Dill

Dill is an amazing little savoury herb.  During the summer, it looked like I would have a whole patch of dill, but then as it kept growing, it also got some sticky disease, so I cut it all down and threw it out.  I did catch two beautiful green caterpillars in my dill, so it may have been their stickiness.  My mom gave me a container of frozen dill from her yard.

Dill is an awesome plant, if you like it, because it seeds itself, and not always where you'd like it to grow.  It's easy to pull out before it seeds again, so it's not anything like mint, which takes over, and "seeds" itself via its root system, which is much harder to eradicate, especially over time.

My dill from last year, and possibly this year, before I cut it down, seeded itself in my lawn, near the veg patch, so I ended up with loads of my own dill after all.

I collect the leaves, chop them up, then store in a yogurt container in the freezer.  Frozen dill isn't as amazing as fresh dill, but pretty darn close, and so much better than dried dill, which doesn't taste like much.  I didn't wash my dill, because it's from my backyard.  If you have to wash yours, let it air dry, or shake off as much of the water as you can.  If you use a paper towel, gently pat the water off, don't squish the dill.  I find it's best not to wash it, so that it retains its (dainty) firmness.

Dill is a gerat herb for various foods.  My fave is on new potatoes with butter.  It's also a must for pickling cucumbers, it works in sauerkraut and various pickles, on salads, meats, vegetables, grains, any savoury dish really.  If using with cooked food, sprinkle it at the end, when serving.  If cooked, dill doesn't retain much flavour, like cilantro and fresh basil (to an extent).

I now have six containers of dill in my freezer :)