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Explosion of Oregano!


nessa

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My newish house used to be owned by a gardner. This is a profession that I have discovered I sucketh mightily at. I can kill anything with surprising ease.

Somehow this huge patch (2'x2') of Oregano has survived and thrived under the guidance of our wet spring. I'm guessing that I can harvest a bunch, cutting it back, and that it will replenish for a while. What do I do with it all? I was thinking of an infused olive oil, and maybe making a batch of spaghetti sauce. That will only use so much, and I'm guessing more is coming. Pretty please help me come up with ideas to use/store this nature's bounty. And then can someone tell me how NOT to kill rosemary and lavendar?

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Chimichurri sauce! See thread for the recipe I've use: click. It's great with almost any roasted or grilled meat and I think it would be good with shrimp or fish also! Fat Guy started a thread mentioning its glories as a pizza topping: click

Looking back at the ingredients of the recipe I gave, I think one could successfully freeze this also (to preserve the bounty). I might leave out the vinegar and lemon juice for the freezing step and then add these in when thawing.

Oregano and garlic are so nice with lamb as well; also clams or fish. Think Greek and also look to Spain and Portugal besides Italy! Also, I think there are nice applications in Mexican cooking and I'm sure other Latin American cuisines although I'm not as familiar with those.

Both fresh and dried oregano are nice and their affect seem to be quite different. A simple compound butter with fresh oregano and maybe lemon zest seems like it would be so nice on a grilled, broiled or steamed fish.

I'm sure others will more have specfic ideas!

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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For the oil I was considering heating the oil on low heat to help the process along. I've heard the concern about oil and garlic because raw garlic can contain the orgranism that causes botilism. I've not heard that about oregano?

When I make an infused garlic oil I basically use a garlic press and press the garlic through and then heat the oil until the garlic is golden brown and cooked all the way through. It takes a long time but sure is good. Would a similar process work for oregano?

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Dry the oregano and save it for another day. I prefer dry oregano any day.

I don't know about botulism, but I have used fresh herbs, and the oil wound up fermenting. It was...uh....explosive! :shock:

Don't know if gentle heat would cure that. Maybe using a dried herb would work better. Hey...let us know! :biggrin:

P.S. I can kill just about anything too! I believe in survival of the fittest...if you live, you get to stay.

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Although I have never done it myself, I would also dry the oregano. I would put it in a bunch and hang it upside down. I don't know if it is sentiment or real, but I prefer oregano that has been dried and kept on the branch. My dad always had some in a paper bag that he would take out to sprinkle over garden tomatoes or into lemon/oil/garlic mixtures for broiling chicken etc. Now, I purchase the ones on the branch as well. I have stored mine in a paper bag, plastic and now I'm using a plastic container. I'm thinking of going back to the bag; maybe the stuff "breathes" better. Or, again, maybe it's sentiment.

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My newish house used to be owned by a gardner.  This  is a profession that I have discovered I sucketh mightily at.  I can kill anything with surprising ease.

Somehow this huge patch (2'x2') of Oregano  has survived and thrived under the  guidance of our wet spring.  I'm guessing that I can harvest a bunch, cutting it back, and that it will replenish for  a while.  What do I do with it all?  I was thinking of an infused olive oil, and maybe making a batch of  spaghetti sauce.  That will only use so much, and I'm guessing more is coming.  Pretty please help me come up with ideas to use/store this nature's bounty.  And then can someone tell me how NOT to kill rosemary and lavendar?

If its Greek oregano (is low growing and has fuzzy stalks below the leaves, is related to the mint family) let it grow for a few months. Then cut it all off (including the stalks)and put it on a piece of screen or a cloth sheet suspended over a couple of sticks..Let it dry outside for a week or two. Then seperate the dried leaves from the stalks and put em in sealed jars and use in place of the rotten stuff that is sold as "oregano"

If it is not Greek oregano , Dig up the whole thing and put it in the mulch pit...

Bud

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If its Greek oregano (is low growing and has fuzzy stalks below the leaves, is related to the mint family) let it grow for a few months. Then cut it all off (including the stalks)and put it on a piece of screen or a cloth sheet suspended over a couple of sticks..Let it dry outside for a week or two. Then  seperate the dried leaves from the stalks and put em in sealed jars and use in place of the rotten stuff that is sold as "oregano"

If it is not Greek oregano , Dig up the whole thing and put it in the mulch pit...

Bud

Totally agree with the drying method, thats the way they do it in my village which is in the Peloponnese.

I find that oregano is one of those herbs that works much better when it is dried.

Greek cuisine hardly ever has fresh oregano in it.

.....naturally I must second the sentiment that if it is not Greek oregano throw it away :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Happy Easter

Greg

Edited by GreekCook (log)
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Hmmm. The stems ARE fuzzy...... and it is low to the ground. Looks like I'll let it grow. My fear is that it will die and I'll not get my harvest, so I might harvest now and hope I'll harvest more later.

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Hmmm.  The stems ARE fuzzy......  and it is low to the ground.  Looks like I'll let it grow.  My fear is that it will die and I'll not get my harvest, so I might harvest now and hope I'll harvest more later.

Oregano re-seeds itself so I very much doubt that you will be able to kill it. In fact, I think it may be even harder to kill than mint.:biggrin:

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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you can yank and rip and tug and cut and pull at oregano and I think it just makes it more happy in the garden!!! :)

I agree with folks who say dry it ..fresh oregano tastes kind of bland but taking a few bunches tie them up and hang it in a cool dry spot with airflow until they are dried out completely then just mash it all up remove the stems ..put it in an air tight container ...dried oregano whenever you want!!! this seems to really bring the flavor out ..it is one of the few herbs I do prefer dried vs fresh

enjoy your bounty!!!

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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I just remembered something else about chimichurri. Trader Joe's sells a chimichurri rice that is very good. So another way to use up frozen stores of chimichurri would be to blend it with rice and maybe some sauteed onions.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Hi all --

Apologies, as I botched the copyright issues with respect to the Lemon Garlic Chicken with oregano I posted earlier. Here is a link that contains the recipe -- the recipe is about three quarters of the way down on the linked page -- or you can search that page for lemon garlic chicken.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooki...2046474409.html

Emily

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