Rosemary and herb salt is a quick and easy way to preserve your homegrown herbs to use throughout the year. Herb finishing salts, add so much flavour to meals in a quick and convenient way. Try Rosemary and herb salt on your roast vegetables for a delicious boost of flavour.
Why Grow Rosemary?
Rosemary is such a versatile herb and works well with both sweet and savoury dishes. It has a fragrant, pine-like aroma. Rosemary offers so many beneficial relationships within your garden. Rosemary is a hardy, drought-tolerant, ever-green perennial herb. A fantastic staple to have to grow in any edible garden. Rosemary also has many healing properties, so it is a handy plant to have near the house or in a kitchen garden.
When to Harvest Herbs?
The best time of day to harvest your herbs is first thing in the morning. This is when the plants are hydrated and full of life. As the day goes on, they will lose moisture and not be as fresh and vibrant. Early in the morning, the bees are not yet active. As the sun comes up and the dew drys, the bees will be about in a hive of activity. So, if you do pick later in the day, just be cautious not stress them out and avoid getting stung.
Add to a mixer and blitz until breadcrumb consistency (or leave chunky if you would like too)
Add in salt and blitz quickly to combine.
Spread on to parchment and dry in the oven or dehydrator at 45 degrees celsius until dry. Stir through after one hour to loosen up the mix and allow it to dry faster. The length of time will depend on the water content of the herbs (approx 2 hours). The mixture will go a lighter green colour.
Once dry add to a clean airtight jar.
Notes
The colour may fade over time
Try herbs such as Thyme, Mint, Sage, Chilli, Oregano
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This easy Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce is a fantastic way to use up a bunch of homegrown chillies. Growing Chillies is a great place to start for Beginner Gardeners or those with limited space as they are easy to grow and can produce an abundance of chilli on one plant. Chilli plants like warm weather but they can be grown throughout winter in a greenhouse or warm spot. I will cut back my chilli plants soon, place in a warm area and let them go semi-dormant for the winter which is called “overwintering”. That way come spring and summer the plants are well established and will provide me with a decent crop.
This recipe can be adjusted to be as mild or hot as you like. You can use different chilli varieties but obviously the hotter the variety the more your sweet chilli sauce will pack a punch! If you are concerned I would remove and save the seeds from 3/4 of the chilli and once it has cooked down a bit, taste and add more of the seeds to get the desired heat. I just went all-in with the seeds and used a hot Thai Chilli variety so mine turned out quite hot but I like that.
Scroll down to see the Full Recipe
Watch Chilli Harvest and making Sweet Chilli Sauce
Easy Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce
Yield: 500g
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour15 minutes
This easy Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce is a fantastic way to use up a bunch of homegrown chillies. Growing Chillies is a great place to start for Beginner Gardeners or those with limited space as they are easy to grow and can produce an abundance of chilli on one plant.
This recipe can be adjusted to be as mild or hot as you like. You can use different chilli varieties but obviously, the hotter the variety the more your sweet chilli sauce will pack a punch! If you are concerned I would remove and save the seeds from 3/4 of the chilli and once it has cooked down a bit, taste and add more of the seeds to get the desired heat. I just went all-in with the seeds and used a hot Thai Chilli variety so mine turned out quite hot but I like that.
Ingredients
250 - 350g Chilli
8 Cloves Garlic
5 cm piece of Ginger
2 cups Sugar
2 cups White Vinegar
3 teaspoons Salt
Instructions
Wash chilli and cut off the green stems.
Roughly chop the Chilli, Garlic and Ginger and add to a mixing bowl or food processer.
Blitz the mixture into a rough paste using either a food processor or stick mixer. If using a stick mixer make sure you cover the bowl with a cloth to stop bits of chilli flying everywhere!
Add the blitzed chilli mixture to a pot and add Sugar, Vinegar and Salt.
Bring to the boil and then let it simmer on a low - medium heat until the mixture thickens (45min - 1hr).
The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. Add a dash of water or extra vinegar if need be.
Heat oven to 130 degrees celsius and add your clean jars or bottles to sterilize for 15mins. Put the lids in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes.
Carefully pour the warm sauce mixture into your jars while they are still warm and secure the lids on.
Store in the fridge and use within 3-4 weeks*
* For long term storage place in smaller containers or jars and freeze or use canning methods for long term preservation.
Notes
If you want a mild sweet chilli sauce, remove 3/4 of the chilli seeds and set aside. Once the mixture has started to reduce, taste and add extra seeds as desired.
Serve with Sweet Potato Fries, as a Stirfry sauce, burger sauce or even add to noodles and vegetables for a deliciously tasty meal packed full of flavour.
If you have chilli plants that ripen at different times or a smaller amount to harvest, try freezing them whole until you have enough saved up to make the recipe. Other ways to preserve your chillies are to dry them out and keep them whole or try blitzing the dried chillies to make a chilli powder or flakes.
I hope you enjoy this easy homemade sweet chilli sauce!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Garden toast is something I created one day when I was scraping together something for lunch and all I had was a crust and some cottage cheese in the fridge. I didn’t have any avocado, eggs or anything special to have with it. So I went out into the garden and found some inspiration! I picked two small tomatoes, herbs and edible flowers. It looked like a mini garden on toast and now I can’t stop making these beautiful, tasty creations!
Here are the creations I have made so far..
Original Garden Toast
My first addition with the last piece of bread I had left! I had fun making this and it definitely tasted delicious! Ingredients: Rye Multigrain toast, Cottage Cheese, Fresh tomato, Parsley, Rosemary, Rosemary flowers, Zinnia Petals and Basil leaves.
Fairy Garden Toast
It’s amazing what a little bit of Beetroot juice can do! Natural colouring and plenty of beneficial nutrients with an array of micro herbs and greens. You may even be able to convince your kids to eat more greens with this Fairy Garden toast. Get them involved in the process by having a bowl each to go outside and collect herbs. Ingredients: White Multigrain Toast, Cottage Cheese mixed with beetroot juice or fresh grated Beetroot, Baby Nasturtium leaves, Parsley leaves, Basil leaves, Sweet Violet flowers, Rosemary Flowers, Baby Pink chard leaves, Pink Zinnia Flower petals and Dill Flowers.
Jungle Garden Toast
Packed full of herbs and flavour! Ingredients: Country Grain Toast, Basil Pesto, Orange Nasturtium petals, Tiger Eye Viola Petals, Strawberry Flowers, Parsley leaves, Rosemary Flowers, Pea tendrils, Burgundy Marigold Petals and Purple basil leaves.
Summer Garden Toast
Summer on toast! Homegrown tomatoes are so sweet and delicious and tomato on toast is one of my favourite ways to eat them! Ingredients: Rye Multigrain toast, Red, yellow, orange cherry tomatoes, Purslane, Red basil leaves, Strawberry Flower, Sweet Violet Flower, Dill flowers, Rosemary Flowers, chopped Purple Kale, baby Nasturtium leaves and Fresh Chilli.
Botanical Garden Toast
Pest on toast is so delicious! I made extra pesto and if you follow me on Instagram you would have seen that I ate this for breakfast for an entire week! It was also so good with a poached egg on top. Ingredients: Sourdough toast, Basil pesto, Cottage Cheese, Chopped walnuts, Fresh Chilli, Basil Leaves, Fennel Flowers, Pink and White Dianthus, Baby Pumpkin Tendrils, Parsley Leaves and Strawberry Flowers.
Unicorn Garden Toast
My latest creation and maybe my favourite yet! Purple sweet potato spread is a vibe! Ingredients: Sourdough Toast, Mashed Purple Sweet Potato and Cottage Cheese, Overnight Pickled Red Cabbage and Red Onion (1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar heated to dissolve. Pour cooled liquid over Cabbage and Onion), Purple Kale, Grilled Baby Eggplant, Purple Pansy, Multicoloured Dianthus, Rosemary Flowers and Red Basil.
Get Inspired by your Garden
There is always something in my garden to make a toast topping and I love how easy and creative it is! Each piece is so unique and full of fresh garden nutrients! Having these ideas tried and tested means I know I can always whip up something even when my fridge is looking very lean.
Get creative and inspired by your own garden. There is something so satisfying about being able to walk outside and make a meal from your own fresh, homegrown veggies. This is a great meal idea for beginner gardeners who don’t have many established edibles. Just look out for baby leaves and edible flowers (make sure you research and clearly identify they are edible). Baby leaves and flowers can add subtle flavours and turn any dish into a work of art!
Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see your creations!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Nasturtium is in absolute abundance in my garden right now and I want to learn how to make the most of this fruitful time. I think learning how to use a plant is just as important as learning how to grow it. This month I have been exploring lots of different ways to use Nasturtium. Nasturtium mini quiches are so quick, easy, and taste delicious. Get the most out of your garden by growing things that have a multitude of uses to really help you maximise your space.
Nasturtium Mini Quiche
12 Medium – Large Nasturtium Leaves
Quiche Mix
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk or cream (i used coconut cream)
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper to season
Whisk Quiche mix in a bowl and set aside.
Fillings
Red onion
Feta
Spring onion
Marinated olives
Red capsicum
Parsley
Broccoli
Rainbow Chard
Grated Cheese
Finely chop your filling vegetables. I overshot how many veggies I needed. My muffin trays are on the smaller side and you don’t need much to fill them. So just chop a little bit and you can always chop more if needed. You could add any vegetables you have available these are just what I had.
Assembly
Preheat Oven to 170-180 degrees celsius.
Grease a muffin tray well with oil.
Place your Nasturtium leaves top side down.
Add your filling (except grated cheese), just a couple of pieces of each as it will soon fill up.
Using a measuring cup or jug pour your Quiche mix in and try not to fill over the top of the leaves.
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake for 30mins or until the filling has been set.
Remove and allow to cool for 10mins.
Carefully remove from trays using a spoon. You may need to run a knife around the top of the cheese has stuck to the sides.
Please note my recipes are more of a guide.. ( I am not a technically accurate baker, I just wing it).
If you have plenty of Nasturtiums check out my other recipes.
You can share your version on Instagram using #sustainablehollyskitchen or tag me @sustainable_holly so I can see your beautiful creations!!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
