• ELDER (FLOWER & BERRIES)
• GARLIC--HERB OF THE YEAR, 2004
• ROSEMARY
• WHAT NOT TO WEAR
• CINNAMON
• CALENDULA (cal-END-you-la)
• A GIFT FROM ME TO YOU

ELDER (FLOWERS & BERRIES)

The elder (Sambucus sp.) doesn’t really look that great, to be honest with you. It’s the kind of shrub you’d walk right by, most of the time, unless it’s in bloom, and then you might notice that it doesn’t smell very wonderful, either -- Shakespeare had one of his characters call it "the stinking elder" -- which does seem a little harsh to me, but who am I to disagree with the Bard. Anyway, the smell is supposed to repel insects -- it sure repels me, which is why I give Elderflower Cream that lovely rose scent -- to counter the rough smell.

Different parts of the elder were used by the Romans, by English and Welsh healers around the same time, and up to the eleventh century in Italy. It was also a favorite remedy among European gypsies for all kinds of ailments. People used to plant elder near their homes, because the wood was believed to drive away evil spirits and harmful creatures, which probably means that, like garlic, it was known to have widespread healing qualities that "kept the bad stuff away," whatever "the bad stuff" might be.

For healing, most parts of the plant have been used, for different purposes, of course. A warning however, all parts but the flowers and ripe fruits (black, purple or blue, but not red) contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can cause severe diarrhea if you eat them. On the safe side, the leaves, boiled in linseed oil, are a traditional remedy for hemorrhoids. Native Americans used a leaf poultice to stop bleeding. Elderberries have been used for constipation, colic, diarrhea, colds and rheumatism, by promoting perspiration, which gets rid of the bad stuff.

Elderberries also make a lovely medicinal wine (for colds, of course), and yummy jam and jelly. Make these last two exactly as you would using raspberries or blackberries -- and add a little finely chopped ginger to bring out the flavour if you like.

There’s a wonderful story about an American sailor who, in 1899, claimed that getting drunk on fine aged port relieved his rheumatic pains. It turned out that the "fine aged port" was cheap port mixed with elderberry juice, and the combination became quite popular as a remedy for joint pain. There are interesting possibilities here.

Elderflowers, which are what I use, either as a tisane (an infusion in water) or an oil infusion, soothe and heal irritated or dry skin. The infusion seems to work below the surface, strengthening and balancing the moisture and oil levels that keep skin soft and supple, without being greasy. Distilled in water, the flowers have been used to clean the skin that is sunburned or freckled, and can also be used to take away headaches if used as a compress. A herbal bath which contains elderflowers not only soothes the skin, but also the nerves and anxieties as well.

Note: we have Culpeper to thank for preserving a lot of traditional information on the use of herbs, which might otherwise have been lost at the beginning of the shift from herb garden to pharmacy as the place to find medicines. He recorded all kinds of information, including the astrological qualities of herbs, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s putting his reader on or not -- just the way he says things. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of both historical and practical stuff in his book.

I don’t know who decides which herb will be "of the year" but there’s little doubt in my mind that garlic deserves all the accolades it gets. It is truly one of nature’s gifts to us (along with lavender, which admittedly smells a lot better, and has different but equally wide ranging benefits).

Called the "Stinking Rose" by the Elizabethans, garlic has been around helping people out as long as there have been people, it seems. The Egyptians are reported to have fed their slaves garlic so they would have enough strength to build the pyramids. They also used garlic and onions to invoke the gods at oath-taking ceremonies. Just imagine: "I swear to love and honour you as long as you serve garlic at least once a week." Well, probably not exactly like that.

Interestingly, those who ate garlic were not allowed to enter the temples of Cybele, the Phrygian goddess of nature who consorted with Attis, the god of fertility. But garlic bulbs were placed on cairns along roads as supper for Hecate, an ancient Greek fertility goddess who later became identified with Persephone, goddess of the underworld and protector of witches. I guess these were good witches, because everyone knows that bad witches, vampires and werewolves really don’t like garlic one bit.

The next time you’re running in a race, try chewing a clove of garlic as you go. It’s believed to prevent anyone passing you. I wonder if the origin of this is connected in any way with the Egyptians and their strong slaves? Hungarian jockeys tie a clove of garlic onto their horse’s bit for the same reason. Who knows, it might work.

Garlic is supposed to be good to feed chickens, but not when they’re laying, unless you’re fond of garlic-flavoured eggs. Can you imagine what THAT would do to a lemon meringue pie!!

Here on the West Coast, where the winters are mild, the best time to plant garlic in your garden is October -- by the light of the full moon, to be exact, at midnight, naked. I just put that last part in to see if you were paying attention, of course. Pick off the flowers when they come up, as this makes the bulbs grow bigger and fatter. Dig them up when the tops die back, usually around the end of July.

Garlic is not only good to eat and as a flavouring. It is probably one of the most versatile medicinal herbs. It has been clinically proven to lower the incidence of stomach cancer. It also fortifies the body’s natural immune system and lowers low-density cholesterol.

Garlic has serious antifungal and anti-bacterial action. In the 19th century, Louis Pasteur tested these by putting a bit of garlic juice in a petri dish full of bacteria -- the garlic killed them all. Dr Albert Schweitzer used garlic to treat cholera and dysentery in Africa in the 1950s. Before the pharmaceutical development of penicillin, garlic was used extensively in both world (European) wars, as a disinfectant and to prevent gangrene.

There is a story that during the Great Plague in Europe, the one that killed 68,596 people in London in 1665, there were four thieves who made a fortune going into the houses of plague victims (to relieve them of the possessions they no longer needed, of course). They drank daily a tonic of vinegar, garlic and a variety of other herbs, which protected them from ever contacting the disease. I’d love to have a recipe for THAT stuff!

Wine of Garlic, 3 or 4 bulbs of garlic mashed into a quart of "strong spirits," is a good stimulant for baldness of the head. I think you rub it on, not drink it. I have not tried this.

On the down side, the medieval herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1826), doesn’t like garlic very much. Among its vices, he says that it makes men who have tempers more prone to flair up, and give men who tend to be melancholy "strong fancies, and as many strange visions to the head." You’ve been warned!

ROSEMARY

Luckily, rosemary is one of my favorite winter seasonings, as well. I put it in any hearty stew or soup, but also in scalloped potatoes and cheesy stuff. It’s the main herb used to make Focaccia, the Italian flat bread with the dimples in it. I’m not giving you a recipe for that just now, but I did try something quite different I’d like to share with you. It’s easy, really.