future me will thank present me for making this herb salt

all the herbs in the garden are at their peak. i wanted to preserve some of their goodness for the long, dark winter ahead. usually, i make herb salt by just whizzing all the herbs together in the food processor, then pouring heated sea salt onto them and then spreading them on a baking sheet on low heat to dry out. this makes for a rather green herb salt and you can't see any traces of the original herbs. 

i wanted to try something different, to preserve a bit of color and the variety of the herbs. so this time, i picked a bit of everything - thyme, basil, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, sorrel, sage, nasturtium flowers and leaves, cornflower, oregano flowers, bay leaves, a single sprig of rosemary, chives and a bit of mint, including the flowers. i layered them all in my dehydrator and dried them out for a few hours. 

then it was into the mortar and pestle to bash them without obliterating them since i wanted to be able to see the colors and bits and pieces of each of the herbs and flowers. 

then i mixed in fine atlantic sea salt until i liked how it looked. i never measure anything, but it was maybe about a cup and a half of salt. 

it filled up this old mustard jar. there was some left and that went into the salt jar i keep by the stovetop for daily use. it has a beautiful, green, herby flavor and it still looks beautiful with the flecks of bright color from the nasturtium and cornflowers. i think i'll make another batch for gifts before the season is over.