Date: 11:29 pm Fri Apr 12, 1996 Number : 56 of 100 From: Galen Starwalker Base : [PODS] Herbal Tips & Tricks To : All Refer #: None Subj: Culinary Herbs 13 Replies: None Stat: Sent Origin : 12 Apr 96 00:52:00 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 versitile 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 stomaches. It is also a traditional memory sharpener. Shakespeare said in Hamlet . . . "There's Rosemary, that's for rememberance." 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 handsfull 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 handfull 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 repellant 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 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. ===== --- DB 1.58/003790 * Origin: The Rain Forest * Denver,CO * (93:9083/4)