Fine Dining
Lunch is served outside today
warmed by the sun's bright rays
while songbirds serenade.
Would you like some lemonade?
This one is made from fresh Lemon Balm.
I'll share a plant with you when you go home.
To me it smells like lemon drops,
the candy, colored with turmeric.
There are many choices on the menu.
I think you'll agree. Let me list a few.
Each one will delight your senses.
Not only by taste, but their fragrances.
Before we start sampling, be sure to watch out for bees.
Beware, some of these fragrances may cause you to sneeze.
I’m sure the scent of celery will please
found in Angelica and Lovage leaves.
If you like a peppery flavor,
you'll like fresh Arugula or
in your salad these pretty Nasturtium flowers.
Yes, you can eat these red, orange, or yellow florals.
Here's some fresh-picked Chives to sprinkle on
if you like the taste of raw onions.
Chive blossoms are edible too.
They're best when still covered with dew.
Other flowers you can eat
as a colorful treat
are these Borage flowers
which taste like cucumbers.
Would you like to try some free Purslane?
It grows abundantly: a detox is its fame.
Tastes rather like spinach.
It's good for your stomach.
Many herbs smell and taste like licorice.
Some are Anise, Chervil, Fennel, Hyssop.
Most often used to make sausage taste spicy.
Used to flavor seafood and makes salads tangy.
To dress your salad, make oils and vinegars
flavored with Garlic cloves, Thyme, and Rosemary sprigs.
Harvest fresh herbs before they flower.
Use tender sprigs, not the woody twigs.
This tall wispy stalk is Dill.*
It grows wherever at will.
Before the seedheads form I freeze the minced fronds
to later add to a yummy variety of salads.
Do save room for a decadent dessert!
Today there's fresh citrus for dessert
tasted in Bee Balm
and also Lemon Balm.
These are the no calorie kind
for on today's garden tour we dined
on a fragrant bouquet
of edible herbs displayed.
Time to cleanse our palettes with a fresh sprig of Parsley,
then we'll sit for awhile with a fragrant cup of tea.
Would you like Chamomile, or Peppermint,
or Sage, or Bergamot, or Chocolate Mint?
While we sip our tea today
we'll enjoy the herb bouquet
of Feverfew's small daisy-like flowers
mixed in with these Echinacea cone flowers.
We'll listen to the drone of bees
who buzz about quite happily
as we try another flavor,
each one to be quietly savored.
When in flower, herbs will attract bees and/or repel insects.
To deter aphids in your roses, be sure to plant Garlic.
Since deer do not like scented flowers,
planting herbs will deter these creatures.
Many herbs are made into everlasting bouquets
then shared with someone to be enjoyed for many days.
Because herbs are scented they’re used in potpourris,
or enclosed in pretty sachets.
All these herbs contain medicinal qualities as well.
Dried purple cone flower which is Echinacea dispels
germs that invade the immune system
and will help fight off infection.
On another day we'll take time to learn more
about herbs medicinal qualities to cure.
That concludes today's tour, folks.
Let's hurry in or we'll get soaked.
*Dill is mentioned in the Bible as a, likely, aromatic garden herb tithed by the Pharisees in Jesus' time (Matthew 23:23) and as a crop in Isaiah 28:24-25, 27. (Copied)
* * * * *
Which of these fragrant herbs will you serve for dinner tonight?
Garlic, Oregano, and Basil in tomato sauce will delight.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in your poultry stuffing.
Minced Garlic with fresh Parsley and Chives in your salad dressing.
Before you consume be sure to thank the Lord for
these tasty good-for-you herbs and so much more
for we all have much to be thankful for.
May God's blessings abound to you and yours.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
and herb for the service of men,
that he may bring forth food out of the earth.
Psalm 104:14 (KJV)
One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs...
II King 4:39
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is...
Proverbs 15:17
...mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs...
Luke 11:42
For the earth, which drinketh in the rain
that cometh often upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs
fit for them by whom it is tilled,
receiveth blessing from God.
Hebrews 6:7 (KJV)
The mix of herbs I use to season meat sauce or chili
made with ground beef or turkey and hot sausage:
1 cup dried basil
½ cup dried oregano
¼ cup dried parsley
2 Tablespoons or more granulated garlic
Store in an air tight container.
(As I make a large pot of sauce,
I add ½ cup of mix plus more garlic and basil to my taste.)
When making chili, add paprika, chili powder and cumin.
No comments:
Post a Comment