I’ve brought herbs inside for the last few winters. They don’t always do well indoors in this cold climate. This year’s herb collection is doing well on the deck – so well that I’m attempting the process of drying and crushing and storing herbs. I’ve tried two different locations in the house for drying. So far, the attic is winning out. The basil didn’t fully dry, though, even after hanging for about a week and a half. I ended up putting the basil (and its friends oregano and cilantro) in the oven on a low heat setting for about 20 minutes. At that point, I could pick up a leaf and crumble it.

The fun part was playing with my new kitchen toy: a ceramic mortar and pestle set. The set is rather pretty, and it grinds nicely. See how it works!

Oregano!

Basil! Purple basil!

The poor rabbit, though. Little Krumpet, the tiny and very furry lion head rabbit, was upset when I tried to grind herbs in “her” room, the den. Maybe she didn’t like the overwhelming odor. Maybe the grinding sound was hard on her fuzzy bunny ears. Whatever it was, she kept thumping when I tried to grind.

You know me, readers. I relented and finished prepping herbs in the kitchen.