Herbs for Mother's Day

Because Mother’s Day always falls during the beautiful, fertile time of spring when we can cultivate our gardens, herbs make a perfect gift. Even if your mother is not a gardener, there are sure to be herbal products just right for her. Consider first what herbs your mother’s garden already has and try to find something new to add. Understand what the plant needs to mature and make sure whatever you give her, she has room for. A perennial herb like sage, thyme, lavender or even rose will be used and admired for years to come. Mom will think of you every time she is near it. Herbs do not usually require a lot of maintenance. If your mother does not have a patch of earth she tends, give her potted herbs for the deck or windowsill. You or your nursery can create a planter in an attractive pot. 

If fresh, potted herbs are not quite your mom’s things buy new herbs and spices to replace the old, expired containers in her cupboard. Include some she might not buy for herself like a vanilla bean, saffron, Hungarian paprika, colorful peppercorns or a selection of curries. Many such collections are available, beautifully packaged from a gourmet kitchen store. 

Teas always make a nice gift that mom can use year-round. Gourmet tea shops have unique blends to choose from and a staff to educate you on the possibilities so you can be sure to pick what she likes. Going the less expensive route, regular grocery and health food stores now carry a wide selection of various teas in boxes or tins of 20 bags ready for easy use. Try fruit flavored blends, Rooibos tea (an antioxidant) or the now popular white tea. 

There are endless selections for the home and bath. Try fragranced potpourri, dried herb arrangements, wreaths for doors and walls, essential oils and diffusers or stainless steel strainers for teas, graters for nutmeg (with a jar of whole nutmegs) and citrus and garlic peelers and presses. These are the little things that one never seems to have when needed. For the bath, handmade soaps that contain herbs and the fragrance of only pure essential oils feel luxurious. Soaps from European countries can be interesting — olive oil bars from Italy, lavender from France. Naturally scented soy candles do not release toxic smoke or an unpleasant paraffin smell. Herbal body and salt scrubs, loofa sponges and moisturizing herb-scented oils are good choices. Inexpensive, small muslin drawstring bags can be purchased from the health food store, to fill with loose herbs like lavender, lemongrass and mint and toss into the bath to fragrance the steam. 

For health, make a gift basket which includes the most useful preparations like echinacea and St. Johnswort tinctures, arnica salve for sore muscles, calendula oil to nourish the skin, an herb book and a gift certificate for an herb class or a consultation with an herbal practitioner. 

Books on every conceivable herbal topic are available and some very pretty ones are tied with a satin ribbon or fragranced. My book, 'Herbs For All: Herbal Knowledge for Home, Kitchen, Garden and Healthcare' makes a great gift. 

Moms sometimes need help (and always like company), so offer to plant the garden herbs you give her or clean out the spice cabinet with her. You may be surprised at the memories and chuckles that come when you find antique containers and long-expired bottles. When you are done, cook a meal together, or better yet, cook one for her with the new spices you brought using a recipe from the new herb cookbook you gave her. Afterwards enjoy a cup of tea together. Let herbs help create a memorable Mother’s Day you both can enjoy.

Herbally Fresh: Using Herbs to Clean and Disinfect Your Home

Spring is finally here, thankfully! Open all your windows and let in the clean, fresh air. There are lots of wonderful ways to use herbs to dispel the dreary doldrums, germs and stale air of winter. There are several herbs that are particularly good for this.

Tea tree is tops for disinfecting. It does not have the most appealing of fragrances but does

the job well, as do all the citrus family members. That is why we see so many lemon and orange scented cleansers on the market. Grapefruit seed extract also has disinfecting properties, along with eucalyptus, rosemary, bergamot, juniper, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, pine, lavender, peppermint and sage.

Because most of us do not always have these herbs available, the essential oils of the plants are the handiest form to use that will deliver the potency to get the job done. However, if you have a cup or two of last summer’s harvest of lavender flowers, oregano, rosemary, or eucalyptus leaves or you have a several lemons or oranges (use peels only cut into small slivers) you can try this economical recipe.

Easy Herb Household Rinse

1 part herb or fruit peel

3 parts water

Bring water to a simmer. Add herb or peel. Bring back to simmer, turn off heat and cover the pot. Strain when cool and use to wipe and disinfect surfaces. Add a drop or two of dishwashing detergent to help remove grease. Store the mixture in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.

This basic recipe for using essential oils is easy to prepare when needed:

Essential Oil Cleaning Solution

Mix 8 drops of essential oil with 2 quarts warm water and one teaspoon isopropyl alcohol. This mixture can be pumped from a spray bottle; use a glass one if possible.

Essential oils can be blended to create useful preparation with pleasant fragrances. If you don’t know which ones to mix, there are many books that will help inform you about which ones work synergistically, that is, blend well to create an aroma that seems balanced. I like any books by Valerie Ann Worwood. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy is a good one to start with.

There are many ways to diffuse fragrance and germ killing power. Apply a few drops to a tissue and place it in the diaper pale or waste paper basket or put a couple of drops on the inside of a new toilet paper or paper towel roll. Dilute the essential oils with an ample amount of water to wipe down changing tables and counter tops. Here are two pleasing blends.

Feel free to halve or double the recipe to suit your needs. Always store essential

oils in dark bottles, out of direct light, and keep out of reach of children.

To clean windows without ammonia, firmly wipe them down with a damp cloth. Then wipe

again with a bunched up a sheet of newspaper with a drop or two of a citrus (lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit) essential oil on it to remove streaks.

It can be pleasing, satisfying and economical to concoct your own botanical cleaning supplies. They offer a great way to avoid the physical aversion so many people feel to the chemical cleaners and artificial fragrances.

Homemade Furniture Polish

4 oz. beeswax

2.5 cup turpentine

1.5 cups water

1 oz. pure soap flakes or grated soap

10 drops of essential oil

In a double boiler, slowly melt the beeswax. Carefully add room temperature turpentine and stir until it becomes liquid again. Remove from heat. In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and add soap flakes and stir until dissolved. When both mixtures are cool, combine them and add the essential oil. Blend thoroughly and pour into a wide mouth container that has a lid. Caution: do not use an open flame to make this recipe as the turpentine is extremely flammable. Warm it gently over a very low heat.

It can be pleasing, satisfying and economical to concoct your own botanical cleaning supplies. They offer a great way to avoid the physical aversion so many of us feel to chemical cleaners and artificial fragrances.

Growing Herbs From Seed

March is a good time to get some starts going in the greenhouse. Seeds are available from nurseries and catalogues and online. Some of my favorite suppliers are Horizon Herbs and Johnny's. I am always interested in heirloom seed resources. You can save money growing your own bed of basil from a $2 package of seed, compared to buying a flat for more than $20.

Not every herb grows well from seed. Some, such as garlic and rosemary must be propagated by cutting or division. Many cultivars such as mint, lavender, bee balm, sage and thyme can show too much variation if started from seed; it is best to buy them from a reliable grower already established and potted. Echinacea, citronella, English lavender and chile pepper seeds are very temperamental and need special conditions to sprout, for example, scarification or extremely warm soil.

Besides seed, you'll need soil, containers, and the ability to provide proper water, light and temperature conditions.

Soil. Use a lightweight sterile mix to avoid disease problems.

Containers. These too need to be free of pathogens. If you are reusing pots or flats, sterilize them in a bleach solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water. Plug trays make it easy to plant seeds and later remove seedlings for transplanting. These trays are available at local nurseries and online. Be sure to label the flats so when the herbs sprout you can tell what they are.

Water. Herb babies usually like consistently moist (not soggy) soil. To insure that pots and flats do not dry out completely, spritz the soil or let water soak up from the bottom of the container. You can also cover the container with plastic wrap when you plant, but remove it as soon as sprouts show. Be careful; it is the soil, not the plants, that hold the moisture. Mold, wilt or rot will destroy the seedlings. Basil is particularly susceptible to wilt.

Fertilizer. Use potting soil that already contains fertilizer.

Light. Too much light will stress the seedlings, and too little will make them weak. If the plants are struggling and look like they are reaching for the light, give them more. If they look wilted and exhausted, give them less. Ask your nursery about supplementing with artificial light.

Before putting seeds in the soil, place them on a thick, damp paper towel, and place it in a plastic zipper storage bag. Put the bag where the temperature will remain stable and warm. Check the seeds daily until they begin to sprout. At this point, they can be put directly in the garden, if the weather is warm enough. However, they will probably do better if you baby them along in a flat or pots in a protected area where the intense sun or romping dogs won't harm them. Once the plants reach a more substantial size, they will need to be hardened off. Gradually expose the new plants to outdoor conditions so they can withstand being planted in your garden.

I have found that Mediterranean herbs love the hot, intense sun and dry climates. Herbs with broad, tender leaves do best in a few hours of direct sun with the rest of the day in partial shade. Local nurseries try to carry the herbs that do well in our climate, so consult them. Read instructions on the seed packet before you purchase to be sure you can provide the necessary conditions.

My favorite herb gardening book is "The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons," by Susan McClure. In the last few years, seed catalogues have begun offering great tips and necessary instructions for success.

So go ahead and begin while it's early spring. Enjoy shopping and saving money and the satisfaction of starting some of your herbs from seed.

Here is a list of culinary and medicinal herbs for you to consider:

Angelica
Anise

Basil

Black Cohosh

Borage

Calendula

Caraway

Catnip

Chamomile
Chervil

Cilantro

Dill

Fennel

Greek Oregano

Lemon Balm

Lobelia

Lovage

Parsley

Sage

Salad Burnet

Sorrel

Marjoram

Summer and Winter savory

Valerian

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Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter. 
For class schedule and to ask questions: www.millcreekherbs.com

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Reprinted with permission: Catalyst Magazine

Perk Up Those Bland Winter Meals

Now that my garden is covered with snow, I miss my fresh garden herbs and their fragrance and flavor. Can you suggest any herbs that I can use this time of year to perk up my senses?

Rather than longing for the fresh, leafy, summertime herbs, think spices, those pungent, aromatic herbs from far away places. Arabs introduced them to the Romans and went so far as to make up fantastic stories of their origins to keep their sources hidden. Even after finally admitting that cinnamon came from a tree, they reported that the tree was on an island in the middle of a lake guarded by griffin vultures that would attack and eat anyone who came near.

Remember your history lessons on European explorers and the Spice Islands? The Spice Islands, or Moluccas, encompass most of the Indonesian islands, also called the East Indies. The Portugese opened up a sea trade route in 1498, creating new access to the spice trade; the previous route traveled through Africa and Constantinople to Venice. That city held the European monopoly on spices.

Wars were fought over the spices that grew only in the warm, humid air of the tropics. Spices were so valuable, they were kept under lock and key in the kitchen of those lucky or rich enough to acquire them. The Dutch, who colonized the East Indies, kept prices inflated for nearly 200 years by restricting the cultivation of some spices. It was not until some plants were smuggled out to the West Indies in the late 18th century that prices finally fell.

What is a spice? Think exotic seeds, bark, nuts, and tubers like nutmeg, allspice, star anise, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, pepper, cloves, ginger, saffron and vanilla. Other spices such as mustard and chili were also discovered in far-off places, then brought back to Europe and successfully cultivated in colder climates. If you have ever grown cilantro in your garden and allowed it to go to seed, those sweet, fragrant seeds are coriander.

Here’s some interesting information about a few spices:

Pepper is one of the first and most desirable spices to be traded. Both black and white pepper grow on a vine. Black pepper is the entire peppercorn or berry; white pepper results when the berry is soaked and the hull stripped off. White pepper is a milder in flavor than black.

Vanilla actually comes from the tropical forests of the Americas and was introduced to the Spaniards by the Aztecs who used it to flavor their chocolate. Pods grow from a vine and are not harvested until their third year. The pods are picked and cured by alternately being sweetened and dried.

Vanilla beans are expensive but can be reused many times to flavor recipes. Boil a pod in milk to flavor it. Then rinse it off, dry it and store in an airtight container for future use.

Buy only real, pure vanilla extract. You don’t even want to know what goes into the artificially flavored one. If you travel, beware of large bottles offered at a steal of a price. It is probably not the real thing.

Curry powder is a blend of ground spices, usually containing some or all of the following: turmeric, ginger, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek, cumin, cayenne, mustard and coriander. In India, household cooks take great pride in their unique recipes handed down from relatives.

Curry is fun to play with. Making your own is a great way to study the individual spices, learn how they complement each other and how proper cooking captures their best flavor. Often a curry spice recipe requires quick roasting of some ingredients in a hot skillet which releases more aroma and taste. If making curry powder is too time-consuming, choose several kinds from different manufacturers in the store and have a taste test to see which you prefer.

Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice. It takes 250,000 stigmas from 76,000 blue-violet crocus flowers (Crocus sativa) to make a pound. Because of its cost, saffron is often adulterated. In 15th century Germany, people were burned at the stake for doing just that.

Buy the dry threads in small amounts. Known for adding color to foods and also used as dye, saffron’s flavor is subtle but distinctive. It is used in many rice dishes such as paella and is an essential ingredient in bouillabaisse.

Nutmeg and mace come from the fruit of a tree a bit like an apricot in form. When ripe, the fruits are shaken down into baskets and spread to dry in the sun. The outer fleshy peel is removed from the nut; this is mace which has a very strong, nutmeg-gy flavor. When the nuts are dry enough to hear the kernel rattle inside, the shell is broken to release the nutmeg inside which is then graded for quality.

Buy and keep nutmeg whole and use a fine grater to get the amount you need. The sweet, nutty, spicy flavor is useful in baked goods, fish, eggs, mulled wines and dairy drinks, spiced puddings and more.

Easy ways to includes spicy flavorings to your food:

·  Add curry powder to vegetables in broth or sauteed chicken for a welcome, distinctive change of taste.

·  Bake sugar cookies or shortbread with anise, coriander or cardamom added.

·  Add poppy seeds to breads, buns and biscuits.

·  Stew dried or fresh fruit with cinnamon, allspice and cloves.

·  Add ground, cumin, coriander and green chilis to a chili or lentil soup recipe.

·  Vanilla custard is real comfort food.

·  Add candied or crystallized ginger to a granola recipe.

·  Crush a few strands of saffron and add to a creamy vegetable or fish soup or rice.

Though we think of delectable flavors when we think of spices, many have significant therapeutic value. Turmeric is liver protective and an important herbal anti-inflammatory. Ginger and hot chilies offer varying degrees of vasodilation that can stimulate blood flow to the extremities and mucous membranes. Fenugreek seeds are used as a poultice for boils and may help lower cholesterol. Studies on cinnamon suggest that it helps with sugar metabolism in the body, and cardamom and anise have soothing digestive effects.

So rather than long for what is past, indulge yourself in the new possibilities of more exotic, less familiar herbs and spices, and delight in your new fragrant, culinary herbal adventures.

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Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter.
For class schedule and to ask questions: www.millcreekherbs.com

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Reprinted with permission: Catalyst Magazine

Be A Culinary Adventurer!

I was a culinary adventurer yesterday. I got Lion's Mane mushroom from Biocentric Bros and Black Cod tips at the Winter Downtown SLC Farmers Market. 

Thank goodness they told me how to cook them because I had no idea. Mushrooms freak me out and I am trying to gain a better understanding of them and I had never tried or even seen Lion's Mane except in pictures. I sauted fish and mushrooms separately, added sauteed shallots and zucchini, made brown rice but felt Crumb Bros. Sourdough to be a better compliment and Voila! Delish! And I have leftovers for tonight. That was really fun and healthy.

Herbs for the Holidays

Now that my garden has been put to bed for the winter, I miss having the fresh smells of aromatic herbs in my home. I have dried my culinary herbs. Do you have any tips on how to use herbs during the holidays for food, festivities and fragrance?

Herbs, a perfect addition to holiday traditions, home comfort and gatherings, add to the enjoyment and memories of the occasion by communicating with us through multiple senses. They are beautiful to look at, tasty in recipes, and fragrant, setting the mood and enhancing the holiday atmosphere.

Take down those hanging bundles of dried herbs and use them to make a decorative door wreath. I use an inexpensive grapevine wreath from the craft store, attaching bundles of herbs with a glue gun. Dried garden sage, lavender sprigs, rosemary, some white statice and a big bow look lovely on the door. I spread pine boughs along the length of my fireplace mantel and tuck more of these bundles of dried herbs into it. Some candles or holiday figurines add a finishing touch. You can use the same idea for table decorations or centerpieces. Dried herb bundles also look lovely tucked into napkin rings or under the bow of a wrapped present.

Everyone recognizes particular aromas of the season, and there are many ways to infuse them into the air. The light of scented candles adds to the holiday ambience. Bayberry is especially familiar; the first settlers made candles from the wax of this plant and burned them during the winter holidays. Many artificially fragranced options can be too strong, and sometimes people have allergic reactions to them. As a candle alternative, add allspice and cinnamon stick to a pot of simmering water to fragrance or refresh the air. Essential oils in a diffuser can substitute for the fresh pine smell that our artificial trees cannot provide. Cinnamon, clove, cedar, orange or tangerine oils also produce holiday fragrance. One word of caution: Essential oils are very flammable, so never put them directly on a heat source like a light bulb or near a flame, and keep them out of reach of children. To make a house spray, combine 6 drops of pine, 3 drops orange and 2 drops cinnamon in an eight-ounce spray bottle of water.

Seasoning food with herbs opens a world of endless opportunity. Put roasted garlic in the mashed potatoes. Add one teaspoon each of crumbled or ground sage, thyme and marjoram to four cups of unseasoned stuffing. Add fresh snipped chives, parsley, dill, and salad burnet (which stays green under the snow all winter) with a little chopped red pepper to a sour cream dip. Green mint liqueur or syrup over vanilla ice cream topped with a cherry is a colorful and easy dessert. Use cilantro in spicier fare. Herbs make lovely garnishes, too. With all the rich recipes this time of year, people really appreciate the refreshing taste of herbs includesd in unexpected places. I like to add chopped ginger and cinnamon to warm apple cider to relieve winter's chill.

Remember herbs on your gift list. Little pots of culinary herbs make pretty and useful presents. Area garden centers usually have topiaried rosemary plants that you can give for use as a centerpiece. Bottles of imported spices are a nice gift. Fill a pretty jar with lavender blossoms that a friend can take to the workplace or put by her bathtub. Sleep pillows stuffed with herbs can be used well past the holidays. Dried and living plants make wonderful gifts.

So this season, think of herbs first when you are seeking ideas. Enjoy them yourself as you package them up. At the end of a busy day, fill a little muslin bag with lavender and let the water from the faucet run over it as you are running the tub for a relaxing bath.

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Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter.
For class schedule and to ask questions: www.millcreekherbs.com

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Reprinted with permission: Catalyst Magazine

Why I Became An Herbalist.