is for home made wine. The local wineries that use them produce wine that is very sweet - kinda like Japanese plum wine.