Herbcraft: A Compendium of Myths, Romance, and Commensense

A COMPENDIUM OF MYTHS, ROMANCE AND COMMONSENSE

HERBCRAFT BY VIOLET SCHAFER ILLUSTRATED BY WIN NG

YERBA BUENA PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

ISBN #0-912738-00-6 Library of Congress Card #75-146371 Printed in The United States Of America Copyright © 1971 By Yerba Buena Press Published by Taylor & Ng — Yerba Buena Press 666 Howard Street San Francisco, California 94105 All Rights Reserved First Edition Distributed by Random House, Inc. and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. ISBN #0-394-70786-9 First Yerba Buena Press printing, 1971 Second printing, 1972 Third printing, 1973 Fourth printing, 1975 Dutch Translation, Kruidenkunst, published by Bert Bakker BV, The Hague First and Second printings, 1973 Braille Edition #BR1958 Printed by American Printing House for the Blind Louisville, Kentucky, 1973 By Permission of Author and Publisher

CONTENTS

I MEALS, MEDICINE AND MYSTERY The Trinity of Uses for Herbs

1

II HERBAN RENEWAL The Amazing, Delightful and Homely Virtues of Twenty-Six Herbs

6

III PLANS AND CHARTS Garden Plots and Herb Affinity Chart

50

IV SELECTED RECIPES Throwing Roses at Your Table

59

V HERBAN FLING Ideas to Ornament and Way of Life

Your Environment 73

VI HERB CULTURE AND SHOPPING GUIDE

77

VII BIBLIOGRAPHY An Annotated Bibliography Cookbooks and Herbals

of 82

MEALS, MEDICINES & MYSTERY The Trinity of Uses for Herbs —

Herbcraft is science to the botanist, art to the c o o k , and Everyman's passport to a personalized palate. Its practice will make your kitchencraft different from every other one in the world.

and his great need to control mysterious misfortunes. His trust in these natural agents was not entirely misplaced as contemporary studies begin to show.

As an Herbcraftsman, y o u have a sensational family tree and a long history. The storied armies that overran the early world have marched off the stage. The humble herbs they crushed underfoot in battle and used to comfort their wounds and ills survive today. Their o w n march attended the great human migrations from Mongolia and the Far East, from Asia Minor and Egypt, from Greece and R o m e , from Britain and Spain to the New World — a green conquest, without wars.

G o d created herbs for the Garden of Eden. Babylonians had herb gardens. Alexander the Great underwrote a study of herbs and t o o k trained o b servers with him to the Far East to bring back reports of them. Archaeologists have unearthed seeds and leaves of marjoram and bay in the remains of Graeco-Roman banquets.

So welcome did these modest migrants b e c o m e in classical times that Egypt established commercial fields to supply Greece and R o m e with imported herbs. In time, Roman conquerors t o o , carried herbs to Britain and raised them for export to their markets back home as well as for use in cooking and the maintenance of health in Britain. Herbcraft was a way of life for ancient gardeners, witch doctors and astrologers. Monks, Renaissance scientists and medieval housewives grew herbs for food, medicine and good luck. Herbs cast spells and chased monsters. Herbs healed the sick. Herbs nourished b o d y and soul. Herbs were cosmetic. Faith in Herbcraft kept man close to earth in his desire to be healthy, his yearning to be attractive

Everywhere in the ancient world, there evolved a folk medicine based on herbs. To this day the practice continues in Guinea, interior Africa, Sumatra, the East Indies and the South Sea Islands, in Patagonia and among the American Indians. Ancient Greeks trafficked in medicinal herbs. But they scorned the " r o o t diggers" who collected, prepared and sold them. Herbalists responded by shrouding their activities in superstitious rituals and removing their craft from the practice of amateurs. The early physicians who used herbs as healing agents became the first important growers of herbs, the first observers. One such observer was Dioscorides, an army doctor in the time of Nero. As he followed the wars, he developed a b o o k that enumerated 500 plants and the healing qualities of herbs. His work is still quoted. Early herb books described curious beliefs. Rosemary was extolled as a cosmetic and preventive

of nightmares. It was also a g o o d sales t o o l : simply put rosemary in a wine bottle y o u want to sell. Presto! Y o u have g o o d luck and quickly attract a buyer. Injury, indigestion, depressed spirits and noisesomeness all had herbal remedies. When men settled arguments with their fists in the streets, herbs were specifics for healing their black and blue spots and stanching b l o o d . Many herbs, t o o , were valued as cures for the woes of eating and drinking to excess. Other herbs promised relief for sadness and promoted j o y in the tavern when there was little reason for laughter in a physically miserable environment. Strewing herbs warmed bare floors and masked odors of decay at home and in public places. In soapless, scavengerless times, citizens carried sniffing bouquets to help them stomach malodorous assemblies. Many herbalists were fiercely nationalistic. Protectionists among them deplored trafficking in foreign imports. If an Englishman suffered from a disease, they said, there was an herb in England to cure him. Speculate what might be offered as an herbal remedy to a Dutchman in England suffering an illness he contracted in Italy! One of the bizarre chapters in Herbcraft history describes its attraction for astrologers and their cabalistic formulas. Albertus Magnus, astrologer in the 15th Century, devised this charm against bad vibrations: Gather marigold while the sun is in the

sign of Leo in August; wrap it in a bay leaf with a wolf's tooth, and no man will be able to speak any but words of peace to you as y o u wear it. In fairness, it must be said this is no more strange than buying as a good-luck charm a Genuine Elephant Tail Ring with gold mountings. This y o u can do in New York City in 1971. Astrologers named the hour when herbs were to be planted and gathered. They scheduled sowing and harvest according to positions of the planets that controlled a disease. Herbs to benefit men had to be procured when the sun or m o o n was in a male sign of the zodiac — Sagittarius or Aquarius, or at the very least, Leo. To this day, respectable herbalists tell y o u to plant herbs during the waxing of the m o o n to ensure growth. Following Albertus by 200 years, Englishman Nicholas Culpeper prepared a Physical Directory, "an Astrologo-Phisical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of this Nation: Containing a Compleat Method of Physick, whereby a man may preserve his Body in Health; or Cure himself, being Sick, for three pence Charge, with such things only as grow in England, they being most fit for English Bodies." His remedies read like testimonies to the stars. Saturn " o w n s " this herb; Venus, that. Jupiter owns sweet chervil and Mars owns chives. For seven centuries, English gardens were herb gardens. Every manor and every farm raised herbs.

In Norman times the principal herb gardens were attached to monasteries. From Tudor days on, flower gardens and herb gardens went their separate ways. What had long been the herbalist-doctor's special concern fell to the province of the housewife. She not only grew herbs for simple medicines but also for teas, ointments, distilled waters, sweet bags for linens and washing balls. An early j o b description for this garden task suggested that she be religious, honest and skillful. Sex seemed never to have preoccupied herbalists. Such herbs as hint of sex carried more of romance than prurience. There were love potions, of course. Some herbs had power to sway love if one wore them or slept with them under her pillow. When a young man went off to war, his lady love sent along bread or wine seasoned with cumin to keep him ever faithful. There were herbs to induce forgetfulness if things went badly. And sweet marjoram to crown the successful issue of courtship. Essences of balm and coriander and mint were considered aphrodisiac. To guide them in Herbcraft, housewives had Hyll's Proffitable Art of Gardening; Gerard's Herball; and Lawson's The Country Housewife's Garden. From these garden books they received such tips as this: Drag a speckled toad around the garden to safeguard young herbs. Plant eagles' feathers in the four corners and in the middle to ward off mists and killing frosts.

Every herb garden, advised Hyll, should have a hedge of elder, t o o . If y o u stood beneath the hedge at midnight on Midsummer Eve, he promised, y o u would see the King of the Elves and all his train go by. In the Northern countries of Europe, herb pickers had rituals and magic words for gathering plants. Unfortunately their runes have been lost because authorities punished those who practiced heathen rites in picking herbs. In copying herbal manuscripts, monks effectively stamped out such heresies by substituting prayers for abracadabra. Here is one: Haile be thou holie herbe Growing on the ground All in the Mount of Calvarie First wert thou found. Thou art good for manie a sore And healest manie a wound In the name of sweete Jesus I take thee from the ground. Herbs were approached prayerfully and in silence. Once they were gathered, priests said masses over them. People prayed and made the sign of the cross when they used them. Like the astrologers, the monks specified auspicious days for picking herbs: August 15, day of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary; and June 24; St. John's Day and the day of summer solstice. The number of herbs in a bunch — three or nine —

remained part of the mystery. One formula for a healing combination spelled out Johannes, for St. John, using initial letters of the names of the herbs. Early herb gardens were the equivalent of today's drug stores for beauty aids as well as medicines. D o c t o r s ' herb gardens were many and impressive. John Gerard, master of surgery in Elizabethan times, had more than a thousand plants in his garden. Of little medicinal value but certainly excellent for personal therapy were the cosmetic plants. They helped pursue disappearing youth with concoctions for dyeing hair and preventing baldness. There were, t o o , the socially aware medical men who saw in herbal remedies a path to a better, healthier country. From this interest stemmed an early attempt at socialized medicine. It was the proposal of an 18th Century doctor that England have public herb gardens. In them would be every useful medicinal herb for people to see and learn about free of charge. Herbs came to America in pockets, purses and portmanteaus. Like the Roman legions before them, colonists carried indispensable herbs to their new home. John Josselyn, English gentleman, after two visits to a brother in New England in the late 1600's, published a list of "rarities" he found here. It is possibly the first American garden catalogue. It listed parsley, chervil, burnet, winter and summer

savory, thyme, sage, fennel, coriander, dill and anise. Plymouth Colony gardens were only 50 years old when Josselyn saw them. Although the first plants had c o m e from England, Josselyn's list did not include any herbs native to Britain. They had arrived in Britain from all parts of the world. In America, they were already immigrants t w o , three and more times removed. From the Eastern shore, herbs trekked West by wagon train along with recipes, remembered instructions and manuscripts on h o w to use them as f o o d , medicine and cosmetic. My Quaker grandmother was one w h o left a piano behind but t o o k herb secrets with her from Pennsylvania to North Dakota. A m o n g the early settlers she became known as an herbalist who ministered to the sick. In time, English settlers sent home for more seeds as did the Spanish w h o supplied colonies in Mexico and the Southwest. New herbs, known and used by the Indians, came into use, t o o . The Indians used marsh marigolds, c o w parsnips, pokeweed, milkweeds, fireweed, sorrels, pigweed and jack-in-the-pulpit among others as foods. The few flavorings the Indians had, included wild onion and caraway. In the Southwest they used annual sage, chia, as a principal food source. The little dried sunflower heads of chia were reputed to be so rich in nourishment that one teaspoonful was

enough to hearten a man to endure 24 hours on forced march. This quality made it eminently sales worthy to settlers. Forerunners of today's commercial spice and herb houses, the Shakers, a religious sect, began in 1800 to grow herbs for sale both here and abroad. They had under cultivation 50 acres of sage, savory, marjoram, horehound, rue, borage, hyssop and pennyroyal. They grew both native and European herbs. Housewives had no real need to raise herbs any more. Peddlers hawked herbs from baskets along Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Eventually they spread out across the land to sell patent medicines from tin trunks on horsedrawn wagons. Herbal remedies began to attract cheap imitations and cheaper sales pitches. From old farmsteads where they first grew as household necessities, herbs began to escape into the wilds. Herbcraft had c o m e full circle. T o d a y , signs are good again. Scores of herb gardens with nostalgic names are open to the public. Many, not surprisingly, are in the New England states. Thousands have seen the herb gardens of Williamsburg, Virginia. California has eight herb gardens. Washington, D.C., has both a Biblical Herb Garden and a Shakespearean Herb Garden. In Shelburne, Vermont, is the Shelburne Museum with an herb garden and wonderful displays of the tools, furniture and pro-

ducts of early American herbalists. There is an Herb Society of America with 600 members. Y o u can study its Primer for Herb Growing and its Herbarist Annual. Y o u can meet with informal herb groups like the one at Caprilands Herb Farm in North Coventry, Connecticut. Have a lunch of herbs with them and go home with the recipes. Y o u can stalk healthful herbs like field expert Euell Gibbons and use his b o o k as a guide in field and forest. Y o u can be scientific and investigate the old wives' tales about herbs. There is much to be done here. Y o u can enter Herbcraft as a kitchen agriculturist and raise your own herbs for whatever use.

HERBAN RENEWAL The Amazing, Delightful and Homely Virtues of Twenty-Six Herbs Something deliciously primitive stirs the kitchen agriculturist embarked on Herbcraft. The sight of an array of herblets makes you almost doubt that stories about them can be true. H o w can this pointillist show of tiny plants grow up to cure hangovers? Who would believe that that dainty specimen is a girl's best friend and a hair rinse, t o o ? Who would think that the king of herbs is as g o o d as a fly swatter? Many of the old wives' tales y o u have heard about herbs are coming up true. Their medicinal and vitamin properties are very real in some cases. The c o m m o n violet has been called nature's vitamin pill. Research underwrites this claim. In surveying the literature of herbs, it becomes apparent at once h o w subjective the decision is to include one herb or exclude another. One herbalist insists on 24, another on 25, still others claim that 10 or 12 will do. On this arbitrary note, we list 26 herbs — most of them culinary — and a few of them even out of style but worth reviving. All c o m e from distinguished old herb families. All have stories to tell. Many have been known and loved since ancient times, moving with man in his migrations from continent to continent, from country to country. Some may even be said to have paved the way to heaven. Y o u can raise them yourself. Y o u be the judge what their uses shall be for y o u — tasty, healthful or mysterious.

ANISE Attractive bait for tax collectors

This graceful Pied Piper has had a motley following. In Biblical times its high value made it acceptable for tax payments. Even unto Edward I's time it was taxed when carried across L o n d o n Bridge. It also baited mousetraps. Native to Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean, anise was early under cultivation. In Egypt it was grown in quantity to supply leaves and seeds for food, drink and medicine for domestic use as well as for export. Crete was also a supplier. Later, the Romans planted the fields of Tuscany abundantly with anise to supply high demand for food flavoring, medical additives and perfumes. Roman cooks made cakes of anise meal and other aromatic herbs to serve following rich entertainments and wedding feasts. This pleasant conceit had a very mundane purpose. It prevented indigestion! From such anise cakes came the tradition of baking special cakes for weddings. A benign herb, anise wielded power against evils. Pliny recorded its use as a sedative: Just pin a sprig of anise to your pillow or suspend it over your bed. This will discourage nightmares and wake y o u to the morning sun with the l o o k of youth.

Herb fancier Charlemagne ordered anise to be grown on his imperial lands along with many other herbs and vegetables. Anise was in English monastery gardens by the 14th Century, in the ordinary gardens of that land by the 16th Century. The First Assembly of Virginia enjoined settlers in the New World to plant six aniseeds on their lands to make a trial of its culture. A m o n g the virtues of anise were to sweeten the breath and to remedy coughs and colic. Also, an old English remedy for dropsy was a broth made from an old rooster stuffed with aniseeds and ferns. An American Colonial recipe for relieving pains of rheumatism included aniseed oil. The patient's formula was to fill and refill pipe after pipe of tobacco mixed with oil of aniseeds and rosemary, and smoke until his pains subsided.

CURRENT HERBCRAFT Today anise is grown commercially in France, Germany, Russia, Spain and Rhode Island. The best seeds, they say, are from the Spanish alicante anise. Often blended with peppermint, anise flavors toothpaste. Hot aniseed tea, believed to have antiseptic qualities, is at least a comforting liquid when y o u have a cold. On the Continent and in South America, anise flavors such cordials as Anisette, Pernod, Arrak and O u z o . Aniseeds are a great flavor in breads, cakes and cookies. Fresh anise roots and stalks are welcome in soups and stews. But add these at the last minute because they are tender and b e c o m e mushy when overdone. Chopped fresh anise leaves are a tasty diversion when boiling shellfish. Its seeds are g o o d in cottage and other fresh cheeses. Try cubing its fresh stems and stalks as substitutes for celery in a Waldorf salad with R o m e Beauty apples and walnuts. Toss with a lemon, brown sugar and oil dressing instead of the traditional mayonnaise. This combination produces a refreshingly light ornament to a hearty dinner.

BALM Respectable, old-fashioned tranquilizer

Soother of nerves and reliever of tensions, staunch, hardy and faithful, this member of the mint family is native to the Mediterranean. According to ancient lore, one picked it only while music played to distract the snakes guarding it. Its official name derives from the Greek word for bee. From earliest times balm has been celebrated by poets and herbalists for its restorative properties and cheering qualities. Dioscorides recommended it for closing wounds. Pliny declared that simply tying a sprig of balm on a sword would stanch the b l o o d of him w h o m the blade pierced. Balm was considered an amulet, provided the whole dried plant — root, leaves and seed — were sewn into a piece of linen with a silk thread. Worn under the dress, the bag made one agreeable and loved by all she met. The wearer also had all her wishes fulfilled and was happy and gay withal. Balm was a favorite strewing herb. So precious was it to the Turks who conquered the Holy Land that they t o o k large quantities of it to Grand Cairo. There, janissaries of the Sultan stood guard over it. Balm was grown early in Britain, probably introduced by the Romans. As colonizers they introduced herbs throughout their empire. They t o o k special advantage of Britain's fertile soil. Herbs grew well there and produced abundant enough quantities for export to R o m e . The old Swiss physician Paracelsus believed balm could restore a man to new life. A 17th Century London dispensary recommended drinking its essence with Canary wine to renew youth, strengthen

the mind, relieve the doldrums and, quite incidentally, prevent baldness. It cured mad dog bites, skin diseases and crooked necks. Culpeper urged every gentlewoman to keep a syrup of balm juice and sugar to relieve the weak stomachs and bodies of her p o o r , sickly neighbors. Another English herbalist recommended that students drink balm to drive away heaviness of mind, sharpen understanding and increase memory for examinations. Balm did, in fact, favorably affect digestion and circulation. Its oil was long recognized in dressing wounds. Offered as p r o o f of its effectiveness was the claim of the long-lived Prince of Glamorgan. He managed to live until he was 108, thanks to his daily imbibing of balm tea at breakfast and supper. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Balm n o w grows wild in Southern England, having escaped from old gardens. It has escaped, t o o , in the United States. Balm is g o o d with soups and stews, fish and lamb; and freshly chopped, sparingly in salads. It imparts a lemony taste to poultry stuffings. It is a pleasant ornament to regular hot teas and to lemonade or as a tea in itself. Dramatically used, sprigs of balm arrive at table garnishing a glass pitcher of Claret Cup. Its presence improves most wine cups. For mind expanding and heightened awareness — you have to be a believer, of course — brew yourself a salutary cup of balm tea: a cup of boiling water over an ounce of young balm tops and leaves.

BAY LEAF Sweet smell of success

Though not an herb, the bay leaf is seldom absent from culinary shelves. Its character brings it honestly into herb company. It is the foliage of a handsome tree whose natural home is the Mediterranean Region. Greeks venerated bay as sacred to A p o l l o . From it came the designation poet laureate because those who so excelled were crowned with noble laurel. A branch of bay signified victory, j o y and triumph. It was the panacea for all ills. As Apollo's tree, it symbolized the power of the

sun, protector against evil and guardian of man's social well being. Priestesses at Delphi, drugged to a frenzy, uttered their prophecies with bay leaves held between their lips. Their tripods were decorated with bay, and those w h o came seeking advice were crowned with its leaves. In early R o m e , announcements of victory came fastened with leaves of laurel. Devotees decked statues of Bacchus, Esculapius and Hercules with bay branches. Early herbalists sang bay's praises as serving man

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T

from cradle to grave. It was ornamental and useful in sickness and in health, in the house of G o d and the house of man. It comforted in the bath and gave strength as a potion. It sobered tipplers if they had presence of mind to place a bay leaf behind their ears to keep wine from overcoming them. Practical colonials in America sprinkled bay leaves in proper places to drive off caterpillars. Culpeper said no witch or devil, thunder or lightning could harm a man where there was a bay tree.

In Italy, Sicily and Corsica bay still crowns religious and other festivals. Corsicans decorate their homes with it for weddings. Near Bologna, farmers burn bay leaves to predict the harvest. If the bay crackles, all is well. If not, yield will be poor. Pungence describes this herb. So use it very carefully until y o u define your tolerance for it in tomato juice, soups, stews and roasts; chicken, beef and duck dishes; in dressings for greens and vegetable salads; in sauces, stuffings and marinades for game. It adds piquancy to boiling artichokes, potatoes, carrots and beets.

BASIL Growl at it if you want it to grow!

To begin with, basil must have really had an inferiority complex. Dreadful things were said about it — that it had power to raise scorpions in your brain and breed other fabulous beasts. Both the Greeks and Romans stepped on it as a strewing herb and believed it would grow only if cursed and abused. But not all the history of this minty native of the Near East is negative. One member of its family is sacred both to Vishnu and Krishna. Hindu housewives use it to cleanse the air and protect their families from evil. It is a Hindu's passport to paradise when he dies. Its name is said to derive from the word for king as well as the word for a fantastic monster, the basilisk. The fact that the herb was used to make royal unguents, perfumes and medicines makes us lean toward the regal version.

A m o n g Italians w h o favor it for tomato pastes, peasant suitors wear a sprig of it in their hair to signify their intentions. In Roumania, to accept a sprig of basil from a maid is to love her. Pioneer homemakers grew pots of basil to give as gifts, and welcome they were because they were said to discourage flies as well as encourage flavors! The French put pots of basil in their sidewalk restaurants for the same reason. Basil has been used as snuff to clear the head and cure nervous headaches, t o o . So basil has more or less overcome its l o w character. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Basil flatters tomatoes, especially, and lends delicate piquancy to many dishes: curries, appetizers, salads and salad dressings; egg and cheese dishes; soups, fish, all meats, poultry and game; sauces and dips. Its flavor increases with cooking. So use it lightly unless y o u want it to dominate.

BORAGE Forget the cares of 9 to 5 With wine and borage come alive. Beautiful, shimmering bristly borage blooms pink and blue all together and at once. Its virtue is to give courage to those who eat and drink of it. Borage originated wild in A l e p p o and became a naturalized citizen all over Europe, thanks to the Crusaders. Widely used as a medicinal herb, borage steeped in wine, said Greek physicians, induced forgetfulness. John Evelyn remarked on its power to revive hypochondriacs and cheer students. Borage was acclaimed for cooling, soothing drinks. Borage grew in Louis IV's garden. It came early to America. A flavor for claret and a banquet for bees, the starry borage flowers were candied treats your great, great grandmother made for your great grandfather. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Lured by its championship qualities, Euell Gibbons, stalker of herbs, made certain he would have quantities of borage. First he planted it in his ploughed orchard and then let it run wild. Its medicinal properties, he says, are very real. Borage is an excellent source of organic potassium, calcium and other natural minerals. Its vitamin content, still to be explored, is probably substantial. Gibbons suggests its heavy juice to add b o d y and cucumbery flavor to cooling drinks. He thinks, and I agree, that few exercise any imagination in using the herb. To correct this, he has devised culinary uses for this healthful plant.

He includes raw leaves and flowers in salads to lend cucumber flavor without cucumber after effects. He crushes it for limeade, lemonade and cups — a jigger of borage juice to a glass of lemonade. He has frozen borage juice to bring out for Christmas cups. With the help of the wine, his guests grow merry on it. He insists, however, that mineral salts in borage drinks increase a sense of well being. His borage jelly candy and borage jam are worth a pause for mothers intent on feeding their children well at the same time they give them sweets. His instructions for candying borage flowers are simple and suggest an enchanting way to surprise guests with old fashioned sweets that are also conversation pieces.

BURNET A cucumbery antique worth reviving

Burnet has been in and out of vogue. Your growing it may set y o u apart from ordinary mortals as "that interesting person who actually grows Sanguisorba minor!" It was once believed that burnet c o n c o c t e d with other herbs protected against the plague and contagion. As a drink, it healed inwardly; as an ointment, outwardly. Francis Bacon advised growing it with thyme and mint for scent alone. Culpeper took a more practical view. He pronounced it a most precious herb for preserving the b o d y in health and the spirit in vigor. From early times it has cooled tankards and wine cups, even as borage. Early settlers prized it enough to bring it with them to America.

CURRENT HERBCRAFT Today burnet is an astringent. Its tea is used as a tonic. Devotees boast that it can serve as a facial steam to improve the skin. The English favor it as a year round source of salad greens. Its nutlike, cucumbery taste is wholesome in vegetable salads. Its delicate foliage adds grace to the appearance and taste of iced drinks. Burnet is the pimpernel of the best Italian and French salads. Its dried leaves are used in salad dressings. It is g o o d in asparagus, celery, bean and mushroom soups. Y o u can use it generously. Burnet is easy to grow. It responds to frequent pruning.

CARAWAY In your strongbox, it insures against thieves There is a superstition that the presence of caraway is as g o o d as a bank: no thieves can steal anything which contains it. And a caraway potion provides another kind of insurance. It keeps lovers from straying. Caraway was discovered in Caria in the Near East. From ancient times it has been completely useful — root, leaves and seeds. Its seeds were found in debris of prehistoric lake dwellings of Switzerland. Dioscorides recommended pale young girls take heart with caraway. Roman legions marched on it. It was part of their C-rations, its parsnip-like roots being mixed with milk to make a bread which Caesar called chara. Ancient Arabs treasured caraway and called it Karawya. In the 17th Century caraway seed was baked with fruit, bread and cakes. Sometimes it came to table separately in a dish to add relish. Caraway seed cakes were traditional treats at farm laborers' feasts at the end of wheat sowing. A naturalized American citizen, caraway had an interesting use in colonial times. Settlers prevented hysterics by eating specially seasoned caraway seeds with bread and butter every day. I leave it to you to discover why they needed a cure for hysteria. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Caraway provides a sweetly delicate vegetable with its root; flavoring for salads, soups and vegetables (especially cabbage and potatoes) with its

fresh leaves; a warming taste to breads, baked apples and wine with its seeds; and medicinals with its oil. Altogether a thrifty member for your herb garden. The flavor of home-grown seeds alone will reward your efforts: there is nothing like them.

CATNIP Chew its roots and ask the boss for a raise!

If what y o u hear about catnip is true, y o u can chew its roots and swell with enough courage for the impossible task. A hangman, according to legend, relied on catnip to screw his courage to the sticking place for his grisly work. A member of the mint family, catnip grows in the temperate zones across Asia and Europe and is n o w a naturalized American. It has been cast as a rather low character, in many places as a weed. Certainly it hasn't made the "Best Dressed Herb Shelf" lists. Often thought unfit for human consumption, it has been left for the cats, wild and domestic. Not all true! In the 15th Century, it flavored soups and stews quite respectably. Before all the tea arrived from the Orient, Englishmen already addicted to herb teas, favored their catnip brew. American Indians drank it as tea, t o o . A n d the Pennsylvania Dutch stimulated appetite with it before dinner and settled differences in their stomachs with it after dinner. A n d there were those who boiled catnip in wine as a face wash to remove signs of battle.

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Today catnip is listed in pharmacopoeias as mildly tonic and stimulating. Although it is raised commercially, it also grows wild around old farmsteads. Its teas are best known — next to feline toys. Y o u can buy catnip tea in small boxes at health f o o d stores along with more than 70 other varieties of herb teas. They are considered mildly nervine and useful nightcaps. Catnip tea has been drunk to prevent colds. Its generous amounts of vitamins C and A make this use worth noting. I find the tea delicate in the same way light dry wines are. There are no after effects, except perhaps for a sense of well-being and encouragement. Euell Gibbons who is enthusiastic about catnip recommends steeping tea in a tightly covered vessel, as its flavor and aroma are volatile. He serves his tea in a demi-tasse with a slice of lemon after dinner. He also has recipes for candying catnip leaves as stimulating after-dinner mints.

CHERVIL An herb that warms old hearts and chilled stomachs

This cooperative native of Southern Europe and the Levant is one of the very respectable old families in the herb garden. For educated tastes, it is the salad herb par excellence as well as a Spring tonic. Depending on your sources, the herb gained or did not gain its claim to fame because of its medicinal properties. Its roots have provided a warming dish for chilled stomachs. Pliny advised that it was also good to stop hiccoughs. It's certainly less drastic than scaring a person half out of his wits. Boiled chervil roots were eaten in times of plague as a preventive. Aged persons were advised to eat its boiled roots cold as a restorative. For all, it was recommended as a dose to sweeten and purify the b l o o d in Springtime. Application of its dried leaves comforted external bruises and pain-racked joints.

CURRENT HERBCRAFT As it was dear to the old Romans, it is n o w the darling of the French. A famous Continental soup requires chervil. It is one of the French fines herbes. Bearnaise sauce calls for it. It goes into savory puddings, butters and omelets. It makes tasty herb vinegar, salad dressings, dressings for broiling fish, sauces for artichokes. It is g o o d in soups and cooking chard and broccoli and in baked potatoes. A simple chervil soup requires no more effort than this: Saute 3 tablespoons fresh chervil in butter. A d d 2 tablespoons flour and continue sauteing. A d d 2 cups vegetable stock. Salt to taste and add cream before serving. Chervil resembles a fern-like parsley. It mildly devotes its talents to improving the flavor of other herbs with which it is combined: parsley and chives or parsley and shallots. Since y o u use it when it is young and can use it lavishly, sow chervil seeds in your herb garden every three weeks to keep young leaves coming.

CHIVES Fresh without being sassy

This sprightly communal herb is always plural, never single. It has grown wild over most of the Northern Hemisphere from Siberia to Corsica and from Southern Sweden to the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. Introduced into China 2,000 years ago, it was valued there as an antidote to poison and a remedy for bleeding. Ancient Egyptians also honored this relative of the onion. From early times it has been raised in market gardens for sale in great quantities on market days. A 15th Century c o o k b o o k lists it. Chives arrived in European gardens in the 16th Century and in American gardens before 1806. Ainus of Northern Japan know and use them. Going a bit overboard in their taste for it, Dutch settlers in America pastured their cows in fields planted with the herb in order to produce chiveflavored milk!

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T For me, chives will always be the perfect foil for vichysoisse — the way it appeared for me one beautiful June day at the Chateau Lake Louise. Finely minced and sprinkled on the snowy, iced soup, they mirrored the look of utter freshness in the alpine world of pines and glaciers. The effect was both bracing and aesthetic. Chives are just as satisfying in a simple butter sandwich on fresh baked bread; in herb soup with grated sharp cheese and toast; in green salads, lavishly, and in salad dressings; in sauces for fish; in omelets; and layered with steamed chard laced with chervil. Y o u can buy clumps of chives in the vegetable department of many supermarkets. These y o u can divide, bulb by bulb, and set five inches apart in your garden. At least divide the clump the first year and set bulbs in bunches of six or nine to a good-sized pot. The flowers are charming globes of blue. Discourage them. They toughen the leaves. Full sun on your plants will increase their fragrance. Cut chives close to the ground for use. They'll bounce back quickly.

CORIANDER This Chinese parsley has a lofty soul

Immortality and miserliness hardly seem fitting to be brought together as powers in a single herb, but such is the perverse history of coriander. Another old family herb, coriander is indigenous to Europe. Its seeds were found in Egyptian tombs of the 21st Dynasty. Egyptians bruised the seeds and mixed them with bread and used its leaves in soup. They grew enough to export seeds to R o m e and won a testimonial from Pliny. He rated their seeds as the best to be had. Romans used powdered coriander seeds as a preservative, sprinkling them on meats with cumin and vinegar to retard spoiling in summer weather. Coriander was grown in China from the 5th Century. The Chinese thought the seeds had power to confer immortality. Its leaves were also important to dishes in India and its seeds went into curry powder. It was one of the bitter herbs to be eaten during Passover. All Eastern nations esteemed it. The Romans brought coriander to Britain where it established itself as a semi-wild plant. The master c o o k to Charles II may really have been dreaming of gin when he created Coriander Water with broken coriander seeds, water and sugar. When the sugar melted and the infusion married with the seeds, the liquor was strained and ready to drink at pleasure. In any case, coriander was grown commercially in Essex for gin distillers as well as for veterinary surgeons who used it as a drug. I could find no one willing to prove an old charge that eating coriander inspired avarice.

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Today coriander plantations exist on the coasts of North Africa and the Near East. Coriander is also grown in England, Holland and India. In our hemisphere its chief conquest is Peru. Peruvians are so fond of the herb that its seeds and leaves have invaded many native dishes. In the United States, Kentucky supplies most of the seeds. My first taste of fresh coriander — and I found it sheer delight — was in Chinese cuisine. I thought it must be a new kind of parsley from the look of it. Its delicate texture and surprisingly nippy taste sent me looking for it in markets to enjoy in green salads and soups. Coriander is often put fresh in Chinese soups just as they are served to let the heat bring out the sharp flavor. Before serving it so, a tactful host is expected to ask novices, "Does everybody like hsiang-ts' ai?" Ground coriander seeds make warm companions in breads, rolls, gingerbread and cookies. They are a nice surprise in baked apples and pears, with roast pork and puddings.

DILL Anti-witch, pro-bride, and tasty substitute for salt From dill to dull is a short hop. The Norse word for dill meant dull. The dill's soporific seeds were used to lull babies to sleep. Dill is a native of Asia Minor and Europe. The earliest medicinal record of it appeared in an Egyptian papyrus 5000 years ago. The Greeks used it many ways and burned it as a perfume and incense. The Romans knew and enj o y e d it, wearing crowns of flowering dill at festivals. Dill was also another herb on Charlemagne's farm list, and it was in the 10th Century vocabulary of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dill was the magician's herb, used in spells and charms to thwart witches. It was an old German custom for brides to carry it. In some countries, brides put it in their shoes or wore it in their hair for luck. New born calves were rubbed with dill and salt. Boiled in a broth, dill was thought to prevent obesity as well as to induce sleep for the restless. Culpeper claimed it strengthened the brain. In colonial times, dill was a "meeting" seed for parishioners who nibbled on it to suppress hunger pangs while sermons droned on. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T East Indians sell dill in their bazaars for both medicinal and culinary use. It grows wild along the Mediterranean and in Southern Russia. In the cornfields of Italy, Spain and Portugal, it is a weed.

Dill seeds are so light that 25,000 weigh only an ounce. So, in small gardens, its leaves are the thing to make spicy salads; to make something special of boiled new potatoes and peas; to infuse with wine vinegar; to make an excellent aromatic dressing for salads; to lift sauces for fish, poultry and meats. Dill has long been associated with cucumber pickles, but its uniqueness among herb tastes deserves more attention. Dill seeds add an extraordinarily wholesome taste to bread. The sprinkling of dill seeds and weeds on apple crisp — the bottomless pie — just before baking achieves a dessert that is tart, sweet and homely all at once. Dill doesn't mask the appleness as spices d o . It heightens it. Dill seeds are also interesting taste additions for bean soup.

FENNEL Stuff your keyholes with it to keep out bad spirits

The number of kinds of fennel clouds the recorded history of this herb. Theophrastus, Hippocrates, Dioscorides and Pliny all made note of it. Pliny, in fact, listed 22 ills which fennel remedied and observed that snakes ate fennel before casting their skins. The Romans ate it — root, stem, leaf and seed — raw in salads, c o o k e d as a vegetable, baked in bread and cakes. Charlemagne ordered its cultivation. The household of King Edward I of England ate fennel at the rate of 8V2 pounds a month. And the p o o r liked it, t o o , to still their hunger. The plump dieted on a broth of fennel seeds, leaves and roots "to abate their unwieldiness." The blind drank its juice to restore their sight. Roots boiled in wine and applied to the eyes were remedy for cataracts. In days when fennel had all these powers, it was a benevolent herb. It guarded against witches. Believers stuffed b e d r o o m keyholes with sprigs of fennel to keep out bad spirits that disturb sleep. Because of the insect-repellant property of fennel, they also strewed the herb on b e d r o o m floors and tucked it between the bed covers to put fleas and other unwanted pests on notice. On Midsummer Eve, garlands of fennel over doorways blocked passage of witches.

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Fennel grows wild on the coast of Britain. It is grown commercially in Southern France, Italy, Germany and California. It is sold as a vegetable in Eastern United States. Fennel is very popular in Europe. Roman bakers put its leaves under loaves of bread in the oven to bake in the flavor. Fennel is eaten raw with French dressing, and it goes well with fish. A puree of boiled fennel stems mixed with fish pan juices and butter is g o o d on mackerel and salmon. It makes a fine basting sauce along with rosemary and garlic for roast pork. With thyme and parsley, it produces a g o o d herb butter served with salmon, halibut and bass. Fennel is a surprising delight in cookie chews and bread. If you like fennel at first try, see what its taste will do for cheese and egg dishes, meats and vegetables.

of a legend. Queen Victoria's chef overcame the delicate problem of introducing garlic to HRH's salads by chewing the herb himself and then breathing heavily over the imperial greens!

This is not to discourage y o u , by Garlic! Simply let your aesthetic nature rule y o u as y o u work with this rambunctious character. Y o u tell it who's boss in the bouillabaisse!

LAVENDER Wear a cap of its seeds and cure a head cold

This elegant and handsome shrub deserves a place in your garden just for the looking at. Its name derives from Latin for wash, and there was a time in England when a lavender was a washerwoman. There are a number of lavenders, all native to the Mediterranean shores of France, Spain, Italy, Corsica and Sicily. These were probably brought to Britain by Romans though none survived. Pilgrims who later brought lavender to the New World failed equally. Fastidious Greeks and Romans included it in their baths for its perfume as well as for its reputation for relieving fatigue and stiff joints. Since it was thought to be favored by snakes, they did not make festive garlands of it as they did of other herbs. In Biblical times, it was such a luxury, its blossoms sold for 100 Roman denarii a pound (about $7.50 U.S.). Its medicinal qualities have been appreciated for centuries as nerve stimulant and relief for aches, sprains and rheumatism and as stimulant for the appetite. A cap of its seeds, one herbalist said, relieved all diseases of the head originating with a cold and comforted the brain. Also, if one contemplated lavender growing, its beauty would inspire j o y and dispell all sadness. An early American recipe for liniment to cure sciatica contained lavender. It was quite a mess:

Boil in oil and red wine three puppies, one pound of earth worms, and a handful each of the leaves of rosemary, bay, lavender and thyme. When ready, add yellow wax and goose grease. I approve at least of the goose grease. My Father always said it was a medical necessity in a house with five children. Our Christmas goose was the instrument for providing that necessity. I can recall from childhood having the viscid ointment rubbed on my chest, then covered with a big piece of flannel to cure a chest cold. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T In Tuscany today, lavender is said to protect little children from the evil eye. Berber women of North Africa believe it has power to protect them from mistreatment by their husbands. Merck lists it as a stimulant and in the treatment of hysteria, headaches, fainting, nervous palpitation and giddiness — just as it was in times of old. The true lavender — the English lavender — was successfully introduced in English gardens in 1568. It is n o w grown in great quantities in the South of England and has its uses in mouth washes, moth repellants, soaps and numerous other things. Because of the custom of drying the flowers and placing them in linens, we have the expression "laid up in lavender."

LOVAGE A tall harvest for the timid gardener

To be known as the grower of "love parsley" might give y o u as interesting a reputation as to be known for growing Sanguisorba minor. It is not a c o m m o n herb. Grow it as an extra. . .and to prove y o u can produce something really big! Giant-sized, lovage is native to the Mediterranean, the mountains of Southern France, Northern Greece and the Balkans. In Britain it grows wild, escaped from ancient fields probably planted by the Romans. Greeks and Romans considered it a pleasant medicinal herb. It continued to be grown right through the Dark Ages and was one of the herbs listed in the plan of a 9th-Century physic garden of the Benedictine monastery at St. Gall, Switzerland. When herbal perfumes were the rage, it was an enjoyable bath cologne. Culpeper advised its distilled water for pleurisy and recommended lovage as a gargle, mouth wash and cure for redness and dimness of the eyes. It would, he promised, remove freckles. A popular cordial called Lovage was made from the herb in combination with other herbs. It was served at inns for its beneficial effect and soothing quality during intestinal upsets. It has a well-advertised counterpart today!

CURRENT HERBCRAFT Because of its size, lovage is prized as an abundant source of polished green salad leaves. It tastes of celery and goes well in mixed vegetables and as flavoring in soups, stews and chowders. Lovage roots and leaf stalks may be c o o k e d and served cold as a salad with oil and vinegar dressings. It compliments omelets and sauces. Its seeds are used in confectionery. The practical Pennsylvania Germans have used its hollow stems as natural straws for drinking. Here is a pleasant diversion to get children to drink milk for the fun of it by having Mother Nature provide the straws.

MARJORAM Bouquets! Bouquets! Bouquets! for aromas, flowers and compliments! Some of the best herbs were people. You'll have an affinity for this one if you have ever wanted to fall down a hole and disappear in a bad situation. In Greek mythology, young Amarakos, in the service of the King of Cyprus, had the misfortune to drop a vase of perfume. Terrified, he fell unconscious. Merciful gods spirited him away as the herb which came to be called marjoram. " Venus, they say, was the first to cultivate it. Native to the Mediterranean lands and the Orient, it is literally a j o y on the mountain because of its scent and the way its blossoms, pretty enough for bouquets, pour over hillsides. Egyptians grew it as a potherb. Greeks and Romans used marjoram in f o o d , perfumes, and medicines. The Greeks used it internally as an antidote for narcotic poisoning, convulsions and dropsy. Both Greeks and Romans crowned young lovers with it. The dead were considered blest if marjoram grew on their graves. In Crete, marjoram symbolized honor; in Sicily, it possessed power to banish grief. In India, it was sacred to Siva and Vishnu. Before carpets were c o m m o n , marjoram was a strewing herb. It was also a washwater scent and was used to scour furniture. Dairymen believed they could prevent milk from curdling in thunderstorms by laying sprigs of marjoram and thyme by the milk in the dairy.

Before the introduction of hops, marjoram was used in brewing ale. An old-time herbalist advised one to smell marjoram often if he wished to preserve his health. Marjoram tea was so popular that colonists brought marjoram with them to the New World. It escaped to the wilds and became c o m m o n in Western United States. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Irma Mazza ranked sweet marjoram as one of the "big six" kitchen herbs. In the 1947 edition of her Herbs for the Kitchen, she has 45 references to sweet marjoram and 49 to wild marjoram or oregano. Culinary uses find marjoram at home in biscuits and sandwiches, jelly, potato pie and dumplings; soups, broiled chops; sauces, stews, meat loaf; pastes, rice and string beans, to name a very few. Mrs. Mazza makes more frequent use of this herb — sweet and wild — than any fine c o o k I know. So, do plant marjoram in your herb garden if y o u plan to use her wonderful, readable c o o k book.

OREGANO The Horatio Alger herb that made it big with pizzas

nervousness. Its distilled oils and liniments comforted those with toothaches and rheumatism. Its antiseptic qualities rated it high as a strewing herb for sick rooms. Oregano leaves provided reddish brown dyes for early linens. Russian Cossacks colored the w o o d of their lances with it. Smokers used its dried leaves as tobacco. The earliest American garden recording its culture was in Yonkers in the middle of the 17th Century. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T

"Joy of the mountain" to the Spanish and the mushroom herb to the Italians, wild marjoram or oregano has both detractors and supporters in the kitchen. This hardy European native was mentioned by Pliny for its medicinal uses. These purported to strengthen the stomach and cure headaches and

Oregano was little known in the United States until after World War II. Craig Claiborne, f o o d editor of The New York Times, noted the surge of culinary interest in oregano as possibly due to the popularity of pizzas. According to his count, the sale of the herb increased 2000 percent in the last 20 years. Irma Mazza, of course, praised oregano first. As early as 1939, she was telling the world that oregano was the herb for practically all Spanish and Mexican dishes — meats, beans, sauces and soups; lamb and fresh mushrooms. She followed that advice with delectable recipes by the score in Herbs for the Kitchen. Oregano is also a natural with tomato dishes, eggs and cheese.

MINT Winners in the popularity poll of the ages

The mints are the Smiths and Joneses of the herb families. Everyone knows them. They represent a numerous clan and are so easy to grow and dry, it's a disgrace to buy them. Their history is confused. Early writers didn't always designate which member of the family they were discussing. Mints are believed to be natives of Hindustan and Asia and popular immigrants in Egypt and the rest of the world. Mints received their generic name Mentha from Menthe, the nymph w h o m Pluto adored and jealous Proserpine changed into mint to remove her from competition. Universally liked, the mints spread with civilization. The Pharisees used mint to pay tithes. The Greeks used it in their mysteries — and their baths! Athenians w h o made a ritual of scenting their bodies with various herbs reserved mint for their arms to give them the smell of strength. Those paragons of marital fidelity, Baucis and Philemon, had a homelier use for mint. They rubbed down their rickety old table with it when Jupiter and Mercury stopped by in disguise looking for the beautiful people in a bad neighborhood. The Romans made lavish use of mint in the bath, kitchen and dining r o o m . They rubbed tables with it in preparation for feasts. They strewed floors with it so that dinner guests, crushing it underfoot, would stimulate their appetites. And they invented mint sauce. Mint must have seemed divine indeed to Seneca, a Roman philosopher of the 1st Century. He perished, as he wished, in a bath scented with mint.

The Romans took mint to Britain. There it was cultivated in gardens by the 9 th Century. In the Middle Ages it was a popular strewing herb in churches. A n d it was recommended for whitening teeth, even as it is today. The Japanese 200 years ago treasured mint enough to carry it around with them in special silver boxes hung from their belts. Mints came to America with the earliest settlers. As naturalized herbs, wild spearmint and peppermint have been unkindly dubbed as unwelcome weeds in many places. CURRENT HERBCRAFT Today extracts of mint are widely used in commercial medicines, candies, gum, toothpaste, skin lotions and shaving creams. Mint claims many medical properties. Its high content of vitamins A and C explains why it was effective in curing scurvy, night blindness and illnesses connected with deficiencies of these vitamins On a camping trip, y o u can rub peppermint on your face, neck and arms to repel mosquitos — and breathe garlic on them, of course! Various mints are fragrant with apples, pineapple and orange. One hardly needs to describe its culinary uses except to say that using the fresh herb will make a great leap forward for your dayto-day dishes. Try it finely chopped in vegetables, potatoes, in fruit salads and in salad dressings and in pea soup. Rub a chicken with mint before y o u roast it.

To make mints work for y o u , feed them well in your garden and give them a new bed — or enrich it — every year or so. Keep mint watered in summer and make sure it is well drained at all times. Considering its take-charge personality, watch it or it will take over more than its share of your garden.

Since mints grow wild, search out patches. Taste the differences and keep on looking until y o u find one that suits y o u . Then check out recipes Euell Gibbons has for mint aspic (complete with menu) and for the proper making of wild mint jellies and jams so that y o u preserve their vitamins.

NASTURTIUM For flamboyance, daring and just plain goodness As a child, I never saw a nasturtium that I did not steal its spur for the honey. It never occurred to me that I could have eaten the whole splendid flower tossed in a salad. What a wedding of taste and color that would have been! The nasturtium grew wild in the land of the Incas. When the Spaniards were ravishing Peru, English freebooters waylaid them and brought their b o o t y — and nasturtiums, t o o — to England. For hundreds of years, leaves, petals and seeds peppered the tastes of the Orient and Europe. From the Orient came the custom of eating the petals in teas and salads. Its name literally means to "twist the nose" — a happy phrase coined by a 16th Century Spanish doctor to describe the peppery punch of the herb. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T To one famous c o o k , the nasturtium is a mere conceit of limited virtue. To another equally great c o o k , the flamboyant herb is a respectable member of the kitchen guard. Young nasturtium leaves taste of water cress. Its pickled seeds and pods make g o o d imitation capers. Its flowers — orange, yellow and warm brown — taste like the leaves and warmly compliment green salads as they delight with their drop of honey. An herb farm in England grows masses of them for salads and for controlling pests around apple trees! Use this herb sparingly in cream cheese for spreads you intend to use right away; in salads

much as y o u use water cress; in fresh bread and sweet butter sandwiches. Try it chopped in a string bean salad with escarolle. Nasturtiums are a kind of herbal antibiotic in German-speaking countries because of the high content of vitamin C in their leaves. They add stunning color to the herb garden.

PARSLEY A vitamin mine! Medicine should taste so good!

The party girl of the herb family, parsley used to bring dishes to table in fancy dress only to disappear with the finished plates. In less permissive times, I curbed my appetite for this lively green and watched it go with real regret. Thank goodness the word is out: Please do eat the parsley! A terrible dawdler, parsley takes its time to c o m e up. Legend says its seed goes seven — or nine — times to the devil and back for permission to grow. It has a curious botanic history in that its native habitat is unknown. Perhaps the herb was so altered by cultivation here and there that it no longer resembles its original. The Greeks reverenced parsley as having sprung from the b l o o d of their mythological hero Archemorus. He was eaten by serpents after being laid on a parsley leaf by a careless nursemaid. " T o be in need of parsley" was the idiom for " t o be hopelessly ill." Plutarch related h o w a Greek army on the march panicked at the sight of donkeys loaded with the herb. N o w for the g o o d news. Warriors fed their chariot horses with parsley. Greeks crowned victors of Isthmian games with chaplets of the herb. Maids wore garlands of it to the marriage feast of the century: that of the beautiful Helen of Troy and Menelaus. Garlands of parsley also completed the costume of Hercules on occasion. More c o m m o n l y , gentlemen of the times wore garlands and crowns of parsley to protect themselves from drunkenness and prolong their enjoyment at their cups.

First dedicated to the mistress of the underworld, it was later dedicated to St. Peter when he succeeded Charon at the Pearly Gates. Romans brought this herb to Britain, t o o . Early gardeners believed one had to plant parsley on G o o d Friday to insure a g o o d harvest. Also, a pregnant woman had the best luck of all planting parsley. An early use was cosmetic: powder your head with parsley seed three nights every year and your hair will never desert you. Charlemagne fancied parsley. After tasting a parsley flavored cheese, he ordered two cases to be sent to him every year. Folklore persists that parsley will not tolerate your meddling with its roots. To this day, old fashioned English gardeners say they never transplant parsley for fear of bringing misfortune down on the house. In some of our Southern States, Negroes also consider it unlucky to take parsley plants from an old home to a new one. CURRENT HERBCRAFT Scores of uses attest to the versatility of parsley — irom fines herbes and bouquets for flavoring to use in peerless soups, salads, meats, poultry, fish and mashed potatoes. It is very.well established in the kitchen. Its magnificent credentials as a health f o o d , filled with minerals and vitamin C, make it even more important as a daily addition to the family diet. Plant plenty!

ROSEMARY Perfect for the bride who wants a faithful husband and a fragrant kitchen Before ever I used this favorite herb in cookery, it was a poignant symbol. An artist friend took a sprig of it from his garden to his dying wife. As if to justify this harking back to folk magic, he told us it would save her life. He desperately wanted their world — his and hers — to right itself again and this herb bouquet was his last hope. In the language of the flowers, rosemary did represent power to rekindle lost energy. It was sacred to remembrance and friendship. Its native home was Southern Europe where it is still much esteemed as flavoring, scent and medicine. Its growth, according to old tales, symbolized the life of Christ: it grew 33 years until it was just six feet tall. Then it spread out. Other legends say the Virgin Mary put her blue cloak over a rosemary bush to dry and so turned its white flowers to blue. We used to say in the Middle West that if the farmhouse was bigger than the barn, a woman ruled the roost. In old England, rosemary defined that status: Where rosemary flourished, the woman ruled. Much favored by Elizabethans for its bold sharpness, rosemary was a welcome addition to the larder when f o o d was hardly fresh or appetizing. Rosemary was invested with mystical power to guard churches and protect the living and dead from ail harm. It grew in church yards. Its boughs were burned for incense. The herb of fidelity, rosemary was dipped in scented water and woven into chaplets for brides. Bridesmaids gave a sprig of it to the bridegroom on

his wedding day to carry as emblem of love and loyalty. Wedding guests received gilded branches of it tied with silk of many colors. Chopped rosemary went into wedding cakes and Christmas puddings. It flavored wine and ale. Its boughs were Christmas decorations. A bunch of rosemary made an acceptable New Year's gift. The very scent of rosemary was prized. An herbal promised: Make thee a b o x of the w o o d of rosemary and smell it and it shall preserve thy youth. CURRENT H E R B C R A F T In Spain, they heat ovens with this fragrant herb and fill the air with it. It grows abundantly on the shores of Virginia and North Carolina and all year long blossoms on the Pacific Coast. The Yugoslavs are responsible for most of our imported rosemary. Other foreign sources are France, Spain and Portugal. Both dried and fresh, rosemary is a hearty addition to meats, stews, soups and bland vegetables. Try it in fruit cups, in cooking water for fish; minced in breads. Scent the air with it by sprinkling it over barbecue coals. Use it in basting sauces for roast lamb and pork. Use it in stuffings for poultry. Rosemary is a handsome plant to keep in a pot in the garden. I received one from a friend years ago and shaped it like a bonsai, gaining the double pleasure of having an edible art form.

SAGE Helpful, if you want to burn the candle at both ends

Here is the advertising man's dream of a product. It inspires superlatives! The miracle medicinal herb from early times, sage reputedly cured a thousand ills and prevented onslaughts of old age. Its official name is related to the word salvation as testimony to its powers. Ancient Greek physicians held sage in highest regard as a sacred herb. Dioscorides listed it as remedy for kidney troubles, ulcers, rheumatism, consumption, coughs, sore throats, snake bites, forgetfulness, grief, and gray hair. This brief list by no means exhausts the benefits of sage. " H o w can a man die w h o has sage in his garden?" asks an Arab proverb. Sage, properly prepared, read one account, retarded the progress of decay in later years; preserved faculties and memory dearer than life itself to the rational mind; relieved faintness and absolutely prevented spiritual depression. Sage, promised the same author, caused the lamp of life to burn brightly to the end. So valuable were sage plants that it was the custom to sow rue near them to discourage molestation by noxious toads. At one time, Dutch traders made great profit with sage. They procured the herb from Southern France, dried it like tea and shipped it to the Orient. There the Chinese were said to prefer it to their o w n brew. The exchange rate was proof of this: it cost four units of tea to get only one of sage. To maintain health, country folk drank sage tea as a valued spring tonic and ate quantities of it fresh with bread, butter and cheese. When sage prospered in their gardens, they believed the master of the house would prosper, t o o .

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T Sage is hardy and will grow practically anywhere with dispatch. There are about 500 varieties and some of the best imported sage comes from the Dalmatian region of Yugoslavia. This herb has nothing in c o m m o n with sagebrush in the Southwest, please note. Euell Gibbons, enchanted by the historical puffs for sage, ran experiments with the wild variety, using himself as a guinea pig. But his hair remained gray and he continued to wear bifocals as before. Although sage has dropped in the medical polls, it is nevertheless an effective astringent, tonic and carminative. Its fresh leaves have worthy amounts of vitamins A and C. Sage is holding its o w n in the culinary department as it deserves to. Use its tea in demitasse with sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind to settle the stomach after a rich dinner. But skip it in poultry stuffings: it is t o o bold for the delicate birds. Use it with rosemary and mint in a marinade for cold meat salads; in sauce for roast whole fish; fried cranberry beans; pot cheese and dips. And give it a chance to show y o u h o w g o o d it can be in fresh baked corn bread. Oh, yes, it can be smoked with t o b a c c o . What a surprise that would be, offered to guests!

SAVORY Give every bean a chance!

Though dear to the naughty satyrs, demigods of the w o o d s and fields, savory has a rather dull history. Hippocrates ascribed medicinal properties to it. Virgil in his Georgics advised planting this fragrant herb near beehives. Wild thyme and savory set around their cell, Sweet to the taste and fragrant to the smell. . . And with thyme and savory plant the plain. Romans liked savory in sauces and used it with a vinegar mix as a relish for meat and fish the way they used mint sauces. Its spicy taste was prized long before spices came from the Orient. Savory was known early in England. Culpeper recommended its juice to be snuffed to quicken dull spirits and dropped in the eyes to thin them of cold humours. He specified it for ringing ears and in poultices for easing pain from stings of bees and wasps. The latter remedy is still valid today. The popularity of savory brought it to America with the colonists. Settlers swore by its teas in curing intestinal disorders, colds and fevers.

CURRENT HERBCRAFT Savory is well entrenched in America, having escaped to the wilds in Ohio, Illinois and Nevada. It is widely cultivated in both Europe and the United States. Practically every garden in Switzerland has its Bohnenkraut or "bean herb," as savory is there known. A g o o d mixer, savory joins well with other herbs and has a particular calling to elevate bean dishes — soups, salads and vegetables. Use savory in sauces for meats; in hamburgers and meat loaves; in stuffing for chicken and bass; in boiled rice; in biscuits for chicken pies.

TARRAGON A fierce little dragon to slay culinary mediocrity

This glamorous "little dragon" on your herb shelf or in your garden requires a firm hand. So called because of its squirming growth and coiling roots, tarragon probably came to its baptism through Arabic from the Greek drakon. Described as "appealing and seductive," as the "lord of culinary herbs" worthy of a monument,

tarragon combined with fennel produced a drink held precious by the kings of India. Tarragon has had no great call to be medicinal, except perhaps for being a soporific and a breath sweetener. It was recommended as a chew in preparation for taking medicine because it dulled taste for anything else.

CURRENT H E R B C R A F T

A curious legend surrounds tarragon. It was said to be the result of putting flax seeds into onion roots and planting them. The notion found followers and at least one detractor. One ancient skeptic observed from experience that the wild tale was absurd, idle and false. Tarragon is native to Europe, Siberia, Tartary and Mongolia.

Tarragon is grown widely in Southern Europe and has been known in the United States for more than 170 years. It is an important flavoring in many countries and indispensable to Bearnaise sauce. Use it with roast chicken, shirred and stuffed eggs; tomato and fish cocktails; salads (greens, asparagus, bean and cold chicken) and salad dressings. It is nicely added in tartar sauce and chopped for baked or broiled fish. It makes excellent vinegar which y o u can infuse yourself. Since nothing compares with fresh tarragon, grow this herb yourself. It is guaranteed to test your mettle as an Herbcraftsman because it is not easy to raise. True tarragon produces no seed and must be grown from root cuttings. These y o u will have to beg, borrow or buy.

THYME Food fumigant, fragrance and cure for hangovers! y

I first found "sweet-smelling" thyme in Virgil. Appearing in a classic this way, thyme would just have to be something grand, I thought. Certainly y o u wouldn't eat it in Wisconsin. But here it is in my herb garden and I intend to eat Virgil's words! In ancient days, thyme grew wild from Siberia to Spain. The Greeks used thyme and probably wished everyone did. A symbol of courage, thyme was a fashionable part of every gentleman's toilet kit. Baths reeked of it as gentlemen rubbed their chests with it after bathing. To say one "smelled of t h y m e " in ancient Athens was high praise. It identified a man as having virtue and style, grace and elegance. Antiseptic qualities of thyme were well accepted. It was incense for temples and fumigant for public buildings. Greeks on their way to theaters and courts walked over herbs strewed upon pavements. So valued was thyme that Greeks and the R o mans after them pastured bees in fields of the herb to give honey its flavor. The Romans liked their cheeses and a liqueur flavored with thyme. They cured their melancholy with its tea, burned sprigs of it in their homes to drive out venomous creatures, and rubbed its manly scent on their chests after bathing. Thyme among other herbs arrived in England with the Roman conquerors. In medieval days, English ladies embroidered their knights' scarves with sprigs of thyme and a bee as a hint for them to be brave.

At length, thyme came to America with the colonists w h o valued it for its seasoning properties and its scent. CURRENT HERBCRAFT There are 60 or more varieties, all evergreen and all edible. Flowers range through pink and mauve to purple and white. A lively perennial, thyme grows to a f o o t and submits to severe pruning. It will thank y o u for a sunny, well-drained spot with air around it. As a culinary herb, thyme plays a brass horn. It can take over a dish if y o u aren't careful. Small wonder that a soup made with beer and thyme was thought to overcome shyness! Thyme's pungence is a gift to cottage and cream cheese, to vegetable salads, shirred eggs, stuffings for turkey and chicken, for clam chowder, butter to pour over beans, beets, mushrooms and potatoes. Benedictine is flavored with it. Adrift at sea? Thyme can make a diet of algae and every so often a flying fish palatable. Survivors of a disabled sloop, adrift in the Pacific for 48 days, made do on algae. They scraped it from the b o t t o m of their boat and boiled it with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and thyme. Hangover? Restore yourself the morning after with a teaspoon of wild thyme in a cup of boiling water; add a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of salt. Put the loose thyme in a tea ball and spare yourself a second headache.

OTHER HERBS

Since every b o o k has covers, we have to stop somewhere. So this is to say nothing about VIOLETS for wine, conserves, perfume, tea and liniment for gout. T A N S Y to inhibit flies and fleas and add spice to your life. SWEET CICELY to restore y o u when y o u are fainthearted and older and to bolster your ego since anyone can succeed with it. S O R R E L to put dash in your salads, toughen your teeth and sweeten your breath. RUE to give y o u an artist's eye, sharpen your vision and give y o u second sight. ROSES to eat^a la Russe, drink and inhale. W A T E R CRESS to feed your children and make them grow like little Persians. M A R I G O L D S to give y o u powers to be sleuths with dyed hair. HYSSOP to make y o u smell of lavender on Russian leather. ELDER to give y o u an all-purpose tree to tip your hat to. DANDELIONS to give y o u a mine of vitamin A, four times more of C than lettuce, more iron than spinach and a reason for driving through Colorado in the Springtime. B E R G A M O T to make y o u thankful for an herb tea originated by the American Indian. C O S T M A R Y to remind y o u of the Pilgrims w h o kept this herb in their Bibles to sweeten the times while sermons lasted three hours long. . . And a dozen others.

PLANS AND CHARTS Garden Plots and Herb Affinity Chart

Garden Plots How adaptable herbs are! They can grow in a collection of pots in a sunny w i n d o w frame indoors. They can thrive b o x e d on a sill in the sun outside a kitchen window. They can be denizens of a rock garden along a winding path. They can stand on formality. Wherever they grow, they want a g o o d sunny situation to ensure fragrance and character, g o o d drainage, soil deep enough to dive their roots and plenty of air to move around in. For most of us, o u t d o o r herb gardens will be little gardens — some with intersecting paths to form a cross to scare the devil out — some raised to save our backs, — some with paving stones and bricks with creeping thyme and miniature mints planted in the cracks to delight foot traffic. Some will have a sun dial and a bench on which to sit. Your garden can take any shape. Here are five possible arrangements. We give no scale, though we thought of these as about 10 feet square with paths 18 inches wide. A n y one of them is workable in this proportion. But y o u can expand, contract or stretch the length or breadth to make the designs conform to your garden site. The patterns represent herbs of differing heights. Some herbs will not conform exactly because of soil and sun conditions. If herbs grow out of line trim them back and keep them flourishing.

50

Supergraphics for the Up-to-date Gardener This arrangement places most of the herbs within easy reach of the paths. A variation would be to continue the line of the entries by connecting the paths at right angles to the ends. Variations on graphic themes are limitless.

A Simple, Straightforward Form This garden plot has visual interest despite its simplicity. It can a c c o m m o date a variety of herbs all within easy reach of the gardener. Similar in concept to the monastery herb garden and with the same potential variations, it is adaptable to many sites.

Knot Garden Here is a variation of the many Knot Gardens popular in Elizabethan England and on the Continent. Although it is complex to lay out and requires much care, it is a very rewarding project because of its visual interest.

Design Along Fence, Wall, or Building This design can be bent around corners, rearranged with the tallest herbs in the middle for a garden in the round. It

can be bent into an arc or even given a serpentine route. The simplest plot of all, it can still be the most handsome.

ANISE, Pimpinella anisum, annual grows 2-4 feet B A L M , Melissa officinalis, perennial that grows 12-18 inches. BASIL, Various and various heights B A Y , Laurus nobilis. A tree that grows to 60 feet B O R A G E , Borago officinalis, annual — 18 in. to 2 feet BURNET, Sanguisorba minor, perennial grows 12-15 inches C A R A W A Y , Carvum carvi, biennial that grows to more than 2 feet CATNIP, Nepeta cataria, perennial grows to 3 feet CHERVIL, Anthriscus cerefolium, annual grows

Typical 16th Century Monastery Herb Garden This plan has many variations. Some walled cloisters had entry paths on all four sides to make a pleasant passage through the courtyard. Many also had circular centers for a fountain.

LEGEND

from 4 in. to 2 feet CHIVES, Allium schoenophrasum, perennial grows to six inches C O R I A N D E R , Coriandum sativum, Chinese parsley annual grows 15-in. to 3 feet DILL, Anethum graveolens, annual grows 2M> to 3 feet FENNEL, Annual and perennial grows from 2V% to 6 feet G A R L I C , Allium sativum, grows to 9 inches L A V E N D E R , Lavandula vera, a shrub grows 30 inches to 4 feet L O V A G E , Levisticum officinalis is a tall perennial M A R J O R A M , Sweet, Origanum majorana annual and perennial grows 8-12 inches M A R J O R A M , Wild, Oregano perennial grows 2 feet and more MINTS, Perennials grow 14 inches to 3 feet NASTURTIUM, Annual PARSLEY, Petroselinum sativum biennial grows to 3 feet in flower R O S E M A R Y , Rosmarinus officinalis is a shrub SAGE, Salvia officinalis a perennial grows 18 in. to 2 feet S A V O R Y , Summer, Satureia hortensis annual grows 12-18 inches T A R R A G O N , Artemisia dracunculus perennial grows to 2 feet T H Y M E , Thymus vulgaris, a subshrub growing to 6 inches

HERBCRAFTS AFFINITY CHART To cook with herbs is to liberate flavor. Here is Herb craft's Affinity Chart to use in matching herbs to compliment foods you prepare.

SELECTED RECIPES Throwing Roses at Your Table

THROWING ROSES AT YOUR TABLE Where I grew up, young ladies received Bibles before they received c o o k b o o k s . If a girl came from a family of sisters, she specialized. My elder sister could conjure wonders in an empty pantry. My younger sister used her tennis arm to beat up the best cookies. My simple specialty was puddings. None of our efforts, when they failed, broke the family bank. Mother was the one w h o had all the fun — until she emancipated herself, b o b b e d her beautiful hair and one terrible day, quit baking bread! The nearest she came to slavery at the kitchen range after that was to make the world's best apple pies and baking powder biscuits and muffins. Spices, not herbs, were the seasonings. So I grew up believing in plain, wholesome f o o d . The high art of kitchencraft could wait until I married. I went through three professions before I met The Man. He courted me in outrageously amusing and insidious ways. His triumph was to persuade me to throw roses at his table for almost 23 years n o w . His dictum: D o n ' t just let f o o d stand there! Do something special to everything. In time, this philosophy covered everything from soup to nuts and herbs. He began with a campaign for bread when no woman in her right mind was baking bread! No ring of rubies went to my finger until he made it clear in a written communication: serving home baked bread was to be one of the goals of "the little house." I promised a number of times, of course. But I kept my promises only after he found a recipe for French bread even a fool could follow.

OVEN HERBCRAFT Why bread as one of the Herbcrafts? Simply because herbs are easy to introduce to the list of ingredients without kitchen disasters. Y o u do not have to be the world's greatest c o o k . Y o u do not have to regard recipes as Iron Maidens. Y o u do not have to think that adding herbs where none are mentioned in a recipe is forbidden. N o , y o u can just take a sniffing, tasting tour of your bottled herbs and decide which of them has the "aroma of the day," forge ahead and create. Herbs do not disturb gentle balances of the basics of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and liquid. They simply add the magic of taste. Treat thern as y o u would the additions of salt and pepper. They are often the secret of producing f o o d that really satisfies. They answer the questions: What can I make today that will be completely right? What will fill the hunger I have for something different? Your only problems will be those of personal taste — which herbs and h o w much? A little experimenting will settle both for y o u . No one can do that for y o u . I'll never forget a chicken and ham recipe I tried. It called for ounces of bitter chocolate and ruined the dish for me. I have since relied on my o w n sense of proportion about introducing seasonings regardless of the directions from the published cook. It's best to err on the side of t o o little until y o u arrive at the balance that influences your dish without overwhelming it. Try a pinch before y o u try a quarter spoonful, half a spoon before a spoonful. Then when y o u are confident about herbs, y o u can go on to experiment with spices that marry with herbs — ginger, pepper, cinnamon, mustard and cumin.

The making of bread is itself a satisfying task and a marvelous therapy. It gives y o u something to beat up without going to jail for the exercise. It is therapy of another kind, t o o . It brings y o u extravagant compliments for the ambrosia y o u set upon your table. Since Herbcraft in the kitchen is worth your best effort, use the best ingredients and equipment y o u can afford. D o n ' t be craven like the Imam of Bayildi w h o fainted at the sight of a wonderful dish when he heard h o w expensive the ingredients were! I make both yeast and quick breads with herbs and add herbs to muffins, waffles and pancakes. Except for fresh parsley, I have used dried herbs in the following recipes. Y o u may want to start with dried herbs anyway since y o u can measure them accurately. Breads freeze very well if y o u want to bake them early and put them aside for a special occasion. B R E A D S with parsley; seeds of anise, caraway and fennel; dill seeds and weed; marjoram, oregano, basil and thyme. THE MAN'S NO-KNEAD FRENCH BREAD 1 2 4 1 1

package yeast cups lukewarm water cups flour tablespoon sugar teaspoon salt

Herbs y o u can introduce to recipe: To dry ingredients: dried herbs — basil, sage or dill weed; herb seeds of anise, caraway, fennel or dill. During mixing: fresh herbs — parsley, leaves of anise or dill.

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup lukewarm water. A d d to flour that has been sifted with sugar and salt. A d d just enough of a second cup of lukewarm water to stir up a soft, sticky dough. Let rise in same b o w l in which it's mixed until double in bulk. (I often place b o w l in warm water in the sink.) When dough is high, punch it down vigorously and divide into two loaves. Y o u can make round loaves by placing dough in well buttered ovenware dishes (about 3 inches deep and 6 inches in diameter). Or y o u can bake in regular bread pans. Let rise again until double in bulk. Put in cold oven and start at 4 0 0 ° . Bake until brown on top and y o u can thump it and get a hollow sound. Remove from baking dishes at once and c o o l on a rack. Many possible variations This crusty bread is fun to experiment with. For a finer texture, add an egg ( Y o u can drop the egg in the second cup of water in order not to overwater the recipe: it will displace the extra water.) Try blending white and wheat flours. Or toss in some candied fruit and nuts. Make six or seven hamburger buns by dividing the dough among well-buttered round oven dishes that are about IV2 inches deep and 5 inches in diameter. I use my best stoneware for this. Throw in a half cup of chopped parsley during the mixing and create zesty, festive buns for a barbecue. Keep an eye on buns. Baking time is different for them.

ANNE'S DILLY BREAD 1 package yeast V* cup warm water 1 cup cottage cheese warmed 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon dill seed 1 teaspoon salt V* teaspoon soda 1 unbeaten egg 2*/2 cups sifted flour l

Dissolve yeast in A cup warm water. A d d warm cottage cheese. A d d other ingredients and use enough flour to make a stiff dough, beat well. Butter top and set in warm place to raise. When double in bulk — about an hour — beat d o w n with spoon and place in well buttered loaf pan. Butter top and bake in 325° oven for 25 minutes. Increase heat to 350° and bake until well browned — 15 to 20 minutes. C o o l on rack. Makes one g o o d size loaf. Anne's bread freezes very well and y o u can make it ahead of time for a special occasion. It is an unusually nutritious bread with all that cottage cheese. It makes an unforgettable Sunday morning toast with wild plum jelly or grapefruit marmalade.

HEAVENLY HUNGARIAN FENNEL BREAD 4 to 5 cups unsifted flour 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 heaping tablespoon fennel seeds 2 packages yeast 2 tablespoons softened butter 1% cups very hot tap water Cora meal 1 egg yolk 2 teaspoons cream or milk Thoroughly mix IV2 cups flour, sugar, salt, half the fennel seeds and yeast in a large b o w l . A d d butter. Gradually add very hot tap water to dry ingredients and beat for two minutes at medium speed with electric mixer or by hand. A d d Vz cup flour or enough to make thick batter and beat vigorously for another two minutes. Stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough and turn out on lightly floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic — about 8 minutes. Place in buttered b o w l and cover and let stand to rise in warm place, until doubled in bulk — about 30 minutes. Punch down. Turn out on lightly floured board. Divide in half and form into round balls. Place one at each end of a cookie sheet that has been well buttered and sprinkled with corn meal. Cover and let rise again until double in bulk, about another 30 minutes. Beat egg yolk and cream together and brush over loaves. Sprinkle remaining fennel seeds on loaves. Bake in 4 0 0 ° oven about 30 minutes, or until done. Remove loaves from baking sheet and c o o l on rack.

shape. It seems easier to me and it is a pleasant, amusing way to work the dough.)

The gods and goddesses on Olympus attributed their immortality to their dining on ambrosia and nectar. The ambrosia was really nothing but bread like this!

Place the round on a well buttered pan (any cake tin is fine). Be sure to cut a cross on the top to keep the devil out. Bake at 375° - 400° from 30 to 40 minutes. Yield: one small loaf that will serve six continent people and barely four hungry ones. Y o u can serve this wholesome treat as a meal in itself, still warm with sweet butter and a glass of milk. It makes excellent toast.

MY IRISH HERB B R E A D 2 cups sifted flour (I use half unbleached white and half stone ground wheat) 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt IV2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon soda 3/4 cup raisins 1/4 teaspoon marjoram 1/4 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon basil a pinch of thyme 1/4 cup nuts, if desired 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/4 to 2/3 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon melted butter Herb Variation: Instead of marjoram, oregano, basil and thyme, use a tablespoon of dill seeds and a generous sprinkling of dill weed. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda into a bowl. A d d raisins and herbs, mix thoroughly to distribute herbs evenly. In separate bowl beat egg lightly, add buttermilk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients and mix until just moistened throughout. Add more buttermilk if needed to make dough stiff enough to cling together. Turn out on lightly floured board and knead lightly until it handles well. (I often butter my hands and manipulate the dough like a juggler until I have a g o o d round

BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD This old favorite moves into the gourmet class with the introduction of herbs. At our house we always called it Johnny Cake. 1 cup unbleached flour V2 teaspoon soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt A teaspoon leaf thyme V2 teaspoon marjoram % cup water-ground yellow corn meal 1 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 3 tablespoons melted butter l

Sift dry ingredients together. A d d herbs and stir thoroughly. A d d cornmeal. Combine buttermilk, eggs and butter and stir into dry ingredients until just mixed. Pour into a well buttered 8 x 8 inch pan and bake in hot oven, 425° for about a half hour. I put a lump of butter in the baking pan and heat it in the oven before pouring in the batter. This makes the Johnny Cake crustier, top and b o t t o m . Serves 8.

ALICE'S MUFFINS WITH HERBSEEDS There never was a family reunion that Mother didn't take to the stove to conjure up marvelous muffins. She made hers with orange rind. Anything so delicious I thought ought to have the benefit of an herban renewal with variations. So I make mine with lemon rind and herbs. Enjoy them three times — making and baking them; eating them with someone y o u love; remembering h o w g o o d they are.

Grated rind of one lemon V2 cup lemon juice ( y o u can add other fruit juices to bring it to a half cup) V2 cup Kellogg's All Bran Vi cube of butter V2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon caraway 1 egg 1% cups unbleached flour sifted with: 2 teaspoons baking powder V* teaspoon soda Vi teaspoon salt Cream butter and sugar, add egg, grated lemon rind and juice and caraway. Mix sifted dry ingredients into batter loosely. Bake in well buttered muffin tin at 375° about 20 minutes. Serve hot. Serves four but leaves them wishing for more! C O O K I E S with herbs and herb seeds Like many breads, cookies play favorites with caraway, fennel, poppyseeds, and aniseeds. To these y o u can add fresh mint and dried rosemary and tarragon. The idea is to work from familiar recipes.

T w o simple recipes I have used, admit to so many variations they could easily tax the genius of a Johann Sebastian Bach of the kitchen range. One is for sand tarts, the other for chews and bars. I have improvised many versions of both — depending on what was in my kitchen or on my shelves at the time. I have been embarrassed to admit I could seldom explain my latest recipe. SAND T A R T S 1 cube butter 1 cup flour (I often mix A cup brown rice or soya flour with unbleached white and wholewheat to give a nutlike richness and crispness to the finished cookies) 1 teaspoon flavoring (brandy, vanilla or rum, etc.) 3 tablespoons powdered sugar l

These are fun to make because y o u get right in and mix them and shape them with your bare hands. If the mixture seems a bit t o o rich and buttery, just add a little more flour. Roll into balls or shape into crescents or ball up and flatten with a fork or your thumb. Bake at 350° for about 12 minutes. I c o o l them on a rack and dust them with powdered sugar and store them in a tight c o o k i e can. Yield is 2 dozen. I have no idea h o w many people are satisfied with this amount because the cookies have never lasted long enough for me to count.

HERB TARTS During mixing, y o u can add anise seeds, small butterscotch bits and lemon flavoring instead of other flavorings. Another appealing variation uses fresh chopped mint (about one tablespoon), chocolate bits and brandy flavoring. Etc., etc., etc. The recipe is so simple, y o u can concentrate on invoking your muse the day y o u bake Herb Tarts.

Beat butter, sugar and egg thoroughly. A d d flavoring, crushed fennel seeds (Use mortar and pestle) and sun flower seeds. Mix well. A d d dry ingredients which have been sifted together. The dough will be thick and a bit difficult to spread, but bear with it. Distribute it in an 8 x 8 inch pan that has been well buttered and lightly dusted with flour. Bake at 350° until mixture pulls away slightly from sides of pan — about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack for five minutes, turn out and cut into squares. Dust with p o w dered sugar for gala occasions and store in tight container with waxed paper between layers. Yield: 25 chews.

HERB CHEWS From ancient times, fennel has been associated with elevating fish dishes and comforting longsuffering parishioners w h o nibbled on fennel seeds as sermons saved their souls. The great richness of the baking fennel also evokes memories of visits to Italian bakeries. It is marvelous in banana bread and chews. Bake with fennel when the whole family is home to enjoy the aroma. FENNEL CHEWS V4 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar, well packed 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla . . . 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds Vi cup sunflower seeds (or walnuts) 1 cup unbleached flour A teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder l

CARAWAY (Variation)

1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 tablespoon caraway seeds Vt cup sunflower seeds 1 cup whole wheat flour

ROSEMARY SQUARES - The cookie for remembrance, of course! 2 eggs 1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup flour Vi teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder Vi teaspoon rosemary 1 cup candied fruit and raisins 2/3 cup pecans or sunflower seeds Beat eggs vigorously. A d d sugar gradually, then vanilla and the flour that has been sifted with salt and baking powder and into which y o u have stirred the rosemary. Fold in nuts and fruits. Bake in 8 x 8 inch pan which has been buttered and dusted with flour. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Remove from pan while warm, c o o l and cut into bars. Yield: 36 squares.

It might be very interesting to see what would result if y o u used tarragon instead of rosemary. Would it be a little dragon in cookie form or another reason for building a monument to the lord of culinary herbs? T A Y L O R ' S T A R R A G O N WAFERS Herbcraft

Triumph: Invention

over Imitation

T w o fabled herbs contributed to the inspiration of this excellent wafer recipe by L.C. Spaulding Taylor — sesame, the symbol of immortality; and tarragon, an ingredient of the drink of kings. The chance sight of a recipe on a sugar b o x and a sniffing tour of bottled herbs on the kitchen shelves brought sesame and tarragon together in this taste treat. V2 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg, unbeaten V2 cup sesame seeds toasted V2 cup crushed pecans IV2 teaspoons tarragon pulverized % cup sifted all-purpose flour A teaspoon baking powder A teaspoon salt l

l

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Beat in egg and stir in sesame seeds, pecans and tarragon. Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture. Mix well. Drop in small mounds about 3 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool a minute before removing from sheet. Yield: 4 dozen crisp wafers. To toast sesame seeds, spread seeds in shallow pan and set in 375° oven until brown. Stir often.

TEACRAFT Mention of herb teas evokes the quaint spirit of sassafras and sarsaparilla — names long shelved — of historic, dusty corners of the world; of old and comforting reassurance that their very concoction harbored near miracles. For hundreds of years herbs for teas were part of home gardens. Tea uses were largely medicinal and cosmetic. Fennel tea was a slimming brew. It was also the base for face packs to chase wrinkles and a compress for tired eyes. Aromatic lovage and camomile were the Lydia Pinkhams of their times suitable for nervous and hysterical young ladies. Balm tea cooled fevers. FREEDOM TEAS In hoopskirt times, herb teas were called tisanes. Their popularity in early America had both economic and political significance. Teas from England were expensive. English taxes were odious. Ladies in North Carolina banded together in colonial times to drink a concoction of raspberry leaves in protest against the taxes. These bush teas and teas from native plants came to be known as "Liberty Teas" and wereimbibed in combinations of marjoram and mint; thyme and hyssop; rosemary and lavender flowers; clover and camomile; strawberry and sweet briar leaves; and anise. Such were the teas of protest. They cheered at breakfast and soothed when day was done.

TEA IS FOR PHILOSOPHERS AND POETS

PREPARING TEAS

Okakura Kakuzo's Book of Tea observes that a man with no tea in him is ill tuned either to the serious or the comic in life. The man who has too much tea in him, Kakuzo adds, is the creature of emotions larger than life. The happy man in the middle has to be the one who appreciates the simple j o y s of an herb tea that is pure amber in a porcelain cup! Herb teas are somewhat like wines. They are to be enjoyed for their bouquets and for their pale greens and gold colors. Their enjoyment is to be heightened all the more with the addition of a flower or petal from a rose or peony; from jasmine or orange in the Chinese manner. An English herbalist recommends a selection of herbs for teas she says will keep everyone on his toes from day to day. They include peppermint tea to "pick y o u u p ; " camomile and angelica after-dinner tea to aid digestion; rose hip tea for vitamin C and great color; and sage for all-round excellence. A d d to this gallery of teas wild strawberry, blackberry and raspberry leaves. And especially take note of borage and salad burnet teas for teetotalers at your cocktail parties. Both have exhilarating effects.

Herb teas are enjoyable as they are without adornments. They are brewed much as China teas are — best in a pot of glazed earthenware, stoneware, porcelain or China — or in a cup y o u can cover. Connoisseurs do not use metal pots. Simply pour boiling water over the fresh herbs and steep for two to three minutes. Do not boil. Experiment with the kinds and the amount of herbs to discover what is perfect for y o u .

One American herb house offers 74 herb teas for sale. My o w n experience with some of these teas has been strictly for pleasure. There is great satisfaction in knowing there are so many g o o d things to drink just for the choosing and such a variety that I would have to count off every day for several months to run out of ideas. The medicinal effects are lost on me: I drink herb teas because I find them interesting to taste and beautiful for their green to gold liquid. The fact that quite a number of them are actually g o o d sources of vitamins is a plus, of course.

Commercially prepared herb teas will do for a starter. But the herbs y o u grow and cure yourself will be better than those y o u can buy for teas. I like my herbs fresh from the garden for two reasons: I am under no pressure to drink teas because I have bought them and they are there. I can mix and match as whim dictates, and by the cup. And afterwards I can take quiet pleasure in the leaves that decorate the b o t t o m of my cup — trefoils of strawberry leaves, heart-shaped leaves of violets, and textured tongues of sage. Purists will consider this a naughty pleasure: they lift out the leaves and ceremoniously change pots. But y o u decide which it is y o u are: purist or pleasure-ist! My Baron Solemacher strawberries long ago went wild and n o w put backbone in a tea of mint and lemon and honey. Fresh sage is warm and bold and celadon. Catnip tea is homely and turnipy. Dandelion tea tastes of new mown lawns. Fenugreek seed tea is mellow in color and tastes very pleasantly of maple sugar. Delicious pink mint tea is indeed pink. Y o u may find bitter herb teas more palatable with sugar or honey and lemon added.

HERB SEED TEAS And y o u may especially like herb teas made from seeds of anise, caraway and dill. Here the process differs. Bruise the seeds, add them to boiling water and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes, strain and serve at once. Several years ago a friend wishing to send us off on a transcontinental motor trip presented us with ajar of "pick u p " tea. What a treasure it was for the next two months from West Coast to East Coast up into Quebec and all the way to Vancouver via Transcanada. It warmed every morning and evening far better than any other brew. This is h o w it is made with slight variations. V A L ' S PICK UP TEA

SALADS, SOUP, HERB V I N E G A R S AND BRANDY Salads Fit For A King In some ways, the world has come full circle in f o o d handling. Today men with doctor's degrees manage great restaurant operations. In former times, popes and emperors assigned the position of f o o d handling to learned men w h o were physicians and herbalists. Selection of greens was not for fools. This insured that salads contained no harmful greens and led to magnificent dishes fit for kings. No doubt it was these early experts w h o devised and built in herbal cures for the maladies brought on by the luxurious dishes they set before their masters. The traditional use of sage with pork was such a medical introduction.

Vz cup instant tea 1 - 3 o z . package lemonade mix 1 - 3 o z . jar Tang 2 cups Twin (sugar substitute) Vi cup dried mint, pulverized

Salads were extravaganzas with an astonishing number and variety of herbal ingredients — roots, stalks, leaves and buds. The head gardener for King James II declared that even an ordinary salad should have at least 35 ingredients.

Mix well and store in tightly capped jar. Use two teaspoons or less to a cup of hot water.

Fennel, parsnip and carrot roots went into these salads along with spinach, violet leaves, tarragon, red sage, hyssop, thyme, marjoram, mallow, burnet, cresses, basil, borage and cabbages, to name a few.

There are a dozen possible substitutes for the mint. The simple pleasure of this familiar hot drink in a strange place is hard to describe. It establishes your world before y o u have to come to grips with someone else's version of the way things are. It becomes a very real link with home in the outlands.

Over them were poured exotic vinegars infused with clove of carnations, elder roses, rosemary or nasturtium. And after that into the salad went salt, sugar, mustard and pepper. And yet more! Grated orange and lemon rind and saffron were strewn over all with moderately boiled, new laid eggs to eat on the side. In season, any salad worth the name had still another embellishment: herb flowers full of virtue, violet, borage, clove carnations, cowslip, nasturtium and orange were scattered on top. And never in all this flurry was a knife used, except one of silver. A salad from Nicolas de Bonnefons (1654) included tarragon, samphire, cress, La Trippe

Madame, La C o m e du Boeuf, Herbe a 1' Eveque or corn salad, anise and other flowers and herbs, dressed with oil and sugar and intended to amuse. In those gouty times, it would be interesting to know whether the physician-chefs included gout weed among the greens as preventive medicine. Noblemen on tour came home with recipes and encouraged the translation of c o o k books from other countries. English Royalist John Evelyn in the late 17th Century wrote rather poetically about "sallets." His ideal was a combination of greens in which no one plant was overpowered by an herb of stronger taste. Each contributed its own virtue to the whole like notes in a musical composition. The only discords allowed were to be such as have the power to add sprightliness, reconcile dissonances and so produce an agreeable composition. Contemporary Salad Masters What sophisticated salad masters today cannot match these virtuosos? And what Herbcraftsman can't learn from these early examples — not so much to imitate their ebullient forms as to get tips on fresh ways to use greens, roots, fruits, seeds and flowers in salads? The most elaborate salad we have encountered recently originates in the Near East and reads like a grocery list: Romaine Dandelion Chicory Endive Head lettuce Nasturtium flowers Marigold petals Garlic Fresh parsley Cucumbers

Spring onions or leeks Celery centers Fresh spearmint tips Sweet peppers Tomatoes Radishes Basil, and thyme Pimentos Cinnamon and mace

Y o u bring this salad to table in a great b o w l with the greens arranged like a big green flower with hard boiled egg yolks for stamens, ringed with slivers of egg white and bits of pimento. The outer edge blooms with nasturtium and marigold, of course. In this homogenized world of ready-mixes — both packaged and bottled — it is certainly worth a try to make even the simplest salad tastier, more imaginative, and more nutritious. Put raw vegetables into salads. It's much less trouble than cooking them to death and serving the remains in a side dish! Excellent raw vegetable additions to the usual greens are spinach, young asparagus sliced on the bias, paper-thin slices of zucchini, b o k c h o y , string beans and cauliflower. Marinate them ahead of time in your own style herb vinegar and oil. Why not a salad with bright cubes of R o m e Beauty apples and wedges of Japanese persimmons tossed with a dressing of lemon juice, oil, brown sugar and a pinch of ground cumin? Or diced apples, celery and broken walnuts tossed with a dressing of lemon juice, oil, brown sugar and finely cut fresh anise leaves?

Herb Vinegars It is easy to make and blend your own herb vinegars. There are about 60 possible varieties to which you can add one more once y o u begin to create. If you use fresh leaves, gather them just before the plants are in full b l o o m . Wash and dry the leaves. Pack a wide-mouthed glass jar loosely with leaves, cover with the best quality vinegar available, tightly cover and let stand where y o u w o n ' t forget it. The English use malt vinegars, the French white and red wine vinegars and g o o d cider vinegars. Some vinegar makers put the working jar in the sun. Others disclaim this method and advise only putting the jar in a warm place. At any rate, put it where y o u will remember to shake the jar or stir the contents with a w o o d e n spoon every other day. After ten days or so, take a first taste. If the vinegar seems to need more herbing, strain out the first herbs, put in fresh ones and start over. Keep tasting every few days until y o u achieve the effect y o u want. Strain out herbs through filter paper and bottle your product. In bottling, use a glass or stainless steel funnel. At this point y o u can add a spray of the fresh herb to decorate your effort. Y o u need about two cups of chopped fresh herbs to one quart of vinegar. Fresh herbs that make fine vinegars are lemon balm, basil, borage, burnet, chives, dill, fennel, garlic, marjoram, summer savory, mint, tarragon and thyme. Seeds of caraway, celery, coriander and dill also make g o o d herb vinegars. One expert recommends white wine vinegar for tarragon, basil and burnet; for mint, full strength cider vinegar; for garlic, red wine vinegar.

The trick, if y o u decide to blend herbs for your special brand of vinegar, is not to let the strong herbs — garlic, chives, sweet basil and tarragon — destroy the effect of the more delicate herbs. Garlic need not remain in an infusion more than the first 24 hours of the two weeks the vinegar is working. Or y o u can keep cut garlic cloves in the vinegar cruet. A g o o d mixed herb vinegar can be made from chives, borage, summer savory, basil and lemon balm. To make vinegar with aromatic seeds is equally simple. Just bruise the seeds in a mortar with pestle — about two tablespoons for a quart of vinegar — place in jar and pour hot vinegar over the seeds. Cover jar tightly and put in warm place for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain through filter paper, bottle in a glass jar and cork tightly. There is nothing in the world to prevent your trying other kinds of vinegars that appeal to y o u — from capers, elder flowers or even a whole bouquet of herbs. One herb bouquet uses IV2 o z . each of summer savory, chives, marjoram and tarragon, and enough chopped mint and balm to taste. Another might use fresh basil, rosemary, mint, tarragon, marjoram, bay, crushed dill seeds, a few crushed cloves of pepper, a bit of all-spice. Recipes are rather vague at times. One will tell y o u to fill ajar loosely with basil and pour on the cider vinegar. Another will specify 3 o z . of fresh tarragon leaves for a quart jar of cider vinegar.

Herb Brandy Another experiment y o u might consider is the making of herb brandy for sauces, butter, cheese spreads, or soups and stews. One recipe is for fresh leaves of thyme, mint, marjoram, basil, rosemary and chervil. Y o u put the herbs into ajar half filled with brandy and let it stay in a c o o l place for a day or t w o , remove the herbs and repeat the process with a fresh batch of herbs until y o u have the flavor of the herbs infused into the brandy. Herb Butters Herb butters can be as varied as the vinegars, perhaps more so. But they are the short range items for your kitchencraft. To make one: snip fresh chives, chervil, tarragon and marjoram into a mortar, grind with dry bread crumbs and a drop or two of brandy. Blend with butter, force through a sieve, roll into balls and chill for use on steaks, broiled fish or in sandwich mixes. Herb Soups Soups, like salads, call out the artist in the Herbcraftsman. Whatever may be said for the jet age, it cannot be said it has done much for soups. Soups are like breads — worth the time and effort to prepare, not simply something to buy from a shelf in a can or a package. Nothing is quite like the fun of chopping vegetables and perhaps seeing h o w beautiful a zucchini is inside for the first time, what a colorful thing a carrot is in a soup of greens, h o w noble and elegant a fresh mushroom appears — and h o w freshly sweet the whole soup is with marjoram and parsley from your garden.

The only jet age luxuries I allow myself in herb soups are the "store bought" plain broths and consommes for the base. Buy them by the case, if y o u love herb soup and then begin your experiments with all the herbs that suit your fancy. Most of my soups are made with chicken broths with a piquant dollop of pickle juice. (Never throw away the pickle juice!) I put in everything that looks beautiful in the market: chards, b o k c h o y , Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, sweet onions and scallions, and then the herbs as the m o o d and the garden dictate — bay, marjoram, sage, rosemary, chervil, parsley, chives, etc., etc. The trick is to start with the ingredients that take longest to become tender and end up adding the most delicate of the vegetables — the parsleys, chards, spinach. What soups! And what an aesthetic experience preparing such a variety of ingredients and then serving them up in celadon bowls with porcelain spoons (the silver ones heat up t o o fast!) On those days y o u haven't time to make soup and must make do with canned soups, in mind how much herbs do for the creamy — and sprinkle on chives, chervil, dill weed, basil, sweet marjoram, thyme, tarragon and

the keep soups parsley, mint.

HERB CULTURE AND SHOPPING GUIDE

HERB CULTURE

Basic Herbs to Grow

Not the least of the pleasures of Herbcraft are the growing of culinary herbs and the shopping for kitchen paraphernalia and supplies. The demands of herb culture are more simple than y o u might think. Today y o u can buy instant herb hot houses, seeded, packaged with f o o d capsules and ready to grow indoors and later outdoors. Potted herbs are also for sale in supermarkets and plant nurseries in small plastic containers.

Kitchen space and available w i n d o w sills may dictate that y o u have only a few plants and a few will really do very well to start with. Some that are g o o d to consider are basil, chives, sweet marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, summer savory, tarragon, thyme and mints. One expert will tell y o u to have mint, sage, parsley, thyme and marjoram if nothing else. Another expert advises basil, chives, marjoram, oregano, tarragon and thyme. The decision will have to be yours.

Instant Gardens Packaged Herbs We have found convenient little plastic hot houses holding peat pots seeded with rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley, chives and thyme. Complete instructions are included for growing and harvesting. The same supplier has collections of fennel, sage, true lavender, dill, catnip, caraway, summer savory, horehound and anise. Potted Plants Potted herbs we have found in supermarkets and plant nurseries have included such interesting herbs as angelica, pineapple mint, variegated sage, costmary, dittany, sweet woodruff, comfrey, southernwood and lemon thyme in addition to the old regulars. If y o u plan to collect your herb garden plants already established in pots this way, it is a very g o o d idea to shop around. We have found herb plants of varying quality and at a wide range in prices within even a limited area. Prices of top quality herb plants were as much as $.36 apart per plant. Higher priced plants often did not offer value to compensate for the cost.

Once y o u use fresh herbs, y o u will be spoiled for dried herbs especially in salads, greens, vegetables and beverages. But y o u will want dried herbs, t o o , since they work well for meats, especially rosemary, sage and summer savory. There are signs that herb imports will be less abundant than formerly, but American markets provide packaged herbs by the score in cardboard packages and bottled. Specialty stores carry herb teas in quantity to please even the connoisseur. So y o u won't need to be growing all the herbs y o u want. Some y o u should try and some y o u will want to give away because they are not for y o u .

Growing Conditions Vary Y o u will discover, t o o , no matter what growing instructions are, that your experiences may be just a little different from those of others. Y o u may find an herb less aromatic or less desirable than it

was advertised because cultural differences exist from area to area. The challenge is to grow them, observe them, experience them in cooking, infusing vinegars, wines and brandy and in brewing teas. On the word of authorities no less than Dorothy Hogner and Frances Bardswell, we can tell y o u that anyone w h o has ever raised a plant can raise herbs and that herbs may be planted at any time provided y o u take care of them. The day has passed when it was thought unnatural to raise greens out of season in greenhouses. Many herbs grow well from seed; others propagate well by layering and others from cuttings. Tarragon is among the latter. Y o u must k n o w someone w h o has a plant and will give y o u a cutting or else buy one at a plant nursery. I got mine at a nursery for only $.49 — which is cheap when y o u think of the pleasure it gives. Since it is not true that all pests bypass the herbs in your garden for other plants, y o u will want to investigate non-toxic insecticides. Harvesting Herbs Let's suppose y o u have finally reached harvest time. The herbs are coming into b l o o m and their oils are strongest in leaf and branch. If after snipping off what y o u need all along, y o u have more

than y o u need for every day kitchen needs, y o u will want to put by dried herbs as gifts or as provender for your pantry. The best advice is to harvest on a dry day after the 4ew has dried off but before the sun becomes hot. Have a space big enough to lay them out to dry, each herb separately in single layers where herbs are out of the sun but airy. Preparing Herbs for Storage Cut and wash the herbs, lay them to dry or tie them in bunches and hang them upside down in clean brown paper bags to keep off the dust. If space is really at a minimum, it is possible to dry them in a slow oven though this method may destroy the essential oils. Y o u can, of course, hang them in bunches for several days in a cold oven if you have nowhere else to put them. When herbs are dry, strip off and pulverize the leaves, sift out stems and bottle herbs in absolutely dry containers. N o w comes the fun of exercising your creativity in devising herb mixes and in tying fagots of herbs for soups and stews. Some herb combinations have achieved the distinction of a name — ravigote, remoulade, mirepoix and duxelles. Combination of dried aromatics that reveal hidden soul of f o o d : sage, basil, rosemary, sweet marjoram, thyme and bay Fine herbes: parsley with chervil and chives; parsley with basil and chives; parsley with burnet and thyme Bouquets of sprigs: parsley, marjoram, thyme for stuffings and for soups. Your own custom mixes — whatever they may be

How Long Will Dried Herbs Last? Many herbs will give y o u two crops in a season. Keeping characteristics of dried herbs vary. Here is a useful time table: Up to one year: lemon balm, chervil, chives, parsley, summer savory and tarragon A bit longer than a year but not at full strength: basil, lovage, marjoram, mint, oregano and pennyroyal T w o years with proper storage: rosemary, sage and thyme Whether y o u dry herbs yourself or whether y o u buy them, date bottles and packages as y o u process your home grown herbs or shelve your purchases. If purchased herbs come in cardboard boxes, transfer them to bottles with tightfitting caps and keep in a c o o l , dark place. Check the herbs before y o u use them — especially if they have been on the shelf for a long period. If they are faded and there is no aroma, the herbs have passed the time of usefulness. Creating the Setting for Herbcraft Now comes the fun of building your environment for Herbcraft and housing it creatively and wisely. Y o u may want to take note of some very perceptible trends in America's f o o d habits. The trend toward individual servings of a wide variety of foods suggests y o u consider stocking lots of individual serving dishes that go from oven or stove or refrigerator to the table. The new, emerging life style that dictates that it is more chic to entertain at home with g o o d f o o d makes the surroundings of the cooking and dining areas environmental foci for all the art y o u can employ as home decorator and creative c o o k . Your goal might be to work towards what y o u

want and to collect the best quality pots, pans and serving dishes on the way. Getting there is most of the fun. The worst stove I ever fought brought forth the best breads. Its oven door was unsprung, I guess y o u ' d say, and the silly thing fell with a thud unless it was tied shut. But the pans that went into that monster of an oven were the best quality and I still have every one of them. H E R B C R A F T Shopping List BAGS, for individual servings of dried teas BOTTLES, big ones for infusing herbs with vinegars and small ones for storing prepared herb vinegars BOWLS, ovenproof — glass or stoneware — for baking breads, buns and for salads B O X , for herb recipes with subject or alphabetical dividers B O A R D , for kneading and serving herb breads BASTING BRUSH, for spreading butter on breads and sauces on broiling & roasting meats CLOTH, cheesecloth, muslin for straining sauces, gravies and vinegars; also for bouquet bags COOKBOOKS, see Annotated Bibliography that follows for helpful suggestions CUPS, for herb teas — some with tops so that y o u can steep herbs — porcelain and stoneware EGG COOKERS, individual so that everyone can select his o w n herb accent FUNNEL, glass or stainless steel FILTER PAPER, for straining vinegars and brandies GRINDERS, salt, pepper, nutmeg LABELS, for dating purchases of herbs and your own dried herb jars J A R S , for storing dried herbs — small ones for individual herbs; large ones for fagots and bouquet bags. Some handsome stoneware jars come with the herb names on them. If y o u use glass in storing herbs, use light-proof glass.

MIXING CENTER EQUIPMENT, stainless steel measuring spoons; measuring cups; nested bowls. Big mixing spoons of stainless steel and w o o d MIXES, (and soups) for your emergency shelf; yeast breads.(There are unbleached white, stoneground whole wheat, rye and pumpernickel mixes available.) Irish bread, corn bread, and quick breads of all sorts, cookie and cake mixes. When y o u are pressed for time, y o u can invent herb variations with mixes. Include on your shelf soups like vichysoisse which are easy to dress with herbs. M O R T A R A N D PESTLE, for grinding herb seeds PANS, for baking breads, muffins and cakes and cookies POT, for brewing and steeping herb tea — porcelain or stoneware RECIPE C A R D S , (blank) tent type is convenient because y o u can prop it up while y o u are c o o k ing and also have plenty of space to enter variations y o u invent SCALE, for weighing herbs SIFTER SIEVES SHEARS, straight shears and poultry shears (shears are safer to use than knives & choppers in mincing herbs) SKEWERS STRING, keep a ball of clean string handy for tying herb fagots TEA BALLS, for loose teas TONGS WOODEN PICKS, for testing cakes and quick breads and G A R D E N SHEARS, for gathering and pruning herbs SIX-INCH POTS, for growing herbs in the kitchen WATERING CAN

BIBLIOQRAPHY An Annotated Bibliography of Cookbooks and Herbals

Linguistic Invisibility

Unlisted Finds

We have no dearth of c o o k b o o k s or columns on cookery in newspapers and magazines. Many instruct y o u in both words and pictures. Some c o o k books are practically national institutions. Yet a search of them finds herbs invisible or buried in formulas.

Let us add just a few notes; Some c o o k b o o k s at least n o d at herbs and dignify them by including brief chapters about them. These include The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion R. Becker and America's Cook Book, compiled by The Home Institute of The New York Herald Tribune and published by Charles Scribner's Sons. Another herb-minded c o o k is Charles Baker w h o may scare y o u half to death with his fulminations and fiats about cookery. His Gentleman's Companion: An Exotic Cookery Book and The South American Gentleman's Companion: An Exotic Cookery Book c o m e as close to reverence for herbs as an irreverent man can. You'll have to dig for the references, but it will be worth your trouble. The Escoffier Cook Book always confused me despite four and a half years of learning French and exploring the French mind. To use it correctly requires the patience of a saint and the working zeal of a scholar. But y o u might check the chapter on "Elementary Preparations" for herb uses as well as sections on sauces, butters and broths.

Authors either play it safe with bland recipes, promoting the fiction that Herbcraft in the kitchen is a very limited affair. Or they assume that their herb language requires no explanation. Or, if they are writing for newspapers, magazines or commercial houses, they are selling products and herbs are often lost in the process. No Edibility Gaps, Please! It seems at times almost as if there were a conspiracy to apply the cosmetic approach to f o o d preparation — to make f o o d beautiful and eye tempting, even if it tastes exactly like the last dish y o u made with the same ingredients. Of course every dish should be beautiful! Herbcraftsmen simply believe it should also provide an experience in taste and heightened edibility. The list of books that follows can take y o u afield as well as into your own garden and kitchen. These books can take y o u back in time as well as inspire future activities as an Herbcraftsman.

And Virginia Scully has just c o m e forward with an interesting b o o k , A Treasury of American Indian Herbs — Their Use for Foods, Drugs and Medicine. This should be interesting to explore. I would dearly love to include c o o k b o o k s that are sheer j o y to own because they are the products of bright spirits — both men and women — w h o love to c o o k . But they say little about herbs, so that is that!

Compared with 40 years ago when few b o o k s existed on the subject, herb b o o k s abound on the market. Many make Herbcraft a magic or miraculous thing and provide the rationale for returning to nature for f o o d , medicine and cosmetics. They fill y o u in on what herbs are said to relieve, whether you suffer from the ague or a virus. I have not made a point of recommending these since they are often curiosities and a great deal of research lies ahead before suggestions they make can carry authority. It certainly w o n ' t hurt, however, for y o u to c o m b through bookstores and exercise your o w n g o o d judgment about them. Arber, Agnes Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution — A Chapter in the History of Botany 14701670, Cambridge University Press, 1938. The author peoples three centuries with the characters w h o brought herbs out of magic into the science of botany. Her b o o k is significant not only for its scholarship but also for the insight it provides into the progress of herb culture as mirrored in literature. After reading Herbals, y o u will never l o o k upon an herb as unimportant simply because y o u can tread on it! The b o o k is extremely well illustrated and, for me, would stand alone as a picture b o o k of great charm. Bardswell, Frances A. The Herb-Garden, A . & C . Black Ltd., London, 1930. This is the commonsense record of a woman who knows herbs intimately from growing them and becoming familiar with their history both as simple medicines and as culinary fare. When she says y o u can grow and cure herbs if y o u have a mind to, y o u can believe her. This b o o k is well worth reading to get the feeling of what it means to be an Herbcraftsman.

Brown, Alice Cooke Early American Herb Recipes, Bonanza Books, New York, 1966. This is a compilation of more than 500 authentic recipes from family herbals and old receipt books for medicinals, beverages, confections, fish and fowl, furniture polish, toiletries, pastries, puddings, pickles and salads. There are excellent illustrations of herbs. Numerous interesting pictures of displays in Shelburne Museum give y o u a feeling for the tools of the herbalist, furniture and dishes, bottles, packages and title pages of old b o o k s and magazines. This is a browsing b o o k . Claiborne, Craig An Herb and Spice Cook Book, Bantam Books, New York, 1965, and Kitchen Primer, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1969. These books are from the pen of the f o o d editor of The New York Times. The c o o k b o o k is extremely easy to use. It lists herbs and spices alphabetically and covers appetizers, soups, meats, poultry, fish and shell fish, eggs, cheese, rice, pasta, vegetables, salads, sauces, breads, relishes, preserves, desserts and beverages. Each section briefly introduces the herb used in the recipes that follow. I would certainly recommend that this $.95 bargain be on your shelf. As for the Kitchen Primer, I have seen no other that so well prepares the neophyte for kitchencraft. If, like me, y o u know a man w h o thinks that creaming butter means to put it in a pan on the stove until it melts, y o u should rush right out and buy this practical, wonderful explanation of everything from kitchen tools and techniques to the fundamentals of kitchencraft. Beautifully illustrated and full of dandy advice. An excellent buy.

Clarkson, Rosetta E. Herbs: Their Culture and Uses, MacMillan Company, 1970. A classic and authoritative guide, this b o o k first appeared in 1942. It is directed not only to amateur gardeners but to those who would grow herbs commercially. Of special interest are lists of herbs grouped according to cultural characteristics, those suitable for low edgings, for foliage, flowers, for house plants and so on. Mrs. Clarkson includes 82 recipes. Many are familiar to the experienced c o o k except for the additions of herbs. This beautiful b o o k is crammed with g o o d information. Herbs are nicely illustrated. Mrs. Clarkson has viewed herbs as a classifier, grower of indoor and outdoor gardens, c o o k , and harvester. It is g o o d to see this b o o k updated. Culpeper, Nicholas Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Consisting of a Comprehensive Description of Nearly All Herbs with Their Medicinal Properties and Directions for Compounding the Medicines Extracted from Them, W. Foulsham & C o . , Ltd., Bucks, England. This is a Curiosity which everyone interested in herbs is bound to see some time or other. A 17th Century astrologer-physician, Culpeper is still quoted today. The b o o k is illustrated, showing herbs in color. The print is not easy to read but the text is far from dull. Y o u be the judge of h o w y o u feel about the b o o k . Crow, W.B. The Occult Properties of Herbs, The Aquarian Press, London, 1969. This is an interesting blend of folklore, myth and history. Y o u feel when y o u have finished reading the b o o k that y o u have an idea about herbs but not as things to be eaten. There is a melange of botanomancy (Example: Name or mark onions, put them aside; the first to sprout indicates your future marriage

partner!), alchemy, astrology, and magic. Y o u don't feel y o u have met many herbs y o u can bring home and introduce to the family. D o o l e , Louise Evans Herbs for Health: How to Grow and Use Them, Wilshire B o o k C o . , N. Holl y w o o d , Ca. 1969. Mrs. Doole's b o o k is for laymen. She makes no mystery of the business of growing and using herbs. Her style is b o u n c y and entirely informal. Well illustrated with instructions for herb culture, garden plans for indoors and outdoors, methods of harvesting, storing and using. F o x , Helen Morgenthau Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance, Dover, New York, 1970. This b o o k has been researched like a living thesis — the work of a dirt gardener, scholar and interviewer. Mrs. Fox's bibliography includes reference b o o k s and books on folklore, ethnobotany, cooking, medicine, tea, flowers, perfume and history. She surveyed many pertinent magazines and talked with experts here and abroad in preparing her b o o k . The bulk of the b o o k is a description of 68 herbs — root, leaf, flower, variety, history, uses and culture. Her section on herb history in the United States will be especially interesting if y o u haven't had access to such information. She also includes 56 recipes she has tested, some of them from old recipe b o o k s . A very readable reference b o o k for the Herbcraftsman.

Gibbons, Euell Stalking the Healthful Herbs, Field Guide Edition, David McKay Co.,, New York, 1970. Gibbons gives y o u an experience with herbs. He doesn't just collect and identify — after he has researched — but tells y o u h o w the plant is useful and h o w it can add to the enj o y m e n t of life. H o w big is the herb? What are

its shape, color, habits, Latin name, its properties for healing? Does it smell? Will its aroma make f o o d more interesting or appetizing? H o w can you eat or drink it? Gibbons makes friends with herbs in the wild. The mystic in him, and perhaps in y o u , makes the experience more comprehensive because plants have relationships with each other even though they may be separated by continents and by thousands of years. This is an entertaining and educational b o o k by a very civilized man. He can show y o u h o w to make the outdoor world your herb garden. His is a sane and balanced approach to nature, a printed invitation to companionship and adventure in the fields around y o u .

Hatfield, Audrey Wynne The Pleasures of Herbs, Museum Press Ltd., L o n d o n , 1964. This b o o k is beautifully illustrated by the author w h o has o b viously taken pleasure in recalling the history of herbs from their origins. It reads like a story b o o k and is well worth owning if y o u are going to raise herbs as sort of "friends of the family." Hogner, Dorothy Childs A Fresh Herb Platter, Doubleday, Garden City, 1961, and. Herbs: From the Garden to the Table, Oxford University Press, New York, 1953, both illustrated by Nils Hogner. Many herbals are quite naturally English in origin. Herbs is oriented to American gardening and cooking. If y o u are serious about herb gardening, this is your b o o k . Mrs. Hogner is an experienced, commercial grower w h o has a very readable style. No jargon will chase y o u to the dictionary every other page. What she delivers is a small herbal that stresses 24 basic culinary herbs, gives information on growing, harvesting and cooking with them. She has g o o d advice on fertilizers and insecticides. The Appendix gives

useful data on regional growing conditions; lists herb gardens y o u can visit from coast to coast; and contains a selected bibliography of old herbals and gardening b o o k s . There is a g o o d index. This is a gardener's garden b o o k . The same may be said for A Fresh Herb Platter, which is also a how-to-do-it that reports experiences, not hearsay. Mrs. Hogner shows y o u h o w to plan herb gardens, tells y o u h o w to protect plants from animal and insect pests, and shares recipes with y o u . She takes y o u through the seasons. Own this b o o k for the pleasure it gives and the commonsense scotching of old wives' tales about soils and pests. Loewenfeld, Claire and Back, Philippa Herbs, Health and Cookery, Award Books, New York, 1970. The English Ladies Loewenfeld and Back are lecturers on f o o d , health, diet and herb cultivation. This first American edition is aimed at introducing health aspects of herbs whether y o u c o o k them, drink them or take cosmetic advantage of them. The b o o k ' s sections indicate their orientation: "Herbs for Health and Beauty," "Herbs for Cookery: Twenty-Four Herbs in a Chest;" and (more than 250) "Cookery Recipes" which are English and explicit. A chart at the beginning of the b o o k gives American equivalents or suggested substitutes as well as a guide to measurements. I have the feeling these ladies are determined to make us all beautiful and healthy without boring us! They really make authoritative use of herbs. Another $.95 bargain for your shelf.

Mazza, Irma Goodrich Herbs for the Kitchen, Little, Brown & C o . , Boston, 1947. When I was making plans for the little house and was editing for Sunset Magazine, the f o o d editor insisted I buy four basic c o o k b o o k s . One of these was Mrs. Mazza's classic Herbs for the Kitchen, then just recently revised. It bears the date of acquisition in my hand — 8/28/47. According to a publisher's announcement, it is to be reissued. Mrs. Mazza is the Herbcraftsman's Herbcraftsman. Her discussion of Herbcraft is still the best to be found, the most j o y o u s . It is her gift to inspire y o u without frightening y o u with the awesome responsibilities of having to be perfect about it all. Having confessed this love affair with a b o o k , I think I shall put my old, worn c o p y in a safe and hoard it!

Dr. Pellegrini has a broad, cultivated palate. The b o o k has g o o d illustrations of herbs and fine planting and growing instructions. A happy experience. Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair A Garden of Herbs, Herbert Jenkins Ltd., London. Mrs. Rohde fleshes the history of Herbcraft with anecdote. She conducts y o u through olden times with word pictures that bring you into old herb gardens as intimates, not as strangers. She sprinkles the b o o k with recipes from old books and from private manuscripts of the master cooks to the noble and rich of former times — for syllabubs, pottages, green puddings, taffity tarts, herb drinks, wines and hippocras. A thoroughly engaging b o o k .

Miloradovich, Milo The Art of Cooking with Herbs and Spices, Doubleday, Garden City, 1950. This is a dictionary/encyclopaedia with recipes! It discusses basic herbs, their purchase, their culinary uses in basting sauces, marinades, honeys, butters, jellies, teas, vinegars and wines. Typical recipes cover appetizers, breads, cakes, cheese, fruit, meat, pies, poultry, soup, sandwiches and vegetables. This is a rather complete handbook for beginners but it is not as inspired as Herbs for the Kitchen. Pellegrini, Angelo M. The Food-Lover's Garden, Alfred A. Knopf, New Y o r k , 1970. Dr. Pellegrini loves to grow herbs and he loves to eat. His discursive style is not for anyone who is in a hurry. This b o o k is for those who can let ideas grow in g o o d time and who delight in running unexpectedly into a recipe that will destroy all miserable thoughts of dieting. As befits a college professor,

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