Sunday's Project: Drying Fig Leaves and Herbs

I'm really excited about today's project, as it's one I've dabbled with in the past, but haven't committed to doing the right way. I've been saying for the last few years, "this year, this is the year we'll really do it." So this year, we are. 

Today we will be hanging a few hooks in our house, stringing twine from one to the other, and beginning to dry some of our herbs, and most importantly, fig leaves. 

Every year I find that I let some (or a lot of) our herbs go to waste, and it always makes me sad. It just feels like such a waste. Especially when those herbs could be used in cooking or tisanes once the weather turns cold. 

What's a tisane? I asked the same question a few years back when I noticed them on the shelves at the bio. Essentially think of a drink that is made just like tea, but doesn't actually contain tea leaves in it. Drinks made with dried flowers, dried herbs, etc., but without tea leaves, are tisanes. So that post I did last summer on Fig Leaf Tea was actually a Fig Leaf Tisane. (Hashtag whoops.) Semantics aside, it was still delicious. 

So that brings me back to this project. The other day I made a delicious fresh fig leaf and fresh mint tisane that was out of this world. Drinking it made me feel like I was at a spa. And I thought to myself, now is the summer to dry all these leaves I've wanted to, so that once the leaves have fallen off of the trees outside I can still enjoy a nice tisane. I refuse to feel the pangs of regret at yet another winter of no fig leaf based tisane drinks, or having to buy dried herbs!

We're starting off small, as this is the first batch, but we should be able to get a couple of drying rounds in before the fall hits and the leaves begin to drop. In today's round we're drying fig leaves from a few of our local trees, as well as mint, rosemary, and chives from our terrace orchard garden. If our drying process yields enough by the end of the summer, I may have a small amount available to offer to some fellow fig-loving-tisane-drinking-readers, if you'd be interested. 

Never had a tisane? Try one out! You can make them with so many different herbs or flowers, dried or fresh, and many have some great health benefits if consumed regularly/properly. Always either ask your doctor before consuming, especially if you're pregnant, and do a quick Google search as some have cautions. Check out my fig leaf tea tisane from last summer here, or try adding a sprig of mint (about 10-12 leaves) into the tea ball with a chopped up medium sized fig leaf for the heavenly drink I had the other day. 

Check back for more updates on our drying process!

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

French thrifting, gardening and harvesting.

{Bruyere}

 

As usual, the weekend went by way too fast. Or maybe it's because I feel like nowadays I only really get one weekend day with Doc, and then have to spend Sunday as my recovery day. Le sigh. Who knew non-drinking fun could be so exhausting?  

 

{Feeling very Beastie Boys-esque in our reflection}

 

Where Saturday was filled with French thrifting, gardening, and buying some necessary items for mama and Homekid, Sunday was spent in my pyjamas, watching college football games from the day before, and wishing I had the energy to go outside and play. Or cook. Or wash my hair. Or just feel like a human being in general.  

 

 

I've been trying to not let myself become discouraged by my complete lack of energy and general ability to move my bigger self through space, so we've been focusing on little projects that I can actually accomplish. For instance, on Saturday we picked up some Mache plants to start our winter lettuce garden with...

 

 

...and I obsessed over all of the bulbs I would plant if we had any actual land to plant them in. Oh purple Allium, one day you will be mine!

 

 

I've also been going through some serious thrifting withdraw, since I haven't had the energy to go all the way into Geneva on Saturdays for les puces, so we've been trying to hit up the local scene for sweet vintage finds. I was so excited when we found this needlepoint, with it's vibrant colors and old timey French scene (except for the one house with the white picket fence, I don't quite get that...), I knew we absolutely needed it for Homekid's room. And for just 3 euros, it was a no brainer.

 

 

On this same trip we also found a wine carafe that says "Vin de Pays," (which means "Wine of the region"), a large white Swiss-made porcelain soup tureen with a lion head on each side, a pretty robin's egg blue milk glass vase, and surprisingly (and to Doc's absolute delight), a black Eastman left handed infielder's glove, child size and already broken in. The baseball glove was such a bizarre find here in France, how could we NOT pick it up? When we went to pay, we realized that everything together, including the needlepoint, cost all of 10 euro. Winner winner poulet dinner!

 

 

That brings us to Sunday. It amazes me that I'm so surprised each and every week that I feel horrible on Sunday. As if I still have some glimmering hope that all of sudden my super pregnant self is going to be doing somersaults out the door to the market.

 

 

Luckily Doc has been an incredibly doting papa-to-be, and always makes sure that Sundays are as easy for me as possible. (He is, it should be noted, NOT continually surprised that I feel horrible on Sundays.) He picks up fresh bread and boulangerie treats from my favorite boulangerie, makes sure there is plenty of food being made for Homekid and I, and helps me with projects I want to get accomplished, but might not have the energy to do on my own.

 

{Harvesting figs}

 

 

This Sunday that project was to start pressing some fig leaves from our fig trees in pots on the terrace. We've got some ideas for them, and I can't wait to crack open the flower press in a few weeks to see how they turned out. The only question is, what will come first, the dried fig leaves, or Homekid?

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend in your part of the world!

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey