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Introduction to Herbs
When the average American housewife and/or working mother sets up house-keeping, she commits herself to preparing quite a number of meals through-out
her life time. One time I figured I was cooking for my family of five children and two adults
at least three meals a day, most of the 365 days of the year. That's one thousand and
ninty five meals! Some mothers, if they are home, also create an afternoon snack
for the little ones. I did when mine were small and I was not working away from the home.
Later, what with the children in school, the pappa on the job and me at the office,
all I had was breakfast and supper (which is what most Missourians and Texans used
to call the evening meal..unless they are 'going out' for 'DINNER' which would *then* be an evening meal !
It gets a little confusing; we used to call the noontime meal DINNER and the evening meal SUPPER.......now we usually call the noontime meal LUNCH and if we are talking to someone away from home, the evening meal DINNER. BUT...when we are home to ourselves...we still call the evening meal SUPPER and the noon meal either lunch or dinner !! AM I MAKING MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR ?!!
What I'm really trying to get at, is the fact that what ever we call them, when we ask a member of the family what they want to eat, the answer is usually 'Anything' or 'whatever' ! : ) Those are two things I have never found on my kitchen shelves!
It gets to be a problem of what *to* fix! One of the ways I learned to make things a bit different was to use different herbs to give the same food a little more of a flare. Some folks
don't like herbs...they want just the plain ole' *plain* ole' ! But the majority of people
like their food flavored well. Soooo.....here are some groceries along with the herbs that can enhance each. Use the herbs sparingly. Don't use *all* of the ones listed at once for a paticular food item, but experiment with them. Some herbs can be combined for an
interesting flavor, others are used nearly alone.
Here is one of my favorite recipes for seasoning:
BOUQUET GARNI
(a County Home Demo hand-out 1994)
This is a fine seasoning for stews or soups.
In a square of cheese cloth or domestic OR a large stainless steel tea egg, put:
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon each dried:
- basil
- rosemary
- oregano (or sweet marjoram)
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 whole peppercorns
- 1 clove garlic
For the last 15 minutes of the cooking of the stew or soups,
put this bouquet garni into the pot and cover. This is a one
time seasoning and should be discarded after use. If you put
the herbs in too early and allow them to overcook, the food
can become bitter.
Besides the herbs and spices listed in the acompanying file, I use a lot of different peppers like cayenne and particularly Jalepenos;
also you are really missing taste treat if you haven't tried "lemon pepper" Jalepenos in nearly everything! and cilantro (the plant that produces coriander seed) The Jalepenos are not hot if you (with ruber gloves!) remove the seed and the white tissue. They have a wonderful flavor. If you like it hot...keep the white and the seed!
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When i started this web site, there wasn't much information regarding herbs on the WWW. This small collection of information is meant to give a stepping stone to start your own gathering of knowledge. Some of the herbs are used by some people as health enhancers and for some specific illnesses. Use of any of these should not be relied upon without the advise of an authorized practitioner.
The words 'nature' and 'natural' have been contaminated by commerce
by implying that their products are 'all natural ingredients', 'country goodness' and
so-on. Just remember that everything in nature is not good for you if it is used
improperly. Lead, for instance is 'nature's own' but it is deathly poison if used
improperly. Digitalis, is a drug originally extracted from a flower called 'fox glove'.
It has saved lives of persons with certain heart conditions; use it wrong and it is fatal.
Nicotine is a natural product of nature. It is used among other things,
as a pesticide. It has been alleged that people are, and members of the
tobacco industry have been accused of, using it as an additive to a 'natural'
product..tobacco..that already contains quite a bit of nicotine, in order to cause
users to become addicted to the use of it. Lordy! That sentence is so long I
think I got lost! Any way.. you know what I mean.Hu?
I use herbs that I know are safe. I use them for teas, in moderation,
sometimes I like them better than coffee, regular tea or colas . Because I do not have enough knowledge (not being a "wise Woman"), I do take a few internally as
medication/suplement, like chamomile, some of the mints, Sculcap, Stevia, Ginger, Vervain, Kava Kava, and the known culinary herbs and some others... . I do enjoy their company in the garden and in my recipes, in my bath water, and body oils and salves, as potpourri, in dried arrangements and I have even used them to make soaps, also hair rinses and mouth washes.
STREWING
Little "strewing" is done today, but one can always find a way to practice this
once very popular custom. One might place lengths of fresh lavender or other strewables,
under a door mat so that when people step in on it, it exudes its fragrance. I sometimes
strew herbs in my indoor-outdoor room I call the Solarium.
DRYING HERBS
I was given a dehydrator for mother's day, but still, for the most part, I harvest and
dry the herbs in the old way.
Harvest only the near perfect stems with the leaves intact, being sure not to totally devastate the plant. I never take over 1/3 of the growth. Shake them well while still out in the garden so that if any lady bugs or spiders are on them they can escape.
Take them in to the sink, wash well, being sure to get all the sand, etc off. Put a bit of salt in the first tub of water to get rid of any little creepy crawlies that didn't vacate. I like
to rinse them, finally, in a strainer. Shake the water off as well as possible.. I sometimes wrap them gently in paper towels to absorb some of the moisture. Then, using rubber bands, band the stems together at the bottom end of the stems, and shake as much more water off as possible. Rubber bands are better than string or twisties as
they will de-spand (?) ; ) ..ok.. contract.... as the stems shrink from drying. I use a cone of paper toweling around them to keep any dust particles off. Also if there is a smoker in the family, it is very important to keep the tobacco tars from settling on them.
Now hang them in a dry place where they will get some air but no wind. I usually take a piece of line and make like a clothes line in one of my rooms and hang them from that with twisties. Be sure to label each bundle.
Some times, I drape cotton flour sacks over them instead of the paper towels. A cheap grade of domestic (cotton muslin) makes a good protection. Even with the dehydrator, I like this method best as it is somewhat time consuming removing the little leaves and arranging the little layers, one at a time on the dehydrator shelves! I use it mainly to dehydrate flowers for potpourri.
It may take a couple of weeks, but when the herbs are so dry that they crackle when crunched, take them down, carefully remove the leaves from the stems and store them in sterile jars with labels and dates, in a cool, dark cupboard.....NOT OVER THE STOVE! That's it! And enjoy the SCENTS as you work!...and the CENTS you save by using your very own herbs! Also, if you are a basket weaver or like making wreaths, some of the stems can be used! They maintain their scent for some time.
Think..Act.. ecology.. "Consider the impact on the 7th generation." Iroquoian.
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