Fall Planting Preparation

Dear Folks,

It is that time of year when we dream of spring -- excuse me, fall!

Most long-time desert valley gardeners know the fall to be our primary planting time for perennials, fruit trees and winter annuals. We look with anticipation to the temperatures dropping back down below 200 degrees (really below 100 consistently by mid-September) and getting our hands dirty once more.

Here are some helpers:

First, consider signing up for my inexpensive reminder email service to give you the detailed "plant this, do this" info several times a month. Payment link is here. Just $15/year if you sign up before October 1st.

Second, look to your local nurseries for seeds and plants. One great plant nursery is Harper's

Harper's Nurseries, a third-generation family and locally owned garden nursery, began with a WWII Victory Garden.

There is no better time than now to return to that same practical economy of growing some or all of your own vegetables, fruits and herbs.

With our valley prime planting season for perennials, trees and winter annuals beginning October 1st, it is time to get ready to dig, plant, sow and then reap your own "victory garden" with the help of Harper's friendly staff.

And they have a special "Garden Club" for customers with monthly meetings, email newsletters, and rewards for purchases. Ask about it when you call or visit or check it out on their website.

Two locations, one in Mesa and one in Scottsdale.
Website: http://www.harpersnursery.com/
Mesa Phone: 480 964-4909
Scottsdale Phone: 480 946-3481

Third, listen to my latest podcast show on "nurse" plants and plantings. This concept is so useful right now and then again in the real spring planting time, when temperatures gallop into the fry range again. Click here, or look to the sidebar for show/episode lists.

One last personal note, Deane came through his surgery just fine and is in the recovery/bored to tears/cabin fever stage, but he is doing great. My sister also went through some back surgery, one of the most amazing newest technologies, an instance fix for a crack vertebrae, nothing short of miracle type-stuff.

Take care folks, and have a great time getting your fall garden ready,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Our Weekend - A Tale of Three Vehicles And a Trailer Park

Dear Folks,

As mentioned in yesterday's post - we had such a weekend I just had to write it as a short story - hope you enjoy it!

A Tale of Three Vehicles And a Trailer Park
A short, but true, story by Catherine Crowley

It will probably be about 103+ degrees today and the humidity is up, so at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning in August we are getting ready to take our hike in Usery Mountains in the far East Valley.

My name is Catherine, my hiking partner is my long-time friend and companion Deane and the third person you will meet today is friend Jodi.

The telephone rings. Now everyone know that someone calling at 5 a.m. on any morning let alone a weekend is not someone bearing good news.

It's Jodi, thinking she is just going to leave a message but I scoop up the phone, and she explains the RV resort where she has her mobile home is dark and completely without power. This is one of those great resorts, like a small-city, where some folks live year-round but many come for the winter to enjoy all the outdoorsy stuff and the country-club like amenities.

Since it is early we all agree to check with her when Deane and I get back from our hike.

We climb into Deane's Toyota truck and go off to our hike, it goes nicely, and come back.

I go to my office to do some work and Deane calls Jodi to check in with her. The news is not good - the power is still out and since it is going to be roasting outside and inside her home in short order, Deane gets back into the Toyota and picks up Jodi with things she needs for the day, brings her back, and settles her in for a nap - it was a really long night for her as the power outage began in one part of the park the prior evening and continued to blink out the rest of the homes in the park a little at a time.

Deane tries to get some more sleep but can't so we chat a bit and I decide to go do some errands and shopping I had planned for the day - it is about 9 a.m. at this point.

Because my Dodge van has been leaking a bit of radiator fluid I decided to check to see if I need to top it off. Deane is chatting with me as I check the fluid level and not only is the radiator dry, but there is a dime-size hole in the lower hose. Well darn, and darn!

Now in the ordinary coarse of life replacing a radiator hose is a messy job, but not hard. And Deane will replace the hose, but we need to get the several pieces to do that.

It is still relatively cool outside, the van is in the shade - this is a big deal here in the summer - but Jodi is sleeping and we don't want to wake her to tell her we are going to get parts, so I decide to get the food items we planned for dinner. Deane wants to do one of his favorite meals "Crab Louis" and we need some additional ingredients. So I decide to take the Toyota - the one we used for hiking earlier and go to the store, which I do.

I head out to Fry's ‘cause its close and I know where everything on my list is so I can keep it to a short trip. Get to the store, shop and exit in record time, put the things in the cab of the truck (pickup) put the cart in the cart coral, get in the truck and it won't start! Well triple darn!

Deane had been having trouble intermittently with the Toyota not starting, but since it appeared to be one of those ‘get the key just so' things I waited, tried again, waited, tried again, etc. for about 4 or 5 times and decided if it was something like the starter or solenoid it was not going to help. So I climb out of the Toyota and call Deane on the pay phone.

He gets it on the second ring and I tell him what's going on - and of course I have fresh food in the truck and it is probably now about 95 degrees outside. Deane says he will take the Jeep over and give me a jump-start, if it will start - he has not driven it regularly (1951 Willys - Deane's main ‘squeeze-love'), so he may have to put it on the battery charger to get it going.

So I wait - I'm dripping sweat, and yes I could go in the store, but I can at least sit in the truck, I'm parked facing away from the sun, and I cover the food to keep it from warming too fast. I decide to count my blessings, ‘cause the day is not going well. We have friends and neighbors who can help us out, I have Deane in my life, it is only about 3-4 miles to the house, so I can walk home if I need too, and it ISN'T 115 degrees! - which is was two weeks ago.

Deane shows up in the Jeep about 20 or so minutes after my call and says on starting the Jeep it gave this funny kind of hiss he had noticed when backing it in the last time he ran it - he could not find anything upon lifting the hood that time, but he did this time - the carburetor base was cracked and one bolt was only holding the broken flange - not good! (Understatement here).

He tried his key in the Toyota and the silly thing started right up! We made sure he could get the Jeep started too and we both made it home and the food was okay.

Now we have 3 vehicles and a RV trailer park with mechanical / electrical problems and I contemplate calling my cousin Gayle to find out if Mercury is retro-grade for mechanical issues!

Jodi is up by now so we plot our next course of action. The Jeep is dangerous to drive with the carburetor sucking air and likely to spout gas. The Dodge is down until the radiator hose is replaced and the Toyota does not reliably start with the key, and it is a Saturday.

The Toyota is, luckily, a manual trans, it is about 11:30, so we decide to take the Toyota to run for parts for the Dodge, and plan on ALWAYS parking it on an incline in case we have to push start it, and we take off.

Two hours later we have hit the four major auto parts suppliers and a dealership parts department (which we missed by 10 minutes their having just closed as we pulled in) and we have a hose, reducer coupling for the narrow end of the radiator, clamps, and we have not had to push start the Toyota once!

Now, I enjoy a glass of wine or bottle of beer sometimes and I have been very good for a couple of months now because I want to 1) not drink as much so I've had maybe a glass of wine or beer, maybe two, about every two weeks, and 2) I am trying to loose the rest of the weight I want to take off. Deane is not a drinker with the very, very rare exception of a glass of plum wine or very sweet red port. I suggest one last stop for some cheese and to see if they have a bottle of wine for me and some plum wine for Deane - we are beginning to think a liquid dinner is due.

So we stop at Fresh & Easy because I know they have the cheese I like and they may likely have the plum wine. We get the shopping done, joking about explaining to Jodi that Deane and I are having a liquid dinner and she can have all the food - it is that kind of day, and at this point you can only laugh and joke about things.

It is about 2:30, we are about 2 miles away from the house, we are getting ready to exit the parking lot and an ambulance goes by in the direction we are going to go. Deane jokes that we can exit easier because everyone else has to pull over and we are going in the ambulance's wake. We exit, get up to the next traffic light, which is now red, where we will be turning right - luckily, and we hear the sound of another ambulance coming up from behind us, but far enough away that we have time to turn as the light turns green. The clutch slips, the engine stalls and dies and won't re-start!

The guy in the back of us is blowing his horn, the ambulance is coming up fast, and we hop out and start to push the Toyota around the corner and we are on an uphill sloop. The guy behind us finally sees what is going on and gets out to push from behind, we get it rolling and Deane hops in while I'm still pushing and pops the clutch and the engine roars alive! Deane has to pull me in ‘cause my bad hips and knees won't let me jump — the ambulance clears around us and the corner just as the clutch popped the engine started and we are out of its way.

At this point I'm laughing so hard I'm still trying to catch my breath - the only thing you can do on a day like this is laugh.

We get home, unload the parts and food and it is close to 3 o'clock..

It is too hot for Deane to work on the Dodge, so he picks up his guitar and does some practice, we get our meal put together and eat about 3:30 or 4. Deane goes to work on the Dodge about 6 p.m. with what little help I can offer and the Dodge is fixed by 7:30 - the power is still not on at Jodi's home and park so she spends the night.

It's Sunday, Jodi went back to a functioning home about 4 p.m. The Dodge runs fine, the Toyota will probably need a starter but we can deal with that later, and Deane's going to order the Jeep carburetor on Monday or Tuesday. Deane is practicing on his guitar and I am reading "The World in Six Glasses." Think I will have another glass or two of the wine we bought yesterday.



DEANE'S CRAB LOUIS SALAD

Lettuce mix
Imitation Crab (can be eaten by folks allergic to shell fish and it is cheaper)
1 hard boiled egg for each person, shelled and sliced
for each person half tomato, sliced and quartered
lemons, 1 quarter for each person
bacon pieces (I bought a nice ‘natural' no nitrates and we cooked it up fresh)
ranch-style dressing.

I like to squeeze some of the lemon over the crab pieces while preparing the rest of the fixins' - I also like to add some chopped fresh herbs to any lettuce mix I use for salads.

Assemble: place a small pile of lettuce on each plate, spread chopped tomato on lettuce, top with crab pieces, place sliced egg over all like petals, and sprinkle with bacon pieces.

Serve with lemon wedge and dressing on the side.


Have a great day, folks,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Hot August in the Garden and Kitchen

Dear Folks,

Temperatures up and down, humidity up and down - typical summer in the southwest desert. Last Thursday it started out with overcast skies, the pumpkin seedlings coming up (see note below about the picture of the seedlings) and the Arabian Jasmin in full and fragrant bloom and my experiment with growing sweet potatoes producing good vines anyway.



Pumpkin seedlings: You can see the small tube of chicken wire I've placed there. The first sowing of the pumpkins seeds a couple of weeks earlier were dug up by the birds, bless their feathery-hides, so I went back to a tried and true method to keep new sowings safe. Plant the seeds, cover lightly with soil, crush some dried leaves over to keep moisture in, water lightly (don't do too much right now or you could wash the seeds out) and place a tube of chicken wire around them. I keep the tube in place until the seedlings have a good head start then remove and allow the plant to continue unlimited growth. We use these kinds of tubes or even large square 'hats' for protection from the birds and bunnies until new growth is galloping along.

My cucumber is not only hanging in there (literally and figuratively) but is thriving with huge yellow flowers beloved by the bees - when getting this picture, Deane had a picture of a honeybee in one flower and a carpenter bee in another flower, when he tried to get a closer look as the carpenter bee moved to the same flower as the honey bee the carpenter bee kicked the honeybee off the flower - talk about territorial disputes.


Bullies in the garden are not limited to critters - some plants can be bullies too. The garlic chives can become so dense nothing else will grow easily amongst them, so it is a good idea to clear out clumps from time to time.

The garlic chives are starting to put out flower buds (everything on the chive is edible from the bulb, leaves (most often used) the flowers and the seeds). The cucumber plant decided to rejuvenate after Deane did a clearing of excess material. The horseradish plant I left in the ground is dying back, but there are younger plants that seems to be taking off. Some of the scented geraniums died back and I'm trying to figure out if there was a specific cause for it.

The desert summer garden is like that: you win a lot and lose some, even with 'expert' experience.

As we move towards the end of the monsoon season make good use of your water/moisture meter to make sure you are not over/under watering. After going through some of the most intense summer weather this is the time when some gardeners lose plants, because the transitional times of the year can be the most problematic — attention to a schedule as opposed to what is happening in the garden can mean the cause of some plants dying off before their time.

RECIPES:

Tarragon, both French and Mexican/Spanish are doing well in the garden, so here is another use for tarragon. Make the meal lighter with the side salad dressed with lemon juice and black pepper.

IMITATION CRAB WITH TARRAGON BUTTER
1 package (8 oz) imitation crab
1-2 lemons squeezed to give you 1/4 c juice
3 tablespoons of salted butter melted
1 tablespoons of fresh tarragon finely chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh chives or onion tops finely chopped
pepper to taste.

Mix lemon juice, melted butter, tarragon, chives and pepper to taste. Adjust for salt if needed.
Dip crab pieces and enjoy!
A green salad on the side, with a light vinaigrette dressing and you have a great lunch or light dinner.

WRAP SANDWICHES
Wraps are great for hot weather and families on the go. Use tortillas or soft flat breads, large lettuce leaves or both for the wrappers. Perfect for a buffet, let folks make their own from platters of ingredients.
PROTEIN: Sliced or slivered meat, cheese, tofu, whole shrimp, or a mix of precooked beans and cheese
HERBS: leaves of these herbs work well in wraps: Basil, mint, lemon balm and Epazote (great with beans or tofu) -- these herbs are in season right now, you can also add cilantro and parsley
VEGGIES: bean sprouts, slivered cucumber, squash, radish, Jicama
SAUCE: Mayo, yogurt, seafood cocktail sauce (particular good because of the horseradish) barbeque sauce, plain horseradish, salsa, or favorite salad dressing.
On the open tortilla, layer herbs first, then protein, veggies and then a line of the sauce over all, fold up and dip into extra sauce of your choice.
NOTE: if you grow mammoth basil, the leaves make great wrappers for mini wrap sandwiches, put only enough ingredients to allow you to wrap the basil leaf around all.

For more detailed how-to gardening and harvesting information - subscribe to my new e- newsletter - just $15 a year if you sign up before October - link in top side bar or click here to go to payment window

Tomorrow I'm posting a short story - we had the most incredible weekend, I thought I would write about it.



Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening - Camping Skills for Women - and a recipe!

Dear Folks,

Thanks to Arizona Dun-Deane, I am a skilled survival camper - when we camp we are in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything remotely civilized and throughly enjoying it. In the course of learning how to take care of myself in "the wild" the other part of enjoying the experience is the supreme appreciation of the flora and fauna and the knowledge to leave only footprints and no human impact on the area. Whether we are in the desert or the mountains taking only pictures and learning the land is another way to learn about oneself.

Luckily for you folks who do not have your own Arizona Dun-Deane, there is BOW -- "Becoming an Outdoors Woman" offering a weekend Camp Experience in Prescott August 14-16, 2009. Dozens of classes are taught at Camp Friendly Pines near Prescott. Enrollment for the weekend includes: classes, meals and cabin lodging all for $240.

Click here to learn about the program and find the registration form. To view pictures from previous camps click here for their photo gallery.

Call or email for information direct to: Kimberlee Kreuzer 480-644-0077 or email awf@azwildlife.org

FROM MY RECIPE FILE:

One of the 'civilized' meals we make while camping is a canned version of Salad Nicoise with lots of options. Since the primary ingredients are canned, you can have this ready to make salad anywhere.

CATHERINE'S CAMPING SALAD NICOISE
This is enough for 2-3 people, depending on appetites

1 6 oz. can of water packed tuna
1 8 oz (apprx) can of cut green beans in water
1 8 oz (apprx) can of stewed tomatoes
Italian-type salad dressing/vinaigrette (homemade, dry packaged, or bottled)
Optional:
1 small can of potatoes
1-2 tablespoons of capers
Other options include canned anchovies, olives, hard cooked eggs, red peppers, shallots, artichoke hearts and you might enjoy a rustic/crusty bread with it also.

Drain canned foods (Arizona Dun-Deane likes to drink the water from everything but the tuna), fold together gently - you don't want to mash the food - add capers if desired, toss with enough dressing to coat well but don't make it soggy. Eat and enjoy. Protein, Fiber, Lycopene, Vitamins, Minerals and some salt and fat - this is the kind of meal that is healthy and satisfying - just watch the salt content of the canned foods.

Enjoy!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening - Clarifying Using "Food Stamps" for Plants

Dear Folks,

In my eagerness to get the word out on those qualifying for the food stamp program -- now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP (which is administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service) -- I may have confused you readers about who and what qualifies for the programs.

I was trying to keep all the abbreviations to a minimum but unfortunately some important distinctions got lost.

The SNAP recipients are given a debit-type card now a-days instead of the old coupons, and the card is an EBT (electronic benefit transfer) which can be used through participating farmers markets, vendors and retailers who accept them. This card can be used to purchase qualifying food, food plants and seeds to grown food plants.

All farmers markets, vendors and retailers (including plant nurseries) who want to accept SNAP have to apply to the program to be able to accept the EBT card (with modern POS systems the "button" for EBT may be on the system but this does not mean it is "activated" - the retailer has to be admitted to the SNAP program by the administering agency).

WIC (Women, Infants and Children) coupons DO NOT qualify to purchase food plants or seeds for food Plants. A program for Seniors called Food Plus, is similar in scope. WIC and Food Plus recipients can purchase locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables at farmers markets in Arizona under the AzDES administered Farmers Market Nutrition Program - FMNP.

Recipients of FMNP may also qualify for the SNAP. Because of the nature of the various support programs, recipients of one program may qualify for other programs based on income and need.

More information on programs and who qualifies is here: This is a site run by Arizona Community Action Association and these folks can help as they work closely with AzDES.

This page on the USDA site has eligible and non-eligible products.

My special thanks to Cindy Gentry of Food Connection for helping me get the correct information into your hands.

And a few final words in support of these programs -- I can't help but think that anyone who can garden achieves benefits too numerous to count, so any assistance that can be lent by the community or a municipality is a support OF and FOR the community, not just the individual recipients - be sure to click on the Food Connection link and read the whole home page - I think it says a lot.

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Edible Landscaping News Service Launched

Dear Folks,

I now have my new service up and running.

You can click this link and read the archive notice dated July 28th for all the information. There is no obligation to learn about the service and I'm offering a special 'charter' member rate of 30% off the annual subscription price.

After many years of writing about and receiving questions on how to successfully grow edibles in the desert, I realized most people need a simple reminder system, where they do not have go and look it up. "Edible Landscaping Success in the Desert Southwest" newsletter is it! Several times a month you will receive notices of what to plant and when, and also when to harvest. Included will be detailed information, tips and recipes. The service is $21 per year, but for 'charter' members their subscription will be just $15 if you sign up before September 30th.

For gardeners I think this will be a great resource because I am going to give you the benefit of my expertise, failures and research,.so you do not have to look it up.

Oh and if you would not personally use the service, you can give it as a gift to someone, who can. Just email to:

catherine at herbs2u.net

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening -- Practical Ecnomy - The Home Garden

Dear Folks,

"Practical Economy" is the term I like to apply to growing your own edibles either by yourself or in conjunction with neighbors for your own "neighborhood community garden."

Who does not need 'practical economy' now - if you do not know someone who was downsized, reduced to a restricted income, or struggling to raise a family on low wages, you are very, very lucky.

I just learned about the extent of the food and nutrition program or Nutrition Assistance (formerly called food stamps) for those who qualify for the EBT card version (this is a debit-type card) of the food purchasing supplement. For those who qualify (can include seniors, working 'poor', disabled, unemployed, and other limited/low-income folks) the EBT - where accepted can be used to purchase not only food, but also seeds and plants to grow your own food at your home! How neat is that! See the government site here for information and what is covered by the EBT.

So what retailers will accept the EBT card? Well that is an interesting question posed to me by a reader, a single mother raising children on her limited salary. So I went searching and asking questions of not only the Mesa Farmers Market where I sell plants, cuttings and seeds, but I also started to inquire around the valley.

Here is the basic information. If your local farmers market and/or the individual farmers and food producers accept the EBT then you can purchase food plants and seeds for food plants from them.

Click here to find markets in Arizona and look for the words "foods stamps" under the Market Name. Currently the ability to purchase plants and seeds is NOT available to those receiving only WIC supplements - I understand that is supposed to be reviewed by the government sometime in the future.

How about plant nurseries?

Jay Harper at Harper Nurseries and Landscaping - one of the valley's oldest family-owned (3 generations), locally run nurseries, told me no one has asked as of yet, but he is pretty sure their systems will accept the EBT card for food plant and food seed purchases. Since each retailer or group (like the farmers markets) have to apply to be able to accept EBT, not everyone who sells plants and seeds may be able to take the EBT card. Check with your neighborhood retailer.

I am getting this information out in hopes that all local retailers of food plants and seed for food plants will consider becoming qualified to accept EBT. Instead of grass-roots we can call this a "food-roots" effort. Even if you personally do not need EBT, nor know anyone who does, this is about helping as many people as possible grow some of their own food -- Practical Economy for now and in the future.

I am working on seeking out other possible sources for those wishing to use some of their EBT supplement to garden with - the potential bounty and food savings of a cared-for-food garden far exceeds the cost of seeds and some plants, a huge potential that should be considered by any one, but particularly by those living on fixed or limited incomes.

Kimber Lanning the founder and president of LocalFirstAZ is excited about this idea and is going to get the word out to members. Click here to go to LFA for information on any product or service you need (not just food sources), and support your local community businesses and neighbors.

You CANNOT use the EBT card to purchase food through the Internet - another reason to find close-by local producers and another win/win situation supporting local producers of not only food, but food plants and food plant seeds.

For Arizona residents click here to learn how someone you know may qualify for the program.

For more general information and frequently asked questions see here - one common misconception is that this program is "welfare" - it is not - no longer called welfare, the "Cash Assistance" recipients may also qualify for the nutrition assistance program but the two programs are different, separately managed and have different qualification criteria.

One last note about growing some of your own food - in her book Animal Vegetable Miracle, Barbara Kinsolver comments about their trip through Italy and how every single home in the areas they visited had some form of vegetable garden, no matter how small, nor location -- it is simply the way it is done there and has always been. Modern times have given us many benefits, but let's go backwards to the time our grandparents always had a kitchen garden, it was the way it was done, and then came TV dinners -- if you want TV dinners you can make your some from your own backyard! Now that is a real benefit.

And, just so you know, I may sell a couple more packages of seeds or a few more plants, but this really about my basic passion and mission - I want YOU, who ever you are, to garden successfully and enjoy the thrill and taste of food from your own backyard.

Have a great day in the garden, (early morning and evening of course, right now),


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Events at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and Desert Botanical Garden

Howdy Folks,

For you photography and budding artists, among other tours and workshops, the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) is offering an artist workshop and a photography workshop coming up in August.

Click here for information on the BTA site.

And the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) offers great tours and events also. They have a neat "garden flashlight tour" which is great for the children.

Click here for information on the DBG site.

I present classes and lectures at both gardens and encourage your support of both our local Botanical museums.

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Green Shopping - What Do Advertisers Focus On

Howdy folks,

Every so often I really sit up and take notice of an advertisement that rings a warning bell in my brain. Recently I wrote about the whole issue of 'food grade white distilled vinegar' being made from petroleum.( Click here to read that post if you don't see it on this front page.) I learned about that from an ad for Heinz vinegar touting their made from real food vinegar and of course did some research.

Here is another one of those ads that got me checking. Total cereal was comparing itself to Kashi Go Lean, as having 100% of a bunch of vitamins, and that Kashi had virtually none. WELL, since I like Kashi as one of my cereal choices, and since Total is a long time favorite of many folks (not me, but that is just taste preference) I went researching and what did I find?

It is true that Total has more 100% of certain vitamins and minerals, HOWEVER, there is little else to redeem it when compared to Kashi (with one exception, and I will discuss that).

First a little nutrient math.

Calorie intake recommendations for a woman (2000 calories) or a man (2500 Calories) require a certain amount of protein and fiber each day to maintain optimal health (brain function, tissue maintenance and digestive tract health, among other things), plus of course many other elements like vitamins and minerals. For the sake of this post I'm dealing only with the protein and fiber, since without them vitamins and minerals would be useless. A person consuming 2000 calories a day needs 60 grams of protein and a 2500 a day calorie diet requires 65 grams of protein a day. Each needs about 25 grams of fiber a day. If you have not caught all the discussions about fiber, it is a two-fold requirement of our bodies -- it keeps the digestive tract working properly without laxatives and it also keeps cholesterol and blood sugar at good levels.

Since most folks give a decent breakfast only a nodding acknowledgment, cereal is the choice of many people.

Adela Davis, one of the early promoters of better eating (she had her detractors - but over all her recommendations were very sound) said to, "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and eat dinner like a pauper." Farmers and ranchers tend to follow this regime with huge breakfasts followed by lighter lunch and dinners.

If you take the protein and fiber requirements of each meal - simply dividing 3 into the protein and fiber gram recommendations) you come up with each of our typical 3 meals a day should have 20-22 grams of protein and 8-9 grams of fiber, give or take.

In looking at Total's nutrient chart - the side of the box label - what you are really consuming with a bowl of total cereal - aside from the milk - is a multi-vitamin pill - in fact one buyer of Total through Amazon.com grocery section suggests that is why they choose Total -- they don't have to take a pill!

Well how about the math? Good Apple in Apache Junction (an independent health food/supplement store) sells a high quality 1-a-day multi-vitamin/mineral called "Little Super 1 Daily) and each pill costs about 7 cents - a day. Total cereal is about 27-35 cents per bowl. If you want to take a multi-vitamin I think the pill (as long as it is a superior quality) is the better economy.

Here is how the numbers work out.

Kashi Go Lean - Honey Almond Flax

Calories 200 (1 cup)
Protein 9 Grams
Fiber 8 Grams
0 cholesterol

Total Cereal

Calories 100 (3/4 cup)
Protein 2 grams
Fiber 3 Grams
0 cholesterol

Add 1/2 cup of milk to each cereal for 4 grams of protein, and you can see that where a meal that is supposed to get you going for the day and keep you satisfied until lunch, will be way under-performing if you rely on Total.

What is the one exception of Kashi superiority over Total? Sugar - but wait there is more. First the stats. A bowl of Kashi (before milk) has 12 grams of sugar, and a bowl of Total (before milk) has 4 grams of sugar. The USDA recommendations for both carbohydrates and sugar are that total carbs should be approximately 50% (250 grams) to 60% (300 grams) of your total calorie intake and of that sugar should not exceed 40 grams per day.

Keep in mind real sources of fat and sugar are not enemies unless you over indulge and I don't have to explain that to you -- we all know what over indulging is - when we know what we are eating.

Not all sugars are equal - no pun intended. Tops on my favorite mis-leading advertisers and claims are all the mis-direction about corn syrups, particularly high fructose corn syrup as opposed to cane sugar.

The research keeps piling up about the serious down-side of the consumption of high fructose corn syrup. The latest is from the Journal of Clinical Investigation read here . Lot of techno-stuff which probably appears like babble but here is the gist of it -- HFCS is a super processed 'sugar' which does not have the shut off signal (leptin) which cane sugar (or real fruit sugars) has, in fact it actually has a signal (ghrelin) which tells the body eat more, the more HFCS you eat the more your body craves it. This new study has some additional findings which go to heart-disease increased risk - not just obesity, but that is a big factor. It is about where the body tends to deposit that extra fat, in the abdomen, which research is showing has a direct correlation to heart disease.

The grossly-misleading ads by the corn syrup producers that 'when consumed in moderation' completely ignore the research showing someone consistently taking in these products CAN'T stop consuming because their bodies won't let them. (Will-power and self-control aside - if your body is telling you eat, busy people tend to follow that directive.)

The challenge becomes one of 'what are we eating' that we don't either know about or don't understand.

Kashi Go-Lean Honey Almond Flax is made with evaporated cane sugar, brown rice syrup and honey and contains 11 different grains, seeds and nuts. Kashi is owned by Kellogg Company.

Total Whole Grain Cereal is made with sugar (not specified as source) and corn syrup and 1 grain - whole wheat. Total is owned by General Mills.

Large corporations tend to give customers what they ask for, so we as consumers have to be careful what we want and how we define the need. Are you like the reviewer of Total Cereal on Amazon's grocery site who said that what s/he really wants is a substitute for a pill -- oh my goodness! Or do you want real food, with real benefits and less mis-directing hype?

Don't take either my thoughts or my suggestion of Kash cereals as the only way to go. Go out and do some 'marketing / benefit' research yourself.

One last note and reference. In November 2008 I posted a blog on nutrient density and an easy formula to use to compare processed/manufactured foods. Read it here - I showed you how to use a simple math formula totaling fiber and protein grams and dividing that into calories for an optimal target 'factor' of 20, the lower the factor the more nutrient dense the food item.

Using that formula here is how Kashi and Total compare.

Kashi 9 protein and 8 fiber total 17 divided into 200 = just under 12.

Total 2 protein, 3 fiber total 5 divided into 100 = 20.

Now my target maximum factor is 20, the lower the factor the better the nutrient density. While Total squeaks by with a factor of 20, if you were doing comparisons which would you choose?

Have a great day,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Recipe Ideas from Others

Dear Folks,

I love checking out recipes from cookbooks and magazines. Usually I find myself thinking 'this is great, now I would do it this way...' or I'm disappointed that the chef/cook missed the opportunity to make something really great. I find recipes which start out with "Herbed...." disappointing when their idea of "herbed" is to add a bit of garlic or parsley. There are sooo many great herbs which work well together that to use only one seems too limiting particularly when the recipe comes from a known chef.

Well the following do not disappoint. In the current (August, 2009) issues of Body & Soul and Food & Wine they offer some of the neatest ideas.

Food & Wine offers up Basil Limeade Slushies and several other great sounding recipes like Iced Basil and Lemongrass Tea and Herb and Endive Salad. The slushie is a variation on a Mojito with lime and mint.

I've made a Cilantro infused Limeade for some of my demos at Boyce Thompson but the idea of a slushie version is great. Herb and Fruit flavors to try in variations of this would be:

Apple -- basil, cinnamon basil, mint
Berries, All -- basil
Blackberries -- thyme
Blueberries -- rosemary
Cherries — thyme .
Cranberries -- cilantro
Lemon -- lavender
Lime -- cilantro
Mango -- cilantro
Orange -- rosemary
Papaya -- cilantro
Peach -- basil (all flavors), chamomile
Pears -- lavender, rosemary
Pineapple -- mint, cilantro, rosemary
Raspberry -- basil
Tangerine -- rosemary

Do not limit yourself to the combinations above. If something different sounds appealing, try it.

When watermelon is in season, I make ice cubes from the juice. I found the infused ice cube recipes in Body & Soul magazine, August, 2009, super ideas as well.

Cucumber Basil Puree
Combine 1 cup water, 1 cucumber (peeled and seeded), 1/4 cup chopped basil, and a touch of coarse salt in a blender and freeze in an ice cube tray.

Orange Lime Mix
Mix 1 1/2 cups of orange juice, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of lime zest in a bowl, then freeze in an ice cube tray.

Lemonade Raspberry
Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 cup of warm water; stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice. Divide 6 ounces of fresh raspberries into an ice cube tray and place a sprig of mint in each cube. Add the lemonade and freeze.

Both issues of these magazines seemed to be particularly full of ideas right up my cooking alley. Hope they are as interesting to you.

If you have the freezer space, make sure you save some of these ice cubes for use later in the winter - a sample of summer time can lift the winter blues.

ON THE gardening side of things, I am readying a new service newsletter for desert gardeners to help with the often repeated refrain I get "I don't know when to plant... in the desert" - variations of which are "I grew this back in .... but I kill it here."

If you have an interest leave your screen name at the link below. It is for information only and there is no obligation.

Edible Gardening Success in the Desert

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Growing Horseradish -- Success in The Desert Southwest

Howdy Folks,

I finished harvesting the horseradish on June 30th.

In reading about horseradish growing in the usual areas (not the desert) this is not only not the time to harvest the root, but also that the root may not be nearly as "beam my up Scott" hot and pungent as usual.

However, I was very pleased not only with the healthy growth on the plants, but also the resulting grated product.

To grow your own horseradish in the desert southwest, you need to reverse the growth pattern, because the roots will not survive our summer heat. Plant in the fall beginning October 1st and harvest in the spring in Later May or early June. One of the plants I pulled was just starting to flower.

I will keep about 10 healthy roots in my refrigerator crisper drawer to replant in the fall. I give the top of each root a straight cut, and an angle cut at the bottom to keep it straight in my mind which is which. I wrap them in a slightly damp paper towel and place in a zip lock bag and store in the crisper drawer.

Following general directions for grating I peel the roots, cut them in small dice, place with ice water in a blender or bullet blender and process to the thickness I want. I wait about 5+ minutes and add vinegar and this time I will remember to add salt (although the first batch I did in early June was great without it). 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of grated root.

I am really pleased to be able to grow yet another food my grandmother used and also to find a way for the gardeners of edibles to more fully expand their gardening and eating pleasures in the Desert Southwest. I also found the plant very attractive with it's large leaves, somewhat resembling many large leaved ornamentals.

RECIPE TIPS:

Horseradish, like its mustard relative, goes with so many foods. Add some to mashed potatoes, in salad dressing, add to a dip for a little kick, some chefs shave the fresh root -- I think a little very finely shaved root in cole slaw would be awesome. Fun stuff and it is a good source of some vitamins and minerals.

If you are not familiar with Gernot Katzer, he has the most incredible site for information on (mostly) culinary herbs and spices. Check out his page on horseradish

Have a grate (great!) day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Last of the Garlic Harvest

Howdy Folks,

The last of my for-sale garlic is gone - sold like crazy at the farmers market. Just to try it, I braided some as I was cleaning them off and thought you would enjoy seeing my amateur work.

For those of you who enjoy my fresh produce at the market and either got some of the garlic or missed it this year, I am planning on increasing the planting space for next spring's harvest. I was so pleased with the performance of the garlic, ease of growing and density of harvest, I'm going to plant the Purple Haze I grew this year and another variety.

If you have some garlic and have never tried roasting it here are a couple of options:

Roasting Whole Heads

Most Preferred: Slice off the tippy top of the garlic head to expose just a small part of each clove. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the cut top.
1) Roast on the grill on indirect heat for approximately 40-45 minutes - squeeze to test (don't burn yourself!) - it should feel softened.
2) Oven: at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

Second Most Preferred: Separate the clove from the head and do NOT not peel. Toss in along side of any roast your are cooking, or place in a single layer in a pan and oven back at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes - squeeze to see if they have softened.

Roasting garlic mellows the flavor, bringing an incredible nutty taste to it. Squeezing the pulp from the skins is the easiest way to express the roasted garlic out. Add to mashed potatoes, spread on toasted bread with or without added tomatoes, basil and cheese, add to salad dressing.

Freeze in air tight container for long term storage. Refrigerate and use within a week for short term keeping.

CAUTION: For health-sake do not freeze whole raw garlic or onions.

Have a great 4th of July!!!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Banana Flower Bud

Howdy Folks,

On June 29, 2009, Deane spotted the banana flower bud on our Blue Java (aka "Ice Cream") banana plant. Hope you can see how the bud can just sort of appear - I circled, from left to right, in blue the bud as viewed from far away, then closer, then right up underneath it.

If you have followed my blog and newsletter you may remember we got our first ever banana bloom, followed by fruit, last fall. The challenge was that it really flowered too late for the fruit to develop to proper size. We decided to cut the fruit stalk off just before an impending freeze, hung the stalk in a back room and several weeks later we actually got to taste ripe bananas! That was okay, but I was really hoping our plants would fruit early enough this spring/summer to allow the fruit to ripen more fully before harvesting. I am really excited that we will get the true 'vanilla ice cream' flavor this banana is known for. Will keep you posted.

Did you know the whole plant is pretty much edible? The flower bud (as shown), the fruit, and the leaves (used for steaming food). I do not want to sacrifice a flower bud to try cooking with it, but I have used the leaves to steam things on the grill and it imparts a fruity flavor note to the food.

TIP: When serving food, especially with the July 4th weekend coming up, use edible leaves in place of doilies to display your delicious foods. Citrus, fig and banana leaves are all edible (meaning non-toxic, crunchy but safe) garnishes for your serving platters.

TWITTER: I'm now twittering! Catch my 'tweets' in the upper right side bar here on the blog, or sign up to follow me if you enjoy tweeting.

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Local Food Source Finders, Greening: Factory Farming, and Miscellaneous

Howdy folks,

"Anything not benefiting from the addition of chocolate, will probably benefit from the addition of garlic." Culinary proverb

I thought that fun quote was appropriate for our household since I just harvested a bunch of garlic and I live with a confirmed chocoholic.

Just some notes on things and places I wanted to get in front of your peepers, while I get back in the groove of things.

In addition to www.localharvest.org for finding local farms etc. of organic or natural food sources, a new-to-me site is http://www.eatwellguide.org

If you want healthy sources of food, then you need to consider what it takes to raise the ‘healthy' food whether it be plant or animal. In many cases this means supporting small ‘artisan' farmers, ranchers, and food processors. Until the demand "grows" the supply faster, the cost will be a little higher for these foods. There is a savings to you and your family and it is the reduced need to supplement your meals with manufactured supplements or medical care. Think about it.

A fun blog post on Queen of the Night blooming by one of the horticulturists at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
Not a food plant, but one of our Cinderella cactus in the desert -- the kind of bloom on an unassuming plant that just blows you away. http://www.boycethompson.blogspot.com

I want to make clear I am a total farm supporter — it is not fair for a community to put in developments near farms and ranches and then expect the farms and ranches to change their practices because they are farms and ranches now surrounded by ornamental back yards. It is equally clear that compressed factory farming techniques are the cause of some of the ‘complaints' from those ornamental back yards and can be addressed with humane-farming practices and more environmentally friendly farming practices.

To my vegan and vegetarian fans you may want to skip the rest of this blog.

Recently another new-to-me source was at our Mesa Farmer's Market - humanely-raised, grass- fed beef. The challenge I've had in finding a source for this beef (we indulge about once a month) is that most of the small ranchers have had to require 1/4 sides or large bulk poundage - way beyond my storage capabilities.

http://www.doublecheckranch.com/ — is a 3 generation ranch, dedicated to natural practices which they call from "pasture to palate." They maintain a total "green" approach to ranching choosing to share the land with all critters, while maintaining a ‘beyond organic' approach to ranching the cattle. Check them out. Oh, and grass-fed beef is shown to have higher Omega-3 oils than corn fed.

To do things the natural way, means smaller-non-factory-farming concepts which require a more "Artisanal" hands-on approach. What all that means is the good grass-fed beef is going to cost you more than factory-farmer-corn/"other feed"-fed. We don't eat beef a lot, but this is worth the extra price to maintain my personal preference for humanely handled livestock.

It is the same idea behind non-caged chickens. I do not want to get deeply (just some quotes and observations here) into one of the green-politic issues of factory chicken farming, but there is a brouhaha over California's recently passed "chicken welfare law" which requires producers to make cages big enough that the hens can stretch their wings without touching the cage walls.

"Industry wide, chickens are now provided an average space the size of an 8-by-11 sheet of paper." ... "Meanwhile, restaurant chains such as Burger King and Wendy's have started using more cage-free eggs at the urging of the society." http://www.fox59.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-egg-fight,0,1276492.story

"These "battery" cages are stacked in rows four cages high, allowing each bird 67 square inches of room — about the size of a large shoebox." — http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6417&volume_id=317&issue_id=379&volume_num= 42&issue_num=34&l=1

This California Chicken Welfare Law is very similar to the law passed last year here in Arizona regarding pens for pigs. Before the law pens were designed to keep the pigs totally centered in a narrow pen where they could not turn around. The producers are adjusting.

Raising chickens can be a messy business, because they are not the cleanest birds in the world, but their manure and insect-eating propensities can be utilized in a well-managed program.

In a column last August, Arizona Republic Reporter, Linda Valdez, bought into the factory-farm is better concept, because the factory farmers had some well-crafted comments on small-farm cage-free approaches. Among the problematic comments was that farmers market cage-free eggs are washed in detergent. I don't know any farmers market suppliers who do that. As far as higher mortality and other issues raised in her column, I also do not have that experience.
Read her column for yourself and see what you think.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2008/08/10/20080810valdez10.html

Bottom line: a 67 inch cube cage for an animal to spend all of its two life in is a ‘cost' too high for me to consider the best practice.

Likewise the practice of feeding a cow corn and "other" protein - ick - sources, supplemented with antibiotics to put weight on fast before their organs fail is also a ‘cost' too high for me to consider the best practice.

All of these factory-methods were designed to counter-act the problem of raising too many animals in too small an area — meaning the necessity of fight-reduction, the requirement of antibiotics to counteract the diseases inherent in close-quarter living conditions, and ‘designer- hybrid' livestock created to put on weight faster, or specialized enhanced feed which means created in a laboratory.

Some of the recent health scares of mad-cow and e-coli infected beef are directly related to non- grass-fed operations. Think about it.

A NOTE about cooking with grass-fed — most folks are so used to corn/"protein" fed beef that cooking with grass-fed requires a different learning and cooking curve, slow and low is the mantra. If you grill or pan fry grass-fed steaks the usual way you will get great flavored, but tough meat. Steaks and such benefit greatly from marinating for a couple of hours to create a perfectly tender steak on the plate.

If you want to have access to green-producers of food, you need to support them as best you can with your purchasing power. The more you as a consumer request AND use green sources of food, the more you will have available to you, at a fair price.

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Harvest Time - Rewards For The Effort

Dear Folks,

I'm back and harvesting! I was almost surprised at the bounty still available in the garden after my time away. (I have been on and off since January acting as caretaker and companion to my cousin who went through several surgeries including heart valve repair - she is doing great, I'm happy to report and the repairs did what they were intended to do!)

So back to the garden, my darling Deane and I have a bountiful garden of trees and everything else. Mostly I take care of the everything else and he babies the trees. Since I'm the 'expert' on all the everything-else-edibles, he was taking care of things, but doing no harvesting of roots and shoots. (He is, however, a master-weeder!)

So back to the garden and I found my horseradish project plants almost 3 feet high, and the garlic ready to harvest, along with potatoes and summer apples (the peaches and apricots have been an on-going harvest since the beginning of May).

Pictured clock-wise beginning in the upper right is one of the garlic head plants - I have about 70 plus others to harvest this week Potatoes red, white and blue so appropriate for memorial day (and healthy eating - the color 'taters have more antioxidant than just white or yellow). One huge horseradish plant - more about growing that below, and several summer apples in the small white bowl.

Just in time for Memorial Day these garden gems and staples are going into our dinner menu today. Warm apple pie, colorful potato salad, grated horseradish for the steaks, with a touch of garlic.

If you look at the charts for planting in the low desert, horseradish is listed as "not adapted" meaning it can't be grown here. Well, to me that is a challenge, a gauntlet thrown down, to be taken on. Growing up I was around grandmothers (including my own) who grated their own horseradish for Polish meals. I wanted to do more than just grate it, I wanted to grow it.

I had tried growing it before, with the usual and customary planting schedule. I had the opportunity to purchase a horseradish plant a couple of years ago in the fall, and decided if the problem was the heat for growing the horseradish, then the idea was to flip the seasons as we do with so many other edibles here in the desert. It worked!

Last spring I harvested a miniscule amount for grating and kept 5 less-than-pencil thin roots for replanting in the fall. I enjoyed about 1/4 cup or less of grated root last year and replanted the saved roots in October at the same time I planted the garlic.

The results are evident - a huge plant with large roots. They took a while to get going but once they started they just kept going to the size pictured above. I have 4 more plants to harvest, and will keep some good sized roots for replanting in October. Oh boy!

Here is what I discovered: The roots, while perennial in cooler areas are not hardy during our summer, so the trick is to plant in October and harvest in May/June before the plants start to die back. Dig up all the roots, keep what you want for use and notch healthy looking roots as follows: Slice straight across the top to identify the top and cut a small sliver from the end on an angle so you can tell top from bottom for planting. Clean as much of the dirt off as possible. Dry very well, and roll in a slightly damp paper towel, place in sealed plastic bag (or you can use a glass jar if you like) and store in the refrigerator crisper until October 1st.

Growing conditions are as for other winter edibles. Well-draining soil, water regularly but allow to dry out between watering, keep the area weeded and find a location which will get 4-6 hours of direct sun all winter long. I grew mine along side my garlic, same conditions.

Harvesting and storing seed potatoes from the potato patch is easy. Keep healthy potatoes for replanting on January 1st or thereabouts. Store in cardboard in the crisper. Do not store onions with them. In fact it is a good idea to dedicate a crisper drawer to storing things like potatoes, horseradish and garlic heads (see below). The potatoes and garlic should not touch each other or themselves -- keeps mold off of them.

Since so much of garlic in the stores is from China and Asia, I really felt the need to see if it was feasible to grow my own here in the desert. Yes, it is.

The scapes (flower stalks) were harvested 3-4 weeks ago (they are edible), then the heads are ready to harvest when the leaves start to turn yellow and die back (about this time of year, give or take a couple of weeks). You must hang the garlic to dry out of direct sun -- here it takes about 2-3 weeks to dry, then it is ready to use. Save some of the heads for replanting in the fall. Initially you can keep them on the counter, but then move them to the crisper for long-term storage. You can also crisper-store garlic you can't use right away, but you must use or plant them as soon as you remove them from the crisper. Plant by separating the cloves (do not peel) pointy side up.

Is it worth it to grow potatoes, horseradish and garlic when the growing season is so long? Obviously each of you needs to determine that for your family. It is incredibly rewarding to harvest these staple foods from your own garden. What a project for the children to learn where their mashed and French fried (or baked) potatoes come from!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day, Happy Gardening and Cooking the Bounty,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Earth Day April 22, 2009 - Some Thoughts and Ideas

Dear Folks,

Earth Day presents an opportunity for various organizations, both charitable and for-profit, to give you the consumer, worker, family member, and citizen opportunities to make things better for yourself and others.

With that basis in mind I have some things to pass on and a new "Party" to suggest.

FIRST, MOTHER EARTH NEWS (Ogden Publications) has launched a new site for those seeking "green jobs" - how neat is that idea!

"Despite the current recession, there are more green job opportunities now than ever before, including hot careers in wind power, HVAC, environmental engineering, transportation, facilities retrofitting and more. You can find the opportunity you want today at http://www.greatgreencareers.com/"

Since they are just getting started, I would not be deterred if you do not see something in your local or field of interest. It is free to post your resume on the site.

RECYCLE Reminders:

Any carbon or soy based ink on the paper you print on your home computers — don't use the color stuff, only black and white, -- can be shredded and added to the compost pile as part of the ‘brown' stuff. (Compost: 50/50 green and brown - green examples are vegetable and fruit parings, non-seeding weeds and grass (non-seeding) clippings, - brown examples are dried leaves, twigs, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, and printer paper, white paper plates (non- coated), towels and napkins - as long as there is no grease or meat attached. All this breaks down into usable garden fertilizer in 3-12 months depending on how small the components are.)

. . .

Got old clothes that are too torn to re-use? Recycle into strips for rag rugs or one of the neatest uses I've read about in a long time - ‘yarn' for knitting, crocheting or weaving. Cloth (preferable natural like cotton, linen, or wool, but the synthetics will work too) is cut into thin strips, for producing very fine textured whatevers.

For the idea behind turning rags into fine knitting or weaving visit the New Mexico Women's Foundation. http://nmwf.org/index.php?s=farmington.

In the current issue of MaryJanes Farm magazine (http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/) the tip for making the ‘yarn' when using t-shirt material is to make a small half inch slit at one end of each piece of material and pull the next one through to make long pieces of yarn — the technique is similar to putting two rubber bands together.

. . .

Do you like to pass on meals or leftovers from gatherings to family and neighbors? And would you like an alternative to paper and plastic? How about visiting the local Goodwill or similar thrift store and find pyrex glass pie plates or plain dishes — like white — to keep handy as the leftover carriers?

I like the pyrex glass pie plates (or Corning casseroles) because the neighbor can just pop the thing in the microwave and reheat without trying to use another bowl or plate.

I read the tip by a chef who keeps Thrift store dishes for leftovers and decided the pie plates made better carriers — they have sides!

We and our neighbors like to do the old fashioned courtesy of returning a meal or leftover dish with something in it, so the dishes get reused over and over again.

A NEW "PARTY"

I want to start a GARDEN PARTY. I would like it to be all about gardening, cooking the bounty and sharing it. It should be non-political in that it crosses all beliefs and cultures. Because our climate allows us to grow, and use most of the food items which can be grown anywhere else in the nation or world, this is a great place, not to mention a important time, for the sharing of food at its source — your backyard, and your neighborhood. The benefits will expand beyond your and your neighbors needs and into the greater community.

So I've created a new concept -- a "Progressive Community Garden" where you do not have to have 10 acres in one spot.

I've mentioned before the idea that you do NOT have to grow all of it in your own backyard. Gather with your neighbors to, particularly in small lot neighborhoods, and divide up the produce you would all like to grow. A "Progressive Community Garden" is one where Mary grows tomatoes, Eric does eggplant, Juan is a wizzard with hot peppers, and Jennifer knows to grow the sweet peppers at the end of the block so they do not cross with the hot one's Juan is growing.

Don't forget to make sure to include the children. The 3 "Rs" may be necessary to financially succeed in life, but the big "G", I believe, is necessary to enjoy life and be a good friend to all.

Each neighbor grows 1 or a few of the things you all like. At each harvest time you gather and have a harvesting festival, share the bounty and recipes, and don't forget to save seeds! If you have an abundance of harvest you can share it with a senior or crisis center or food bank.

We got into canning last year and if your "progressive community garden" is a huge success, one of the way to preserve the bounty is to can it and it is a great project to do as a group.

If your neighborhood garden is doing better than you expect, consider "adopting" a service organization, have a fun raiser and donate the proceeds to your adopted group.

Individually, or as a ‘community' you can even take your over-abundance and go to one of the local farmers markets and sell your home-grown-truck-garden produce!

I will make you a deal folks, if you organize your neighborhood block to grow your own progressive community garden, I will come out and spend an afternoon with you all, going over what and where you can grow things. A 5-6 hour consultation and I will do it for free, and maybe even throw in some seeds! Any takers? Email to info at herbs2u dot net.

(Note: I do have to limit this to the valley area, and we will have to do it after the end of May, as I will be continuing caretaking until then with my relative who is having heart surgery.)

I'm suggesting the basic symbol for the GARDEN PARTY will be the graphic at the top of this post, but I'm going to look for something which also shows people sharing:

American is great, and we can still follow some examples of economy and self-sufficiency and community by following the practices of small villages around the world where most every piece of unused ground has vegetables or herbs growing in it

And finally if you are a black-thumb gardener (we can fix that, you know, but we can deal with that later), you can still participate in the progressive community garden. Offer to purchase seeds (preferable) or plants, you can still compost even if you do not garden, you or your children can weed or even help harvesting (some fruits and vegetables have to be harvested delicately). Find a way to be part of your neighborhood's progressive community garden, all will benefit, I truly believe.

I will have to come up with a slogan for the Garden Party - I will cogitate on that for a while, but if you have any ideas, I would love to ‘hear' them.

A MOVING INTO HOT WEATHER TIP:

Remember to adjust your watering schedule as needed for the hot weather coming. Use that moisture meter to check soil moisture. Some wilting of leaves in the afternoon hot sun is normal, as plants such as tomatoes do this to retain moisture. Check soil moisture in the early morning or evening for accurate reading.

Have a wonderful time in the garden this spring!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Who knew the white distilled vinegar Grandma and Mom put in the apple pie crust might be made from petroleum?

Dear Folks,

Reading a magazine yesterday, I learned about Heinz touting their natural — not from petroleum — vinegar ad!!!!

Just goes to show you can be old and still learning things.

So of course I hopped on the world's encyclopedia — the Internet — and sure enough — white distilled vinegars and possibly other types can be legally formulated from petroleum and sold in the food aisle. See the link to the FDA page below. When you read that page you will note that the FDA abdicated all responsibility for letting consumers know their white distilled vinegar may be synthetic. If I read between the lines correctly, drug, flavoring, and drinking alcohols (ethyl alcohol), can be and are synthetically produced from petroleum, and labeling in most cases is not required to indicated the source.

For years I have used white distilled vinegar not only as a food ingredient but for cleaning, believing that I was avoiding industrial chemicals — don't you just love our governments efforts to keep us safe!

Many references to white distilled vinegar make statements such as, "not generally used as food..." — so why is it sold in the food aisle and not the cleaning aisle?

Many have supported the research and use of corn ethanol (and other plant-based alcohols) as a petroleum-gasoline alternative and now it appears the chemists have been working all-along on putting plants into cars and petroleum into us!!!

Please read my post of several days ago on HR875, which is trying to put more of our right to not only garden, but grow gardens in natural ways, into the laboratories and chemistry shops. The legislation also would make it difficult if not impossible to have local farmers market participants, or to produce organic foods.

We always have choices. "Better living by chemistry" should be OUR choice of ‘when and what' and not some chemistry companies directives to our government.

http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg555-100.html

Please pass this on to friends and family members.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Herb Festival-Rain Special Offer

Dear folks,

Those of you who made it to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum yesterday, found vendors and music AND rain! It was wonderful to see all of you who braved the weather (aren't we just like desert rats, not liking the rain).

My herb blend RosemaryPlus was my featured salt-free spice, and due to the weather and economy I'm making an offer I hope you can take advantage of. This is one of my very first blends, a mix I call "thrillin' grillin'" because it is great on anything on the grill and anything starchy.

Two four-ounce packages for $6 and shipping is free to any USA destination. Click on the link below to take you to the payment page, don't forget to give your address and email so I can ship it to you, or contact you with address questions. You can pay with your credit card or paypal.

Payment Link

Have a wonderful day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Boyce Thompson Arboretum - 15th Annual Herb Festival

Dear Folks,

I have participated in this annual event at the wonderful Arboretum in Superior, Arizona for, I believe 8 or 9 years — I think this is the first year we may have potentially-bad weather for it. Usually we have balmy high 80s-low 90s, but it is so worthwhile, benefiting the Arboretum and giving visitors a chance to visit with herb-related vendors and experts like myself, plus lovely music provided by the Levno duo flute and guitar. The Arizona Herb Association always has plants and experts available. Susan Corl, a folk artist, always brings her amazing talent and creative wares to the festival. Her email is susancorl@hotmail.com

Jean Groen, my friend the desert foods and herbs expert, will be there today with her co-author and research partner Don Wells. Jean's foods are always super and amazing. Check out their website http://www.wells-groen.com/

If you don't get the chance to come out (today, April 11, 2009 — 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), do plan on visiting another time. Visit their website http://ag.arizona.edu/BTA, or call 520.689.2723.

So if you miss us today, I'm featuring one of my salt-free herb blends — RosemaryPlus. Here is the menu and recipes.

GRAPE TOMATO HALVES
Cut tomatoes in half and sprinkle with RosemaryPlus, serve with toothpicks.

ARTICHOKE HUMMUS
If you have not heard by now, artichoke hearts are number 7 on the top 20 antioxidant lists, and of course beans are always good for you. This light dip can be enhanced by more garlic (there is garlic in the RosemaryPlus).
2 tablespoons sesame seed, ground
2 cans garbanzo beans (15 oz.), drained
1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated) (13 3/4 oz.) liquid reserved (Can use frozen, reserve cooking water
1 teaspoon capers
Juice of one lemon
½ cup packed, fresh parsley, rinsed
1+ teaspoon RosemaryPlus

Tahini the traditional component of hummus is sesame seed butter - you can pre-grind* or even pre-toast the seeds before grinding

In a processor pulse all ingredients, using liquid from artichokes to create the desired consistency. This tasty dish can be a dip or a spread. Serve in hollowed-out cucumber boats or cucumber cubes, mushroom caps, in a hollowed-out roll, with crackers or chips.

*A dedicated coffee grinder - meaning never used for coffee - is a great spice grinder and it makes small batches of any seed or nut butter in seconds.

MARINATED TOFU
I always like to demonstrate the flavor-absorbing nature of bland tofu (its blessing and curse) — it you think of tofu as the cheese it is, then adding to foods becomes creatively easier. You always need to add a bit of salt to the tofu.

1 package of extra firm tofu, cubed
1 tablespoon RosemaryPlus
1/4+ teaspoon of salt, or to taste
Olive oil

Express/press out extra moisture from the tofu before cutting, but placing a heavy weight on it for about half an hour before cubing.

Place cubed tofu in bowl, gently toss with spice and half the salt. Let sit for half hour. In a clean jar pour a little olive oil in bottom, pile mixed tofu in jar, being sure to scrape bowl juices and spices into jar, add rest of salt to top, cover with additional olive oil, cap tightly and turn jar to mix well. Turn several times over one hour and serve or refrigerate — will keep for approximately 4-5 days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

PINEAPPLE CHUNKS WITH SPICE
Sprinkle pineapple chunks with RosemaryPlus, serve with toothpicks. The brisk spice of the RosemaryPlus brings out the sweetness even more so of the pineapple. Can use fresh, frozen-thawed or canned (only in juice, not syrup). Makes a great appetizer or dessert.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Green Politics - the new farm bill.

Dear Folks,

If you have not heard of US House Bill 875, you should look into this proposed legislation. As with all bills this one is long and laborious reading. However well-meaning any bill to increase food safety in our country is, this one is not it. I do try to stay neural on political stuff, keeping my focus on the importance of gardening and cooking with our families, but occasionally something like this bill comes up and I feel the need to let folks know about it and make their choices on the issue.

Many organizations are seriously concerned about:

1) who and why this is being sponsored (the initial sponsor's husband is associated with Monsanto), Arizona's own Representative Raul M. Grijalva (D) for Arizona's 7th Congressional District (www.grijalva.house.gov) is a co-sponsor (If you live in his district by all means contact him).

2) the provisions which may create unrealistic registration and oversight for backyard farmers, small farmers and organic farmers — under the worst case scenario overenthusiastic enforcement could put farmers markets out of existence.

3) the possible "requirement" to use chemicals.

I have pulled several (there are more) sections of the bill for you to read for yourself, and this link will take you to the government's page on it where you can read the full text.

While some provisions by themselves may not be of concern, when read in conjunction with others it is alarming.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-875

DEFINITIONS:
(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.

[External Note by Catherine: The act wording includes the full ability to 'inspect' any 'food production facility' but then conflicts with exclusions - the lack of clarity makes it appear that registration and inspection of any of the listed food production facility entities can be required to register and be inspected at will and then to be subject to various penalties under the law including criminal acts.]

(19) PROCESS- The term ‘process' or ‘processing' means the commercial slaughter, packing, preparation, or manufacture of food.

SEC. 202. REGISTRATION OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS AND FOREIGN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS.
(a)In General- Any food establishment or foreign food establishment engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for consumption in the United States shall register annually with the Administrator.

PROHIBITED ACTS:
(3) for a food establishment or foreign food establishment to fail to register under section 202, or to operate without a valid registration;


(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--
(4) to establish that food establishments have responsibility to ensure that all stages of production, processing, and distribution of their products or products under their control satisfy the requirements of this law.

(8) CATEGORY 4 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term ‘category 4 food establishment' means a food establishment that processes all other categories of food products not described in paragraphs (5) through (7).

9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term ‘category 5 food establishment' means a food establishment that stores, holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail sale.

I promise my next blog will be back on subject!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady