Herb Vinegars

Wow! It's been a week since I've posted and an extremely busy week at that. That's OK though since the week has flown by.....that makes it one week closer to Spring!

Do you ever make and use herb vinegars? I love making vinegars and using in all types of cooking. You can use herb vinegar in any recipe that calls for regular vinegar. I use most often in salad dressing mixed with olive oil and some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. MMMMMMM! Also drizzled over meats before cooking, in deviled eggs, potato salad, just anything that calls for vinegar. The additional flavor of whatever herb used is a bonus to the dish. The bottles also look pretty sitting around the kitchen and make people think you are an expert chef!

A few of my favorite herbs to add are rosemary, parsley, salad burnet, and chives. Chive blossoms make the vinegar the prettiest pink color. I also like basil and if you use one of the purple basil varities, the vinegar takes on the most awesome ruby color and is so pretty sitting in the windowsill.

CHIVE BLOSSOM VINEGAR WITH ROSEMARY SPRIGS

How To Make Herbal Vinegars...........

Just take fresh herbs and bruise them by crunching between your finger and insert in a wide-mouth glass container. I use glass canning jars. Then fill the jar with vinegar. I use white vinegar so the herbs can add their natural color. Cover the jar with plastic wrap secured with a rubberband. ( Do not use anything metal.) Now let the vinegar set for up to a month or so and every so often you can shake the jar a little to kind of mix it up. Strain the mixture to remove all the fine bits of herbs. I actually strain through coffee filters. Get some pretty bottles, cut some more of the fresh herbs and insert a couple sprigs into the bottle for decoration. Pour in the herb vinegar and cap with a cork. Voila!