Frozen Herbs? Yes!

As the summer is winding down, I find myself wanting to hoard all my fresh herbs.  We've dried quite a bit but I have never thought of freezing them until my mom bought me these Herb Freezing Tray Sets from my niece's Pampered Chef store.

To be honest, I initially didn't think I'd use them much, but then I got an idea...I love fresh mint in smoothies and I happened to have a lot of it in the yard. With mint, you either grow none or you have a lot; this plant doesn't do anything in between.

Anyway, I also add ice to my smoothies to thicken them.  My brainstorm was to freeze some mint in my new trays with a little water so I could have mint ice cubes!

The best part about these trays is the lid. They keep the water and herbs locked in place so you don't spill moving the trays from the sink to the freezer.

After the cubes are frozen, I pop them out of the trays and store them in a zip-lock bag. The trays are now ready to fill again so I can stock up on fresh mint ice cubes for winter smoothies when I want a little taste of summer.

This trick also works to freeze herbs in olive oil for cooking!  I've got a stock of frozen rosemary in olive oil I've already done.  I use olive oil to freeze my herbs in as I've found it freezes better and I prefer to cook with it.

When I'm in need of a little oil for cooking, I now reach for my freezer door and pull out a couple cubes of rosemary infused olive oil!

Some tips for freezing herbs that I've found are:

• Use firm, fresh herbs.
• Herbs can either be chopped fine or left in sprigs.
• Mix herbs for a medley to use in winter soups.
• Pack the tray cubes as full as you can.
• Melted butter or broth could be used as a substitute for olive oil if you're so inclined.

Enjoy your summer herbs all winter long!