Spring feels like summer here in France. Swimming in the river, 28 degrees when the sun is out and picking the first wild harvest which will go on to november!

My favorite wild herb is fennel. It grows all through winter  -though very small in the cold months – in front of our house. The fabulous anise taste known from fennel seeds but then of course  all crispy and fresh. In summer it makes yellow umbels that dry well. Now I will give it a try to dry the leaves and take them back to Amsterdam next week, where I miss cooking with it and mostly have to turn to buy herbs.
The stalks we eat raw in a salad or make soup from them. The leaves I sprinkle on top of almost any dish or make them into an excellent salsa : chopped with some garlic, olive oil, salt, lemon juice and zest.

I also picked other herbs that grow in the wild here to preserve : Thyme, Rosemarie, Oregano, Mint, and for the first time I picked some Valerian (the one with the pink flowers), which has been growing in front of my house for three years while I was buying it as tea in the store. But hey, life’s about learning…

I will hang them to dry in the sun and later store them in glass jars. Meanwhile the whole house smells amazing!