Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes

 This is a super easy ol' standby that you can literally throw together in a pinch - you just need some:

• Olive Oil (1 cup)
• Rosemary (6ish sprigs)
• A decorative glass bottle OR plain old tupperware

It seems as though infused olive oils should be much more complicated, but it really is as simple as heating up the oil, adding your flavors, spices, etc, and then cooling.  The official instructions are:

1. Pout olive oil into a small sauce pan on the stovetop.  Add your rosemary sprigs.
2. Heat oil over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes
3. Let cool to room temperature
4. Take the rosemary sprigs out of the oil, and place inside the decorative bottle.
5. Pour olive oil into the bottle.
6. Feel proud and accomplished for making your own infused olive oil!

I'm sure you can make infused oils with plenty of different seasonings and fresh herbs, but I have only ever made this rosemary olive oil.  It is DELICIOUS over popcorn with some salt, or in salad dressings - anything where a little kick of rosemary seems like a good idea.  (And really, when is rosemary not a good idea?)  Feel free to double or triple the recipe for a larger container, or if you are making multiple bottles.  The bottle shown in the picture holds about 1 cup of oil (as the recipe indicates) for context.  

This also happens to make a wonderful and thoughtful gift.  If you want to kick it up a notch, include a nice jar or bottle of popcorn along with it - who doesn't love the gift of popcorn!  Since we love popcorn in my house, rosemary olive oil has become a staple in our fridge.  You might notice the oil solidify after a week or two, but don't worry - just run it under warm water for a minute and it will be fine again.  Be sure and refrigerate after opening!

Also very good as dipping oil with some bread!