THE DIRT: Herbes de Provence Bouquets

To me, one of the best parts of spring is spending time in my garden. This year my herbs are doing quite well, except my Basil. Our dog ate the first plant and my replacement Basil is struggling. But everything else is thriving so I did some research on Herbes de Provence and Herb Bouquet Garni.

First up though, a little tour of my herb garden.

My lavender is several years old. I actually cut it way back a few months ago and it’s coming back strong.

I’m exciting about growing Oregano this year. I’ll be drying a lot of this herb.

Little peppers are starting to take shape. This will be fun too.

This Rosemary plant is about two years old and I think it looks so pretty in the pot.

Another new herb in my garden is Thyme.

I ended up making Bouquets of Herbes de Provence. I originally thought that any herb bouquet was called a Bouquet Garni but I found that a Bouquet Garni has specific herbs: parsley, thyme and a bay leaf. Of course there are variations.

Here’s the breakdown: (Source)

• Bouquet Garni:   4 sprigs fresh parsley or chervil, 1 sprig fresh thyme, and 1 bay leaf.
• Herbes de Provence: Four parts thyme plus four parts summer savory, two parts lavender, and one part rosemary. Variations: tarragon, orange zest and bay leaf or oregano, basil and fennel.
• Fines Herbes  Equal parts chervil, tarragon, chives, and parsley or equal parts chervil and chives.
• Italian seasoning  Equal parts basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

To make any type of herb bouquet, all you need to do is gather your fresh herbs and tie them up with cooking string.

Or, make a few bouquets on tooth picks. You can use the tooth pick to secure the herbs into your meat.

Aren’t they pretty? Fresh herbs are wonderful but you could easily dry these and save them for later.

Thanks so much for stopping by.