Chive Blossoms ~ Infused Vinegar ~ Dehydrated ~ Chive Blossom Powder

Just when I thought I would have zero blog content to post, my brain zero's in on something new to me.  Dehydrating chive blossoms is not new to me.  However, using them in a new way is new to us.

Of course, you will need a somewhat larger patch of chives in your herb garden to be able to do this.  We allowed our chives to go to seed for several years.  Did you know that one chive blossom can contain up to 120 or so seeds?  

Each of the tiny flowers in the chive blossoms can contain about 1-3 seeds each.

 I have used fresh chive tops to infuse into oil in the past (leave chive tops to dry before infusing), but I have not made infused vinegar or used them for other dishes (have added them to baked egg breakfast dishes).

Most salad dressings we make here, use red wine vinegar, and most recipes to infuse the chive blossoms into vinegar, call for white wine vinegar.  

A new "first" time for us - I am making us an infused white wine vinegar.

I will use it for salad dressings, for cooking greens (like kale,, collards and turnip greens etc.), and for other uses.  I will also try it on marinated boneless chicken, when I do a sheet pan dinner.

Not the best photo, but you can see it's infusing to a beautiful pink color. I'll post a photo later when I have strained the blossoms out of the vinegar. 

Oh, I have also read online that you can infuse the chive blossoms in Apple Cider Vinegar.  I will definitely try that if we get enough blossoms (information on that is online with LearningHerbs).

Next up, for another "first" for us?

(You can dehydrate the chive blossoms whole or pulled apart, depending on your dehydrating vessel {dehydrator, air fryer, oven etc.})

I am dehydrating the chive blossoms for the first year ever, to keep on  hand to top dishes with, mix into butters, cream cheese spreads, grind into powder for sauces/soups/dressings/dips, and the like.

You can eat these fresh.  I have pulled them apart to toss into an egg breakfast casserole, but they are delicious tossed into potato salad or your salads.  They have a delicious garlic/onion flavor.

I ground some of the dehydrated chive blossoms into a powder for the first time.  The color is almost a gray color oddly.   It will be interesting if these are a nice addition to meals.  They contain a lot of goodness and healthy needs for our bodies. 

Lastly, I found out you can make a tincture with the chive blossoms.  I had to look up what it would be administered for - decongestant.  I'm not making a tincture this year, as we have other tinctures, and teas on hand right now, but it is good to learn this "new" information.

By the way, the ground, dehydrated chive blossoms smell amazing!  I bet the ground version would make a delicious salt too.

Chive Blossoms ~ Infused Vinegar ~ Dehydrated ~ Chive Blossom Powder ©  May 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Chitter-Chatter

I am almost done weeding all of the flower beds.  I have yet to weed the herb garden, but it's in pretty good shape thankfully.

We came up with a solution to "fence" the other vegetable garden on a budget.  We are seeking out a person to come till the vegetable gardens on a budget.  It seems that the only one we can find so far, is with a large tractor (so glad we removed two sides of the fenced garden).  

We had a coyote in the gardens lately.  We are also hoping it has moved on.

The new coop build is on hold (sigh), but there is nothing I can do about it. When you run a homestead, you run into set backs here and there.  

Our AC units are not in yet, and we are in the 80's.  Again, another job on hold (for now).  

I've started harvesting chive blossoms (more on that later).

I managed to gather yarn scraps to crochet the latest book blanket granny square, but have yet to crochet it.  Progress.

I was asked if I had anymore crocheted water balloons, and the answer was no (of course).  Back in Dec. of 2023 we held our last craft show.  Despite letting everyone know, not one person we knew, nor other people who arrived, bought anything from us.  I had a TON of inventory too.  Something for anyone.  The only lady to show up, was one that wanted knitted dishcloths, and I had already made them, and it was a good place to meet to exchange. We decided that was the very last one to do.  Too much handiwork time, very little sales, and a lot of hard work to pack up and un pack and set up.  Not to mention the cost to rent the space.

Anyway, I had asked a ton of people if they wanted them, and tried to sell the remaining water balloons.  No one wanted them.  I had a LOT leftover, so I took them to the library and they used them for an Easter Egg hunt that following Spring.  That was over a year ago.  Now, I'm being asked for them.  Go figure.   I don't even had the yarn to make them.  

So, I will be doing a double check to make sure I do not have any left, but if you are interested in what I am talking about, the post and photo is on this:  BLOG POST.  Enjoy!

If you have the blessing of a weekend off, and adventures in the mix, enjoy!  

Chitter-Chatter  ©  May 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Small Harvest and Other Fun

I harvested a handful of green onions and chives before the very cold weather moved in (more so than before).  The chickens are not happy.  I'm not happy, but trying to find the joy in the days either way.

My kitchen has been in full force the last few days.  My goodness, I have never felt overwhelmed with baking and cooking, but it has taken over in whirlwind lately.  These photos were not even everything that was getting baked/cooked or mixed up.

Despite the need to get meals made around here, I managed to squeeze in a trip to the library book sale.  I only brought home three books, but snagged some free magazines too.  

I used to read magazines when Mom was with us.  She'd pass her magazines onto me to read.  When she passed, I no longer read magazines.  I never thought to borrow some from our library.  

In light of garden season moving in slowly (thanks to this colder weather), we've been enjoying our empty nest life.  Yes, we have repairs, a coop to finish building and so on, but some times we need a little fun too.

Johnny Cash/June Carter Tribute band

Righteous Brothers Concert

Over the last three months, we've been enjoying outdoor walks, hikes, hiking trails in other towns/cities, and we even hiked a not-so-easy waterfall (so proud of our healthy lifestyle, and progress in staying fit).

We have also been to a few concerts too.  We have not been to concerts during all of our long, busy years (and years) of raising all the kids and working jobs, so it's been a huge enjoyment.

One concert was a Johnny Cash Tribute band (very good, the guy was from Nashville), and we had the priviledge to see the Farewell tour concert of the Righteous Brothers.  Bill Medley is 84 years old, and he put on a fantastic concert.

Bill Medley also wrote a book, and you know I bought a copy.  It's on my list to read after a few more books.  In fact, I have had fun window shopping on our outings too, and that is how I have found advent gifts for Christmas.

My newest suncatcher I purchased recently.  Just ignore my dirty winter window.  It's not been conducive weather to clean the outside of the windows just yet.

Nothing earth shattering news for blogland today, and I bought myself some fun pens. One of my daughter's bought me a pen set for my birthday/Mother's Day(?) and I am down to one pen now.

The one on the top in gold says "Good Days Start with Coffee" the next says "Drink Coffee.  Be Nice" (ha ha!), and the last says "Caffeinated and Motivated."

Small Harvest and Other Fun ©  April 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

April Garden Notes

Just when I thought I was in shape, I was not.  The very first day outside weeding reminded me of that, ha ha!  Boy, oh boy, you do get a work out outside.  

Did anyone else venture out this month to start the garden process, clean up beds and such?  Did you slide out of bed, like a sloth the next morning, and drag yourself to the ever needed delightful coffee you preset to brew the night before? Only to find out you have more muscles than you thought?  And can barely walk, let alone lift your arms?

Note:  The above was drafted up prior to my foot fracture ha ha!  

The arrival of April has pushed all of our "projects" (indoor anyway) on the back burner for now.  It's that time of year to till the garden (done), start weeding and mulching flower beds and the herb garden (in the works), and planting the garden.

 

Our homegrown asapargus is starting to come up!  I have my husband on picking duty for now.  Yum!  No asparagus tastes better than homegrown.

I had plans to dig up the rhubarb in the raised bed, and replant it into a grow bag, for a temporary location.  The raised beds, which were our original beds put in over 10 years ago, are going to be dug out.  They were not tall enough, and we did not leave enough space for the mower.    I'm hoping the rhubarb does okay until we can find it a more permanent home. I will just have to wait a week or so to do this job.

Comfrey is coming back already.  I have it in a plant pot.  I have plans to dehydrate it, and maybe put a few poultices in the freezer.

I dug up the wild mullein plants that were growing in the flower beds, and replanted them in the area I replanted lemon balm.  I know they won't grow as tall, but they needed moved.  As of this post, they are still thriving in their new location.  Thank goodness we got rain after I moved two of them.  I still have one more to move.

(Green onion/parsley pesto  - can also be made with basil)

The herb garden is already producing green onions, the starts of bunching onions, chives, oregano and thyme.  I will have to plant basil, parsley, rosemary, cilantro (see below), tarragon, and margarom.

Although our chives are not all fully up, there are a few bunches that are.  I have dehydrated some for dry mixes and such.  I will freeze some later in the spring.

I dropped some cilantro seeds early this year.  We'll see if they come up.  If not, I have enough seeds to replant.  I'll wait a bit longer to plant more in the herb garden.

Although April is not completely over yet, I don't see much more happening for now.  I do see that my sage survived the freeze warning we recently had.  

Happy Gardening!

April Garden Notes © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix

Spring herbs are here!

Store bought chives are expensive. The cost for the above bottle of dried chives was $4.58!  I freeze my chives, but for the dry Ranch mix recipe, I need dehydrated/dried chives.  The bottle above is .12 oz and when ground makes 7 1/2 teaspoons.   It is horribly expensive, and I have managed to kill the indoor chive plant I brought inside.

So....on a mission I went...

 I dehydrated chives many years ago, but did not do my research before hand.  I had snipped them, and placed them on parchment paper in the dehydrator, and they the fan blew them all over the inside.

Here is what I have researched.  

-if you wash your chives, be sure to let they dry or dry them with a towel, or use a vegetable drying pad to let them dry off any water from washing them.  Otherwise, your dehydrator time will be a lot longer.

-do not snip them, keep the the chives whole, and place in the dehydrator.

-do not use a heat higher than 95°F, and dry them for 12-16 hours (mine took closer to the 16 hour mark, and this can vary).  Check your dehydrator for the temperture setting.  My chives are very long and thick, so I used every tray in my dehydrator to avoid cutting them at all.  Also, rotate your trays during they drying time.

Keeping the chives whole, prevents them from moving around too much, and the temperature keeps the flavor retained.

I stored mine in a canning jar, and use a vaccuum seal to remove any extra air.  I also kept them as long as I could, and will grind them only when I need them, to retain flavor.

(the first time making this recipe, I did not have dehydrated chives, so I ground up a teaspoon of dehydrated shallots, and it was very good).

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

1/2 cup Cultured Buttermilk Powder

1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder

1 Tbsp. homemade onion powder

1 tsp.  parsley* (see note below for this and next two ingredients)

1 tsp. dill* 

1 tsp. chives *

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Store in the refrigerator, or if you prefer to store it on a shelf, replace the buttermilk powder with powdered milk.  If stored dry with buttermilk in the fridge, you'll want to use it up in about 2 months.

It will fit in a half pint jar.  I used my canning funnel to fill the jar with ingredients.

*parsley, dill and chives are all dehydrated from the herb garden.

I first used this on chicken for a chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole.  Years ago, I would just put the bone in chicken in the pan, but this time I cooked the chicken on the stove top, cubed with this ranch dry mix.  It turned out wonderful.

We also used it for a dressing (add what you like), and it's pretty good, and uses less ingredients to make.  It makes a very good dip recipe for vegetables.  We like to blend cottage cheese (vs. sour cream) and add the dry Ranch mix.  So good!

On a side note, I freeze chives as well, for other dishes .  I simply snip, store in freezer bags (flat), or fill freezer containers.  I just take it out, use what I need and put it back into the freezer.  We can enjoy chives in the colder months of winter.  I also freeze some of our green onions with the same process.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix© Apr 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Purple Blossoms and Lack of Rain

Chives are in full bloom.

Sage is about to bloom.

Comfrey bloom for the first time ever.

Now we are battling the lack of rain.  The ground is almost rock hard due to the temperature getting up to 91°F.

Turkey Lentil Frittata

Here is the recipe I promised to share.  The original recipe is linked, and below I will explain what I added.

I found the "protein packed" breakfast recipe online at Lentils.org (click Lentils.org to the left to go directly to the recipe), and changed it up a bit to try. Lentils for breakfast?  I mean why not, I add black beans them too.  Lentils are high in protein and low in fat, and provide many nutrients as well as fiber.

First I made my lentils the day before, and that way I had that job done.  You need cooked lentils to make this frittata.

I still have homegrown sweet potatoes (they lasted much better than all the other potatoes too).