ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Lemon balm makes you wonder what was extra special about that potato salad, tarragon is delicious in potato soup, and sorrel in lentil soup.

Lemon balm with almonds makes a beautiful stuffing for apples, and carrot cake with lemon thyme will not be forgotten. The combinations are endless, the delicacies never cease to bring surprise and delight.

The emphasis of herbal usage has changed over the centuries, presumably since the comparative luxury of modern medicine. Before the days of penicillin and pain relievers, man, out of necessity, was very close to nature, and herbs were endowed with mystical as well as practical healing powers.

Nowadays, we can afford to enjoy these wonderful plants, not only for some of their undeniable medicinal qualities, but also for their aesthetics, their appeal to the senses, olfactory, visual and gustatory, and we can begin to appreciate the good taste of our forefathers.

Have you discovered what basil can do for tomatoes?

There is something very special in the combination of thyme with mushrooms, eggpants or sweet potatoes.

 Fennel goes well with cabbage, broad beans or pumpkin to name a few.

Just the aroma of a sprig of rosemary or basil at the side of a hot plate pleases the senses, borage flowers tossed through a green salad can not help but please the eye, stimulate the appetite and increase the enjoyment of a meal.

Avocadoes are enhanced by lemon thyme, strawberries by fennel sauce, dill goes well with cucumbers, chervil in a souffle.

If anything just go easy on the herb that you put with your food, as too much can dominate the end result.

Use herbs to sweeten, add to sorbets, salad dressings, mayo waits for a touch of herb. Nice addition in soft cheeses, great in poached fish, sprinkle over steamed vegetables, tradition is mint with peas but explore!

Through the ages herbs have been used in cooking for their flavor, in medicine for their healing properties and for their fragrance and cosmetic properties. However little has been written about their value to the organic grower.

http://ecobites.com/eco-news-articles/herbal-a-natural-remedies/1162-value-of-herbs

From Big Thunder, North American Indian..1900 The great spirit is our Father, but the earth is our Mother, she nourishes us, that which we put into the ground she returns to us, and healing plants she gives likewise.