Sundays are my big work day at our facility, puppy play groups and classes for almost ten hours. Super fun day, lots of love, lots of great work, but not a chance of touching my garden until way after four in the afternoon.

It is a quarter to ten at night right now, that is ‘pm’, and I just finished my garden chores, and blending, freezing, mashing, chopping, and tasting.

I am getting so excited by what our garden has been producing, and what we will have this winter!

SPEARMINT EXTRACT – or as my kids like to call it, SPEARMINT FLAVORED VODKA. This is a 64oz jar, so LOTS. We share with friends over the holidays for baking, and in turn receive awesome baked goodies!

Equal parts fresh spearmint leaves and vodka, place in a mason jar, no herbs exposed or it will mold. Let stand for 4 weeks or so, and then strain the herbs out.

Great for brownie recipes, hot chocolate, scones, homemade ice cream, etc … Spearmint hot chocolate in the middle of winter is the best!

GREEN GARDEN JUICE – with a juicer, and what we cut from the garden today, we used cucumber, parsley, and apples. You can feel your body absorbing the goodness right away.

HERB BUTTER – sweet basil, Italian basil, flat leaf parsley, curly leaf parsley, and a truck load of butter.

Chop herbs, fine or course, it is up to you. Put butter and herbs in mixer and blend until it is a green blob of sorts. Place a blob on unbleached parchment paper, roll into logs about the size of two commercial sticks of butter, place in a zip lock for freezing.

We use herb butter all winter long for scrambled eggs, savory scones, pasta dishes, baked chicken, fish, garlic bread, you name it!!!

SWEET BASIL AND PARSLEY SALAD – Chop herbs, place with whatever lettuce you have, saute onions, garlic, and chili flakes, a tich of salt and pepper, and a splash of vinegar. You can add other chopped garden veggies like cucumber and carrots. You can also add hard boiled egg and chopped fried bacon. The herbs are the main attraction, everything else is just extra really!

Sitting by our pond at night, with our garden lights and fun colored chairs has been a treat this summer. We generally don’t sit and enjoy our garden because we are enjoying it by working in it. BUT, Spore made these globe lights and it is really awesome to be out there after dark now…

Dogs and children and well fed tonight and passed out in dream land, I am almost there. Lots more harvesting and making our winter stash tomorrow. Mother Nature has been kind this year, I have lots of dirt under my nails to prove it!

Nancy