PecanSpringsJournal

>>goddess of ovens

The Myra Merryweathers love to celebrate special occasions. This week's celebration is on behalf of the Roman goddess Fornax, the goddess of ovens, whose feast day was celebrated on February 17. What? You've never heard of Fornax? That's okay--most of the Merryweathers didn't know about her, either. She's one of those obscure goddesses that never get enough respect.

But the Merryweathers are out to change that. They had a big herbal bake-off this week, in Fornax's honor. Everybody brought a home-made herb bread and a recipe to share. The breads were polished off in record time. (You know the saying: Good bread never loafs around.) And since few of the Merryweathers have a lot of time to spend slaving over a hot oven (sorry, Fornax), the top two prizes went to the fastest bakers. Here are their recipes, guaranteed to please even the pickiest Roman family.

Betsy Blumefield’s Quick and Easy Herb Biscuits

Betsy is a home-schooling mom who likes to cook with her kids. She says they love the part where they get to scoop the dough into two dozen bitsy balls and roll them in the cheese. ("They get to sweep the floor afterward," she adds. "It's part of the lesson.")

2 cups baking mix
1 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese mixed with 1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a mini-muffin pan. Mix baking mix, herbs, sour cream, and butter. Dough will be sticky. Scoop into 24 balls and roll in cheese/flour mixture. Place in mini-muffin pan and bake for 15-18 minutes, until brown.

Lillian Lippencott’s Saturday Night Special Herb Bread

Lillian works at the dry cleaners in Pecan Springs and doesn’t get home until four on Saturday. She says that if she puts out frozen dough to thaw in the morning, and gets started on it when she gets home, she has hot bread on the table by 6. The Romans would be astonished.

1 1-pound loaf frozen white bread dough (follow package directions for thawing)
2 teaspoons dried basil, or 4 teaspoons fresh, minced
2 teaspoons minced dried rosemary leaves, 3 teaspoons fresh)
1 tablespoon minced chives

Briefly knead thawed dough on lightly floured board,. Knead in minced herbs until evenly mixed. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Shape into a smooth ball and place in a loaf pan. Cover, let rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Bake in 375° oven until golden, about 35-40 minutes.

China's Notebook

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”--James Beard

"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"--Julia Child

>>Christmas doings in Pecan Springs

It's holiday time in Pecan Springs, and the whole town is brimming with holiday spirit.

China and Ruby have been unusually busy (it's lucky that there are no mysteries to solve!), and their tea room are decorated floor to ceiling with fresh cedar boughs cut from the local hillsides, pine cones from East Texas, mistletoe from the mesquite and hackberry trees around Pecan Springs, dozens of gingerbread ornaments handmade by the kids the Hobbit House Children's Bookstore, and enough red velvet ribbon to reach all the way to San Antonio. China, Ruby, and Cass have invited all their friends to join them for a Christmas Cinnamon Tea this coming Saturday afternoon. There'll be lots of spicy-laden goodies and a sparkling bowl of cinnamon-cranberry glog circled with a rosemary wreath and red ribbons, and a little take-home herbal gift for everyone: a small bag of Rose Potpourri, which some of China's friends made in a potpourri workshop. You're invited too, of course, so be sure to put it on your calendar!

After you leave the Cinnamon Tea, you'll want to head for Pecan Park, where the town fathers have erected a large Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of lights. They'll be lighting the tree as soon as it gets dark on Saturday night. (When they lit the tree last year, all the lights in Pecan Springs went out, so they've taken special care with the wiring this year. Billy Bob Bunch, who is in charge of city utilities, promises that this won't happen again. Pauline Perkins, the Pecan Springs mayor, promises that if it does, Billy Bob's head will be the first to roll.)

When the tree is lit, the town mothers will be ladling out cups of hot mulled cider (the same cider that Ruby always serves for her Halloween party) and handing out dozens of rosemary cookies baked by members of the Myra Merryweather Herb Guild, who always like to lend a hand with the Christmas doings. When everybody has their cider and cookies, Mrs. Reedy will lead the Baptist choir in a selection of carols. You're invited to join in, of course. (If you don't know the words, fake it--nobody will know the difference.) Santa will be there too, with candy for good children and coals for bad--although we know that there are no bad children in Pecan Springs, where all the children are all above average.

After the carols are over and the cider, candy, and cookies have all disappeared, the merchants on the town square hope you will be feeling warm and jolly and inspired to do some Christmas shopping. The courthouse has been draped with lights, a village of elves has taken up residence in the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn (opposite from the Nativity scene on the southwest corner), and the Sophie Briggs Historical Museum is holding an open house so you can admire the famous Sophie Briggs collection of 257 ceramic frogs. The merchants have agreed to keep their shops open until nine, which is quite a change of pace for Pecan Springs, where everyone shuts up shop at five on the dot and goes home to hearth and family. You're invited to shop 'til you drop, or at least until you run out of money.

They hope you do. That way, they'll have a merry Christmas, too!

>>today's the day!

Seems like we've been waiting forever...and for some of us, that's almost true. Susan started thinking about The Book of Days over ten years ago, back when we were publishing "China's Garden," the print newsletter. (Every now and then, Susan says she runs into somebody who has all those old back issues--probably a collectible by now!) So today is a happy day for all of us. The book is here, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Thanks to all the folks at Berkley for making it possible, and to Peggy Turchette for her beautiful art work. We can't stop oohing and ahhing over the lovely pages.

There's a mystery connected with this book, though, and although the best and the brightest of the Pecan Springs amateur detectives have tried, none of us have been able to figure out what happened. Susan has posted a page that will give you all the clues, and maybe you can come up with the right answer!

In the meantime, you can read excerpts from the book on its website. If your fall roses are still in bloom, there are instructions for rose potpourri. If you're into herb lore, you can find out what herb will make you invisible. And if the autumn evenings tempt you to make popcorn, try out some of McQuaid's favorite popcorn sprinkles.

Susan and I hope you'll like our book as much as we do, and that you'll want to have a copy for yourself and for all your friends. And don't forget--when you purchase through the book's website, you'll be supporting the work of the Story Circle Network, Susan's favorite nonprofit organization!

>>September doings in Pecan Springs

Here it is, just what you've been waiting for--a calendar of September doings in the great little town of Pecan Springs, Texas, sister city to Lake Woebegon. We know you won't want to miss a single one of all these interesting happenings!

The Craft Emporium (located in the big old Victorian house next door to our shops on Crockett Street, and owned and operated by Constance Letterman) is having a big celebration. Gretel Schumaker is demonstrating handcrafted candles in the front parlor. Ruth Ann Gilman is holding free introductory quilting classes at her new shop, PatchWorks, which takes up the front half of the second floor.  Delia's Bead Boutique has lots of new items, Annie Walters has picked up some nice old (new to her) kitchen antiques, and Ivy has a new exhibit in her Wild, Wonderful Weeds, in Ivy's gallery in the dining room. (If you haven't met these folks yet, you can read about some of them in the story "Ivy's Wild, Wonderful Weeds" in An Unthymely Death.)

The Myra Merryweather Herb Guild has announced their annual Grand Jamboree Jam and Jelly Trading Spree, according to President Pansy Pride. Original jams and jellies only, please--nothing copied from Martha Stewart. Oh, and if you put something hot into your jam pot, please make a note of it on the label. (Pansy says that there was a regrettable incident last year involving Mrs. Shandigan, who wasn't expecting chile peppers in strawberry jam and had to receive emergency first aid). First prize is one of Harold Thompson's famous tumbleweeds, crafted of metal coathangers. Second prize: Harold's coat-hanger chile pepper.

The Hill Country Rose Rustlers Club is sponsoring their Annual Rose Rustlers Fall Safari to several local cemeteries, and they're inviting YOU. Please bring clippers, plastic bags, wet paper towels, and plenty of insect repellent. If you forget the repellent, Lyle Beppert (a charter Rose Rustler), says that he will be glad to let you have some of his Surefire Bug-Bee-Gone, although it's not guaranteed to protect you against killer bees. Lyle found this out the hard way not long ago, when he was rustling a few roses out at Black Rock Cemetery and encountered a swarm of paranoid, passionate killer bees. Bug-Bee-Gone did not faze 'em, unfortunately. If you are not worried about killer bees and want to stir up some of Lyle's brew for yourself, you'll find the recipe in the Book of Days for August 28. Oh, and Lyle says that if you know of an herb that will keep killer bees away, please let him know. You'll find him at home, recovering.

Homer Mayo and Pete Hitchens are pleased as punch to announce that they've gone into business together, making mustard! This may come as a surprise to those of you who have watched these two old geezers flexing their competitive mustard muscles in the annual Mad for Mustard competition at the Pecan Springs Fair. But if you read "Mustard Madness," in An Unthymely Death, you may remember that at the end, Homer and Pete buried the hatchet. Now that they're in the mustard business, we can look forward to some fine, fierce fire-power--but only if they can settle their differences. Homer tells me that they're quarreling over the name of their business. He wants to call it Homer Mayo's Marvelous Mustard Factory, while Pete wants to call it Hitchens' Too-Hot-To-Handle Mustards. If you can help them out with a few suggestions, we'll be glad to pass them along.

That's it for now, folks. Check back next month to see what's going on in October!

--China Bayles and Ruby Wilcox

>>Ruby's post: Happy birthday, Miss Potter!

Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866, which means that she's just had her 140th birthday--and she's still remembered with affection and admiration wherever her Little Books are read. (Hey, who among us will be remembered on our 140th?)

To celebrate this great occasion, we had a Peter Rabbit Block Party. It was Molly McGregor's idea. Molly, who owns the Hobbit House Bookstore next door to our shops on the east, is an equal-opportunity idea person. Which means that when she gets an idea, all of her friends get the opportunity to participate. She is also a huge Beatrix Potter fan. In her bookshop, she has a shelf of Miss Potter's books and figurines and toys and crafts. And she and China have made a Peter Rabbit garden in the back yard, complete with a scarecrow named Mr. McGregor (who reminds Molly of her ex-husband, Max), and a rabbit-sized wheelbarrow and a statue of Jemima Puddle-duck.

When Molly got her idea about the party, she invited all the shop-owners at the western end of our block to lend a hand. Of course, that means China and me, but also everybody at the Craft Emporium (in a rambling Victorian house owned by Constance Letterman), which houses nearly a dozen room-sized shops and boutiques. Everybody thought it was a great idea--not just fun, but a good attention-getter for all of our shops. So everybody pitched in.

China and I put tables out in the garden, and Molly decorated them with Miss Potter's books, baskets of rosemary and bunches of carrots and paper dolls of Miss Potter's famous characters. The food was easy and fun. Gretel, of Gretel's Candles, brought Peter Rabbit's Cucumber Sandwiches. Delia Murphy, from the Bead Boutique, brought Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Cheeseball, Constance Letterman baked several loaves of Flopsy's Favorite Chocolate Teabread, and Ruth Ann Gilman (Patchworks), brought Castle Cottage Carrot Cupcakes. I made gallons of Apply Dapply's Rosy Punch, which turned out to be a great hit, especially when a couple of teenagers who were kicking a soccer ball in the alley managed to score a goal in the punch bowl. Luckily, I had a reserve supply. We had to change the tablecloth, though.

There were lots of kids, of course, most of them too young to kick soccer balls into the punch bowl. Molly kept them busy with games and pictures to color. Her big white rabbit, Peter, was the guest of honor. Mrs. Tuttle, the librarian, brought her white duck, who looks just like Jemima (especially when she wears her bonnet and shawl), and the kids had fun acting out some of the stories.

While the kids were busy, China gave the grownups a tour of the garden, pointing out herbs that Miss Potter grew in her own garden at Hill Top Farm in the Lake District: St. John's wort, soapwort, houseleeks (here in the U.S., we call this hen-and-chicks), mullein, and tansy, and a lot more. To see some photos that Susan took in the garden at Hill Top Farm, go here and click on "Miss Potter's Garden."

When the afternoon got hot (this is Texas, after all), we climbed the stairs to the Hobbit Hole Story Room on the  second floor of the Hobbit House and listened while Molly (dressed up like Miss Potter, with Peter on a leash) read The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. And then Susan read the first chapter of her new book, The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood. (You can read it too: go here, click on "Books in the Series," then on Cuckoo, and on the link to the first chapter.) 

The party turned out so well and attracted so much attention (Hark sent a photographer from the Enterprise, and China will be writing it up for her Garden Page) that we've decided to make it an annual event.

Read more about Miss Potter, in Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman, by Judy Taylor.

Read more about Hill Top Farm, in At Home with Beatrix Potter, by Susan Denyer.

And don't forget Susan's Cottage Tale mysteries!

Your turn. What books did you read when you were a kid that still bring you joy as you remember them? Was Beatrix Potter among them? Other favorites?

>>the merryweathers pass it along

Every so often, the Merryweathers get together and pass along a few plants--herbs, mostly, but they definitely don't limit themselves. You'll find just about every kind of trade going on in the garden of the Merryweather House (which, as you may remember, was given to the Merryweathers by their esteemed founder, many years ago.)

Let me give you an example. Dolly Sanders had extra daylilies this year (so many, she was putting them into salads and soups), but her butterfly weed had disappeared and she desperately needed more. Miss King's butterfly weed had not only survived the winter, but had prospered--what she hungered for was a dozen dayliles to control the erosion on the slope at the rear of her yard. (She also coveted Dolly's recipe for daylily bud saute.) It didn't take a video dating service to put these two needy people together. They found one another at the passalong.

Or say you're in the market for perennials. Somebody's bound to have too much of exactly what you're lacking: a pot of yarrow, a fat clump of echinacea, or sage, rosemary, or Mexican marigold mint (the South's substitute for tarragon--plus, it has a perky yellow blossom). And lots of people bring seeds to trade: coreopsis, cypress vine, sunflower. Whatever you've got, somebody wants, and vice versa.

But nobody wants a bully. For instance, one year Pansy Pride got some horsetail from an unidentified passalonger. She put it in the corner beside her goldfish pond and the next week, the entire pond was hip-deep in horsetail and her goldfish had flapped on over to her neighbor's pool. And even nicely-mannered plants have latent bully tendencies. Liberate that pretty little clump of mint under the hose connection in the back yard and you've got trouble. Sink it in a pot into the ground, and it will behave itself. (This doesn't mean you can't bring horsetail or mint to the plant passalong--just label it "bully," and put everyone on notice.)

The Merryweathers have been trading plants for long enough to know all the ins and outs, so they've come up with five important rules for a civil Passalong.

1. Your plant must come in a proper container. Do not bring it in a paper bag, a shoe box, a paper napkin, or a bucket with a rusted-out bottom. Cowboy boots are okay.
2. If you put it in a pot and call it a plant, it has to have roots. If it doesn't have roots, put it in a glass, add water, and call it a cutting.
3. Leave your aphids home alone. Nobody needs 'em. (You can bring your ladybugs, though.)
4. It is not okay to bring 10 dinky garlic cloves and take home 5 pots of basil and 5 rosemary plants.
5. Bring fresh seeds, not seeds you got from your mother-in-law summer before last. The fair exchange is 25 seeds for one plant, not 5. (You know who you are.)
6. Label everything. Put your name on it. Your real name.

A Killer Passalong Plant. Passalong plants are wonderful fun, even when you somehow lose the label. Here's a photo of a great passalong plant that our friend Chelsie Vandaveer, of Killerplants.com, passed along to us earlier this spring. It came as a tuber, about the size of a cup and with a texture like a loofa, sort of. It's growing up to be a Texas-sized plant.

Unfortunately, one of us (we won't point any fingers, but her initials are RW) lost the label. So we had to email Chelsie for the plant's name, which turns out to be Amorphophallus konjac (easier names: snake palm, devil's tongue, elephant-foot yam). Here's Chelsie's page about this plant, which grows in her garden.

Chelsie reports that our plant is the daughter of her plant (isn't that cool?) and that our plant's grandmother lives in the Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota FL. Three generations of passalong snake palms! And if you want to solve the mystery behind the name Amorphophallus (clue: it's a visual thing), just click on the link at the bottom of Chelsie's page and study the photos. Closely. You'll get it.

And oh, yes, it's an herb. The vegetable fiber of the tuber (which can swell up to 17 times its original volume when it's soaked in water)is being studied as a possible treatment for obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Here's the low-down.

What's your favorite passalong plant tale? What passalong plant still makes you smile when you remember it? A rose bush from your great-grandmother? Hollyhock seeds from your college roommate who now lives in Nova Scotia? A "slip" stuck into in a soda-pop bottle? Plants have stories. Please share yours!

Read about: Passalong Plants, by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing

>>hey, y'all!

You're reading the "Pecan Springs Journal," an all-about-herbs companion website for the China Bayles herbal mysteries. Bloggers on this site include China Bayles, Ruby Wilcox, and their Pecan Springs friends, as well as Susan Albert, who writes these books.

Susan's going to be busy with a book tour and books for a couple of months, so we're taking a brief vacation from this blog. In the meantime, you can subscribe to All About Thyme, our free all-about-herbs weekly newsletter.