Friday, November 20, 2009

Bouquet Garni

I planted my herbs in containers this year. I bought them from an Amish run business named Lurgan Greenhouse and Nursery in Orrstown, PA. It is overwhelming how many plants they have.

Herbs do not seem to over-winter well in this part of Pennsylvania, so bringing them inside may help to keep them for our winter use and through next summer.

Sometimes a recipe will call for a bouquet garni which is French for "garnished bouquet". It is defined as a bundle of herbs tied together with string and thrown into soups, stock or stews for seasoning.

I made a bouquet garni with my container herbs this year. Only the bay leaf was bought fresh from the store. The bouquet included a bay leaf, rosemary, oregano, savory, thyme and sage. You can include a combination of other herbs, and imagine cooks have done just that depending on what they have available in their gardens and pantries.

I wrapped the herbs in a cheesecloth sachet and tied it securely with string.

The stew I cooked with it was wonderful. Most all was from my garden or the farmers' market. You can see the stew recipe here.

I brought the potted herbs in for the winter last week. It will be so nice to have them available throughout the winter for more soups and stews.

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