HERB - LrdRas <LrdRas@aol.com>: SC - Gardening Time and the harvest begins-Part 2 Long

[Christine A Seelye-King]

Well, I am as new to the SCA Cooks list as I am to the Herb list, but
this came across the one today and I felt it needed to go to the other.  
	Christianna
--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
To: sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: SC - Gardening Time and the harvest begins-Part 2 Long
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 10:41:32 EDT
Message-ID: <37d32888.353a0d1e at aol.com>

Well, folks.  Much is happening in the garden this time of year.  The
daffodils have faded.  Tulips are in full bloom, Lilacs, crab apples and
cherries scent the air with their heady fragrance.  For the serious
gardener
this is a time of planting and harvest.

Harvest?  Yep, already! 

Sorrel is particularly crisp and tasty right now and makes a refreshing
addition to salads and, with it's lemony flavor makes a wonderful
addition to
recipes calling for "herbes." 

Rhubarb is also beginning to enter it's peak season.  Eaten stewed and
sweetened with sugar it's "medicinal" value readily becomes apparent.
Although not documentable as period, you might want to reconstitute the
last
of the dried apples left over from the fall and combine them with rhubarb
to
make a nice apple rhubarb pie/tart.  Remember to only pick the largest
stalks
and leave some for strengthening the plant for next year's harvest. 
Strip the
leaves from the stalks and discard because the leafy parts contain oxalic
acid
which is poisonous.  It causes severe gastric disturbances and can result
in
death.

Dandelions are almost past there prime for use as "herbes" BUT a special
treat
can be had if you collect the unopened flower buds and prepare them as
you
would the leaves.  Served with a little salt, pepper and butter, they
become a
gourmet's delight.  Opened flowers can be gathered and processed for
dandelion
wine.

Violet flowers are starting to appear.  Those that bloom first are always
larger and nicer than those that come after so pick and candy them as
they
become available.

Assorted grasses while not thought of as human food except in times of
famine
can be utilized as a snack while working in the garden.  Simply pull the
central blades out of the plant The white part at the bottom of the blade
is
sweet, succulent and tasty making a great on the spot snack not often
enjoyed
by others.

If you neglected to harvest all of your garlic and onions last fall, you
may
find some strays in your garden areas.  Green garlic is especially nice
when
used in salads and the green onions harvested now will be sweeter than at
any
other time of the year.  Parsley plants left over from last year may be
sending up new leaves also All of these make fine additions to your
"herbes"
basket.  For a nice main course, try a Tart In Embry Day using 4 eggs, 2
cups
of ricotta or small curd cottage cheese and 2 cups of chopped blanched
"herbes" (Dandelion buds, green garlic, sorrel, violet leaves, parsley,
green
onions).

For those who haven't planted their favas, peas, onions, shallots, garlic
and
spinach there is still time to do so but be prepared for hot weather to
slow
or stop their growth.  Carrots, beets, dill, parsley, broccoli, cabbage,
chard
should all be planted now.  Red and white varieties of carrots are
available
from Gurney's and Burpees as well as long-root beets.

Those who have late period personas might want to consider starting the
seeds
of white tomatoes and planting "blue potatoes" to give their ornamental
gardens a touch of New World exotica to awe the neighbors.

The addition of a few ivy plants around your deity altars will spruce
them up
and make a fine gift to your sacred spaces.  For those of the Christian
persuasion, constructing an arbor and planting species roses around your
grotto would serve the same purpose.

Tidy up your garden area by removing dead plant material from your herb
beds.
If you have the space construct a compost bin where plant debris and
vegetable/fruit trimmings can be recycled back to the garden.  Never put
animal waste in the compost pile.  Not only will it cause foul and
stinking
odors but it may also attract undesirable creatures such as plague rats
to the
garden.

Happy gardening! :-)

al-Sayyid Ras
"I can only please one person per day.  Today is not your day.  Tomorrow
doesn't look good either.}
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================

--------- End forwarded message ----------

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

============================================================================
Go to http://www.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.