Pinch your Herbs!

Pinching back your herbs is the most important activity of the early season.

Understanding that herbs, like other plants, are trying to reproduce is important to understanding why we should pinch them off.  Plants intent on reproduction are striving to get a long stem intent on blooming.  That means you have an upright plant with few sideways branches that is reaching toward the sun the target to produce a flower head.  Okay for the plant but not a useful for you as the herb grower.  Pinching the plant changes the signals it is sending up that stem creating a bushier plant.



pinching basil


When a single stem reaches maturity and is ready to flower it sends signals down the stem to tell secondary buds to stop growing letting the single stem have all the energy. When you pinch off the growing tips of the plant it changes the signal and the plant begins to produce more branches to create more flowers, thus creating a larger bushier plant, that will eventually be much stronger.  This works on your flowering plants too!

How much should we pinch off?  There is no hard and fast rule. If a plant is badly in need of bulking up, you can take one or two larger pieces around 4 inches and several smaller tips about 2 inches.  If the plant has produced blossoms pinch off every single one of them.  Blossoms will pull energy from other parts of the plant weakening the flavor of the herbs.

In the early part of the season you can pinch your herb stems between a nail and a finger.  Later in the year a pair of sharp scissors will keep you from damaging the stems by twisting or pulling.

Lemon Basil before being pinched

Lemon Basil after pinching, see the two new branches...

 

Once you recognize that pinching is a kindness to your plants, you will not be afraid to do it.  For Basils the shape and leaf production is improved with frequent pinching.  Every branch pinched at a leaf node will produce two more stems.  The same is true of scented geraniums which can grow very long hard stems if not pinched back.  Thyme, mints, and oregano can be pinched more casually as you need the herbs for cooking or drying since they are log spreading growers anyway.  I generally trim these with scissors taking off an inch or two depending on the plant size.  With rosemary and bay or any other slow-growing semi-woody herbs, pinch out stems here and there to sculpt plants.

hard geranium stems

As I pinch my plants I lay the branches on a paper towel on a plate.  Everything I do not need to cook with is left to dry and in a day or two I can pop them into a jar. 

 

So pinch your herbs and enjoy!

Caprese Chicken - Weekend Recipe

This dish is great if you grill the chicken too.  Then you just mix up the sauce in a sauce pan or skillet and  add to the top of grilled chicken in a pie pan or alluminum foil on the grill and cover to allow the cheese to melt.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp. Backyard Patch Italian Seasoning

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. grated lemon peel

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 large plum tomato, cut into 8 thin slices

½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ c. chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Between pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper, place each chicken breast smooth side down; gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about ½ inch thick.

In small bowl, mix BYP Italian Seasoning, salt and lemon peel; rub mixture evenly over smooth side of chicken.

In 10-inch skillet, heat oil and vinegar over medium-high heat. Add chicken, seasoned side down; cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in center.

Reduce heat to low. Top each chicken breast with 2 tomato slices and 2 tablespoons cheese. Cover; cook 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil.

Sweet Woodruff - Herb of the Week

The planets seemed to align and tell me to choose this herb this week.  Tina Sams from The Essential Herbal Magazine, said they served May Wine (which is made with Sweet Woodruff) at an Herb Festival back in the early days.  I took pictures of Sweet Woodruff that has volunteered in my herb garden. Then author Susan Wittig Albert focused on Sweet Woodruff in her weekly herb newsletter “It’s About Thyme.” 

With all that karma it has to be this week’s

      Herb of the Week  -- Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)

This herb has many names in some cases it is known as Sweet Bedstraw or Wild Baby’s Breath.  In France it is known as Asperule Odorante which is sometimes incorrectly given as its scientific name.  The name woodruff grew out of the earlier wuderove, or "wood-wheel" (rove comes from the French word for wheel). Master of the woods would be a literal translation of the German name Waldmeister.

The plant contains the plant chemical coumarin, and when it is dried smells like a cross between freshly-mown hay and vanilla. It is this aromatic quality that give it the scientific name odoratum.  This scent increases on wilting and then persists on drying. It has long been valued for potpourris and perfumes and is a favorite in both sleep and moth repellant sachets. It was once used to stuff mattresses and pillows (hence the name, bedstraw).  For gardeners with a shady, wooded area, sweet woodruff can be an ideal groundcover.

Historical Uses

In the language of flowers Sweet Woodruff means "Be cheerful and rejoice in life."  It is used in Wedding bouquets to communicate that sentiment.  Those born under the sign of Capricorn  count Sweet Woodruff among their useful pants mostly because during the Middle Ages, the herb gained a reputation as a wound healer and was used to treat digestive and liver problems.  To celebrate St. Barnabas (patron saint of peace makers) on his feast day in June one can where a garland of roses, sweet woodruff, and wild William as the Saint once did.

 “From my youth I recall that elusive smell of woods in spring—a sweetness ascending from mold and decay but with the breath of young life rising from it.”

            ~ Adelma Grenier Simmons, Herb Gardening in Five Seasons referring to Sweet Woodruff and May Wine

To Grow

Sweet Woodruff is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. An herbaceous plant, it grows to 8 to 10 inches long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. This is the time of year we see the wheel-shaped spirals of leaves on a square stem that are the signature of Sweet Woodruff.  Small, fragrant, glossy-green leaves grow in whorls around the slender, many-branched stems.  Loose clusters of small, white, star-shaped, fragrant flowers arrive in late spring.  These Spring flowers are edible.  A low growing shade loving plant, it makes an excellent ground cover. Sweet woodruff grows in shady patches at the edge of forests. It has star-like whorls of narrow, bright-green leaves on 8 to 10-inch high stalks. 

Sweet woodruff is a low, rapidly-spreading, perennial plant that forms clumps about 8 inches in height. The slender leaves are borne in starry whorls. The flowers are tiny and white and form in loose clusters.  Sweet woodruff can be grown as a perennial down to Zone 4, but it needs winter protection in Zone 3 and lower. It will thrive in semi shade and makes an attractive ground cover under taller plants. It prefers a Moist, well-drained soil.  I noticed that it does not seem to mind a more acidic soil as it grew well surrounding my Pine Trees at the front and back of my property. 

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full shade / dappled sun and remember to water very often. Use Zone 4 - Zone 8 as your guideline for the appropriate climate for this plant. Sweet woodruff is generally regarded as a hardy plant, so it can be safe to leave outdoors for the majority of winter (although if in doubt, using a row cover is often a good idea).

Sow seeds directly in the garden during late spring, or select bright green seedlings that haven't flowered.  Transplant Sweet Woodruff from established areas in spring before the weather gets hot.  Place plants five to nine inches apart and mulch them well if they will receive more than four hours of full sun each day. The plants will spread and grow into one another, creating a dense mat. It is shallow rooted so a little judicious thinning is fast and easy to do of the plants begin to overtake an area.

Uses

The sharpness of woodruff is seen by those who make their own beer ad being mildly reminiscent of hops. In Germany they will use it not only to craft May Wine, but also craft a woodruff-flavored sugar syrup used to balance the lactic acidity of a spritzy Berliner Weisse.

Traditionally used to make May Wine in Germany, with strawberries and sweet white wine, the aroma is used for flavoring and coloring bright green waldmeister jelly.  This strongly scented plant, gets it sweet smell from coumarin. It is also used, mainly in Germany, to flavor May wine, beer (Berliner Weisse), brandy, sausages, jelly, jam, a soft drink called Tarhun, ice cream, and an herbal tea with gentle sedative properties. High doses can cause headaches, due to the toxicity of coumarin. Very high doses of coumarin can cause vertigo, somnolence or even central paralysis and apnea while in a coma. Since 1981, woodruff may no longer be used as an ingredient of industrially produced drinks and food stuffs in Germany.

Harvest the leaves for tea or for May Wine. Select blemish-free, young growth and try to harvest and dry plants in the spring when fragrance is the strongest.   As ever, when harvesting from the wild you should use a good field guide, be aware of look-a-like plants.  It is possible to confuse Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) with Cleavers (Galium aparine) Cleavers is also a medicinal plant so confusing the two will not be harmful.  You will know the Sweet Woodruff by the stronger aroma.  Sweet Woodruff is darker green and has sticky hairs on its seeds, but the leaves tend to be smooth and more pointed. Sweet Woodruff is a perennial whereas Cleavers is an annual.

Recipes

 

May Wine Punch

    recipe from Susan Wittig Albert  

1 gallon of Rhine wine

12 to 16 sprigs of sweet woodruff

1 package of frozen strawberries, thawed

1 cup sugar

Fresh whole strawberries

Directions:

Dry the sweet woodruff sprigs overnight in an off but warm oven.  Then steep the Sweet Woodruff in the wine for 3 to 6 days.  Chill before serving.  Remove the herbs and pour the chilled wine in a punchbowl over an ice ring.  Mash thawed strawberries with a cup of sugar and stir into the wine.  Add champagne for a bit of bubbles and garnish each glass with a fresh slice of strawberry.

Wedding Potpourri (to toss on the Bride and Groom)

Amaranth: "Everlasting love"

Chamomile: "May your wishes come true"

Coriander: "Your closeness is welcome"

Feverfew: "You light up my life"

Lavender: "Devotion; loyalty"

Marjoram: "Joy and happiness"

Mint: "Warmth of feeling"

Rose: "Love; beauty"

Sage: "Long life and good health"

Thyme: "Strength and courage"

Woodruff: "Be cheerful and rejoice in life"

Directions:

Combine these dry ingredients and place inside paper doilies or tissue tea bags so guests can easily tear them open to toss the contest over the bride and groom.  The rich symbolism of the language of herbs and flowers makes this a special part of the ceremony.

If this is just a symbolic potpourri not used to toss, Rosemary "Remembrance" can be added.

Aromatic Mint Tea

Remember that Sweet Woodruff is fine in moderation but excessive amounts can cause a build-up of coumarin which causes headaches and vertigo.  Enjoy this tea only occasionally and in small amounts.

2 parts Spearmint
1 part Marjoram
1 part Sweet Woodruff
1 part Sage

Directions:

Blend herbs together and keep in a jar with a tightly fitted lid.  Use 1 tsp. per cup of boiled water and allow to steep 5 to 7 minutes.

Scented Pillows

One of the best ways to enjoy Sweet Woodruff is to use it in pillow or a sachet.  The herb is considered a fixative in moth repelling sachets, as it does not attract insects so its nice aroma can be used to offset the smell of insect repelling herbs like eucalyptus and penny royal.

Dream Pillow Blend

Jim Long in his book Making Herbal Dream Pillows suggested this combination of herbs to create romantic dreams. Which according to Jim are the type you fondly recall but do not share aloud.  At the Backyard Patch, I use Sweet Woodruff in several Household Sachets.

 2  cups calendula flowers
 2 cups rosemary
 2 cups rose petals
1/2  cup lemongrass, cut in short pieces
 1 /2 cup sweet woodruff
 1/4 cup mugwort
 ½  tablespoon mint
 1/2 tablespoon marjoram
 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
 1 lemon geranium leaf (such as ‘Mabel Grey’)
 1 piece cinnamon bark, about 1/2 inch long, broken

Directions:

Combine the herbs in container and allow to meld for 2 to 3 weeks before placing about ½ cup into a sachet or using to stuff a pillow.

Orange-Eucalyptus Scented Sachet

2 oz. hops

1/2 oz. Eucalyptus

 1 oz. meadowsweet

1 oz. woodruff

 1 oz. crushed cloves,
1 oz. crushed orange peel

1 oz. orris root

few drops sweet orange essential oil

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and store in a covered jar for 2 weeks, shaking container daily. Pack the dried flower mixture into a small pillow made of closely woven fabric.

Cleaning Sprays - Spring Cleaning Occasional Series #5

Okay it is time for quick cleaning so we can get outside and enjoy the spring weather.  Here are three great liquid cleaners you can use to wash the windows so you can see the garden, clean the kitchen and bath so you can enjoy the garden and swab out the toilet so you can enjoy the smell of the garden!

courtesty of Hattatt

Window Cleaner

It seems like an old wives tale to clean your windows with newspaper, but it works.  For shiny windows, use sheets of newspaper (black and white only) to scrub and shine.  Be careful, though, the newspaper ink may darken your hands, but it shines the windows without streaking.

Juice from one fresh lemon

2 cups water or club soda

1/2 teaspoon peppermint essential oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Mix all ingredients and pour into plastic spray bottle. Shake well before using.

Cleaning Spray

This recipe came from Sandy Maine of SunFeather Soap Company.  She is an author of several books on cleaning and is someone I met in my Yahoo Herb group.

1 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

1 teaspoon borax

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups hot water

1/4 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

1/4 teaspoon lavender essential oil

3 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and stir until dry ingredients dissolve. Pour into spray bottle for use

and long-term storage. 

To use: Spray as needed on any surface except glass. Scrub and rinse with a clean, damp cloth.

Toilet Bowl Spray Cleaner

1/4 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon orange essential oil

1 teaspoon grapefruit essential oil

½ teaspoon tea tree oil

2 cups water

Mix all dry ingredients in a 4-cup bowl. Then combine the vinegar, water, and essential oils in a glass  measuring cup.  Slowly pour the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Be careful it will foam up. Let this mixture rest for 10 minutes before pouring into a spray bottle to use.

To use: Spritz in and around the toilet bowl and swab out with a brush.  Will kill germs and leave a fresh scent.

* Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a powdered granulated material derived from coconut and palm oils and is a versatile ingredient to use in powdered bubble baths, cream and paste shampoos, cleansing creams and bath bombs due to its excellent foaming agent. Especially great as a soap replacement for sensitive skin.

You can order this product from a place called Ingredients to Die For that has all the makings for cleaning, soaps, and cosmetics.

Flood update - We have plants!

I was out at the garden better able to assess the issues and found my humor has returned.  The plants did some relocating which is amusing me to death.

Here is the Chives ready to bloom now making bedding friends with lambs ear.  The lambs ear is an edging plant I use mostly to mark the edge of the garden.  Then have moved inland....

They are easy to relocate so I will dig them and divide them and put them back where they came from.

There are a few lamb's ear in the Lady's mantle too!  I relocated these plants from my backyard garden when I moved.  I love the way dew catches on the leaves in the morning.  It is more an ornamental than an herb I use in my business, but it does have a few medicinal properties so I keep it around for personal use.

The surprize of the day was the  Ivy in the Wormwood.  I do not have any ivy in my herb garden, so I do not know where this came from.  It was very shallowly rooted, so I removed it and took it back to the apartment to use in a hanging basket.



wormwood (ivy at the top)



I trimmed the rue back last fall because it was hit hard by the drought, but it looks to be coming back strong and hearty now doesn't it!

The sage is doing well, but I think the leaves are a bit deformed, they look rather wrinkly to me.  None of the tender perennial sage, like Purple Sage or Tri-color Sage lived.  Although that may have been the drought or the winter rather than the flood.

The thyme has a lot of debris in it and has bare spots, but I am slowly raking it out. 

I will take two cuttings from the plants before I harvest any of these for use in the business just to make sure any flooded leaves are removed and I am harvesting only new growth to make into herb blends.  One can never be too careful with flooded plants.

The sweet woodruff was blooming which told me everything would be okay.  I did not plant this in the herb garden, it moved in here all on its own from one of the neighbors.  I let it stay because we used to have this growing under the pines at our house and it always reminds me of my first herb garden!

Things will soon be back to normal and I will have to decide how much soil do I want to truck in here in my little Nissan Versa to replace what was lost, or do I work with the plants in thier relocated positions..... Time will tell.

Edible Flowers - Herbs of the Week

As it finally starts to get warm around here and the flowers begin to pop, I would like to point out that several spring and herb flowers are totally edible and can be enjoyed at your table.  I was recently perusing a copy of “Edible Flowers” by Catherine Wilkinson Barash.  It got me to thinking about the increased popularity of  using flowers that can be eaten.  I put together a program at the Morton Arboretum a number of years ago on edible flowers but at the time, I did not know about as many edible blooms as I do now and Catherine Barash’s book is one of the reasons I can now make several recommendations about flowers and flowering herbs you can use in your kitchen.

The flavor of flowers is as diverse as the flavors of herbs.  You can have sweet tasting flowers, savory flowers and even spicy flowers.  A sweet will compliment any beverage or fruit dish, while savories can be part of your main dish.  The spicy can be a compliment to a sauce or a way to enliven a simple main course.  The following list is broken down into those flavor categories.

SWEET FLOWERS

Flowers with a simple, sweet flavor as well as those with a perfumed or floral taste are unbeatable for flavoring beverages, fruit salads and cake batter. In the Spring choose dandelion flowers which are sweet when they first open but become bitter as they mature. Sweet flowers can be an interesting addition to fruit salsas and fish dishes. Honeysuckle's sweet flavor as luscious as it sounds and should be experienced if you have never tried it.  It is perfect when added to a dressing over fruit salad. 

Lemon or other citrus flavors which come from lemon and orange blossoms or tuberous begonias can be used to make colored and flavored vodka.   This time of year hunt out the mild white flowers of sweet woodruff which is a staple ingredient of May wine.  Be aware that the element coumarin found in those flowers can slow blood clotting and those with a clotting disorder or those taking a blood thinner should not eat the flowers.

All of the mints, whether peppermint, spearmint or the less familiar apple mint, ginger mint and others, have flowers with a flavor like that of the leaves. Mint flowers add a cool sparkle to yogurt sauces and vanilla ice cream.

Johnny jump-ups and pansies also have a mild minty flavor. Their delightful faces are particularly attractive placed on cheese. I once saw a grilled veal chop sauced with a thin layer of parsnip puree and covered with Johnny jump-ups; with only the bone showing, it looked like a flowery lollipop. The mint flavor of the flowers complemented the grilled chop perfectly.

SAVORY FLOWERS

Arugula and mustard leaves are found in many salad mixes. If you grow these greens, you know that the leaves become too bitter to eat when the plants bloom. Instead of digging out the plants, enjoy the tang of the pale yellow, four-petaled flowers. You can also pick the flowers of broccoli and radishes that are past their prime. With distinctive flavors much like the vegetables themselves, they are especially well suited for salads.

The flowers of the edible alliums and their relatives are composed of clusters of florets. Because the flavor may be very strong, you'll want to break the flowers into individual florets when cooking or garnishing with them rather than use the entire flower head.

I couldn't bear to be without chive flowers. Harvesting them from the time they begin to bloom in spring keeps them coming, although less profusely, all summer. Rub an entire mauve pom-pom in a wooden salad bowl to give a good oniony flavor to your salad and use florets to flavor marinades. Or make a vinegar with them and use that to craft your dressings.

In late summer, garlic chives can contribute their white umbels of flowers to stir-fried dishes. The delicate lilac flowers of society garlic have the mildest flavor of this group. Sautéed nodding onion heads are a good addition to soups and stocks in midsummer.

Edible herb flowers include the yellow umbels of dill, which give a dill flavor to pickling solutions and pair well with shellfish, and thymes, whose flowers may taste of lemon, caraway or garden thyme, depending on the variety. The tiny flowers of sweet marjoram are more delicately flavored than those of its cousin Greek oregano; both are favorites for flavoring vinegar. Basil's delicate flowers uplift an otherwise ordinary pesto.

These herb flowers consort well with vegetables, whether sprinkled atop cooked ones or mixed with oil and vinegar in a salad dressing. Chopped and mixed with sweet butter, they make a perky topping to baked or boiled potatoes.

STRONG SPICY FLOWERS

The red, orange or yellow blooms of nasturtiums are everywhere these days, from restaurant salad plates to supermarket mesculn mixes. People tasting them for the first time often are surprised by their peppery flavor. Some of the newer cultivars have a sweet taste first, followed by a good peppery kick.

Traditional Red bee balm has a minty flavor with a strong, spicy overtone.  The color makes it a nice addition to a salad and the spiciness counters perfectly with a wild leaf lettuce blend. I do not recommend the purple variety however, the flavor is not up to snuff. 

The licorice to anise flavors of anise hyssop and fennel flowers can lend a sweet and a spicy character to dishes.  I like to add them to fruit pastries like apple and rhubarb pie.  The flavor’s brightness is also good for cleansing the palate and freshening the breath, and the flowers are fun to nibble on in the garden. Anise hyssop, with spikes of tiny purple florets, blooms from midsummer to frost, and is one of my all-time favorites. Fennel's yellow umbels pair well with cauliflower and lima beans and add a different flavor to apple pie.  

A few last strong flavored herbs to consider are garden hyssop cilantro.  A little traditional hyssop goes a long way; it tastes a little like quinine, but it is excellent in a robust salad dressing.  Cilantro flowers have a mild flavor reminiscent of the leaves. 

FLOWERS NOT TO EAT

Parsley is one of the few culinary herbs with non-edible flowers, which points out a special point to make with edible flowers, eat only those flowers you know to be safe; some kinds are toxic. Use these rules when choosing herbal flowers to use in cooking:

• Eat only organically grown edible flowers.

• Don't eat flowers from nurseries, florists or garden centers.

• Don't eat flowers picked from heavily traveled roadsides.

• Don't eat flowers if you have a history of allergies, asthma or hayfever.

• Eat only the petals, removing pistils and stamens (except those of tiny flowers such as lilac, basil

and thyme).

• Don't assume that a flower is edible just because it is garnishing a dinner plate.

• Taste flowers before you use them in a recipe, as they can vary according to variety and cultural

conditions.

• Rinse flowers in running water before tasting.

RECIPES

Borage & Cucumbers in Sour Cream Dressing

3 long cucumbers

Salt

1 cup sour cream or fresh plain yogurt

2 Tbls. Chive blossom vinegar

½ tsp. celery seed

¼ cup chopped scallions

1 tsp sugar

¼ cup finely chopped young borage flowers

Salt & pepper to taste

Borage or chive flowers for garnish

Wash, score and very thinly slice the cucumbers.  Salt lightly and let stand in a colander for 30 minutes to drain.  Rinse off the salt and pat dry with paper towels.

In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Add cucumbers and toss lightly.  Garnish with borage flowers or chive blossoms.  Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. 

 

Rose & Hibiscus Lemonade

Serves 8

4 tsp. dried Hibiscus flowers

4 tsp. dried rose petals

about 8 cups cold water

8 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate

ice

fresh lime wedge, to serve

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Take water off the heat and add the tea.  Steep 5-10 minutes.  Strain out the flowers.  Pour tea into a large pitcher. Add about 2/3 of the can (or 8 ounces) of frozen lemonade concentrate. Stir to dissolve and let cool a bit before refrigerating until completely chilled. Pour over ice in a glass decorated with a fresh lime wedge. Enjoy!

Flower Spread

8 oz. package light cream cheese

¼ cup butter

1 ½ tsp. lemon juice

3 to 4 tsp fresh minced flowers

1 tsp fresh thyme or savory

Blend butter and cream cheese together with a fork in a medum bowl.  Add the lemon juice and herbs.  Allow to meld in refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.  Spead of toasted French bread, crackers, cut vegetables or fruit wedges.

Check out my previous post on calendula and flavored marigolds for more edible flowers.

Three Herbal Teas to Drink Daily

I was surfing the net this weekend when I ran across an article about herbal tea on Fit Girl Nutrition that just made me … sad.  The writer had nice things to say about herb tea and the fact it is caffeine free and can be part of a weight loss plan as it would encourage you to drink more liquids which is always important in the summer months.  However, the selection of herbal teas suggested was Chamomile or Peppermint or Lemon.  Now I am the first to suggest a lemon herbal tea, but this person was just advocating lemons as tea and never mentioned a single lemon herb by name.  I think that is lemonade.

 As I puzzled over a well written but totally useless article on herbal tea, I decided that the only counter action for this was to provide a better article.  So here you have my version.

Three Herbal Teas to Drink Daily

The title is misleading as i do not advocate only three teas, but rather three good herbs flavors to use in crafting an herbal tea.  Herb tea is best when 3 or more herbs are used together.  So check out what the herbs go with and then begin crafting an herbal tea that is both flavor filled and satisfiying.  At the end I have provided a few recipes to try.

Lemon herbs are perfect herbs for refreshing tea and most contain antioxidants which keep your liver and pancreas healthy. All the various lemon herbs will blend well with mint and any sweet flavors, but also with flowers like violets, calendula, chamomile and lavender.

Lemon Balm is high in flavonoids, which can have an antioxidant effect.  This versatile herb contains volatile oils that ease stress and buoy bad moods and it contains both Vitamin C and Thiamin (a B vitamin) making it a great wake-up herb.  Lemon Balm can be used for a variety of ailments including fatigue, cold sores, and stomach issues. of all the ingredients I use in tea this is the most common. My favorite tea using lemon balm is Lemon Lavender Splash.

lemon thyme

While Lemongrass, a renowned anti-fungal, is also great for relaxation and restful sleep and is known to relieve nausea and aid indigestion.   It also helps relieve of constipation, keeping the bowels working properly and removing toxins to keep the body healthy and energetic and that does not even get into its antioxidant properties.  Blended with ginger, it can become a powerful digestive which has the combined effect of creating a tea that is at once calming to the nerves and soothing to the digestive tract.

And Lemon Thyme will lend antiseptic properties.  Common thyme has a minty undertone that becomes less obvious with lemon thyme, but still makes it a good herb to blend with mint.  The immune-enhancing properties are part of it being an excellent antioxidant.  Lemon thyme is rich in antibacterial and antispasmodic properties too. Using it in tea will help cold symptoms, allergy symptoms and improve the ability to keep colds at bay. Both lemon thyme and Lemon grass figure as important flavors in my Zesty Lemon Herb Tea.

Lemon mint and lemon geranium can also be used to add a hint of lemon scent or flavor to tea especially with sweeter herbs like roses, lavender and chamomile.  Lemon peel can also be used to increase the soothing and digestive properties as well as increasing the lemon flavor of tea.

Peppermint in a tea will aid digestion, bring cooling, improve mood and enhance your imagination and creative thinking. It has a very strong aroma, as well as flavor of mint because of its high menthol content.  Peppermint is also versatile, good for stomach aches, stomach pains, stomach cramps or diarrhea.  It contains good amounts of potassium, calcium and vitamin B making it a great morning or afternoon pick-me-up especially blended with lemon herbs and those with a less sweet character like thyme and marjoram. You get the combined benefit of lemon balm and peppermint in my Lemon Peppermint Cooler tea.

Chamomile is a relaxation herb.  It is soothing in stressful times as well as an aid to sleep.  It is a perfect choice for the late afternoon or even before bed tea drinking.  Its apple-like taste combines well with mint or hibiscus and is a great flavor with roobios (Honey Bush Red Tea) which is also caffeine free.  Hibiscus is gaining popularity because of its ability to lower blood pressure so taking this in the evening can only enhance that wind down to bedtime.  Adding in a few pieces of fresh or dried apple to your tea will bring out the apple flavor of chamomile and give you a taste you will come back to again and again.  Just add a couple slices of apple to a blend with Chamomile to see what I mean. We use Chamomile in several teas, but my favorite is Tea Time Tea.

RECIPES

Now for some recipes to get you started.

HERBAL WATER

This recipe is from Karen Langan and I read it in Lemon Balm: An Herb Society of America Guide.  I included it first in case you really do want to use herbs with weight loss or summer hydration, as an herb water is less of a diuretic than herbal tea.  I love that you can change the recipe by choosing your own "mystery herb."

1 handful of lemon balm

½ handful of pineapple sage

½ handful orange mint

¼ handful mystery herb (like rose, lime basil, or rose scented geranium) in 2 quarts of water

Six hours before drinking it, gather the herbs, wash them gently in cold water and place them in a jug of water. Place the jug in the fridge so that is refreshingly chilled for family or guests.  Any citrus herb, scented geranium, mint or other sweet flavored herbs can be substituted.

Lemon Balm Fatigue Tea

Equal parts:

   nettle

   raspberry leaf

   oat tops

  lemon balm

 1/4 part each:

    finely chopped Licorice root

    finely chopped Ginger root

Mix all the herbs together.  Use 1 to 2 tsp. per cup of hot water and steep 5 to 7 minutes or more in hot water. Drink 3 cups daily.

Lemon Balm Mood Tea

Equal parts:

   Lemon balm

   Oat tops (oat straw)

Pinch of peppermint

For straight-up tea, pour 8 ounces boiling water over 1 to 2 tea mixture dried lemon-balm leaf.

Cough-Control Tea

2 parts lemon peel

1 part sage

1/2 part lemon thyme

Fresh lemon juice

honey

Pour one cup of hot water over  3 ½ tsp. of herb mixture.  Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain tea, then add juice of 1/2 lemon and 1 Tablespoon honey.   Drink two to three cups daily for cough relief. 

Peppermint Sun Tea

12 stalks fresh mint

2 quarts water

Place mint and water in half gallon jar - on a sunny day. Cover jar and set in the sun for at least 6-8 hours. Strain and serve warm or chilled with a sprig of mint.

Lemon Mint Iced Tea

4 Tbls. Lemon Balm or Lemon Grass

2 Tbls. Lemon Thyme

2 tsp. peppermint

lemon juice

lime juice

Combine 6 tsp. tea blend with 8-ounces boiling water and steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea and add 24 ounces of cold water. Pour over ice; add 1 tsp. lemon and ½ tsp. lime juice and stir. Serve in 4 tall glasses with ice and lemon slices or lemon balm sprigs. To make this as a hot tea, use 2 tsp. of blend per cup of hot water and flavor each cup with a splash of lemon or lime juice.

Lemongrass and Ginger Iced Tea½ cup of sugar (or honey)
Stalk of lemongrass (cut into 2-inch lengths) (about ¼ cup)
About 7 1-inch diameter or larger slices of ginger root, finely chopped

5 cups water
3 to 5 Green tea bags

Directions
First step is to rinse the lemongrass and chop it into 2'' in length. With the flat side of the knife crush the lemongrass. This will release more essential oils for taste and flavor during steeping.  Now take a kettle or saucepan and add 5 cups of water to it, ½ cup of sugar, lemongrass and finely chopped slices of ginger to the pot. Bring all this to boil. Once it boils, take it off the stove and add 3 to 5 bags of green tea to it. Steep it for about 5 minutes until the flavor is released (the steeping depends on how strong you wish the tea to be). Immediately discard the tea bags and let the tea cool down for about 30 minutes. After it is cool, pour the entire mixture into a pitcher and keep in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. After a few hours, drink this tasty ginger lemongrass tea by pouring it into a fine tall glass filled with ice and lemon slices.  Enjoy!  For a no caffeine version, double the amount of lemon grass and leave out the green tea.

Lemongrass Iced Tea - Cambodian RecipeThis is an authentic recipe which comes all the way from Senteurs D'Angkor, a company selling foods and spices. Be aware that you can substitute Rooibos tea if you want the flavor of black tea but want to avoid the caffeine.

4 cups of water
1 tablespoon of chopped lemongrass
8 limes, juiced
1 cup of sugar (or to taste)
Ice cubes
4 black tea bags (or about 4 tsp. loose tea)
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions
Take a large saucepan and add the measured amount of water and desired amount of sugar to it and bring it to boil. Next add lemongrass and the juice of 8 limes to the pan and simmer it for about 5 minutes. Then turn off the stove and add the black tea bags. Steep for 2 to 5 minutes depending on strength desired.  Strain the mixture and allow to cool. Then take a container or a shaker filled with ice cubes and add the lemongrass tea to it. Shake the entire mixture vigorously for a good 30 seconds and serve chilled. For extra decoration, you can add chopped cilantro leaves and slices of lime to the tea.