Correction to Yesterday's Recipe

Hi Folks,

I did not catch that the 1/2 cup symbol came through as a ? mark. Sorry about that - I sure hope it didn't frustrate anyone.

Here are the corrected recipes.

Jean Carper's GOOD-for You Candy
Chocolate Cherry Clusters

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups cheerios cereal
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup walnut pieces

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or microwave. Quickly stir in the cereal, cherries and nuts until well coated. Use tablespoon to drop clusters on baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 2 hours until no longer sticky. Makes about 24 clusters 137 calories, 2 grams Protein and 2 grams of fiber.

Catherine's Version of Chocolate Cheerio Candy
(The 60% cocoa is a better option for maximum dark chocolate health benefit - any dried red or blue fruit will work for the antioxidant helper.)
3 cups Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup of walnut pieces
1 1/2 cups of Cheerios

Still a fun recipe for any holiday or anytime you want to treat yourself to something tasty and has some good things in it too!

Have a safe Black Friday and weekend,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

220 Years ago Today, the First Official Thanksgiving...

. . . was celebrated as a national public day of prayer and thanks by a grateful nation.

Dear Folks,

First a recipe for that last minute take-with for today's meal or to quickly make a dessert that is a nice healthy option.

Jean Carper of "Stop Aging Now" published this recipe several years ago in the Sunday magazine section of the newspaper. I am printing it here now and also with my version of it.

Jean Carper's GOOD-for You Candy
Chocolate Cherry Clusters

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups cheerios cereal
1 cup dried cherries
½ cup walnut pieces

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or microwave. Quickly stir in the cereal, cherries and nuts until well coated. Use tablespoon to drop clusters on baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 2 hours until no longer sticky. Makes about 24 clusters 137 calories, 2 grams Protein and 2 grams of fiber.

Catherine's Version of Chocolate Cheerio Candy
(The 60% cocoa is a better option for maximum dark chocolate health benefit - any dried red or blue fruit will work for the antioxidant helper.)
3 cups Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup of walnut pieces
1 ½ cups of Cheerios

On October 3, 1789 President George Washington proclaimed that November 26, 1789 would be a public day of prayer and thanksgiving by a grateful nation for what they accomplished and what they stood for.

I am thankful for all my family and friends and for the many people who share my passion for gardening and cooking well.

Happy Thanksgiving,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

. . .

First Official Thanksgiving

October 3, 1789

President George Washington proclaimed the 1st national Thanksgiving Day to be Nov 26

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to

"recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

In 1863 President Lincoln designated the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Dinner on The Table, Old Shows On the Computer

Dear folks,

I hope you will be having a great, peaceful and comforting Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. If you have a computer, instead of the TV or video games, go to the Old Time Radio site and listen (free) to a fun selection of Thanksgiving related shows from the likes of Jack Benny, George and Gracie Allen and others. You can download the shows too.

Otrcat.com

Jon Hall over at OTR cat has an incredible collection of shows from the golden days of radio, every genre, thousands of programs, and historically interesting as many of the commercials are still in the programs.

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Got a pumpkin? I have a neat recipe

Hi Folks,

The holidays are always both a time to enjoy traditional family recipes and to also try some new ones. I have a fun one for a pumpkin.

First though, in case you were having problems with the sidebar link here to my podcast show - they figured out the problem. One hand did not tell the other hand they changed the way they shake hands! Sigh. Oh well that's the way the internet works.

Now for the recipe -- you need a whole pumpkin in good condition which will fit in your oven. An option is you have a really large one is the cut it two equal halves.

First the photo showing the general principle and then instructions. This can be a vegetarian/vegan feast or an excellent side dish for the traditional Thanksgiving table.



This original recipe first appeared in my cookbook "101+ Recipes from The Herb Lady." You can purchase the book through the link(s) on the side bar or through your favorite book seller for more recipes featuring real food flavored with herbs and spices.

I vary the ingredients slightly for the particular meal I'm preparing. Essentially you can use your favorite stuffing recipe (some folks call it 'dressing') which you would use on Thanksgiving.

I wanted something with a lot of the flavors of Thanksgiving -- bread, celery, onion, cranberries, apples, and poultry seasoning. (If celery and onions sauteing in butter and seasoning was a room freshener mist I might buy it!)

Here is my basic ingredient list, and directions.

1 small pumpkin about 6 + pounds (wide rather than tall).
2 cups each diced celery and onion
3 cups dried bread, cubed
2 tablespoons each olive oil and butter, unsalted (can use all olive oil)
2 tablespoons mixed herbs, minced finely (Ex: sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley), or 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I frequently double or triple the herbs, but that is my preference.)
1/2 - 1 cup warm water (use broth for more flavor, if you like)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries cut in half
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 small apple diced (I put cut apple pieces in lemon water to prevent discoloration)
Salt to taste (but taste first)

Optional for Vegetarian Thanksgiving:
1 cup frozen green soybeans "Edamame" (shucked), thawed to room temperature

Optional for meat eaters, 1 cup of crumbled sausage pre-cooked.

Directions:

Cut pumpkin top off at angle (so it won't slip in while baking), remove all seeds and strings. (Don't forget to save some of the seeds for replanting and roast the rest for a snack.)

Pre-bake pumpkin for 30-40 minutes at 350 -it should still be firm, but a knife will pierce easily. Keep hot.

While pumpkin is baking heat oil, butter and add herbs or poultry seasoning, add celery and onion, cover and simmer for approximately 25 minutes until onion and celery is cooked, stirring occasionally.

Mix fresh and dried cranberries, apple, soybeans and bread into celery mixture. Add enough warm water to moisten, it should not be soggy.

Remove pumpkin from oven, carefully pack with stuffing, replace top of pumpkin. Raise oven temperature to 375 and bake for additional 30-40 minutes. Pumpkin will be soft, but should not collapse. Remove carefully.

Serve making sure to cut some pumpkin into stuffing mixture.

Additional options: The nice thing about this dish is you can add or subtract an ingredient to your taste.

For some more fun ideas for a Vegan Thanksgiving, Geraldine at The Questing Feast has a nice page on the subject, along with many ideas for a more traditional Thanksgiving. click here

For a gift idea for your favorite gardener, don't forget my email subscription reminder service. Click here or on the sidebar for information.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

My Ginger Project

Dear Folks,

I love using ginger and several times I've tried to grow it, and failed - another of my trowel and error experiments from which I hope to benefit and pass the lessons learned on to you.

Exactly one month ago I planted ginger in 3 places in the garden. Pictured here is one of the plants coming up -- I took the picture this morning.

As a tropical herb, ginger root is actually the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale. (The botanical plate here is from Kohler's Medicinal Plants, published in 1887 by Franz Eugen Köhler. (Tumeric and cardamon and galangal are also members of the zingiberaceae family.)

I have tried several times to grow ginger and I did not pay enough attention to what it needed to germinate from the rhizome "roots" - they need warm soil to germinate. Next year I'm going to get the ginger pieces in the ground in August, to ensure enough warm soil growth because I am not sure at this point that the current plants will have enough root growth on them to get them through the winter cooler soil and air temps -- but we will see.

As with my garlic experiment I would like to have my own local supply of ginger rather than purchasing the chain-store Asian imported varieties. According to the general growing information on ginger it requires an even longer growing season than garlic - about 10 months, so I figure that my best possible harvesting time will be in June or July.

Ginger is an amazing food plant with many health benefits on top of the great taste. Growing up my mother "dosed" us with ginger ale or mint tea any time we had tummy aches. True ginger ale sold commercially (many are artificially flavored) still is good for tummy problems for most people. Ginger tea or ginger added to chicken broth is also good for sore throats and respiratory-related ills like colds and allergies. And some folks like candied ginger for headaches.

I adapted a recipe from Ming Tsai for making my own candied ginger and resulting ginger syrup to make home made ginger ale.

You need equal parts of peeled and sliced ginger, granulated sugar and water - example 1 cup of peeled and sliced ginger - make slices the same size 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick - choose firm unblemished ginger, 1 cup each sugar and water. In a pot heat to dissolve sugar in water (I like to use an organic granulated sugar*) add ginger and simmer until the syrup is reduced by about 1/3 to 1/2 - thicker syrup is much stronger.

Have a plate on which you have sprinkled more sugar. Using tongs, take the ginger pieces out, drain over the pot and lay on the sugar, single layer. Turn the syrup off. Turn the ginger slices to coat the other side. Ready a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and preheat oven to 225. Dry candied ginger in the oven for 2-3 hours until they are leathery, but not brittle.

Shake off excess sugar into the syrup pot, and store candied ginger in glass jar - does not have to be refrigerated. Add a bit more water to the syrup pot and bring back to a boil (I like to capture every drop of the ginger/sugar). Remove from heat and pour into a sterile bottle. Cap and refrigerate - will last about a month.

To make ginger ale, mix 1/4 cup of syrup with 3/4 cup of cold sparkling water of choice (seltzer, club soda, Perrier etc.) Optional slice of lemon and/or a sprig of mint completes a very refreshing drink which just happens to be good for you too.

* If you want to try making the candied ginger with honey or agave nectar reduce the proportion from 1 cup of sugar to 3/4 cup of honey or agave nectar.

. . .

I added a gift subscription option to the reminder gardening service. Click here for information.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening - Some Fun If You Are Having One of "Those" Days.

Dear folks,

Have you seen the t-shirts, mugs and signs for sale with the notation:

"I'll have a Caffe Mocha Vodka Valium Latte, to go please!" — and you know exactly the feeling behind it!

Deane once gave one of his daughter's ten feet of bubble wrap for her birthday - a family tradition is no bubble wrap goes un-popped. When I can, if he has one of "those" days I lay the bubble wrap out on the entry floor area so when he comes home he can stamp to his heart's content.

Well in the interest of a cleaner environment but with the continuing need to strangle someone, ah, ‘er — let go of some of that frustration life seems to hand out on a more or less regular basis, some very creative people have crafted a wonderful site.

The website you need — Virtual Bubble Wrap!

Tech stuff - the site uses shockwave flashplayer - if your system does not have it (most do) it is a free download.

Go there and have a popping blast.

Take two pages and have a nice restful night and you won't need to call anyone in the morning!

Have a nice Sunday!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening - Locavore Sightings for October

Dear Folks,

Can you fall in love with a winery? Well if it is Kief-Joshua Vineyards in Elgin/Sonita area (520.455.5582) - it is perfectly possible. First, it is not enough to have the gorgeous ambiance of the hills of Elgin/Sonita and a building borrowed from Tuscany or Provence, or that the grapes are raised in a holistic manner and tended by hand, or that heritage sheep are used for weed control, nor that natural controls via hawks and owls are used -- the wine has to be outstanding — and it is.

In any wine tasting I've been to - and no, I do not get to many - but I am a huge fan of good wine - there are at least one or two wines which do not ‘grab me.' Not so with the current offerings at Kief-Joshua Vineyards -- each was great in its own way.

Chenin Blanc (good with spicy food, grilled fish or light dessert).
Vognier "vee-on-yea" (fresh fruit, pork, chicken, light salad or Thanksgiving Turkey).
Cabernet Franc (fish, chicken, beef or pork or Thanksgiving Turkey).
Syrah (beef, game, grilled meat or barbecue).
Nebbiolo (red meats, tomato based sauces or heavier chicken dishes)
Cabernet Sauvignon (red meats, tomato based sauces or sharp cheeses)

The Thanksgiving Turkey note above for the Vognier and Cabernet Franc are my own - either of these, a white or a light red, would perfectly compliment the turkey whether roasted, grilled or deep fried. If you are serving tamales - try the Vognier.

I was on a tour with some folks, and had no prior knowledge of Kief-Joshua except that they practiced holistic viticulture (the science and tradition of growing grapes for wine) and used a heritage sheep known as Baby Doll (not to be confused with the dahl sheep variety) as some of the weed control in the vineyard. Well as a current "natural" gardener/farmer and a former owner of miniature goats, I was looking forward to seeing and experiencing the winery/vineyard. (FYI if you are not familiar with the distinction - a winery is where the wines are produced from the grapes and bottled and a vineyard is where they are grown — both are not necessarily at the same location. In the case of Kief-Joshua Vineyard they are both.)

So when we arrived at the beautiful building and vineyard, and the very nice young man who looked to be about 19 and half to these older eyes, proceeded to politely and knowledgeable disburse the samples of the wine, I was surprised and impressed to learn we were speaking to Kief-Joshua. He then gave us the highlights of the wine making area.

I highly recommend a trip to the Kief-Joshua Vineyard, but if you can't make it down just yet, their wines are available at retail locations around the state click here for their website/retail page.

They also have a Sunday Omelet Brunch, and are going to be exhibiting at the Tempe Art and Wine Festival December 4-6, 2009. Open seven days a week from 11 am to 5 p.m. (520.455.5582) Website
. . .

FRESH the movie October 8th at Madcap Theaters in Tempe - $7 presented by Edible Phoenix Magazine -- Celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

. . .

Boyce Thompson Arboretum events:

October 9th -- Opening day of the Annual Fall Plant Sale, you find me giving a lecture and Thrillin Grillin food demo from 11 am to about 1:30 p.m. This is a members only sale (for the discounts) — and by the way membership is reasonable and the park is dog-friendly — the lecture and food demo are open to all visitors with admission to the park. The plant sale is open to the public from October 10th through the 25th.

Also at the BTA on October 16th Cedar Flute Musician Joseph Leal provides entertainment for an outdoor evening of enjoyment (4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - bring a picnic or grab some friends and make your own pot-luck).

If you enjoy music at the BTA make sure you check the same link for the upcoming Folk Festival November 14th, which has always been a real treat to listen to a variety of entertainers in different areas of the arboretum.

. . .

Desert Botanical Garden events:

Fall Plant Sale - October 16-18th - To shop the plant sale you do not need to pay to get into the Garden (Friday Oct 16 is members only, though), but you may want to shop then go into the garden for the annual Monarch Butterfly exhibit (an extra fee to the admission price to see the butterflies - well worth it).

. . .

Schnepf Farms annual October Chili - Pumpkin festival 480-987-3100.

. . .

Coming up in November - something to check out and mark your calendars.

Short subject presentations in a new type of forum TEDxPhoenix November 6th at the Mesa Arts Center, $5 tickets. (TED stands for Technolgy, Entertainment, Design) this program is a series of short (18 minutes) presentations by a variety of speakers. Similar to ignite-phoenix , this event includes Greg Peterson, green lifestyle expert from the Urban Farm. with others offering mini lectures on a variety of interesting and/or timely subjects -- it is a way to engage you, the audience, in sharing of ideas and networking. Greg is a regular contributor to Edible Phoenix Magazine.

The magazine is available with a subscription or at one of the sponsoring farmers markets check out http://www.foodconnect.org/ where you can find Arizona farmers markets.

For farmers markets in other areas click here and to find an "Edible" magazine for your community click here .

Support your local businesses!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady