AUGUST 21
Today is St. Stephen’s Day. On this day, Hungarians celebrate King Steven (born about 970) and the founding of the Hungarian state.
One of the Krautzenheimer granddaughters, costumed in a perky red skirt, suspenders, and embroidered Bavarian apron, danced over and took our orders: sauerbraten for McQuaid and a bowl of Hungarian goulash for me.
—DEAD MAN’S BONES: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY
Paprika
Without paprika, Hungarian goulash would be . . . well, plain old beef stew. Paprika is the mild, rich-tasting red pepper that gives the dish—and Hungarian cuisine—its distinctive flavor. Peppers didn’t arrive in Europe until Columbus got home. It was another two hundred years before the first peppers arrived in Hungary, probably brought by Balkan refugees fleeing from the invading Turks. (It’s amazing how many plants were borne on the winds of war.)
Paprika is the powder ground from dried ripe peppers, sweet or hot, depending on the peppers, and variously bright red or rusty brown. When you’re cooking with paprika, remember that it releases its flavor only when it’s heated; if it’s burned, it turns bitter. However, it’s often used as much to dress up food as for flavor. Who wants to eat a naked deviled egg?
The next time you visit Pecan Springs, drop in at the Krautzenheimer’s Restaurant, which is located on the square, next to the Sophie Briggs Historical Museum. The goulash is China’s favorite.
MRS. KRAUTZENHEIMER’S HUNGARIAN GOULASH
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut in 1-inch cubes
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons paprika (best: imported sweet Hungarian
paprika)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons shortening
4 cups water
2 carrots, scraped, sliced
2 potatoes, cubed
1 large ripe tomato, quartered and seeded
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 bay leaves
Mix beef cubes with salt and paprika. Over medium heat, brown chopped onion in shortening. Add beef cubes and brown, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add water and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until vegetables are done and meat is tender. Remove bay leaves. Serve over hot noodles. Serves 6-8.
Learn about Eastern European cuisine:
All Along the Danube: Recipes from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, by Marina Polvay
AUGUST 22
Today or tomorrow, the Sun enters the sign of Virgo.
The sixth sign of the zodiac, the feminine sign Virgo (the Virgin) is ruled by Mercury. A mutable sign, Virgo is associated with altruistic service to others. It is an earth sign, suggesting that Virgo people are methodical, thoughtful, conservative, and concerned about matters of health and finance. They may also be highly self-critical and feel that they are unable to live up to their own high standards.
—RUBY WILCOX, “ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS”
Virgo Herbs
Virgo rules the sinuses, respiratory system, abdomen, digestive process, and lower intestinal tract. Herbs associated with Virgo often assist in digestion (as do Cancer herbs) and help to reduce flatulence.
• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Fennel is an excellent stomach-settler and intestinal soother. It stimulates the digestion and relieves gas. A traditional remedy for flatulence: Steep 1-2 teaspoons of crushed fennel seeds to 1 cup of boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Fennel also has a reputation as a weight-reducer. The seeds and the plant are used in salads and cooked as a vegetable. High in calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C.
• Anise (Pimpinella anisum). John Gerard says that anise seed “wasteth and consumeth wide, and is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomacke.” Its volatile oils ease intestinal cramps and gas. The seeds are featured in many breads, cookies, cakes, candies, and liqueurs. An aromatic tea of the seeds is said to break up bronchial mucus.
• Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). According to Nicholas Culpeper, “the root boiled in water with some Maidenhead and figs makes a good drink for those who have a dry cough.” It was traditionally used to treat constipation in children.
• Other Virgo herbs. Dill seeds are another traditional remedy for gas and intestinal cramps. Recent research suggests that the plant’s essential oils may inhibit cancer formation. Cranesbill is helpful in relieving diarrhea and dysentery. Oregano has long been used to treat indigestion and diarrhea; its oils have fungicidal and vermifugal properties.
The admirable Harmony of the Creation is herein seen, in the influence of Stars upon Herbs, and the Body of Man, how one part of the Creation is subservient to another and all for the use of Man.
—NICHOLAS CULPEPER
Read more about astrological herbalism:
Llewellyn’s Herbal Almanac, published annually by Llewellyn publications
AUGUST 23
The Herb Society of America (HSA) was founded on this day in 1933.
“Something More Worthwhile . . .”
The Herb Society of America began because a small group of women wanted to do “something more worthwhile than the ordinary garden club.” In 1932, they began a serious study of herbs with Dr. Edgar Anderson, a botanist at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. The group chose rosemary as their focus, and met each week, growing, drying, and mounting specimens for detailed microscopic examination and library research. When they were finished, they went on to horehound and other herbs. And in 1933, they began the challenging work of organizing an herb society, reaching out to people who shared a serious interest in plants that had served humankind through the centuries.
The first officers were elected at the September 1933 meeting in Wenham, Massachusetts. The members of the small group—ambitiously calling themselves the Herb Society of America—immediately set about making their influence felt by creating a public herb garden in Franklin Park, in Boston, and shortly after, a garden at the National Cathedral in Washington. Busy, dedicated ladies, they began a regular publication called The Herbarist, placed an exhibit called “A 17th Century Still Room” at the Boston Flower Show, and incorporated their organization on May 17, 1935. The New York and Pennsylvania Groups were created in 1936, and the organization continued to grow. By 1945, in spite of the difficulties created by the war, there were six units, and the growth made reorganization necessary.
From that time forward, like a well-tended garden, HSA continued to grow and flourish. It wielded the tussie-mussie power that blossomed into the National Herb Garden (see June 12) and established its national headquarters in an 1841 house adjacent to the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio. Projects of the national organization and its units include gardens, plant collections, a members’ seed exchange, regional symposia, and an annual national conference.
At this writing, there are 45 units in 23 states, and a membership of 2,300. But the commitment expressed by the Society’s seven founders—those dedicated women who wanted to “do something more worthwhile”—remains the same: to promote the knowledge, use, and delight of herbs through educational programs, research, and shared experience. If you’re interested in becoming a member, contact The Herb Society of America, 9019 Kirtland Chardon Road, Kirtland, OH 44094 (440-256-0514), or visit the web site: www.herbsociety.org.
Read more about the Society’s history:
The Herb Society of America, 1933-1993, by Dorothy G. Spencer
AUGUST 24
The true gardener, like an artist, is never satisfied.
—H. E. BATES
Pruning helps you grow.
—EMILIE BARNES
Making an Herb Topiary
We’re all familiar with the art of training plants: espaliering a vine or a tree against a wall or pruning a rowdy rose into a more congenial garden companion. Herbs—rosemary, lavender, santolina, and bay are good plants to start with—can be pruned into ornamental shapes, too, and it’s fun and easy to transform them into topiaries. What’
s more, the trimmings can go into potpourri bowl or the soup pot!
A ROSEMARY TOPIARY
The simplest topiary is a single-stem “round-head standard,” which you can train in a single or a double pom-pom. To get started, collect a potted rosemary plant (an upright cultivar 12-18 inches tall, with good growth), an appropriate container with a drainage hole in the bottom, a bamboo or wooden stake, clippers, and raffia. Push the stake into the pot beside the main stem, then remove all the stems but that one and tie the stem to the stake. If the stem has grown crooked, gently straighten it as much as possible, tying it at several points to the stake.
Then decide where you want to develop the ball, and strip the leaves below that point, being careful not to damage the stem. Prune the plant to approximate the shape you want, cutting just past the growth nodes to encourage bushiness. As new growth appears on the stem, pinch it off; retie the stem as necessary to ensure straight growth. As new growth shoots out from the nodes in the ball, keep shaping it. If you want to create a double-ball standard, train the central stem to grow straight up, shaping the higher ball some six inches above the lower. If you like, add moss or rocks to cover the soil surface. Care for your plant as you would for any potted rosemary.
Design, plant, trim, and enjoy a topiary:
Herb Topiaries, by Sally Gallo
Plantain and house-leek, boiled in cream, and strained before it is put away to cool, makes a very cooling, soothing ointment. Plantain leaves laid upon a wound are cooling and healing.
—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833
AUGUST 25
A tree grows which they call “the fever tree” in the vicinity of Loxa [Ecuador], whose bark, of the color of cinnamon, made into powder of the weight of two small silver coins and given as a beverage, cures the fevers and tertians [malaria]; it has produced miraculous results in Lima.
—FATHER CALACHA, 1633
The Powder of the Devil
Malaria, as old as recorded history, was dreaded by everyone, for even if the mosquito-borne disease did not kill, it shattered the victim’s health. We might still be helpless against it if it were not for a tree with yellow bark, and people with the courage to try what must have seemed like a Peruvian witch doctor’s barbaric powder—which is exactly what Oliver Cromwell called it when he lay dying of malaria, preferring the physicians’ bloodletting to “the powder of the devil,” as he called it.
In fact, as William Cook wrote in 1869, seventeenth-century physicians angrily opposed the use of Cinchona powder, calling it “absolutely pernicious”; their rejection was, he says, “a marked illustration of the astounding bitterness with which learned men will oppose the progress of knowledge.” The remedy might never have been accepted if a former apothecary’s apprentice named Robert Talbor had not treated King Charles II of England with an infusion of cinchona powder in white wine. When the king was cured, demand for the bark shot up, and within the next century, the trees—growing on remote mountains at altitudes up to 10,000 feet—had been harvested to the point of extinction. Clearly, the Cinchona had to be grown in plantations. However, the Indians believed that if the trees were ever successfully grown elsewhere, the native Cinchona would die, and did everything they could to prevent that from happening.
But in 1865, an adventurous British trader named Charles Ledger managed to smuggle out a pound of seeds. Inexplicably, the British government was not eager to acquire them, but the Dutch were more than happy to oblige. By 1881, nearly three-quarters of a million Cinchona trees were growing on plantations in Dutch-held Java, and quinine—the Devil’s Powder—was available to the world.
More about quinine:
The Fever Bark Tree: The Pageant of Quinine, by Marie Louise Duran-Reynals
AUGUST 26
The heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she did when he rose.
—THOMAS MOORE, “BELIEVE ME IF ALL THOSE ENDEARING YOUNG
CHARMS”
Sunflowers
These sun-worshippers are blooming now in meadows, along roadsides, and in gardens, pleasing butterflies, birds, and people. These plants, which belong to the genus Helianthus and are named for their habit of following the sun’s movement, are as useful as they are pretty, providing nutritious seeds to eat, fiber for materials, medicine, a golden yellow dye, and an all-purpose oil. Domestically cultivated by Native Americans as long ago as 5,000 years, the plant was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth century.
THE ORNAMENTAL SUNFLOWER
Sunflowers are among the easiest—and most impressive—annuals. They love the sun (naturally!), require plenty of water, and the taller varieties need some protection from the wind. In spring, plant the seeds in rich, well-drained soil, about twelve inches apart. Expect blooms in 10-12 weeks, and stake where necessary. Harvest the heads before the birds do and hang in paper bags to dry. The head is dry when you can rub the seeds loose.
THE EDIBLE SUNFLOWER
Sunflower seeds are packed with healthy unsaturated fats, protein, and fiber, plus important nutrients like the antioxidant vitamin E. Since they have a very high oil content, they are a valuable source of polyunsaturated oil. Raw or roasted, whole or ground, they can be used in recipes in place of other nuts—in your favorite pesto recipe, for instance, as a substitute for pine nuts. To roast your harvest, spread on cookie sheets and roast at 150-200° until completely dry (about 3-4 hours), stirring once or twice. Store in a lidded jar in the refrigerator.
THE APOTHECARY SUNFLOWER
The leaves and seeds have been used as an expectorant and a diuretic, and (in a decoction) as a treatment for bronchitis. In Russia, the leaves were used as a treatment for malarial fevers. The oil is high in linoleic acid; in lotions and salves, this fatty acid helps the skin to retain moisture.
All about sunflowers:
Sunflowers, by Debra M. Mancoff
What a desolate place would be a world without flowers! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome.
—CLARA L. BALFOUR
AUGUST 27
The whole toppe with its pleasant yellow floures sheweth like to a wax candle or taper cunningly wrought.
—HENRY LYTE, 1578
A Plant of a Hundred Names
The folk names of herbs often reflect their uses. Take mullein, for example, the tall, erect plant that is blooming bright yellow along dry, gravelly roadsides in many parts of the country just now. Roman soldiers stripped off the leaves and flowers, bundled the resinous stalks together, and dipped them in tallow: they called it candelaria. In England, the stringy fibers of the stalk were twisted and used as wicks for candles: candlewick plant. Because the plant was thought to be burned by witches, it was sometimes called the hag’s taper. And during the last century, miners in the American West burned the stalks as torches in their mines. They called it miner’s candle.
The stalk itself resembled a rod, and because it was so strong and straight, it was sometimes connected with authority: Aaron’s rod (which “was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms,” Numbers 17:8), or Jupiter’s staff (perhaps it might be used to ward off lightning?). Alternatively, it was beggar’s staff, presumably because a beggar couldn’t afford a staff made of stouter material. And then there are the large, soft, fuzzy, flannel-like leaves at the base of the plant, making it poor man’s
flannel, flannel-flower, flannel-jacket, flannel petticoats, Adam’s flannel. In other places, it took its name from a slightly different resemblance: Donkey’s Ear or Bunny’s Ear. And in modern America, some wilderness campers call it Hiker’s Toilet Paper!
Over the centuries, herbalists have found many uses for mullein. The fresh flowers were steeped in oil and used as earache drops, while a tea was thought to relieve the symptoms of gout. The juice of the leaves and flowers was said to remove warts, and the leaves, as a poultice,
treated coughs and bronchitis.
P.S. To be botanically correct, we should also point out that mullein, by any other name or not, remains Verbascum thapsus.
Read about the hidden history of plants:
The Illustrated Plant Lore, by Josephine Addison
When rain is coming, frogs change color.
—TRADITIONAL WEATHER LORE
The lightnings and thundring will do no harme, if there be buried in the midst of the garden a kinde of toad called a hedge toade, closed up in a pot of earth.
—GERVASE MARKHAM, MAISON RUSTIQUE, OR A COUNTRY
FARME, 1616
AUGUST 28
Lyle Bippert and His Bug-Bee-Gone
At the close of the Merryweathers’ Herb Guild meeting yesterday, Lyle Bippert handed out take-home samples of his herbal bug repellant, Bug-Bee-Gone. It’s good to keep the bugs off, Lyle says, and it also works pretty well as a bass bait. Last month, he claims, while fishing in Canyon Lake, he caught a four-pound bass on a purple plastic wiggle-worm he accidentally dunked in his Bug-Bee-Gone.
Now, Lyle is famous for his fish stories, and you don’t want to believe everything he says. But it’s a fact that Hank Etzel, of Hank’s Worms & Minnows, has offered to take a dozen bottles on a trial basis. Maybe Lyle (who recently retired from his career at Filbert’s Feed Store) will be the next Texas millionaire, or maybe he’ll just catch a lot of fish. Either way, here is his formula, which will soon appear in the Guild’s new book, Happy Thymes: A Calendula of Herbal Dillies.
China Bayles' Book of Days Page 34