Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...

  Not to mention oregano, cilantro, basil and mint!

One of the things I love the most at the farm is my herb garden. My little herb garden has required a relatively small investment of time with a very high yield (I harvest fresh herbs from our little herb garden all summer long). I get a kick out of thinking..."Oh this needs some oregano" and then walking out my back door and picking some :). Nothing beats the taste of cooking and preparing foods with fresh herbs. Once you start using them fresh, you will never want to go back to the store-bought jars. Of course I also dry and freeze them for use year round (you can see here how "Boo" is helping me to tie some herb bundles for drying on the back porch).
  With most herbs, you can harvest them for immediate use simply by pinching off the leaves (I have found that it's best to start at the top of the plant). When freezing, you can freeze whole stems by lying them flat on cookie sheets and then remove the leaves and store them in freezer bags. Another neat tip that I'm going to try this year is to make an herb butter (I'm going to use a mix of butter and olive oil with the herbs) and then freeze in ice cube trays. What a great way to use herb butters on fish, meats and veggies year round.
  Drying herbs is relatively simple as long as you have a nice, dry and airy place to hang them. Simply tie bundles together and hang upside down. You can also place the bundles in small paper bags and hang (just make sure to puncture the bag with a few holes).
 I end up tossing fresh herbs in lots of stuff, but some of my favorite things to make include... First, Pesto. I think it's fair to say that we are pesto Fiends. We keep it simple with fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, fresh parm and pine nuts. Sometimes I use lemon basil for a fresh twist. I love making freshly brewed iced tea with mint and lemon verbena (one of my husband's favorite things I make in the summer). Once the tomatoes are ripe (and it looks like we will have Tons of them this year) I will make fresh salsa with our cilantro and homemade marinara sauce with our basil and oregano.