I always tell you to look for the orange and yellow Manager's Special stickers at Kroger. They are everywhere and in every department! And I was telling a group the other day that it becomes instinct to just scan the store and find them.
One area these stickers frequent is the Produce Department, especially in the ready to serve salad mixes, pre-cut veggies etc. And they frequently mark down their Private Selection fresh herbs. You may see them for .99 cents and wonder what to do with them. EASY!! Dry them.
Save your spice bottles and wash well. When I get these bunches of herbs, I simply wash them, dry them off and then place on paper towels on my "formal" dining room table. There's a vent above where I put them so the heat coming on may or may not help. All you need is a place to keep them out of the way and another option is to hang them. I make sure they are in a single layer and I turn them a couple of times during the 5-7 days it takes to be completely dry. That is very important- if they aren't 100% dried out then I worry about contamination when stored in the closed bottle. Once they are dry, I either crush it up or remove from the stems into my bottles. Tonight, I did an entire spice bottle of dried dill for .99 cents! That would be 4-5 times in the store for that amount and the herbs are organic as well.
So far, I've dried basil, dill and cilantro. We aren't huge cilantro fans and I never hear any of the stars of Food Network talk about dried cilantro but I found the taste to be more milder when dried.
It's easy so next time you see them marked down- give it try! It's very Martha Stewart to dry your own herbs and you are saving money! I plan to extend my herb garden next summer to really stock up!
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