I'm absorbed in a new book by Judy Barrett with the clearly descriptive title "What Can I Do With My Herbs?" (Texas A&M University Press, 2009). It's hard to find - Seattle Public Library has a few copies.... it's worth hunting down.
I love to grow herbs, but except for chives, parsley, basil and cilantro, they're mostly ornamental because I've been short of ideas on how to use them. Not any longer.
Every entry in this pretty little book includes a history of the herb and cultivation information. But it's Barrett's abundant creativity and practicality that makes the book so worthwhile. Take scented geraniums. She suggests drying their leaves and crumbling them into a bowl for the simplest potpourri ever, or crushing leaves onto the floor and vacuuming them up to freshen the air. Toss a mesh bag filled with leaves into the dryer to scent your linens, or bake them into cookies or cakes. Barrett iincludes a recipe for scented geranium lemonade and a cooling tea. I took her advice and planted garlic near my nasturtiums to repel aphids - so far, so good....
I always grow lemon verbena just to enjoy the foliage's intense citrus scent...after reading this book I plan to use these shiny leaves as a substitute in any recipe that calls for lemons, brew it into a soothing tea, dry the leaves in the microwave and make sachets.......the book is a convenient size, is made of lovely paper and offers color drawings like the one below to go with all the homely advice....
Valerie,thanks for recommending this book. I bought it on Amazon and am really enjoying it.
Posted by: Katie | August 08, 2009 at 04:31 PM