China Bayles' Book of Days (50 page)

When the Foot Formula has gone around a second time, Lyle heats it to boiling, takes it outdoors, and pours it onto the nearest fire-ant mound. “Kills ’em deader ’n your average doornail,” he reports. “No chemicals, neither. I’m gonna take a sample over to Texas A&M and see if the Aggies want to do some research with it.”

Go for it, Lyle. The Merryweathers are rooting for you.

AUGUST 29

Today is National More Herbs, Less Salt Day.

“China, do you have any more rosemary-tarragon vinegar?” Helen asked. “And while you’re at it, Mother wants some of that no-salt seasoning blend you make. She sneaks it on her food when the nurses are looking the other way.” Helen’s mother lives in a nursing home in Waco. If she can’t get along without that seasoning, it must be good.

—WITCHES’ BANE: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Getting the Salt Out

If you’re one of the many people who need to reduce salt, here are recipes for the herbal blends China sells in her shop. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, pulverize them in a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or blender, and store in a tightly lidded jar in a cool, dark place. Each makes about
cup. You can also stir them into sour cream (I use low-fat) or yogurt for a zippy dip.

SAVORY BLEND

2 tablespoons dried dillweed
2 tablespoons dried chives
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon powdered lemon peel

½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

ZIPPY BLEND

2 tablespoons dried winter savory
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons curry powder
1½ teaspoons ground white pepper
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon powdered orange peel
1 teaspoon garlic powder

SPICY BLEND

2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
1 tablespoon powdered cloves
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 teaspoon dried winter savory
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon powdered orange peel

For more help in getting the salt out:

The American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook
, by the American Heart Association

Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends,
edited by Deborah L. Balmuth

AUGUST 30

Balm with its delicious lemon scent, is by common consent one of the most sweetly smelling of all the herbs in the garden. Balm-wine was made of it and a tea which is good for feverish colds. The fresh leaves make better tea than the dry.

—FRANCIS A. BARDSWELL, THE HERB GARDEN, 1911

Balm for the Soul

Lemon balm (
Melissa officinalis
) has been beloved since long before Homer spoke of “sweet balm and gentle violets” in the
Odyssey
, or Theocritus mentioned (in
The Idyll
) that his sheep loved to browse it in the meadows. Virgil grew it especially for his bees (
melissa
is from the Greek word for “bee”), and Thomas Jefferson included it in his 1794 list of herbs at Monticello. It has calmative properties, and is widely used in tea and other drinks.

In your garden, use lemon balm as a border plant, or in a container. Plant it along a path, where you can reach down and touch it, and cut it back to encourage bushiness. You’ll find plenty of uses for those cuttings!

BALM FOR THE THIRSTY

This delicious garden punch is easy to make, and it will be the star of your garden party. Thanks to Lucinda Hutson, for allowing me to reprint it from her book,
The Herb Garden Cookbook.

GARDEN PUNCH

2 generous bunches of lemon balm sprigs, on long stems
if possible, plus
2 generous bunches mild-flavored mints (also on long
stems if possible) to loosely fill the pitcher
1 large can (46 ounces) unsweetened pineapple juice or
equivalent pure unfiltered apple juice
juice of two lemons
1 lemon, cut in thin slices
sparkling water or champagne to taste

Gently wring the bunches of lemon balm and mint to release their flavor. Place in a large glass pitcher, cover with the juices and the lemon slices. Chill overnight, occasionally stirring and pressing down on the herbs with the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into iced glasses with a splash of sparkling water (or champagne) and a sprig of fresh lemon balm and/or mint. Serves 8-10.

Read more of Lucinda Hutson’s garden cookery:

The Herb Garden Cookbook,
by Lucinda Hutson

To make a nourishing drink for harvest laborers: Take a gallon of water, and put a little of it into a pan with half a pound of oatmeal, a pound of sugar, the juice of an orange and lemon and their rind sliced small. Boil them for ten minutes, then add the rest of the water, take from the fire, and stir well until it is cold.

—MISTRESS CLARK’S BOOK, EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

SEPTEMBER 1

September is National Honey Month.

I broke open a biscuit and drizzled honey on it with a spoon. The honey had the scent of lavender, and when I tasted it, the flavor of lavender, warmed by the sun.

—BLOODROOT: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Herbal Honey

Flavored honeys are among the easiest and most delicious herbal treats—and they make wonderful gifts, too. Many different herbs, spices, and herbs and spices in combination can be used to flavor honey. Make sure that none of the herbal material has been sprayed.

Here are some ideas to experiment with. To each cup of honey, use one of the following herbs, in the approximate amounts suggested. Or you can combine herbs—if you do, reduce the amounts proportionally (for example, 2 cinnamon basil leaves and 2 cinnamon sticks):

½ cup fragrant rose petals
4 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers
3-4 lemon or rose geranium leaves
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
4 cinnamon basil leaves
4-5 cinnamon sticks
3 teaspoons orange zest or lemon zest

In a nonreactive saucepan, heat the honey gently. Put the herbs in a clean jar and pour the honey over them. Cap tightly and let sit for a week or two before using. Wonderful on waffles, pancakes, toast, ice cream, and fruit.

Learn more about bees and honey:

Honey: From Hive to Honeypot: A Celebration of Bees and their Bounty
, by Sue Style

The neatest way to separate beeswax from honey-comb is to tie the comb up [when the honey has been removed] in a linen or woolen bag; place it in a kettle of cold water, and hang it over the fire. As the water heats, the wax melts, and rises to the surface, while all the impurities remain in the bag. It is well to put a few pebbles in the bag, to keep it from floating.

—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833

Isn’t it funny
How a bear likes honey?
Buzz, buzz, buzz,
I wonder why he does.
—A. A. MILNE, WINNIE-THE-POOH, 1926

SEPTEMBER 2

In some calendars, the Celtic month of Vines (Brambles) begins today (September 2-29).

The bramble trees were: the dog-rose; bramble; broom; heather; ivy; vine. . . .

—JACQUELINE MEMORY PATERSON, TREE WISDOM

Brambles

The bramble “trees” were not the most lordly of the Celtic trees, but one—the dog rose (
Rosa canina
)—was useful, as well as beautiful. It is said that this beautiful wild rose derived its name from the ancient tradition that the root would cure a bite from a mad dog. More likely, it was originally called the dag rose (
dag
meaning “dagger”), for its sharp thorns, and the name was changed to “dog” by people who did not understand the reference.

The dog rose produced a valuable fruit, the rose hip (the seed pod that forms when the flower has dropped away), which was esteemed for its flavor, its medicinal qualities, and its magical properties. When fruit was not readily available, the tart, spicy rose hip would have been a tasty treat, especially steeped in a tea. Dried and powdered and taken as a medicine, rose hips were used to treat a variety of ailments, among them diarrhea and dysentery and “weak stomachs.” (Now, we know that they are a superb source of vitamin C.) Magically, rose hips were strung and worn as a necklace to attract love, while rose hip tea was believed to increase one’s prophetic powers.

If your roses produce hips (many modern roses do not), they can be made into a delicious jam, jelly, marmalade, puree, syrup—and even soup! And of course, you can add them (chopped) to that cup of herbal tea you’re brewing, especially if you’re expecting to make a few prophesies.

ROSE HIP SYRUP

4 cups rose hips
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

Wash rose hips and remove stems. Boil hips and water for 20 minutes in a covered glass or enamel saucepan. Strain, and return the juice to the pan. Add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and boil for five minutes. Cool and store in refrigerator. An especially tasty treat: ½ cup rose hip syrup stirred into 3 cups applesauce!

Explore other old-fashioned things to do with roses:

Rose Recipes from Olden Times,
by Eleanour Sinclair Rohde

SEPTEMBER 3

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?

—G. K. CHESTERTON

September’s Theme Garden: A Zodiac Garden

There are several ways to design and plant a Zodiac Garden. You might, for example, choose to create a small garden of just those herbs that are ruled by your Sun sign. If you’re a Taurus, for instance, you might have violets, roses, daisies, plantain, horehound, and thyme—the herbs listed for Taurus in the entry for April 20. If your Moon is in Aries, add one or two of the Mars-ruled Aries herbs; if your rising sign is in Cancer, add another herb from that group! You could also design and make, or purchase, a special symbol designating your Sun sign: a large flat rock or a brick, painted with your sign, works beautifully for this. If your garden is planted against a fence or a wall, your Sun sign could be painted on the wall.

Another kind of Zodiac Garden—one you might see at an herb farm or horticultural center, for instance—is larger and more ambitious. A large circular garden is divided (with planks, bricks, rocks, or narrow pathways) into twelve wedge-shaped sections, one for each of the signs of the zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each of the sections contains herbs that are associated with that sign. A birdbath, a gazing globe, a sundial, or an armillary (an upright sundial) are all perfect centerpieces for such a garden. If you plant a garden of this design, you could designate your Sun, Moon, and rising signs with markers of your choice.

Even if you don’t believe (as earlier peoples did) that the stars influence our lives, a Zodiac Garden honors the historical and traditional associations of herbs, the planets, and human experience, and acknowledges the important belief that all things are connected in a universe in which we are all parts of some larger whole.