Herbs-I love you, let me count the ways

This morning I did as other bloggers have told me, and I harvested the herbs in my garden. They say you should harvest in the early hours of the day, so there I was in my pj´s harvesting Tarragon, Oregano, Lemon Balm, and Thyme! I am sure the neighbors got a kick of me, running around the yard in my pj´s!

I decided to dry the Lemon Balm and the Thyme, the Tarragon is going to be frozen. Now, to the Oregano, I have an abundance in Oregano this year so I am drying a large bunch and with the rest I made oregano salt! Once again I my kitchen smells so wonderful. I look forward to trying out all my new salts in my recipes.

Freshly harvested herbs out of my very own garden.

Herbs in brown bags, hanging to dry

Oregano! Ready for the Thermomix!

 Oregano, next I added the sea salt and after just a few short seconds, the thermomix made Oregano Salt!

The salt needs to dry, so I put in the oven at 140° for about 20-30 minutes.

The next step is to package the oregano salt.....pictures to follow!

cook bake love

Yep, you read correctly, my blog got a new name today! Cook Bake Love. 

Thanks to my niece Heidi for coming up with the winning new title. My Niece Mareike  and I had some good ideas too but when i awoke this morning and read the text message I knew this was the one. This Blog as well as my face book page are meant to reflect my passions in life and that is as you can read cooking and baking and everything that goes with it. So, I hope you will continue to stop by and take a look and perhaps let yourself be inspired!

Basil Salt

I have joined the group of salt lovers! Not just regular salt, but amazing salts like "Magic Salt" and Fleur de Sel. Recently I discovered Basil Salt! I found the recipe online and thanks to my thermomix, within minutes I had amazing Basil Salt. Just fresh basil and some good quality kosher salt and you have it!

Healthy Choices

For this weeks `"New Recipe Sunday" Recipe I would like to share with you a healthy choice recipe. I found this recipe in Taste of Home, Dec/Jan 2009 Issue.

baked veggie chips

1/2 lb. fresh beets --about 2 medium

1 medium parsnip

1 medium sweet potato

1 medium potato

1/2 tsp dried oregano, garlic powder,salt

2 Tbsp. canola oil, parmesan cheese

Peel veggies and cut into very thin slices. Place in a large bowl and drizzle with the canola oil. Combine the other ingredients and sprinkle over the veggies--toss to coat.

In a single layer arrange the veggies on  ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375° F. 

Important: Time may vary, so watch your oven.

My favorite time of year

      it is that time of year again.....leaves are beginning to fall, the front lawn is covered with acorns and it sure is chilly in the mornings now. Yes FALL 2012 has arrived in Berlin Germany.
      Inspiration has we know can come from just about anything and this week my inspiration came from some old curtains. In our apartment in Cloppenburg I had my own office.(How sweet it was) I needed to section off a part of the room and found some material on a trip to Chicagao that would blend right it in. For the years we lived in that apartment it served me well, so when we moved I of course could not just throw the material away---it got packed up with the rest of our stuff and now some 11 years later it is again helping me out!
      Take a break from your day, brew a pot of tea and enjoy the pictures!

Salt and Pepper Shakers....found at IHR in Cloppenburg!

the first pumpkins of the season.  Can not wait to get more!

Hershey´s Kisses in fall colors! Thanks Miss Kim for bringing me these great treats. The porcelain leaves come from NaNu NaNa.....one of my favorite stores(yes I have many). I had bought 3 of these long ago and  found them to be a perfect fit for my table. My only problem....I only had 3. So, off I went on a leaf hunt to every nanu nana till  I found 3 more.

Wishing Everyone a great week!


This week I am linking to the following blog parties..


Tablescape Thursday
Wow us Wednesday
Feature yourself Friday
Seasonal Sunday
Show and Tell Friday
Masterpiece Monday
lets dish wednesday

Treats for mans best friend

So happy, I finally had an afternoon with some free time. I was able to try out two new doggie treat recipes, practise my photography skills, and blog about it all! So, who is going to clean up the chaos I created?!!!!

For anyone who is interested, please contact me if you would like to treat your pet to some homemade-bio friendly doggie treats. Still working on packaging and prices.... :) Here´s to a  new business opportunity!

A healthy snack

Roasted Red Cabbage Chips......


Who would have thought, that roasted red cabbage chips would taste good. But they sure are! A nice healthy treat. Now, would my 16 year old son eat them? Doubt that, but I am enjoying them and I am happy that I have found something so easy to make!

You simply take red cabbage, slice into small pieces. Toss with olive oil and your favorite spices(I used sea salt and cumin) and roast in the oven for about 30-35minutes at 370°F.

Not only is this a healthy snack, but your kitchen will smell wonderful!

Linking to  Foodie Friday!

Something old, something blue.....

As many already know, this has been the year of "helping friends and family move". Well, it actually started last fall when my mother in law moved into an assisted living apartment. The next 3 moves followed this summer(but that is a story for another day) Anyhow...... While cleaning out my mother in laws house, I came accross her many tablecloths and while I can not use them in my house as she had a round table, I can use them outside for when we want to set a semi-formal table. Which is what I finally got around to trying out today. Not as many pictures as I would have liked, still so much to learn with my camera and what settings to use.

Of course my good china was used. Still love this pattern from Rosental--so bummed that I can not get in anymore.

The teapot was a wedding gift from one of my favorite aunts! She and I would always drink tea when I came to visit.

The blue candles are nothing fancy, but the candelabra is!

The blue cake plate comes from Poland. Oh how I love to go shopping for polish pottery

Poor Will, thought I was setting the table for him!

Linking to:

Tablescape Thursday

Wow us Wednesday

Feature yourself Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Show and Tell Friday

Masterpiece Monday