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Read previous newsletter issue:
October, 2004
Edgehill Herb Farm Newsletter Volume 2, Number 1 |
Karen's Edgehill
Herbal Newsletter
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Edgehill Herb Farm News
Vista Chocolate Festival/ Garden Village Report
May/June 2007
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Vol
1, Issue 1
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I am thrilled to have completed the long and
arduous task of combining all my email address
books and uploading them to my new email list
service, Constant Contact. Hopefully, now you
will receive more than a biyearly Edgehill
Herb Farm Newsletter! I hope you enjoy this
maiden voyage with the new service. Send all
compliments to my correct email address and send
all complaints to any email address but
my correct one.
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CHOCOLATE HERBS & HERBS WITH CHOCOLATE |
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The inaugural Chocolate Festival and Garden
Village in downtown Vista this past Memorial day
weekend was a huge success! Even with short
notice many of Edgehill Herb Farm Newsletter
readers attended. Special thanks to cousin Cindi
(better known as "Slenderella")
and Aunt Joanne for coming the farthest! I love
you both so much, even if you only came for the
chocolate! Here is some of the info I gave
during my garden talk -
News flash! DARK chocolate in modest amounts is
good for you! According to Steven Pratt, M.D. &
Kathy Matthews in their book Super Foods Health
Style (Copyright 2007 William Morrow, a Harper
Collins Imprint)
"Dark chocolate is a new super food" - in a
nutshell, the good news is: "Dark chocolate
seems to contribute to lowering blood pressure,
increasing blood flow, and ultimately
contributing to a healthy heart." The reason is
the high amount of
polyphenols (which are "Super Nutrients"
that act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories,
antimutagens,
antimicrobials, antivirals,
and antifungals).
They also report "It is a myth that chocolate is
loaded with caffeine. While there is some
caffeine in chocolate, it is not much. In a
typical chocolate bar, the caffeine content
ranges from 1 to 11 mg. An 8 oz. cup of coffee
has about 137 mg. of caffeine." The bad news, if
it can be called bad news, is that the health
benefits are limited to dark chocolate, and do
not pertain to milk chocolate or white
chocolate, and limited to no more than 100
calories per day. Still, Hallelujah!
The
two major Chocolate herbs are -
1. Chocolate Mint, (Mentha
x piperita, a form
of Peppermint). Tip: plant this, and other
mints, in containers to control mint's invasive
tendencies. Whether grown in containers or in
the ground, grow in part sun to full sun, with
ample water.
2. Chocolate Mint Scented Geranium, (Pelargonium
x. tomentosum &
giant oak). Scented Geranium is the 2007 Herb of
the Year as designated by the International Herb
Association, www.iherb.org. Grow this tender
perennial in full sun, and give it room to
spread. The brown splotches are dark in spring
on new growth and then fade away in summer. Both
of these herbs get their chocolate name from the
dark brown/black color in their leaves and not
from their flavor or fragrance. Still, the power
of (suggestion) the name is so strong than many
folks swear that these two herbs taste and smell
like chocolate. If you happen to be one of those
folks, I will not try to dissuade you. |
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•
Donna Frawley, Michigan -
International Herb Association Board Member, recommends
adding ˝ cup chopped fresh Peppermint or Chocolate mint
to your favorite brownie recipe, either box or from
scratch.
• Lynn Alley, California – Author, “Picnic Time”, July
2007 Issue, Herb Companion Magazine, observes
“Peppermint is the only mint with enough oomph to stand
up to chocolate” and she adds a ˝ cup of chopped fresh
peppermint to her chocolate fudge recipe.
• Theresa Loe, California –
Author, The Herbal Calendar, Tidemark Press, doesn’t shy
away from using spearmint with chocolate and
successfully adds 1 cup chopped fresh spearmint to her
chocolate pudding recipe. |
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Layered Lavender Chocolate Gift in a Jar
Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
1 Tablespoon ground lavender (take dried lavender
blossoms and grind in a coffee grinder dedicated to
spice grinding)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup mini, regular or dark chocolate chips
1 cup quick or regular rolled oats
1 cup rice crispies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon each sea salt & baking powder
Layer the ingredients in the order listed into a one
quart, wide mouth glass canning jar. Hint: mix the
lavender with the sugar first and the salt & baking
powder with the flour before layering. Press down firmly
on each layer as you go with a rubber scraper - it's a
tight fit!
Hint: Keep the original recipe below intact, by
photocopying the recipe as many times as you like, you
have my permission, and attach a recipe copy to each
gift jar with ribbon.
LAVENDER
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 JAR LAVENDER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MIX
1/2 CUP SOFTENED BUTTER OR MARGARINE
ONE LARGE EGG, BEATEN
1 TABLESPOON MILK
1 TEASPOON PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
BLEND ALL TOGETHER WELL AND, USING AN ICE CREAM SCOOP,
PUT EQUAL SIZED DOUGH BALLS 2 INCHES APART ON AN
UNGREASED COOKIE SHEET. BAKE IN A PREHEATED 350 DEGREE
OVEN FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES OR UNTIL GOLDEN. MAKES
ONE DOZEN COOKIES (AND FRIENDS).
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June
24th & 25th, The Lavender Festival at The
Lavender Fields of Valley Center - Karen will be
presenting Cooking with Lavender demonstrations
each day at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. visit
www.thelavenderfields.com for directions and more
farm and festival info.
July 14th, 15th & 16th International Herb Association
Educational Conference & Meeting of Members Ozark Folk
Center, Arkansas
Karen is a just one of the great speakers scheduled to
speak on the day the the
public is invited - July 15th - visit www.iherb.org
to learn more about the event, event location,
registration fees and full lineup of speakers.
Looking ahead:
October 14th, the first ever National Herb Day! More
info to come...
I
have rented a shelving unit in a store called
"Antiques on Main" - located right in the heart
of downtown Vista & open 6 days a week (closed Sundays).
Now, my handcrafted herbal soaps, self published herbal
cook booklets and other really neat herbal stuff will be
available for sale in town. My first bag of soaps and
vintage saucer soap dishes that I took to the store
didn't even make a dent in the shelf space I have to
fill, so I have got to get busy. I hope to see you all
in town! Look for my sign on my shelving unit - it says
"Edgehill Herb Farm Soaps; The soap may be fresh and
new, but the idea is as old as the hills" (Cute,
huh?)
This
newsletter was so much fun to write, I have already
started writing the next one for July/August. You can
look forward to the next issue of the Edgehill Herb Farm
Newsletter which will devoted to my very favorite herb -
"Cleveland Sage".
'Til next thyme, Karen
This just in!
“Karen,
I enjoyed your mailing, and we very much appreciate your
chocolate recipes. I'm only sorry that we were (and are
still) in New Jersey and missed the Chocolate Festival.
A minor detail: you write that "Dark chocolate is a new super food... The reason is the high amount of polyphenols."
Chocolate is indeed a gift of the gods--hence, the genus name, Theobroma. And, surely, the only edible form is DARK
chocolate! But the antioxidant properties are due to a specific class of polyphenols, known as flavonoids.
E.R. and I published an essay on the subject, entitled ‘Please Pass the Chocolate: Therapeutics of Flavonoids,’ in the
January 2004 issue of the SDHS (San Diego Horticultural Society) newsletter, Let's Talk Plants, with a longer version in
the April 2005 issue of the SDGC's (San Dieguito Garden Club) newsletter, The Bloomin' News.
Some more detailed references include:
M. M. Kushad, J. Masiunas, M. A. L. Smith (Mary Ann Lila), W. Kalt, K. Eastman. 2003. Health promoting phytochemicals
in vegetables, in Agricultural Reviews, vol 28, pp. 125–185, Jules Janick, ed.
S. A. Lazarus & H. H. Schmitz. Dietary flavonoids may promote health, prevent heart disease. 2000. California Agriculture,
Sept–Oct, pp. 33-39.
M. A. L. Smith. 2000. Function food value of designer crops, Designing Crops for Added Value, Agronomy Monograph no. 40.
D. E. Wedge, K. M. Meepagala, J. B. Magee, S. H. Smith, G. Huang, L. Larcom. 2001. Anticarcinogenic activity of strawberry,
blueberry, and raspberry extracts to breast and cervical cancer cells. J. Medicinal Food 4:49–51.
-- C. P.”
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October, 2004
Edgehill Herb Farm Newsletter Volume 2, Number 1
IN THIS ISSUE:
v
Letter From Karen
v
What’s Cooking
v Speaking of Herbs
v
On the bookshelf
v
Product showcase
v
Fun & Trivia
These are exciting thymes
here at Edgehill Herb Farm! The big news is that the Edgehill Herb Farm
web store is now open! Yippee! I hope you like it as much as I do. The
big thanks for this goes to Evelyn Alemanni, my “Webster” (Visit her
website, www.allea.com. She is an
amazing woman, artist & gardener that you will love getting to know).
Opening a web store means we can be doing business while the
construction on the actual store continues (of course I’ll keep you
posted on the progress and invite you all over for tea when the store is
finished). I think you’ll agree that
this is very exciting news.
The weather these days in Vista
has been hot, something the garden loves but the gardener does not. The
Sweet Basil especially is flourishing in the heat, inspiring the “what’s
cooking” section of this newsletter because I am cooking with it daily,
continually amazed at its flavor, usefulness & variety. I am speaking
around San Diego County (and the country, don’t ya know! – wait ‘til you
see…) - I look forward to seeing those of you who are interested in
attending an event, and remember to please call the information number
provided for each event listed in the “Speaking of Herbs” section to
find out all the particulars, as each event is different. New to the “On
the bookshelf” section, you can now buy the books I am reading (but not
stocking in my web store) from Barnes & Noble and, if you use the link
provided (remember - you gotta use
the link provided), I will get the credit and you will get a
great book plus my undying gratitude – not a whole lot of links
out there offer that and I bet you’ll all just shop ‘til you drop for
it. If you are thinking about Christmas gifts already, and you know who
you are, you’ll want to consider my newest item “Vintage Hankie Lavender
Sachets” – they are the focus of this issue’s product showcase. I am
instituting with this newsletter the trivia and fun section, where some
lucky participant will earn free shipping (didn’t I tell you it was
fun?) on an upcoming
www.edgehillherbfarm.com web store order so I hope you will all
participate & good luck to everybody! Watch for future newsletters to
learn about my trip to Ireland (See, I know what you are thinking…) and
in the meantime please recommend my site to all your friends. With
herbal regards,
Karen
Speaking of Herbs –
Karen’s Upcoming Schedule
I have some interesting classes and speaking engagements
coming up. Click the link above to see the schedule. Hope you can come.
What’s
cooking - Sweet Basil
 The general
information available on growing Sweet Basil,
Ocimum basilicum,
states the plant is an annual in need of full sun and “in general” this
is true, however, in parts of sunny southern California, like Vista, it
actually grows best in half-day sun, not all day or “full sun” and it is
a short lived perennial, growing & producing for several years. This is
because there is no frost or snow to kill the plants in this climate and
the Basil rewards us for it by living for several years. If you live in
an area with freezing temperatures then the general info will apply to
you, and you should grow basil plants in full sun in order to maximize
plant growth before your weather kills it. I am growing about 6
varieties of Basil, on the east side of the house, in a garden bed, a
portion of which gets morning and early afternoon sun and then shade
from the house in the afternoon. One of the sweet basil plants is
celebrating its 3rd year, quite happy & showing no signs of
pooping out anytime soon. The other sweet basils & basil varieties in
this garden bed were planted this year. I am growing 7 plants of Sweet
basil and one plant each of the following; Thai Basil, Lemon Basil,
Cinnamon Basil, Opal Basil, spicy bush basil (and in a nearby bed one
variegated African blue basil which is a bona fide perennial in need of
full sun). There are other herbs growing in the sunnier spots of this
garden bed besides basil - they are parsley, several varieties of thyme,
tarragon, arugula, cilantro, marjoram & mugwort (mugwort? How’d that get
in there? I admit I planted it there but it unclear to me why!) As the
basil plants set flower heads, something they are very prone to do, I
pinch some of the flowers into salads almost daily in order to encourage
new growth, but purposefully I don’t get all the flowers - I leave some
for the bees and the finches to enjoy. Basil apparently is full of trace
nutrients, especially iron. More can be learned about the nutritional
analysis of basil at the World’s Healthiest foods website.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=85 I am
particularly happy to know it is a good source of magnesium, which is
linked with helping migraine sufferers, and I eat it not only for flavor
but for health. Every time I harvest fresh bunches for cooking I take a
few stems from each plant and that way no one plant is over pillaged for
pesto. Speaking of Pesto… I love the stuff. I have tried dozens of pesto
recipes and frankly think they have all been good but I do have some
preferences. I prefer basil pesto made with some parsley to those made
only with basil (hence why I have parsley growing in the same bed with
the basil – still can’t explain the mugwort though) and I find nuts,
even though a classic ingredient, makes the pesto gritty, a texture I
don’t particularly like or want in my pasta, bread or finished dish, so
I say “nuts are optional”… because
“sometimes you feel like a nut & sometimes you don’t” (my
apologies to
The Peter Paul Candy
Manufacturing Company). If you are making
pesto with the intention of freezing it for later use, omit the cheese
(& nuts) and freeze in recipe size portions. Later, when you thaw it,
add the cheese (and optional nuts) before using. Pesto is a sauce that
goes great on pizza, pasta or in bread. Here’s what I use it in.
 This recipe is
a bread machine adaptation of the
Pesto Bread
recipe in Herbs: Gardens, Decorations and Recipes by Emelie
Tolley ©1985, Clarkson Potter
(Note about this book; It is a ground
breaking classic herbal book that I highly recommend, as it is still my
favorite – Unfortunately, it is currently out of print but, from time to
time, I find used copies to sell. Please contact
me
karen@edgehillherbfarm.com
if you are interested in knowing when I get another copy in stock.)
Most bread machine
pesto bread recipes
incorporate the pesto into the dough, which allows the bread to be baked
in the machine, but I find that to be a waste of perfectly good pesto
and I much prefer this swirled bread. In this adaptation, the dough is
made using a bread machine (in the original the dough was made by hand)
but the bread itself is baked off in an oven. Serve this bread with a
variety of dishes such spaghetti and other pastas, soups - especially
tomato, grilled steak or chicken and green salads. I am not including a
recipe for pesto here since you probably have a favorite already or use
store bought. (If I
am wrong and you would like my favorite pesto recipe, please
email
karen@edgehillherbfarm.com
with your request & I’ll happily send you the recipe).
Dough:
1 ˝ cups filtered water
1 ˝ teaspoons fine sea salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
˝ cup basil pesto
Put the above ingredients, except
the pesto, in the order prescribed by the manufacturer
(usually the order listed
above) in the bread machine pan.
Program the machine for the dough cycle and start. When the cycle is
finished & the dough is doubled in size,
(Hint: Leave the dough in the machine after the beep until it is double
in size if it is not already) punch down the dough and remove it
from the pan to a floured piece of waxed paper.
Turn a bowl over the dough and let it rest, covered for
15 minutes. In the meanwhile, put a full kettle of water on to boil.
Once the dough is rested, roll the dough out to a large
rectangle & spread with a ˝ cup of pesto to within ˝ inch of all sides.
Roll up, jellyroll fashion, and seal the ends and seam.
Place seam side down on a cookie sheet lined with “silpat” or parchment
paper.
Rub the top of the loaf with cold water. Pour the boiling
water from the kettle into an empty ovenproof pan you have put on the
bottom shelf of a cold oven and put the bread on the shelf above. Turn
the oven on to 400° and bake 30 – 40 minutes until brown & loaf sounds
hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove, cool slightly and serve.
(Note: this bread tears well when served
warm from the oven but slices better when completely cooled.)
Makes one loaf.
Product
showcase: Vintage Hankie Lavender Sachets
 Kleenex may have
relegated the hankie to the junk drawer but this Lavender sachet brings
them back where they belong - your clothes drawer. Useful, fragrant &
charming, these sachets are each unique, utilizing a vintage hankie and
containing dried lavender for long lasting fragrance. No oils or
fixatives, just lavender for a fragrance that will last. Every time you
open a clothing drawer containing one of these vintage hankie lavender
sachets, just give the sachet a squeeze to release more fragrance. Every
drawer should have one! Only $6.00 each.
On the bookshelf –
What I’m reading:
Trowel & Error
by Sharon Lovejoy. A useful, adorable and fun book with over 700
shortcuts, tips & remedies for the gardener. Did you know that a Basil
Sun Tea mixed with soap fights harmful leaf hoppers when sprayed on?
Well it does. Learn this plus 699 more wonderful garden hints & tricks.
Sharon Lovejoy is the founder of “Heart’s Ease” an herb shop located in
historic downtown Cambria, California. Heart’s Ease has been my
inspiration for Edgehill Herb Farm and I enjoy all of Sharon’s books and
her regular column called “Heart’s Ease” that is in Country Living
Gardener Magazine. I am also reading her latest book, which is a
collection of those articles called A Blessing of Toads; A Gardener’s
guide to living with Nature.
Click the links below to order the books.
 Trowel and Error
 Country Living: Gardener
A Blessing of Toads:
A Gardener's Guide to Living with
Nature
Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots:
Gardening
together with Children
Sunflower Houses: Inspiration From the Garden -
A Book for Children and Their Grown-ups
Fun & trivia:
The trivia question is: What
product, still banned in the United States, contains a relative of
Mugwort, called Wormwood? Email your answer to
karen@edgehillherbfarm.com
along with a short essay on why you think I planted mugwort in my basil
garden. I will publish the trivia answer & some of your short essays
next time. All the plausible reasons submitted will go into a garden hat
and one will be picked to get free shipping on an upcoming
order. Good Luck!
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