Reminders of the Little Ways God Loves us, and...How to Make: Herbal-Infused Vinegar

​June 14 

Having finished praying this morning, I got up, and what I noticed at some point was that there were dried flowers next to my bed. How interesting. From where did that come, I wondered? Flowers to turn up randomly like that made me wonder why. So, what it brought me to were…plants.

I have dried flowers in different places around my house, but they are tucked in between things. This was not. It was ready to remind me of an event for which I’d already planned and had on my calendar for a while, but about which I’d forgotten and was not on my radar!
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I immediately thought of the Herbal Society meeting, and I wondered, “Is today the day of the meeting?” I was planning on attending the Perfecting the Art of Herb-infused Vinegar class. But then I thought, “Oh, no. I missed the meeting this past Wednesday.” They'd rescheduled a couple of meetings. I checked my calendar, and sure enough, it was today. Yah!! I had not missed it. So glad!! I checked the time, and it wasn’t until 10. Great! This will give me enough time to go for a run and get to the meeting on time.

I got ready, headed to the bridge, and ran a few miles. I then took a quick ride on my bike to stretch out my running legs, and then I headed back home where I showered and got myself prepared for my herb-infused wine-vinegar making! I was pretty excited!

I walked in and greeted everyone with a, “Good morning!” I was maybe a few minutes late, but I was glad to be there!

There were about 10 different types of herbs spread all over the table and it smelled like spaghetti sauce cooking in the kitchen. There were also many bottles of different wines spread throughout, bottles of apple cider vinegar, lemon rinds, peeled garlic cloves, and pepper corns all displayed on the table. Miriam, the curator of the garden, was at the head of the table, ready to teach us. She got me set up with a table cloth, and we got ready.
About an hour later, many of us had made different types of vinegar – the two of which she gave us recipes for were Italian (rosemary, oregano, marjoram, basil, garlic, sage, peppercorns) and Lemon (lemon basil, fennel – only because we didn’t have any dill, chives, lemon rinds, peppercorns.) The peppercorns always go in first. Then the herbs, then the wine and vinegar - we were instructed to use a 50/50 ratio of wine to vinegar.

In addition to the other items, you will need a jar or container to your liking - I had tons already saved, but I bought some later from a craft store which had corks - you will also need a funnel, and a poker, we used chop sticks. From there, you should be all set to make these beautiful concoctions of herbal-infused wine-vinegar – fit for home or gifting, and...fun to create!
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Something to consider, when putting in herbs, once the fluid is added, the herbs will rise to the top, so consider where you cut the stems if you want them to span the size of the bottle. You may also choose to put in some herbs first and some later, after you have added the liquid, depending on the shape of the bottle.

One of my bottles was long and narrow. I actually added the thyme at the end because there was space on the top for more herbs – the original herbs I used did not rise completely to the top in this case because of the narrow shape of the bottle, and the width and strength of rosemary.
 
Put your beautiful creations in a window with light for an even better aesthetic.

4 weeks later, they are ready to be used.

You can keep them for up to a year for their visual appearance only, but after that time, herbs will likely break down. You will likely want to strain (maybe) the wine vinegar before you use it. Red wine barely shows off the herbs. Even in a lit window, they are very faint to view. I only used a slight bit of red wine mixed with the white for a darker appearance.

So, get some herbs, or even cooler, grow 'em yourself. I found it cool to pop outside my door and pick my own herbs and use them in my creations I'd made later - those are all the light ones.

So, get a few supplies, and create some fun and useful culinary delights for soups, chicken, sauces, whatever you fancy.

The Lord is neat how He works sometimes. He shows up for me in the little things in my life which I love – helping to remind me of the little things I want or need to do.

People think or say He’s got more important matters of which to attend, and He doesn’t care about small things, but I disagree.

If he knows the number of hairs on our head, why not help us out with the little details of our lives, like helping remind us of what matters to us and will bring us joy? He’s good like that, too😊

God gives us the desires of our heart when we delight ourselves in Him, according to Proverbs 37:4. I’ve been working on loving more which I think would be delighting myself in Him – what His essence is. 😊 He is love, according to 1 John 4:8.

He knows I love plants, and they are a desire of my heart. His prompting my memory this morning with that little dried flower brought me joy today.

I got to meet new people, revisit others I met previously, and I got to learn something new and useful about plants! Fun! Now, here’s hoping it tastes good. We’ll see.

Thank you, Lord, for helping me to remember, and for showing up with the little things in my life that matter and make a sweet difference.

Thank you,
Holly