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All About Thyme
A Weekly Calendar of Times & Seasonings
Celebrating the Mysteries, Magic, and Myths of Herbs
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Susan Wittig Albert
November 14, 2006
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Welcome!
Welcome to the first issue of All About Thyme, a weekly celebration of herbs, spices, and the changing seasons. All About Thyme is all about the plants that have given us pleasure, eased our pain, seasoned our food, and fed our souls. It's all about growing, cooking, using, crafting, and enjoying. And it's all about our calendar, too—about the many ways that herbs and plants have connected our human lives to the changing times and seasons.
You're receiving this issue (and the next two) because you've subscribed to the MysteryPartners newsletter. After that, if you want to continue reading, you'll need to click on the "subscribe" box below, or at MysteryPartners.com.
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This Week's Special Days
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- Nov. 14: National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day
- Nov. 15: America Recycles Day
- Nov. 16: The Great American Smokeout (Tobacco is one of the most misused herbs in history!)
- Nov. 17: Homemade Bread Day (try the Flowerpot Herb Bread recipe in China Bayles' Book of Days)
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Don’t Toss that Lemon Peel!
America Recycles Day is November 15, 2006!
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I always feel guilty buying dried orange or lemon peel when I can recall having recently tossed some perfectly good peel in the compost. So to ensure that I always have dried peel on hand for cooking, herbal teas, potpourri, and stove-simmer, I make a practice of drying it regularly. Makes me feel virtuous, especially with the holidays coming up. And it's a good way of celebrating America Recycles Day, on November 15. (For more information about other ways you can get involved, go to the America Recycles Day web site.)
Drying orange, lemon, or ruby grapefruit peel is just about as easy as it sounds. Once the peel and the fruit have parted company, I lay the peels on a cutting board, skin side down, and scrape off the bitter white pith, using a grapefruit spoon with serrated edges. I pop the scraped peels into the oven, with just the pilot light on, and leave them until they are dry but still slightly pliable. I add these to the jar of dried peel I keep on the cupboard shelf.
You can use your dried peels as-is or chop or whirl in a blender. Substitute powdered peel for extract in baking; use it to flavor toppings, frostings, and drinks; include it in salt-free spice mixes, and add it to sweet and savory sauces. to fin toppings, to flavor sugar-bowl sugar, in spice mixes (e.g. lemon, pepper, rosemary and sage as a barbecue rub), and to flavor sauces of one kind and another.
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Mulling Spices
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Mulling spices are wonderful to have in the pantry for those winter evenings when the clan gathers around the fire. Mix 1 cup dried orange peel, 1 cup broken cinnamon sticks, ½ cup whole allspice berries, ½ cup whole cloves, 2 broken star anise. Store in a closed jar. To use: mix ¼ cup of spices per gallon of wine, cider, or apple juice. Simmer for 30 minutes before serving. Serve in mugs with cinnamon stick stirrers or a punch bowl garnished with orange slices. Double this recipe and share with friends. The spicy aroma is a delightful bonus!
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Zippy No-Salt Seasoning
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1 Tbsp. dried powdered orange peel
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dry mustard powder
2 tsp. dried powdered lemon peel
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. dried celery leaves (also recycled—strip from the stalks and dry in your oven)
1 tsp. dried savory
1 tsp. pepper
Mix together in a small mixing bowl, stirring until combined. Store in a dark, cool place in a tightly sealed container. Use on meats, poultry and fish, or at the table for a salt-free seasoning.
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Have a bottle full of brandy, with as large a mouth as any bottle you have, into which cut your lemon and orange peel when they are fresh and sweet. This brandy gives a delicious flavor to all sorts of pies, puddings, and cakes. Lemon is the pleasantest spice of the two; therefore they should be kept in separate bottles.
—Mrs. Child, The American Frugal Housewife, Dedicated to Those who are not Ashamed of Economy, 1833
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Who's China Bayles?
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She's the beloved fictional herbalist in Susan Wittig Albert's popular mystery series, set in Pecan Springs TX. For more about her books, visit MysteryPartners.com.
For more about herbs and the passing seasons, read China Bayles' Book of Days.
For more news and notes from Pecan Springs, read China's blog.
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Please forward this newsletter to anyone interested in mysteries, herbs, and gardening.
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To read this e-letter on our website, click here: mysterypartners.com/dayletters/061114.html
This newsletter is a publication of Susan Wittig Albert and it is provided free, via e-mail, to anyone, worldwide. ©2006 Susan Albert
Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues with appropriate credit to Susan Albert.
This newsletter is designed, written, and edited by Susan Wittig Albert & Peggy Moody.
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email: salbert@tstar.net, webmistress@mysterypartners.com
web: mysterypartners.com
Susan's blog: susanalbert.typepad.com/lifescapes
China Bayles' blog: susanalbert.typepad.com/pecanspringsjournal
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