China Bayles' Book of Days
Page 35
BIPPERT’S SUREFIRE BUG-BEE-GONE
2 cups rubbing alcohol
12 drops rosemary oil
12 drops pine oil
12 drops lemon oil
12 drops juniper oil
12 drops citronella
Mix together in a clean peanut-butter jar with a lid. Shake before you splash it on or dunk your fishing lure in it. (Not guaranteed against killer bees.)
Lyle contributed another formula to Happy Thymes, this one called “Fisherman’s Foot Formula.” After he’s been wearing his fishing boots all day, he brews up a strong herbal tea: 2 quarts boiling water, cup dried thyme, cup dried rosemary, and cup dried peppermint. “When this has cooled off some,” Lyle says, “I pour it in a pan and soak my tootsies in it. When I’m done, I pour it back in the jar and put it in the fridge to keep for next time.” His wife, Hazel, adds this caution: “Make sure you label the jar. Lyle’s stuff works good on feet, but it’s just not real tasty.”
When the Foot Formula has gone around a second time, Lyle heats it to boiling, takes it outdoors, and pours it onto the nearest fire-ant mound. “Kills ’em deader ’n your average doornail,” he reports. “No chemicals, neither. I’m gonna take a sample over to Texas A&M and see if the Aggies want to do some research with it.”
Go for it, Lyle. The Merryweathers are rooting for you.
AUGUST 29
Today is National More Herbs, Less Salt Day.
“China, do you have any more rosemary-tarragon vinegar?” Helen asked. “And while you’re at it, Mother wants some of that no-salt seasoning blend you make. She sneaks it on her food when the nurses are looking the other way.” Helen’s mother lives in a nursing home in Waco. If she can’t get along without that seasoning, it must be good.
—WITCHES’ BANE: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY
Getting the Salt Out
If you’re one of the many people who need to reduce salt, here are recipes for the herbal blends China sells in her shop. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, pulverize them in a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or blender, and store in a tightly lidded jar in a cool, dark place. Each makes about cup. You can also stir them into sour cream (I use low-fat) or yogurt for a zippy dip.
SAVORY BLEND
2 tablespoons dried dillweed
2 tablespoons dried chives
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon powdered lemon peel
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
ZIPPY BLEND
2 tablespoons dried winter savory
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons curry powder
1½ teaspoons ground white pepper
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon powdered orange peel
1 teaspoon garlic powder
SPICY BLEND
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
1 tablespoon powdered cloves
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 teaspoon dried winter savory
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon powdered orange peel
For more help in getting the salt out:
The American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook, by the American Heart Association
Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends, edited by Deborah L. Balmuth
AUGUST 30
Balm with its delicious lemon scent, is by common consent one of the most sweetly smelling of all the herbs in the garden. Balm-wine was made of it and a tea which is good for feverish colds. The fresh leaves make better tea than the dry.
—FRANCIS A. BARDSWELL, THE HERB GARDEN, 1911
Balm for the Soul
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has been beloved since long before Homer spoke of “sweet balm and gentle violets” in the Odyssey, or Theocritus mentioned (in The Idyll) that his sheep loved to browse it in the meadows. Virgil grew it especially for his bees (melissa is from the Greek word for “bee”), and Thomas Jefferson included it in his 1794 list of herbs at Monticello. It has calmative properties, and is widely used in tea and other drinks.
In your garden, use lemon balm as a border plant, or in a container. Plant it along a path, where you can reach down and touch it, and cut it back to encourage bushiness. You’ll find plenty of uses for those cuttings!
BALM FOR THE THIRSTY
This delicious garden punch is easy to make, and it will be the star of your garden party. Thanks to Lucinda Hutson, for allowing me to reprint it from her book, The Herb Garden Cookbook.
GARDEN PUNCH
2 generous bunches of lemon balm sprigs, on long stems
if possible, plus
2 generous bunches mild-flavored mints (also on long
stems if possible) to loosely fill the pitcher
1 large can (46 ounces) unsweetened pineapple juice or
equivalent pure unfiltered apple juice
juice of two lemons
1 lemon, cut in thin slices
sparkling water or champagne to taste
Gently wring the bunches of lemon balm and mint to release their flavor. Place in a large glass pitcher, cover with the juices and the lemon slices. Chill overnight, occasionally stirring and pressing down on the herbs with the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into iced glasses with a splash of sparkling water (or champagne) and a sprig of fresh lemon balm and/or mint. Serves 8-10.
Read more of Lucinda Hutson’s garden cookery:
The Herb Garden Cookbook, by Lucinda Hutson
To make a nourishing drink for harvest laborers: Take a gallon of water, and put a little of it into a pan with half a pound of oatmeal, a pound of sugar, the juice of an orange and lemon and their rind sliced small. Boil them for ten minutes, then add the rest of the water, take from the fire, and stir well until it is cold.
—MISTRESS CLARK’S BOOK, EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
SEPTEMBER 1
September is National Honey Month.
I broke open a biscuit and drizzled honey on it with a spoon. The honey had the scent of lavender, and when I tasted it, the flavor of lavender, warmed by the sun.
—BLOODROOT: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY
Herbal Honey
Flavored honeys are among the easiest and most delicious herbal treats—and they make wonderful gifts, too. Many different herbs, spices, and herbs and spices in combination can be used to flavor honey. Make sure that none of the herbal material has been sprayed.
Here are some ideas to experiment with. To each cup of honey, use one of the following herbs, in the approximate amounts suggested. Or you can combine herbs—if you do, reduce the amounts proportionally (for example, 2 cinnamon basil leaves and 2 cinnamon sticks):
½ cup fragrant rose petals
4 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers
3-4 lemon or rose geranium leaves
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
4 cinnamon basil leaves
4-5 cinnamon sticks
3 teaspoons orange zest or lemon zest
In a nonreactive saucepan, heat the honey gently. Put the herbs in a clean jar and pour the honey over them. Cap tightly and let sit for a week or two before using. Wonderful on waffles, pancakes, toast, ice cream, and fruit.
Learn more about bees and honey:
Honey: From Hive to Honeypot: A Celebration of Bees and their Bounty, by Sue Style
The neatest way to separate beeswax from honey-comb is to tie the comb up [when the honey has been removed] in a linen or woolen bag; place it in a kettle of cold water, and hang it over the fire. As the water heats, the wax melts, and rises to the surface, while all the impurities remain in the bag. It is well to put a few pebbles in the bag, to keep it from floating.
—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833
Isn’t it funny
> How a bear likes honey?
Buzz, buzz, buzz,
I wonder why he does.
—A. A. MILNE, WINNIE-THE-POOH, 1926
SEPTEMBER 2
In some calendars, the Celtic month of Vines (Brambles) begins today (September 2-29).
The bramble trees were: the dog-rose; bramble; broom; heather; ivy; vine. . . .
—JACQUELINE MEMORY PATERSON, TREE WISDOM
Brambles
The bramble “trees” were not the most lordly of the Celtic trees, but one—the dog rose (Rosa canina)—was useful, as well as beautiful. It is said that this beautiful wild rose derived its name from the ancient tradition that the root would cure a bite from a mad dog. More likely, it was originally called the dag rose (dag meaning “dagger”), for its sharp thorns, and the name was changed to “dog” by people who did not understand the reference.
The dog rose produced a valuable fruit, the rose hip (the seed pod that forms when the flower has dropped away), which was esteemed for its flavor, its medicinal qualities, and its magical properties. When fruit was not readily available, the tart, spicy rose hip would have been a tasty treat, especially steeped in a tea. Dried and powdered and taken as a medicine, rose hips were used to treat a variety of ailments, among them diarrhea and dysentery and “weak stomachs.” (Now, we know that they are a superb source of vitamin C.) Magically, rose hips were strung and worn as a necklace to attract love, while rose hip tea was believed to increase one’s prophetic powers.
If your roses produce hips (many modern roses do not), they can be made into a delicious jam, jelly, marmalade, puree, syrup—and even soup! And of course, you can add them (chopped) to that cup of herbal tea you’re brewing, especially if you’re expecting to make a few prophesies.
ROSE HIP SYRUP
4 cups rose hips
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
Wash rose hips and remove stems. Boil hips and water for 20 minutes in a covered glass or enamel saucepan. Strain, and return the juice to the pan. Add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and boil for five minutes. Cool and store in refrigerator. An especially tasty treat: ½ cup rose hip syrup stirred into 3 cups applesauce!
Explore other old-fashioned things to do with roses:
Rose Recipes from Olden Times, by Eleanour Sinclair Rohde
SEPTEMBER 3
If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?
—G. K. CHESTERTON
September’s Theme Garden: A Zodiac Garden
There are several ways to design and plant a Zodiac Garden. You might, for example, choose to create a small garden of just those herbs that are ruled by your Sun sign. If you’re a Taurus, for instance, you might have violets, roses, daisies, plantain, horehound, and thyme—the herbs listed for Taurus in the entry for April 20. If your Moon is in Aries, add one or two of the Mars-ruled Aries herbs; if your rising sign is in Cancer, add another herb from that group! You could also design and make, or purchase, a special symbol designating your Sun sign: a large flat rock or a brick, painted with your sign, works beautifully for this. If your garden is planted against a fence or a wall, your Sun sign could be painted on the wall.
Another kind of Zodiac Garden—one you might see at an herb farm or horticultural center, for instance—is larger and more ambitious. A large circular garden is divided (with planks, bricks, rocks, or narrow pathways) into twelve wedge-shaped sections, one for each of the signs of the zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each of the sections contains herbs that are associated with that sign. A birdbath, a gazing globe, a sundial, or an armillary (an upright sundial) are all perfect centerpieces for such a garden. If you plant a garden of this design, you could designate your Sun, Moon, and rising signs with markers of your choice.
Even if you don’t believe (as earlier peoples did) that the stars influence our lives, a Zodiac Garden honors the historical and traditional associations of herbs, the planets, and human experience, and acknowledges the important belief that all things are connected in a universe in which we are all parts of some larger whole.
Read more about herbs and astrology:
Herbs of the Zodiac, by Bertha Reppert, available from Rosemary House, Mechanicsburg, PA, www.rosemaryhouse.com
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.
—WALT WHITMAN
SEPTEMBER 4
I forked the bacon out of the skillet onto a plate covered with a paper towel. We don’t often eat bacon at home, but I operate on the hypothesis that when you’re dining under an open sky, fat grams don’t count. I poured out most of the grease, cracked a couple of eggs into the little that was left, let them cook for a minute, then slopped a glug of water into the hot skillet and clapped on the lid. Eggs cooked this way are steamed, sort of. If I’d been at home, I would have added fresh parsley and garlic chives, but McQuaid’s camping pantry doesn’t include such niceties.
—INDIGO DYING: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY
Garlic Chives
There’s garlic (Allium sativum), and there are chives (A. schoenoprasum)—and then there are garlic chives (A. tuberosum, also called Chinese chives), which are brightening my garden with pretty globes of starry white flowers, dearly loved by the bees. For months now, I’ve been snipping the flat, narrow green leaves into salads, omelets, soups, and mashed potatoes, where they add color and a subtle garlic taste. The tender young leaves are best to cook with, so it’s a good idea to shear the entire clump back to the ground every three or four weeks, to make sure that the leaves don’t get tough and bitter. You can dry the snipped leaves for wintertime use, or pop them into small plastic bags and freeze them.
Now, about those tiny black seeds that will inevitably be produced by those pretty white flowers. You can collect them by tapping the drying seed head onto a plate, then sprout the seeds for spicy salad sprouts. Or you can clip the seed heads while they’re still flowering, dry them in paper bags, shake out the seeds, and add the pretty heads to your herbal wreaths. Or you can let Nature take its course, in which case you will have more garlic chives than you know what to do with. (Of course, they do make lovely passalong plants.) In cold regions, they’ll die back to the ground and pop up again in the spring. Every two or three years, dig and divide the clump.
Oh, by the way: Chinese herbalists use garlic chives to stimulate the appetite, improve digestion, and fight fatigue—another reason to plant and enjoy this ornamental culinary herb.
Read about the Allium allies:
Garlic, Onion, and Other Alliums, by Ellen Spector Platt
The juice of Onions mix’t with the decoction of Penniroyal . . . anointed upon a pild [bare] or bald head in the sun, bringeth the haire againe very speedily.
—JOHN GERARD, THE HERBAL, 1597
SEPTEMBER 5
“Oh, wow!” Ruby gasped. “Ivy, these are beautiful !”
I pulled in my breath. Before us lay a dozen different botanical prints, in exquisite shades of greens and pastels, all on fine ivory paper. I picked up a print and studied it carefully. “Why, this looks as if it were made from an actual sprig of yarrow!” I picked up another. “And here’s thyme. How gorgeous!”
“Do you think so?” Ivy asked, looking pleased. “I really enjoy making them. And yes, they’re plant prints, made by inking the plant material and pressing it on paper. It’s a very old art—the earliest example I know of is found in one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s books.”
—“IVY’S WILD, WONDERFUL WEEDS,” IN AN UNTHYMELY
DEATH AND OTHER GARDEN MYSTERIES
Plant Printing
Plant printing, described by Laura Donnelly Bethmann in her book, Nature Printing with Herbs, Fruits & Flowers, is a lovely way to preserve the herbs you’ve grown in your garden. Start by collecting some of your favorite garden plants. Fern, rosemary,
sage, thyme, parsley, dandelion, oregano—these and others make beautiful prints. Once you’ve collected them, press them in a plant press or between the pages of a phone book for a week or so. When you’re ready to print, assemble these items:
newspapers
water-soluble ink such as Speedball (it’s best to start with one color, say, green)
a flat plate or piece of glass or tile the pressed plants (make sure they’re clean) an artist’s brush tweezers
a few sheets of printmaking or art paper (your handmade paper would be nice!)
a few sheets of non-textured paper towel