08/21/2025
My summer garden gives me so much life and joy. I love everything about it — planting, weeding, harvesting, and preserving. With five kids, time is limited, so I’m always looking for simple and quick ways to preserve garden goodness. These are a few of my favorite methods:
🌿 Freeze fresh herbs in oil.
This is perfect for soups, curries, and any recipe that uses both herbs and oils. Just clean and chop your herbs, then portion about 1 tsp into each section of an ice cube tray. Add 2 tsp of olive oil (or your oil of choice) on top, freeze for 12 hours, then transfer the cubes to a mason jar or freezer bag. Try herb blends you love — dill, rosemary, and oregano are amazing for soup!
🫙 Freeze herbs in mason jars.
This might be the easiest method of all. Clean and completely dry your herbs, then chop and store them in mason jars. This works especially well with dill, rosemary, and chives. Just scoop out what you need for each recipe. If they’re not totally dry, they’ll freeze into a solid block so be sure to pat them dry first.
🍅 Freeze garden tomatoes.
I can’t get enough of them. To preserve their flavor, I wash, dry, and chop them, then portion by the cup into freezer bags. I usually do two-cup and four-cup batches depending on what I’ll use them for. They’re perfect for any recipe that calls for canned diced tomatoes and make incredible sauces. Freezing really locks in that summer-fresh taste that canning just can’t match.
