Here we all are with May about to burst on the scene and one thing that is likely overtaking the great majority of us is the desire to grow things.  Whether you are the person who goes all out and plants a full garden of veggies or the person who lines their porch and steps with colorful pots, this urge is one of the main symptoms of spring fever.

Today marked our second, and possibly our last, trip to a plant nursery.  Smuffy remarked that we are doing well at restraining ourselves this year.  He is still in search of a certain tree he wants to plant, so we’ll see if he can manage to come home with just a tree.

I have a soft spot for herbs and like to have a kitchen garden full of pots that boast basil, parsley, cilantro, sage, lemongrass, rosemary, oregano and a special pot of catnip just for Phoebe June’s enjoyment.  This year, however, a brand new grandbaby is on the way and the writing aspect of my life is going to take up all the hours that I am not snuggling her.  I’ve decided that a few colorful pots in addition to Smuffy’s veggies is all I can deal with.

That means I’ll need to use up the remainder of last year’s herb harvest that I dried and if I need fresh herbs, I’m going to have to purchase them. (Insert groaning noise here.)

I cannot adequately express my aggravation at going into a supermarket and paying a ridiculous sum for a half-handful of limp herbs that will still be too much for the recipe.  This scenario is almost always followed by the burial scene as I pull them from the refrigerator, wrapped in whatever shroud happened to be the latest sure thing recommended on a cooking show or blog, and lower their brown, slimy remains into the trash can.

But this story has a happy ending!  A little over a year ago, I happened to be watching “America’s Test Kitchen” and they were testing the best ways to keep herbs. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I thought to myself and then I nearly snorted with sarcasm as they recommended the Cole and Mason Herb Keeper and claimed that in their testing, this amazing little box kept the herbs fresh for – are you sitting down? – eight weeks!

Soon after, my family asked if there were any additional items I might want to put on my Christmas wish list. On a whim, I told them I’d like to try one of these miracle gadgets.  My wish was their command and after a few months of use I knew I would have to do a favorable review here on the blog (which, by the way, I am not getting paid for).

This herb keeper has gone way beyond my expectations. It truly will keep your fresh herbs fresh for eight weeks! The parsley in the photo you see here has been in the Cole and Mason Herb Keeper for at least a month and just take a look at it! I merely took it out of the refrigerator, sat it on the windowsill and snapped a photo without plucking off any unsightly leaves. As you can see in the photo, there are only a couple of leaves with a little yellowing that need to be removed.

It has a fill line so you know how much water to add. Just tip it over and dump out the old water and add new every week or so. There are removable dividers so that you can separate three types of herbs in one container.  Simply wash your fresh herbs, trimming the stems and any leaves that might fall below the water line, and insert them into the keeper.  Slide the outer sleeve up to the height of your herbs and flip the lid closed.  Keep them in your refrigerator and you’ll be snipping away on fresh herbs for weeks to come.

I found this fresh herb keeper at ColeandMason.com and at Amazon.com for the same price – $19.95.

As a certified lifestyle coach, I love to share great finds like this with my one-on-one clients and those who attend my weekly group sessions. Life is simplified when you can avoid extra trips to the store. You and your family are healthier when you can enjoy nutritious, healthy foods.  On top of that, you’ll have more money left in the budget to spend on feeding your family well when you stop having to throw food away.

I’ll take back that snort of sarcasm that I gave when I heard the claim that the Cole and Mason Fresh Herb Keeper will keep your herbs fresh for eight weeks.  It does and it will!

What great gadgets and helpers have you discovered to help around the house?  Leave a comment so we can all discover what is tried and true for you.

Need great healthy recipes?  You can sit on your porch with a glass of Lime Sillies here, make a quick skillet dish of Saturday Pasta any day of the week, or try my great copy-cat recipe for No-Carb Easy Bread.

Happy planting!