It’s another garbage day, I haven’t posted about it in a while. For newer readers, I try to do a post every Tuesday called the “garbage day” post because that is my garbage day. We try to eliminate how much foodstuffs we are throwing out, because that is the same as throwing away money! How is everyone doing with eliminating how much food you throw out? I was doing really well, then I did a big clean out of fridge, and I bet I tossed $40 worth of stuff. Boo! Hopefully I can get back on track. It seems I do well, then every few months I have a big correction.

We grow our own herbs in the summer, I’ve never gotten the plants to survive over the winter. We buy fresh herbs in the winter months. But with warmer days and daylight savings this weekend, I have gardening on the brain. It’s not that herbs are even super expensive. I mean, cilantro here is $0.99-$1.49 per bunch. It’s just that every time I buy it, I never use more than half of it and toss the other half. It just seems so wasteful. And sometimes you just need fresh, not dried.

I read an idea online recently. I think it was Food Network, but I can’t find it. Chop up your herbs and put them in measured amounts, either a teaspoon or tablespoon. Mix with a teeny, tiny bit of olive oil or other light oil, and freeze in snack-sized freezer bags. Use just enough oil to make a very thick paste.

Another idea, now this would be just for cooking with the herbs, not for garnishing. But it came from a reader. First, again, clean and prepare your herbs in measured amounts. Then put them in ice cube trays, fill with water and freeze. When they are frozen, toss the “ice cubes” into a freezer storage bag. You know that each cube is a teaspoon of whatever herb.

I’ve tried drying herbs, but not with much success. I don’t think my climate is right. But I had my own stevia plant and was going to try using it. Big fail on that one, but stay tuned because I’m going to try again.

We’ve had some readers submit tips, I’d love to hear yours!