CULINARY HERBS

Potagere, your Horapha sounds intriguing!!

Zhinu, pineapple sage is wonderful, isn't it? A tea made from it is quite good. I found a golden pineapple sage variety this year. It's much slower growing than regular pineapple sage though.

I have no idea about getting a vanilla orchid to bloom either. I've just purchased one this year, so am getting to know this particular plant. My DH has orchids at his office at work and gets them to rebloom. I'll assume vanilla is no different and treat it as he treats his work orchids. He says he doesn't do anything special but keeps it in a south window and waters once a week. He gives it African violet food (he has a bunch of those at work as well).

Lemon savory is another good culinary herb. I grew it last year and this year. It's an annual for me. Such a great lemony flavor.

First time with the vanilla orchid here also. I recently read some info on blooms and seedpods. I'll see if I can locate it.

The culinary "herbs" I'm passionate about are Laurus Nobilis or Laurel Bay, Allspice ~ Pimenta Dioica, Lemon Verbena and Glycyrrhiza Glabra ~ Licorice. Other culinaries that I enjoy are lemon grass, the mints and assorted basils.

This is the vanilla orchid thread I was thinking of... I suspect you've read it. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/865161/

ohhhhh that sounds good. Licorice is supposed to be a laxative, isn't it?

haha thats not why I thought it sounded good. I love black jelly beans and star anise.

I love licorice anything too! I love the licorice teas but need to enjoy sparingly as it seems to thin my blood. OTOH, it is noted to raise blood pressure which is not a problem for me.

I am growing a large pineapple sage that some bug seems to like better than I do. As I hope to harvest the leaves, I hate to spray with anything...

Pod, I have a little bay tree in a pot, as it is not hardy here. I imagine yours is actually in the ground and all stately. Allspice! That's something I don't have. Hmmmm. I'm growing Russian Licorice as the G. glabra isn't hardy for me.

My rose-scented bee balm is blooming right now and the bees are absolutely crazy over this variety. Definitely their favorite. I would say it's the favorite of human visitors to the garden as well.

Always one to be cautious, my Bay is still potted ~ LOL I overwinter it on an enclosed porch that will drop down in the 50's at night. I just would hate to lose it. The allspice is tropical and will droop at 50 so it comes indoors on the colder nights. Hard to keep from rubbing leaves! You could also keep the G glabra potted and move in overwinter. Again, I guard it from cold here.

I also grow what I thought was Piper nigrum ~ black pepper vine until I had my "ignorance bubble" burst by DG ~ LOL I find it is Piper betel. The leaves apparently are edible but the blooms never produced... It is not hardy here either but makes a lovely vine.

Betty, how tall is that rose-scented bee-balm?

The vanilla plant must be "mature"--2-3 years old and the flowers must be hand pollinated

Oh, no gang!

I'm well into preparations for my fish/mussel/sausage soup when I (re)discover I am out of saffron!!

Bummer!!

receipe s'il vous plait potagere receipe please if you don't mind sharing.

Dahlia,

I don't really have a recipe! I make it up as I go, depending on what I have!

Tonight, I have 1/2 of last night's moules mariniere left over. Since they sell mussels here in these 1.5 kg plastic bins, that's about 1.5 lbs American. I could shell these, since they are already cooked, but I'm too lazy today.

So, I've reheated what was left of the mariniere juice (primarily chicken broth and white wine [I used Muscadet] in equal parts to which was added a handful of assorted herbs, a shallot, a couple of garlic cloves and some chili sauteed in butter & olive oil, and of course the mussel nectar). To that I added a small can of tomatoes (I don't yet have ripe ones), quickly whirred in the food processor with a handful of 3 basils, an equal amount of chicken broth, and a fennel bulb and 1/2 onion chopped and sauteed in butter & olive oil.

I've got this "plateau" of barbecue sausages, so I used 1 Mexican and 1 merguez, sliced and quickly sauteed. Since I am out of saffron, I substituted some turmeric for color and some smoked Spanish paprika for flavor, and more chili (although this will NOT be hot). That all goes in the "soup" for a while.

Then I have a small filet of lieu noir, which I think is coley or coalfish in English, a type of pollack. I'll cut that into "bite-sized" pieces and add it to the soup for maybe 4-5 minutes. Then the mussels go back in to heat through for another few minutes, and voila!

Some crusty bread, a salad from the garden (& I do have a couple small patio tomatoes to throw into that), a bottle of Burgundy, and dinner is going to be served here in about 10 minutes.

Too much for me, as my wife is in New York, but I'll freeze the leftover and we'll have it when she's back. I may even fool her into thinking I just made it!!

Cheers, Potagere

Darn I'd invite myself but I can't get there for 10 hours LOL. Droooooooooooooool!! That's a wonderful pumped up bouillabaisse! Can it be a bouillibaise if it has red meat in it I wonder? We have lots of good white fish that will work in that. I might try a herb bread (why not). Merci beaucoup mon ami.

Carrie - the rose-scented bee balm is nearly 4 foot high. So lovely! You can see the hummingbird moth in the pic above too.

Podster, I'm running out of space for my "bring them in during the winter" plants! Albizzia is in a pot, believe it or not. Dang zone 5! And so is vitex. Although, I may put that in the ground next year. Nevermind I have lost 2 to winters. And bay, lemon verbena, scented geraniums, black pepper, cardamom, galangal, turmeric, cancer bush, Iboza, root beer plant, costus, aloes, cuban oregano, Vick's plant, rock rose, honeybush, mandrake, saffron, licorice verbena, patchouli, gotu kola, etc all have to live in front of the south-facing sliding doors during the winter. I start the white sage from seed each year, ditto ashwagandha, rather than move those in.

~ HerbalBetty: You need a greenhouse! Or, at least, a coldframe! Or even a haybale coldframe!
One of the principal reasons we made our last house move was because in our old garden, if I wanted to put something "new" in, I had to take something "old" out. And, of course, all the "oldsters" were my friends!

~ Dahlia: Oh, my, that was good! I suppose one of the roots of this soup is in bouillabaise, but to do that proper, I would need to use a lot more different fish and omit the mussels. And I would have to have the Mediterranean rockfish, which gives bouillabaise its slightly "gluey" texture. Of course, some restaurants fake this by using that same horrid stuff that makes Safeway 3-bean salad "sticky". But, without it, even my wife, who is not remarkable for her culinary acumen, who say: "Very nice, dear. But, it's not really bouillabaise, now is it?" There are similar soups all around the Mediterranean, although I think only the French insist on fennel. It seems to me that I once saw a Spanish recipe for a fish soup that used chorizo, but I am not certain of that. [Can I count chorizo as an herb? Or prosciutto? I use both to flavor all sorts of dishes!). My son, to whom I DO listen from time to time, especially because he is almost as good a cook as I am, despite the limited repertoire of youth, tells me that sausage, fish and shellfish are common combinations in New Orleans cooking. So maybe what we just had here (and there is a lot left!) is "Simple Cajun Fish Soup"! I own about 50 cookbooks, but I just read them; I almost never actually follow a recipe! Steal an idea here; steal another there; throw in what you like [I'm personally big on garlic & chilis and my wife loves tomatoes]; and accommodate what you have.

It's not really possible to talk about culinary herbs without talking about cooking, is it? Does anyone grow culinary herbs in order to not cook with them? That's a serious question, folks.

There are seed exchanges and plant exchanges. Maybe we should have an "Herbal Recipe" exchange! I can see it now. It could lead to the "Dave's Garden Herbal Cookbook". Dave and Terry (I don't know who Terry is, but he/she seems to do a lot of the DG admin) appear on Oprah and are interviewed live --- Dave from Trenton, NJ and Terry from La Paz, Bolivia --- on Larry King Live.

Now, you see what happens? It must be that smoked Spanish paprika!

I know a great recipe for fennel and saffron bread to go with the fish soup, by the way. I'll trade for saffron!

Potagere

I didn't know it had to have Med. rockfish to be a 'true' bouillabaise. Now I'll say we're having Canuckstyle bouillabaisse (I use perch). New Orleans gumbos mmmmmmmmm. I read cookbooks like novels cover to cover and then I never look at them again LOL. I make it up as I go along (except for some sauces that might separate) and most of my herb measurements are counted by 'handfull'. There is a receipe forum where my HdP thread is triggering a salad dressing thread. I'm into anything food and herb related. I bet a DG Herbal Cookbook would sell like hotcakes seriously!!!

I miss the bread. One of the first places we went to when we got to Paris (after our hotel, of course) was a bakery and a grocery store. We found this little park and two park benches facing each other and there we had a picnic of bread, pate, cheese, and red wine. and something chocolate for dessert.

those were the days.

France has the best bread, wine, and that deadly apple hard alcohol (whiskey?). England has the best cheese, beer, and hard cider. Ireland has great meals.

Chocolate is my fav food group. I think European chocolate tastes better.

They use different sugar in the cola (coke tastes odd when you first get there) that might be the answer.

Armagnac, zhinu!
I grew up in WA State and I can assure you: it's the same sugar.
Same smelly sugar beets!

Potagere, I'm afraid you'll have to visit stateside and make your "fish stew" for us all and we will officially name it. I just see no other way around it! Perhaps, we could come to France to sample your cooking. Yes, that's it!

zhinu, Strongbow hard cider. Yeah, went down like water, but made your head reel the next morning.

dahlianut, Leonidas chocolate in Belgium. Yes, yes! Much better than Godiva. We loved Brussels. Chocolate shop, lace shop, chocolate shop, lace shop, beer!

herbalbetty - they had cider better than Strongbow at the "Safeway" type stores that came in 3 liter plastic bottles and cost 8 pounds if I remember right.

Nope! Gotta get your cider on tap! :-) I think Woodpecker was the other brand we enjoyed. Gosh, we moved from England in 1993, so it's been awhile and memory is fuzzy. Or was that because of the cider I drank?

Though I guess the best I had was on the ferry. Cider de Normandy I think it was. Tap is better, but good cider bottled is better than bad cider on tap. They make a really good pear cider here in WA, but I can't remember who makes it.

"Woodpecker" is good.
Sorry, either you all gotta come here. ot you ll gotta be in Spokane on 20 September )and Zhinu has to bring fish from the market because who ever last bought edible fresh fish in Spokane?

BELGIAN chocolate? I'd rather eat Aplets & Choclets! If zhinu brings fish from PPMarket, I'll not only do the cooking, I'll bring handmade Swiss chocolates.

Potagere

You know the offer is tempting, but I'm broke and the gas cost too much now.

darn I have company then. I'd bring .... wheat? No sillys I'd bring some AAA Alberta beef of course ^_^

Herbalbetty ~ you definitely need a greenhouse or a move to the south! I have two questions on your earlier post please... you mentioned rock rose ~ Pavonia? Is it herbal? Used how?
And your mention of Licorice Verbena snagged me... again, what, how????

At the risk of 'getting my plate broke' here,

Swiss chocolate!!!! but...Germany has wonderful bread too. Crusty bread. and beer! I think I spent my high school years in a local brewery when my Dad was in the Army. and wine. I dont remember any memorable meals in Ireland.

I'm having a brain fade here.....there was a licorise drink that you mixed water with and it became cloudy....my dad would let me sip his when I was little, but when we got to Paris, we couldn't find it in the liquor stores or even the grocery. We were asking for a brand name but it wasnt available any more. sheeese. this makes me crazy. I brought a few bottles home but they are long gone.
starts with a P?

I never got to Germany, I took German and it's my heritage, but never got there.

~ zhinu & dahlia: too bad, guys! It coulda been fun! Still time between now & then!

~ pod: That's interesting. I'd'a never have thunk it.

~ nannie: Pernod or Pastis. Paris and no pastis? Are you sure you weren't in (East) Berlin?

Potagere - if you ever come to Olympia! Even Seattle or Portland might be doable. Spokane is a bit far, unless I'm ever visiting my relatives, but it's been awhile.

We usually have a big seafood feast in Seattle with friends following a day at the Pike Place Market when we are in the States, but I don't know if we are going to get over there this time. I'll be sure to let you know.

How about I make my Chai truffles or maybe lavender truffles? Swiss chocolate is too milk chocolate for me. Want something darker.

Pod, guess I should get a greenhouse, I like it here in the north. Well, except for February. Rock Rose - Cistus ladanifer is used in Bach remedies (flower essences). Lippia alba - Licorice verbena.

The only licorice Verbena I could find was Frogfruit ~ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/62730/

Lippia alba I will check out. Thanks...

I got mine at Well Sweep Herbs in NJ.

I see there is no info on it in plants files... I did find it thru other searches.

Oh, HB, lavender truffles!!!!???!!!
Please!
Are you sure you are not confusing Swiss chocolates with Belgian chocolates? I guess not, as you don't seem to be a fan of 'Godiva', and I think it is very "milk chocolatey/weak" and over-rated. Swiss chocolates are usually very "strong". Unfortunately, my favorites, "Les Paves de Geneve" don't hardly travel at all, unless hand carried and kept cool. I've sent a few "chocolate soups" to friends. But I can guarantee that these would convert you!

Oh, but lavender truffles! Another something that I am sure does not travel except under escort (and, sorry, pod, but it wouldn't make it to Texas, at all!). My wife is in NYC for yet 1 more week (3 total!). How far is Middleburgh? Nah, she loves me a lot, but probably not enough to travel out just to get me the world's best-sounding chocolate.

Gosharoonee [now that I have been reminded that the D word is not allowed]! Now that I've heard of them, how can I die without tasting one?

Yeah, you DO need a GH (new paragraph; new topic,as my 5th grade teacher taught me). Or at least a good cold frame! Pod's idea of moving south is a bit extreme, especially because you'd need a separate American Van Lines truck to move the herbs; not to mention whatever other plants you have!

Even if you don't like Swiss chocolates, wanta do a trade? Pineapple sage for seeds of my NOT Horapha "lemon" basil?

Maybe we should do a big round-robin herb swap?