Thyme and lemon thyme are growing in serveral areas in my gardens. They are among a group of herbs that I have growing, that are both perennial and evergreen. It’s nice in winter time to see the green leaves of sage and thyme, oregano and parsley and lavender. Thyme is a savory herb that I use quite a lot in my kitchen on meat like chicken and fish. I also use it in sauces for spaghetti and almost any typ of Italian style food.

 I like to dehydrate thyme and keep it in a small mason jar in my kitchen, because that’s the most convenient way to use it. The dried thyme leaves are very easy to knock off their stems and pour into the jar. The fresh thyme has a sharp, fresh scent. It’s not as powerful as the dried thyme, but it is stimulating to your senses when you work with it in the kitchen. You may not have realized it yet, but cooking is very sexy. h

To use fresh thyme, you have to hold the top of a stem and gently run down the stem with two fingers pressed together. The idea is to knock the leaves off without breaking the stem. I almost always break a few and wind up with several stems in my pot (which never hurt anyone.) An alternative is to finely chop up the fresh stems and leaves together.