Around here at The Essential Herbal, we usually think of February and March as "the dead" of winter. In the past, that has been the case. The Mar/Apr issue is all but out the door, and there isn't a festival or plant sale for months. So that would normally mean lots of reading, cleaning the house, and winter snoozes. This year that doesn't seem to be happening.
It started out several months ago, when Sarah Liberta asked if we'd come down and do an herb program in Baton Rouge in the beginning of May. I've been promising Sarah for (literally) years, so decided this was the year. It should be lots of fun, and I'll post more details as the time approaches.
Then of course we wound up taking part in the Farm Show. That seriously cut into our down time, right from the git go.
Little by little, the calendar is starting to fill up.
There's a wholesale presentation on the 11th.
A one-day trip to NYC on the 15th.
On the 21st, we're going to try a daytime class - incense making - at Radiance (717-290-1517 to register) at 1 pm. I've never done one in the daytime, so it should be interesting. There are already some sign ups, so if you're in the area, it is $12 and you'll get to take home some cones that you've made yourself from powders of wood, resin, and botanicals.
March looks deceptively empty, but I know that is the month that wholesale orders start to pelt my sister's soap business. We'll be up to our elbows with shrinkwrap, packing materials, and boxes.
Right now it seems that everyone on the Yahoo list is reading (or re-reading) the Outlander series. I've just begun the first book, but everytime I settle in to read my eyes fall shut.
Last week we were yakking about chickweed. It made me remember the 8 ounces of tincture I made up last year, and since I've gotten seriously involved in getting in shape for the coming gardening season. So, that's part of the plan. Let's see if it helps, shall we?
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Herbal Puzzles With Words
In each issue of The Essential Herbal magazine, we put together an herbal crossword puzzle. Occasionally we slip in a Word Scramble, or a Word Search, but usually it is a crossword. The herbal word puzzles are usually linked to the season, or like the one below, may be specific to a particular interest. We like to think that there are groups out there using them in their herb meetings, bus trips, and including them in various hand-outs (with proper credit given, of course). The layout of this blog doesn't allow for the size needed for a crossword, so a Word Scramble will be offered. If you're looking for something like this for your herb gathering, email me. You must give credit to The Essential Herbal magazine, but otherwise, it is free to use.
Herbal Word Scramble (Wild Edibles Foraging)
1. LROEM.............................................. _ _ _ _ _
2. AEUNLSPR................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. DWLI OERS.................................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4. RRSETWSCEA........................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
5. LSMBA TRQRUAES ............ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6. EELLU BNGBOIS ................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
7. MSARP.............................................. _ _ _ _ _
8. RAASFSSAS............................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
9. ALSISYF ....................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _
10. ICBRH .............................................. _ _ _ _ _
11. TITACSLA................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
12. CBLAK NLWASTU................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
13. ANECILGA................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
14. IRNTWFGDCALI.................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
15. WEDSEEA....................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _
16. DFLIE IUEDG............................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
17. BLEEYRERRD............................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
18. RCOLEV........................................... _ _ _ _ _ _
19. BCLYAKERRB........................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
20. EPPALAYM................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
21. EIKEHDCWC................................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
22. EPAML ............................................... _ _ _ _ _
23. DFDDLEHIEA............................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
24. YRBRLEMU.................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
25. RUBEDD............................................ _ _ _ _ _ _
from The Essential Herbal magazine, www.essentialherbal.com
1354 N. Strickler Rd. Manheim, PA 17545
The answers will be posted in the comments section.
Last night we got about an inch of snow. Since a cold front was headed in (and seems to have arrived), I'm hoping it is enough to give the plants outside a little bit of insulation. I remember as a child, being perplexed about citrus growers spraying water over developing fruit to protect them from a cold snap - until someone explained that it kept them at 32 degrees, protecting them somewhat from colder temperatures in the short term.
When I woke up in the silent house this morning, it suddenly dawned on me that the snow changed the way the house feels. There is a different smell. Fresh, clean, and crisp. Is that possible? I've always known the smell of rain, but is it possible that there is a smell of snow? It made me think back to other times when there was a LOT of snow. Yes! I think there is a scent to snow. Not just wet clothes and hot chocolate, not the smell of fear-of-driving-in-that-stuff, but a real, pure scent. The quality of light is different too. Walking through the dining room at dawn, the light filtered in through the windows and if I hadn't already known it had snowed, I think just the difference in the light would have told me.
It was good to have a bit of winter. Molly and I had to go somewhere while it was snowing last evening, and we joked about this being the "onion snow". The onion snow is the last bit of snow for a season that signals when it is time to put in the onion sets. We were only half kidding. The groundhog said winter is over.
Herbal Word Scramble (Wild Edibles Foraging)
1. LROEM.............................................. _ _ _ _ _
2. AEUNLSPR................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. DWLI OERS.................................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4. RRSETWSCEA........................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
5. LSMBA TRQRUAES ............ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6. EELLU BNGBOIS ................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
7. MSARP.............................................. _ _ _ _ _
8. RAASFSSAS............................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
9. ALSISYF ....................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _
10. ICBRH .............................................. _ _ _ _ _
11. TITACSLA................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
12. CBLAK NLWASTU................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
13. ANECILGA................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
14. IRNTWFGDCALI.................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
15. WEDSEEA....................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _
16. DFLIE IUEDG............................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
17. BLEEYRERRD............................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
18. RCOLEV........................................... _ _ _ _ _ _
19. BCLYAKERRB........................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
20. EPPALAYM................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
21. EIKEHDCWC................................ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
22. EPAML ............................................... _ _ _ _ _
23. DFDDLEHIEA............................. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
24. YRBRLEMU.................................... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
25. RUBEDD............................................ _ _ _ _ _ _
from The Essential Herbal magazine, www.essentialherbal.com
1354 N. Strickler Rd. Manheim, PA 17545
The answers will be posted in the comments section.
Last night we got about an inch of snow. Since a cold front was headed in (and seems to have arrived), I'm hoping it is enough to give the plants outside a little bit of insulation. I remember as a child, being perplexed about citrus growers spraying water over developing fruit to protect them from a cold snap - until someone explained that it kept them at 32 degrees, protecting them somewhat from colder temperatures in the short term.
When I woke up in the silent house this morning, it suddenly dawned on me that the snow changed the way the house feels. There is a different smell. Fresh, clean, and crisp. Is that possible? I've always known the smell of rain, but is it possible that there is a smell of snow? It made me think back to other times when there was a LOT of snow. Yes! I think there is a scent to snow. Not just wet clothes and hot chocolate, not the smell of fear-of-driving-in-that-stuff, but a real, pure scent. The quality of light is different too. Walking through the dining room at dawn, the light filtered in through the windows and if I hadn't already known it had snowed, I think just the difference in the light would have told me.
It was good to have a bit of winter. Molly and I had to go somewhere while it was snowing last evening, and we joked about this being the "onion snow". The onion snow is the last bit of snow for a season that signals when it is time to put in the onion sets. We were only half kidding. The groundhog said winter is over.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Wild weekend full of postings! and the rest of the article
The other day I was feeling like our Yahoo! list was getting a little boring. It's been two years, and what was once a vital, dynamic group had gotten quiet and lack-luster. So, I wrote a note asking the listmates what they'd like to differently.
Wow! What a group! There has so much activity on there the last couple of days that it is overwhelming. On top of that, it seems to have energized me to hear from so many people.
The boxes of stuff left over from the Farm Show got moved around and some were even put away. I ran the vacuum, got out of the house, did laundry, and even put a little BB King on the cd player. That might not sound like much, but this virus had been sucking the life out of me. Two weeks now, and it is still clinging to me like a stench.
It was very gratifying to know that so many people were in about the same place I was. All we needed was a little poke to wake us up. I'm sure it will quiet down again somewhat until our gardens start doing what they do, but I'm relieved to know they still care.
And for the last two additions in the Winter Blues article from the January/February 2006 issue of The Essential Herbal:
g I have been quiet and learning a lot from everyone. What I do to beat the winter blahs otherwise known as Winter Blues - last year I enrolled in a "Life Writing" class which started the first week in January. I am still taking the class. It is for seniors and quite informal. Not tests, no studying, just writing and enjoying life. I won't be taking the spring and summer class 2006. We have a greenhouse business and we start growing in mid Feb. and along about Mid March, we are out there for several hours each and every day. I did take the class last spring quarter and it got a bit hectic in May.
What I did before this new adventure was to find something completely different from what I had been doing the other 3 seasons of the year. I have yet to try tatting. It has been on the list for more years than I care to remember. Many winters ago was my soap making project and it has stuck with me ever since. Make goat milk soap and the tallow which I render out from our freezer beef.
These things keep me from thinking that it is winter as I am too busy to think about it. That is until I have to go out and feed the goats and haul warm water to them. We still don't have electricity to their barn (we moved here in '01) so that has not been a priority. It gets me out there to check on them at least 3 times a day to make sure they have good water. It gives Duke (dog) time to get the "stink blown off" too as he goes out with me to check on the goats plus check the area for messages (just in case other dogs left any as they came wandering by).
I may have snow on my roof but I won't admit to being old. I try to learn something new all the time.
LaVerle - NE WA state
g I lived in England for 4 years and never had a problem with Seasonal Affective Disorder until the last year there. Once out of the area, it resolved. But come February in the Northeast, we all have cabin fever.
Lemon balm tea has a very uplifting quality to it. We mix it with chamomile in our Gentle Soother tea for an excellent blend for its relaxing, yet light anti-depressant qualities.
Sunny Days Room Spray is another product we make, but you can make your own with select essential oils. Choose EO's such as lemon, basil, grapefruit, etc. These have been shown to affect mood. Sit in front of a full spectrum light. Make sure the light hits your forehead, so the pineal gland is stimulated. You may have to remove the lampshade for this. There are lightbulbs available in most supermarkets that have full spectrum light in the $5-7 price range.
Move around! The rhythms of winter make us want to hibernate. However, it will help depression if you participate in some sort of movement - tai chi, yoga, or brisk walks in the winter sun.
St. John's wort tincture is a time-proven help for SAD. However, do not mix it with pharmaceutical anti-depressants unless under a qualified health care practitioner's guidance.
Meditate.
Try Albizzia tincture. More and more research is showing Albizzia to be "the happiness herb". Most herbs for depression bring someone to a flat affect. Albizzia actually helps promote lightheartedness and happiness.
Create with herbs. Winter is a wonderful time to test new herbal recipes, try a new herbal craft, or plan spring's herb garden!
Betty
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
and a bit more for winter misery
the rest of the list article from the Jan/Feb '06 issue of The Essential Herbal:
When I've had enough of New York snow and I'm craving green things, I like to plant a handful of wheatgrass seeds in a large flowerpot. As the grass grows at an amazing pace, I enjoy "mowing" this lawn with scissors. It feels like summertime in my window. And hey, the wheatgrass clippings are nutritious, too!
Geri www.ny-attitude.com
Keeping the winter blues away is not always an easy thing for me. My husband has always worked a night shift, and although I have a child at home, there is nothing like having another adult to talk to in the evenings. So, I try to make it a point to get together with a friend one evening, at least every other week, and I love to sit and chat and drink herbal tea. One of my favorite teas is Citrus Green Tea, which is high in Vitamin C and antioxidants.
1 cup green rooibus tea (no caffeine!)
1 T. each elderberries, rosehips, lemon, and orange peel
Mix together and store in a glass jar. Use 1 tea ball per cup of tea.
Pam www.healingherbals.net
I do a lot of crocheting in the winter. Last year I made 2 afghans. It's my slow time. I like to rethink my business, experiment with new ideas, and get ready for upcoming summer shows... and get those taxes done. Seems like I have very little time for the blues. I seem to be just as busy in the winter as in the summer. I need to find time to relax, rather than have too much time on my hands. The snow doesn't effect me like others. It is very beautiful. I just don't like the cold. We feed the birds in the winter, and I like watching them at the feeder. As for herbs, I cook with them, have a cup or 2 of herb tea in the evening and use them in my products.
Jennie www.jentosoaps.com
My winter blues solutions aren't even remotely original - I just hide under warm blankets, snuggle with my cats, watch movies, read books, and bake and cook and drink lots of warm drinks. And while I do like to make and use my own tea blends, I also like to purchase ones from the store too - they always tempt me! So here are a couple of my own hot drink inventions using store-bought teas:
Quickie Mulled Cider Tea
1 cup Apple Cider (this recipe is extra good with cranberry/apple cider or raspberry/apple cider)
1 bag Cardamom Cinnamon tea from Republic of Tea (or any good chai blend)
honey to taste
Microwave cider with teabag in it. Let steep for a few minutes, and add honey to taste. If you can find it, a cinnamon-flavored honey is divine in this!
Super Sleepy Tea
1 bag Tazo "Calm" tea (perfect for those of us who want to relax but don't like the taste of chamomile)
1/2 tsp. lemon balm hydrosol
honey to taste
Brew tea to your liking. Add 1/2 tsp. lemon balm hydrosol, and honey to taste. Very mellow and relaxing.
Maggie www.prairielandherbs.com
My winter blues chaser will be much different this year than in years past. During the past 5 years the greenhouses were always empty of plants until about Feb or March, so there wasn't much to be done. I would usually grow a few plants or start seeds under grow lights in January just to have something "green" to do. This year however, it is going to be much different. Both greenhouses are full of plants that will have to be nurtured and groomed all winter. Heaters and water pipes will have to be maintained along with seedlings and baby plants. Nothing like spending a cold January day in a warm and toasty greenhouse full of herbs and scented geraniums!
Michele www.possumcreekherb.com
There are a couple more I'll add tomorrow. We get such great ideas from the readers and writers of the magazine!
When I've had enough of New York snow and I'm craving green things, I like to plant a handful of wheatgrass seeds in a large flowerpot. As the grass grows at an amazing pace, I enjoy "mowing" this lawn with scissors. It feels like summertime in my window. And hey, the wheatgrass clippings are nutritious, too!
Geri www.ny-attitude.com
Keeping the winter blues away is not always an easy thing for me. My husband has always worked a night shift, and although I have a child at home, there is nothing like having another adult to talk to in the evenings. So, I try to make it a point to get together with a friend one evening, at least every other week, and I love to sit and chat and drink herbal tea. One of my favorite teas is Citrus Green Tea, which is high in Vitamin C and antioxidants.
1 cup green rooibus tea (no caffeine!)
1 T. each elderberries, rosehips, lemon, and orange peel
Mix together and store in a glass jar. Use 1 tea ball per cup of tea.
Pam www.healingherbals.net
I do a lot of crocheting in the winter. Last year I made 2 afghans. It's my slow time. I like to rethink my business, experiment with new ideas, and get ready for upcoming summer shows... and get those taxes done. Seems like I have very little time for the blues. I seem to be just as busy in the winter as in the summer. I need to find time to relax, rather than have too much time on my hands. The snow doesn't effect me like others. It is very beautiful. I just don't like the cold. We feed the birds in the winter, and I like watching them at the feeder. As for herbs, I cook with them, have a cup or 2 of herb tea in the evening and use them in my products.
Jennie www.jentosoaps.com
My winter blues solutions aren't even remotely original - I just hide under warm blankets, snuggle with my cats, watch movies, read books, and bake and cook and drink lots of warm drinks. And while I do like to make and use my own tea blends, I also like to purchase ones from the store too - they always tempt me! So here are a couple of my own hot drink inventions using store-bought teas:
Quickie Mulled Cider Tea
1 cup Apple Cider (this recipe is extra good with cranberry/apple cider or raspberry/apple cider)
1 bag Cardamom Cinnamon tea from Republic of Tea (or any good chai blend)
honey to taste
Microwave cider with teabag in it. Let steep for a few minutes, and add honey to taste. If you can find it, a cinnamon-flavored honey is divine in this!
Super Sleepy Tea
1 bag Tazo "Calm" tea (perfect for those of us who want to relax but don't like the taste of chamomile)
1/2 tsp. lemon balm hydrosol
honey to taste
Brew tea to your liking. Add 1/2 tsp. lemon balm hydrosol, and honey to taste. Very mellow and relaxing.
Maggie www.prairielandherbs.com
My winter blues chaser will be much different this year than in years past. During the past 5 years the greenhouses were always empty of plants until about Feb or March, so there wasn't much to be done. I would usually grow a few plants or start seeds under grow lights in January just to have something "green" to do. This year however, it is going to be much different. Both greenhouses are full of plants that will have to be nurtured and groomed all winter. Heaters and water pipes will have to be maintained along with seedlings and baby plants. Nothing like spending a cold January day in a warm and toasty greenhouse full of herbs and scented geraniums!
Michele www.possumcreekherb.com
There are a couple more I'll add tomorrow. We get such great ideas from the readers and writers of the magazine!
Monday, January 22, 2007
shaking the winter blues - naturally (excerpt from The Essential Herbal)
The Essential Herbal has a special feature each issue where we ask a question of our readers, and publish the response. In the Jan/Feb '06 issue of The Essential Herbal, we asked for "favorite ways to deal with the winter blues."
Seems like we could use a little of that right now, so here are some of the responses:
gI love to use Lemon Balm to shake the winter blahs. No matter how deep the snow, I can go out and dig down to the ground and there are always a few leaves still above the ground. Those leaves always reassure me that spring will come again and I pick them to wash my face with. It's always sure to shoo the blues - Susanna Reppert-Brill www.TheRosemaryHouse.com
gWhenever I am feeling the winter blues, I take advantage of the cold weather by relaxing in a hot, moisturizing bath. There is nothing more luxurious than a soothing soak. Here is a recipe for moisturizing bath melts that I love to use in the winter:
2 parts shea butter
1 part sweet almond oil
colorant (I like to use mica powder)
Essential oil or fragrance oil (about 2-3 drops of fragrance per oz. of butter/oil mix)
Melt the shea butter over low heat (a double boiler is great for this). Once melted, slowly add the sweet almond oil. Mix well.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Not too much, it should still stay in liquid form.
Add a small amount of colorant and mix well. Add more color if desired. Add fragrance and mix well. Pour into molds. I like to use candy molds for this, but you can use ice cube trays.
Cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. At htis point they are ready to use. Just pop them out of the molds. Dissolve the melts in running water and enjoy!
Sam Corwin, www.saponisoaps.com
gThough I love Spring most of all, I don't really mind winter that much as I've always made sure to have a "peeping garden" underneath a window on the south side of our home. Days I cannot get out, I'm there with my nose stuck on the window pane, sipping herbal tea and peeping away to see what might be showing some signs of spring. Here in Roanoke, my little garden includes pansies, violas, violets, crocus, early daffodils, periwinkle, spirea, rosemary, boxwood, lavender, and lambs ear. There's an herb garden sign, a bird bath and some pretty rock, too. Now if the snow has covered my peeping garden, my "chase away the blues time" will be spent in my rocking chair with my herbal tea and rug hooking in my "studio" (that's fancy for my sewing/craft room. Even if the sun is not shining, the grow lights over the baker's rack holding my house plants almost make it seem sunny. Jean, Roanoke VA
gI can't think ov anything better than baking a fresh loaf of my Grandma's Cottage Cheese Dilly Bread to kick the winter blues (or any blues). It seems that food - especially bread - is so comforting. A pot of homemade soup with this bread is unbelievable! I just made it recently with some freshly dried dillseed from our garden.
Cottage Cheese Dilly Bread
2 cups cottage cheese - warmed
4 T sugar
2 T grated onion
2 T butter
2 tsp dillseed
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
5 cups (or more) flour (I use a blend of freshly ground whole wheat and organic white)
Mix yeast and warm water. Mix first 8 ingredients well with a mixer and add yeast mixture. Begin adding flour and knead. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and divide into pans. Don't overfill pans - this bread rises more while baking.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes - less for smaller pans.
Marsha Bauer www.LaurelCountryHerbs.com
and one last one for this installment....
gI keep away the winter blues by planning next year's garden and projects. Every year I try to do one new thing in the garden... add a fence, plant blueberries, add an herb bed, etc. All year long I go through my garden books and tear out the pictures I like, and tuck them away in a folder, waiting to be pulled out for planning during the cold winter months. This year I want to "scrapbook" next year's garden with pictures of outbuildings I want, yard art, and flowers/herbs to plant. I am going to have before and after pictures.
Karen Creel www.GardenChick.com
I'll post some more tomorrow.
Seems like we could use a little of that right now, so here are some of the responses:
gI love to use Lemon Balm to shake the winter blahs. No matter how deep the snow, I can go out and dig down to the ground and there are always a few leaves still above the ground. Those leaves always reassure me that spring will come again and I pick them to wash my face with. It's always sure to shoo the blues - Susanna Reppert-Brill www.TheRosemaryHouse.com
gWhenever I am feeling the winter blues, I take advantage of the cold weather by relaxing in a hot, moisturizing bath. There is nothing more luxurious than a soothing soak. Here is a recipe for moisturizing bath melts that I love to use in the winter:
2 parts shea butter
1 part sweet almond oil
colorant (I like to use mica powder)
Essential oil or fragrance oil (about 2-3 drops of fragrance per oz. of butter/oil mix)
Melt the shea butter over low heat (a double boiler is great for this). Once melted, slowly add the sweet almond oil. Mix well.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Not too much, it should still stay in liquid form.
Add a small amount of colorant and mix well. Add more color if desired. Add fragrance and mix well. Pour into molds. I like to use candy molds for this, but you can use ice cube trays.
Cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. At htis point they are ready to use. Just pop them out of the molds. Dissolve the melts in running water and enjoy!
Sam Corwin, www.saponisoaps.com
gThough I love Spring most of all, I don't really mind winter that much as I've always made sure to have a "peeping garden" underneath a window on the south side of our home. Days I cannot get out, I'm there with my nose stuck on the window pane, sipping herbal tea and peeping away to see what might be showing some signs of spring. Here in Roanoke, my little garden includes pansies, violas, violets, crocus, early daffodils, periwinkle, spirea, rosemary, boxwood, lavender, and lambs ear. There's an herb garden sign, a bird bath and some pretty rock, too. Now if the snow has covered my peeping garden, my "chase away the blues time" will be spent in my rocking chair with my herbal tea and rug hooking in my "studio" (that's fancy for my sewing/craft room. Even if the sun is not shining, the grow lights over the baker's rack holding my house plants almost make it seem sunny. Jean, Roanoke VA
gI can't think ov anything better than baking a fresh loaf of my Grandma's Cottage Cheese Dilly Bread to kick the winter blues (or any blues). It seems that food - especially bread - is so comforting. A pot of homemade soup with this bread is unbelievable! I just made it recently with some freshly dried dillseed from our garden.
Cottage Cheese Dilly Bread
2 cups cottage cheese - warmed
4 T sugar
2 T grated onion
2 T butter
2 tsp dillseed
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
5 cups (or more) flour (I use a blend of freshly ground whole wheat and organic white)
Mix yeast and warm water. Mix first 8 ingredients well with a mixer and add yeast mixture. Begin adding flour and knead. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and divide into pans. Don't overfill pans - this bread rises more while baking.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes - less for smaller pans.
Marsha Bauer www.LaurelCountryHerbs.com
and one last one for this installment....
gI keep away the winter blues by planning next year's garden and projects. Every year I try to do one new thing in the garden... add a fence, plant blueberries, add an herb bed, etc. All year long I go through my garden books and tear out the pictures I like, and tuck them away in a folder, waiting to be pulled out for planning during the cold winter months. This year I want to "scrapbook" next year's garden with pictures of outbuildings I want, yard art, and flowers/herbs to plant. I am going to have before and after pictures.
Karen Creel www.GardenChick.com
I'll post some more tomorrow.
Before the Freeze
These pictures were taken last Friday before winter arrived. It has since turned very cold - our "normal" weather is finally here. I've been reading about the mid-west and south-west with snow and ice, and a friend in Los Angeles wrote about the freezing temps and not having heat in her house! By that, I mean there is no system for heating her house to begin with, not that the power is out. Then there were the 118 mph winds across Europe... a very strange January indeed.The buds in the picture are from an ornamental cherry tree. Tiny leaves are formed and WERE ready to unfurl. The freezing weather will tuck the tree back into hibernation, and it will re-bud in the spring. I took a walk around to see what else was going on. The rosemary was also getting ready to bloom, and I have no idea what will happen with that. There was lots of plantain and dandelion out there, and as you can see, the lawn has not turned brown yet. It is now covered with a very thin layer of snow.
Miss Molly turned 16 the other day. I can't believe it. I was secretly hoping that she wouldn't be itching to get her driver's license, but no... that is on her to-do list. What a fast 16 years that was! She no longer thinks I know everything. In fact, I barely know anything! Thank goodness she's patient with me in my dodderage.
She's still a kid enough to be tickled with penguins on the cake, and she scooped up the candles as a keepsake. As a salute to her "herbal heritage" she requested pasta with pesto for her birthday dinner. I snuck some of the chickweed into the pesto because I just couldn't resist all of that lush growth outside. Lots of basil and garlic, with just a handful of chickweed. The adults were suspicious, but cousin Rob liked it. He even asked for instructions so he could make it himself.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Essential Herbs at our house
It came as no surprise to find myself coming down with a bug. I was run-down, had talked to thousands of people, and was sitting in a draft for a week.
The first thing was to start on echinacea and elderberry tinctures. After a couple of days the congestion moved into the chest, and it is now starting to clear.
In the meantime, Molly started out with a stomach bug. I dropped a slice of crystallized ginger into her cup of herbal tea to settle her tummy. As she felt better, she started to munch on some baby carrots, and they really helped. I have no idea why they work, and haven't read up on it. All I know is that when I am feeling indigestion or heartburn, 4 or 5 of those small carrots make a bigger difference than an antacid would. Could it be the saliva? Maybe it just gives the stomach something more interesting to do than annoy me. In any case, it works for us. She seemed a little sniffly yesterday, so now she's on the echinacea/elderberry. We might add a little nettle tincture.
We also stocked up on fruit and vegetable juices. We've been eating lots of good, fresh food and staying away from junk.
There are so many nasty bugs around right now - probably made worse by the lack of freezing weather. All we can do is wash our hands frequently, avoid crowds, eat well, rest well, and hope for the best. Keep the herbal preparations that you know and use on hand. Drink lots of liquids, and be vigilant. Stopping them before they get a good hold on you is the best defense.
The first thing was to start on echinacea and elderberry tinctures. After a couple of days the congestion moved into the chest, and it is now starting to clear.
In the meantime, Molly started out with a stomach bug. I dropped a slice of crystallized ginger into her cup of herbal tea to settle her tummy. As she felt better, she started to munch on some baby carrots, and they really helped. I have no idea why they work, and haven't read up on it. All I know is that when I am feeling indigestion or heartburn, 4 or 5 of those small carrots make a bigger difference than an antacid would. Could it be the saliva? Maybe it just gives the stomach something more interesting to do than annoy me. In any case, it works for us. She seemed a little sniffly yesterday, so now she's on the echinacea/elderberry. We might add a little nettle tincture.
We also stocked up on fruit and vegetable juices. We've been eating lots of good, fresh food and staying away from junk.
There are so many nasty bugs around right now - probably made worse by the lack of freezing weather. All we can do is wash our hands frequently, avoid crowds, eat well, rest well, and hope for the best. Keep the herbal preparations that you know and use on hand. Drink lots of liquids, and be vigilant. Stopping them before they get a good hold on you is the best defense.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
the opposite of listless
At first I was going to write about this stupid bug that has me feeling listless. After breathing in who-knows-what for a whole week, I got pretty sick. Regular dosing of elderberry and echinacea seem to have knocked the bug out (well, almost - cough, cough), leaving me confused as to whether I'm sick or just still exhausted. I like to know what to blame things on.
Now Molly's home sick too.
But then I got to thinking about the word "listless". Of all the descriptions of what life is like right now, listless would not do. There are lists everywhere!
There is a list of people we need to follow up with from last week.
The list for the grocery store.
The list of orders that need to be packed for the post office.
The list of bills that have been patiently waiting their turn.
The list of small but important details that need to go into the magazine.
The list to prepare for Molly's 16th birthday on Friday(!!!).
The emails I haven't gotten around to answering from last week.
A dozen renewal postcards that didn't get out with the main batch...
Oh. See? It's a compulsion, but I am certainly not listless!
Now Molly's home sick too.
But then I got to thinking about the word "listless". Of all the descriptions of what life is like right now, listless would not do. There are lists everywhere!
There is a list of people we need to follow up with from last week.
The list for the grocery store.
The list of orders that need to be packed for the post office.
The list of bills that have been patiently waiting their turn.
The list of small but important details that need to go into the magazine.
The list to prepare for Molly's 16th birthday on Friday(!!!).
The emails I haven't gotten around to answering from last week.
A dozen renewal postcards that didn't get out with the main batch...
Oh. See? It's a compulsion, but I am certainly not listless!
Monday, January 15, 2007
home again, home again, jiggity jog
The 91st PA Farm Show is finally history, and I am home, sweet home.All business aside, I have never been so exhausted in my life. Between the poor air quality (we shared the air with 1000's of animals and humans), noise levels, open doors to the outside chill, and food, it was a tough week.
We met a lot of wonderful people, though. Our favorite new friend is Dennie Huber. He is a balloon artist, and he kept the under-18 crowd happy. He is also one of the nicest men in the world. Sitting from 9 until 6 each day, pumping out thousands of balloon creations, this guy never lost his cool. Even when a child lost his lunch on Dennie's shoes, he kept smiling and twisting, never missing a beat. He was inspirational.
There were all sorts of sights and sounds that I will never forget. One in particular was the groups of kids
wearing hats that look like hotdogs. There were also animal masks, balloon hats, and - this one really cracked me up - people willingly wearing the hats they used to make us wear when we worked food service. The chickens and pigs were one hallway over, and in the morning those guys sure could make a racket!
There were all sorts of sights and sounds that I will never forget. One in particular was the groups of kids
wearing hats that look like hotdogs. There were also animal masks, balloon hats, and - this one really cracked me up - people willingly wearing the hats they used to make us wear when we worked food service. The chickens and pigs were one hallway over, and in the morning those guys sure could make a racket!There were lots of informational booths, and one that I found particularly interesting was the gourd booth. They gave us some packets of seeds, but we won't find out what they are until summer.
The kids came up and took care of the booth for us while we did our first soapmaking demonstration. They thought it was kind of fun. They were only there a little over an hour.
The kids came up and took care of the booth for us while we did our first soapmaking demonstration. They thought it was kind of fun. They were only there a little over an hour.All in all, it was an experience to remember. We met people from all over the world, and discovered that the making of biodiesel fuel is the real reason lye has become more difficult to obtain for the home soaper. Making biodiesel is very similar to soapmaking, and the makers of lye most likely see the packaging of small amounts as a poor business decision. Not meth labs, not terrorists, but fuel.
And now, we return to our regularly scheduled life.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
sleep deprived in Harrisburg
Heading into day 5 at the Farm Show, and I haven't been this sleep deprived since being a new mom almost 16 years ago. Of course, I was 16 years younger at the time...
We are having a pretty good time, taking pictures and writing down some of the funnier things people are saying to us.
The crowds are enormous, and last night I stepped outside for a moment for a breath of fresh air (I heard there was snow, and wanted to see!). The silence that fell when the door closed was just amazing. Being inside all the time, I wasn't aware of the din. There is a constant roar of human voices made up of thousands of people talking.
Sitting in our corner booth, we are seeing some funny stuff, and talking to some interesting people. I'll get back to you!
We are having a pretty good time, taking pictures and writing down some of the funnier things people are saying to us.
The crowds are enormous, and last night I stepped outside for a moment for a breath of fresh air (I heard there was snow, and wanted to see!). The silence that fell when the door closed was just amazing. Being inside all the time, I wasn't aware of the din. There is a constant roar of human voices made up of thousands of people talking.
Sitting in our corner booth, we are seeing some funny stuff, and talking to some interesting people. I'll get back to you!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Moonrise, etc.
The location of this home affords me with some of the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets I've ever viewed. Right now, I'm watching the pinks and purples on the billowing clouds of sunrise out the window of the office. Last night as I got home from the studio where we are finishing preparations for the Farm Show the moon was rising in front of the house, over the neighbor's. At the same time, the sun was setting to the back, and was at almost the exact same level in the sky. There isn't a day that passes without some vision outside to pause and watch. The other day it was a flock of bluebirds. I haven't seen the bluebirds for years. When Mom first moved into this house, they were always around, perching on the tips of the pine trees. She loved them. It seemed fortuitous to see them on New Year's Day, back on their posts.
Most of the last month or two has been spent getting stocked for the upcoming show. It feels like there has been nothing else - but of course that isn't true. In fact, today I am going to be working at Radiance while Sarah grabs a quick visit with her sister.I sometimes talk about the people at "my" post office. This is a picture of Paul. He just found out that his new uniforms have arrived and that he will not have to wear ties anymore. The gang at this post office is hilarious. Entering the office, there is the outer room with the locked boxes. Behind the boxes I often hear laughter and singing from the workers. You open a second door to get to the windows to buy postage. They pop around the wall, always grinning, always willing to include the customer in whatever happiness is going on. Now working on the magazine fulltime, the postal workers are some of the people I see the most, and they are almost like co-workers in my mind. This guy here... well, he has the most infectious mix of professionalism, knowledge, and high spirits ever to grace a counter.
Well - time to start another day. Let's see what this one brings!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Gardening Resolutions
Instead of fretting about the 10 teens that will be ravaging the house tonight, I've decided to daydream about next year's garden.
There is a whole new 8 foot wide "row" between the back fence and the trees. We are thinking it would be a good place for some plants. The patch to the right of the yard will be a corn field, and to the left, other veggies, like beans, peas, tomatoes, maybe beets, and who knows what all?
Early in the spring, I'll go find some elderberry babies.
This year, I will NOT plant them in the path of the watering hose. They would make a nice little hedge against part of the split rail fence, and there need to be enough for the birds and the family.
I will finish putting in the other half of the row of lavender.
I will distill the roses when they are in bloom.
We will make rose hip jelly.
The bayberries need to find a good spot in the woods.
The marshmallow is too close to the door, and spreads out into the walkway.
The flower bed in the front of the house needs a lot of work. This year, I won't let it get away from me.
Okay. That's enough. Maybe it would be easier to think about dancing teens.
There is a whole new 8 foot wide "row" between the back fence and the trees. We are thinking it would be a good place for some plants. The patch to the right of the yard will be a corn field, and to the left, other veggies, like beans, peas, tomatoes, maybe beets, and who knows what all?
Early in the spring, I'll go find some elderberry babies.
This year, I will NOT plant them in the path of the watering hose. They would make a nice little hedge against part of the split rail fence, and there need to be enough for the birds and the family.
I will finish putting in the other half of the row of lavender.
I will distill the roses when they are in bloom.
We will make rose hip jelly.
The bayberries need to find a good spot in the woods.
The marshmallow is too close to the door, and spreads out into the walkway.
The flower bed in the front of the house needs a lot of work. This year, I won't let it get away from me.
Okay. That's enough. Maybe it would be easier to think about dancing teens.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Let's See if This Works
It just dawned on me that the 8 days prior to the next deadline (Mar/Apr issue, deadline Jan 15), I will be almost completely incommunicado - working 12 hour days at a fair. That will leave very little time to respond to any email questions about the deadline and upcoming issue.
This should be interesting! I will send reminders out to everyone who would normally get one, but with the New Year holiday, they could fall amid piles of unread emails.
I'm kind of curious to see how it all pans out. I think it will be fine. We'll let you know :-).
This should be interesting! I will send reminders out to everyone who would normally get one, but with the New Year holiday, they could fall amid piles of unread emails.
I'm kind of curious to see how it all pans out. I think it will be fine. We'll let you know :-).
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Oh Tannenbaum!
Taking a break in the hustle and bustle of cooking and wrapping and last minute primping to write about our wonderful tree. This is a Concolor Fir. It has a fragrance that is a blend of balsam and citrus. Very fresh! The soft 1" needles are green on top and blue on the bottom. It is a gorgeous tree.
After the tree farm closed for the season, Molly and I went looking for a tree. They are all so pretty, so we decided to choose one that was all alone - meaning that it would have to be cut down anyway to make way for new planting or some other enterprise. We found this one. In the field, it appeared to be "typical" in height - around 7 feet.
HAH! Bob cut off about a foot from the bottom, and you can see that it is still scraping the ceiling. The angel is fastened onto the front of the top bough because she would have been mashed into the tree, otherwise. Now it didn't dawn on me until yesterday that the size of the tree makes a big difference in what is needed to decorate it. For the last 15-20 years, our trees have been smallish. 5' is plenty for me, but Molly wanted something bigger this year. We are only half done in this picture. Our smallish, handmade decorations are dwarfed by this tree! They disappear into the branches, and the tree - although heavily festooned - is in desperate need of some glitz. We went into the basement and found some of Mom's old decorations. She was the queen of gaudy when it came to the holidays. We added them this morning, and it helped.... some.
Tonight the table beside the tree will be covered with the buffet that we will share. I'm sneaking some chickweed pesto into the mix, but won't tell them until AFTER they eat it. I know they'll like it. We'll talk and laugh about things that are happening in our lives now, things that happened in the past, and at some point I'm sure we'll talk about how much we miss Mom. We always do. It seems, though, that the older we get, the more laughter there is. I'm thankful for that.
I'm an equal opportunity celebrater. It doesn't matter WHOSE holiday it is, I'm always game to celebrate. So on that note, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season, and a very happy and prosperous new year.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Essential Herbal Jan/Feb preview
It's taken me longer than usual to get the preview up for this issue. All I can say about it is that I am stunned with the quality AND the quantity of material that came in for this issue. The Essential Herbal has happily embarked on our 6th year, and if this issue is any indication, hang on to your hats!!!We really strive to stay within 32 pages. There are a lot of reasons, one of the more important being to stay under a certain weight for mailing. Another reason is profit - more pages = more printing = higher cost. But we squeezed and shifted, made the margins smaller, edited, and still we wound up with 40 pages. Sure, we could have saved it for the next issue or the one after that, but it's so GOOD! One of these days I will grow a business head.
Here's what's inside:
Table of Contents
Crossword Puzzle
Field Notes
A Dash of Warmth, by Gracia Schlabach
Fall Distilling, by Maggie Howe
Kids Korner, by Karen Hegre
Suburban Herbie, by Geri Burgert
Aphrodisiacs, Love Potions, Philters, and Charms, by Cheryl Nolan
Interview with Jeanne Rose, by Tina Sams
Vitis Vinifera, by Gail Faith Edwards
Down on the Farm, by Michele Brown
Help for Tonsillitis/Sore Throat, by Jeanne Rose
Sweets for the Sweet, by Tamara Hartley Hunt
It's the Holidays and I'm Finally Retired, So Why Am I So Darned SAD? by Karen Mallinger
Chinese Sesame Scallion Biscuits, by Sarah Liberta
Flu and Cold Season, by Ricci Ackerman
Mustard, by Mary Ellen Wilcox
List Article on Uses of Lemon Balm, Compilation
An Herbal Valentine's Day, by Betsy May
Chocolate, My Passion, by Maureen Rogers
We missed regular contributors Susan Evans and Susanna Reppert, but they'll be back for the next issue!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Settling in to the Holidays
Today was the final day of the shop, and the tree farm closed for the season too.We did pretty well, considering that all we really do is take the stuff we are normally doing anyway, and putting it out for the folks shopping for trees to look at and pick up if they're interested. No advertising, no big deal, it's just for fun - so we were pretty pleased. The trees did very well this year too. People seemed to really want real trees.
We had a great time playing with the gourds (yes, I've mentioned that before), and there are a few birdhouses hanging on the tree. In the front is a hinged gourd "box" I did, with all the edges trimmed in leather. I'm glad it didn't sell since it is my favorite. The shelves are looking pretty sparse in this picture.
The weather was gorgeous all season long. There were only a couple of days that could even really be considered cold. Most days were just sweatshirt weather.It was really perfect.
So the shop closed at dark, and then, since today was Maryanne's birthday and tomorrow is Mark's birthday, everyone came up to my place for some soup and cake. It was nice and comfortable. I'd had company for the weekend, so everything was low-key. Altogether a very pleasant ending for a very pleasant season.
Now we begin our holiday in earnest around here. Some shopping has been done in the odd moments we squirreled away here or there, but for the most part it is yet to be done. Molly wants to do some baking, and we need to get a tree (I know a place...). The magazines are all packed up to go to the shops and writers - bulk mail went out last week - but I think they'll wait until Tuesday because tomorrow is supposed to be a nightmare at the post office.
Yep - now the holiday begins!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
A Glimpse of the Soap Stash
I've been whining for a couple of weeks about all the soap we've been making, so last night I snapped a couple shots of the stacks in the
racks. We're just about ready to move on to bathing herbs and sniffing jars.
Today will be the busiest day of the year on the tree farm. The soap curing room makes the shop smell wonderful, and I have mixed feelings about that. It also makes people buy the soaps - and it keeps flying out the door while we keep trying to get the shelves full. I know... some big problem, eh?
These are just some of the soaps. Because of the layout of the shelving, it wasn't possible to get all of them. There are about 19 different varieties.
A couple of them are seasonal, so we aren't worrying too much about them right now.
racks. We're just about ready to move on to bathing herbs and sniffing jars.Today will be the busiest day of the year on the tree farm. The soap curing room makes the shop smell wonderful, and I have mixed feelings about that. It also makes people buy the soaps - and it keeps flying out the door while we keep trying to get the shelves full. I know... some big problem, eh?
These are just some of the soaps. Because of the layout of the shelving, it wasn't possible to get all of them. There are about 19 different varieties.
A couple of them are seasonal, so we aren't worrying too much about them right now.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Rage at the Machine - er...computer, I mean...
I'm not talking about that nasty breach of etiquette that came along with the advent of the Web. You know, where people just say whatever comes to mind, with no thought to the consequences of their words? As time and experience with the social nuances of virtual conversation have gone on, most people have learned to be civil. Thank goodness. That was an ugly little blip in time, wasn't it?
No... what I'm talking about is those times when the computer just doesn't do what you expect it to do.
Last night I spent 4 hours (and if you've read the last few entries, you know how precious those hours are) trying to get a program that I've been using for years to work. I found a level of frustration that was here-to-fore unknown. The worst part is that I know this is my own doing. I can follow directions to a T, but if they don't work, I'm doomed to try again and again, pulling out the meager tricks that reside up my short sleeves. It wouldn't be so bad, except it is the program that sorts addresses to get the magazines out. The magazines are here all ready to be sent out, but the mail program freezes the computer when I do anything more than gaze forlornly at the icon. Tech help will contact me soon, and I will have to sound like a blazing idiot to someone who speaks computerese. I speak thing-a-ma-bob.
At some point, this will be fixed. Within a matter of minutes (ok...this might take a little more time than usual because I'm highly peeved) blood pressure will drop back to normal levels, my computer will return to its typical "friendly" mode, and I will all but forget how much I'd like to take a sledge hammer to it. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
Yes... all will be calm. The address labels will be printed and the magazines will be sacked and delivered to the post office, where my favorite postal workers (in Landisville, they are GREAT!) will crack me up with a joke. Soon the magazines will be arriving in shops, and into the hands of subscribers - who will LOVE this issue. Yes... yes... I can see it.
OOOMMMMmmmmmmmm..... OOOMMMmmmmm.....
No... what I'm talking about is those times when the computer just doesn't do what you expect it to do.
Last night I spent 4 hours (and if you've read the last few entries, you know how precious those hours are) trying to get a program that I've been using for years to work. I found a level of frustration that was here-to-fore unknown. The worst part is that I know this is my own doing. I can follow directions to a T, but if they don't work, I'm doomed to try again and again, pulling out the meager tricks that reside up my short sleeves. It wouldn't be so bad, except it is the program that sorts addresses to get the magazines out. The magazines are here all ready to be sent out, but the mail program freezes the computer when I do anything more than gaze forlornly at the icon. Tech help will contact me soon, and I will have to sound like a blazing idiot to someone who speaks computerese. I speak thing-a-ma-bob.
At some point, this will be fixed. Within a matter of minutes (ok...this might take a little more time than usual because I'm highly peeved) blood pressure will drop back to normal levels, my computer will return to its typical "friendly" mode, and I will all but forget how much I'd like to take a sledge hammer to it. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
Yes... all will be calm. The address labels will be printed and the magazines will be sacked and delivered to the post office, where my favorite postal workers (in Landisville, they are GREAT!) will crack me up with a joke. Soon the magazines will be arriving in shops, and into the hands of subscribers - who will LOVE this issue. Yes... yes... I can see it.
OOOMMMMmmmmmmmm..... OOOMMMmmmmm.....
Monday, December 04, 2006
Walking in the Fog
Most mornings of late look a lot like this - my back yard. It seems to have permeated my brain as well.I've barely had a moment to sit down and write about all the stuff that's going on.
The first development was being invited to participate in the PA Farm Show. That might not ring a bell for many people outside of PA, but it is huge here. It involves 8 days, 12 hours each, and 400,000 attendees. Lancaster County Soapworks - my sister's company - is the official stand holder, but The Essential Herbal will be there under her wing. We will be doing two stage demos. This event takes place in the early part of January, beginning on the 6th. It is in Harrisburg. We will be in the Family Living section, which includes spinners, woodcarvers, weavers, chair caners... stuff like that. I'm certain that it will be great fun, and I'm equally certain that those long days will surely put the Crocs to the test.
Ok, no big deal. A few thousand bars of soap, several hundred sniffing jars, and some tub teas to get ready. There is some printing to be done. The magazine and books are always ready to go on the road. Ever since selling the shop, I've been so thrilled with how easy it is to set up these days. My stuff is a box or two. Maryanne's is maybe three. Sure beats the old days of riding home in a stuffed van with the leg of a stool bouncing off my head every so often...
But then, Frog Hollow Evergreens is seeing a record setting year! They have a "one price for any tree" deal, and folks really appreciate how reasonable it is. There aren't any hidden charges. Word has spread, and it is busy. Our little shop is seeing some of the best action we've gotten in years - including the renewal of a wholesale account that had gone missing. Even the hydrosols that were put up on a whim are selling! Maryanne is trying to squeeze in some custom requests for her torchwork. We are having some big FUN!!!
The magazine will be done at the printer's on Thursday. I'll get it into the mail (hopefully!) on Friday so that when Saturday rolls around I can be down at the shop.
Sooner or later, there will be some shopping to do and some decorations to toss out there. I'm hanging on with both hands and grinning from ear to ear.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Getting ready for .... EVERYTHING!
I've mentioned how crazy things are around our sleepy little hilltop. Last night, after a full day of mailing packages, working on the next issue, helping wrap soap, and oh yeah, running the still-off-school child around, I dragged the 6 foot ladder upstairs to work on the next cover. This will give you some idea of what we're going to be using.
We didn't want to re-run any content in the magazine, but needed to somehow acknowledge passing the 5 year mark. Standing on the ladder, leaning WAY out over the center to get the picture, I started giggling, thinking about how we do things around here. I thought about the now defunct TV show, Just Shoot Me, that was based on a big fashion magazine, and can't remember anyone ever crawling up a ladder in their dining room to snag a cover shot. Ugly Betty doesn't do anything like it either. Guess we're originals! This isn't the final, by the way. That one is still "in" the camera.
We're also working feverishly on getting ready for the PA Farm Show. Only a little over a month to go, and we'll have to fit it in with the shop at Frog Hollow Evergreens, getting the magazine into the mail, getting brochures and various stuff printed for the show, and, oh yeah.. the holidays.
I'll tell you more about the shop soon. There are decorated gourds everywhere!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
And we're off!!!
Thanksgiving has passed, and the shop at Frog Hollow is open. We've been getting ready for the Farm Show in January, and putting the finishing touches on the Jan/Feb issue. This is such a busy time. Oh ... and the gourds - they keep calling. I expect to take some photos of the shop and farm today, but in the meantime, pretty cute foraging comic (Grimmy) yesterday, eh?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Ahhh... the gourds!
If you're a subscriber to The Essential Herbal, or have been following along in the blog, you already know that we had a bumper crop of gourds this year and we've been dying to play with them.We finally got around to it this weekend. We pulled out all of our paints, stains, lacing, micas, and rub-on, and went to town. We found out that it is true what you read... they really DO tell you how to work with them. Each gourd brought out a different style, a different medium. We had a ball. And there are at least 100 more just waiting to be worked on. Some will become birdhouses, some rattles, and even the tops that we cut off are most likely going to be fashioned into windchimes. My brother-in-law grows bamboo, too, so that would go well with the gourd tops. I love the ba-lonk, ba-lonk of bamboo windchimes.
The first one on the top is hard to photograph as it is so subtle, but it is layer upon layer of leaves. It reminded us of how leaves look underwater in the autumn.
It was a nice respite from the incredible amount of soap we've been making lately. The shelves are starting to groan, and we've only begun. Most likely we'll be installing shelving in my basement - which will then be known as the soap studio "annex".
Friday, November 17, 2006
Vegetarian Thanksgiving
The following is an article/recipe from Stephen Lee, the HerbMeister and was published in the Sept/Oct '01 issue of The Essential Herbal. With the big meal only a week off, I thought it would be a good time to post it.
Falling for Pumpkin...a Vegetable Love Story with a Fairy Tale Ending
Charlie Brown, long of comic strip fame, is still looking for his Great Pumpkin, but thankfully I've found mine. Forget all those giant squash - like the 163-pounder that won the blue ribbon at last year's Kentucky State Fair and even those well-scrutinized and hand-picked globes gathered by families for their youngsters artfully carved into scary Halloween faces. My pumpkin, indeed "the" pumpkin of choice for any knowledgeable cook, is the pie or sugar variety - small, succulent and tender, perfect for any recipe.
Pumpkins, a member of the gourd family along with watermelons and butternut squash, are so underutilized. The orange wonders are good for so much more than jack o'lanterns and those ubiquitous pies served at holiday time. Occasionally when making a beef stew, I'll simply substitute chunks of pared pumpkin for some or all of the potatoes called for in the recipe. Everyone loves the "gourmet" difference that exchange makes.
One of my favorite methods is to simply steam chunks of pumpkin over two cups of vegetable broth. When the pumpkin is tender I press it through a ricer, mix in just enough of the vegetable broth to make a moist mash, season with a snip or two of fresh chives and use the results as a heart-healthy side dish suitable for most any meal.
Smart cooks choose pumpkins that are free from blemishes and heavy for their size...just a little over one and a half pounds is perfect. You can keep whole pumpkins for about a month at room temperature and about three months if refrigerated; however if you begin to use pumpkin the way I do you won't have to worry much about storing them - they'll be used up in a flash.
To help you take that leap into fun pumpkin cookery I'm offering one of my most favorite recipes. You might be tempted to reserve this effort for a special occasion, I have vegetarian friends who use it as their Thanksgiving dinner' but I encourage you to find the time (and soon) to put this tasty dish before your family and friends. You'll find the presentation magical and the results worthy of that fairy tale ending....
and they all ate happily ever after.
Cinderella's Lasagna in a Pumpkin Coach
10 6" diameter pumpkins - pie or sugar
2 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c butter, unsalted
1 large onion, yellow - sliced thin
2 T Tarragon, fresh - minced
1 T brown sugar, dark
2 c toasted almonds, chopped fine
2 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground white pepper
24 5"x5" pasta sheets, fresh OR equivalent lasagna noodles
1 c. dry bread crumbs
1 c. Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
1 c Ricotta cheese
- Cut tops off pumpkins and reserve.
- Scrape and discard the seeds and strings from the pumpkin interiors.
- Place pumpkins with tops laying aside on a greased, parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree F. oven for about 1 hour, just until the pumpkin meat becomes tender.
- Remove pumpkins from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle.
- Remove all the pumpkin meat from 4 of the pumpkins, reserving to a bowl and discarding the shells.
- Remove and reserve most of the meat from the remaining pumpkins leaving just enough to allow the pumpkins to hold their shape.
- Puree the pumpkin meat in a food processor with the vegetable broth and reserve.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, then add the tarragon and brown sugar, and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
- Add the pumpkin puree, mix well, and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat; add the almonds and season with salt and pepper.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta sheets or lasagna noodles and cook just until al dente.
- Drain and put a little of the pumpkin sauce over the pasta to keep them from sticking together.
To assemble:
- Place a pasta sheet into the bottom of each pumpkin, cover with a few spoons of the sauce, and a sprinkling of the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Top with a little of the Ricotta cheese.
- Continue with this layering in the same fashion, finishing with a top of Ricotta cheese.
- Choose the 6 nicest roasted pumpkin tops and place one back onto each pumpkin, discarding the rest.
- Place pumpkins onto a lightly greased, parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkins from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Lunch with Jeanne Rose
Back when we started our shop at the Renaissance Faire (early 90's, now defunct) the internet was only a swelling dream. At that time, there were only books from various imaginative writers - and we pored over them, reading voraciously for inspiration. Many of them are still favorite references. Authors that come to mind include Phyllis Shaudys, Bertha Reppert, Scott Cunningham, Susun Weed, and Jeanne Rose. Their books offer so much. Many of the products that lined our little shop were from the pages of those books. The internet is a wonderful tool, but the books... well, I just prefer books. Besides having them at your fingertips where you can take them to the kitchen, take them on weed walks, and take them to the comfy chair, when people publish books they take some responsibility for the contents. I don't always find that to be true on the internet.
So when Susanna Reppert invited my sister and me to have lunch with Jeanne the day before her workshop presented at The Rosemary House, I was quick to take the opportunity! I asked for an interview, which will be in the Jan/Feb issue of The Essential Herbal.
We stopped at the Farmer's Market here in Lancaster to pick up some local delicacies, and somehow some African Mango Slaw got into the mix. I had my questions ready, and we discussed them on the ride up to Mechanicsburg.
Jeanne is a fascinating woman. We expected to take about an hour, but had to tear ourselves away after we suddenly noticed the afternoon was gone. I should have known that someone who has been using, writing, studying, and teaching herbs for 40 years would not "fit" into an hour long conversation. For some reason, I am now lusting after some Blue Sage oil, the color of which is gem-like.
We talked about so many things - distillation and the different types of stills (she has the copper stills), herbs vs. oils, Amish herbal uses, her travels, the changes that the internet has brought about, and how people learn these days. She and Susanna had been discussing some of these topics earlier, so we got the gift of their combined experiences. It was such an interesting afternoon. We talked so much that the desserts were never even touched! Nancy Reppert had joined us, but we were so deeply into the conversation that I can't remember when she got up to get back to work.
Luckily, I've got most of the other writing for the upcoming issue done so I can concentrate on writing up this visit.
So when Susanna Reppert invited my sister and me to have lunch with Jeanne the day before her workshop presented at The Rosemary House, I was quick to take the opportunity! I asked for an interview, which will be in the Jan/Feb issue of The Essential Herbal.
We stopped at the Farmer's Market here in Lancaster to pick up some local delicacies, and somehow some African Mango Slaw got into the mix. I had my questions ready, and we discussed them on the ride up to Mechanicsburg.
Jeanne is a fascinating woman. We expected to take about an hour, but had to tear ourselves away after we suddenly noticed the afternoon was gone. I should have known that someone who has been using, writing, studying, and teaching herbs for 40 years would not "fit" into an hour long conversation. For some reason, I am now lusting after some Blue Sage oil, the color of which is gem-like.We talked about so many things - distillation and the different types of stills (she has the copper stills), herbs vs. oils, Amish herbal uses, her travels, the changes that the internet has brought about, and how people learn these days. She and Susanna had been discussing some of these topics earlier, so we got the gift of their combined experiences. It was such an interesting afternoon. We talked so much that the desserts were never even touched! Nancy Reppert had joined us, but we were so deeply into the conversation that I can't remember when she got up to get back to work.
Luckily, I've got most of the other writing for the upcoming issue done so I can concentrate on writing up this visit.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Women of a Certain Age
This phrase has been coming to mind a lot lately. There are so many exciting things going on around here, and it seems that I am surrounded by women of a certain age - who are living their dreams.
Yesterday my friend Laura, who is preparing to accept an award for her performance in "The Tragic and Horrible Life of The Singing Nun" in an off-Broadway play, mentioned that she feels just like a teenager. I must agree with her on that.
My friend Sarah opened her shop - after dreaming for years of having a business with her daughter Kara. It was a great opening, filled with many serendipitous opportunities that will light the way for a successful, thrilling business - and life.
My friend Maureen is off flitting about in China right now, with a group studying herbal medicine.
My friends Michele Brown and Pat Stewart just aced their Master Herbalist tests at Australasian College of Herbs and Aromatherapy after 3 years of study.
And my sister and I were invited to do an enormous show in January that involves possibilities that were truly beyond our wildest dreams. It is so big that our brother gave us the Willow Way soaping equipment he had in his basement (see Maryanne's blog).
Many of us have waved lovingly at the 50 year mark - as we passed it. Some are still on the other side of 40.
I think about what I expected life to be like when I was young. In school, my image of 50 involved a lot of sleep... How different could it possibly be? Instead of slowing down, it seems that we are just hitting our strides, reaching further, finding our groove.
Why is it different? I think it has to do with learning the ropes. We no longer struggle with all the battles of youth. Everyday is a bad hair day. So what? We've made our contacts, created our businesses, and found ways to network that the good old boys never dreamed of. The glass ceiling still exists in the business world, so we built our own community. The thing that I am seeing more than anything else is that we help each other... really care about success for others as if it were our own. In a sense, it is. Sarah has talked about how geese honk to each other in flight, cheering and encouraging, guiding the group where it needs to go. In youth there is too much competition to appreciate anyone else's journey. As time passes, it becomes easier to truly enjoy the success of others, being proud of your friends....and I am SO very proud of my friends.
This is a wonderful time to be a woman of a certain age.
Yesterday my friend Laura, who is preparing to accept an award for her performance in "The Tragic and Horrible Life of The Singing Nun" in an off-Broadway play, mentioned that she feels just like a teenager. I must agree with her on that.
My friend Sarah opened her shop - after dreaming for years of having a business with her daughter Kara. It was a great opening, filled with many serendipitous opportunities that will light the way for a successful, thrilling business - and life.
My friend Maureen is off flitting about in China right now, with a group studying herbal medicine.
My friends Michele Brown and Pat Stewart just aced their Master Herbalist tests at Australasian College of Herbs and Aromatherapy after 3 years of study.
And my sister and I were invited to do an enormous show in January that involves possibilities that were truly beyond our wildest dreams. It is so big that our brother gave us the Willow Way soaping equipment he had in his basement (see Maryanne's blog).
Many of us have waved lovingly at the 50 year mark - as we passed it. Some are still on the other side of 40.
I think about what I expected life to be like when I was young. In school, my image of 50 involved a lot of sleep... How different could it possibly be? Instead of slowing down, it seems that we are just hitting our strides, reaching further, finding our groove.
Why is it different? I think it has to do with learning the ropes. We no longer struggle with all the battles of youth. Everyday is a bad hair day. So what? We've made our contacts, created our businesses, and found ways to network that the good old boys never dreamed of. The glass ceiling still exists in the business world, so we built our own community. The thing that I am seeing more than anything else is that we help each other... really care about success for others as if it were our own. In a sense, it is. Sarah has talked about how geese honk to each other in flight, cheering and encouraging, guiding the group where it needs to go. In youth there is too much competition to appreciate anyone else's journey. As time passes, it becomes easier to truly enjoy the success of others, being proud of your friends....and I am SO very proud of my friends.
This is a wonderful time to be a woman of a certain age.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
One of the last balmy days of '06
Yesterday was simply gorgeous, and today looks like it is shaping up to be another just like it. I went for a walk in the woods and around the yard yesterday, gathering bits and pieces of "stuff", like tiny leaves that we'll try the electroform machine on, feathers, pinecones, and berries. And then I was just goofy enough to put it all together and take a picture.The berries on the plate are big juicy rosehips from the Rosa Rugosa that my brother in law planted this past spring. They really took off, covering an entire hillside behind the "condo" where the pheasants currently reside.
Next year, we will definately make some jelly. We probably had plenty this year, but time was not so plentiful.
The pinecones grow right off the side yard. I'm not sure of the species of conifer... maybe a spruce. The firs growing there don't have cones that you can actually hold in your hand. They fall away into scales in the wind as soon as they
are picked. I found a few violets, lots of beautiful leaves and holly berries... the yew out front is covered with the palest of blue berries. The mums and flowering sages are just knocking themselves out. And then there are the Jerusalem Artichokes. Oy.Those knobby roots are the chokes. They are much simpler to harvest than I had imagined. One scoop with the shovel brings up a lot more than I can possibly serve for one meal. The scale is not very clear in the picture I took to show the quantity of chokes under a single plant, but each of the tubers are a couple inches in diameter. They are pretty tasty, almost like potatoes, except they have a "rooty" flavor that reminds me of ginseng. They contain inulin, which I had read was very good for helping to regulate blood sugar - and since they can be prepared in almost any way that potatoes are used, I thought they would be much better to eat than the regular starches. I'm still reading up on this, so I could be wrong. Still, free food is a good thing, and a health benefit would clearly be a bonus.
This is what they look like all cleaned and ready to cook. I tossed these into the oven for 30 minutes, and they softened, making it very easy to peel them. After that, I sauteed some sweet onions in a little butter and sliced the chokes like home fries, frying them just until they were browned. They took on a wonderful texture with a soft middle and a sort of crunchy-chewy outside... just what you imagine really good home fries would be like.However. I must warn you that they produce intestinal gas. Lots. So, since I've got them and like them, looks like I'll need to try growing epazote next year and grabbing some Beano for now.
Monday, October 23, 2006
My friend's new shop
Many people who read the magazine or people the yahoo list know Sarah Campbell. She's a longtime friend and she is beginning a very exciting new adventure in downtown Lancaster. Wonderful timing, as Lancaster is experiencing a huge resurgence, and this is sure to be a big part of it. Having been on this particular adventure a while back with my sister, I am so excited for her, and am so tickled to see the glow radiating from her eyes. OH! That's the name of the new adventure - Radiance!She and her daughter Kara Kriner are opening a great new business here in Lancaster.
For many years, Sarah has worked on learning about herbs. She's taken courses, traveled to workshops and classes, and studied. We've gone on many a weed walk together, field guides in hands, comparing notes. She has a gorgeous labyrinth in the backyard of her home, and uses the herbs that make up the labyrinth to create tinctures, balms, teas, and all sorts of herbal preparations. Over time, her stuff has become very popular through sales on her website and people started showing up at her house looking for her shop.
About this same time, Kara - a massage therapist and trained teacher of kid's yoga - was finding a little more time with her own daughter in school.They started looking for a space where they could work together.
What they found is a beautiful, large, airy space right across the cobblestoned alley from the Lancaster Central Market. The address is 9 West Grant Street.
They have been hard at work for the better part of a month, and the result is gorgeous. I took some pictures when I stopped in today (and HAD to pick up a couple items!) even though they have only begun to stock the shop. The colors they have chosen for the floors, walls, and surfaces have blended to create something that remind me of what I imagine to be inside of a lush gypsy wagon.
The offerings are diverse and imaginative, fun and ... well, they are the sorts of things that make us feel luxurious without being wasteful. The beautiful African baskets are sturdy enough to use everyday. The bags made from hemp, nettle fiber, and recycled silk are very reasonable and yet seem decadent. Himalayan objects abound, from prayer flags to portable altars to hand puppets and singing bowls. There are all natural handmade soaps, sugar scrubs, and all sorts of pampering products. The incense is divine! The music on sale is world music - something for everyone. And of course there are the tinctures, bulk herbs, teas, ear cones, and on and on and on. This is certain to be one of the coolest shops this town has ever seen!
And yet, that's not all! There is a huge yoga room where Kara will be teaching kids - great for parents to hop across the way for a quick trot through the market ALONE! Note: That's my Molly in the picture with Sarah... There are two treatment rooms for massage, and there will be bellydancing lessons. There is a very large and quite unique eco-feminist lending library. Sarah and Kara are planning to have lots and lots of classes to get the community involved, and I know that my sister and I will be giving some of them too. This is very exciting! I think I may even be putting some hours in at this new place. I can't wait!
Just have to add this last shot. This morning Molly called to ask me to deliver her homework to school. As I got out of the car, I looked up and saw this tree. The leaves have the most unusual patterns, and are striking in their contrast. I'm sure the kids in the bottom level of the school got a chuckle watching me scamper around with the camera snapping shots of the leaves. Perhaps even more amusing would have been when I was fumbling around under the beech tree looking for beechnuts. Ah well, it's a new school for her.... so they don't know we're related - yet.
Friday, October 20, 2006
An Herbie in the News - with recipes!
Our friend Pat was recently interviewed by her local newspaper (my apologies for not getting the name of the paper) in S. Tennessee. Here it is:
Cook: Herbs figure importantly in Pat Stewart's cooking
By Karin Glendenning
Community News Writer
Pat Stewart is a busy woman. With a job as a quality systems manager at William Wrigley Jr. Company as well as growing herbs for Possum Creek Herb Farm and a business, called Down to Earth, where she makes and sells garden-inspired gifts and gourmet treats, she still finds time to cook and experiment with recipes.
She has entered the Hamilton County Fair on three occasions and each time came away with a blue ribbon for her entries: Tomato Juice, Tomato Bread and Parmesan Cornbread.
"Not only do I enjoy cooking, but I enjoy people enjoying my cooking," she said.
Except for baking, when she always follows recipes exactly, she likes to experiment with food. "It's Katie bar the door for me. It's always a pinch of this or a pinch of that," she said.
"I come from a family of cookers. I grew up where the family revolved around the hominess of the kitchen and breaking bread together. Lots of my recipes are ones I got from my mother and grandmother," she said.
"When I cooked Thanksgiving dinner the first year after my mother died, my dad said "If I'd closed my eyes, I would have thought Eileen (her mother) cooked it." That was the greatest compliment I've ever received. I thought I had arrived," she said.
Mrs. Stewart said she makes everything from scratch and likes making recipes her own. The Parmesan Cornbread is a good example of this. When she wanted to enter the fair, her husband suggested she enter her cornbread, so she went out to her backyard herb garden and gathered several varieties and came up with the prize-winning recipe.
Mrs. Stewart was born in Hixson, but her mother came here from New York, so she said her cooking reflects both Southern influences and Yankee ones. When it comes to Thanksgiving dressing, she said she always prepares her mother's recipe that uses regular bread instead of cornbread, but she has tweaked it so she uses half white bread and half whole-grain bread.
She said her specialties are her cheesecake, which she calls "the widow-maker," and her bread dressing. "I'm a purist when it comes to cheesecake. Mine is very dense and not fluffy. It's my mother's recipe," she said.
Mrs. Stewart partners with Michele Brown to grow herbs that they sell at Possum Creek Herb Farm in Soddy-Daisy. In two greenhouses she raises a huge variety of savory plants, including pineapple sage, Greek and Roman oregano, rosemary, salad burnet, lovage, sage, dill, cinnamon basil, Genovese basil, anise hyssop, chives, chamomile, chocolate mint, fennel and a selection of medicinal herbs. She also grows scented geraniums, and this year harvested a crop of garlic in her vegetable garden along with heirloom tomatoes, green beans, okra, cucumbers and squashes.
Several of the recipes she shares with readers today make use of many of the herbs she has learned to use to make her food interesting and tasty.
HERBED CHICKEN BREASTS
(Once Michele Brown of Possum Creek Herb Farm introduced me to the world of fresh herbs, I was hooked," said Mrs. Stewart. "I use Herbs de Provence, which is a combination of rosemary, thyme, savory, fennel seed, basil, lavender and marjoram. This is a great combination for any poultry or pork chops or loin." She said this recipe works best on a gas grill with indirect heat, or it may also be cooked in a 350 oven.)
Chicken breasts
Herbs de ProvenceExtra virgin olive oil
Preheat grill or oven. Rinse and dry boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Lightly coat chicken breasts on both sides with olive oil. Coat the tops of each breast with Herbs de Provence. Cook chicken breasts until done, without turning. The herb crust can be eaten with the chicken or scraped off. (The flavor will still remain.)
IRISH STEW DUMPLINGS
("As a child, I remember my grandmother and mother making these dumplings every time we had beef stew. I always thought they looked like clouds," said Mrs. Stewart.)
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon shortening
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Add enough milk to make a drop batter. Drop by spoonfuls on the top of simmering stew and cover. Cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Don't peek!
PARMESAN HERB CORNBREAD
(Mrs. Stewart came up with recipe when she decided to enter the 2005 Hamilton County Fair and won a blue ribbon for it.)
2 cups self-rising corn meal mix
1 egg, beaten
1/8 cup oil
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 450. Mix ingredients together. Pour into a preheated 9-inch cast iron skillet or greased 9-inch square pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle some extra Parmesan on top as soon as cornbread comes out of the oven.
BLACK BEAN SOUP
1 1/2 cups dry black beans
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Clean and rinse beans. Put beans, stock and oil in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer beans approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1/4 pound chopped or shredded ham (not a sweet, honey variety)
2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 minced garlic clove
3 tablespoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Juice of 1 lemon
Sauté onion in olive oil until tender, then add shredded carrot and potato. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
At the 1 1/2 hour mark, add vegetables, ham and seasonings to beans. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for the remainder of the bean cooking time. The beans and vegetables should be tender.
Add lemon juice and stir.
Optional additions of any combination of chopped green onions, rice, sour cream or Louisiana Hot Sauce add spice and variety to the servings.
CRUNCHY TUNA SALAD
("This is a kind of 'make it your own' tuna salad. There ends up being less tuna in it than anything else," Mrs. Stewart said. "My husband told me years ago that he didn't like tuna salad. I love it, so I set out to find a way to get him to like it. This was the result. This makes enough for a crowd. You can play with the recipe and reduce it or just come up with a combination of your own," she added.)
4 to 5 cans light or white tuna in water, drained and flaked
Chopped Kosher dill pickles
Chopped red onion
Chopped celery
Chopped red and/or green bell pepper
Shredded carrot
Mayonnaise to taste or enough to hold mixture together
Combine ingredients, using amount and type of vegetables to suit personal taste. Serve with savory bread or chips.
Cook: Herbs figure importantly in Pat Stewart's cooking
By Karin Glendenning
Community News Writer
Pat Stewart is a busy woman. With a job as a quality systems manager at William Wrigley Jr. Company as well as growing herbs for Possum Creek Herb Farm and a business, called Down to Earth, where she makes and sells garden-inspired gifts and gourmet treats, she still finds time to cook and experiment with recipes.
She has entered the Hamilton County Fair on three occasions and each time came away with a blue ribbon for her entries: Tomato Juice, Tomato Bread and Parmesan Cornbread.
"Not only do I enjoy cooking, but I enjoy people enjoying my cooking," she said.
Except for baking, when she always follows recipes exactly, she likes to experiment with food. "It's Katie bar the door for me. It's always a pinch of this or a pinch of that," she said.
"I come from a family of cookers. I grew up where the family revolved around the hominess of the kitchen and breaking bread together. Lots of my recipes are ones I got from my mother and grandmother," she said.
"When I cooked Thanksgiving dinner the first year after my mother died, my dad said "If I'd closed my eyes, I would have thought Eileen (her mother) cooked it." That was the greatest compliment I've ever received. I thought I had arrived," she said.
Mrs. Stewart said she makes everything from scratch and likes making recipes her own. The Parmesan Cornbread is a good example of this. When she wanted to enter the fair, her husband suggested she enter her cornbread, so she went out to her backyard herb garden and gathered several varieties and came up with the prize-winning recipe.
Mrs. Stewart was born in Hixson, but her mother came here from New York, so she said her cooking reflects both Southern influences and Yankee ones. When it comes to Thanksgiving dressing, she said she always prepares her mother's recipe that uses regular bread instead of cornbread, but she has tweaked it so she uses half white bread and half whole-grain bread.
She said her specialties are her cheesecake, which she calls "the widow-maker," and her bread dressing. "I'm a purist when it comes to cheesecake. Mine is very dense and not fluffy. It's my mother's recipe," she said.
Mrs. Stewart partners with Michele Brown to grow herbs that they sell at Possum Creek Herb Farm in Soddy-Daisy. In two greenhouses she raises a huge variety of savory plants, including pineapple sage, Greek and Roman oregano, rosemary, salad burnet, lovage, sage, dill, cinnamon basil, Genovese basil, anise hyssop, chives, chamomile, chocolate mint, fennel and a selection of medicinal herbs. She also grows scented geraniums, and this year harvested a crop of garlic in her vegetable garden along with heirloom tomatoes, green beans, okra, cucumbers and squashes.
Several of the recipes she shares with readers today make use of many of the herbs she has learned to use to make her food interesting and tasty.
HERBED CHICKEN BREASTS
(Once Michele Brown of Possum Creek Herb Farm introduced me to the world of fresh herbs, I was hooked," said Mrs. Stewart. "I use Herbs de Provence, which is a combination of rosemary, thyme, savory, fennel seed, basil, lavender and marjoram. This is a great combination for any poultry or pork chops or loin." She said this recipe works best on a gas grill with indirect heat, or it may also be cooked in a 350 oven.)
Chicken breasts
Herbs de ProvenceExtra virgin olive oil
Preheat grill or oven. Rinse and dry boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Lightly coat chicken breasts on both sides with olive oil. Coat the tops of each breast with Herbs de Provence. Cook chicken breasts until done, without turning. The herb crust can be eaten with the chicken or scraped off. (The flavor will still remain.)
IRISH STEW DUMPLINGS
("As a child, I remember my grandmother and mother making these dumplings every time we had beef stew. I always thought they looked like clouds," said Mrs. Stewart.)
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon shortening
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Add enough milk to make a drop batter. Drop by spoonfuls on the top of simmering stew and cover. Cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Don't peek!
PARMESAN HERB CORNBREAD
(Mrs. Stewart came up with recipe when she decided to enter the 2005 Hamilton County Fair and won a blue ribbon for it.)
2 cups self-rising corn meal mix
1 egg, beaten
1/8 cup oil
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 450. Mix ingredients together. Pour into a preheated 9-inch cast iron skillet or greased 9-inch square pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle some extra Parmesan on top as soon as cornbread comes out of the oven.
BLACK BEAN SOUP
1 1/2 cups dry black beans
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Clean and rinse beans. Put beans, stock and oil in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer beans approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1/4 pound chopped or shredded ham (not a sweet, honey variety)
2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 minced garlic clove
3 tablespoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Juice of 1 lemon
Sauté onion in olive oil until tender, then add shredded carrot and potato. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
At the 1 1/2 hour mark, add vegetables, ham and seasonings to beans. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for the remainder of the bean cooking time. The beans and vegetables should be tender.
Add lemon juice and stir.
Optional additions of any combination of chopped green onions, rice, sour cream or Louisiana Hot Sauce add spice and variety to the servings.
CRUNCHY TUNA SALAD
("This is a kind of 'make it your own' tuna salad. There ends up being less tuna in it than anything else," Mrs. Stewart said. "My husband told me years ago that he didn't like tuna salad. I love it, so I set out to find a way to get him to like it. This was the result. This makes enough for a crowd. You can play with the recipe and reduce it or just come up with a combination of your own," she added.)
4 to 5 cans light or white tuna in water, drained and flaked
Chopped Kosher dill pickles
Chopped red onion
Chopped celery
Chopped red and/or green bell pepper
Shredded carrot
Mayonnaise to taste or enough to hold mixture together
Combine ingredients, using amount and type of vegetables to suit personal taste. Serve with savory bread or chips.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Demotivators
A couple of years ago one of my brothers gave me a calendar filled with "demotivators". They are twisted, a little dark and very, very funny.
I'm in that kind of mood today and thought maybe it might be fun to share that site. To see the many posters that parody the slick, goofy posters that cover the walls of corporate America's factories and cubicles, click on "Spin".
Monday, October 16, 2006
Nov/Dec teaser
Table of Contents
Field Notes from the Editor
Five years!!! What now?
Scented Pine Cones, Maggie Howe
Crafting with Pine Cones
Holiday Spice & Everything Nice, Rosanne Tartaro
Warming Scents for the Holidays
Never Enough Thyme, Susanna Reppert
The Cranberry - it’s All-American! Recipes and Crafts
Product Reviews
Wonderful new products and books
Kids Corner, Karen Hegre
Celebrating the Holidays - Crafts for Kids
Suburban Herbie , Geri Burgert
“Revolution!” Surviving the winter
Truly Essential Oil of Lavender, Lyn Belisle
The Herbs of Christmas, Maureen Rogers
Frankincense & Myrrh, Mistletoe,
Rosemary, Holly and more!
Down on the Farm, Michele Brown
Working the farmers market - and a little about apples
List Article “Hostess Gifts”
20 different ideas - most with recipes and instructions. All of them fun, beautiful and inexpensive.
Juniper Berries, Mary Ellen Wilcox
Information and recipes to get to know these beauties
Savory Starts “Appetizers”, Susan Evans
Delicious treats to enjoy at home or take along
Surviving a Hangover, Karen Mallinger
A little information on exactly why you feel so bad and how to avoid that horrible feeling.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
views from Amish Farm and House
There were so many interesting things to see while we were set up doing demos at The Amish Farm and House. Maryanne's blog (my sis) has more pictures of different things, by the way. In the tobacco shed, they show the tobacco hanging to dry. That used to be a very big crop in Lancaster County, but now we grow more corn, grains, and soybeans. The tobacco grown here was mostly used as the outer wrapping of cigars.
I was happy to see this little guy crossing my path. A wooley bear caterpillar with NO black bands. Whoopie! That would mean a pretty mild winter. I've seen a few with very small black bands on either ends, but not when my camera was handy. I'm still on the hunt. Stay tuned.
This pair of pea fowl allowed me to take a picture, and I found a few small feathers around. They shimmer in the light like gemstones. We have some pea fowl living nearby. I've never seen them, but they sure make a racket. This pair was fairly quiet.
This pie wagon was directly across the path from us. The buggy was fitted with shelving to hold pies, cookies, breads, and jellies on three sides. We didn't stand a chance.
At exactly 10:45 all the bells in the county rang in memory of the Amish girls slain one week ago. There was a bell on the building directly behind me, and I found myself looking directly into the eyes of a young Amish woman when the bell rang out it's first chime.
This is a yew "bush". There are three just like it, and this "bush" must be several hundred years old. A woman visiting the farm was blown away by its size. She told us that she was a botanist, and that she'd never seen anything like it. Yews of this variety generally grown to about 6 feet under the best conditions. These were 30 to 40 feet high and spread even wider.
I have never really looked at a female ginkgo tree in fruit before. This one was lovely, and had not yet developed the scent that generally makes people avoid it. The flora growing on the farm was really stunning.
There was also a Chinese Chestnut tree growing. The quilter told me that in years past, the bounty found beneath the tree was much larger, but one tree had been cut down and this tree needed to self-pollinate, resulting in smaller nuts, and fewer of them. I had forgotten how prickly the burs of the chestnut are. They are like tiny needles, and it is nearly impossible to pick them up without stabbing yourself. Several of us compared methods we used in our childhood to get the nuts out of the burs. I particularly enjoyed one story of using the feet (shoes), and how important it was NOT to wear canvas sneakers while doing it.
One crafter had a beautiful display of dried ornamental plants and wreaths, along with wonderful potpourris and spices.
These Chinese lanterns are so pretty. When I was a kid, one of my great aunts always grew them along with "silver dollars" (Lunaria) and would put them into a large vase together. They seemed like the most extravagant thing to me at the time. Pure magic.
There were so many beautiful things to look at. I really enjoyed our days at this show. Autumn is arriving and painting everything in new colors. The air is brisk and clean.
Back to work on getting all the addresses up to date and the mailing labels printed up so that as soon as we get The Essential Herbal from the printer we can get them into the mail. Did I mention how wonderful this next issue is?
I was happy to see this little guy crossing my path. A wooley bear caterpillar with NO black bands. Whoopie! That would mean a pretty mild winter. I've seen a few with very small black bands on either ends, but not when my camera was handy. I'm still on the hunt. Stay tuned.
This pair of pea fowl allowed me to take a picture, and I found a few small feathers around. They shimmer in the light like gemstones. We have some pea fowl living nearby. I've never seen them, but they sure make a racket. This pair was fairly quiet.
This pie wagon was directly across the path from us. The buggy was fitted with shelving to hold pies, cookies, breads, and jellies on three sides. We didn't stand a chance.At exactly 10:45 all the bells in the county rang in memory of the Amish girls slain one week ago. There was a bell on the building directly behind me, and I found myself looking directly into the eyes of a young Amish woman when the bell rang out it's first chime.
This is a yew "bush". There are three just like it, and this "bush" must be several hundred years old. A woman visiting the farm was blown away by its size. She told us that she was a botanist, and that she'd never seen anything like it. Yews of this variety generally grown to about 6 feet under the best conditions. These were 30 to 40 feet high and spread even wider.
I have never really looked at a female ginkgo tree in fruit before. This one was lovely, and had not yet developed the scent that generally makes people avoid it. The flora growing on the farm was really stunning.
There was also a Chinese Chestnut tree growing. The quilter told me that in years past, the bounty found beneath the tree was much larger, but one tree had been cut down and this tree needed to self-pollinate, resulting in smaller nuts, and fewer of them. I had forgotten how prickly the burs of the chestnut are. They are like tiny needles, and it is nearly impossible to pick them up without stabbing yourself. Several of us compared methods we used in our childhood to get the nuts out of the burs. I particularly enjoyed one story of using the feet (shoes), and how important it was NOT to wear canvas sneakers while doing it.
One crafter had a beautiful display of dried ornamental plants and wreaths, along with wonderful potpourris and spices.
These Chinese lanterns are so pretty. When I was a kid, one of my great aunts always grew them along with "silver dollars" (Lunaria) and would put them into a large vase together. They seemed like the most extravagant thing to me at the time. Pure magic.
There were so many beautiful things to look at. I really enjoyed our days at this show. Autumn is arriving and painting everything in new colors. The air is brisk and clean.Back to work on getting all the addresses up to date and the mailing labels printed up so that as soon as we get The Essential Herbal from the printer we can get them into the mail. Did I mention how wonderful this next issue is?
Monday, October 09, 2006
October has wings
So far, this month has been a mere blink of the eye.
It started with the deadline for the magazine on the first, and hasn't slowed since. At one point, we spent a day polishing the magazine *while* making 6 batches of soap.
I can't wait to post the cover and table of contents for the holiday issue of The Essential Herbal, because this issue is really terrific. So many recipes, crafts, and gift ideas... well, you'll see.
I'll post more pictures of this later, but yesterday and today we are taking part in Harvest Days at The Amish Farm and House on Route 30. Our job is to do soap demonstrations. We took along the fall additions to Lancaster County Soapwork's line (my sister's soap company) to sell, and my books and magazines. We were only going to do yesterday, but the people there are so
nice and so easy to work with that when they asked if we could come back for the morning today, we quickly agreed. Besides, we got 3 batches of soap made yesterday! Full size, too. That's Maryanne standing in our tent getting ready to start a batch. We wanted to have a batch ready to show when the buses started arriving. She's talking to (another) Tina who does spinning. Tina sat next to us, and when she saw the gourds on the current cover asked if we knew where she could get a snake gourd. HAH! Do we ever! Her husband wants to make a Didgeridoo - may not have spelled that correctly - out of a snake gourd, so we'll take her one today.
The crafters at this celebration of the harvest are pretty amazing people. The quilter told us that she and the spinner both participate in another sort of festival that I have to keep under wraps at the moment - but if we do it, I'll be shouting from the rooftops. I'll keep you posted.
There will be more pictures tonight. Lots of great plants growing out there!
It started with the deadline for the magazine on the first, and hasn't slowed since. At one point, we spent a day polishing the magazine *while* making 6 batches of soap.
I can't wait to post the cover and table of contents for the holiday issue of The Essential Herbal, because this issue is really terrific. So many recipes, crafts, and gift ideas... well, you'll see.
I'll post more pictures of this later, but yesterday and today we are taking part in Harvest Days at The Amish Farm and House on Route 30. Our job is to do soap demonstrations. We took along the fall additions to Lancaster County Soapwork's line (my sister's soap company) to sell, and my books and magazines. We were only going to do yesterday, but the people there are so
nice and so easy to work with that when they asked if we could come back for the morning today, we quickly agreed. Besides, we got 3 batches of soap made yesterday! Full size, too. That's Maryanne standing in our tent getting ready to start a batch. We wanted to have a batch ready to show when the buses started arriving. She's talking to (another) Tina who does spinning. Tina sat next to us, and when she saw the gourds on the current cover asked if we knew where she could get a snake gourd. HAH! Do we ever! Her husband wants to make a Didgeridoo - may not have spelled that correctly - out of a snake gourd, so we'll take her one today.The crafters at this celebration of the harvest are pretty amazing people. The quilter told us that she and the spinner both participate in another sort of festival that I have to keep under wraps at the moment - but if we do it, I'll be shouting from the rooftops. I'll keep you posted.
There will be more pictures tonight. Lots of great plants growing out there!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Sad day in Lancaster County, PA
The news is full of the story.... A 32 year old man with a 20 year old grudge walks into an Amish one-room schoolhouse with guns and sends the boys and adults away. He binds the feet of the little girls, faces them toward the chalkboard, and executes them. Then he kills himself.
There are more details, but they don't matter. He had three small children himself, two of them girls. What the hell happened here?
I've lived here all my life. The Amish are part of my home and part of my heritage. These children weren't even born when whatever happened to him happened. They had no telephone, no electricity, and no security. It was like shooting fish in a barrel... or clubbing baby seals. They were babies, defenseless and innocent.
Just last week we were driving down in the country and passed a schoolhouse where the children were outside playing a game of baseball during recess or maybe lunch. My sister remarked about the tiny little girl holding the bat. We laughed and both silently thought about childhood and the pure pleasure of being a kid, playing a game, being with your friends. All of the schools look pretty much alike, and most of them are now surrounded by chain-link fences to keep out the tourists. They are posted "no trespassing" because of the tourists. I'm sure that they never, ever thought such a thing as this could happen. Nobody in this town ever thought such a thing could happen.
This has shaken our community - plain and fancy alike. Aside from a few issues with road usage, the Amish just exist peacefully alongside of the rest of us. They don't judge, they don't witness, and they don't care what anyone else does. They just want to lead their lives as they see fit. To have something like this happen feels very personal. It is heartbreaking.
And the thing that I keep thinking today is that the Amish will already have forgiven this man by the time I finish writing about it. They believe that only God has the right to judge or take revenge, and that they must find a way to love and forgive. They will, too.
There are more details, but they don't matter. He had three small children himself, two of them girls. What the hell happened here?
I've lived here all my life. The Amish are part of my home and part of my heritage. These children weren't even born when whatever happened to him happened. They had no telephone, no electricity, and no security. It was like shooting fish in a barrel... or clubbing baby seals. They were babies, defenseless and innocent.
Just last week we were driving down in the country and passed a schoolhouse where the children were outside playing a game of baseball during recess or maybe lunch. My sister remarked about the tiny little girl holding the bat. We laughed and both silently thought about childhood and the pure pleasure of being a kid, playing a game, being with your friends. All of the schools look pretty much alike, and most of them are now surrounded by chain-link fences to keep out the tourists. They are posted "no trespassing" because of the tourists. I'm sure that they never, ever thought such a thing as this could happen. Nobody in this town ever thought such a thing could happen.
This has shaken our community - plain and fancy alike. Aside from a few issues with road usage, the Amish just exist peacefully alongside of the rest of us. They don't judge, they don't witness, and they don't care what anyone else does. They just want to lead their lives as they see fit. To have something like this happen feels very personal. It is heartbreaking.
And the thing that I keep thinking today is that the Amish will already have forgiven this man by the time I finish writing about it. They believe that only God has the right to judge or take revenge, and that they must find a way to love and forgive. They will, too.
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