Making the world a little greener with our spare thyme.
The Sage Page
The Cumberland Herb Association
April 2013
New day Wednesday.
NEW WEEKDAY!!! Wednesday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. will be our next meeting at the Miniature Cottage located at 410 E. Iris near 100 Oaks in Nashville.
CHA Newsletter Editor -Michelle Murakami 445-8749 (kitvroom@yahoo.com) If you have any information to include in the newsletter, please contact the editor by the first week of the month
Eastern Redbud - (Cercis canadensis)
Eastern Redbud trees are native across much of the United States and Canada, basically east of the Rockies. The most common species is Cercis canadensis (SER-sis kan-uh-DEN-sis.) They’re small trees in the pea family and among the first to bloom in the spring and before they leaf out. They also produce large numbers of multi-seeded pods, from spring to late summer depending where it is. http://www.eattheweeds.com/eastern-redbud-pea-pods-on-a-tree/ The flowers have the same chemicals in them as red wine. So, when you hear about all the beneficial flavonoids and all the different great antioxidants that red wine has, redbuds have them too! http://indianapublicmedia.org/eartheats/redbud-dessert-making-yogurt/
- Lynne Harrell
up in your mouth. Amplify the seedpod experience, and you’ll have an idea what the inner-bark can do. Tannins present in the inner-bark and root, which account for its astringency, have been used to heal lung congestion and to tonify excessively damp conditions, including diarrhea and dysentery. The Cherokee used an infusion of the bark for whooping cough. http://hollirichey.com/2011/04/07/redbudsboth-beautiful-edible/
Many botanical accounts report that Native American and European American children enjoyed eating the fresh flowers of the Eastern redbud. They are soft and slightly sweet, and add instant color to salads or on cupcakes. Fresh seedpods are edible, as well, though they must be cooked and flavored with olive oil and a splash of vinegar. Seedpods quickly turn too astringent to eat if left on the tree too long. Sample one, and you’ll experience all of your saliva drying
Photo by: Greg Hume
Page 2
Ham and Redbud soup with dock
INGREDIENTS: 1 onion 1 Tb. lard 2 qts. Water or broth 1 ham hock with a little meat if possible 3-4 handfuls of dock leaves (Rumex sp.)
( www.ArtemisHerbals.com )
3 small potatoes 1 clove 1 tsp. fresh black pepper 1 tsp. preserved lemon Salt to taste INSTRUCTIONS:
Slice the onion and sauté in the lard until soft and the pungency no longer makes you want to cry. Add the water or broth and the ham hock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and allow to simmer with a lid for anywhere from 1-3 hours (the longer the more flavorful it will get). Add 2 cups of Redbud buds and the chopped dock leaves and continue to cook until the dock turns a bit dull in color. Remove the bone and the meat still attached, reserve in a bowl. Puree the soup with the preserved lemon and the clove and add salt and pepper. Remove as much meat as possible from the bone and put it in the soup. Serve hot or cold.
INGREDIENTS:
Redbud Blossom Muffins
2 cups redbuds blossoms 2 Tbs minced fresh sage or rosemary leaves ½ cup sugar Minced zest of 1 lemon 1 ½ cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 large egg 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup yogurt 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice Topping: 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
(submitted by Lynne Harrell)
INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375°F In bowl #1, combine redbuds, herb, sugar, zest. Let sit 30 minutes. In bowl #2 Sift flour, powder, baking soda, salt large bowl. In bowl #3 Combine egg, yogurt, milk, oil, lemon juice. Pour the content of bowl one in to bowl two and toss. Add the wet ingredients from bowl three, stirring to just moisten. Do not over mix. Fill your muffin tins 3/4 full. Combine sugar cinnamon the topping sprinkle some each muffin Bake for 25 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove form muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.
Page 3 INGREDIENTS: Redbud Extract: 2-3 cups redbud flowers 2 cups pure water ______
Jelly: 2 cups of Redbud extract 2 TBS Lemon juice 3 TBS Sure Jell
Redbud Jelly
(submitted by Lynne Harrell)
INSTRUCTIONS: Place 2 cups ( I have used up to 3 cups) of rinsed redbud flowers in a jar and barely cover with about 2 cups of boiling water. (They will float, so I push them down a couple of times.) Cover, let stand 24 hours. (After they cool off to room temperature, I stick them in the fridge.) Strain and discard blossoms. To 2 cups of the extract, add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, and 3 Tablespoons of Sure Jell powdered pectin. Bring to a boil and add 2 cups sugar and bring back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour into jelly glasses and seal. http://farmpath.blogspot.com/2010/10/redbud-jelly-recipe.html
Pantry Peach Pie with Redbud
INGREDIENTS: Frozen or Refrigerated Pie Crust Canned or Frozen (or FRESH!) Peaches (or whatever you may have on hand) Cake Mix (White or Yellow) -- around 1/4 of a cup Butter -- 2-4 Tablespoons Sugar -- 2-4 Tablespoons COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
( www.anestforallseasons.com )
INSTRUCTIONS: Lay out the crust in your pie plate and let it brown in a 375º oven. Pile whatever fruit you have on hand into the crust. It’s best with fresh, but use any fruit you want, but to keep the pie slightly more healthful, stick to plain old frozen fruit as opposed to any pie mixes. Sprinkle a bit of sugar over the fruit. Use 2 tablespoons of room temp butter with 1/4 of a cup of cake mix. Mix the 2 ingredients with your fingers until they start to make a crumb. Add more cake mix and or butter until the consistency is literally crumbly and crumby. Sprinkle this over the center of the pie and tuck the edges of the crust around the pie. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the crust and crumb has turned slightly brown. Once the pie has cooled for around 10 minutes, a sprinkling of redbud adds a bit of color and tricks your family into thinking the pie might be “from scratch”.
http://www.anestforallseasons.com/2012/04/ pantry-peach-pie-with-redbud.html
Hunted down I came upon. A place of ferns and grass. Gathered to a redbud tree. And now their footsteps pass.
~ by: Mark Knopfler