5 in 5 - July 2020 - Different ways of using rosemary

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th

of each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

In May I posted about the communal herb garden that I am creating for the village hall.  Because of COVID, plans have been delayed and the herbs have not yet been planted. They have grown tall and I decided that the rosemary would benefit from a trim.

With a handful of sprigs it seemed a shame to waste them. So I did a Google search to find different uses. One idea was to tie small springs into a circle of muslin and put them into a tumble dryer to add a natural fragrance to your laundry. I've not done this yet, but it sounds worth trying. 

I did make some rosemary oil.  A simple-to-do recipe that just involved adding sprigs into olive oil. I will leave it for a few weeks for the flavour to infuse and then pour the oil into a bottle.

I regularly use rosemary to flavour water. This shows sparking spring water, and tap water works just as well.  This sprig kept its flavour all afternoon with regular refills of water. This evening, I added cider to the rosemary. It was a gamble, but one that paid off and I'll be doing that again!

Culinary use.  
I will hang one bunch for drying. Leaves from other sprigs will be stripped then chopped and frozen. You can also preserve the leaves in oil.

A recipe for rosemary butter sounds appealing and I am tempted to freeze small portion sizes. They will be perfect for jacket potatoes, steak etc. and it's another simple recipe. You just mix finely chopped leaves into butter!

I love cheese scones and the addition of chopped rosemary sounds delicious. And then there are recipes for savoury rosemary biscuits. I sometimes buy these to go with cheese, so the idea of making my own is appealing. It's a good thing I have my own large rosemary bush in the garden!

Rosemary salt - finely chop the herb leaves and add to salt, leaving it for a week or two for the flavour to develop. Use as a seasoning.

Have you ever tried rosemary tea?  This is a lovely infusion, just add few fresh sprigs into boiling water and allow a few minutes to infuse. It makes a refreshing drink and one that I make regularly.

There are recipes for rosemary jam and rosemary wine, and it is also good as a hair conditioner.  For me, this versatile herb has grown even more in it's popularity! We have been clearing space this week and demijohns were one thing to go. Luckily I kept back 6 as I would like to make wine again sometime in the future. Rosemary wine might just be one! 

Thank you for visiting and I hope that what ever you are doing, you are safe and well. As always I invite you to join in this monthly 5in5 photo challenge. It's very simple, and it offers a new way of looking through the camera lens and adding a spark of new ideas.

So here's how it works: 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool 

   

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos and if you want to know more about 5in5 there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.