Book Review - Grow What you Love by Emily Murphy

I was going to do a Gardening / Herb Book of the month, however I cannot read a book in a month.  Between the teaching ,and the gardening, and the harvesting, and the making of herb products, and the writing of blogs and newsletters, not only for myself but for several organizations, I just cannot read a book in a month, so I am going with a book a quarter and if I finish early then I will add in a few extra.

I am starting this with a book I received in a contest giveaway in the Spring.  It is Grow What You Love: 12 Plant Families to Change your Life by Emily Murphy.  I have always liked chatting with her on twitter @passthepistil, through #gardenchat so when her book came out I was thrilled to get involved in promoting it.  She spoke at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, as well has doing a Q&A on #gardenchat.  She also has a blog and if you follow her on twitter she links back to great articles regularly, or you can just check it out - https://passthepistil.com. Now that things have calmed down, I pulled the book out and began to reread what I started in the Spring before prepping for the Garden Walk became a “Thing” in my life. 

I have been carrying this book around with me this year.  Popping it open to read when I am bored or waiting for something.  I even had some fun entering a Chicago Flower and Garden Show swag giveaway with a picture of me reading it in my newly created book nook in the garden.  I enjoyed this book because of its easy-to-read style, but also the useful information.  There is nothing I dislike more than “nothing new here” or useless details about herbs.  This book, I am happy to say, suffers from neither of those issues.

Grow What You Love is organized by topic rather than plant.  I like that, as when it is plant organized I never seem to read the book, I just read the plants I want to learn about and skip over the other plants even if there is information there I might find useful. Those types do make good reference items however and I do refer back to them. 

Here is why I think you will love this book also:

She starts with the basics of how to get started in gardening.  If you have never gardened before you will find her easy to understand information very helpful and if you are a seasoned gardener her information on soil and composting is a must read.  She is great at walking you through the steps of something, like Hot Composting.  The “Emily’s Notes” found throughout the text are wonderful for directing you to better use the resources in the book and know your plants better. Like the suggestion to add Strawberries to your landscape planting because the foliage is lovely in the fall.  Who thinks of Strawberries in Fall?

One of the many "workshops" in the book.

The subtitle of the book is 12 plant families to change your life.  The plant directory gives you family groups like tender herbs and winter greens that force you to explore these topics and in the process find plants you might not have attempted to grow before (Varieties to try).  She even suggests individual cultivars to try. That is what makes this book accomplish its title.  Grow What You Love.  She explores the why a plant is good to grow along with the how of growing the plant.  You can delve deeper into plants you know while contemplating experimenting with those you don’t. 

Varieties to try and a related recipe!

Her advice to know the rules of gardening so you can break them is the best. And the Workshops in the book that will have you transplanting and rooting plants like a pro, among other tasks, are so nicely laid out in steps anyone can follow them and be successful. 

No book on gardening that contains herbs would be complete without a few recipes and this book does not disappoint.  Not only is there how to make candied violets and your own seed starting mix, you will learn to make a Savory Galette in easy to follow steps.  I had hoped to show you my version of this recipe, but I forgot to take pictures because we consumed it so quickly as it smelled awesome.

So sweet she even signed it for me!

The summer vegetable recipes, especially those using squash are on my agenda for the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you take my advice and check out a copy of Grow What You Love by Emily Murphy (Firefly Books Ltd, 2018)

Mike MacDonald and other Authors I like - Book Review

Coming up at the Morton Arboretum (October 22) is a talk by an author whose photographs and books I just love-- Mike MacDonald!

His recent publication I reviewed below, check him out along with several other authors I love.

Recently I have been meeting authors.  Not sure why they happened in a cluster, but they have.  First I met Denise Swanson, New York Times best-selling author of cozy mysteries in several series.  I personally like the Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries. She is originally from Coal City, IL and met her at the pharmacy in Coal City (yes, I said the pharmacy) where she was signing her books.  Hey that is the store that sells books in that town

If you like a cozy who-dun-it, you will like these.  Here is a link for more information: DeniseSwanson.com

Then the next month I went to Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL  for a book publishing event for the most recent title by Laurie King.  Laurie King writes gritty mysteries including a series featuring Mary Russell, apprentice of Sherlock Holmes.  The book was entitled the Murder of Mary Russell.  No spoilers here, I have not brought myself to read it yet. 

I think Laurie King counts as my favorite author for a number of reasons (not the least of which is I have been reading Sherlock Holmes novels since I was 13), but since I have more books signed by her than any other author I read, I think that says I am a bit of a groupie.  I arrived a bit late for the book signing and as fate would have it, met the author and friends just coming over from dinner at a local restaurant.   I got to walk her into the bookstore much to my delight.

This past March I participated in the Darien Garden Club Garden Inspiration and reacquainted myself with local author Mike McDonald.  He was the key note speaker at last year’s event and this year had newly minted copies of his self-published book (partly funded by GoFundMe)   which had not yet been released last year.  He is a self-professed plant nerd, but since I am an herb nerd it works.  He autographed a copy of his book for me and I just had to share it everyone.

My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago: 

          A Celebration of Chicagoland’s Startling Natural Wonders 

Two hundred forty glorious pages of exploding color and whimsical words capture the natural beauty of preserves and natural areas that surround and weave through Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

Written and photographed by Mike McDonald, the book is a beautiful overview of seasons and locations all around us.

The information he imparts about the details of the plants, especially those you might not notice on a quick nature walk, causes you to slow down, pause and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds you.

Worth every penny, this book is a must have for any Chicagoland resident or transplant who wants to remember what prairie living is really like.  I am not often much for a coffee table book, but I plan to take this with me everywhere to brag about what I live among.

Beyond the photographs, the book is exceptionally readable.  With comments like “This young blue heron is molting, shedding old feathers as new ones are born.  As the pink bald patch near the shoulder shows, molting is rarely pretty – but it’s only temporary.  I wish regrowing hair was that easy.”  You feel the humor of his personality and the love of nature he displays that makes the book easy to look at even if you only have time for a page or two.

His translation of the images into words is musical making one want to read the pages out loud. Here is a perfect example: “wild flowers float above the summer prairie like musical notes in a symphony of color and texture,…” (pg. 104)

Also, although a bit heavy and large to carry around on a prairie, the rich details provided and the opulent photos make this a perfect book for identifying prairie plants in leaf, flower and bud.

I am planting a prairie garden and a wild flower garden at the house this year and to know what the flowers will soon look like makes me so excited.  Visually exquisite photos that show an eye for the detail of nature and its variety is a rare gift.  The images chosen for this book pull on you to go see the plants in person the way few books succeed.

Toward the end of the book Mike communicates that he wishes his photography to immerse you in the moment, to convey the magic and emotion as if you were there.  I can honestly say he has accomplished just that.  The unique qualities, intense colors and enchanting beauty that can be found in local “wilderness” jumps from the book with every turn of a page.

Here is a link to get yourself a copy of the book.  It makes a wonderful gift as the photos are exquisite making it perfect for Mom, Dad or the plant nerd in your life. And if you want to share in his enthusiasm, I recommend seeing is talk on October 22, 2016 at the Morton Arboretum.

Book Review - Healing Herbs by Tina Sams

I purchased a book recently that is absolutely what it says it is on the cover.

The book is entitled Healing Herbs: a Beginner's Guide to Identifying, Foraging and using Medicinal Plants.

It was written by Tina Sams, editor of The Essential Herbal Magazine with some input from a few herbal people she knows (including me!)

I love this book.

Not just because of the way it is organized with a chapter for each herb, but because of the wonderful conversational style it is written in.  It is an easy read chocked full of recipes for things from salves to ointments, to a variety of teas, bath items and even a few food recipes.

The book features 20 chapters (so 20 herbs) each beginning with a wonderful photograph and information on the plant's healing components.  It even has a little box with the herb's medicinal benefits for quick reference.  Among the recipes at the end of each chapter is one shared from another herbal person.  In many cases they share why they like the herb and a recipe of their own.  I was asked to share about lavender and included a cooking blend featuring lavender buds.  -- Hey you know how I am with herbs and cooking!

The information included in this compact volume is first rate.  From the beginning where Tina outlines the basics of making salves, tinctures, teas and syrups to the the herb chapters where she provides just enough history and growing information coupled with medicinal properties and ways to use the herbs that you can remember the teachings and do not feel intimidated.  It truly is perfect for a beginner because nothing feels overwhelming, yet it is also not too basic that "you've heard it all before" which is something I dislike about most beginner books. I like this book and have learned something from it.

As someone who converses regularly with Tina on the Essential Herbal Yahoo group, I can almost hear her speaking through the recipes.  They are obvious favorites and have been used by her in the past.  She places the recipes in context too.  You know why and when to use them and all are easy to craft.

Sage benefits

I would recommend this book for a novice, but also someone like myself whose focus with herbs has not been toward medicinal applications as often as food applications.  It has opened my eyes to how easy non-food preparations can be.

The feel of the book enhances its properties as well.  The size is about 7 inches by 7 inches with a soft but not paper cover that has wonderful images.  The weight of the paper and the quality of the close-up images inside add to my desire to carry it around with me. And the slightly raised letters in the title make it fun to handle in terms of texture.  Like the herbs included in its pages the book makes you want to touch.

Here is a sample recipe - This is from page 44

Lavender Spray
1 Tbls. vodka
3 ounces distilled water
30 drops lavender essential oil

In a 4 ounce spray bottle, mix all the ingredients.

This spray can be used to scent linens, freshen the air or even as a body spray,  And according to Tina, if you keep it in the refrigerator during the summer and give your face a spritz after being out in the garden is a heavenly reward.

Healing Herbs: a Beginner's Guide to Identifying, Foraging and using Medicinal Plants by Tina Sams, published by Fair Winds Press (Beverly, MA: 2015)

Book Review - Small Space Garden Ideas

I was cruising the new book section of the library this month and ran across this great book from DK publishing.  It is entitled Small Space Garden Ideas by Phillippa Pearson (DK Publishing: London, 2014).

I like Dorling Kindersley Publishing because they have such great photos and the slick pages are just so easy to read and view.  All the books I have from them are heavy in weight and this is no exception.  What was exceptional about this book was the weight of information inside matches the weight of the book itself.  The author takes us through several different times of small gardens.  This is not a book just on container gardening, but micro gardens, hanging gardens, and even novelty planters.  There was even one on making a Fairy Farm!  There are step by step instructions on how to make each garden described with photographs of just the right steps.

One of the supreme features of the book is a small box that you find at the end of each project with the title "Care Advice."  These little boxes give watering and feeding details, general care instructions, and other tips to make the project more successful.  I think these boxes impart the author's special knowledge of plants giving the book so much more credibility.

If you are into succulents or air plants there were suggestions for making inventive gardens with these plants as well as traditional herbs, vegetables and flowers.  No matter what you grow you will find a garden idea for you to try in this wonderfully crafted book.

Photo courtesy of
www.philippapearson.co.uk/

The author Phillippa Pearson is from England, as is common with DK Publishing.  She is an accomplished gardener and award winning author. She publishes monthly features on gardens and plants in Hertfordshire Life and Essex Life and she has also contributed to regional and national media including BBC Gardeners' World magazine, The English Garden, Homes & Gardens, Cambridge News, Cambridgeshire Journal and the Soil Association's website.

Her gardening chops include three years as consultant gardener at the Brocket Hall estate, Welwyn, Hertfordshire as well as countless awards including several from the Royal Horticulture Society.  It is worth checking out the photographs of plants she has on her website under Plant Portraits.

My two favorite projects in the book were Saddlebag Patio Pouches made from oil cloth and a Tea Garden made on a tea tray with tea cups saucers and a tea pot.  She also shows how to make your own cement planters.

Here is my attempt at saddle bags.  I used a black material to match my railing.

I have not had a chance to try the tea pot idea yet, but in the book you can see it is stunning.

The book is a bit pricy on Amazon.com, but I found it to be more reasonable directly from the DK Publishing website.  There is a digital edition which will save you some money too.  Either way the book is worth a look for the detail you get and the exquisite photographs.

Book Review - Herb Gardening from the Ground Up

I picked this book up from the Librarian-curated shelves at the public library in town and was surprised at how perfect it was even for a seasoned gardener like me.  It was the drawings they included on propagation that drew me into the book.  What kept be there was the personable writing style and the depth of information.

Sometimes books on herb growing can be so elementary, giving you the top 10 herbs and growing tips and a few recipes, but his book was not in that class at all.  Written by Sal Gilbertie and Larry Sheehan, Herb Gardening from the Ground Up (2012: Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA) takes the approach that knowing each herb's life cycle, climate requirements, growth pattern, and means of propagation will tell you more about how and where to use them in the garden than knowing which names belong to which herbs.  I found that to be a refreshing take on herb gardening. 

Sal Gilbertie is the proprietor of  Gilberties Herb Gardens of Westport, Connecticut which was established in 1922 by his grandfather.  It is among the largest herb nurseries in the US.  At one time he gave herb advice to Martha Stewart and has appeared on her show Martha Stewart Living.  Co-author Larry Sheehan has a long list of writing credits that include newspapers, magazines, television documentaries, and dozens of books including the best-selling Living with Dogs and The Sporting Life.  Together they authored another book on high yield gardening I have not had a chance to look at.

Under the heading Four Facts of Herb Life they spend a good 20 pages going over the life cycle, climate, growth patterns (with illustrations by Lauren Jarrett that show you the spread and height of plants after the first years,) and propagation techniques divided by style of plant.  They presented the clearest and most concise definitions of annual, perennial, and biennial I have found anywhere.

The book spends another 20 pages discussing ways to plant and propagate the herbs in your first garden.  Then this book departs from others by updating what to do and look for in the second year and third year of a culinary garden as well as giving some great garden plans with plant lists. One of my favorites was the Breakfast Garden.  My hubby was intrigued by the Fish and Game Garden.

As all good herb books should, there is a focus on details of various individual herbs too.  They did not just give a top ten list, however, instead they chose 38 different herbs to detail (on more than 50 pages) and the theme gardens presented even had me thinking about how to incorporate them into my landscape.  They divide the herbs into groups with similar growth habits and soil and climate needs and then give a tutorial on how best to propagate within each group as well as other group related suggestions.  It is a unique approach to gardening with herbs that I have never seen so well articulated.  We all generally understand that dividing a mint is the best way to go, but to have a group of spreading perennials with Mint, Tarragon and Oregano as examples in which he details how to treat them all the same when propagating is exceptionally easy to understand and perfectly true!

The book has an index which is a must for me with any reference book on gardening.  I cannot possibly remember where to find what I know was in that book without an index and this one has a fine one.  Before the index, however are some must-have pieces of information including a "Start from scratch schedule" and a "harvesting and storing guide."  Those alone make the book a treasure trove of useful information. 

Herb Gardening from the Ground Up is a book I quickly added to my own library and I was ever so thankful to that Librarian at the Elmhurst Public Library for showcasing something I might not have taken a second look at if I passed it on the gardening shelves.

Book Review - The Lavender Cookbook

While visiting the Chicago Botanic Gardens this month I picked up a book by Sharon Shipley entitled The Lavender Cookbook.   The author Sharon Shipley is owner and director of the Mon Cheri Cooking School in Sunnyvale, California. She has studied extensively throughout Europe at La Varenne, La Cordon Bleu, and Ecole Cuisine d'Hubert.  The reason the cookbook caught my eye was because I have just embarked on a lavender loving campaign and this was going to be the key to my enjoyment of more lavender.

I was not disappointed.  This summer I crafted Lavender honey to sell at the Garden Walks and this book had at least 2 recipes that used Lavender Honey that made my whole task of making the flavored honey worth the effort.

This edge bound paperback of just shy of 200 pages and has no photographs and few illustrations which is good because it leaves more room for recipes.  And this book is filled with them (92 to be exact.)  The best attribute of the book is that you do not have to be a trained chef to create the recipes and whenever she is teaching a tidbit or introducing a less common ingredient, she has added this cute lavender symbol that marks a box where extra information is shared.

            
To eliminate the issue of what lavender should you cook with, she has crafted all the recipes to be made with dried Lavendula intermedia 'Provence' which botanically is a Lavindin (rather than a Lavender).  This hybrid grows more easily in the United States and is a great cooking lavender. 

Organized by season she has provided recipes of all styles (appetizers, beverages, main and side dishes and desserts) in each part of the year that suit the weather.  I like that about the book because a large number of recipes on a single herb can sometimes be daunting, but by breaking it into seasonal recipes you get a nice workable number of things to try without wondering if you will be overwhelmed.

The best recipes in the book are the dressings and sauces.  They are shared in abundance, from dipping sauces to salad dressings, to creams you add to the top of a soup.  The sauces and dressings are definitely the key to cooking with lavender and they are presented smoothly and simply.  A few of the combinations seem out there taste wise, but I cannot say they do not work as I have yet to try them.

My first experiment from the book was a Wet Lavender Salt Rub.  My husband has discovered Roasting Chickens and how easy they are to cook with in the summer.  We worked up the Wet Rub, altered it a bit, and used it to make roast chicken which turned out divine.

Here is our adaptation of the recipe found on Page 17:

Lavender Salt Wet Rub
2 tsp. lavender buds
2 Tbls. course sea salt
2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbls. finely diced garlic
1 tsp. fresh rosemary (this is key do not substitute dry)
1 tsp. lemon thyme (fresh or dry is fine)

In a mortar and pestle grind the lavender with 1 Tbls of the sea salt until finely ground.  Place in a bowl and stir in the oil, garlic rosemary and remaining salt.  Rub all over a roasting Chicken, pork loan roast or skin-on chicken breast.  the longer you leave it on the better, I let it meld in the refrigerator overnight.  According to Sharon Shipley you can double the recipe and keep it int he refrigerator in a jar for up to 5 days.

The appetizers were by far my favorite recipes so far, but I have to admit being summer, the idea of little plates is not only fun but quick and easy in hot weather.  Come wintertime my favorites may change and since the book lets you look at lavender as a warming and hearty herb for winter, I think it will be just as wonderful then as it is now. 

I definitely recomend getting yourself a copy of  The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley (Running Press Book Publishers: Phila. PA: 2004)

Here is my favorte recipe so far:

Grilled Lavender Honey Chicken

¾ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup grated lemon zest

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup lavender honey

1 Tbls. lavender buds, ground finely

¼ Tbls. cracked black pepper

1 ½ tsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. sea salt

8 boneless chicken breast halves

In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, honey, lavender, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat a grill to medium.  Remove the chicken from marinade and place skin side down on the grill.  Cook turning the chicken every 5 minutes and brushing occasionally with the marinade for 15 minutes or until no longer pink.  Discard remaining marinade. Serves 8.  Great with oven roasted sweet potatoes.

Book Review - Encyclopedia of Herbs

The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance

By Arthur O. Tucker, PhD and Thomas DeBaggio (published by Timber Press, 2009)

I have always wanted the definitive book on herbs, which is really an impossibility, but this book is probably the closest I've found.  Written by a botanist, Arthur O. Tucker and an herb specialist Thomas DeBaggio it is  a "meticulously researched compendium provides every aspect of growing, identifying, harvesting, preserving, and using more than 500 species of herbs."

It begins with sections on plant identification and naming then progresses through understanding an identifying the flavors and tastes to maximizing flavor and fragrance of herbs into how to grow them and keep them healthy.  Then it provides a profile of 500 different plants.  Providing a plant's botanical name and family, (as well as common names in various countries where it is grown,) whether it is an annual or perennial, its height, hardiness, light requirements, water consumption, required soil type, and pH. The often fascinating history of the plant, the chemistry of its essential oils, and its culinary, landscape, and craft uses are also included, as is advice on how to propagate.  The practical parts of the text, like how to propagate and tidbits of history were the brain child of Thomas DeBaggio.  This is actually a revised version of their first publication The Big Book of Herbs.  The authors received The Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature from the Herb Society of America. With this version they have added new plants and updated the nomenclature.  It does have an index which is invaluable with a book of this magnitude.  They also went to the trouble of providing plant name pronunciation guides including a way to know what the letters should sound like.  I thought that was a great touch, so we can say them right in the company of our herb peers and not feel silly.  The book also references GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) characteristics for the various plants profiled.

It has line drawings of herbs rather than photographs which I think was helpful and not so helpful depending on how you wish to use the book.  For plant identification it is not as helpful without a few color photos, but the other information it provides, more than makes up for this.  There are 145 line drawings included in the 604 pages of text.  The index includes topics as well as Scientific names and common names to make searching for herbs easier.

About the Authors

Joyce and Thomas DeBaggio taken by Melissa Block/NPR

I have to admit that I am biased toward Thomas DeBaggio, he was a self-taught herb grower who I got to know through his writing for the Herb Companion magazine back when I first got interested in herbs in the late 1980s. He was the founder of DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery, now located in Chantilly, Virginia, and run by his son, Francesco.  He unfortunately died in 2011 after a long fight with Alzheimer's Disease.  One of my friends in herbs once said, Tom had forgotten more about herbs than he would ever learn in his lifetime.  Mellisa Block of NPR, had this to say in her obituary of this remarkable man:

"DeBaggio lived for plants and the garden. He started out selling tomato plants in Styrofoam cups from his driveway in Arlington, Va., for 25 cents apiece. That backyard business grew into a thriving herb farm and nursery with 100 varieties of tomato plants, three dozen kinds of basil — everything leafy and beautifully strong and fragrant.

"When DeBaggio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, he set to work, writing two books about living with the disease. He described with remarkable candor the frightening progression of his illness.
"This is an unfinished story of a man dying in slow motion," he wrote in the first book, which he titled, with his typical brutal honesty, Losing My Mind."

Dr. Arthur O. Tucker is a professor of botany at Delaware State University. He is a botanist specializing in the identification and chemistry of plants of flavor, fragrance, and medicine. He teaches and writes and is a Research Professor and Director of the Claude E. Phillips Herbarium.  He has published widely on many herbs and essential oils, is an acknowledged authority of the lavenders, and is on the editorial board of Economic Botany and Journal of Essential Oil Research as well as an advisor for many other journals and groups. 

If you want to get your self a copy of this wonderful hardcover book, check out this link to DeBaggio's Herb Famr and Nursery:  http://www.debaggioherbs.com/books.html

Book Review - Edible Herbs by Charles G.W. Smith

I take herb books out of the library, I order them on inter library loan, I ask the research librarians to hunt them down sometimes from libraries outside our district.  I do this because I have so many books that I want to sample anything new before I decide to buy, otherwise I will have a library that overflows the shelves and still doesn't give me the information I need when I need it.

This month I found a book I had not ordered before because I thought it would repeat other bigger books I already owned.

The book is The Beginner's Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow & Enjoy by Charles G.W. Smith (2010: Storey Publishing, Mass.)

I confused the author with someone else which was why I ordered it at all, but I was wonderfully surprised by my serendipitous error.

The book is slim, easy to carry with you, and measures about 6 x 9 inches.  It is filled with 145 pages of color images and information.

I am not sure if I like the book because of the 26 herbs highlighted it included both Lemon Balm and Lemon Verbena (a sorely under recommended herb in my opinion) or if it was the clever headings on the informational pages associated with each herb, like A Cabbage Lover (with dill) or Bury Your Nose in the Leaves (for Hyssop).  It could also have been the quick, easy-to-follow recipes or the way topics like making marinades, dressings or vinegars were incorporated into the text with an easy flow that matched the herbs presented around them.

As I spent a bus and train ride home one night reading through it, I found that not only was there growing information, but clear concise use and preservation information as well as medicinal traits, and little "aside" boxes on how to make Herbal Honey or a Sachet, or explaining a traditional blend like Fine Herbs. 

There is a little bit of everything in this book.  It is perfect for a beginner because it exposes you to  what the herbs are known for as well as what they can be used for while stretching you to new possibilities without giving you so much information you feel overwhelmed.  But as a seasoned herb grower and user, I also felt it had something to offer me, especially giving me the ability to look at 26 herbs I was already familiar with in some new and unique ways.  I definitely have been enjoying the recipes which included standards, but did not stick to tried and true giving me several combinations I was dying to try as soon as I read them.  In fact all three dressings have adorned my salads already.

I absolutely love this little book and will be adding it to my recommended reading list for all lectures and programs.  You should check it out too!

Book Review - Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung

I have been searching (since I first started working with herbs) for an easy to read, simple to carry book that goes over the ways to grow, harvest, care for and use herbs.  That is a pretty tall order and short of tomes too heavy to carry without a footman, I have been disappointed until now.

What I found was a single book that tells me grow it like this, use it like this and by the way it is good for you like this, that is also small enough to carry into my garden as well as recommend it to others, especially those just starting out growing herbs.  Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung is that book.

Who would have guessed that a book with such a normal sounding title would be filled with so much information?  This book can be read by beginners as well as experienced gardeners.  It is lavishly filled with color pictures and wonderfully written prose that gives you a feel for how, where and why Tammi Hartung gardens with herbs.  Everything from starting plants, to maintenance, to harvesting and preserving herbs is given in detail and the recipes for food and other products as well as step by step instructions for making tea, tinctures and salves are all top notch.  The book even has details of over 100 herbs some of which I have never even heard of before (which I did not think possible!)

But the thing that impressed me the most about this book was that never before have I found a book covering the medicinal and health uses for herbs also be a perfect guide to the art of growing and using them too.  My search is over!  The book is about 9 x 12 inches, paperback and only about 3/4 to 5/8 of an inch thick, yet the wealth of information in contains I have not found in books twice its size.  And it is so readable.  I got a copy on Monday and I have been enjoying just reading it ever since.  I know it is a reprint/rewrite of an older book, but somehow it is different, but since I did not buy the other one I cannot compare the two.

Of special note are the charts she has scattered through the text.  They talk about how to grow the herbs, how and when to harvest and a multitude of other pieces of information gathered together in usable lists that I know I will be copying and pasting into my garden journal.

Tonight I expect to go back through the text and gather information to use here and in my lectures as this book is filled with little tidbits to share.

If I have intrigued about this book by Tammi Hartung, Herb Companion Magazine is having a sale on books this week and they have 25% off the cover price of this book included in their sale.  Here is the link to the order form:  Homegrown Herbs

Book Review - Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs

I was cruising for cookbooks recently and found one written by the Herb Society of America that is so much more than a simple cookbook I thought herby people needed to know about it.  It is entitled Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs.

Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs

Ed. By Katherine Schlosser

(Louisiana State University Press, 2007)

The book is unique in that in addition to the hordes of recipes in the book it also has a short history of the origin and planning to for National Herb Garden which is located at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. which opened in 1980.  The garden, which is the largest planned herb garden in the world, is in the wonderful shape of a skeleton key with a ring of theme gardens and a long path and an entrance knot garden.

The book gives a short history of the origin and planning of the garden and its funding, then wraps with a long chapter (at least 60 pages) that details all the theme gardens and sections of the herb garden.  It has great ideas if you are contemplating a theme of any kind.  One of the gardens is a Dioscrides Garden using the writings in his 5 volume De Meteria Medica written in the first century A.D.  It was a comprehensive book about botany and pharmacy that was consulted for centuries and resulted in the idea that plant study and the medical uses of plants were indeed two different sciences.  The Garden holds 51 of the plants from De Materia Medica.  In addition to this garden are the 10 theme gardens, ranging from dye, Colonial, medical, beverage, Asian, to Native American.  The descriptions include a plant list which makes them a valuable resource to those wanting to try a theme garden.

The 15 pages of notes and bibliography are also a who’s who of great herb related texts.  And the index sorts by recipes and herbs used.  Before the recipes is a plant listing that is more detailed than most you find in books with almost 100 listings.  It breaks the herbs into two groupings GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and those that are not GRAS.  I was surprised by some of the herbs listed as not GRAS, but after reading the listings I realized it is perhaps not all about the herb being dangerous as it containing a naturally occurring chemical that in some concentrations has been dangerous, but since no studies can prove the concentration in the plant is dangerous these are just cautions.  At some point I will discuss the herbs in GRAS and where that designation comes from.

Overall this book is a wealth of information on Herbs backed up by the most amazing collection of herbal recipes collected from members of the Herb Society of America all over the country that are both simple and complex and include traditional yet uniquely herbed recipes.  The recipes have a simple herbal elegance and use herbs in many special ways just outside of ordinary, but not difficult.  Here are two that I have adapted from the book.

RECIPES

Summer Iced Tea

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

2 packages of Backyard Patch Shamrock Tea (about 1 cup)

6 oz. frozen lemonade

6 oz. frozen limeade

Juice of 1 orange or lemon

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove sugar syrup from heat and add tea.  Allow to steep 5 to 15 minutes, then strain out the leaves.  Add lemonade, limeade concentrates, and orange (or lemon) juice.  Store well, then add enough water to make one gallon.  Chill until ready to serve.  Can be kept in the refrigerator for several days.

Herbal Asian Chicken Salad with Noodles

I love peanut dressing, especially on Chicken.  When I found this recipe in the book I had to try it.

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup chicken stock

10 oz. noodles (I like rice noodles, but cellophane or angel hair are also good)

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp, orange juice

1 cup bean sprouts

1 romaine heart

1 cucumber skin scratched with a fork and sliced thin

1 carrot diagonal cut

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced

2 scallions sliced or a bunch of fresh chives, chopped

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Poach chicken breasts in stock with bay leaves.  Reserve the stock after cooking.  Slice chicken.

Boil noodles.  Rinse under cold water and toss with sesame oil, orange juice and bean sprouts

Slice romaine into ribbons and arrange on 6 individual plates.  Top with noodles and chicken.  Garnish with cucumbers, carrots, red pepper scallions and cilantro.  Serve with Peanut dressing.  Yield 6 servings.

Peanut Dressing

10 Thai basil leaves

½ cup peanut butter

1/3 cup reserved stock

¼ cup light soy sauce

4 Tbls. sesame oil

2 Tbls. minced gingerroot

2 Tbls. minced garlic

2 Tbls. sugar

2 Tbls. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. hot chili oil

¼ cup heavy cream

Blend all ingredients except cream in a food processor.  When well blended, stir in cream.

Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh