Herbalicious

My entry this week for the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging isn't so much a recipe as pantry prep for recipes.  Do you ever have the best of intentions but your little projects sit in a drawer or closet gathering dust?  If not, come to my house. I can certainly put you to good work.  I used to faithfully keep my oil bottles filled with all manner of herbs and spices to use in cooking but somewhere along the line they all ran out and instead of being refilled, they just got shoved to the back of a shelf in the pantry.  I think the last one ran dry about the time I went back to respiratory school, so that would be something like two years ago, maybe three.

I decided today was the day to make that change so that the next time I reach for plain oil and think "I sure wish I had some of that infused oil I used to make" I can now grab it.  And the next time I look at the beautifully infused oils at the gourmet kitchen shops I'll know that mine are custom made for my preferences and a fraction of the cost.

From left to right, my flavors are: 

1)  Bay leaf and minced garlic in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

2)  Rosemary and minced garlic in olive oil.

3)  Thyme and minced garlic in expeller pressed canola oil.

4)  Habanero, minced garlic, and minced ginger in expeller pressed canola oil.

Hmmmm....what should I make first?

EDIT:

See this post to explain why you shouldn't actually do this the way I've shown you here.  This might end up being a good lesson for several of us, myself absolutely included.

Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted this week by its creator, Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Comments

[Brilynn]

As an added bonus, the infused oils are really pretty to look at and make great gifts!

[sher]

That looks beautiful!!! So does your wood floor!

[Susan]

Habanero! When you pop the cork on that one, it will be Pandora's Bottle. ; )

[Glenna]

Brilynn--Great minds think alike. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

Sher--Thanks on both! I love that floor. At first I wanted a deep cherry but the contractor talked us into honey oak and it is beautiful on a sunny day when the light comes through the skylight.

Susan--LOL! Yes! I made that one (habanero, garlic, ginger) specifically for stir fries. Yum! Gene will never know what hit him!

[Butta Buns]

I vote for #4 being a huge fan of chiles hot enough to burn a hole in one's tongue. Though I'll put in a tentative bid for #3 because I'm curious what "expeller pressed" means.

[Kalyn]

I'm very impressed. I've gotten oils like this as gifts before, but never made my own. I bet it will be very fun to think of ways to use them. And I agree, the floor is beautiful.

[Cynthia]

Glennia your oils look great and the flavours you have there are varied and provide many opportunities. How do you generally use your flavoured oils? To heat and cook with or as a finishing oil to be drizzled over a dish?

I make my own infused oils too and use them to cook with and for salad dressings.

[Glenna]

Butta buns--LOL! Love your definition of "truly hot". Hee hee. Expeller means that it's cold pressed like olive oil instead of heated to extract the oils which is much better for the body. I tell you what. Rather than going into all of it in the comments section you just gave me the topic for Doctor's Kitchen Monday. I'll do a post on the whole thing. This is something I like to talk about.

Kalyn--thanks! I enjoy making them. I've bought them before but when I do I always think "I hate the price and I wish it had garlic..." Duh. The instant formula for do it yourself!

Cynthia--All of the above. For examples, the pepper/garlic/ginger I'll use mostly for stir fries. I would have done it with sesame oil had I remembered to pick it up at the grocery but, not having it, I went with the canola instead. I'll use either the rosemary or bay leaf ones to sear a roasts before putting them in the oven. The bay with the balsamic vinegar to toss vegetables with before roasting, etc. Basically for anything I need oil for and want a little more oomph. And then also for salad dressing. Actually, not so much as a finishing sauce.

Good for you! It's fun, isn't it?

[Karin]

Thanks for visiting my blog, Glenna.
The distinctive lemon olive oil has become my favorite oil. An ideal oil for seafood, vegetables and salads or to drizzle or toss to finish a salad.

[Glenna]

Karin--oooooh, lemon. Wish I'd thought of that....

[Chris]

How cool are these!!! I love it...looks like it may be something I can do without messing up....maybe! ha ha ha

[Sarah]

Wow, those look awesome. Sounds like a great (and money saving) thing to make. How long do they keep for? Do the herbs turn at all while in the oil?

[Ulrike]

I am so jealous. My herbs need some weeks to grow to make some herbed oil. Great idea!

[TexanNewYorker]

Another GREAT IDEA from Glenna. Love it. I think you just gave me a recipe for pretty Christmas presents next year. :o)

[kt]

Very pretty. I'd probably not use any of them for a while just so I could look at them. But I'm kind of weird that way.

[Kristen]

Those are absolutely gorgeous. Very impressive and beautiful.

[Christa]

These sound delicious and look beautiful, too! I have more thyme in the garden than I know what to do with right now. Maybe I'll try it in an oil. How long do these keep?

[Margaret]

The bottles of infused oils look very impressive!!
Can you make some bottles up for me please?

[Glenna]

Everybody just remember--olive oil and dry herbs only!!!!! If you're giving them as gifts keep the two separate and let the giftee mix them at their convenience.

[Sarah]

Glenna, what do you mean by dry herbs? They have to be dried? Those look like fresh in your bottles.

[Glenna]

Because even though I've done fresh herbs before and did them here, I didn't realize until after I did these that the water in the herbs or veggies can create harmful bacteria.