Rosemary Request

It started so innocently.  Uncle Smokey asked for some “stalks” of rosemary. He is not a gardener, so further elucidation was required. He had this idea for some grilled mushroom kabobs, and had read that rosemary made good skewers. I understand now. He wanted some long stems of rosemary. That should be doable.

Along with the skewers, the grates of the grill needed a good scrubbing. In general, grills need some cleaning and oiling before you put the food down. On good way to do this, without winding up with fine particles of metal in your food, is to scrub with something relatively soft. Hands full of sprigs of rosemary work well. The overall rosemary is soft, but the woody bits are tough enough to get the old food debris off. Meanwhile some flavorful oils are left on the grill for cooking.

Using Rosemary

We do have 13 Ways to Use Rosemary up on this site already, and I guess these two grilling uses would make it 15. There’s at least 15 more ways to use rosemary we could write about. We post a new article each week, you can sign up for the free Substack email newsletter to get a gentle reminder of our new topics. There’s a link somewhere on this page – on the bottom if you read this on a phone.  No pop-ups because we hate pop-ups.

Rosemary Test

I have 8 or 9 different rosemary plants growing around the homestead. The exact number is a blur, because the plants themselves have grown into each other and blurred their outlines into a seething mass of lush leaves.

Over a decade ago, the Sunset Western Garden Collection, sent me some test plants. One was a new cultivar of rosemary – Chef’s Choice rosemary, also the Southern Living Collection.    The Chef’s Choice rosemary is great grilling because it is the richest flavored, most oily rosemary I have ever encountered. It also has lovely deep blue flowers and very dense foliage, and it grows gangbusters, and needed some pruning. To be honest, all the rosemary around the homestead needs some pruning (again!). Rosemary is a rampant grower. Over on Gardening with Soule, I offer care tips for rampant rosemary, and the best time to prune it is in the autumn.

Autumn be hanged, Uncle Smokey is going to grill. I was a lady on a mission!

East Yard

I had planted this rosemary back along the east fence in hopes it would help keep the rabbits, ground squirrels, pack rats, and all the various other rodents – plus the things that like to eat then – out of the garden.    In case you are wondering what likes to eat the destructive rodents, the answer is snakes.   

I confess, I like snakes.    Used to raise them in fact, but I don’t want to share the garden area with rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes tend to be chill, and just meander away when encountering prey too large to eat, like humans. The exception are the Mojave rattlesnakes, I believe they are born grumpy. Anyway, I prefer to keep snakes out of the garden because I am all too easily distracted when I am in the garden, and might step on one, an unforgivable offense in the snake world, and the results would be general chaos in my life. Not a fan of chaos.

Rosemary Quest

On my rosemary quest, up the hill I go clad in shorts and tank top, and my usual garden bare feet. I did have my harvest basket and some brand new Cate’s pruners. Garden writers get some cool things to test over time.   In my other hand I had a stick I use to move and shake the overgrown shrubs I have to climb through to get to the rosemary.    I was being careful.    Pushing shrubbery aside, watching where I put my feet.

Arrive at the rosemary.    Cut two nice thick skewer-like branches.  These new pruners are working well. Thinking about how I might word the review.

Reaching for the next branch of rosemary, and from somewhere in under the extremely dense and thick rosemary bush comes the warning buzzing rattle.    It is a distinctive sound. Once heard, is never forgotten.    It is a heart-stopping sound.

Don’t run they say. Rushing will excite the snake to strike, they say. But whooeee!    That adrenaline rush!   The inclination is to jump and run, but I did carefully back out and leave.    I have decided that finishing that particular pruning job will have to wait for winter when the rattlesnakes are happily hibernating.   

A Different Rosemary

Sorry Smokey, no Chef’s Choice rosemary today. I did get to finish testing the pruners, on an un-named variety of rampant rosemary that I got long ago at the Tucson Organic Gardeners Fall Festival. This rosemary made fine skewers to cook the mushrooms on. Just pull the leaves off before skewering the mushrooms.

And I think I will grow my rosemary in pots from now on.    Big, tall pots. On the walled and snake-free patio.

Enjoy!

The Savorists

Our Honey Cookbook

We have this great little cookbook (IMHO) for sale when we are out there making our public appearances.  Our little cookbook is priced low enough to make a nice stocking stuffer! If you go to the book sale site and want to order more than one copy – just click on the “Special Orders” tab.  April 2026 – this book is now available at the Mission Garden Gift Shop in Tucson.

Using Honey in New and Savory Ways offers 36 pages of tips for using honey in your cooking, as well as in all manner of dishes.

We hope you will help support some local Southwest folks!
From the review:
“Honey is for more than desserts – and this book can help! Using honey in cooking savory dishes helps engage all your taste buds and adds a layer of added flavor to everyday dishes – plus holiday fare.”

Beekeeper?  We offer volume discounts – because if you sell in local markets you might want to offer some of these books as well.

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.