Herbs are more than flavoring . . .

Oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

All easy to grow or available at farmers' markets, these herbs can be sprinkled liberally on your food. A wonderful addition to salads, meat or fish dishes and on vegetables. They are a source of analgesic, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory compounds. (Oregano alone has 32 anti-inflammatories!)

Try mixing these garden herbs in your favorite proportions for a pain-relieving tea. Pour a cup of boiling water over two teaspoons of fresh herbs or a teaspoon of dried herbs. Steep 5 to 10 minutes and strain. Sit and enjoy!

What to do with a pound of very fresh haddock fillets? . . .

First I checked the Internet - no recipes I liked there.

So I grabbed a basket, a pair of scissors and headed to the greenhouse - hand full of chard, 4 large stems of oregano, one large stem of parsley. That's a start. Next back to the kitchen - 3 large white stuffing mushrooms, 3 strips of bacon, half a roll of Ritz crackers made into crumbs, 1 cup leftover brown rice. I'm ready.

Cook bacon in fry pan until very crispy. While the bacon is cooking, finely chop onion, slice mushrooms, remove the oregano leaves from stems.

Preheat the oven - 450.

Remove the cooked bacon from fry pan and crumble. Add onion and mushrooms to bacon fat and cook until soft. While the veggies are cooking melt 1/2 T butter in oven proof dish. Spread cooked rice on the bottom of the dish. Cut haddock in 2' pieces. Add half the fish on the rice. Add half the crumbled bacon. Cut the chard in thin strips over the rice. Toss on oregano leaves. Add the rest of the fish and bacon. Sprinkle crumbs until all the ingredients are covered. Add very thin slices of butter over most of the crumbs. Decorate the plates with the parsley.

Bake for 5 minutes at 450. Reduce oven to 350 and cook until fish is done. 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve immediately. On the table in less than an hour. Will feed 3-4. Clean up, cutting board & knife, one fry pan & spatula, one serving dish & one serving spoon.

From the garden again tonight . . .

So many wonderful flavors available in the garden!

Garden Bruschetta

Recipe for one serving. Specific varieties are what we have here at the herb Farm. Use the ones you have in your garden or farmers' market.

Slice:

• Handful of Primax cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
  

Coarsely diced:

• Brandywine tomato, an heirloom cultivar (Solanum lycopersicum)
  

Small amount to taste some or all of each of the below:

• Lovage (Levisticum officinale) leaves
• Lamb's quarter (Chenopodium album)
• Chickweed (Stellaria media)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaves
• Parsley (Petroselinum neapolitanum)
• Genovese Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Greek Oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum)

Brown on both sides a slice of homemade whole wheat & oatmeal bread in:

• 1 TL olive oil
• 1 TBL butter

Put hot bread on a dinner plate
Add cabbage on and beside the bread
Add tomato and greens to taste
Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and walnuts
Salt & pepper to taste
Dress with olive oil & balsamic vinegar
Serve right way!

Umm Umm Good

The joys of a garden . . .

Perfect for a summer night's supper!

Cabbage, broccoli, tomato, parsley, oregano and a touch of garlic all from the garden today - topped with feta, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Crop rotation . . .

Crop rotation wil help keep your garden in good condition for years. If you are interested here is a link to Yankee Gardener's, Crop Rotation Chart, a place to start.

We have a lot of rhubarb chard in the greenhouse now and have adapted the recipe for Warm Herbed Garden Spinach from Yankee Gardner's recipe.

• 1/2 cup red onion or yellow onion, chopped
• 2 slices well cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons margarine (we use butter*)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt*)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 lb fresh garden picked spinach (can use chard or other greens*)
• 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon (Optional use lime juice if available)
• Top with crumbled feta or blue cheese*
• Garnish with chopped fresh oregano to taste*

Cook onion, bacon and garlic with margarine (butter*), over medium heat until bacon is crisp and crumbled.
Stir frequently.
Reduce heat and add seasonings.
Add spinach (and or other greens*)
Toss just until spinach (and/or other greens) is/are just wilted.
Drizzle with the fresh lemon juice.
Garnish with parsley & fresh oregano*.
Serve immediately.

* As in most kitchen we have added our own touches as noted by the * in this recipe.

The web site has lots of useful information for gardeners and cooks.

Vegetable Gardening Outside the Lines

A post prompted by an email from Mike McGroarty

For years I have mixed things up in the garden, often having very little space, it was the only way. Being in coastal New England, we are rock gardening and have made planting beds everywhere possible. There is only one almost rectangular, flat bed here where the rows are some what straight.

With the concern for the bee population, or lack there of, we are planting more herbs among the vegetables than ever. Companion planting is high on the list this season. The horseradish has been moved near the potatoes and fruit trees in bottom less pots. Hope I don't regret that next year! Hyssop with the grape vines. And oregano as a border in many beds to name a few.

Photo from Wikipedia

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Oregano . . .

Species/Family: Lamiaceae
Scientific name: Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum (O. heracleoticum)

Oregano is used for its antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. As a team oregano is used to relieve indigestion.

Found on the web in several places:

• The essential oil of oregano is a potent germ killer. Jean Valnet, in his book, The Practice of Aromatherapy, described how oil of oregano superceded anti-inflammatory drugs in reversing pain and inflammation and is nearly as powerful as morphine as a painkiller. The oil also possesses significant antioxidant power. Furthermore, it stimulates the flow of bile, which greatly aids digestion.

Photo from Johnny's Seeds

A new Victory Garden . . .

I have always enjoyed growing vegetables and fruits. The first garden was on Goose Lane in the mid 1960's. The owner had used organic gardening techniques which appealed to me and suggested I read Ruth Stout's book, No Work Garden Book which is still available! I figured if Ms. Stout could have a big garden at 80 I could too.

I don't remember what we planted only that I loved working in the soil, watching seeds sprout into plants and enjoyed the fruits of our labors.

This winter the house was filled with flats of seedlings. As the weather moderated the flats were moved into the greenhouse then back in the afternoon. Now the plants are all in the gardens.

The Victory Garden which gets a lot of sun and has tomatoes, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkins and companion herbs.

The Back Forty (feet) is home to potatoes, carrots, beets, peas (which are ready to pick), beans, cabbage, cauliflower and companion herbs.

The Upper Great Wall of Annisquam Garden which gets lots of sun is home to lavender, feverfew, chamomile, pennyroyal, yarrow, bergamot, beebalm and a few flowers. The lower garden has more tomatoes, companion herbs and peony.

The Old Kitchen Garden has a wonderful clump of rhubarb in the center which has yielded several pies and sauce. it is surrounded by lemon thyme, a variegated thyme, arnica, angelica, st. johnswort, clary sage, german thyme, sage, dill, hyssop, basil, horseradish, wild onion, globe thistle, valerian, greek oregano and calendula.

And below the well: celery, leeks, several kinds of lettuce and meclun greens.