Remember a million years ago when I posted some Pinterest inspiration as though I might actually do something? Well, I finally got around to one of them. It’s amazing what you can make yourself do when you’re avoiding things like homework, cleaning out closets, and such. I’m taking some classes just for fun/professional development, and it’s amazing how quickly that good ol’ college procrastination creeps back in.

So in place of homework this past Saturday, I decided to do the following: go for a walk with the dogs, go to the local co-op to check out the seed and seedlings out for the spring, buy a number of said seeds and seedlings, plant a large bed full of spring goodies, watch MSU basketball, and make rosemary salt. On any regular Saturday, I might read a little, do some piddling around the house, and watch trashy TV, but not when I have homework to do. No sir, I can get productive real quick and in a hurry.

Turns out, I didn’t need much time to make the rosemary salt. It took all of 3 1/2 minutes. Well, 5 minutes if you count walking to the herb garden and clipping the rosemary.

Side note: If you aren’t currently growing your own rosemary, what in the world are you waiting for? Seriously, folks, this stuff is the easiest thing to grow ever. Ever. I recommend going to your local nursery, buying a small plant, and sticking that sucker (out of the pot, of course) in the ground. Better yet, find a friend who grows it and just cut some off and root it. You could grow it from seed, but there’s really no need for all that waiting.  You can also grow it in a pot, but I find mine does much better in the ground–overwinters better and grows more rapidly.  We’ve got good dirt, so we don’t do a single thing to ours apart from clipping it when we want to eat it, but if you grow it in a pot, you might want to add organic fertilizer and compost a couple of times a year. End side note.

And now on to the main event: Rosemary-Pepper Salt

You’ll need:

• 4-6 long stems of rosemary, depending on your taste
• 1.5 cu of kosher salt
• 3-4 tbsp crushed black pepper

• Wash and pat dry the rosemary, then pick off the leaves by running your fingers down the stems backwards
• Grind peppercorns in a spice grinder if whole (or just use pre-ground pepper)
• Add rosemary leaves, salt, and pepper to food processor
• Pulse in food processor until well mixed, about 30 sec

And there you have it — homemade, all-natural, flavored salt. You can add it to anything you would normally add salt to, but I think it’s especially good on homemade chips and roasted potatoes. Yum.

I’ve only had it a couple of days, so I’m going to watch it to make sure nothing moldy or weird happens in there since the rosemary is fresh and carries some moisture with it. I suspect it may get a little more rosemary-y over time too as the herb infuses the salt, but it’s good already. The picture below is the truest to what it actually looks like — pretty and white, not yellow-y like above.

I’m so glad I finally pulled out one of my hundreds of pins and used it at home. I did have to eventually do that pesky homework though. Hmph.

What are you pinning lately? Any simple foods like this one? Or perhaps you’re finding inspiration in other ways. Tell me about it and feed my pinning addiction!

BTW: I used this recipe as inspiration but altered the amounts to fit my tastes.