Bay Leaves

Yesterday I trimmed my bay leaf trees back. They are supposed to be trimmed in the spring but our trees grow like crazy all summer, then we have to bring them in for the winter so they have to be trimmed or they’re not going to fit anywhere and be too big and bulky for Vince to move them out on warm winter days to get some sun. I keep them in the sun room in the winter but it gets way too cold in there if the temps drop below zero so then I have to move them into the garage, then either outside on a warm day or back into the sewing room.

When I trim the trees back, I’ll have more than enough bay leaves for the next year.

A few days ago, I ran out of bay leaves. I knew I had a full jar in the spice cabinet so I pulled it out.

In 2013, I didn’t have bay leaf trees. One had died and I hadn’t found a replacement. A friend in Louisiana had a couple and when I was there, they had just pruned their tree so I brought home several branches full of leaves. While in Louisiana, I kept them on a towel in a dry location and then after being in the car for the trip home, they were pretty much dry when we got home. In Texas, there was rarely humidity so I spread them out on a towel in the extra bedroom and left the fan on for a few days, then vacuum sealed them in jars.

I’ll dry the ones I cut this morning and then seal them in jars. I’ll use these 2013 leaves first. They smell fresh and fragrant . vacuum sealing them keeps them fresh for a very long time.