It's very easy to dry herbs using the microwave; it's almost magical.  Carefully lay out the leaves, slide them into the microwave, nuke, beeeep, beeeep, beeeep... VOILA! Dried herbs.

Microwave-dried herbs retain excellent color and potency.  Start by laying the herb foliage in a single layer on a paper towel, either on the oven rack or on the glass insert.  Cover the leaves with another paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute.  Then check the herbs, and if they are still soft, keep testing at 20- to 30-second intervals.  Microwave ovens differ in power output, so you'll have to experiment.  Keep track of your results with each kind of herb.

Microwave drying is a bit easier on plant tissue than oven drying, because the water in the herb leaves absorbs more of the energy than the plant tissue does.  The water in the leaves gets hot and evaporates - that's why the paper towels get damp during the drying process- leaving drying plant tissue behind.  The plant tissue heats up a little because of the contact with the water, but the water absorbs most of the heat.  In a conventional oven, all the plant material gets hot, not just the water.

For my 900-watt microwave, it took 45 to 60-seconds to dry parsley.  I laid the larger, thicker leaves around the outer edge, which is the hottest part of the microwave.  After the dried herbs have cooled, store them in air-tight containers away from heat and light.  Keeps well for several months.

READ MORE on herbs

• How to Dry Fresh Herbs in a Microwave
• Useful Information: Herbs and Spices
  

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Have you ever purchased one of those large containers of peeled garlic from any Buy-In-Bulk-Warehouse to save yourself time and money?  BUT THEN, after you got home you learned the garlic has an expiration date and you only have 3 weeks to eat 3 pounds of garlic!  YIKES.

Well, that happened to one of my dear friends.  She called me up and said, "help me eat this garlic!"  She sent over a large yogurt tub full of peeled garlic.  Now, as much as we love garlic in my home, even that's too much garlic for us to consume in time.  I had to find another way to make the best out of this.

I've already tried the garlic in oil trick, while it is delicious, it too has a short shelf life.  I needed a long term solution.  After a little Google research, I tried and liked two successful methods to preserving peeled garlic cloves.

The First and Simplest Method
Spread the garlic cloves onto a baking sheet and freeze them for about 20 minutes.  Transfer them to a good air-tight freezer container and keep stored in the freezer.  They will keep 8- to 12-months in the freezer.  Use them in soups, salsas, etc. just as you normally use them.  They don't take long to thaw out, if you need to chop them.

The Second Method is Making Your Own Garlic Powder
Fresh garlic powder is just Wonderful! It's amazing just how much more aromatic and flavorful it is compared to the store-bought powder.  All it takes is a one-cup food processor, a little foil, food dehydrator and a spice grinder (an old coffee grinder.)

Start by filling the one-cup food processor with garlic cloves, pulse until the cloves are evenly minced.  One cup minced garlic will fill one dehydrator tray.

Line the dehydrator tray with foil then evenly spread the minced garlic out.

Cover and dry out for about 4 to 6 hours.  Vents on lid should be half open.  Your house is going to smell like an Italian restaurant during this time.  You may as well have Italian for dinner just to satisfy your cravings.  Check on the garlic by the fourth hour; it could be completely dry by then.  Garlic will have a light golden toasted look and be completely dry.

Some of the garlic sticks to the foil. Carefully scrape it into a wide mouth bowl before grinding into a powder.  Using an old coffee grinder, pulse the dried garlic until it is a semi-fine powder.  Store in an air-tight jar away from heat and light.  Powder will keep for several months.

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Home canning is not hard and it's really not labor intensive.  I'm sorry I didn't start canning YEARS ago.  The key is having all the tools, pots, jars and lids ready and understanding the flow of the recipe.  Home can one time and you'll have it down to preserve ANY food you like.  The steps are pretty much the same.  The only differences between recipes are the measurements of the ingredients for the food you want to preserve.

This is my first home canning experience.  I chose to put-up Bread & Butter Pickles because they're the Pre-K of home canning.  Super, super simple, it didn't feel like I really canned at all.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 7 lb pickling cucumbers (about 28 small to medium)
• 5 cups white vinegar
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 3.5-oz pkg Ball® Simple Creations® Bread & Butter Pickle Mix
• 4 (32 oz) quart or 8 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

CUT cucumbers into 1/2-inch thick slices, discarding ends.

SOAK cut cucumbers in ice water for 4 hours before preparing recipe.  Then drain.

PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

COMBINE vinegar, sugar and contents of package in a medium saucepan. Heat to a boil.

PACK drained cucumber slices into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling liquid over cucumbers leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until it is fingertip tight.

PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

For added flavor, allow pickles to stand for 4 to 6 weeks.

Start with Fresh Pickling Cucumbers

Here I am. Happy to be canning for the first time.

I used a ruler to make 1/2-inch cuts, consistantly.

Cut slices soaking in ice bath for 4 hours.

Got my tools out, cleaned & ready.

Pots are in position, water is hot.

Sterile, hot jars waiting to be filled.

Filled, Processed and Cooling.

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Berries (Except Strawberries): Wash, hull, sort over, using smaller and imperfect ones for juice.  Cold-pack or precook if the berries are the kind which tend to float.  To precook, sprinkle 1 to 2 cups of sugar over each quart of berries, depending upon their sweetness;  let stand awhile to draw out the juice.  Place in the kettle, bring to a boil, stirring to a boil, stirring gently;  boil gently 3 minutes.  Pack and process.

Cherries: Wash, stem, pit or not according to use intended.  Cold-pack unpitted cherries.  Precook pitted ones —add sugar to taste; bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes; pack and process.

Figs: Wash and drain.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of soda over each 3 quarts of figs; add 2 quarts of boiling water and let stand 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse.  Add 1 quart of medium or thick sirip; bring to a boil and boil gently for 1 hour.  Pack and process.

Grapes: Same as berries.

Peaches: Peel; halve and remove seeds.  Pack immediately, placing halves overlapping in layers, or pack whole if desired.  Or precook in sirup before packing and processing.  The precooked peaches have a richer flavor.  Cook 1 to 2 cracked peach pits with each quart of sirup for added flavor.  Fro grenadine peaches pour 1 cup of hot grenadine sirup over each quart of peaches, then fill the jar with sugar sirup.

Pears: Peel; halve and cor; precook 4 to 6 minutes in sirup before packing.

Pineapple: Peel and remove eyes; cut into slices, dices, spears or shreds.  Cold-pack or precook in sirup before packing and processing.

Plums: Wash and drain.  Prick each skin to prevent bursting.  Pack whole.  Cold-pack or bring to a boil in sirup before packing and processing.

Rhubarb: Wash or trim; cut into 1-inch lengths.  Cold-pack or precook in sirup before packing, or bake before packing if desired.

Strawberries: Wash and stem.  To each quart of berries add 1 cup of sugar.  Let stand for 2 hours.  Bring to  a boil and boil gently for 5 minutes.  Cover and let stand overnight in the sirup.  The next day reheat to boiling, fill jars, seal and process.

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To yield 1 quart of canned fruit use:

Apricots — 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds

Cherries — 1 1/2 pounds

Peaches — 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds

Pears — 2 to 2 1/4 pounds

Pineapple — 2 medium

Plums — 1 to 2 pounds

Rhubarb — 1 1/2 pounds

Strawberries — 3 to 3 1/2 pounds

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Thin Sirup calls for 3 cups of water to yield 3 1/2 cups of sirup.

Medium Sirup calls for 2 cups of water to yield 2 1/2 cups of sirup.

Thick Sirup calls for 1 cup of water to yield 1 cup of sirup.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

This fruit spread recipe is a sister to the Homemade Blueberry Syrup recipe.  I took notice that the syrup recipe did not spell out to discard the fruit after it was drained.  I tasted the berries and thought they just needed a little extra sugar and they could easily to be converted to a spread.  I couldn't bare to throw them out, it didn't seem fittin'.

HERE'S WHAT I DID

• 8 cups cooked & drained blueberries from the Homemade Blueberry Syrup recipe
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine all the ingredients, except lemon juice and cook until the blueberries are cooked down and thickened, 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Ladle fruit spread into a sterile glass 1 pint jar and cover with lid and band.  Process in water canner for 10 minutes if you want to store in pantry and eat later.  Or store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  It will go fast.  Trust me.

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Think of a blueberry syrup that you would use to make fresh fruit sodas or stir into a milkshake, yogurt or ice cream.  This recipe makes a thin, flavor packed syrup, not a thick pancake syrup.  Now with that being said, let me just say this stuff is GRRRRR-EAT!  The kiddos and I have been enjoying blueberry sodas made with 1 part blueberry syrup and 2 parts club soda on ice.  They LOVE mixing up their own drinks and away they go.  I feel good knowing they're drinking a carbonated soda free of high-fructose corn syrup and unnecessary ingredients.  We're back to the basics, blueberries, water, sugar, carbonated soda.  Everyone is happy!

Before I start explaining the steps to canning the syrup, I just realized we could easily store the cooled syrup in freezer containers and freeze it.  Just divide up the syrup in portions that can be consumed in 2 weeks time.  Store thawed or unused syrup in refrigerator.

Now if you've never tried home canning, this is a super simple recipe to begin with.  Don't be scared.  It's too easy. And so long as you follow the instructions, you can't go wrong and make anyone ill.  Let's just have fun with the whole experience.

TOOLS & JARS

• wide mouth funnel
• magnetic lid lifter
• vinyl coated jar lifter
• vinyl coated tongs
  All easily obtained from an inexpensive canning kit. I paid $10 for mine.

TOOLS continued

• tall, large stockpot with lid and cooking rack
  I happen to have a 30 quart stockpot with a strainer basket. Works great.
• 4 pint (16 ounce) glass preserving jars
• 4 lids and bands
• cooking thermometer that registers over 230ºF
• large saucepan
• small saucepan
• tea towel or jelly bag, dampened
• wire mesh strainer
• large bowl
• stirring spoon
• clean towel

INGREDIENTS

• 8 cups blueberries (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

HERE'S WHAT TO DO

Combine blueberries, 2 cups of water and lemon zest in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a dampened tea towel or a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth set over a deep bowl.  Let drip, undisturbed for at least 2 hours.  Save the drained blueberries to make a delicious blueberry spread.

Prepare boiling water canner.  Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use.  Do not boil.  Set bands aside.

Combine sugar and remaining 4 cups of water in a clean large stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, and cook until temperature reaches 230ºF, adjusting for altitude.  Add blueberry juice.  Increase heat to high, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice.

Ladle hot syrup into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Remove jars and cool.  Check lids for seal after 24 hours.  Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

While you have everything out and the water canner is still hot, you may as well use those leftover blueberries to make a fruit spread for your morning toast or over your yogurt.  You know what Memaw used to say, "Waste not, want not."

Blueberry Spread Recipe

If you would like to watch a veteran home-canner in the kitchen, then watch my mentor Linda Tanton in this video.  In the video she's cooking up a Cucumber Relish to be canned.  The tools and steps for canning are the virtually the same.  She shows us just how simple it is.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Inspired by Michael Chiarello's book Flavored Oils: 50 Recipes for Cooking with Infused Oils.

I have, rolling around my head, the idea to make a loaf of garlic bread.  Not the bread with garlic spread on it's slices.  Garlic stirred into the dough itself.  Is your mouth watering just thinkin' about it?  But first, I need to roast a few heads of garlic. And while I'm at it, I may as well make garlic olive oil, too. Right?

HERE'S WHAT I DID

• 4 or 5 whole garlic heads
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• a pinch or two Italian seasoning (optional)

Heat the oven to 375ºF.

Peel away the garlic skins and toss the clean cloves into a shallow baking pan.  Get your kids to help, they love to pick things. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper and optional seasonings, then pour the oil over the top.  Cover the pan, loosely, with aluminum foil, allowing for steam to escape.  Bake for 3o to 45 minutes.  (30 minutes produces a fork tender clove, 45 minutes produces a softer spreadable clove.)

Drain off the oil in a tightly covered, sterilized glass jar or bottle and USE WITHIN 1 WEEK.  Makes about 3/4 cup roasted garlic oil.

To make the paste, mash the cloves with a fork or give them a quick spin in a 1 cup food processor.  Makes about 1/2 cup garlic paste.

Last night, I put a dollop of roasted garlic paste on my pasta plate like a condiment; that was good.  I spread it over a fresh slice of Bran-Enriched Bread; that was good.  I stirred it into my homemade tomato sauce; lip smacking smooth.

The roasted garlic oil is said to be wonderful added to vinaigrettes, for sauteing vegetables, or in any recipe calling for roasted garlic oil.

COOK'S NOTES

If you have concerns or questions about storing garlic oil, or have only heard about botulism in homemade garlic oil.

PLEASE visit these links:

GARLIC,Safe Methods to Store, Preserve and Enjoy, Calaveras County Agriculture Extension

Cook's Illustrated Forum: Garlic oil & botulism

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HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 gallon apple sauce
• 1 quart of sugar
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large kettle and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently till thickened and it will be translucent.

Sugar may be varied to taste and depending on the tartness of apple sauce.  If too sweet, add a little lemon juice.

To can, process in  boiling water bath, using new flat jar lids, about 20 minutes.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.