China Bayles' Book of Days

by Susan Wittig Albert

  I leaned forward. “What’s green and swims in the sea?”

  “Excuse me,” McQuaid said, standing hastily. “I’ve got to get ready to see Ms. Morgan.”

  “Moby Pickle,” I said with a chortle.

  —A DILLY OF A DEATH: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

  A Dilly of a Death: About China’s Books

  One of the things I like about China’s adventures is that each one is different. Sometimes, books in a series can begin to seem repetitive, but I never feel that way about China, primarily because each book is “flavored” differently. Some books are serious, nearly tragic, and are hard (and sometimes painful) to write. Other books are funny. Chile Death, for example, and A Dilly of a Death, which features the biggest little pickle factory in Pecan Springs, Texas.

  The idea for Dilly came when Bill and I were visiting the Fredericksburg Herb Farm. We were curious about a big wooden vat, which (it turned out) was full of vinegar, for the herbal vinegars made on the farm. Bill and I exchanged glances, and the idea arrived simultaneously: “The body in the vinegar vat! A pickled victim!”

  That isn’t the way it turned out, however. In the process of doing the research, I visited the Goldin Pickle Factory. When I told Steve Collett, the owner (and former president of the American Pickle Packers Association) about the body in a vinegar vat, he turned pale. “Don’t do that!” he gasped in horror. “People might stop eating pickles!” I had to admit that the idea was a little . . . well, distasteful. Luckily, Steve had an alternative suggestion for disposing of the victim. I don’t want to spoil the suspense, so you’ll have to read the book to learn what Steve proposed.

  There was more fun ahead. Since the book contained a few pickle jokes we decided to have a pickle joke contest on our web site.

  The winner: What do you call a pickle lullaby? A cucumber slumber number.

  Read more about the mysteries of pickles, and enjoy a few pickle jokes:

  A Dilly of a Death: A China Bayles Mystery, by Susan Wittig Albert

  www.mysterypartners.com. Click on China Bayles, on A Dilly of a Death, and on Pickle Jokes.

  MAY 29

  May is National Salsa Month.

  Splendid Salsas!

  In Italian and Spanish, salsa is just another word for sauce. But the salsas you can make with the herbs in your garden are out-of-the-ordinary sauces. Here are two fruity salsas, simply splendid enhancements to the flavors of fish, chicken, and other foods. Or layer over cream cheese and serve with crackers. They’re at their best when freshly prepared.

  GINGERY-MINT FRUIT SALSA

  1 mango, peeled, cut in ½-inch cubes

  ½ papaya peeled, seeded, cut in ½-inch cubes

  1 kiwi, peeled, cut in thin slices

  1 8 oz. can chunk pineapple, drained

  ½ medium red onion, chopped

  ½ red bell pepper, seeded, chopped

  ¼ cup chopped fresh mint

  2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

  1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

  ½ cup orange juice

  ¼ cup lime juice

  Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving in a colorful bowl garnished with sprigs of fresh mint. Great with grilled salmon, chicken. Makes about 3 cups.

  A PEACH OF A SALSA

  2 ripe peaches, peeled and diced

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  ½ small red bell pepper, chopped

  ½ small green bell pepper, chopped

  ½ red onion, chopped

  1 small jalapeño pepper, finely minced

  ¼ cup pineapple juice

  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

  2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

  1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

  Dip peaches briefly into boiling water to loosen skins; peel and dice, discarding pits. Toss with lemon juice. Mix in remaining ingredients and refrigerate at least one hour to blend flavors. Makes about 3½ cups.

  A TRIO OF SPLENDID SALSAS

  • fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped yellow bell pepper, chopped avocado, diced jalapeño pepper, with minced cilantro and orange juice

  • cooked corn kernels (canned or frozen), chopped peaches, red onion, bell pepper, with garlic and white wine vinegar

  • white or black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped green onions, garlic, and cilantro, with Italian dressing

  For more salsa inspiration:

  Nueva Salsa: Recipes to Spice It Up, by Rafael Palomino

  MAY 30

  Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) is observed on the last Monday in May.

  In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

  Between the crosses row on row,

  That mark our place; and in the sky

  The larks, still bravely singing, fly

  Scarce heard amid the guns below.

  —“IN FLANDERS FIELDS,” BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN MCCRAE,

  CANADIAN ARMY DOCTOR (1872-1918)

  The Memorial Poppy

  The first Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The state of New York officially recognized the holiday in 1873, and within 20 years, it was celebrated in all of the northern states. Southern states chose other days to honor their dead until after World War I, when the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in all the country’s wars.

  In 1915, moved by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Belle Michael wrote a response:

  We cherish too, the Poppy red

  That grows on fields where valor led,

  It seems to signal to the skies

  That blood of heroes never dies.

  Struck by the symbolism of the red poppy as a tribute to those who were dying in the Great War, Moina Michael wore the flower on Memorial Day. After that, she began selling artificial poppies to her friends and coworkers. All of the money she raised went to benefit needy servicemen and their families.

  With energy and dogged determination, Miss Michael worked tirelessly to promote the poppy as a symbol of patriotic sacrifice. In 1920, the flower was officially recognized as a national emblem of remembrance by the American Legion. In 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars began selling poppies nationally, and soon the poppies were being made by disabled veterans in the “Buddy Program.” Moina Michael died in 1944. Four years later, the United States Post Office issued a commemorative stamp honoring “The Poppy Lady.”

  The Flanders poppy (Papaver rhoeas), also known as the corn poppy, is a hardy annual wildflower native to Europe and naturalized across North America. Papaver rhoeas has a long history of medicinal use as an analgesic, a sedative, and an antiasthmatic. While many states prohibit growing its cousin, the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), the corn poppy does not contain enough opium alkaloids to warrant its ban. Corn poppy seeds are safe to use in cooking.

  Read more about Moina Michael and the Flanders poppy:

  The Miracle Flower, The Story of the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy, by Moina Michael

  MAY 31

  And there was the woad, a garden gorilla which some fastidious states have unfeelingly designated as a Class A noxious weed. My woad looked as fierce as the ancient Britons who terrorized the Romans when they painted themselves with it. . . .

  I sighed. “I think I’d better put in a call to the woad police. Before it goes to seed.”

  “I’ve got news for you,” Ruby said, pulling off a dried seed pod and handing it to me. “What color do you get from woad?”

  “Blue,” Allie replied. “China’s got enough woad here to body-paint a whole clan of Picts.”

  —INDIGO DYING: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

  From Plant to Dye Pot

  Plant dyes are as old as human history. Textile remnants from as early as 3500 BCE show traces of color. Indigo and woad were used to produce the sacred color blue; red by madder; green by a wide variety of plants. Color was used in food (calendula colored cheese, as well as
women’s hair!) and in cosmetics, brightening lips, cheeks, and eyes. And although it’s debatable whether or not the ancient Picts actually painted or tattooed themselves with woad, many other plants are used as body dyes, henna, indigo, and turmeric among them.

  If you have an herb or flower garden, you are probably growing several dye plants. All of these have been used to make color and can be grown easily: purple basil, French marigolds, yellow cosmos, hibiscus, coreopsis, marjoram, madder, tansy, Saint-John’s-wort, zinnia, weld, and yarrow. (If you’re growing woad, watch out. It’s wildly invasive.) Many more dye plants grow wild: goldenrod, sunflower, purple loosestrife, broom sedge, nettle, mullein, mustard, sumac, dandelion, and dock, to name just a few. If you have the raw materials and the interest, dyeing is easy and fun. But beware: it can lead to deadly doings, as it does in Indigo Dying, which chronicles China’s colorful adventure into the dye herbs.

  Read more about dye plants:

  Colors from Nature: Growing, Collecting & Using Natural Dyes, by Bobbi McRae

  Indigo Dying: A China Bayles Mystery, by Susan Wittig Albert

  If the predominating hue of the rainbow is green, more rain may be expected; if red, wind and rain.

  —TRADITIONAL ENGLISH WEATHER LORE

  JUNE 1

  What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.

  —GERTRUDE JEKYLL

  June: Bride’s Month

  An herbal wedding is wonderful at any time of the year, but a June herbal wedding is a unique and memorable experience for the bride and groom, the family, and all the guests. If there’s a wedding in your future—or any other celebration, for that matter—it will be a special delight if it’s rich in herbs. Of course, if the wedding is next week, everything is probably already settled, and the most you can do is to tuck rosemary into the bride’s bouquet and add some sprigs of lavender and mint to the bridesmaids’ flowers. But if you have some time for planning, think about the many ways that herbs can be used as a delightful wedding theme—as China and her friends did, when she and McQuaid got married in Lavender Lies.

  ROMANTIC HERBS

  We treasure herbs because of the special meanings they have acquired. Here are some herbs that brides over the centuries have included in their weddings, with the loving messages they convey.

  • Apple blossom: We choose each other.

  • Borage: We have courage for the road ahead.

  • Clover (four-leaf): Good luck to us!

  • Clover (white): We promise.

  • Daisy: We are full of hope.

  • Fennel: We will be strong.

  • Ivy: We will be faithful, clinging only to each other.

  • Lavender: We are devoted to each other.

  • Lemon balm: We will comfort each other.

  • Marjoram: What a joyful day!

  • Mustard seed: We have faith in our future.

  • Myrtle: Our love is true.

  • Red rose: Our desire is for each other.

  • Rosemary: We will always remember this day.

  • Sage: We will honor our home and keep it sacred.

  • Thyme: We will be constant.

  • Yarrow: Our love will be everlasting.

  Read more about how to choose and use wedding herbs: Herbs for Weddings & Other Celebrations: A Treasury of

  Recipes, Gifts & Decorations, by Bertha Reppert The Language of Flowers, by Kathleen Gips

  Young men and maids do ready stand

  With sweet Rosemary in their hands—

  A perfect token of your virgin’s life.

  To wait upon you they intend

  Unto the church to make an end,

  And God make thee a joyful wedded life.

  —OLD BALLAD

  JUNE 2

  Today is the feast day of St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.

  The ancient Chinese sailors who used ginger to prevent seasickness were probably right. Ginger’s anti-nausea action relieves motion sickness and dizziness (vertigo) better than the standard drug treatment, Dramamine, according to one study published in the British medical journal Lancet.

  —MICHAEL CASTLEMAN, THE HEALING HERBS

  Herbs for Travelers

  It would be a shame to spoil that honeymoon cruise—or family vacation, or business travel—with a queasy stomach or other minor problem. But herbal help is on the way, with this trio of three tried-and-true remedies. Be sure to pack them in your take-along travel kit.

  • Ginger. Commercial ginger capsules are probably the most convenient form of this herb for travelers, but a 12-ounce serving of ginger ale (the real thing, not artificially flavored) should contain enough ginger to do the trick. Another option: take powdered ginger in a small bottle, firmly capped. Use 2 teaspoons in a cup of very hot water. Steep ten minutes and sip. (Do not use ginger during pregnancy or breastfeeding.)

  • Peppermint. This age-old remedy hasn’t been studied for its efficacy in soothing motion-sickness, but many herbalists prescribe it. Menthol (mint’s essential oil) is an antispasmodic, and soothes the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract. It is an ingredient in many commercial stomach soothers.

  • Marjoram. For take-along convenience, try a tincture of this stomach-calming herb. The recommended dose is ½ to 1 teaspoon, up to three times a day.

  In addition to stomach-soothers, take along an herbal first aid kit. Include aloe vera for sunburn, minor burns, and chapping. Witch hazel is a natural FDA-approved astringent for scratches, scrapes, and insect bites. Tea tree oil is an effective antiseptic, and can treat athlete’s foot and other fungal infections. Arnica helps to ease bruises, sprains, and sore muscles.

  Read more about these and other herbal helpers:

  The Healing Herbs, by Michael Castleman

  These plants [marjorams] are easie to be taken in potions, and therefore to good purpose they may be used and ministred unto such as cannot brooke their meate [tolerate their food], and to such as have a sowre squamish and watery stomacke. . . .

  —JOHN GERARD, HERBAL, 1597

  JUNE 3

  The week before Pickle Fest, Fannie Couch usually runs a dozen pickling recipes in her newspaper column. Just for fun, I included a brief history of the cucumber, which found its true calling when it was soaked in salt, vinegar, and water, and turned into a pickle.

  —A DILLY OF A DEATH: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

  “Fit Only for Cows”: A Brief History of the Cucumber

  Cousin to the Persian melon, the cucumber has been around for at least three thousand years. The plant originated in India, migrated both east to China and west to the Mediterranean and Europe, and discovered America with Columbus, who carried seeds to Haiti in 1494. The Pilgrims planted cukes in their gardens, where they flourished enthusiastically, and the plant was off to a promising new career in North America.

  But by the late 1600s, some in England began to worry that eating raw food might lead to illness, and the uncooked cucumber fell from grace. “This day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newhouse is dead of eating cowcumbers,” lamented Samuel Pepys in his famous diary. “Fit only for cows,” sniffed another writer.

  But you could eat a cooked cucumber and live to tell the tale, especially if you cooked it according to the instructions in Mrs. Raffald’s remarkable 1769 cookbook, The Experienced English Housekeeper:

  TO STEW CUCUMBERS

  Peel off the outer rind, slice the cucumbers pretty thick, fry them in fresh butter, and lay them on a sieve to drain. Put them into a tossing pan with a large glass of red wine, the same of strong gravy, a blade or two of mace. Make it pretty thick with flour and butter and when it boils up put in your cucumbers. Keep shaking them and let them boil five minutes, be careful you don’t break them. Pour them into a dish and serve them up.

  There. That ought to be safe enough. But wait! There’s another option! You might pi
ckle them, for the pickling process was judged to be enough like cooking to redeem the cucumber from its raw sins. Voila! Pickles became the fad food of the eighteenth century, available in barrels in the coffee shops for snacking on the run.

  Cucumbers were in great demand at the local apothecary shop, too, where they were an important pharmaceutical. The seeds were employed to treat inflammations of the bowel and urinary tract and to expel tapeworms, and the pulp and juice were used to ease skin inflammations and treat sunburns. Today, beauty consultants in exclusive spas often recommend placing cooling, soothing slices of cucumber over tired and inflamed eyes, and cucumbers are served raw (gasp!) in the very best restaurants.

  Samuel Pepys would be amazed.

  Leave cucumbers alone

  They’ll chill you to the bone.

  —TRADITIONAL LORE

  JUNE 4

  Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos: the trees, the clouds, everything.