Parsley, Mint and Lemon Herb Salad

Sometimes you come across a herb dish that is simple and a memorable occasion. Herb salads are generally underrated, but the health benefits and pleasure from eating herb salads are far reaching if you spend some time preparing them.

One particular recipe sticks in my mind from two years ago when it was made by a friend of mine when they cam to visit me in the summer. It is parsley and mint based as we had lots of it growing on the farm. This salad was a fresh, summer's evening herb salad that will make you taste buds come alive and give you a big tonic for living the good life. The vitamins it contains are full of healthy goodness.

The recipe was just made up off the cuff at the time, but I remember exactly how my friend actually made it and thought is was about time I put in down for others to share.

Parsley Mint and Lemon Herb Salad

It will serve up to four and shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

Sunflower Oil or Olive oil if you can get it
Juice of one whole lemon
2 cloves finely chopped
Two handfuls of fresh parsley (you can include the stalks)
One handful of fresh mint leaves
2 lemons
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Mix the oil, lemon juice, garlic, a touch of salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and mint leaves and put into a salad bowl. Peel the lemons and and chop them up finely, then add to the parsley and mint. Toss together add the salad dressing mixture prepared and toss again. Taste and add more salt or pepper is needed.

A great first course which will also give a paletable path for the main course ahead!

Herbs in History

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavour, scent, or the like. This has been known for thousands of years and it worth just looking back in time where in some cases the use of herbs hasn't changed much.

Historically herbs have always played a part in society. The study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years right back to the Sumerians. They had recorded proven medicinal uses for herbs such as laurel, caraway, and thyme. The Ancient Egyptians used herbs for medicine of 1000 BC. Evidence of the use of garlic, opium, castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo and other varieties of herbs used for medicine. In the Bible from The Old Testament is indeed testament that herbs were used and cultivated. Typical herbs that were used included andrake, vetch, caraway, wheat, barley, and rye.

Going back to around 1900 BC, the Indian Ayurveda had been using herbs such as turmeric and curcumin for medicinal purposes. There are many other herbs that have been recorded in Ayurveda. Later on the Charaka and Sushruta both Indian herbalists are evident around 1000 BC. The Sushruta Samhita in the 600 BC describes over 700 medicinal plants as well as 64 preparations from mineral sources. This for its time was a comprehensive catalogue of the use of herbs.

In China the first herbal book called the Shennong Bencao Jing was written during the Han Dynasty. However this dates back to 2700 BC. It lists 365 herbs used for medicine with instructions and procedures for their uses. Generations beyond this in China increased the reference book culminating in a republished edition called 'Treatise on the Nature of Medicinal Herbs.' This was finalised in 700 AD and is still used today as a reference.

Ancient Greeks and Romans made good use of medicinal use of herbs. Most of their practices are recorded and preserved the writings of Hippocrates. Galen was probably the most famous as he provided many foundations for modern day medicine we use now. Hippocrates taught the use of a few simple herbal drugs alongside fresh air, rest, and proper diet for a healthy life. Nothing much has changed with advice in the 21st Century! A contemporary of Hippocrates was Galen, his view was to use large doses of drug mixtures which also included plant, animal and mineral ingredients. He drafted the first European treatise on the properties and uses of medicinal plants called 'De Materia Medica'. In 100 AD, yet another Greek, Dioscorides, composed a compendium of more that 500 herbal plants, a masterpiece of reference to herbs that stood firm right through to the 17th Century.

The fascination of herbs stands firm throughout time, but even today we are still finding new uses and new undiscovered herbs that continue to improve the health of those who use them.

Havesting Herbs - Tips to Take

Apart from eating herbs the most rewarding facet is the harvesting of you home-grown produce. Picking a bunch of fresh herbs to use for cooking is a pleasure everyone can enjoy. With this there is a danger that when this is done, you don't ruin further growth and sustainability of the herb plant.

The secret is to use a little at a time. A few leaves added to a salad or a marinade is fine. Al that needs to be done is pinch the leaves off with your fingers. Don't tug and pull, the whole stem may well come off if you do. Apart from battering the herb plant it will leave enough leaves in place for the plant to continue growing unaffected and provide more produce later after a further period.

If the season is now at an end you may want to harvest the whole plant and preserve it use out of season. This is where the whole plant can either be dug up or cut down from the base of the main stem. This can then be prepared for freezing, dried or used as it is as an ingredient to other preserves such as vinegar or dressings.

Try to pick a dry day to harvest your herbs late morning onwards is good when all the morning moisture from the dew has evaporated. Make sure you harvest before the plants have flowered. The oil content in the herbs' leaves are at their peak just before flowering starts. Deadhead the flowers from the herb for it to keep producing as many leaves as possible.

Try to plan your harvest on the same day you intend to use them. This way there will be no lost of flavour or freshness.

You need a little patience to wait until the herb plants have fully developed into adult plants that will be robust enough to take a picking or two and recover with ease. And then you should never cut more than a third of the plant in one picking. The plant will need time to recover and regain its grow after this.

If you have no nails to pinch the leave off use a sharp pair of scissors and try to make sure it is done is a clean and clinical way.

Most herbs that are annual, such as basil and parsley should be topped off when harvesting. Only take leaves from the growing tips of the plants, the herb will then go on to produce more leaves and fewer flowers. In essence you are providing the herb with an extended life of production by doing this.

After harvesting, the herbs should be rinsed in clean cold water, which will give then the signal, just like rain does to keep their flavour and colour closed in.

Harvesting is one of the most enjoyable aspects of growing herbs. With this advice you should not spoilt or kill and crops you have taken the time and effort to grow.

Finally, make sure the children are part of the harvest help; this will ensure that there will be another generation who carry this wonderful pastime. A child’s memory of a harvest will be remembered for a lifetime.

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Bulgarian Herb Pasta

Introduction

This was a recipe given to me by a Bulgarian Baba Mama in my village, of Skalitsa, she grows all her own herbs including all in this recipe. She used dried Bulgarian pasta which is just as good as any expensive Italian imported product.

The herbs just bring out the flavour of the bland pasta and with the strong olive and herb content gives you a contrast of flavours that match so well. Any pasta can be used and either fresh or dry versions. Although fresh herbs are better, dried can and often is a good substitute.

Ingredients

300 grams uncooked pasta
225 grams butter or margarine
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon fresh savory
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
6 large sliced black olives

Notes: Substitute one teaspoon for on tablespoon if using dried herbs.

For dried herb advice click on Use-of-dried-herbs

Method

Prepared the pasta by cooking following given instruction.

Melt the butter or margarine over a low to medium heat then stir in the garlic on a medium heat cooking until soft. Stir in all of the the herbs.

Put the cooked pasta after draining into a large bowl. Add the butter/margarine and the herb mixture gently fold it in until fully mixed in. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Finally, cover the top with the black olive slices. Serve.

Conclusion

You won't be disappointed and yet another example of the simplest homemade food being the best tasting and the best for your health.

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Horny goat weed

The herb Horny goat weed or Epimedium caught my eye today. Forget Viagra this apparently has the same affect. The herb originates from Eastern Asia.

Apart from the root the whole plant is used. The aerial part of the herb is gathered in spring and autumn, dried in the sun and cut into pieces.

This herb stimulates the parts in the sexual organs, giving stronger genital feelings. It also proven to increase sperm production and subsequently give better fertility. It goes further into stimulating the central nervous system with increased sexual desire resulting. Your vitality is also increased alongside all these other benefits

Appropriately names 'Horny Goat Weed' is a traditional natural medicine used in China and Japan. This herb, also know as Yin Yang Huo, Inyokaku and Herba Epimedii, has a history of traditional use for disorders of the kidneys, joints, liver, back and knees. Even with all these benefits, the principle use is as an aphrodisiac.

There is a exporter of the raw herb from Southern China specialising in this particular herb. It gives further information about it's benefits, not talking too technical though. You might want to have a read.

http://www.epimedium-horny-goat-weed.com/

There are also sites that sell the herb in pill form with the same format and claimed affects as Viagra without side affects. Sales talk or fact? I suppose you'd have to try it yourself to find out!




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Passion Flower

The passion flower has a great fascination, it is a flower that many recognise but fail to realise it is a herb. It is a creeping vine native to the southern tropical and subtropical United States, Mexico, central and South America but now thrives in many other parts of the world due to cultivation.

The word 'Passion' doesn't refer to love, but to the passion of Christ on the cross associated in the 15th and 16th century Christian theology.

The native Americans used it as a medicine to sedate and treat insomnia. Its used extensively in America in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and from there spread world-wide. Nowadays the the passion flower is still used as a sedative, sleep aid and treatment for anxiety and nervousness.

It is the first herb that herbalists will prescribe for insomnia, it encourages restful sleep without any of the problems associated with other chemical bound, man-made sedatives. No hangover with the passion flower herb remedy. The fresh or dried leaves are used to make an infusion, a tea for this remedy. A simple recipe for this is given below.

The painkilling properties of the passion flower are now well know and good for neuralgia and shingles conditions. The leaves and the roots of some species contain more and have been used to enhance the effects of mind-altering drugs. If the leaves are dried, they also can also be smoked.

Anxiety related symptoms are often treated with the passion flower as well as as irritable bowel, breathlessness or palpitations. It is well known as an anti-depressant where it gently elevates levels of nerve activity in the brain giving a more balancing mood.

So, the passion flower is not just a pretty face.

You can buy dried passion flower from many online dealers, this site recetnly added it to their stocks.

http://www.spiceworld.uk.com/


And Finally a tea Recipe to help you sleep at night.

Passion Flower Tea Recipe

Ingredients

1 tbsp. dried passion flower
1 cup boiling water

Method

Stir the herb into the cup of boiling water and leave 10 minutes
drink just before at bedtime.

You will find this aromatic and full of flavour.

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The Use of Dried Herbs

Wherever you are in the world, fresh herbs cannot be grown fresh locally unless they are imported. Provisions for this are made by using dried herbs, never really as good as the fresh but still makes a major difference in the taste factor in foods. Added to this they still retain many of the compounds that benefit our health and body.

Using dried herbs is common with many home keeping supplies in their larders, in fact many don't even use fresh even when in season. Dried herbs are freely available at most food shops and at every supermarket so access to dried herbs is never a problem. The recipes that require fresh herbs nearly always have an option to include dried herbs therefore can be made the whole year round.

Being dried, herbs loose all of the liquid content and they become more concentrated than the fresh produce. With this you need to use less to create the same power of flavour.

There is a rule of thumb that says the conversion rates recommended is quite simply to substitute one teaspoons of dried for every tablespoon of fresh herbs.

Most recipes can cater for dried herbs as a substitute but there are other than can't especially if the herb is the major ingredient to the recipe, i.e. pesto.

In some cases dried herbs are actually better than fresh, When I make my own bread I have experimented with both and the dried herbs wins hands down. So they do have their benefits.

In stews and sauces dried herbs are used often with bay leaves being used extensively and more effectively dried and also ground up in Asian dishes

Salads aren't as successful with dried herbs but a salad dressing can be quite effective adding the herb element in a disguised fashion.

The dried herb production is essential for all year access to herb based recipes and it is the most practical thing to do with the surplus herbs during their cropping season. Don't feel it is cheating using dried herbs, it's not, it is just using natures way off preserving, no chemicals involved don't forget!



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