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Farm
& Garden
. Parsley,
Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
My mother discovered cooking with herbs the way only someone who had grown up with my grandmother's cooking could. Except for her ecstasy-inducing noodle kugel, Grandma's approach was simple -- boil it, salt it, eat it. But my mother, thanks G-d, learned to use spices and herbs. She had little glass jars, with pretty labels: saffron, cumin, turmeric, coriander; cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg & ginger; and ... parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme. As a little girl I used to sit at the kitchen table while my mother cooked, watching her work at the counter. She cooked cuisine from all over the world, but only French cooking had a mantra: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. My mother would chant these words like an incantation as she sprinkled pinches of green powder and leaves into her chicken marsala or veal in wine sauce. I felt certain that parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme with their beautiful names and their lovely rhythm had magical powers. My mother gave me those glass jars when she and my father moved to Florida. I keep them filled with dried herbs. But I have discovered the magic of fresh herbs for cooking and cannot bring myself to give it up, even in the winter. So every Fall I bring my herb garden inside, tend it as carefully as I can, and recite the mantra as I harvest the sprigs for cooking -- just the way my mother taught me to do ... parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme. ******* *******
If you grow herbs outdoors, you can simply dig them up and pot them. In fact rosemary is not a hardy perennial and is unlikely to survive a Vermont winter outside. Herbs like terra cotta pots. Put stones in the bottom of the pot for draining and use an all- purpose potting soil. I like to paint my pots, which cuts down on the "breathability" of the pot and keeps more moisture in the soil. You can also start herbs from seed indoors as you would any plant. Herbs need sun. They get the windowsill, even if your cat wants it. Herbs need moisture, too, which can be a challenge during heating season. Spray them with a special plant spray bottle or just a plastic atomizer you can pick up at a drug store. They also need good air circulation so the moisture doesn't encourage mold. And they need to be watered when the soil becomes dry. Don't let them sit in water.
These herbs are beautiful and you can get some lovely varieties -- like purple sage or lemon thyme. You'll see single large pots of different herbs, but I think that takes away from each herb's aura. Parsley likes to spread out from its center, like a gregarious friend. Sage has an absent-minded tangled look. Thyme, with its delicate woody stalks and tiny leaves, seems other-worldly. And regal rosemary wears its dark needles like a new coat. Each of these herbs definitely requires its own pot!
When you're not cooking, you can throw some sprigs of rosemary and thyme into water to simmer on top of the woodstove. Or just agitate the leaves after spraying to fill the room with a spicy, fresh scent. For greater variety in cooking, cover sprigs of each plant with olive oil in a clean wine bottle; add garlic cloves and peppercorns and seal with melted wax. You can also float sprigs of rosemary in melted glycerin to make an aromatic and beautiful soap. Or gather shoots of sage, bind them together tightly, hang them upside down to dry. Then you can burn the edges, spreading the smoke to cleanse the air. But mainly cook. We have winter for a reason. So we can simmer soups and roast vegetables. So we can slow-cook stews and bake savory breads. So we can do magic like my mother did -- with parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit a feature for our Farm & Garden section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at farmgarden@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******
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