China Bayles' Book of Days
Page 17
• wild onions (Allium sp.)
• honeysuckle blossoms (Lonicera japonica)
• wild strawberries (Fragaria sp.)
• clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense)
• mint (Mentha sp.)
• winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris)
• cat brier (Smilax rotundifolia)
• violets (Viola)
Most modern children see food as something that appears on their plates after it has come out of a box or a can. To celebrate Earth Day, take your children or grandchildren into the garden and introduce them to natural nibbling. It might make a difference in the way they approach the world. But it’s also wise to caution them against eating anything they’re not sure is safe, and encourage them to learn to identify edible plants.
Read more about natural nibbles:
A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, by Bradford Angier
One rule that every country child knew was: don’t put any plant into your mouth until you have been shown by an older child or adult that it is safe to eat. And we found out that some plants had only certain parts that were edible. One friend had a grandmother who played a leaf-matching game with us kids. She would pick five edible leaves, then hold one up and say, “Match this leaf.” We had to go find a plant with a matching leaf. Soon, we knew which salad greens to pick.
—QUOTED IN HONEYSUCKLE SIPPING: THE PLANT LORE OF
CHILDHOOD, BY JEANNÉ R. CHESANOW
APRIL 23
Today is the birthday of William Shakespeare, born in 1564. The theme garden for April: a Shakespeare Garden.
When daisies pied and violets blue
and lady-smocks all silver-white
and cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight.
—LOVE’S LABORS LOST
The Blooming Bard
Shakespeare’s plays and poems bloom with flowers and gardens. What could be more interesting than a corner of your own garden devoted to the herbs and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays? You might want to add a label to each plant, citing the play or poem in which the plant is mentioned. And if you are a great admirer of the plays, you might want to make a Shakespeare garden album, with pressed flowers and leaves, a note about the plant, and a quotation from the plays.
SHAKESPEARE’S HERBS AND FLOWERS
Aloe (Aloe sp.) A Lover’s Complaint
Balm (Melissa officinalis) Merry Wives of Windsor 5:5
Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) Antony and Cleopatra 1:3
Sweetbriar or briar (Rosa eglantine) A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2:1
Broom (Cytisus scoparius) A Midsummer Night’s Dream 5:1
Burnet (Sanguisorba minor) King Henry V 5:2
Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) King Henry IV, Part I, 2:4
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Cowslip (Primula veris) The Tempest 5:1
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Hamlet 4:5
Holly (Ilex sp.) As You Like It 2:7
Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) A Midsummer Night’s Dream 4:1
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) Othello 1:3
Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Marigold (Calendula officinalis) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Marjoram (Origanum sp.) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Mint (Mentha sp.) The Winter’s Tale 4:3
Myrtle (Myrtus communis) Measure for Measure 2:2
Nettle (Urtica sp.) Othello 1:3
Pansy (Viola tricolor) Hamlet 4:5
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Taming of the Shrew 4:4
Poppy (Poppy somniferum) Othello 3:3
Rose (Rosa sp.) King Henry VI, Part I, 2:4
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Rue (Ruta graveolens) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Savory (Satureia sp.) The Winter’s Tale 4:4
Thyme (Thymus sp.) A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2:1
Violet (Viola odorata) King Henry V 4:1
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) Hamlet 3:2
Read more about the Bard’s blooms:
Shakespeare’s Flowers, by Jessica Kerr
APRIL 24
I have pepper and peony seed and a pound of garlic And a farthingworth of fennel-seed, for fasting days.
—WILLIAM LANGLAND, PIERS PLOWMAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Herb Seeds: Not Just for Planting
Throughout history, many herbs have been valued as much for their seeds as for their leaves, if not more. When you plant your herb garden (either in the ground or on your deck), be sure to include some of the interesting herbs that are valued for their seeds. Or perhaps you’d like to learn how to cook with these seeds. Whether in your garden or in your kitchen, you’ll be delighted with the result! Here are five popular choices for you.
• Anise (Pimpinella anisum). One of the oldest known aromatic seeds, anise was used as currency in Biblical times. It has long been prized for its scent and its health-promoting properties (it is carminative, expectorant, and anti-spasmodic). It has a licorice taste, and is used to flavor sweet pickles, salads, cakes, cookies, candies, liqueurs, and marinades.
• Caraway (Carum carvi). Rye bread is flavored with caraway seed, as are cakes, biscuits, cheese, carrot, cabbage, and potato dishes. It is much used in European and German cuisine. Medicinally, the seed was used to treat digestive ailments. In ancient Egypt, it was used in love potions.
• Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). Coriander is mentioned in the Bible (manna is white, “like a coriander seed,” Exodus 16:31). It was widely used as a cough remedy, an aphrodisiac, and as an incense to summon devils! In cooking, it has been used to flavor beans, onions, potatoes, sausages, stews, pastries, and wine. It is also included in many curry and chili powders.
• Dill (Anethum graveolens). Dill has carminative properties and calms intestinal cramps. In Scandinavia, it was given to colicky babies, and derives its name from the Old Norse, dilla, meaning “to lull.” Dill’s most famous culinary use—the dill pickle—has been around for at least 400 years. (And of course, you remember dill as the signature herb in China Bayles’ mystery, A Dilly of a Death.)
• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus). Peppery nasturtium flowers are a colorful addition to salads, and their pickled seeds are a good substitute for more-expensive capers.
Pickled nasturtium seeds. Prepare a brine of 1 quart white vinegar, 2 teaspoons pickling salt, a thinly sliced onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 peppercorns, and ½ teaspoon each allspice, mace, and celery seed. As your nasturtium blossoms fall, pick the green seed pods, wash, and drop into the pickling mixture. Refrigerate. Stir each time you add more. When you have a cupful, take them out for use, with brine to cover; continue adding to your pickles with fresh seeds until the season is over.
APRIL 25
Today is National Zucchini Bread Day.
Zucchini Bread Day in Pecan Springs
Squashes are among the many plants that Europeans discovered when they arrived in the New World. Although they are now used chiefly as foods, Native Americans also used them as medicines, for such problems as intestinal parasites, kidney ailments, rheumatism, and fevers. Squashes are usually thought of in two groups: winter squashes such as acorn, buttercup, butternut, Hubbard, turban, and pumpkin; summer squashes such as crookneck, and pattypan. And then, of course, there’s zucchini.
In Pecan Springs, everybody has a favorite zucchini bread recipe. Mrs. Bubba Harris, the wife of the former chief of police, bakes hers in a slow cooker because she doesn’t like to have her oven on during the summer. Bubba retired from the force (Sheila Dawson took his place, as you know if you’ve been following the Pecan Springs news) and now raises bees, pecans, and zucchini.
MRS. BUBBA’S SLOW COOKER ZUCCHINI-BASIL BREAD
2 eggs
cup vegetable oil
¾ cup honey
1 cups zucchini, peeled, grated, drained
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teas
poon vanilla
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
In a mixing bowl with handheld electric mixer, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, honey, zucchini, basil, and vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients with nuts; stir into zucchini mixture and blend well. Pour into a greased and floured 2-pound coffee can or 2-quart mold (be sure it fits in your slow cooker). Place crumpled foil in the bottom of the slow cooker and set the can on it. Place in slow cooker. Cover top of can with 6-8 layers of folded paper towels to absorb the steam. Cover and bake on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. Do not remove cover to check bread until it has cooked for 3 hours. Let stand 5 minutes before turning out of can or mold.
Got more zucchini? Here are 225 other ways to deal with it:
The Classic Zucchini Cookbook: 225 Recipes for All Kinds of Squash, by Nancy Ralston
APRIL 26
As one grows older one should grow more expert at finding beauty in unexpected places, in deserts and in towns, in ordinary human faces and among wild weeds.
—C. C. VYVYAN
Wild Weeds and Native Herbs
Let’s stop thinking that an herb is something we grow in our gardens! Herbs are all around us, but we have to stop calling them “wild weeds” and begin to understand them as “native herbs” before we can see them and appreciate their uniqueness. Start with this quartet, likely to be growing somewhere in your immediate vicinity.
• Chickweed (Stellaria media). A zippy addition to salads in early spring, the seeds of this plant are especially loved by birds and poultry. Traditionally used to treat liver and kidney ailments, coughs, rheumatism, and pleurisy. (You may remember this plant from the China Bayles mystery, Dead Man’s Bones, which features its European cousin, Stellaria holostea.)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). You can probably see this plant just outside your window. The young leaves are used in salads; the blossoms are made into wine; and the roots can be dried, ground, roasted, and brewed as coffee. Medicinal uses of this native herb mostly derive from its diuretic properties.
• Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Native Americans used the fibers of this plant to make twine and netting; collected the latex sap to make chewing gum; collected the fuzzy seeds as stuffing for pillows; and used a decoction of the roots to treat rheumatism, stomach complaints, and gallstones. Don’t eat this plant unless you’re a monarch butterfly. (Milkweed is the monarch’s favorite food plant.)
• Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Purslane migrated here from India, brought by the Europeans who enjoyed it for salads, soups, and pickles. It has plenty of vitamins and minerals, and the seeds can be used like poppy seeds, sprinkled on baked goods and in salad dressings.
Read more about the many uses of native plants:
A Handbook of Native American Herbs, by Alma R. Hutchens
I always chew a little chickweed when I find it, to get that burst of vitamins A and C, sunshine for my journey. It adds bright green to salads and sandwiches and ornaments beautiful canapés. Try chickweed chopped into slaw; it adds color and flavor.
—SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK, GATHER YE WILD THINGS
APRIL 27
Grandma Franklin’s Pickled Eggs
My grandmother always put up pickled eggs in the spring, because the hens were just starting to lay and the eggs were smaller. Grandma always said that little eggs were prettier, pickled, than big eggs. I remember being fascinated by the pink color and tangy taste, but it was rare that I got more than half an egg. Sunday dinners on the Franklin farm were well-attended, and the menfolk ate before the women and children.
I found Grandma’s handwritten recipe not long ago, stuck between the pages of the Pure Food Cook Book, which was compiled by the Farm Women of Missouri in 1945—my mother’s standby cookbook and recipe file. Here it is, in case your hens are starting to lay. If not, you can buy small eggs at the grocery store.
PICKLED PINK EGGS
1 dozen small eggs
1 can small beets (not pickled)
2 cups cider vinegar
3 small onions sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon pickling spices
Hard boil eggs and peel them. Push a fork into the middle of each egg. Put the eggs in a deep crock. In a pan, heat the beets, vinegar, onions, salt, sugar, and spices until just ready to boil. Cool for 10 minutes. Pour over eggs. Put a plate on top and put in the ice-box for at least a week. Slice in half.
Bill is a chile-head (the affectionate term for somebody who can’t go a day without a hot pepper), and likes his pickled eggs hot. Here is my recipe.
GREEEN CHILE EGGS
1 dozen small eggs, hardboiled, peeled
3 small onions, sliced
2-3 jalapeño peppers
4-5 cloves
bay leaf
2 cups cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon pickling spices
Put the eggs into a suitable jar with onions, peppers, cloves, and bay leaf. Pour a little of the vinegar into the mustard to make a paste; stir paste into the rest of the vinegar, and pickling spices, and heat. Cool 10 minutes and pour over eggs. Refrigerate for 2 weeks.
It is not the least part of the pleasures of a Garden, to walk and refresh yourself either with your Friends or Acquaintances, or else alone retired from the cares of the World, or apart from company that sometimes may prove burthen-some to you.
—J. WOOLDRIDGE
APRIL 28
I sold out of the “Moth Attack” blend that I grow and mix myself—southernwood, wormwood, rue, and santolina—so I guess it was also a day to think about mothproofing winter woolies.
—HANGMAN’S ROOT: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY
Chase Those Moths!
It’s time to put the woolens away—and you know what happens next. Moths like nothing better for lunch than high-protein animal hair fibers. So they make a beeline for anything made of wool, camel hair, mohair, cashmere, angora, or other animal hair fibers. And if the item has been put away with perspiration on it—well, that’s just dessert. Mama Moth stops eating only long enough to lay her eggs, right there on the moth dinner table. And the next time you see that pretty sweater, it’s full of holes.
MOTH FOOLERS
You can fool moths by putting your woolies down for their summer nap with something that masks the alluring odor of animal fiber. If you don’t want your sweater to smell like mothballs and you’re averse to toxic chemicals, try strong-smelling herbs, alone or in combination. Stuff the dried herbs into small muslin (or any porous material) bags, and tuck them among your sweaters, scarves, and other winter wear. Here are the herbs China mixes and matches for her “Moth Attack” blend:
Annual herbs: camphor basil, pennyroyal, sweet marjoram
Perennial herbs: rosemary, lavender, patchouli, scented geraniums, pyrethrum daisy, sweet woodruff, tansy, southernwood, wormwood
Shrubs and trees (leaves, needles, shavings): balsam fir, red cedar (try a pet store for shavings), bay laurel, eucalyptus, pine, sassafras
You can also use the essential oils of these herbs. Dab on bits of cotton and place in drawer and boxes.
More reading about moth chasers:
Herbal Treasures, by Phyllis V. Shaudys
Poke-root, boiled in water and mixed with a good quantity of molasses, set about the kitchen, the pantry, &c. in large deep plates, will kill cockroaches in great numbers.
—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833
APRIL 29
One day, the gardener realizes that what she is doing out there is actually teaching herself to garden by performing a series of experiments. This is a pivotal moment.
—MARGARET ROACH
Boon Companions and Bosom Buddies
Companion planting is putting complementa
ry plants together so they can help one another. The idea sounds fanciful? Well, consider these scientific findings:
• Some plants give off odors or chemicals that repel insects.
• Some plants attract beneficial insects.
• Some plants attract insects that will pollinate other plants.
• Some plants lure harmful insects away from valued plants.
Each of these herbs has a special talent. Put it to use in your garden.
• Catnip repels ants and flea beetles.
• Chives suppresses fungal diseases and discourages aphids.
• Coriander can be made into a spray to use against red spider mite.
• Feverfew attracts aphids, which may prefer it to your roses.
• Garlic repels Japanese beetles and aphids and is useful in herbal sprays.
• Nasturtium repels aphids, squash bugs, and striped pumpkin beetle.
• Sage wards off carrot fly.