Ba$il and other Herb$

Basil on its way to the dehydrator

Mr. Big Food asked the other day if I had dried any thyme. I had not, primarily because I have enough fresh English thyme to last a life time. He commented that dried thyme was "crazily" expensive. So since there are occasions when dried is preferable to fresh-- like when it's raining-- I dried some thyme.

I also took stock of the rest of our dried herbs. Good Lord! I had no idea we were almost out of basil. Not to worry, though. I have plenty of fresh.

Mr. Big Food's remark about the expense of dried herbs got me wondering just how much good quality, heirloom, organically grown herbs cost. So I went a-lookin' around the World Wide Web. Holy Moly!!

I looked only at one site, Localharvest.com, which offers a lot of products from a lot of smaller farms. Very nice if for those interested in local products. Mr. Big Food was correct. Dried English thyme is crazily expensive.

Prices per ounce:

Basil $1.75
Greek oregano $2.49
Dill $2.99
Cilantro $2.99
Rosemary $3.24
English thyme $3.75

I sure do feel sorry for folks who don't grow their own herbs. Well. That's a lie. I can't think of any good reason not to grow at least some of your favorite herbs.

A patch of cilantro that self-seeded from this spring's planted patch.