========
Newsgroups: rec.gardens,alt.folklore.herbs,rec.food.preserving,alt.answers,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: Culinary herbFAQ (v.1.11) Part 2/4
From: HeK@hetta.pp.fi (Henriette Kress)
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 18:45:28 GMT

Archive-name: food/culinary-herbs/part2
Posting-Frequency: monthly (on or about 20th)
Last-modified: 1996/11/25
Version: 1.11
URL: http://sunsite.unc.edu/herbmed/culiherb.html

Available by ftp: sunsite.unc.edu or sunsite.sut.ac.jp
 /pub/academic/medicine/alternative-healthcare/herbal-medicine/faqs/

==========

2.9 The mints

Latin names:
The mints: Mentha sp.
Peppermint: Mentha x piperita (Mentha aquatica x M.spicata)
Spearmint: Mentha x spicata (Mentha longifolia x M.suaveolens)
Pennyroyal: Mentha pulegium
These might not be up to date as botanists make a hobby out of changing
Latin names for Mentha genera.
=====
2.9.1 Growing mint
-----
From: skifast123@aol.com (SkiFast123)
When you move spearmint, trust me and only transplant it into a container
of some sort. You can bury the container if you want. Good containers to
use are those big multi-gallon types that roses come in. Bury it right up
to the rim. Otherwise, in a few years, you will have only one herb in your
garden and that is mint because it is VERY invasive.

From: Gary & Jeanne Ross <ross@together.net>
Spearmint will keep spreading unless you start pulling some of it out by
the roots. We however have let it and several other mints spread thruout
the lawn. It smells so great when you walk across it.

=====
2.9.3 Using / preserving mints
-----
>I've got way too much peppermint / mint / spearmint ...:

From: hattie@netcom.com (Susan Hattie Steinsapir)
Make a simple sugar syrup and add a whole lot of fresh mint to it. Use this
when making granita or to sweeten sun tea. Lemonade made with the mint
syrup would be nice, too.
I like to make iced tea heavily minted. Steep a whole lot of mint with the
tea bags. Or better yet, boil them with the tea water, then add the tea and
steep. Discard the leaves.
Make cold Asian type noodle salads with finely chopped mint added. I use
mint to line a bowl in which I'm serving fresh whole strawberries. Don't
see why you couldn't use them to line a bowl in which a fruit salad will be
served. Melon salad would be nice.
Some middle eastern dishes call for lamb and mint. Ground lamb and finely
chopped fresh mint (and a few other goodies) would make interesting meat
balls.
Use it in flower arrangements. I've put rosemary branches and mint leaves
together when I wanted something but hadn't picked up any fresh flowers.
Give it away to your friends!

From: lebasil@ag.arizona.edu (Leslie Basel)
You also might want to preserve it in vodka or aquavit...

From: asnell@interaccess.com (Amy Snell)
Boil a handful of peppermint leaves in a pot of water, strain it, add sugar
and serve over ice ... wonderful peppermint drink -- tastes a lot like
candy canes, but very summery. Also good hot. Leftovers can be frozen in an
ice cube tray and popped into iced tea to make it minty.

From: thavey@boi.hp.com (Tom Havey):
Pesto.....a bunch of peppermint leaves, some peppermint or walnut oil, a
bit of sugar, all whipped up in a food processor.
Dried, put in decorative jars for gifts, or mixed in some homemade
potpourri stuff.
Tea.
Raviolis stuffed with peppermint, pepper and raisins and a bit of goat
cheese (or cottage cheese) topped with a light and spicy curry sauce.

From: libby@igc.apc.org (Libby Goldstein)
Just add it to water or seltzer, crush it a bit and serve over ice. It's
lovely.

From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
Mint planted at the kitchen door keeps ants away.

From: MORAVCSIK@clipr.Colorado.EDU (Julia Moravcsik)
You can make tabouleh with the mint.
You can boil water with sugar and dip the leaves in for crystallized mint
leaves.
You can freeze them for later use.
You can make a sort of pesto by putting them in a blender with some oil and
then freezing the pesto for later use.
You can put it in fruit salad, chopped fine.
You can chomp on a leaf before you drink water to make the water taste
better.

From: sgoddik@bgnet.bgsu.edu (Steen Goddik)
One of our friends describe chocolate-covered mint leaves as a great
"social lubricant" for her 5-year old son. All the neighbor kids love it,
and it has made him rather popular.

From: snielsen@orednet.org (Susan L. Nielsen)
Tea from spearmint is a pretty usual solution; I find it perkier than
peppermint. It also makes a terrific addition to iced tea made from regular
black tea. We make what is conventionally called sun tea by the gallons all
year 'round, though without the sun. Seven tea bags (good ol' Lipton's or
Red Rose) steeped all day in a gallon jug of water will make good tea for
icing with or without Sol. Use the spearmint fresh, or dry it, or freeze it
in baggies. I also add it to raspberry leaf tea (calcium boost) because the
raspberry has very little flavor of its own. Straight mint tea is good for
bad tummies.

From: donwiss@panix.com (Don Wiss)
Looking it up in my Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery I find: candied mint
leaves, mint butter, mint ice, mint jelly, mint julep, mint mousse, mint
sauce, mint syrup, mint wafers, and sprigs in the ice tea.

-----
Added 22Sep96: From jmanton@standard.com (Jeanne Manton):

Mint allegedly has a root system extending 18 - 22 inches beneath the
plant. I had mint planters built 18 inches x 18 inches x 26 inches deep.
The mint hadn't read the same book because you always can tell where I have
been living - yep, mint sprouts! This year the apple mint drowned and froze
so I replaced it with pineapple mint - very pretty varigated leaves I use
with cut flowers. When I made my mint jelly for the year I used the
pineapple mint with crushed pineapple. This was supposed to be Christmas
presents but ........ oh, well, I will have another crop shortly.

-----
From: awoods@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Alan Woods)
This is from Erica Klein's _Skinny Spices_:

Moroccan Mint Blend

2 T dried mint leaves
2 T garlic granules or powder
2 T toasted sesame seeds
1/2 T lemon peel
1/2 T onion flakes

She uses this as a rub, as flavor for a yoghurt-based soup, and as the main
ingredient in marinade.

-----
Spicy Mint tea

From: DonW1948@aol.com
6 c Water
2 Cinnamon sticks
4 Clove, whole
4 Allspice, whole
2 c Mint leaves

Bring the water, cinnamon, cloves and allspice to a boil. Boil for 1
minute. Stir in mint leaves. Remove from heat and steep for five minutes.
Strain into cups.
From Taste of Home Magazine.

-----
Orange Mint Vinegar

From: DonW1948@aol.com
1 sm Orange; peel; thin spiral - colored portion only
1/2 c Mint leaves; fresh
Vinegar, white

Remove peel (colored portion only) from 1 small orange in a thin spiral,
and place in a sterilized pint jar. Lightly bruise 1/2 cup fresh mint
leaves, add to jar. Heat apple cider or distilled white vinegar to just
below the boiling point. Fill jar with vinegar, and cap tightly. Allow to
stand 3 to 4 weeks. Strain vinegar, discarding peel and mint. Pour vinegar
into a clean sterilized jar, adding a new sprig of fresh mint, if desired.
Seal tightly. Use in dressing for tossed green salads with orange and
grapefruit sections, or in marinades for chicken or lamb chops.

-----
Mint jelly

From sherae@zeta.org.au (Sheri McRae):
4 lb. tart apples
3 cups strong mint water
2 cups white vinegar
sugar

To make the mint water, soak a large quantity of mint (about a pound) in 3
cups boiling water overnight. Next day, chop apples and place in a pan, and
barely cover with water. Cover and simmer about an hour until apples are
soft. Strain. Combine apple juice, mint water, and vinegar and strain
again. Measure and place in a pan, adding cup for cup of sugar. Stir until
the sugar dissolves. Bring to boiling and cook rapidly until the jelly will
set. Bottle and seal. Mint Jelly is good with meats, especially lamb and is
also good on toast, etc.

I haven't tried this recipe but it came from a reliable preserving book
which I have used and like.

-----
From: Leslie <duncan@ISYS.CA>:
I like mint in Middle-Eastern salads. Tabouleh & Fattoush both use up a lot
of mint & taste great.

Tabouleh

3/4 cup bulgur (cracked wheat) medium or fine.
3/4 cup water
2 large bunches parsley
large bunch mint
4 green onions
juice of 2 lemons
1 1/2 teasp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large, ripe tomatoes
(Note to Chileheads: we usually add about 3 chopped Habs, & a teasp. of
Tabasco to this salad.)
Place cracked wheat and water in a large bowl and set aside to soak for one
hour.
Meanwhile stem off the parsley, mint and onions and wash thoroughly. Chop
very fine.
Squeeze cracked wheat between the hands to remove excess water. Return to
the bowl and add the greens. Add lemon juice, salt and olive oil, adjusting
the amounts to your liking. Sometimes two or three tastings are called for
until the right balance is acquired. Dice one tomato and add it to the
salad. Slice the second tomato to use in decorating the dish.
You may want to serve Tabouleh on a bed of lettuce.
Tabouleh is usually scooped or spooned onto Romaine lettuce leaves and then
eaten. I find this a bit messy, so I prefer eating it with a spoon.
Makes 4-6 servings. From Nadia Farah's Cooking the Middle Eastern Way.

Fattoush (Middle Eastern bread salad)

2 large stale pita breads, torn into 1 in. pieces
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 lb ripe tomatoes (about 3) seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 green onions, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the torn pita on a baking sheet in a
single layer and bake until dry, 10-15 minutes. Cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions,
green pepper, parsley, & mint.
Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and
pepper to taste. Toss this dressing with the vegetables. Toss in the bread.
Spread on a serving platter, serves 6-8.

Salatat Laban (Yogurt Salad)

2 cups natural yogurt
1/2 large cucumber, finely diced
2 teasp. mint finely chopped
salt
1/4 clove garlic, crushed
Add the other ingredients to yogurt. Stir until smooth. This is a
refreshing salad on hot days, & a nice accompaniment to sandwiches. Makes 4
small servings.

=====
2.9.4 Which mint do you have?
-----
Also see the Monarda / Beebalm entry, as this plant is often used like
the mints: 2.24 below.
-----
From: conrad@richters.com (Conrad Richter)

Mints - Mentha spp.
Seeds -- Do not buy

The best mints cannot be grown from seeds. They are propagated asexually
either by cuttings or division. Often seeds are offered in catalogues or in
seed racks, but the plants that grow from these will be inferior rogues not
worth the bother. The flavour and odour may have some degree of menthol,
but the mix of oils is almost always a disappointment to anyone who has
enjoyed the fresh, clean scents and flavours from a good spearmint or a
good peppermint.

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is a natural hybrid, probably between
watermint (M. aquatica) and spearmint (M. spicata). Its flowers are sterile
and so are incapable of producing true peppermint seeds. What is usually
sold as "peppermint" seeds is actually a type of spearmint. The highest and
best use of this rogue mint is for medicinal tea, but it is not nearly as
nice as true peppermint.

Even though spearmint flowers are fertile and are capable of producing
seeds, seeds produce disappointing results. In most cases seeds bought as
"spearmint" will turn out to be the same menthol-smelling variety sold as
"peppermint."

Why does the seed industry continue to sell mint seeds? For years the seed
industry has had little interest and expertise in herbs. Herbs tended to be
sidelines that produced profits and as long as people continued to buy, the
industry did not care. This is true of oregano and remains true of other
herbs as well.

There are some mints, however, that can be grown true from seeds. Watermint
(M. aquatica), applemint (M. suaveolens), corn mint (M. arvensis) and
pennyroyal mint (M. pulegium) all grow from seeds.

But for the beginning herb gardener who just wants one mint for tea and
perhaps one for lamb chops, it is better to get plants. There are many good
quality spearmint strains and hybrids including English mint, improved
spearmint, curled spearmint and the plain Jane, regular spearmint. Among
the peppermints, the most commonly available variety is black peppermint
(M. x piperita vulgaris), but there are others, like the new "chocolate
mint" which, incidentally, some swear really has a "hint" of chocolate it
its aroma profile.

When buying plants beware of the impostor mints grown from seeds. Just
because mint plants are offered for sale in a reputable garden centre does
not mean that the cultivar offered is a good one. Many large growers are
growing mints from the same rogue seed varieties sold by the seed industry.
Always let your nose be the judge; and don't be afraid to squeeze a leaf to
allow the scent to escape into the air.

==========

2.10 Feverfew and Pyrethrum

Latin name:
Feverfew: Tanacetum parthenium (Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium)
Pyrethrum: Tanacetum cinerariifolium
=====
2.10.1 Growing feverfew - it does not seem to repel bees.
-----
>I bought a feverfew plant today with high hopes of introducing it to my
herb garden. Now I have read (of course I couldn't research before making
my purchase) that bees can't stand the smell of feverfew and won't come
near a garden with feverfew in it!

From: James Michael Kocher <jk1n+@andrew.cmu.edu>
I watched with delight last evening as the bees visited the heavy blossoms
of my foxglove, which are growing right next to feverfew. I have never
noticed a lack of bees, and feverfew grows all over my garden.

-----
From Rene Burrough <100735.543@compuserve.com>:
Feverfew is one of my favorite garden herbs, and I let it self seed
gloriously. I came about having it in my garden as a total mistake. I
thought I was planting an insecticide. It's not, and I'd like to give you
the benefit of my mistake because Feverfew does not contain pyrethrum --
the organic insecticide.

Certainly feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium (formerly Chrysanthemum
cinerariifolium)) is a good companion plant in a vegetable garden. Because
of the flat composite head, hover-flies are attracted to it. Hover-flies
are invaluable for eating the larvae of aphids. Any kind of aphid. So
feverfew does provide a way of eliminating insects.

But the actual insecticidal constituents, pyrethrum & cinerin, are found in
Tanacetum cinerariifolium. Obviously, also a member of the Composite
family. It has finely divided, pungent, grey-green leaves. White daisy
flowers with yellow centers as does feverfew. I don't think T.
cinerariifolium has single & double forms. Certainly there is not a golden
leafed T. cinerariifolium as there is T. parthenium var. Aureum.

Pyrethrum, Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium, has a local name of Dalmatian
Daisy. The leaf of the pyrethrum gives a feathery feeling to the whole
plant while feverfew has a chunkier look to say nothing of seriously lobed,
with scalloped edged leaves.

The leaves of Tanacetum cinerariifolium are concentrated closer to the
ground -- giving a yarrowy kind of look to the base of the herb; while
feverfew's leaves provide a bushier effect, and thus the flower heads
themselves seem to be more part of the plant than above it as with the
pyrethrum.

In the UK it is illegal to make homemade insecticides. In theory one could
extract the juice from the plant to make an insecticidal spray. Legally,
one can buy the powder which is mixed with water to form a spray; some folk
believe it should first be mixed with alcohol and then diluted with water
to activate the active principles of pyrethrum & cinerin. And some
pyrethrum powders are sold in plastic puffer bottles so that a plant can be
dusted with the dry powder.

=====
2.10.3 Using / preserving Feverfew
-----
Have a look at the migraine / feverfew entries in the medicinal herbfaq.

==========

2.11 Tarragon

Latin name:
French tarragon: Artemisia dracunculus var.sativa
Russian tarragon: Artemisia dracunculus var.inodora

Mexican tarragon / Mexican Mint Marigold: Tagetes lucida. See 2.38.
=====
2.11.1 Growing tarragon
-----
>... can't grow tarragon in East Texas...

From: southsky@maui.net (Rick Giese)
Texas in summer is probably too hot for French Tarragon. You might
experiment with a fall planting. French Tarragon is the preferred type for
cooking, and will not grow from seed.

-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
French Tarragon may not be frost hardy in Finland, but in milder climes,
particularly with a bit of mulch, it should be. It can also be potted for
the winter. It likes full sun (though again, I'm not in Texas, so I can't
say for there). Give it any sort of reasonable soil (it's not overly
picky). The major growing tip is to divide it frequently (every 2-3 years),
or it becomes rootbound. So keep giving plants away to your friends once
you have enough for your own use...

=====
2.11.2 Harvesting tarragon
-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
While it's growing, the best bet is to just harvest fresh whatever you need
for today by picking off leaves or tips of branches with multiple leaves.

For collecting a lot (drying, vinegar, etc.) you can cut back all the
branches by about 2/3rds, whereupon you should leave them for 8 weeks
before doing so again, supposedly. Personally, I only do a major cutback of
this sort when clearing out before frost, so the time between cuttings is
just what some book said, not experience.

=====
2.11.3 Using / preserving tarragon
-----
From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
Tarragon pesto with pecans is a pretty good way to save it.

-----
From: HeK
Vinegar recipe, anyone? That IS the classic way to preserve tarragon. You
can also dry it or freeze it or freeze it in oil.

-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
Vinegar recipe, if you like. Clean/sterilize a canning jar. Stuff with
Tarragon. heat white vinegar (or wine vinegar) to/near boiling. Pour into
jar, seal, put in dark place. Strain off into another jar at a date
depending on your tarragon taste tolerance - 2-6 weeks, or leave it until
used. Adjust amount stuffed & time to taste. A canning jar is used
primarily to reduce the likelihood of the jar cracking when boiling vinegar
is poured into it.

Tarragon dries well - ideally, hang the branches in a dark warm place (such
as an attic, or in a paper bag), and then collect the leaves into a jar for
storage when dry. It freezes alone with a lack of fuss that suggests that
freezing in oil is probably not worth the bother. You can also make up a
flavored oil in a similar fashion to the vinegar recipe, though boiling the
oil would not be a good idea...(warming it a bit might help).

-----
From: Donna Beach <phuyett@CCTR.UMKC.EDU>
Here's another tarragon recipe. I found it in *the Herb Book* by Boxer &
Blck

Baked Eggs with Tarragon

3 sprigs tarragon
2/3 cup light cream
sea salt & fresh black pepper
4 large eggs

Strip one teas of the best tarragon leaves from the sprigs and chop them.
Put the rest in a small pan with the cream and bring to a boil. Remove from
heat, cover the pan, and leave for 20 minutes. Strain the cream and
add salt and pepper to taste. Break each egg into a buttered individual
baking dish and stand them in a roasting pan with enough hot water into to
come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Cook in a moderate oven 325 deg F until the whites are almost set. Pour a
little cream over each one, just enough to cover the surface, then return
to the oven for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped tarragon and
serve immediately.

This book--a nice coffee table book which offers tips on growing herbs and
history of herbal lore--also includes a recipe for scrambled eggs with
tarragon. Two tablespoons for eight eggs. You then serve the eggs on
pumpernickel toast.

There's also a recipe for tarragon soup using a roux from chicken stock,
cream, egg yolk, salt and pepper and fresh tarragon--about four cups of
stock and six sprigs of tarragon. That one's easy enough to figure out on
your own, and strict vegetarians would make adjustments for the egg and
cream.

=====
2.11.4 Which tarragon do you have?
-----
From: HeK
There are 2 kinds of true tarragon: Artemisia dracunculus var.sativa
(French tarragon) and Artemisia dracunculus var.inodora (Russian tarragon).
The French tarragon cannot be grown from seed, it's taste is finer but it
isn't frosthardy. The Russian tarragon can be grown from seed, it's taste
isn't so good but it will survive outdoors in Finland.

==========

2.12 Nasturtiums

Latin name: Tropaeolum majus.
=====
2.12.1 Growing Nasturtiums
-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
Not fussy for "growing at all", but do respond well to rich, loose,
well-drained soil & compost, plus regular watering, for growing nice large
plants. Differences with the same variety on different spots have been
dramatic (plants & leaves 2-3 times larger on good spots). Hummingbirds
like the flowers.

-----
From: baker.325@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (gwen baker)
If they get aphids - usually after midsummer in zone 5 - simply spray with
a dilute soap. Any kind will work. Then rinse the leaves well before use.

From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith) to above:
Never had much trouble from insects - have had some aphids, had some aphid
damage, but it never amounted to anything worth bothering to control. Most
bugs don't find nasturtiums _that_ appealing.

======
2.12.2 Harvesting nasturtiums
-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
I've had good results just picking leaves & flowers as needed for salad -
once established, they produce right up until frost. You probably shouldn't
harvest more than about 1/3 of the leaves from plants you intend to keep
harvesting from.

=====
2.12.3 Using / preserving nasturtiums
-----
From: baker.325@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (gwen baker)
Nasturtium leaf is wonderful in salad. Slightly bitter but refreshing. I
don't think it preserves very well and should only be used fresh.

-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
Any sort of cress-ish or lettuce-ish use - they are a bit hot like cress.
The flowers are edible as well, and make a nice garnish. Large leaves from
plants in rich plots can be used for lettuce-like purposes in sandwiches
(or hamburgers) - the smaller ones tend to slip out annoyingly. Flowers do
well both in salads, and floating on cold soups. If you like nasturtiums,
you can make them the bulk of a salad, with no need for other greens. Great
for just eating in the garden. Have not tried preserving - I suppose you
could blend up some nasturtium mush and freeze it for use in soup, but it's
basically a fresh thing.

-----
>...toss in a few nasturtium pods for false capers.
So are these before the bloom -- the buds? Or after the bloom -- seed pods?
Do you preserve them?

From: snielsen@orednet.org (Susan L. Nielsen):

Pickled Nasturtium Pods or Seeds

After the blossoms fall, pick off the half-ripened Nasturtium seed pods.
Continue as your crop develops to drop them into a boiled and strained
mixture of:

1 quart white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Pickling Salt
1 thinly sliced onion
1/2 teaspoon each allspice, mace and celery seed
3 peppercorns

Keep refrigerated and use as a variation for capers.

Taken from 'The Joy of Cooking', Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer
Becker, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., New York, 1975.

=====
2.12.4 What kinds of nasturtium are there?
-----
From: Lawrence.H.Smith@williams.edu (Lawrence H Smith):
There's your basic nasturtium with green leaves & red & yellow & orange
flowers, the same but with variegated leaves, and a variety with all red
flowers and a "more compact" growth habit (cherry flowered, I think
it's called). I think there is also a climbing variety, but I don't
have any of those.

==========

2.13 Dill

Latin name: Anethum graveolens.
=====
2.13.1 Growing dill
-----
From: kenneth@dicom.se (Kenneth Nilsson)
Here in Sweden dill is the most common herb and there are always
discussions on why it is so difficult to grow. It always (?) dies when
about 3" high and the 'story' here has it that dill is very susceptible to
a root fungus. - By the way, you say "transplanted" dill into your garden.
Does that mean you sow it indoors and plant it out? - The only solution for
ME has been to sow/spread out the seeds from the mature dill flowers in
fall. I take some mature stalks of dill and walk around the garden shaking
them and I have beautiful dill BUT all over the garden. They just won't
grow where I want them to - in nice rows - THERE! It seems as if the seeds
that end up in non-infected soil thrive whereas the others simply don't
make it. If you don't find that untidy, it's worth a try. I guess you can
spread the seeds in early spring too.

From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
First, there are many different dills. The best approach I have found is to
find a dill that that survives the winter wherever you are. Then, it is one
tuned to the environment and will grow better. It will also self seed, both
where you want it :-) and where you don't :-( or :-) depending. It is
perfectly acceptable to seed them very close together.
It is also a good idea to succession plant dill if you want a continuous
supply of it all growing season long.

=====
2.13.2 Harvesting dill
-----
From: Anahita@aol.com (Susan D. Hill):
Dill can be harvested for leaves any time during the growing season. If
you're growing for seeds, wait until the flowers die off and the seeds are
set, then tie little socks around the seed heads. You can use nylon net,
cheesecloth or even old stockings. Any fabric that is porous. Be sure to
tie them on loosely so as not to damage the stem. Once the seeds are dry,
just cut off the stalk and take it inside.

From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
To harvest, assuming they are planted very close together, cut the plants
off at their base that are the biggest. Then, let the remaining plants,
which will be more properly spaced, grow larger until they are crowding
themselves and pick them. Then repeat the process until they are all
properly spaced and then pick the fronds as quickly as they reach their
size because they are preparing to go to seed by then. I pick every frond
while the plants are going to seed and it does not seem to affect the seed
production at all and I get more dill fronds that way :-).

To harvest the seeds, take a pair of panty hose past the wearing stage and
cut them off mid-thigh or mid-calf depending on your preference. Put the
seed head, when it is still green, into the foot of the panty hose and the
leg over the stem. Tie a twist tie around the panty hose on the stem and
wait until the seeds are fully developed and quite dry. Then cut off the
stem below the twist tie, bring it into the house or somewhere else out of
the wind and put it over a big piece of paper. The seed will pretty much
fall off the head as it is dry enough. Don't forget to shake the seed out
of the panty hose leg too :-).

=====
2.13.3 Using / preserving dill
-----
From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
I always cut some heads with ~almost~ mature seeds to add to my garlic
dill half-sour jars. Adds extra flavour, and looks so pretty against
one side of the jar.

-----
From: Silkia@aol.com
The dill is an aromatic European plant that belongs to the parsley family,
and it bears yellow blossoms that turn into tiny fruits or seeds. The
pungent leaves and seeds of the plants are used as condiments and as
pickling agents. Dill is derived from the Norse "dilla", meaning to lull,
and was formerly given to infants as a soporific.

Dill seeds have a rather acrid taste, and they serve to stimulate the
appetite. The odor of dill is stronger and less agreeable than that of
fennel. The two are closely related but they are not identical. However
dill that is found growing wild in the United States, is popularly called
fennel.

Dill is used primarily to pickle cucumbers, but it should be used more
extensively as a seasoning. Its finely chopped fresh leaves add their
fragrance to potatoes, stews, fish, cucumbers, vegetables salads, and
broiled meats. Dill seeds will render cabbage, cauliflower, meat gravies,
spaghetti sauces, fish sauces, turnips, sauerkraut, and soups (especially
bean and borscht) more appetizing. Add a dash of dill to tomato sauce, or
try using dill and celery in stewed tomatoes. Dill seeds resemble caraway
seeds in flavor, and the two may be used interchangeably.

Dill Pickles

Carefully select and wash good cucumbers, about 5-6 inches long. Pack them
in earthenware jars. Between the layers of cucumbers, place thin layers of
dill, using stalks, leaves, and seed balls. Cover with brine [using about 1
lb. of salt to 3 pints of water]. Place a layer of grape or horseradish
leaves on top, weight down with a large earthen plate. Let stand several
weeks before using.

Source : the American Dictionary of Cooking, 1938 Ed. I can't tell you the
publisher as the pages were torn years ago. My Grandmother gave the book
the day I married..it has been like a Bible for me.

-----
From: DonW1948@aol.com

Friss Kaporleves (Fresh Dill Soup)

2 tbs. Butter, unsalted,
1 tbs. Flour, all-purpose
2 tbs. Dill; minced
4 c Water; cold
Salt
1/2 c Sour cream
1 tbs. Lemon juice

Make a roux with the butter and flour. Cook it until golden brown. Add
dill, stir well, immediately pour in 1/2 cup cold water and whip until
smooth. Add 3-1/2 cups water and salt to taste. Cook soup for about 10
minutes.
Mix sour cream with lemon juice and put in the soup tureen. Eliminate lemon
juice if the soup is too sour for your taste. Pour the soup over. Serve
with Potato Dumplings (recipe). Cook these dumplings in the fresh dill soup
for 5 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings

==========

2.14 Rosemary

Latin name: Rosmarinus officinalis.
=====
2.14.1 Growing Rosemary
-----
By jrogow@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
This is an herb you can literally kill with kindness! Rosemary will die if
you fertilize her, or water her too much, or plant her in too-rich earth.
Benign neglect will result in big healthy plants. There are two basic types
of Rosemary, the trailing or prostrate type, and a bush type that will, in
time, become large enough to be considered a shrub. These plants have been
used in England in mazes, and in the USA as landscape plantings. Prostrate
Rosemary is an excellent ground cover.

Rosemary comes in various shades of blue-lavender, and there is a pink
version that is a magnet for bees (as is the blue). The leaves are like
miniature pine needles, in a lovely blue-green colour.

Rosmarinus, the herb's Latin name, means "sea spray", and the plant grows
especially well near the ocean.

=====
2.14.2 Harvesting Rosemary
-----
By jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow):
I cut my rosemary back all summer and dry it hung in a closet. This
perfumes my hanging clothing, and keeps it from sunburn.

=====
2.14.3 Using / Preserving Rosemary
-----
By jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow):
I use it for poultry stuffing, and as a tea to soothe stress. Also, the tea
is a wonderful hair rinse for red heads and brunettes. I also use the tea
in a bath when I ache all over from too much gardening.

Rosemary may be dried by hanging sprigs in a warm place, then stripping the
leaves and keeping them in a jar or plastic bag. Uses of this versatile
herb include teas (infusions of the leaves) that make soothing tisanes,
enhancing hair rinses, and lovely fragrant soaking baths.

Leaves are used in cooking and for scented oils, the flowers are often
added to a bride's headdress to insure fidelity.

Rosemary is considered an excellent tonic for headaches, and stomachs. It
is also a traditional memory sharpener. Shakespeare said in Hamlet . . .
"There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance." Mourners in many countries drop
sprays of Rosemary in the coffin of a loved one as a pledge not to forget
the person.

-----
RECIPES
-----
From: jrogow@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)

A decoction for the bath

Steep several handful of Rosemary (fresh or dried) in water for an hour at
simmer. Cool and bottle. Add to bath for soothing and scent.

2) Rosemary Water

4 tbs. Rosemary Flowers
1 Nutmeg, grated
2 tbs. Cinnamon, grated
1 QT alcohol spirit (Vodka works well)
Pour liquid over herbs in a clean jar - stand in warm dark place for two
weeks. Strain through cheesecloth or paper coffee strainer. Use as you
would witch hazel, to soothe aches.

3) Rosemary Wine

1 bottle of white wine
1 handful fresh rosemary (or 2 tbs. dried)
2 tbs. dried Borage leaves
Steep herbs in wine a week or more, strain as in #2. This is an excellent
nerve tonic.

4) Insect repellent candle

Crumble dried Sage and Rosemary leaves, mix with melted wax, form into
candle (an easy way to do this if you don't have candle molds is to put a
votive candle in a bowl, pour warm herb-wax in the bowl a bit at a time,
and let harden) and use to keep bugs away.

-----
From: Ron Lunde <ronl@teleport.com>
Here's my recipe for Rosemary bread that never fails. (I use fresh
rosemary, from the planter on the side of my house, next to the grape vine.
Both the rosemary and the grape vine are trying to take over the universe.
I'm waiting to see which wins.)

Rosemary Bread

(Popular for centuries, as legend goes, particularly in southern Europe)

Ingredients:
1 package dry yeast, not too far past the expiration date
1 cup warm water (I stick my finger in it, and it feels "slightly warm")
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or dried, I guess)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Olive oil to grease bowl and baking sheet
1 beaten egg

Destructions:
Fling yeast in water, add sugar. Let stand until foamy. If it isn't foamy,
try again. Should take 5-10 minutes.

Add rosemary, salt, whole wheat flour, and about a cup of the regular
flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until it's all a big lump, with kinda
stretchy qualities around the edges. Add remaining flour, and turn it into
an even bigger lump. Turn it out onto a floured surface (not a cat -- cat's
tend to resent that), and knead it far longer than you
actually want to, or about 8 minutes.

Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for an hour or so in an oiled bowl,
until it's doubled in volume.

Punch down, knead briefly (get rid of air pockets). Shape into a ball, and
scrunch it around so that the top surface is reasonably smooth.

Put it on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush loaf with oil. Let rise for
45 minutes or so, until it's doubled.

Brush it with the egg. If you're feeling traditional, cut an 'X' in the top
with a very sharp knife.

Bake at 375 degrees (Fahrenheit -- we're not doing plasma physics, we're
baking bread) until the top is brownish, and you can get a nice hollow
sound when you tap the bottom. That should be 45 minutes, or so. Cool on a
rack. Eat.

It's low fat, high fiber/protein/taste. I like it.

==========

2.15 Lavender

Latin name: Lavandula angustifolia and other Lavandula species.
Also see 3.6 below, 'Growing herbs from cuttings'.
-----
These lavender entries have been compiled by Susan L. Nielsen
(snielsen@orednet.org). Nice piece of work; thanks!

(copyright, Susan L. Nielsen, 1995)

"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green;
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen."
'Lavender's Blue', from _Mother Goose's Melody_ (Anon.), 1781.

=====
2.15.1 Growing Lavender
-----
by Susan L. Nielsen

Among native plants of the Mediterranean, Lavender must surely be one of
the most adaptable of these sun and warmth-loving plants. It thrives from
its indigenous lands as far north and south as hardy perennials will grow.
It is grown commercially in Australia, as well as in the more familiar
lavender fields of England and France. It will grow even as far north as
Norway, though perhaps not _very_ far north once there.

Lavender is happiest in light, well-drained soils, in a somewhat lean loam.
By lean, I mean a soil not too rich in nitrogen; lavender, like many
plants, will gladly imbibe the nitrogen, and then send this nourishment
into healthy leaf growth. In general, we prefer to cultivate lavender for
its blooms (the leaves are useful, but the blooming plant will, after all,
have leaves enough for most purposes I can imagine). Drainage is at least
as important as soil content. I don't recommend planting lavender in
gravel, but gravel would be preferable to a clay bed. A sandy loam is
ideal. "Just dirt" is probably fine as long as it will crumble in the hand.
Clean wood ash is a helpful addition to the soil.

Lavender likes the sun. Unlike human beings, it is made to flourish under
UV rays (after all, ultraviolet and ultralavender aren't _that_ far apart).

So, give it sun, give it drainage, water it sometimes, and enjoy its heady,
sweet abundance.

Lavender may be propagated by seed, though I would suspect the ability of
some of the cultivars to produce, from seed, plants true to the
characteristics of the parent.

It may also be easily propagated from cuttings. This is the way most
commercial stock is reproduced. In the spring or fall, take cuttings from
new growth. You want small stems, pulled with a "heel" from the larger
branch (pull quickly downward from the angle of the stem, and the "cutting"
will detach with the desired tissue forming the heel). Dust with rooting
hormone if available. Set the cuttings into sand or soil.

Don't, by the way, believe the words on a package of "sterile" soil mix;
treat it to half an hour in a _low_ heat oven (about 65 C degrees or 150 F,
if you can set it that low). Use a shallow pan so that the soil can heat
uniformly; it is very insulating and, if piled up, the inside can still be
quite cool when the outside is hot to touch. Make certain it is cooled
again before you use it. When you are using packaged soil for rooting or
seeding, you will save yourself complications with damping off and other
fungal diseases by ritually observing this practice.

Tend the plants gently, and keep them moist, and when they have rooted,
(new top growth is a good sign) pot them into larger containers and
fertilize them.

In addition, lavenders will layer well in the garden; buried stems will
root along their length and can then be dug up, separated from the parent,
and replanted on their own.

=====
2.15.2 Harvesting Lavender
-----
by Susan L. Nielsen

Lavender flowers should be harvested just before the blooms open. The
flowers will look like fat, purple seeds on a stem. If you miss and must
cut them later, be prepared for the flowers to fall off the stems.
For culinary purposes, it may not be so important that you have perfectly
preserved stems of lavender, but they probably loose some of their
intensity of aroma as they mature on the plant.

All the herbals say that the aromatic powers of herbs are strongest when
the plant has not yet opened to full bloom (true of most all the blooming
herbs), and to cut herbs "in the morning when the plants are perfectly
dry." I have never been able to achieve the match between morning hours and
dryness at this pre-bloom season, though I suppose it depends on the dews
and the rains where the garden grows. The dryness is probably more
important than the morning hour.

Cut the lavender stems as long as you are able. Doubtless some of your
harvest will be used for gifts or crafts. The long stems are most lovely.
They also increase the possibilities available to you (you cannot make
lavender bottles with short stems).

=====
2.15.3 Using/Preserving Lavender
-----
by Susan L. Nielsen

Do not dry your herbs in the sun. "Dry them quickly," say the books, but
direct sun will cause them to fade, both in color and in intensity. You can
spread them out flat to dry if you have unlimited table space.
Or tie them in bundles and hang them upside down. "In a closet," say the
wise authors. Ha-ha. Show me a closet with room for bundles of herbs to
hang undamaged. I hang mine from curtain rods, but I have a window onto a
vestibule where no sun strikes. Hang them from hooks or nails or thumb
tacks. I know it is terribly quaint, but don't leave them there all summer,
fall and winter. They will gather dust, and they will lose potency in time.
Once they are thoroughly dry, store them someplace more sheltered, though
less scenic.

Rosetta Clarkson (in _Herbs and Savory Seeds_, Dover Publications, 1972)
reminds us that, "To retain the full flavor and fragrance [of lavender and
of other herbs to be used for cooking] you must store the herbs in
containers, preferably glass or pottery with tightly fitting covers."
Otherwise, "the oils will in time escape." Good advice for all herbs saved,
though not too good for long stems. Try wrapping them in tissue paper and
keeping them in a carton, drawer or chest. When storing freshly dried herbs
in closed containers, you will do well to check them during the first weeks
for signs of mildew. Turn them out now and then, spread the herbs loosely,
sniff them, touch them, look closely. If all is well, re-pack them.

For culinary use, all experts agree (!) that lavender is strong. Use a
light hand.

-----
THE RECIPES
-----
By Susan L. Nielsen

Beginning with the most simple:

Lavender Tea

About 3 tablespoons fresh flowers (half this amount for dried ones) steeped
3-5 minutes in a pint of water just off the boil. This has a pale straw
color but is plenty aromatic. You might try combining the lavender with
mint leaves, too.

Lavender Vinegar

Use distilled white vinegar. Flavored vinegars and stronger ones will
compete with the herb for your senses. Place "some" (say, a small handful)
in a modicum (say, a pint) of vinegar. Let stand 4-6 weeks. Use it as a
dressing for fruit salads.

Even simpler: a few lavender leaves, washed, scattered into a garden salad
add what the authors of _Joy of Cooking_ (Irma S. Rombauer and Marion
Rombauer Becker) call a "bitter pungency." In the US recently, "bitter
pungency" in the form of radicchio commands a handsome price in the market,
so let not this opportunity pass!

Lavender Martini

(I have not myself tried this, but I promise to, soon)
"Make your martini with your favorite proportions. Use a small sprig of
lavender as the garnish. The oil of lavender is quickly but subtly released
by the alcohol..."
(from _The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery_, Leona Woodring Smith, Harper &
Row, 1973).

Lavender Fruit Salad

Choose your favorite seasonal fresh fruits (no canned fruit cocktail here).
Peel them as appropriate, reduce to bite-sized pieces. Combine them in a
bowl with 10 or so sprigs of fresh lavender (remember: much less for
dried). Let it all chill for a couple of hours. Serve it with a good splash
of champagne over the top and lavender pretties in the bowl. Another
version of this steeps the salad in a quarter cup of Grand Marnier, then
follows with the champagne at serving.

Lavender Jelly

(Also from _The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery_)
2 1/4 cups bottled apple juice [I would assume that this requires a clear
juice for a clear jelly]
1 cup lavender flowers
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 bottle (4 oz.) liquid pectin

Place apple juice and lavender in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and
remove from the heat. Let stand for 15 minutes and strain. Return 2 cups of
this juice to the heat, add the sugar, and stirring constantly, bring to a
full boil. Stir in the liquid pectin and bring to a rolling boil for 1
minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, skim off the foam, and pour into jelly glasses with a
sprig of jelly in each glass [and seal]. (Makes about 5 medium glasses.)

Lavender Apple Crisp

Add about a tablespoon of fresh (half that if dried) lavender to your
favorite apple crisp or deep dish pie recipe.

and, by no means least:

Lavender Ice Cream (from _At Home with Herbs_, Jane Newdick, Storey
Communicaltions, 1994, changed a bit)
4 egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup half-and-half [half cream, half milk]
6 fresh lavender flower heads
2/3 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
2 cups of milk

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and foaming. Gently heat
the half-and-half in a pan with the lavender flowers. Bring to the boil,
then strain into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the stove and
cook over very low heat, stirring constantly until it is slightly thickened
and will coat the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Pour the custard
into a bowl, and refrigerate until it is completely cold. Whip the cream
just until it forms peaks and fold it into the cold custard. Add remaining
2 cups of milk. Process in an ice cream maker, or freeze in the container
in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. Serve with thin, crisp
cookies.

[O', I do say...]

Now, I know this last is not a culinary item, but I've been very good about
leaving out the 4,012 craft uses of lavender I could have mentioned, and I
did bring these up earlier, so indulge me:

Lavender bottles

Lavender bottles are a very old little whimsy. You must use freshly cut
lavender. Once it has dried, the stems will break as you try to bend them,
and your bottles will fall apart before they are made.

Use a goodly bunch of lavender, 15 to 20 stems with flower heads. Also have
on hand some strong thread.

Neatly bunch the lavender and tie the stems together just below the flower
heads. Wrap the thread several times around the stems to make a strong
band. Trim the thread ends.

One stem at a time, bend the stems over the flower heads. Work around the
bundle, carefully. The stems will form a kind of cage over the flowers. As
the lavender dries, the stems will shrink some, and the "bottle" will be
more open.

When all the stems are bent over the flowers, tie them again at the point
just below the flower heads. Your earlier tie will be obscured. Tie the
bottoms of the stems together, too. Tie tightly, because the stems _will_
shrink. You can tie narrow ribbons over the strings to make things
prettier.

=====
2.15.4 Which Lavender do you have?
-----
By Susan L. Nielsen

"Oh, call it by some better name..." -- Thomas Moore

The _Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology_ (C.T. Onions) considers that
the English word "lavender" derives, through a painful series of
transcriptions, from the Latin *lavare* (to lave, to wash), though
Professor Onions comments that, if this is so, "the sense-development is
obscure." Perhaps he was unfamiliar with lavender-scented baths.

*Lavandula* varieties are many, and the manifold literature does not come
to any tidy agreement on the number of lavender species. At last I went to
_Hortus Third_ to settle the matter. While this is specifically a North
American reference, I do not believe there can be too many examples of this
herb not now grown somewhere in N. America.

The following is a fairly tedious list but, because of the large number of
names under which lavender is sold, I have listed the subspecies and
cultivar names (forgive me, but I have omitted the convention of italic
markers for genus, species and variety names; cultivars are in single
quotes). The list is somewhat abbreviated. All names not listed are judged,
"without botanical standing.":

L. angustifolia: ENGLISH L. (synonyms = L. delphinensis, L. officinalis, L.
Spica, L. angustifolia, L. pyrenaica, L. vera).
Cultivars = 'Alba', 'Atropurpurea', 'Compacta', 'Dutch', 'Fragrance',
'Hidcote', 'Munstead', 'Nana', 'Rosea', 'Twickel Purple', 'Waltham'.

L. dentata: FRENCH L. (also, previously, sometimes referred to as L.
delphinensis). Var. candicans.

L. lanata: (plants offered under this name may sometimes be angustifolia).

L. latifolia

L. multifida: (synonym = canariensis)

L. pinnata: Var. Buchii.

L. Stoechas: SPANISH L., FRENCH L. (synonym = pedunculata).

Some folklore: Three of the above names are interesting in history.

*L. Spica* (spike Lavender [who says Latin is tough?]), shows in its name
the earlier use of the term "Spike" to refer to lavender (as, Culpeper's
Oil of Spike). The Greeks called this plant, 'Nardus.' Bible readers will
here recognize the name Spikenard: "While the king sitteth at his table, my
spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof." said the dark, passionate lover
in "The Song of Solomon" (1:12), and "Thy plants are an orchard of
pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and
saffron, calamus and cinnamon..." (4:13,14).

*L. vera* (English Lavender), is also called "true" Lavender, and *L.
stoechas*, French Lavender. Obviously there is room for a cross-Channel
rivalry here. The English Lavender claims to possess the finest, true
lavender scent: *vera*. In fact, it is the basis of the huge commercial
market in lavender. French Lavender, on the other hand, (according to dear
Mrs. Grieve, _A Modern Herbal_, 1931, reproduced by Dover Publications,
1971), is "probably the lavender so extensively used in classical times by
the Romans and Libyans as a perfume for the bath." This is a fairly
distinguished citation, which endures despite the fact that its aroma is
judged by some to be "musty," by others "musky" (a distinction one might
have thought more clear), and, by the more discriminating, "like a cross
between lavender and rosemary."

So, among these worthies, the question remains, which do you have? Or even,
which do you want to have?

The above list should help if you have purchased lavender with a nursery
tag in the pot and are unsure where you stand among the synonyms.

If you have no lavenders, or wish to increase your holdings, and are
looking for guidance, you might consider the attributes you most seek. If
you are very involved in processing, and want to extract oils, for
instance, you might choose the larger-leaved Spike varieties for a greater
yield of oil. Be forewarned, however, that oil extraction requires
_enormous_ quantities of material for a start.

If you live in a harsh, cold-winter area, the hardier L. angustifolia
(vera) might be your best choice.

For deck or terrace edging, parterres, or walkway borders try the smaller
varieties: Hidcote, or Munstead, for example.

If your lavender has wooly white foliage, in a mound of about 12" height,
and blooms late in the season on towering stems topping at 3' or so, you
probably have L. lanata. Its scent will be similar to that of L.
angustifolia.

The L. pinnata and L. multifida cultivars have greyish, ferny foliage.

L. dentata has little "teeth" along the edges of the leaves. Its scent is
said to suffer from the same shortcomings as that of the Stoechas
lavenders.

For historical interest, or from the standpoint of a collector, of course,
one cannot have too many lavenders. And all of them are equal candidates
for inclusion in the garden.

-----
"...we shall find a cleanly room, lavender in the windows,
and twenty ballads stuck about the wall."
-- Izaak Walton, _The Compleat Angler_, 1653-1655.

==========

2.16 Lemon balm

Latin name: Melissa officinalis.
=====
2.16.1 Growing Lemon balm
-----
From: jera@ksu.ksu.edu (JR Schroeder)
Lemon Balm, is a hardy perennial member of the mint family (Lamiaceae).
I've found it easy to propagate from seed or by dividing the clump in
spring or late August; cuttings don't seem to work well. A mature plant
forms an ordinary-looking rounded clump that's about 2' across. It doesn't
spread as rampantly as some of it's relatives, although it can become weedy
if you let it go to seed (this is a good way of getting little plants to
share, though :) ).

There is a variegated form, very attractive but less vigorous (it is hardy
in my Zone 5 winters). I've found that if you stress this form, it reverts
to completely green, until it recovers from the stress (which may take the
rest of the season). I haven't tried propagating this one from seed; it is
true from cuttings and divisions.

=====
2.16.3 Using / Preserving Lemon balm
-----
From: doliver@minerva.polaristel.net, Northwind Farm Publications
Someone asked about lemon balm tea: should it be used fresh or dried, etc.
We are great lovers of lemon balm tea. We grow a patch of it, harvesting
the leaves all summer for fresh tea. In the fall, we gather the crop and
air-dry it for winter. The flavor is different depending on whether it is
fresh or dried; I prefer the fresh, but dried is fine. Bruising the leaves
before brewing the tea definitely intensifies the flavor.

To prepare the tea, just steep the leaves in boiling water for a few
minutes. Personal taste will determine the amount to use (don't skimp) and
the brewing time. Try adding some of your other favorite tea ingredients
for a little variety. Chamomile and hops make a soothing (maybe sedative or
soporific for those sensitive to these ingredients) combination with the
lemon balm.

I have never heard of any toxic effects or contraindications to the use of
lemon balm. From personal experience, I'd say it's perfectly harmless.

-----
From: ericf@central.co.nz (Sue Flesch)

Put some fresh stalks in a muslin bag or similar and hang over hot tap
while running a bath. Scents the bath beautifully. Nice dried and added to
pot pourri.

Sue Flesch, Nelson, New Zealand

-----
> What can I do with all this lemon balm?

From: denysm@vcn.bc.ca (Denys Meakin)

It makes a good refreshing tea. Just steep a stalk with the leaves in
boiling water for a few minutes. Experiment with different amounts until
you get the strength of brew you like. You can dry the leaves for making
tea in the winter.

==========

2.17 Garlic

Latin name: Allium sativum.
=====
2.17.1 Growing garlic
-----
From: TKSJOHN@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu (John Pedlow)

Plant a clove every place you'd like a garlic plant to grow next year.
"Regular" garlic does not get "seed" heads. Rocambole garlic does. The
"seed" heads are not really seeds but are "bulblets" which may be planted
and will develop into garlic in a couple of years. These bulblets do have a
garlic flavor but I find them a bit bitter compared with garlic cloves.
Btw, my rocambole is just slightly smaller (head size) than my "regular"
garlic. and, I am unable to taste a difference between the two varieties.

-----
From: sallee@aol.com (Sallee)

The little bulblettes which are formed after the flower are the seeds for
the garlic plant, but they must be planted in the FALL to make big
beautiful garlic bulbs the following fall. Actually, the garlic knows the
best time to plant itself -- when that head dries, it drops it's seeds at
just the correct planting time.
The garlic also tells you the best harvesting time for the bulbs for
keeping and eating -- when that gooseneck flower stem unwinds fully, the
bulbs are fully formed, but have not yet started to petal outward. The
bulbs are still tightly closed and keep well.
I've grown award winning garlic in Nebraska for years by letting the plants
tell me when to pick this way.

=====
2.17.3 Using / preserving garlic
-----
From: NDooley@president-po.president.uiowa.edu

Garlic Jelly

2 T. butter or margarine
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled and minced
3 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. apple cider vinegar
6 oz. liquid pectin

In a large saucepan, combine butter and garlic over medium heat. Cook,
stirring constantly, until garlic is light golden brown (3 to 4 minutes).
Add sugar and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and
mixture comes to a boil. Stir in pectin. Boil 1 minute, stirring
constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam from top of jelly. Pour into
sterilized jars and seal. Yield: about 3 C. jelly.

-----
From: Schaller_Barb@htc.honeywell.com (Barb Schaller)

Here's a recipe from the Fall 1995 Kerr Kitchen Pantry publication:
"This unusual jelly can be used as a condiment: Simply add it to a meat
marinade or brush it on a roast while cooking. The combination of
ingredients results in an attractive light green color -- no food coloring
needed!"

Garlic Jelly

4 oz. peeled garlic cloves
2 cups white vinegar (labeled 5 percent acidity)
5 cups sugar
3 oz. package liquid pectin (Certo brand)

In a food processor or blender, blend garlic and 1/2 cup vinegar until
smooth. In 6- to 8-quart saucepan, combine garlic mixture, remaining 1-1/2
cups vinegar and sugar. Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil, stirring
constantly. Quickly add pectin, return to a boil and boil hard for 1
minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Immediately fill hot,
sterilized half-pint jars with jelly, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar
tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars and apply screw bands
firmly. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Yield: 5 half-pint
jars.

-----
Garlic jam

From: Sam Waring <waring@ima.infomail.com>

4 Garlic head, whole (~14 oz)
1 T Olive oil, extra-virgin
1 md Onion; unpeeled & halved lengthwise
Salt (opt)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a large sharp knife, cut off 1/2-inch from
the top of each head of garlic to expose some of the flesh.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the bottom of a gratin or glass pie
dish. Place the garlic and the onion halves cut sides down in the dish,
cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until very soft to the
touch. Uncover and let cool for 20 minutes. Peel the onion halves and
finely chop them. Place in a medium bowl.
Squeeze the garlic pulp from the skins into the bowl; discard the skins.
Using a fork, stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and mash with the onion
and garlic until thoroughly incorporated. Season with salt if desired. (The
garlic jam will keep refrigerated in a glass jar for up to 2 weeks.)
Makes 1-1/3 cups.
Use this condiment with roasted meats or as a spread for toasted croutons
or cold meat sandwiches, or try a spoonful of it mixed into homemade salad
dressings and sauces.
Source: Food & Wine - December, 1993

-----
From: hattie@netcom.com (Susan Hattie Steinsapir)

Garlic bulbs - intact - keep well if given enough air about them. I keep a
pound or so on hand, ordinarily, in a bowl on the counter. If it starts to
go bad, usually you'll notice that it's sprouting much as an onion or
potato would.
It's great baked - then squeeze the paste out onto toasted baguettes.
Absolutely *DO NOT* store it in oil. Doing this can lead to death by
bacterial contamination.
I don't know about freezing it. I usually use it up before I really have to
consider such a course.

-----
From: ness@tc.fluke.COM (Jerry Ness)

I break up the garlic bulb and peel each clove of garlic. I put all the
cloves of garlic in one of those pint jars with the glass lid, wire bale
and red rubber gasket. I fill the jar with Gallo cocktail sherry and put it
in the 'fridge.
I tried the oil method with the same kind of jar in the 'fridge but after a
couple of weeks the hiss of exhausting gasses when I opened the jar made me
more than a little suspect that something wasn't right with this method.
I have had no spoilage problems with the sherry/garlic method. An extra
bonus is the garlic flavored sherry for stir fry, Yum!

-----
From: hattie@netcom.com (Susan Hattie Steinsapir)

The best part of a pickle is the pickled garlic. It's the safest thing for
me to eat - I can eat about 3 of them and not salt out. I've seen pickled
garlic in the stores. It costs 3 USD to 4 USD for a half-pint. Garlic is
cheap, this stuff is way overpriced! So, I wanted to pickle it myself but
needed a recipe. Voila! Here's a recipe for pickled garlic from the Kerr
Kitchen *Pantry*.

Pickled garlic

3 cups peeled garlic cloves (this was the tough part!)
1.5 cups white vinegar (5 percent acidity)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t pickling salt

Add garlic cloves to pan of boiling water. When water returns to a boil,
boil for one minute. Drain and pack into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/2
inch headspace. Heat vinegar, sugar, and salt to boiling. Pour boiling
pickling liquid over garlic, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Carefully run a
nonmetallic utensil down inside of jars to remove trapped air bubbles. Wipe
jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars and apply screw bands
firmly. Process in Boiling Water Bath Canner for 10 minutes.
Yield: 3 1/2 pints.
I'll probably use less sugar, more salt. I know that I'll add hot pepper
flakes for some extra kick.
As an addendum, from Susan Hattie Steinsapir:
When I pickled the garlic, I soaked it overnight in the fridge in vinegar.
I poked holes in it so the vinegar could penetrate it better and then I
boiled it in the vinegar. I didn't use sugar at all but used more salt. I
haven't opened a jar yet but gave one to my sister. She was thrilled.

-----
From: jouet@aol.com (JOUET):

Garlic Soup 1

1 clove garlic
2 tbs. olive oil
3 tbs. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 Cups chicken stock
4 slices white bread, crusts removed
2/3 Cup light cream
1 ounce blanched almonds, finely chopped
Garnish: fresh parsley or chives, chopped

Separate the garlic cloves, removing the papery skins. Heat the oil in a
pan, add the garlic, and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender. Remove from
the heat. Cook, then skin. Roughly chop the flesh.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the garlic and onion, cover, and
cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes until the onion is soft. Pour in the
stock, add the bread, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor. Add the cream and almonds
and blend until smooth. Garnish and serve
NOTES: Garlic that has been smoked over oak chips adds a great flavor but
regular garlic will work quite well.

Garlic Soup 2

1 whole garlic bulbs
2 quarts water
2 teaspoons salt
a pinch of pepper
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 whole egg yolks
4 tablespoons olive oil
some grated Parmesan cheese

Separate the garlic cloves, drop into boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain,
plunge into cold water, and peel. Put the garlic with the 2 quarts of
water, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and olive oil into a
large saucepan and boil slowly for 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
Beat the egg yolks in a soup tureen until they are thick. Beat in the oil
very slowly, as if making mayonnaise. Just before serving, beat a cup of
the hot soup into the egg mixture slowly, so that the eggs heat gradually.
Strain in the rest of the soup through a sieve, beating constantly; keeping
back the garlic and seasonings. Press the garlic against the sieve to get
the juice out. Serve at once with fresh French bread or croutons and
cheese.
Alternative: instead of the oil and egg mix in the tureen, strain the soup
and return it to the pot. Add 3 cups potatoes, diced, and a pinch of
saffron; simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Garlic Soup 3

1/2 cup oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz stale white bread, crusts removed, crumbled
1 teaspoon paprika
pinch salt
pinch cayenne pepper
4 cups water
3 whole tomatoes, peeled and coarsely
2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
Garnish: 2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the garlic and saute until soft but not
brown. Add the bread and cook over moderate heat until light golden but do
not brown. Add the paprika, salt, cayenne, water, and tomatoes, then simmer
for 30 minutes over low heat.
With a wooden spoon, beat the soup until the bread disintegrates. While
beating, add the eggs. Simmer for a few moments but do not boil. The soup
should be highly seasoned. If necessary, add more cayenne and salt.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

-----
From: Susan Hattie Steinsapir <hattie@netcom.com>

Here's yet another garlic soup recipe. This one from Elizabeth David's
*French Country Cooking*.

Soupe A L'Ail

This version is from Languedoc.
Put 2 tablespoons of goose or other good dripping into a deep earthenware
casserole. In this, gently melt 24 cloves of garlic without letting them
brown. (Note, most of us don't have goose fat or an earthenware casserole.
I usually have some schmaltz - rendered chicken fat - on hand, or use a
mixture of butter and olive oil. Use an enameled soup pot.)
Over this pour 3 to 4 pints of warmed stock or water. Season with salt,
black pepper, nutmeg and mace. Cook for 15 minutes. Put the soup through a
sieve. (By this, I think you mush the garlic cloves through.) Return the
soup to the pot to reheat it.
In a bowl, beat the yolks of three to four eggs with three tablespoons of
olive oil. Stir some of the soup into the eggs, then pour the egg mixture
back into the soup without letting it boil again.
Have some slices of stale bread, toasted in the oven with the egg whites
(not beaten) spread over them. Put these bread slices into a soup dish and
pour the soup over them.
Should serve 4 to 6 easily. Enjoy.

==========
End of part 2 of 4
==========

--
Henriette Kress             HeK@hetta.pp.fi            Helsinki, Finland
http://sunsite.unc.edu/herbmed FTP: sunsite.unc.edu or sunsite.sut.ac.jp
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