Celebrating the Multicultural festivities of December, I thought I would pick an herb or spice which is referenced in the Bible (land of three of the Major Religions of the world) and used in many cuisines around the entire world, as a way of gathering together all the wealth of diversity around us - in true celebration.
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| Sweet Lavender |
Herb: Lavender (called Spikenard in the Bible) Song of Solomon 4:14 (Nard) Solomon Admires his Beloved 13"Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits, henna with nard plants, 14 Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices." John 12:3 "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment."
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| Fernleaf Lavender |
Hanukkah Continues
Lavender, Lavandula
a member of the mint (Lamiaceae).
“Lavendula
(the Latin name is believed to come from "lavare" — to wash, a
possible reference to the ancient Romans’ habit of adding lavender to their
bath water) Augustifolia, is an herb so versatile I call her the Queen of Herbs
for this fascinating herb is used in cooking, teas, cleaning (it has antiseptic
qualities), in cosmetics, as a headache remedy, and as a pest control (most
bugs stay away from lavender). The fragrance is evocative — the fragrance of
the fields of spring.
There
are over 200 varieties that have been identified. The Augustifolia [English or French]
or official lavenders are the preferred varieties for cooking, but all are
edible. As with other multiple variety herbs—some are more palatable than
others.
One
of its essential oils (linalool) is shared with other herbs including basil and
rosemary.
Many
American cooks have never considered lavender as anything other than a cosmetic
herb. If experimenting, consider substituting lavender for rosemary in cooking.
It is one of the traditional components of Herbes de Provence, a mixture used
on everything from meat to vegetables and in egg dishes.
A
common use for lavender is to flavor lemonade and cookies, and to make flavored
syrups for use with poached fruits.
Lavender
was reported as such a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, she ordered the gardeners
to keep it available at all times to make her favorite relish (a conserve of
lavender and confectioners sugar: suggested ratio is 1:3), which could be put
in tea, made into icing, etc.
Lavender is
an excellent headache remedy and relaxant. Place some in a small piece of cloth
and tuck into your pillow for more restful sleep. Queen Bess sipped lavender
tea for her migraines” –
“101+ Recipes From The Herb Lady”
Planting:
With our Mediterranean-type climate Lavender grows well here
in the desert and all 200 varieties can be grown here, whereas in 4-season
areas they are limited to a few of the Augustifolia varieties.
Plant in SUPERIOR draining
soil, in full sun. Give them room as
they can eventually get happy and big.
Plants can take a year or two to start really growing, so be
patient. DO NOT overwater. Lavender is one of the few herbs which will
not give you a second chance if you over water it.
Recipes:
These recipes are from my cookbook “101+ Recipes from The
Herb Lady”
MEATLESS
COOKING
Hot Herb Crusted Tofu
Tofu is not just for vegetarians any more; with new
science indicating the benefits of regular additions of soy to our diets, this
simple recipe can take the mild-tasting tofu up a notch. This dish can be made
savory or sweet.
1/2 package of
firm tofu*, drained well
1-2 teaspoons
dried lavender flowers
1/4 cup raw
almonds, coarsely chopped
Have a non-stick pan ready on medium heat. Mix lavender
and chopped nuts together on plate. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices, press one side into nut/herb mix, and
place nut side down in hot pan. Cook until nuts brown (about 3 minutes).
For Savory, place on bed of mixed
greens (which have been dressed with a light vinaigrette dressing), nut side
up, salt to taste and drizzle with a touch of olive oil.
For sweet, place on piece of firm
sweet bread or pound cake, drizzle with honey.
*If desired, any firm mild flavored cheese can be
substituted.
Lavender/Lime Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup sugar
(lavender colored optional)
2 tablespoons
dried lavender flowers (divided)
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon
salt
2 teaspoons
of baking powder
1/2 cup
shortening (or softened butter)
1 cup
sugar
2 eggs,
beaten
1+ teaspoon
fresh lime juice
Zest of 1
lime
1 tablespoon
milk
Grind together half cup sugar and 1 tablespoon lavender.
Reserve stored in tight container (if you do not use all of this lovely sugar
for the cookies, you can add to teas and beverages).
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cream
shortening and sugar, add eggs, lime juice, zest and rest of lavender. Add
sifted ingredients and milk, mix, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll
out to 1/4 inch and cut out cookies.
Place on cookie sheet, sprinkle with lavender sugar, and bake at 375E for 12 minutes. Do not over bake.
Music:
Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy
Heat
& Cold Miserhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQYfwXKZxA
-- Catherine, The Herb Lady
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2 comments:
Thank you David for those thoughts. I focused on the culinary herb if there was a question of which herb the Bible referred to. These references are part of why I chose to go with Lavender in this context. -- Catherine
The origin of most of these quotes comes from Dr. William Thomas Fernie, in his book "Herbal Simples" (Bristol Pub., 1895. ASIN: B0014W4WNE). A digital copy of the book can be read online via google books. 'By the Greeks the name Nardus is given to Lavender, from Naarda, a city of Syria near the Euphrates, and many persons call the plant "Nard." St. Mark mentions this as Spikenard, a thing of great value. In Pliny's time, blossoms of the Nardus sold for a hundred Roman denarii (or L.3 2s. 6d.) the pound. This Lavender or Nardus was called Asarum by the Romans, because it was not used in garlands or chaplets. It was formerly believed that the asp, a dangerous kind of viper, made Lavender its habitual place of abode, so that the plant had to be approached with great caution.'
The assumption of the history of Lavender, originating from Naarda, along with the facts about the price in Roman time, are quoted widely throughout the web (over 350 entries in a google search) calling the city Naarda, Nerdus or Nardus. The Bible has many mentions of a fragrant plant called "Nard" and an ancient Jewish Mishna recited daily in Jewish prayers, refers to "Shibolet Nard" (Hebrew for "Nard Spike") as one of the herbs used for making the holy essence at the biblical Temple. Dr. Fernie is the first known to link "Nard" with the city of Nerdus - Naarda, one of the major cities of Jewish study and origin of the Talmud, during the years 150-1100 AD Since Naarda or Nehar-D'Ah - river of Ah - was on a canal between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, it could never have been a Syrian city, but rather in present day Iraq, somewhere in the Baghdad area. Dr Fernie refers widely to Jewish studies, probably quoted from a former botanist Robert Turner.
Thank you David for the additional thoughts. Yes the reference I provided was from wikipedia's footnotes.
An Extension agent writing on whether Lavender is the Spikenard of the Bible does rely on M&M but adds:
"Spikenard is a perennial herb of the Valerian family. All of its parts contain an aromatic essential oil, especially the roots that were mixed with other oils to make the expensive spikenard ointment. This precious imported salve was commonly kept in sealed boxes of alabaster that were only opened on very special occasions. Although the Roman belles used spikenard as their favorite perfume, most modern women find its smell quite disagreeable, and it has almost become obsolete." -- www.aces.edu/urban/faithgardens/HistoricalLavender.doc
For the purposes of this post - I will let the "usability" of Lavender be the focus, over spikenard's unappealing aspect.
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