PecanSpringsJournal

>>candle crafting with herbs

Hello, everyone--

Candlemas is coming up this week, and I (Ruby Wilcox here) always enjoy doing a candle ritual to celebrate it. You'll find detailed instructions for making my favorite-- Brighid's Candle--in China's BOOK OF DAYS, in the entry for February 1.

But in case you don't have the book handy (why not?), here's the scoop. Start with a pillar candle--light colors work best--and several votive candles. Melt the votives in an old pan over low heat (careful!). Use a small brush to brush some melted wax on the pillar candle in the place where you want to put a bit of herb or flower. Press the herb into the warm wax and cover with a brushed-on thin layer. When you've finished decorating your candle, brush it all over with another thin layer. If you want to add scent, use a hot ice pick to poke holes in the top of the pillar and drop a couple of drops of essential oil into each hole.

If you're making candles for a special occasion (a hand-fasting, a birth, a birthday, an anniversary), you could include herbs and scents that have special meanings. The Victorian "language of flowers" will help you decide. If it's a gift, make a card to include with your candle.

If you'd like to make your candles from scratch, here's a site that will help.

Candles are wonderful in every room of the house. I love to fill my bathroom with candles and spend the evening in the tub (luscious!). Or I'll put a mirror on the dining room table and set out my favorite candles: they cast a lovely glow over dinner. Candles--especially scented candles--are a delight in the bedroom. Outdoors on the patio, candles have a special magic.

And speaking of magic, remember what a joy your candle-lit birthday cakes were when you were a child? From ancient times, people have been wishing on a candle flame and then blowing it out to get that wish. Choose a candle that has a special meaning, light it with a clear intention, focus on what you want to achieve, and speak it out loud to yourself. To intensify your intention, choose a candle color that signifies what you want and need: white for protection and clarity; gold for achievement and power; pink or red for love and sexual passion; blue for healing.

And here's another candle idea, from a friend of China's. Meghan DeFrancesco makes wonderful soy candles, using her own special recipes and scents. Meghan's soy candles are special because they do not contain any animal fats and because they're so delightfully scented. Visit her website and see what new candles she's come up with!

A word of candle wisdom: At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.--Albert Schweitzer

>>pass the salt

Have you ever been to a meeting of an herb guild? Here in Pecan Springs, the meetings of the Myra Merryweather Guild are always the highpoint of the month. You never know what sort of crazy thing is going to happen--they're as wild and wacky as the local Red Hatters. 

But other herb guilds are fun, too. Susan recently got an email from Carol Kelly, whom she met on book tour in Pennsylvania a while back. Carol, who is president of the Herb Guild of Historic Saltsburg PA, reported on a recent program called "Salts and Peppers" that sounds like a lot of fun. We thought you'd like to hear about it. (Yes, we know that salt is a mineral, not an herb, and that too much of it is bad for you. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it in moderation!)

Carol began the meeting with a presentation on the use of salt from historic times. including the importance of the 19th century town of Saltsburg as a commercial supplier of salt--which, she says, also led to the discovery of oil in the area and the commercial use of oil as an tonic and cure-all. Then the group tasted a variety of salts and peppers, both black peppers and capsicum peppers, while they admired the handsome collection of salt and pepper shakers on display.

And then, of course, came the moment everybody was waiting for--refreshments, each using one or more of those delicious salts and peppers. For the salts, the Saltsburg herbalists sampled Salt-rising Bread, Scalloped Pineapple, Sauerkraut Balls, Sea-salted Smoky Almond Bark,and Carmel Sauce with Apple Dippers.

For the black peppers, it was pepper butters and Peppercorn Fruit Compote, Chocolate Pecan  Brownies, Norwegian Pepper Cookies (there's a recipe in A Dilly of a Death), Zippy Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Pffernuesse.

For the capsicum peppers: Spicy Shrimp Pasta Cheese Dip and (of course!) Ruby's Hot Lips Cookie Crisps.

Doesn't that sound like a lot of fun? If you live in the Saltsburg area, I'm sure the Saltsburgian herbies would welcome you as a guest. If you don't, look up your nearest herb group on the Internet and visit one of their programs. And of course, the next time you're in Pecan Springs, you're invited to join the Merryweathers. No telling what they'll be up to, but it'll be fun!

chili time!

Every now and then, it gets cold in Pecan Springs, and I start thinking about cooking up a pot of chili for supper.

Yesterday, I was leafing through Chile Death, one of Susan’s mysteries, looking for the recipe for Pedernales chili (in Texan, that’s pronounced Purd-NAL-is). I found some notes about chile peppers that I thought might interest you. You might like the mystery, too--although I'm not crazy about the part where I nearly got roasted. Anyway, here are Susan's notes, and that recipe. Maybe it's a good day for chili in your neck of the woods.

The recorded history of the genus Capsicum begins with Columbus, who undertook his voyage of discovery in search of (among other things) black pepper, the most valuable of Eastern spices. Columbus did not find what he was looking for, but, he bit into something better. He became the first European to blister his tongue on a hot pepper.

There are about twenty species and hundreds of varieties in the genus Capsicum, indigenous to tropical America. In their native habitat, they are perennial and woody, growing to seven feet tall, though in American gardens they are grown as annuals, reaching a height of three feet. Two highly variable species of genus provide New World peppers--the red peppers. Bell peppers, pimento, paprika, chili, and cayenne peppers all belong to the species Capsicum annuum. The Tabasco peppers come from Capsicum frutescens, grown commercially in the Gulf states and New Mexico.--Steven Foster, Herbal Renaissance

Neuroscientists believe that when a concentrated solution of capsaicin [the chief chemical compound in chiles] is rubbed on the skin, the resulting burning causes pain messengers (Substance P) to notify the brain to start producing endorphins [natural painkillers]. However, on the skin, capsaicin apparently destroys the Substance P that is attracted to the site....Liniments [containing capsaicin] work on this principle, and capsaicin is the active ingredient of creams for painful skin and nerve conditions including shingles and neuralgia.--Carolyn Dille and Susan Belsinger, The Chile Pepper Book

On the origin of chili: "Before going on the trail, cowboys were known to pound dried beef, beef fat, dried chile peppers and salt into a brick-like compound, which they would add to a few cups of boiling water when it came time to eat. With an abundant supply of Texas longhorns on hand, meat chili became the West's most popular dish."--Chili Pepper Magazine, December, 1996

You can always judge a town by the quality of its chili.--Will Rogers

Pedernales Chili

4 lbs ground lean beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tblsp chili powder
2 #2 cans tomatoes
2 cups hot water
salt to taste

Brown ground beef in heavy iron skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer one hour. When cool, skim fat. Better on the second day, when the flavors have mellowed.

This is Lady Bird Johnson's recipe. She used to carry it with her on a card and hand it out whenever anyone asked for her favorite chili recipe.

P.S. Susan says to tell you that in Illinois, where she grew up, beans (preferably red kidney beans) were an essential ingredient of chili. But one of the things she learned when she moved to Texas was that Texans NEVER put beans in their chili. Pity.

P.P.S. There's a different chili recipe on the Chile Death page. It's good, too!

>>bathing beauties

There’s nothing nicer on a cold winter’s night (especially if you’ve been on a stakeout with China Bayles) than a long, luxurious bubble bath. Hi! I'm Ruby Wilcox. Usually, you'll find me at my shop, The Crystal Cave, which is right next door to Thyme & Seasons, in Pecan Springs.

But don't look for me there today. It's National Bubble Bath Day, and I'm celebrating. I'd invite you to join me, but my bathtub is too small for everybody. And besides, maybe we don't want to get quite that personal.

If you'd like to have your own personal bubble bath, you can find my favorite recipe in the January 8 entry in China's Book of Days. But maybe you'd prefer a different kind of herbal bath. Try one of these ideas:

• Bath tea. For an invigorating bath, brew a strong rosemary tea (4 sprigs fresh rosemary steeped for 15 minutes in a quart of boiling water). Add to your bath water. Eucalpytus leaves, bay leaves, and mint are also waker-uppers.
• Bath salts. For a skin-softening bath, mix 1 1/2 cup sea salt, 1 cup Epsom salts, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup finely ground herbs (lavender, rose petals, and chamomile are nice). Add a few drops of fragrance oil to strengthen the scent. Mix in your blender and store in a lidded jar. Add 2 tablespoons to a warm bath.
• Cinnamon Oatmeal Milk Bath. Mix 1 cup finely ground oatmeal (not instant), 1 cup milk powder, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Whirl in your blender until very well mixed. Store tightly covered. Add 2 tablespoons to a warm bath. (And remember, cinnamon is said to be an aphrodisiac!)

Happy Bubble Bath Day!

>>herbal hangover remedies

It's New Year's Day here in Pecan Springs, and many of our friends are recuperating from a little too much bottled happiness on New Year's Eve. Since this is a problem that's been with us since somebody first discovered the intoxicating power of fermented grain, we've collected a few tips on ways to handle a hangover. If you're suffering, maybe one of these will help.

Homer Mayo swears by the prickly pear cactus remedy that his daddy taught him. He felt pretty good last New Year's Day, especially after he read in the newspaper that scientists say that this really works. He says to drink it before you start on the hard stuff.

Homer's pal, Pete Hitchens, has a different cure. He mixes a cup of sauerkraut juice with a generous shot of Bloody Mary mix, for taste. In a couple of hours, he's feeling fit enough to turn on the TV and watch the bowl games.

Pansy Pride, president of the Myra Merryweather Herb Guild here in Pecan Springs, has a great deal of faith in a ginger-peppermint-feverfew tea, sweetened with 2-3 teaspoons honey. Ginger and peppermint are well-known stomach soothers, and feverfew is a time-tested headache remedy. The potassium in the honey will help to counteract the effects of the alcohol. Pansy's other remedy is just-say-no, but that never gets her very far.

Constance Letterman, who runs the Emporium, next door to Thyme & Seasons, lays in a supply of kudzu extract before the holidays. She read an article that claims that kudzu's isoflavones, diadzin and puerarin, will relieve the pain of over-indulgence. I was glad to hear this. A plant as prolific as kudzu has got to be good for something. (Actually, it's good for a lot of things, besides eating fences, telephone poles, and whole hillsides. You can read about them here. Scroll down the page for an intriguing recipe for kudzu blossom jelly. Now, aren't you glad you read this blog?)

For Ruby, thyme heals all things, including hangovers. She brews up a tea of crushed fresh or dried leaves, let's it steep for six or seven minutes, strains, and drinks.

Personally, I'm a firm believer in the power of milk thistle, or silymarin. It prevents toxins from entering liver cells and helps remove existing toxins. Take two 70 mg capsules before you head for that party.

All your friends in Pecan Springs send you a great big wish for a New Year that is happy and bright. We're praying for peace, too, and some good sense in Washington. We don't know about your town, but a whole lot of us here would be glad to have our military men and women back home with us to celebrate New Year's, 2008. Wouldn't that be a wonderful party?