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

>>gingerbread ornaments

The day after Thanksgiving is always a big day at Thyme & Seasons. It's the day when Molly McGregor brings a gaggle of kids to our tea room and spends the afternoon making holiday ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree that stands in the Hobbit House window.

Molly opened the Hobbit House Children's Bookstore a couple of years ago, right next door in the three-story frame house that used to belong to Vida Plunkett. (You can read Molly's story in An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries), and is always up to her elbows in one project or another. On Friday, Molly and a dozen kids were up to their elbows in gingerbread and spice dough. Judging from the giggles and shouts of laughter, they were having a wonderful time. Ruby's granddaughter, Baby Grace, was there, too. She's a little too young to be making ornaments, but she had her own bit of cinnamon dough to pound and she loved being part of the fun. Ruby made a couple of cookie ornaments just for Grace, to add to her growing Christmas keepsake collection.

Molly asked us to pass these recipes along to you, for your own holiday fun. So here they are, with holiday wishes from Molly and friends at the Hobbit House, Pecan Springs' only children's bookstore!

Gingerbread Ornaments

1 1/4 cup margarine, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups sifted flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
3 teaspoons nutmeg

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Cream well until smooth.
Sift together dry ingredients. Stir into butter mixture until smooth, adding
more flour if necessary to form a firm, slightly sticky dough. Wrap in
plastic and chill until cold. Roll out 3/8" thick and cut into shapes. With
a chopstick, make a hole through each shape for hanging. Bake at 350 degrees
until brown underneath and slightly pale on top. Makes enough for 12-14 small
gingerbread figures. If you want to make more, it's easier to make separate
batches than to double the recipe. Freeze extra dough. Decorate with
frosting and colored candies. (You can also use this recipe to make
gingerbread houses. Just roll it out a little thicker.)

Cinnamon Spice Ornaments

one cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cup ground cinnamon or a mix of cinnamon and other spices

Mix the applesauce and cinnamon together to form a dough. Roll out the spice dough on a cinnamon-dusted work surface, then cut out the ornament shapes using cookie cutters. Use a chopstick to make a hole for hanging. Bake in a 170-degree oven for one hour. Turn off the heat and let the ornaments cool in the oven for several hours.

At home, you and the kids can make these ornaments one evening and decorate them the next. You can use frosting, candies, and other cookie decorations--or you can glue on bits of paper, greeting card cutouts, lace, ribbon, and beads. These will be family keepsakes, so you'll want to store them for next holiday in a tin box with a lid, carefully packed to keep them from breaking. Next year, when you open the tin, they'll still smell spicy, but if they lose their scent, a few drops of cinnamon oil will do the trick.

>>chinaberry beads

Around Pecan Springs, the chinaberry trees (Melia azedarach) are turning golden and their berries hang on the trees like small golden balls. This is what the berries (more accurately: drupes) look like, up close and personal.

This fast-growing, drought-tolerant tree (a relative of India's famous neem tree) came to the United States from Asia as an ornamental back in the 1880s, and has spread across the country. In fact, in some areas chinaberry (also called an umbrella tree, for its arching canopy of lacy green leaves) is considered invasive. It grows in clumps, sometimes occupying habitats that native trees enjoy, and may crowd out the natives.

We have a chinaberry here at the shop, and I always point it out to visitors as an herbal tree--especially in the spring, when it is covered with light lavender-pink blossoms. From a distance, the tree seems to be enveloped in a cloud of lilac smoke. The berries persist throughout the winter, giving the tree a lovely silhouette against a dark winter sky.

In the far East, this tree plays a role in herbal medicine: its bark is emetic and has been used to treat intestinal parasites. It is also thought to have anti-viral and anti-cancer properties, although there is no scientific confirmation of this. A strong tea made from ground seeds or bark, mixed with water and dishwashing liquid and sprayed on grass, has been used as a flea and insect repellent. (Birds don't seem to be affected by the toxicity, although they may get drunk on the fermented berries.)

I like to demonstrate another use for chinaberries: making a bead necklace. In India, this tree is called the Bead Tree, and its seeds are valued for their use as beads. If you have chinaberry trees, you might want to try your hand at making beads. Boil the berries (they're toxic, so use a pan that you don't use to cook with) to soften and remove the fleshy covering. Drain. When they're dry, they'll turn a soft bone-white. You can dye them with food coloring or fabric dye--a quarter teaspoon in a half cup of hot water will do the trick. (In the photo, I've dyed the red with fabric dye, the blue with Wilton's food coloring.) The hardest part is drilling the center hole without cracking the seed. I use a Dremel drill with a 1-2 mm bit (be careful!), and position the berry in a small vise to hold it. String on waxed linen thread or filament, alone or with other beads.

Other seeds make beautiful botanical beads: Job's tears, castor beans, datura, acorns, melons. And of course, there are rose beads, made from rose petals. Check out the directions in the May 20th entry in the Book of Days.

Herb writer Susan Belsinger has written an article about Ruth J. Smith's fascinating collection, part of which Smith donated to Kew Gardens. The article will give you some ideas for experimenting with seed beads and starting your own collection.

Have you made seed beads? Have a story to tell, or information to offer? Share by posting a comment.

And drop in next Monday (the day before the mid-term elections), when I'll be posting on Election Cake!

>>not just for pickles!

What's happening at Thyme & Seasons this week?

There are plenty of fresh herbs ready for picking in the gardens, that's what, and we're having a Saturday afternoon workshop on herb vinegars. Everybody will make three different bottles of vinegar. You don't have to bring anything--we'll provide the herbs, vinegar, bottles, and how-to. So come on over and have some fun.

We'll start by cutting the herbs at mid-day, when the volatile oils are at their peak. Then we'll take them to Thyme Cottage (the old stable at the back of the Thyme & Seasons garden), where we'll wash and pat them dry and strip the leaves from the stems. You'll choose the herbs you want to use, pack them into the sterile jars, fill with the vinegar of your choice, and add a cap. At home, you'll put your bottles into a dark cupboard and shake them every few days. When your vinegar tastes right, it's ready to strain, rebottle, and enjoy! (Perfect for gifts, too.)

Here are some piquant combinations to tune up your taste buds. Try combining these herbs:

• nasturtium flowers and leaves, garlic, shallot, and a chile pepper with apple cider vinegar, for a zippy salad
• basil, oregano, marjoram, and lovage with red wine vinegar, to spike a vegetable plate
• lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon grass, and lemon zest with rice vinegar, for a garden veggie stir-fry

And if you get really, really into this vinegar thing, here's something else you can try: making your own vinegar from honey, clover, dandelions. Got leftover wine? Make vinegar! One thing you need to remember, though. Vinegar looks pretty on the kitchen windowsill, but don't leave it there. Sunlight can destroy its acidity and change the flavor and color.

For lots more ideas about making and using herbal vinegars, read Maggie Oster's comprehensive book, Herbal Vinegar : Flavored Vinegars, Mustards, Chutneys, Preserves, Conserves, Salsas, Cosmetic Uses, Household Tips, by Maggie Oster

Now it's your turn! What are your favorite herb-and-vinegar combinations? How do you use your herbal vinegars? Post your ideas in the comment section.

In the works. Ruby says to tell you that if you have suggestions for future posts, all you have to do is pop us a comment and we'll consider it. Oh, and don't forget: the Myra Merryweathers are having their annual Passalong Plant Sale next Friday, in the back yard at the Guild House right here in Pecan Springs. Hot tip: I understand that Mrs. Barnscape is bringing some of those Egyptian walking onions she got two years ago from Alice Gomme. If you want some, better get there early. What? You've never met a walking onion? There's a great photo here. Time to get acquainted!