Today I have some tips, including a couple of great ones from our resident Herb Lady!

When chopping herbs like lovage, celery, cilantro, or parsley save the stems and place them in a resealable plastic freezer bag. Next time you make stock with meat or poultry, throw the stems in the pot while it's cooking and strain out before using. This makes a great addition to stock!

Fresh Mint and Ginger Lemonade

Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed chopped fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup honey
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups cold water

Combine chopped mint, ginger and honey in medium bowl; add boiling water and allow to steep for 30-40 minutes; strain into 4-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on the herbs to release all of the moisture. Add the lemon juice and enough cold water to measure 4 cups total. Fill four glasses with ice cubes; add lemonade; garnish with mint leaves and fresh lemon slices.

CATHERINE'S SPRING HERB TIPS
Pests: twice a year--now and in the fall--pest like the voracious aphids like our cool nights and warm days. They can also take over almost overnight. Use the hose to deter them. Weeds also can harbor tiny flies that in past years can be almost plague proportions, so again it is a healthier garden that has no weeds. Our cold winter may have helped quite a bit with certain types of pests--unfortunately not the aphids--but the cold will have helped kill some types of larvae.

Beneficial Insects: I am seeing the egg sacks of lacewings on my plants. The adults eat a certain amount of pests, but like many of our beneficial insects, the larvae eat a whole lot more. The egg sacks are a tiny white dot at the top of a 'filament' which usually rises straight up from the top of a leaf- I have seen them on my dill just this week. Leave these undisturbed to encourage their moving into your garden neighborhood.

Visit Catherine at www.herbs2u.net

MORE: Dandelion coffee, fritters and much more!
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/dandelion2.html
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