Homemade Bouquet Garni

How many times have you decided to cook up something you're craving only to discover you're missing the key ingredient to make your concoction a success? Need a last-minute housewarming gift or something to send along with a thank-you note? Looking for a crafty, homemade item to sell at the church bazaar or 4-H fair?

Think Bouquet Garni - literally a bouquet of complementary spices and herbs that's commonly used to kick up the flavors of savories such as soups, sauces, stews and casseroles. A little cheesecloth and some string are the beginnings of this very versatile, delectable homemade herbal mix.

By mixing-and-matching herbs - from the garden, on the sill or in the cupboard - you can make-ahead a number of common kitchen-spice collaborations to use yourself, give as gifts or even sell on consignment at the local roadside farm market.

Basic Bouquet Garni

For basic garni, you'll need:

* cheesecloth
* string or wax- and flavor-free dental floss
* four sprigs (or one teaspoon dried) fresh parsley
* two sprigs (or one teaspoon dried) fresh thyme
* one sprig each (or one teaspoon dried each) fresh marjoram and chervil
* one bay leaf

1. Cut a section of cheesecloth into four-inch squares. Stack them; you'll use three four-inch squares for each bouquet.

2. Clip and mince the fresh herbs.

3. Place all herbs together in the center of the cheesecloth square.

4. Bring all four sides up to form a little bag around the spices. Tie the bag securely at the top, leaving one end of string longer than the other. That's to enable the user to tie the bag to a pot handle and simply drop it in to simmer with the savories, then easily remove the bag when the dish is cooked.

Tips:

* If you won't be using the bouquet right away, bags storing fresh herbs should be frozen.

* When making bouquet garni in quantity, you may freeze both fresh and dried bags of herbs to keep fresh until use.

* For an extra little kick, add orange or lemon zest to your garni. Orange is especially good with poultry and beef; lemon is great in soups and with seafood.

Pack A Little Garni Heat