Category Archives: herbs and spices

Green Goddess Dressing

by herbs and spices, recipes,

When I was a kid we always had Green Goddess in the house, I think it was my father's favorite dressing. Creamy and a little tangy it was great.

Somehow when I got older I never had it in the house. Then I had kids and, like most kids I know, they had an instant love affair with creamy ranch. That and vinaigrette became the house standards. Oh sure, every now and then we'd get wild and throw in French Catalina or a Thousand Island, but most of the time we stuck with our good old standby dressings.

I recently had an excess of parsley; not wanting to freeze it, since frozen tiny packets of herbs tend to get lost in my freezer, I was casting around for an idea when I remembered this dressing. Paging through my favorite cookbook of all times, the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking, I found a recipe on page 364. I made a few changes based on ingredient availability and personal taste (I do not like anchovies). This is my modified version:

Green Goddess Dressing

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 C. mayonnaise
  • 1 minced clove garlic
  • 1/4 C. minced green onions
  • 1/2 C. minced parsley (the original recipe calls for 1/4 C. but I like it with more parsley)
  • 1 T. lime juice (it's supposed to be lemon but I was out)
  • 1 T. tarragon vinegar
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 1/2 C. yogurt (this is supposed to be sour cream but I was also out of that)

Instructions
 

  • Blend it all together and put in the fridge until ready to use.
    This makes almost a pint, however in addition to a salad dressing, it also makes a delicious dressing for wrap sandwiches.

Hawthorne For Health

by herbs and spices, immune system, questions

Karen asks, “What do you think about using hawthorne berries to help prevent the flu?”


I am not an herbalist so I had to do a little digging to come up with some information but here is my opinion on this:

Hawthorne (Crataegus monogyna) is a small tree or shrub that grows mostly in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is usually grown as a hedge, the leaves are edible in salad and the fruits, or berries (called haws), are frequently made into jams, jellies, syrup, or used to flavor brandy for liqueur. It's herbal properties are cardiac, astringent, and diuretic; the parts used are the blossoms and berries. It seems to primarily be useful for lowering high blood pressure, as aid to help with diarrhea and for cardiac health.

I was not able to find any specific information relating to using the berries or their powder as a flu preventative.

I think the best ways to avoid the flu are the obvious ones of washing your hands frequently with soap; it's very important to monitor small kids who may skip the soap part, check out this article for proper hand hygiene including a video on how to wash your hands the right way. it's also important to avoid contact with anyone who has the flu and to make sure that you are consuming immune boosting foods such as garlic, ginger, cayenne, and vitamin C.


As an interesting side note I learned that the oldest known Hawthorne, called the Hethel Old Thorn, is reputed to be over 700 years old and is found in Norfolk East Anglia, United Kingdom

Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:EugeneZelenko

http://www.organicnutrition.co.uk/articles/colds.htm
www.botanical.com
www.bulkherbstore.com
The Complete Medicinal Herbal