Herbs and Spices

Slowly but surely our snow is melting.



More is predicted for later this week, but hopefully we are on the downhill side!



One of my favorite online herb suppliers provided two great links today that I wanted to share:



How To Buy, Store and Use Spices


and



Quick Guide To Every Herb and Spice in the Cupboard



The last link is *almost* every herb in the cupboard, nevertheless it's a good start.


I can't recommend enough having a good mortar and pestle. Years ago I had a marble set, but somehow in a move it was mislaid. Now I use a vintage wooden set - I suspect it's oak and handturned.

Over the last couple years I've learned the value of buying herbs and spices fresh. The difference between a reputable bulk dealer and those little overpriced bottles at the local grocery store is staggering. A week ago I stopped at my local herb store The Well to pick up another 8 oz of Italian seasoning. When I left I ended up with powdered rosemary, oregano oil, and a bottle of stinging nettle tincture, in addition to the Itlaian seasoning. Linda is right - powdered rosemary is much tastier on roast chicken than dried rosemary.

Use these links to expand your choices and then we'll talk about what you can plant in your own garden this spring.

Shades of Mrs. Leyel

Odds things are afoot in this New Year....

Just two days ago I found a 1948 edition of Mrs. Leyel's Hearts Ease, in which she elaborates on the works of Nicholas Culpeper, 17th century herbalist, apothecary and astrologer.

Then ..... today..... after trying unsuccessfully to attend a gun show (we live in Virginia, attendance is almost mandatory), then wandering across town to an antique mall (where my daughter bought a World War II gas mask -those of you who know us IRL will immediately understand this- the rest of you simply try to get past it).....then, completely unexpectedly, I found these:

Culinary & Medicinal Herbs, Bulletin No. 76 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1951.

This is a puzzlement, since the 1941 Pharmacy Act was in full swing, and the only way to enjoy herbs in a medicinal manner was to join the Society of Herbalists. The table of contents lists something fascinating called a 'squirting cucumber'. Can't wait to see what that is....

On the same shelf:

Herb Gathering, 1934, London, England. Explains herb by herb all the various ways they should be gathered to be used and preserved. The inside back cover carries an advertisement for Brome & Schimmer, Wholesale Druggists, Botanical Drug Importers and Spice Merchants, Drug and Spice Millers. These folks pre-date the Pharmacy Act. I wonder if they were put out of business by it?

And then the rhyming Herbs For Urbans - and Suburbans, by Katherine van der Veer, 1938.

It has a spiral binding, with a note on the back cover that the patent for said binding has been applied for. It contains lots of recipes, and a entire section on herbal vinegars, many with blended flavors, something I haven't seen before.

But, the absolute surprise was seeing Mrs. Leyel's cosmic hands deliver this book into my possession, just 48 hours after learning of Nicolas Culpeper:

Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine

The entire book combines Culpeper's views on herbal medicine, philosophy and astrology, with an entire section on his life (1616-1654), and is focus on preserving health and prevention of disease.

The author, Graeme Tobyn, is a practicing herbalist, and a translator of medieval astrological texts. Not often you see that combination.

Even more pleasant than finding this book is discovering Culpeper was a man after my own heart. From the book, a quote from Nicholas Culpeper:

"The Liberty of our Common-Wealth (if I may call it so without a solecism) is most infringed by three sorts of men, Priests, Physicians, Lawyers...the one deceives men in matters belonging to their soul, the other in matters belonging to their bodies, and the third in matters belonging to their estates."

Give me time to absorb the book and we'll share more Culpeper.

Basil Basics

Try saying that 10 times, really fast....

The sweet basil that I cut and sold earlier this summer (maybe a month ago?) has grown back, and it's time to save some for our personal use this winter.

Always cut herbs in the morning -the flavor and fragrance are at their strongest levels.

I enjoy using baskets to gather herbs and produce in, with regular kitchen shears to trim off the stalks. The baskets make me feel all 18th-century-ish.

By cutting just the top 6" off each stalk I was able to gather a full basket, and leave the plant more than ready to replenish itself.

A month from now, this little pot will be rounded and full again.

Remember these ice cube trays I found at a rummage sale a month or so ago?

Time to put them to use.

First, strip off the leaves and toss the stems. If you are short on basil, the stems can be used, but I'm in no danger of running out of this herb anytime soon.

Today I'm trying two ways of preserving this harvest, both freezing the chopped leaves in water as well as dehydrating a batch. This is my second attempt at dehydrating - the first time involved strawberries and one of the round dehydrators. It was a total failure and the house smelled odd for days.

Last winter I bought this toaster oven specifically because it had a dehydrate feature. This is it's maiden voyage. Of course, the owners manual explains how to use the dehydrate feature in the simplest terms: use a mesh rack (not included with oven -of course), put food product on mesh rack, press "Dehydrate" button. That's it. No clue as to what temperature the oven is running at when it's drying, or how long to leave various foods in.

That makes this an experiment, versus a recipe.

The metal rack was found at a rummage sale, and DH trimmed it with a SawsAll to fit the toaster oven. I think it was originally a grill rack.

According to The Dehydrator Bible (over on the shelf to the right), the basil needs to dry at 110 degrees for 16-18 hours. Again, no clue as to the temperature the oven is using, and the timer will only set to 90 minutes.

I'll start with that -I can always reset it as needed. The largest and best leaves are laid out in a single layer, with room for the air to circulate. While they're drying, let's go back to the ice cube trays.

Using a very sharp knife, mince and chop the remainder of the leaves. (If you want to dry the entire harvest, only pick the leaves when they will be dried immediately. The fresher they are, the stronger and more flavorful the dried product will be).

After chopping the leaves, pack each compartment full, then fill with cold water.

That amount of chopped leaves was enough to fill three of the ice cube trays. Keep in mind, this method is good not only for single herbs, but for combinations as well. It's just as easy to harvest basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and sage (Italian Seasoning),chop them up and blend - then freeze. Each compartment should equal approx one tablespoon of spice - perfect for dropping into a simmering pot of soup in deep December.

When the trays are packed full of spice and water,freeze. After the cubes are completely frozen they can be popped out and stored in a ziploc bag until needed.

Meanwhile, back at the toaster oven it turns out that whatever temperature this oven is drying at, it's more than sufficient.

The basil leaves are dry and crunchy after 50 minutes. So much for 16-18 hours.

(The color in this photo is a little off - the actual leaves are dark green).

All that's left to do is put the dried leaves into a labeled air-tight container. If it's possible, the leaves should be left as whole as possible to retain their flavor.

One last reminder: whether frozen or dried, fresh herbs are much stronger than the stuff you buy at the grocer's, so use a little less at first.

The First Basil Harvest

Early this morning I was out cutting the first basil harvest of the year.

Thanks to all the rain, the plants had exploded from 8-9" to almost 18", in less than four days.

My dad sells fresh local veggies to a nearby restaurant, but for some reason he has no luck growing basil. I, on the other hand, can throw it in anything, anywhere, and it will grow almost without a second thought (Dad got the apples, peaches, strawberries, blackberries and raspberry gene - I got the basil gene).

Knowing I'd be seeing him today, I went out and cut each spire of basil, about 9-10" long, thereby trimming off roughly 2/3 of the plant, so he could take this batch and sell it to the restaurant.

This photo above is what's left. A week from now, this plant will be at least half again as tall, and very bushy.

Here's the cut basil - huge, bright green, crisp leaves, and the fragrance is just *heavenly*.

A pound of fresh basil roughly fills the proverbial Walmart or Kroger's plastic bag.

Considering how easy it is to grow (except for my dad), and the new interest of restaurants to buy locally, try growing some basil - you never know when you'll find yourself with a new cash crop.

Cassia or Cinnamon, That Is the Question

I went to my favorite spice store (that's how I think of it, but they do so much more there, shameless plug follows below) on Wednesday, and discovered I wasn't buying at all what I thought I had been buying all these years.

Cinnamon is an imposter.

The cinnamon we all know and love, and have covered our toast in and sprinkled on cookies, is actually referred to as bastard cinnamon.

It's true.

My dear friend at The Well knows her stuff (and I googled it when I got home 'cause I couldn't believe it).

The everyday cinnamon is actually the bark of the cassia tree (see beautiful botanical drawing above). It's a relative to the REAL CINNAMON tree, but not at all the same thing.

This is cassia bark, just before it's ground up.

Into this.

And this is the REAL CINNAMON TREE. In this case, a Sri Lankan Cinnamon Tree (but there are also Chinese Cinnamon Trees, as well as Indonesian Cinnamon Trees).

The REAL CINNAMON has more oil content, and therefore a stronger, more pungent flavor. I got a whiff of REAL CINNAMON on Wednesday at the spice store, and the difference is overwhelming.

I was a chicken - I got the plain old (less expensive) Bastard Cinnamon (they didn't call it that, but I saw it on google and will always think of it that way now), but one of these days I'll try the real thing on my toast.

Shameless plug for my favorite spice store:

http://www.wellofcourse.net/

If you are anywhere near Bedford, Virginia, The Well is absolutely worth a trip. Although I think of it as a spice store, it's also where I get my Rosemary Essential Oil that I add to shampoos and hand lotions.

This whole cinnamon thing has me wondering if everyone but me knew this. What other herbs are masquerading as the real thing, only to be exposed by people much more knowledgable than myself?

Green Consumerism on Earth Day

Isn't this the most gorgeous lettuce you've ever seen? I picked it this evening for our dinner salad, then added orange, purple and white cauliflower (we love cauliflower), orange carrots,a fresh crisp cucumber, and a hard-boiled egg.

I love green.

Which reminds me today is Earth Day. I'm older than dirt, so I remember being in middle school (which we called junior high school) on the first Earth Day a bazillion years ago. We spent the afternoon picking up all sorts of trash from the school grounds, and surrounding city blocks and the local paper came and took a picture of all of us with the trash. We felt positively revolutionary.

Today I took DD to my favorite greenhouse, Walters Greenhouse, to pick up plants for the garden. This is our third greenhouse trip in three days - we made the rounds of all the best places. (If you are in the Roanoke Virginia area, here's the link: http://www.waltersgreenhouse.com/ Sorry, they don't do mail order, but they are well worth the drive. (And while you're there, give Max a pat on the head for us, He's a sweetie of a golden retriever.)

Plants we picked up include tomatoes (Roma, Better Boy, Early Girl, Sweet Million, Sweet One Hundred, Carolina Gold, Oxheart, and my absolute idea of a perfect tomato: the amazing Mr. Stripey. I could happily live on Mr. Stripey's for the rest of my life.

I also picked up extra broccoli (we're planning to grow produce for two families this year), cauliflower (see top paragraph, although we only grow white), cayenne, jalopeno,green and red bell peppers and cucumbers. I waited too long to pick up spinach so that will be started from seed (and it better be soon if I want it this summer).

Still my favorite color.

In addition to all those plants, I picked up herbs as well. As I've mentioned before, my favorite herb is basil. I found a new "boxwood" basil plant, plus a seed pack for Siam basil. Of course, I stocked up on the regular basil as well, 6 plants plus a ton of seed (I like to plant basil all over - the fragrance is wonderful.)

I'm hoping to dry my own "Italian Seasoning" mix this year, so we added Greek Oregano, plus added some rosemary, thyme and French Tarragon.

My DD picked out her favorite plant, bloody dock. It's an odd little plant that grows well anywhere from a rock garden, to potted container, to swampy bog conditions. No matter how cold it gets in the greenhouse, it winters over just fine.

I just can't get enough of it: that intense brilliant green. Love it. And it was tasty too.

After picking out plants, I added seed packets -whatever I plan to grow in the winter greenhouse has be purchased now. Then they go in the back of the frig till late fall.

The only item I haven't been able to find locally is any sort of variety of gourd seeds. I prefer the big bushel gourds, but we may be limited to the birdhouse gourds this year.

So this Saturday, think of me - I'll be out planting and digging, starting seed beds, running soaker hose, hauling water.

That reminds me - we got the water barrels hooked up, and about an hour later it rained, and now we have 550 gallons of water waiting to be used. For free.

What more convincing do you need to go hook up your own rainbarrel?

Monarda, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

My perennial herbs are back! Herbs are my favorite part of the garden. This is the part where I say how I use them to make little fragrant sachets, or flavorful bottles of vinegars to give as gifts, or mince them fresh for seasoning mouthwatering gourmet dishes.

But I don't.

I should, and maybe this year I will, but I have the same problem with herbs that I have with lettuce. I hate thinning and cutting them.

The thing about herbs is they need to be harvested at their very peak, right before they flower.

Here in Virginia, that's in June. Right about when they've grown up all green and healthy and fragrant.

That's why I grow herbs. For the fragrance in my gardens.

Last year I grew nine kinds of basil, just because whenever I brushed up against it the wave of fragrance was to die for.

Italian Basil, Prince Michael Basil, Sweet Basil, Thai Basil, Purple Basil, Greek Basil, Cinnamon Basil, Bush Basil, and Lemon Basil.

I love basil.

You would think I would have cut and saved some, but I just couldn't bear to cut the plants down.

So far the basil hasn't come up yet (it needs warmer weather, being a Mediterranean and Indonesian herb). But the rosemary is back with a vengence, little green spikes popping out all over.

The oregano is filling in, but still at that 1" stage. When the temps rise a little, it will grow quickly.

This is Woolly Thyme. It's actually a low-level ground cover, and just as soft and fuzzy as a cat's paw.

One of the easiest herbs to grow is sage because there's really nothing you can do to kill it. No need to water, mulch, or fertilize. The roots will spread, and new plants will spring up all along the root line. After the new plants are 5-6" tall, they can be transplanted by just diggin up the clump of dirt around them (severing the original root runner). Both mama plant and baby plants will continue to spread, mostly because secretly they are members of the mint family.

And then there are yuccas (also called Adam's needle). Not an herb, but I liked the way they looked in the rain. These are sister plants to the ones in the front yard, and all of them are transplants from the family cemetary up in the mountains. These two are in the Swing Garden, broke free of their plastic pots, and have new babies spring up all around them.

Yuccas have little hairs, like threads, that grow off the spikes. The Native Americans took those little threads and wove them into rope. Those threads are the strongest fibers in the natural world. Besides the threads, yucca roots can be ground up into a soap-like substance, and used for shampoo.

Except I can't stand to pull up the yuccas either.