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Harvesting and using herbs |
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Written by Mary Preus, author of The Northwest Herb Lover’s Handbook
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Monday, 23 August 2010 09:39 |
 Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy herbs fresh from your garden. Whether you have pots on the deck or a whole backyard, all you need to produce abundant harvests is a few starter plants or packets of seed plants, some soil, adequate water, and a sunny spot.
Freshly harvested herbs deliver a burst of flavor that turns the simplest dish into something special, and the varieties available provide endless possibilities for creativity. A little know-how will enable you to make the most of your herbal harvest. To get started, see delicious recipes below, all featured in my book, The Northwest Herb Lover’s Handbook.Harvesting herbs
During the growing season, pinch back or snip off tender leaves and stems as needed to enliven salads, marinades, and entrees. To pinch back, use your thumbnails or hand pruners to remove plant tips. Sever the stems just above a leaf node and take less than a quarter of the plant’s leaves. Doing this regularly will keep your herbs compact and productive.
When buds begin to form on perennial herbs like mint, oregano, and thyme, flavor oils are at their peak. Cut the stems back to the ground and soon another flush of growth will appear. Plants that are not cut back will flower and go to seed; the leaves will toughen and may turn yellow or brown. If this has already happened, August is not too late in the season to cut them back.
 To preserve your harvest, fasten bunches of herbs with rubber bands and hang them in a warm place out of direct sunlight, make pesto to freeze or herbal vinegars. When the weather’s gloomy and your garden’s asleep, you’ll be glad you did.Author and NW herb expert, Mary Preus, is a native Washingtonian from a family of avid gardeners. She lived and breathed herbs at Silver Bay Herb Farm in Silverdale for nearly 20 years then moved to Seattle and took a gardening job with the Seattle Parks Department where she’s now a Senior Gardener, responsible for the horticultural aspects of 45 parks in the Rainier Valley. Her book is available for sale at Molbak’s.
Recipes starring easy-to-grow Herbs
Herbal Tea
For each cup of hot tea, use one tablespoon of fresh herbs and one cup of water. For iced tea, double or triple the amount of herbs. Gather, rinse, and crush or chop fresh herbs of your choice. Set fresh water to boil. Warm a teapot with hot water from the stove or tap. Drain teapot, add herbs, then freshly boiling water. Cover with a lid and steep for about five minutes. Strain, sweeten if desired, and serve hot or cold. So easy! Read herbal tea labels for even more ideas.Flavor ideas:Fresh mint, sweetened or not
Borage leaves with a tad of lemon juice and honey; garnish with borage flowers
Lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon thyme
Thyme with honey and lemon (chases away colds)
Anise hyssop with a splash of orange juice
Fortify with black tea for body; add color with dried hibiscus flowers
Calendula Tomato Salad
4 large, juicy-ripe beefsteak tomatoes
Petals from 4 calendula flowers
12 – 20 borage flowers
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons fruity olive oil
Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on an attractive platter. Sprinkle the calendula petals, borage flowers, basil and chives over them. Drizzle with vinegar and oil and serve. Serves 4.
Tabouli
A Middle Eastern specialty, tabouli refreshes the palate with flavors of mint, parsley, lemon and tomatoes. It’s an ideal make-ahead dish for summer celebrations and actually tastes better the second day.
1 cup boiling water
1 cup bulgur
¾ cup chopped parsley
½ cup chopped mint
4 green onions, chopped, including tops
1 cup cooked navy beans
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup fruity olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large tomatoes, chopped
Whole mint leaves for garnish
Pour the boiling water over the bulgur and allow to stand for 20 minutes to 1 hour. (You can also use cold water, but let it stand for 2 hours.) Fluff it with a fork, add all ingredients except tomatoes, and stir well to blend. Add tomatoes and stir lightly. Garnish with mint leaves.
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Free gardening seminar at WWD |
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Written by Woodinville Weekly Staff
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Monday, 26 July 2010 14:31 |
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The Woodinville Water District (WWD), in partnership with the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program and the Saving Water Partnership, is holding seminars the first Saturday of each month through September.
The next class is called "Gardening with Washington Native Plants," and will be taught by Susie Egan, owner of Cottage Lake Gardens.
Learn more about the big trend toward planting Washington native plants, why it has become so popular and what the best native plants are for your garden. Susie Egan will talk about her favorite native trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns and groundcovers.
She’ll also provide resources such as great Web sites, books and places to obtain native plants.
Before and after the class, Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer all your gardening and garden pest questions at their plant clinic. You do not have to attend the class to come talk to a master gardener. They will be available from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Master Gardeners are volunteers, trained by WSU, to provide research-based information to home gardeners on environmentally friendly gardening practices and safe pest control.
Attendance is free, but is limited to the first 50 registrants, so you must pre-register. You can sign up by sending an e-mail to publicinfo@woodinvillewater.com or by calling (425) 487-4102.
The class will be held at Woodinville Water District’s office, located at 17238 NE Woodinville-Duvall Road in Woodinville.
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Yes we can, pickle, dry, salt … |
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Written by Lorene Edwards Forkner
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Monday, 26 July 2010 14:28 |
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by Lorene Edwards Forkner, co-author of Canning and Preserving Your Own Harvest, special to the Weekly for Molbak’s
 Everything old is new again. Today preserving is enjoying renewed popularity and extending the harvest is HIP! We are in the midst of a contemporary revival of these almost-lost kitchen arts coupled with a newfound respect for food integrity and healthful living. In a welcome departure from our recent history of fast, global, and often anonymous food, America is developing a palate and a passion for fresh, seasonal fare as well as a growing respect for the farmers and artisan craftspeople who work so hard to produce-and preserve it.
Until fairly recently, (certainly within the past couple of generations) families harvested crops in the fall and stored enough food to get them through until the next harvest. For our grandparents and great-grandparents, a routine part of housekeeping involved mastering a battery of various preserving skills that customarily were passed from generation to generation along with grandmother’s china, family stories and a tendency toward red hair or blue eyes.
These days, growing concerns about food safety and security routinely generate frightening headlines, and an unstable economy has us all thinking about cost-cutting measures. But even economic anxiety and contemporary crises can’t distract me from pondering my next meal. A great many of us are looking at canning and preserving as a path toward not just health and cost savings, but also a means of making the most of seasonal bounty and producing delicious treats for a well-stocked pantry, meant to be shared with friends and family.
This past 4th of July – certainly one of the coldest, wettest and most miserable on record — I opened my last jar of 2009’s batch of pickled eggplant chutney, serving it to friends with cheese and crackers. The slightly spicy, tangy condiment was like a delicious warm summer breeze bringing back lovely memories of last year’s glorious sunshine and record- breaking heat; that is, until we had to put on heavy sweaters and retreat indoors as the rain began again. Only a few days later a heat spell descended on our area that made the idea of going anywhere near the kitchen intolerable. Again, preserves to the rescue. A simple supper of preserved roasted peppers and eggplant, fresh cheese and oil-cured, oven dried tomatoes served up with crusty bread and chilled white wine on the shady back patio hit the sweet spot and saved the day.
Will canning and preserving solve climate chaos? Probably not. But tasty condiments, savory goods and sweet preserves are delicious resources to have in the pantry against whatever life serves up.
From my book Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest:
When important principles are followed, traditional preserving methods – freezing, canning, drying, and "live" storage (our grandparents called it a root cellar) – do a fine job of keeping food. Beyond these basics, vinegar, sugar, alcohol, and other cures are primarily employed for the additional flavor they impart as well as their effectiveness at prolonging shelf life. Through their almost magical alchemy, food is not just preserved but transformed and elevated into something altogether different to become the fare of festive celebrations and artisan craftsmanship.
A cucumber is simply a refreshing salad in summer, but tangy pickles are a time-honored side at many holiday celebrations; fresh peaches may be a fleeting summer pleasure, but doused in alcohol, they become a jewel-colored treasure and a glimpse back to the warmth of summer on a cold winter’s evening.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, summer will have settled in and we’ll be reveling in raspberries, pole beans and — dare I say it — the first ripe, juicy tomatoes. I can’t wait to bottle the season, extend the harvest and hold onto the lingering warmth of summer with batches of sticky jam, pickles and rich, thick tomato sauce. Their preserved goodness, like sunshine in a bottle, maybe our best chance at savoring this abbreviated summer.
Join Lorene at Molbak’s on August 7, at 10 a.m. for a free seminar and book signing. Selected recipes from her book can be found on molbaks.com.
Lorene Edwards Forkner - freelance writer, garden designer, and food enthusiast – revels in the seasonal pleasures and broad scope of gardening in the Pacific Northwest. She is the co-author of Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest, and Growing Your Own Vegetables from Sasquatch Books. Read more of Lorene’s musings on life, work, home and garden at http://plantedathome.com/blog.
Molbak’s is located in downtown Woodinville at 13625 NE 175th St., Woodinville, WA 98072.
For more information, please call (425) 483-5000 or visit www.molbaks.com.
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What you need to know about bats, rabies |
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Written by Deborah Stone
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Monday, 28 June 2010 09:25 |
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A recent discovery of a dead bat by a Duvall homeowner raises questions about rabies.
Such inquiries are actually very common for those who work in the Seattle and King County Public Health Department, especially in summer when animals in general are more prevalent. Many of the calls they get revolve around bats.
"It’s really not so surprising," says Dr. Sharon Hopkins, Seattle and King County Public Health veterinarian. "Bats are actually the main reservoir for infecting humans and animals with rabies in the U.S." She adds, "Summer is the season for these creatures, as they hibernate in the winter. When it gets warmer, they come out, and because people tend to keep their windows and doors open in nice weather, they find their way inside homes."
Dr. Hopkins explains that although not all bats are rabid, the disease is maintained in the bat population because the animals roost together in close quarters.
A rabid bat can become very aggressive and deliberately bite humans and other creatures. Each year, there are dozens of people bitten or scratched by bats. Last year, 62 individuals in King County had exposures to bats that were not available for rabies testing and one person was in contact with a bat that tested positive for rabies.
All of these people went through the series of rabies shots for preventative measures. None of them developed the disease.
Though the vaccination regimen is very safe and effective, the exposed individuals need to begin treatment as soon as possible.
The treatment consists of one dose of rabies immunoglobulin and four doses of rabies vaccine given according to a fixed schedule over a 14-day time period.
"It used to be a very painful procedure," comments Dr. Hopkins. "But, it’s different now. The shots are basically like a flu vaccination."
The last known cases of rabies in humans within Washington state were in a 4-year-old girl from Lewis County in 1995 and in a 64-year-old Mason County man in 1997. Both of these cases were bat strain rabies and both individuals died.
In regards to cases of rabies in domestic animals in the state, the most recent was in 2002 with a cat in Walla Walla. The rabies was also a bat strain.
Nationally, in 2009, there were four human cases of rabies (three bat strain and one due to a bite from a rabid dog while the person was traveling in India), and 6,690 rabid animals with bats making up 1,625 of the total.
As for the bat in Duvall, it was sent to Oregon State University for examination and it tested positive for rabies.
"The homeowner did the right thing in not touching the bat with his hands," says Dr. Hopkins. "With a dead bat, use a shovel or dustpan to scoop it up into a plastic bag and then store it in a cool place until you speak with someone at the Public Health Department. If you find a live bat in your house and you suspect that a person or an animal has been exposed to it, don’t shoo it outside. Close the door to the room it’s in and contain it there until you can call us. The instinct is to get the creature out of your house, but then it can’t be tested to determine the risk."
Dr. Hopkins adds that one out of 20 bats test positive for rabies in King County. Humans also need to take precautions with their animals and ensure that they are up-to-date with their rabies vaccinations. Unvaccinated pets that have been in contact with a rabid bat must be quarantined for a period of six months.
"It’s really hard to keep an animal isolated for that long of a time," comments Dr. Hopkins. "This can be avoided if pet owners stay on top of their pets’ vaccinations. And just so people know, rabies vaccinations are legally required in King County for dogs, cats and ferrets."
For questions about human exposure to a bat or other wild animal that may carry rabies, call (206) 296-4774.
If a pet has caught a bat and there is no human exposure to the bat, call (206) 263-8454.
For more information about bat strain rabies: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/communicable/diseases/bats.aspx. |
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Create an outdoor room: More space. Less cash. |
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Written by Marianne Binetti
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Monday, 28 June 2010 09:08 |
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Looking for a simple, affordable way to gain more space? Forget building permits, contractors and big budgets. You can transform your outdoor spaces by creating a gorgeous, welcoming outdoor living area.
Choose your style: From Old World to New Age
The first step in creating your outdoor room is to consider your style. Here are some ideas:
English Country: An inviting space framed with potted roses, mixed perennials in containers and drifts of flowering vines. Continue the theme with artful bird prints and dishes and deep, comfortable seating.
Tuscan Villa: A rustic retreat filled with Italian-themed art and tableware and outdoor furniture with an old-world feel. Using tidy sheared or compact plant material complements this classic garden style.
Modern Zen: A contemporary oasis defined by clean lines, pots of bamboo, soothing lighting, and natural fibers.
The choice is yours, and once you make it, it will help guide all your design decisions.
Fabrics & Furnishings: The Forecast Calls for Beauty and Durability
In our Northwest climate, fabrics and furnishings that weather well are a must. Cushions, table cloths and umbrellas made from Sunbrella outdoor fabric won’t mold, mildew or hold moisture after a rain, and they can turn even old patio furniture into a comfy and colorful outdoor lounge. A giant market umbrella is another nice touch, as it shades large outdoor spaces from the sun, and protects us from the rain.
Fire pits and Water Features: Gather Round.
Nothing draws a crowd like the warm glow of a fire and the latest decorative and useful fire pits do just that. Even the smallest patio or deck can fit a tiny but toasty fire feature and summer nights were made for drinking wine, roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. Turn off the computes and light up the fire. Water features are another attractive patio feature, and they’ve become more efficient and easier to add to your outdoor space. From tabletop fountains to ponds-in-a-pot, the sound and sight of water will soothe even the most savage week as you relax and unwind in your soothing outdoor room.
Fragrant Plants: Grow "Scenti-mental"
Beautiful fragrances always linger in our memories. That’s why I recommend adding fragrant plants to your outdoor room. Honeysuckle vines come in many varieties and grow well here in Western Washington. Fragrant roses, lavender and herbs will not only add scent, but also provide garnishing and cut blooms for outdoor entertaining. Plant patio tropics like mandevilla and hibiscus in containers so that you can move them indoors during the winter and continue to enjoy their wonderful scent. Potted houseplants are a great way to decorate your patio table when you’re entertaining outdoors.
Living Walls: Privacy is a Beautiful Thing
Creating the walls of your outdoor room is what brings privacy, peace and plants to the outdoor space. For large rooms, using evergreens such as Italian cypress, tall and narrow junipers and even fast-growing hedges can provide almost instant screening. For smaller scale environments, look to the creative use of vines and potted plants.
One of my favorite ways to build a living wall is to add flowering vines as a gardener’s version of lace curtains. Building a pergola or support system alongside a patio or deck for a clematis or akebia vine provides shade and privacy in the summer, but allows for the rays of the winter sun to warm the outdoor living space.
You can also arrange pots filled with small-leaf Japanese maples and arrange them along the outer edge of your outdoor room. There are hundreds of varieties from which to choose. The Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’ or coral bark maple is one of my favorites. Its rich, coral bark makes it a winter standout. Pot it up in a shiny, chocolate-colored container and you have a perfectly behaved garden diva that demands the spotlight without demanding maintenance.
Creating an outdoor room is a wonderful summer project. It’s a simple, affordable way to extend your living space—and create a gathering area that the whole family will love.
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Last Updated on Monday, 28 June 2010 09:13 |
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