China Bayles' Book of Days

by Susan Wittig Albert

  Candlemas continues the celebration of new beginnings. It was a day to prepare the fields for new plantings and to bless the fields to ensure a good harvest. In England, the holiday greens were taken out of the house, and if even a leaf was left behind, it was unlucky. “Out with the old, in with the new” is the theme for Candlemas. It’s a good day to make commitments, renew pledges, and plant seeds for new growth.

  In your herb garden, celebrate this day of new beginnings by turning over a piece of earth and repeating this ancient Anglo-Saxon plowing charm:

  Whole be thou Earth

  Mother of men.

  In the lap of God,

  Be thou growing.

  Be filled full of fodder

  For fare-needs of men.

  Or plant some seeds of annual herbs in pots on a sunny windowsill, for later transplanting into your garden or deck containers. Some good choices: chives, dill, basil, cilantro.

  Read more about the transition from Pagan to Christian cultures:

  The Goddess Obscured: Transformation of the Grain Protectress from Goddess to Saint, by Pamela Berger

  About Candlemas Day

  Every good goose should lay.

  —TRADITIONAL LORE

  As long as the sunbeam comes in on Bridget’s feast-day, the snow ends before May-day.

  —TRADITIONAL LORE

  FEBRUARY 3

  St. Blaise is the patron saint of sore throat sufferers. Today is his feast day.

  Good for the throat: Honey, sugar, butter with a little salt, liquorice, to sup soft eggs, hyssop, a mean manner of eating and drinking, and sugar candy. Evil for the throat: Mustard, much lying on the breast, pepper, anger, things roasted, lechery, much working, too much rest, much drink, smoke of incense, old cheese and all sour things are naughty for the throat.

  —THE KALENDAR OF SHEPHEARDES, 1604

  Scratchy throat?

  If you’re bothered by a scratchy throat, gargle with a strong sage tea (Salvia officinalis). Studies have found that sage has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. To make tea: pour two cups boiling water over 4 teaspoons dried sage. Steep 8-10 minutes. Gargle several times a day. Refrigerate the unused portion, and warm before gargling.

  HOW OUR FOREMOTHERS COPED WITH SORE THROATS

  • A poultice: The pulp of a roasted apple, mixed with an ounce of tobacco, the whole wet with spirits of wine, or any other high spirits, spread on a linen rag, and bound upon the throat at any period of the disorder.—The American Frugal Housewife, by Mrs. Child, 1833

  • A syrup: Take of poplar bark and bethroot [lamb’s quarters, Trillium pendulum], each 1 lb.; water, 9 quarters; boil gently in a covered vessel 15 or 20 minutes; strain through a coarse cloth; add 7 lbs. loaf sugar, and simmer till the scum ceases to rise. —Family Hand Book, c. 1855

  • A candy. Horehound lozenges are good for a sore throat.—A Dictionary of Every-Day Wants, by A. E. Youman, M.D., 1878

  • A bedtime snack: Water-gruel, with three or four onions simmered in it, prepared with a lump of butter, pepper, and salt, eaten just before one goes to bed, is said to be a cure for a hoarse cold.—The American Frugal Housewife, by Mrs. Child, 1833

  • A hot toddy and a cuddle: Before retiring soak the feet in mustard water as hot as can be endured. . . . On getting into bed take a hot camphor sling. [A hot toddy made with brandy or rum, honey, and tincture of camphor, (Cinnamonum camphora)] Rub the bridge of the nose between the eyes with a little oil. Cuddle in bed and sleep it off.—Healthy Living, 1850-1870, compiled by Katie F. Hamilton

  Read more about early American medicine:

  Early American Herb Recipes, by Alice Cooke Brown

  FEBRUARY 4

  Carnival!

  The weeklong festival that takes place about now offers Christians a chance to enjoy themselves (carne vale means “farewell, meat”) before the penitential season of Lent. The festival culminates on Shrove Tuesday, the famous Mardi Gras celebration. Pancakes are a traditional fare.

  In Pecan Springs, Ruby always celebrates this ritual with a masquerade party (of course), and Sheila Dawson (who cooks as good as she looks) always brings Orange-Mint Crepes.

  SHEILA’S ORANGE-MINT MARDI GRAS CREPES

  To make crepes:

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  4 large eggs

  1 cup milk

  1 cup water

  1 teaspoon orange flavoring

  ¼ teaspoon mint flavoring

  1 tablespoon minced fresh orange mint

  ¼ cup salted butter, melted

  Garnish:

  whipped cream

  8 sprigs of rosemary

  orange-peel curls

  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and eggs. Gradually add milk, water, and flavorings, stirring to combine. Add the orange mint and butter; beat until smooth. Batter should be thin; if it thickens, add a few drops of milk. Heat a lightly oiled crepe pan or 7-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour ¼ cup batter into the pan. Lift and tilt, using a circular motion, so that the batter coats the surface evenly. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the edges are firm and the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Stack, separated with cling-film or wax paper. May be frozen. Serve rolled, with orange-mint sauce, a dollop of whipped cream, and garnish of rosemary and orange-peel curls. Makes 16 crepes. (Sheila says to tell you that it’s hard to work with this recipe when it’s doubled. If you’re serving a crowd, she suggests making the batter in several batches.)

  To make orange-mint sauce:

  1 cups sugar

  cup unsalted butter

  cup light corn syrup

  ¼ teaspoon mint flavoring

  cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

  1 tablespoon minced fresh mint

  In a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and concentrate. Bring to a boil. Add mint and mint flavoring, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. May be reheated to serve; may be doubled or tripled.

  FEBRUARY 5

  In the black seed is the medicine for every disease except death.

  —ARAB PROVERB

  Love-in-a-Mist

  February is the month for love, and love-in-a-mist is the romantic name for Nigella, or black cumin, an old-fashioned cottage garden flower and ancient medicinal herb. Its blossom resembles the bachelor button, and hybrid varieties come in a variety of colors, some with a double ruffle of petals. Its tiny black seeds are contained in a puffy, papery striped balloon. Both the flowers and the pods are attractive additions to dried flower arrangements. For centuries, this annual has been cultivated throughout the East, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean area for its many culinary and medicinal purposes.

  AS A SEASONING

  Nigella’s black seeds have a fruity fragrance, rather like anise or fennel. Spicy and piquant, they have been used as a substitute for caraway and black pepper. N. damascena tastes like nutmeg and can be used to season cookies and fruit salad. The seeds are tiny, though. You’ll need at least 3 teaspoons to flavor a large bowl of salad or a batch of cookies. Experiment for taste.

  AS A MEDICINE

  Nigella has been used as a digestive aid, an appetite stimulant, and a cure-all remedy. A bottle of black cumin oil was discovered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Queen Nefertiti used the oil to keep her skin supple and to preserve her bronze complexion. To treat insect stings, the Romans applied a paste of crushed seeds mixed with vinegar and honey. Now, Nigella is found in cough syrups, wound salves, and topical preparations. Modern research has confirmed that the oil is antimicrobial and is an effective treatment for asthma and intestinal parasites. Some researchers suggest that it may be an immune-system booster.

  IN YOUR GARDEN

  Nigella prefers to be sown in the ground, but you can start it indoors and transplant it outside after your last frost date. You’ll have flowers in June or July. Make successive plantings in your garden for bloom until frost. Next
year, don’t bother, unless you’re planting a hybrid. These plants self-seed readily. The fresh blossoms are lovely; the dried seed pods unusual.

  Read more about this ancient herb:

  The Healing Power of Black Cumin, by Sylvia Luetjohann

  Nigella serveth well among other sweets to put into sweet waters, bagges, and odoriferous pouders.

  —JOHN GERARD, HERBAL, 1597

  FEBRUARY 6

  Even a modest garden contains, for those who know how to look and to wait, more instruction than a library.

  —HENRI FRÉDÉRIC AMIEL

  Love-in-a-Puff

  Another herb for the month of love is love-in-a-puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum), a fast-growing, woody vine (an annual in USDA zones 5-8, a perennial in zones 9-11). Plant it against a trellis to provide support for its tendrils, then stand back and watch it grow—up to 10 feet in a single season. China has planted it in the perfect place: the trellis that hides the garbage cans behind Thyme and Seasons.

  BALLOON VINE

  The blooms of love-in-a-puff aren’t much to brag about. It’s the unique seed pods that will get your attention. Each pod is an inflated balloon that turns from green to brown as it ripens in the fall, hence the name balloon vine. Squeeze, and the pod pops, revealing three seeds, each bearing the white heart that gives the plant its Latin name, Cardiospermum (cardio : heart, spermum: seed). But do watch where you pop those seeds, for the plant can be invasive.

  MEDICINAL USES

  In Chinese medicine, a tea brewed from the leaves is used to treat skin ailments and promote wound healing. In India, the leaves are mixed with castor oil and used to treat rheumatism and joint stiffness. The leaf juice soothes earaches.

  IN YOUR GARDEN

  You can sow love-in-a-puff directly into the ground when the weather warms, or start the seeds indoors. When the plants have fruited, save the seeds and give them away (tied with a ribbon bow in a bit of tulle) for Valentine’s Day next year. For an especially unique gift, string them as a necklace or a bracelet. They’re said to bring good fortune and good health!

  Read more about herbal climbers and the trellises to support them:

  Climbing Plants: Enhance Your Garden with Climbers, by Barbara Abbs

  The Garden Trellis: Designs to Build and Vines to Cultivate , by Ferris Cook

  In February the farmer shall make ready his garden grounds to sow and set therein all manner of herbs. He shall repair the hedges of his gardens. He shall buy Bees, he shall make clean their hives very carefully and kill their kings.

  —GERVASE MARKHAM, THE ENGLISH HOUSEWIFE, 1615

  FEBRUARY 7

  Today is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author (with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane) of the beloved Little House books.

  It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.

  —LAURA INGALLS WILDER

  A Garden of Used-to-Be

  Laura Ingalls was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in 1867 and spent her girlhood moving with her family, to Kansas, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Her mother, Caroline, like so many other pioneer women, had the task of making a home wherever the family happened to settle. Pioneer women always took seeds and “starts” (plant divisions) from one home to another, for they could not expect to have what they needed where they settled. Gardens were vital to survival, producing not only vegetables for the table but also the medicinal herbs that women used to treat the family’s common ailments and sweeten their lives with fragrance and flavor.

  Planting a pioneer garden—a “Garden of Used-to-Be,” as Laura called it—can be especially fun for children and will help them to learn something about the great variety of uses for important herbs. It also makes an interesting theme in an established garden. If you’d like to include a pioneer corner in your herb garden, consider these plants:

  • Medicinal herbs: thyme, lavender, yarrow (also called woundwort), horehound, feverfew, echinacea (a favorite Indian remedy for colds)

  • Tea herbs: mint, beebalm, lemon balm, catnip

  • Culinary herbs: sage, thyme, dill, horseradish, mustard, rosemary

  • Housekeeping herbs: southernwood, santolina, and lavender (repel moths), tansy and pennyroyal (repel fleas), mint (repel mice), bay (keep weevils out of flour and grains), soapwort (wash fabric), lemon balm (polish furniture), sorrel (polish copper)

  • Insect repellent: catnip, pennyroyal, basil

  Read more about Laura’s life:

  Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder, by John E. Miller The Little House Books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

  Horseradish, grated and pounded, makes a warming poultice. Eaten, it is a spur to digestion.

  —A DICTIONARY OF EVERY-DAY WANTS, BY A. E. YOUMAN,

  M.D., 1878

  FEBRUARY 8

  Auntie Hannah, who had got on to the parsnip wine, sang a song about Bleeding Hearts and Death, & then another in which she said her heart was like a Bird’s Nest; & then everybody laughed again; & then I went to bed.

  —DYLAN THOMAS, A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES

  Bleeding Hearts: About China’s Books

  Some of the China Bayles mysteries are related to seasonal events and holidays. Bleeding Hearts, the fourteenth novel in the series, is set in February, around Valentine’s Day. For the signature herbs, I usually try to choose herbs that China can grow in her Texas garden, but the bleeding heart (Dicentra sp.), was such a natural for this book that I found ways to use it. The story is about romantic longing, romance gone wrong, and desire that ends in death—in other words, bleeding hearts.

  Bleeding heart is a shade-loving perennial herb, native to the Orient and happiest in cool, moist woodlands (not many of those around Pecan Springs!). The plant was said to be related to the Papaveraceae family (which also includes the opium poppy, from which morphine is derived), and has several cousins with such descriptive names as Mary’s heart, golden eardrops, and Dutchman’s breeches. They share a unique blossom shaped like a dangling red, pink, or white heart; in some, the darker inner petals give the appearance of drops of blood.

  In William Cook’s The Physiomedical Dispensatory (1869), bleeding heart is described as a useful medicinal herb. Topically, it was employed in a poultice to treat toothache and other pain. Taken internally, it treated headache, menstrual disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatism. In Chinese medicine, where it is called yan hu suo, it is prescribed as an antidepressant and sedative, and used to treat tremors and lower blood pressure. Dutchman’s-breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), was used by Menominee Indians as a love charm. The blossom was thrown by a young man at the girl he fancied; if it hit her, she was bound to fall in love with him. If she hesitated, he chewed the plant’s root and then breathed on her, which was bound to win her over. (The literature doesn’t tell us whether this worked for women as well as men.)

  Bleeding Hearts is also the name of a traditional quilt pattern, which is the theme of the first quilt show put on by the Pecan Springs Scrappers (Ruby’s quilt guild). Ruby and I will let you guess how this figures in the plot.

  Read more about bleeding heart:

  Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles: The Lives and Lore of North American Wildflowers, by Jack Sanders

  Bleeding Hearts: A China Bayles Mystery, by Susan Wittig Albert

  FEBRUARY 9

  Today is the feast day of St. Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists. It is also (somebody had a sense of humor here) National Toothache Day.

  Wash your Mouth every Morning with Juice of Limons, mix’d with a little Brandy; and afterwards rub your Teeth with a Sage-Leaf, and wash your Teeth after Meat with Rosemary Water mix’d with Brandy.

  —DR. WILLIAM SALMON, 1710

  Herbs for the Teeth?

  You bet. Here’s Hippocrates’ recipe for good dental hygiene, written in the third century BCE: “Clean teeth with ball of wool dipped in honey and rinse with a teaspoon of dill seed boiled
in one-half cup of white wine.”

  In the Middle Ages, people cleaned their teeth by chewing the roots of marshmallow, licorice, alfalfa, and horseradish. For infections, they chewed sage and thyme leaves, both of which have antibiotic properties. After the spice trade made it available, clove oil, a potent topical analgesic, became popular.

  In America, the Plains Indians chewed the fresh leaves of echinacea to relieve toothache; the juice produced such a numbing effect that the herb was also called the toothache plant. The Comanches chewed the bark and roots of the prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), and called it the toothache tree. To clean the teeth, Native Americans chewed twigs of bay, eucalyptus, oak, fir, and juniper. Dogwood was a favorite toothpick.