Dill may be an annual herb, but it self-seeds so readily that I think of it as part of my perennial collection. Like cilantro, I save some seed to use each year in the kitchen, letting the rest drop in the garden for next year’s crop. Dill seed isn’t quite as versatile as cilantro seed (better known as coriander), but I keep a bit on hand to use in pickles and mustards.

Fresh dill fronds can find more uses, as I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. Sometimes called dill weed to distinguish it from full dill heads or individual seeds, its strong flavor goes a long way, although I do pile it on when making gravlax. With a self-seeded crop, I can harvest plenty of fronds without running short on dill heads. We recently discovered another bonus of growing dill: a brood of black swallowtail caterpillars. They’re such beautiful and effective pollinators I’m happy to share some of my dill with them.

Learn more about growing and using dill and get the complete recipe for Dill-Infused Yogurt Sauce or Dressing in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

The sauce I share in my column this week is so simple that it shows off homegrown and homemade ingredients. I start with Homemade Yogurt and add the bright flavors of homegrown garlic scapes or cloves and just-picked dill. It calls for just a dab of hot sauce, but choosing Fermented Red Hot Sauce or Chile and Tomatillo Hot Sauce, both in my pickling cookbook, gives a completely different flavor and heat to the recipe.

Here are just a few of the ways I use this sauce. You can find more ideas on the blog in the recipe index.

• As a sauce: Marinated and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms or North African-Inspired Grilled Fish
• As a dressing: Potato Salad with Pickles or Three-Bean Salad
• As a dip: Pillowy Sourdough Pita and Chipotle-Marinated Grilled Shrimp

You can learn more about making other easy dressings and sauces in this blog post.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.