Herbs
enhance the foods we eat, capturing the lure of uplifting fragrances
and the hint of romance. They give us an appreciation of subtle foliage,
flowers, and flavors. Although the vitamins and minerals herbs provide
may be minute in quantity, it is the taste, mood-enhancement and health
benefits they give foods that make them so valuable.
Old
Fredericksburg Cheese Spread: Yogurt
Cheese
Place 1
quart plain yogurt on a piece of cheese-cloth. Draw all
four corners of the material up and tie securely to form
a bag. Hang this overnight from the kitchen faucet or
anywhere it can drip. The thick mass left is the yogurt
cheese. (1 quart yogurt cheese)
One 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon
chopped fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon
chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon
chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon
chopped fresh parsley
1 large
clove garlic, minced
Spread
Place all ingredients in a blender, mix
well and chill. Serve as a dip for vegetables or a spread for
crackers.
Goat
Cheese & Herb Dip
8 oz. soft
fresh goat cheese
3 T. olive oil (preferably Fredericksburg Herb Farm
Classic Herb Extra-Virgin)
3 T. plain
yogurt
2 T. chopped
fresh chives
2 T. chopped
fresh Italian parsley
1 T. chopped
fresh oregano
1-2 cloves
garlic, minced
1 T. chopped
Johnny-jump-ups or calendula petals if desired
Blend
goat cheese, oil, and yogurt in processor until smooth. Transfer
to small bowl. Mix in herbs and flowers. Season to taste with
salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until dip is cold and
flavors blend, about 3 hours. Serve dip with toasted baguette
slices and raw vegetables, or as a topping for baked potatoes.
An
Apple Bouquet of Herbs
September
is our month for making apple bouquets with herbs. When you're
working in the garden, take two-to-four inch clippings of
rosemary, lavender, thyme, santolina, artemisia and other
woody herb stems.
Select
an apple of medium size that will sit flat - you can use either
end as the base. Begin by piercing a ring of holes around
the apple, about one-fourth inch apart and on-fourth inch
up from the base (as it sits flat on your work surface). Insert
one type of herb or plant material in the first row using
your longer clippings. Continue to add rows to cover, using
shorter stems on each row as you proceed to the top.
In choosing
herbs for a bouquet, consider leaf texture, color and contrast
with the silver gray herbs. We suggest flowers like miniature
roses and lavender.
Baked
Love Apples
4 Rome Beauty
apples
1 heaping tablespoon raisins
1 heaping
tablespoon chopped walnuts
3 cups water
2 slices
lemon
1 cup brown
sugar
4 perfect
bay leaves
1 large
pinch ground cinnamon
4 cloves
Preheat
oven to 350 F. Wash apples, cut out cores, and stuff cavities
with the raisins and walnuts. Place in a shallow baking dish.
Combine remaining ingredients and pour over apples.
Bake 30-40 minutes, until
tender. Serve apples warm using a bay leaf on each for garnish.
Our
concern for health is inseparable from our pursuit of beauty.
What is it that makes us want to squeeze or slather or pat
on our outsides the things that cause us to feel good on our
insides? This impulse isn't all that illogical. The oldest
cosmetic formulas offer advice on the virtues of fruits, vegetables
and herbs in enhancing and preserving our appearance.
"You
may consider yourself happy whsen that which is your food
is also your medicine," wrote Thoreau.
Along
the Garden Path
He
was far from being the first to claim health from the
garden. For thousands of years, physicians of the body
and spirit--today's doctors and priests--were gardeners
and botanists first, healers of aches and pains second.
