Title: herb-uses-msg
Subject: Uses for various herbs. Recipes.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: herb, uses, direction, recipe, idea, how-to

herb-uses-msg - 5/24/08

Uses for various herbs. Recipes.

NOTE: See also the files: herbs-msg, spices-msg, p-herbals-msg, garlic-msg,  hemp-msg, lavender-msg, woad-msg, seeds-msg, rue-msg, saffron-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

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Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Subject: Fw: HERB - Resins
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 01:46:28 -0500
From: "Philippa Alderton" <phlip  at bright.net>
To: "Stefan" <stefan  at texas.net>

: So, has anyone tried to make incense or something similar (smudge pots, etc.)?
: I haven't found a good description of how to do this yet, and I'd really like
: to try it.
:
: Raisya

The easiest way to make incense or smudge pots is to go to your local
church supply store, and get a package or three of the little charcoal
disks that the churches use to burn incense- just light them up, put your
herbs on, and enjoy. They also have bundles of herbs that you can use- one
is labelled frankincense, and they'll also have censors of various sorts-
generally, fairly inexpensive.

Phlip
Caer Frig
Barony of the Middle Marches
Middle Kingdom

[submitted by Philippa Alderton <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli  at infoengine.com>
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Jasmine's Herbal Sniffy Bags (long)
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:56 AM

My husband saw me making these last October for Christmas
presents (I have 7 siblings all in different countries; I start
very early). Innocently, he asked when we were going to be able
to keep some. I told him we could have whatever was left over
when I was done packaging up the gifts. At one point during
construction of the packages, I got up to go change laundry in
the basement.

Came back, didn't really think much of the rearrangement of
my finished bags (I have cats), and continued. The next
morning I spent 20 minutes in my walk-in closet trying to
figure out why all the clothes smelled like the Christmas
presents. I suspected it was the work shirt I had been
wearing, but it turned out to be the bags my husband had
snitched out of the pile because he was afraid I'd give them
all away without sharing some with him. Goof.

So, the reason these are called "sniffy bags." The herbs that
are in them have been used traditionally throughout history as
treatments for colds, to repel bugs, or in some other form as
antiseptics. I actually keep one of these in my drawer at work
and "sniff" it any time I'm feeling particularly stressed or
just generally yucky. Any standard herbal book can probably detail
the herbs' qualities pretty well, so I'll leave it up to you to
look them up on your own. And I highly recommend you research
anything on herbs I post! Don't trust me. I'm no expert!.

Enjoy -- Jasmine, jasmine  at infoengine.com or g.walli  at infoengine.com

PS: If anyone needs supplier names for sources of equipment or
herbs in general, I'll happily provide them privately. E-mail me.

   *****

Jasmine's Clothing & Sheet Herbal Sniffy Bags
---------------------------------------------

Equipment for one sniffy bag:

   a 3x5 muslin drawstring bag
   a tablespoon measure
   a mixing bowl (optional)

Common sense equipment suggestions:

   hospital gloves -- these are helpful if you feel you might be
        allergic to any of the herbs you work with. I nearly
        always use the hospital variety because they give me
        the best dexterity. Look for these gloves in bulk at
        you local drugstore or medical supply warehouse.

   breathing mask -- highly recommended if you're working with
        large quantities of herbs that you might be allergic to.
        Drywalling masks are cheap and easy to obtain at any local
        hardware store.

   safety glasses -- with cats in my house, I never know when a
        major race through the house will occur. Rather than be
        sorry later, I wear safety glasses to avoid any "upsets"
        if the "Kitten 500" comes racing past the kitchen table
        when I least expect it.

Dried Herbs to fill one muslin bag:

   ~8 tablespoons of any dried herbs that suit your purposes

   I use the following combination for scent, antiseptic, and bug
   repellant properties (and cause my husband likes them)...

   4 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
   2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
   2 tablespoons dried lemon balm leaves

Hints & Tips:
   Increase the amount of herbs as necessary to make however many
bags you need. Approximately 8 tablespoons of cut and dried leaves
will fill a standard 3x5 muslin drawstring bag to the top, with
only a little amount of compaction necessary.
   If desired, mix the herbs in a mixing bowl prior to placing
them in the muslin bag. I sometimes just scoop the herbs right into
the bags from their shipping containers, but some people like to
mix the herbs up a little more.
   Remember to use dried herbs that have been stemmed and crushed,
especially if they normally come in large pieces (for example, my
home-grown lemen balm or wildcrafted catnip). Do not use herbs that
are powdered or otherwise so finely cut that they would sift through
the fabric of the bag.
   Tie the bag's drawstring tight, but not in a knot. I try to
replace my herbs every 12 months. Instead of throwing away what's
in the bags or composting the ingredients, I lock my cats up,
strew the herbs on the carpeting, put on some old tennis shoes,
and walk around on the herbs for a little while. Then I vaccuum.
This keeps my vaccuum smelling fresh and my capret and house smelling
wonderful. I can also reuse the bags.

[submitted by Philippa Alderton <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli  at infoengine.com>
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: Re: HERB - adding oil to powder
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:04 AM

Yvette Royd asked:
>Please excuse my ignorance as I am very new to all this.... Does the powder
>not clump when you add the oils?  Sounds like a wonderful project I'd like
>to try sometime!

To fragrance powder like this you need not add large amounts of
essential oil (or whatever liquid you add for fragrance). Last
year when I made bath salts for the first time I was suprised at
how little scent you actually need. When you add the oil, you're
adding a matter of DROPS, not teaspoons or cups, in my experience.
With this small amount, I've found it's not been too difficult
to shake the clumps out and continue shaking until the scent is
reasonably evenly distributed.

Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm, g.walli  at infoengine.com

[submitted by Philippa Alderton <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli  at infoengine.com>
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Skin Softening Wash Bags
Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:12 AM

I forgot about these in the list of things I did. These
are probably the easiest thing I make for holiday presents.
You can use them a couple of times each. I've successfully
taken these to weekend camping events. The recipe I usually
make doesn't contain herbs, but they're easily added,
especially to take advantage of some of the antiseptic or
skin protection properties of certain plants.

I plan to make a bunch of these for our Queen's bribe...ahem,
war chest. If you come up with your own combination, I'd love
to hear from you! I'm always interested in new twists on
this recipe. -- Jasmine, jasmine  at infoengine.com or g.walli  at infoengine.com

SKIN SOFTENING WASH BAGS

Equipment:

   something to grind with, preferably a food processor
   measuring cups and spoons
   a bowl
   3x5 muslin drawstring bags

Possible Ingredients:

   Nut or grain meal. Some good choices include: almonds, sunflower
         seeds, and oatmeal.
   Powdered milk. Some good choices include: powdered cow or goat
         milk and powdered buttermilk.
   Dried herbs, stemmed and sifted. Suggestions: lavender, sage,
         chamomile, peppermint, thyme, or lemon balm.

Ingredient Notes:

   Ground meal and ground nuts have traditionally been used to
treat a variety of skin ailments. In combination with herbs they can
afford relief to many troublesome skin conditions, including sunburn,
leprosy, and exczema. As with all kinds of home rememdies, it's
common sense and a good idea to talk with a trained professional
first before resorting to this kind of a treatment for a susepcted
or known conditionor problem. However, as a nice treat to the body and
senses, I highly recommend this as the perfect way to spend some
time in the bathtub.

Grinding Notes:

   Making ground meal and ground nuts requires a little planning.
The raw measure does not equal the ground measure. That is, you
can't measure out 1.5 cups oatmeal and expect to get 1.5 cups
ground oatmeal. Here's a little guide for the ingredients I use
most often:

     1 cup whole oatmeal = 1/2 cup ground oatmeal
     3/4 cup sunflower seeds = 1/2 cup ground sunflower meal
     50 large, whole almonds = 1/2 cup ground almond meal

I've found that you can sometime find these preground in bulk
at bulk food service stores (in Michigan, I would buy them at
Gordon's Food Service).

Preparation Notes and Suggested Starting Recipe:

   Roughly 7-8 tablespoons of mixture will fit, depending on you
ingredient choices, into a 3x5 drawstring muslin bag. Using this
number, you can calculate the mixture you would like to use
in your bags, in quantity. Here is the mixture for one bag, which
I made up in the last batch I created:

   ~ 3 tablespoons ground oatmeal (groats, not the quick-cooking kind)
   ~ 3 tablespoons ground sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted, unroasted)
   ~ 1 scant Tablespoon buttermilk powder (look in the baking aisle)
   ~ 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

Play with the mixture a bit to see what you like best. The first
mix of this I ever made contained simply 1/4 cup ground oatmeal
and 1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds. For a simple, skin nurturing
bath, this is still my favorite mixture. Store these in an airtight
container until you're ready to use them (make sure it's waterproof
or safely stored, too).

Usage Notes:

   I wet these bags down and used them like a bar or soap when I'm
in the bathtub. It's a great treat after a tough day. It's also quite
convenient for a nice little pick-me-up at a camping event. The slight
roughness of the muslin acts as a nice exfoliating agent and the rest
of the ingredients soothe your skin quite nicely.
   The bags I usually buy measure 3"x5" and hold a considerable amount
of mixture. You can use these bags several time before they lose their
"oomph", but beware of a few things. First, milk powder will often
start to fester in the heat of the day. If you plan to make these for
camping events, don't add any milk powder and expect to be able to
use the bag again. Second, if my cats are any indication, felines
REALLY like these little bags. Keep them out of reach of kitty and
you'll be thankful. They make an awful mess when one of your cats
decides to either suck on one or tear it apart to get inside (yes
this is the voice of experience).

Selected Suggested Reading:

Culpepper, Nicholas. _The English physitian: or an astrologo-physical
discourse of the vulgar herbs of this nation_. London: Peter Cole, 1652.

   Facsimile copies and various editions of this reference abound.
   Check your local bargain bookstore for copies.

Grieve, Maude. _A Modern Herbal: Vols. 1 & 2_. 1931.

   Both volumes have been bound into one copy that can easily be
   obtained at bargain book stores. This herbal, while out-of-period,
   is America's first modern, researched herbal, often containing
   recipes of neccessity from the time of the War.

Tourles, Stephanie. _The Herbal Body Book_. Pownal, Vermont: Storey
Books,
1994. ISBN: 0882668803

   Although non-historical in nature, this is a good place to start
   when creating your own toiletries from scratch. Use this as a
   recipe reference in combination with your period sources.

[submitted by Philippa Alderton <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: RAISYA  at aol.com
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: HERB - Re:  Jasmine's recipes
Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:59 AM

Jasmine,

Mmm, looks like I'm going to be trying several of your recipes <G>.  The bath
bags sound like a lot of fun.  I came up with a pretty similar filling for my
herbal moth bags, 2 parts lavender to 2 parts rosemary to 1 part thyme. I'm
not crazy about the scent of lavender, but I've noticed when it's mixed with
rosemary, I like it much more.

[submitted by Philippa Alderton <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli  at infoengine.com>
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Eye Compresses for My Mother
Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 5:52 PM

Last year I made eye compresses for my mother because of
her allergies because her eyes often get quite puffy. Up
until very recently, she also had a stressful job and
needed something that would help out with the stress
to her eyes. This recipe is the result of my research
and experimentation. I've taken these to Pennsic with
me to combat the morning after effects of too much
ground smoke and too little sleep. I cannot use them
any more personally, however, because I've developed
an allergy to chamomile; hence, the common sense cautions
listed below. Enjoy! -- jasmine, jasmine  at infoengine.com
HERBAL EYE COMPRESSES

Equipment:

   measuring spoons
   a small mixing bowl
   heat-sealable tea bags (large)
   an iron

Common sense equipment suggestions:

   hospital gloves -- these are helpful if you feel you might be
        allergic to any of the herbs you work with. I nearly
        always use the hospital variety because they give me
        the best dexterity. Look for these gloves in bulk at
        you local drugstore or medical supply warehouse.

   breathing mask -- highly recommended if you're working with
        large quantities of herbs that you might be allergic to.
        Drywalling masks are cheap and easy to obtain at any local
        hardware store.

   safety glasses -- with cats in my house, I never know when a
        major race through the house will occur. Rather than be
        sorry later, I wear safety glasses to avoid any "upsets"
        if the "Kitten 500" comes racing past the kitchen table
        when I least expect it.

Ingredients:

All ingredients are dried, not fresh.

Chamomile flowers -- this herb is an excellent plant for all manner of
things. Be aware, however, that it is a common allergin for many
people. If you already have allergies to ragweed and similar
plants, you should find a substitute for this ingredient.
     The volitile oil of chamomile is an anti-inflammatory. In
ancient Egypt, chamomile was ised to treat malarial chills. The
old herbalists Pliny and Dioscorides recommended it to relive
headaches and calm the nerves. In medieval England, the plant
was popular as a strewing herb, possibly because of its fresh
apple smell. In Spain it was used to flavor very fine sherry.
Before refrigeration, a tea of chamomile was used to soak away
the smell of early spoilage on meat.

Catnip leaves -- this herb is extremely old. An old Middle English
herbal known as the "Agnus Castus" recommends catnip for "evils that
a man has about the throat." This holds with common day use of catnip
as a tea to sooth coughing and congestion. In more modern medicine,
catnip is known to be a mild sedative due to its volatile oil,
cis-trans-nepetalactone. This ingredient is one of the main sedatives
in the Valerian plant as well. Catnip often calms mild stomach
upset. Catnip is used in this mix because of its efficacy in treating
congestion of the sinus passages that comes with allergies.

Elder flowers -- the cross of Jesus of Nazareth was supposedly
constructed from and elder tree. The goddess Freya supposedly made
her home in an elder tree. In the 1600's, it was popular to gather
elder on the last day of April and place it at windows and doors
to ward off the evil of witches (presumably because of it's virtue
in having been good enough to support the weight of Jesus's death).
     The roots, stems, and leaves should not be ingested. The ripe
cooked berries, however, are a popular jam ingredient. The flowers,
which I used for this recipe are a mild stimulant and diaphoretic.
They have popular in bathing and home cosmetics for an extremely
long time.

Preparation notes:

You'll notice I give no amounts in the ingredients section. I use equal
parts of each dried herb and mix them well in a bowl. I've not settled
on an amount best suited for the tea bags. The amounts will vary
depending
on the quality and condition of the herbs you get. I've not found a
consistent amount that works with a wide variety of herb quality.
     Try using a smaller amount than you think you need. Fill the tea
bag so that none of the herb mix falls out when you lay it down to
iron it shut. Then remove about a teaspoon or two more. I suggest
this because of the swelling that occurs when you wet down the tea
bags for placing on the face. If the bags get too full from the
swelling herbs, they will break open and herbs will potentially enter
the eye. This is bad. :)
     If you have cats: KEEP THESE IN A WELL-SEALED METAL CONTAINER
IN A CLOSET ON A HIGH SHELF OF A ROOM YOU NEVER OPEN. I've lost two
batches of these eye compresses to cats. The first time the compresses
were stored in a double layer of zippered plastic bags and wrapped
in tin foil. The second time they were also placed inside a duct-taped
box. Neither efforts hindered my cats' abilities to get at them and
spread them throughout three rooms in my apartment.

Using the compresses:

Run the tea bags under very warm water. If necessary, use tongs to run
them under hot water. Set the tea bags aside until they are cool enough
to touch the most sensitive areas of your skin. If it's too hot to touch,
it's too hot to put on your eyes.
    When cool enough, lay down or tilt your head back comfortably and
relax with  the tea bags covering your eyes for at least 10 minutes.
Lock up your cats so you don't have to fight them off your face. :)

[Submitted by: "Philippa Alderton" <phlip  at bright.net>]
From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli  at infoengine.com>
To: herbalist  at Ansteorra.ORG
Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Juniper Berries in Oil
Date: Friday, November 06, 1998 6:37 PM

I have to admit, I don't fully understand why this works the
way it does for the purpose I make it. You see, *blush* I
need to use it every month or I can't run up stairs. Or wear
lingere. Or have any pressure on my chest at all. I swell like
a balloon. *blush* So I was over at a friends house last year
and just turned pasty white when someone ran into my front at
the wrong time. Ow ow ow ow. And when I explained to her what
the problem was, she ran to her medicine chest and pulled this
out, shoved me into the bathroom, and said "try this, you'll be
completely amazed."

So I did. And you know what? She was right. So I immediately set
to work finding out the why's of swelling reduction and the use
of juniper berries. Let me geek on you here for a minute the
principal constituent of juniper berries is the volatile oil
(the trade name of it is called Junol). Sometimes you'll here
people call it Roob or Rob of Juniper. This is from the practice
of mashing up the just ripe berries (they're bluish) in water and
then extracting out the oil via distilation (actually, the oil is
considered a by-product of the distillation if I understand the
chemistry of the process correctly).

So, about juniper oil itself. Well, it's kinda neat. In nearly all
the cultures that I've found that use it, even back in history,
the fruit has been used to treat symptoms requiring a diuretic.
Most of the reading that I've found that even mentions this in
period calls the condition "dropesie" or "ydropesie." Now both
of these are the roots for the semi-modern word "dropsy" which you
and I would probably call "edema." And all of them are just confusing
substitutes for "an excess of fluid where it's not supposed to
be" (that's really an oversimplification, but the technical details
are mind-boggling for me, so that's the easiest way I can explain
it without stumbling).

Have I muddled the works too much or misinformed? Someone stop
me if I have. In any event, the juniper oil that you get from
ripened and ripened dry berries is strong enough to reduce
swelling. You need to dilute it a bit (i.e. you can't use it
neat, as far as I know), but in the end, the results are amazing
if only for me.

Here's what I make for my house, pretty much for me when I need to
reduce my, ahem, "top-heavy load" (though we've been known to
use it as a leg massage oil after a day of hiking around camp).
-- Jasmine, jasmine  at infoengine.com

PS: Do I need to remind everybody about doing a patch test before
you try out a new toiletry item you've never tried? That may be
appropriate here too if you have a history of allergies. :)

JASMINE'S (MONTHLY) JUNIPER MASSAGE OIL

Equipment:

   a saucepan with a lid
   a non-reactive metal spoon (not wooden!)
   a food processor or spice grinder (preferred) or a mortar (adequate)
   a fine mesh strainer
   a bowl
   a small bottle with a sealable, non-reactive top (squeeze-type preferred)

Ingredients:

   1/2 cup dried juniper berries
   1 cup light oil (good: canola or almond)

Preparation:

In a food processor or spice grinder, grind the juniper berries into
very small pieces, larger than powder but smaller than cracked bits.
Into your saucepan, add the oil and the ground berries. Cover and heat
the berries and oil on low or medium-low until small bubbles form at the
edges of the pan (don't boil this). Let it bubble for 10-20 minutes.

     Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool for about 15 minutes.
Repeat the heating and cooling process twice more, then turn off the
heat and cool completely. Using your strainer, pour the oil from the
juniper sludge through the strainer and into the bowl. Once filtered
from the oil, place the juniper sludge in the strainer, hold it over
the bowl, and press the sludge carefully with the back of the spoon to
get the remaining oil that has soaked into the berries.

     Bottle and enjoy. This oil keeps for roughly one year, though
that time may be shortened as you use more fragile oils (e.g. almond)
for the base. While using cold oil on your skin is not a great idea,
you may store the oil in the fridge to make it last longer. Before using,
however, you should be sure to let it warm up to room temperature.

Alternate prepartion:

Place the oil and the ground berries in a slow cooker and heat on low
for several hours until fragrant. Filter oil from berries as suggested
above.

Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 23:45:06 EST
From: DianaFiona  at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil

tyrca  at yahoo.com writes:
<<
 I came back one time, and found a small corked bottle with clear
 liquid.  No one was there to offer explanation, so I opened it,
 smelled it (no real appreciable smell) and then tasted it.  It was
 clove-infused oil.
 This is really a wonderful gift, but I have no clue what to do with
 it.  Any suggestions?

 Tyrca >>

        How lovely! And I can imagine many different things to use this
for/in......... The obvious one for a cook is of course as a flavoring oil--in
cookies, cakes, even a bit in spiced drinks, you name it! But it would also be
a good addition to a massage oil mixture--clove is a effecive topical
painkiller (Clove oil was a standard treatment for a toothache for many years,
after all.). I might well put a bit in a healing salve for similar reasons.
Take a look in a good herbal under "Cloves" and you'll probably come up with
a number of ideas of your own! :-)

                Ldy Diana

Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:56:08 EST
From: kathleen.hogan  at juno.com (Kathleen M Hogan)
Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil

It is wonderful for toothaches! (just use a very little bit).  Clove oil
is also an anti-bacterial and can be used for small cuts, cold sores,
etc.  It can be used to flavour a candy for freshening breath.

Caitlin NicFhionghuin
House Oak & Thistle

Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 22:29:03 EST
From: Mordonna22  at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil

First thought that I had was to warm it to blood temperature and put in in
the ear of someone with earache.

Mordonna

Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 09:20:46 EDT
From: Seton1355  at aol.com
Subject: SC - grain storage & another topic: head lice

I got a reply about rice and lentils from my Jewish list.  I am passing this
letter along becauce I think it has some very good advice about foodstuffs
storage AND lice...read second half of letter.
Phillipa

<snip of rice and lentils info>

On the same subject, while we are being gross, in Israel in the last years
kids have a lot of head lice (and from what I know also in other countries).
As a pharmacist it is my duty to inform you that all the products in the
market are offensive (to the human being this time) and effective only for
the very short term.
HOWEVER the lice dislike the smell of rosemary - therefore the prudent
parent will drop every now and then a few drops of rosemary oil behind the
ears of his/her long haired daughter (with sons the suggestion is to make a
marine-style haircut).

If the lice do appear - do not run to your neighborhood pharmacist to buy
those strong medications and shampoos.
First - shampoo (prefer a shampoo that contains rosemary oil).
Comb wet hair first with regular and then with a fine tooth comb.
Now apply a very generous amount of a conditioner that contains rosemary oil
(the purpose of the conditioner it to loosen the glue that sticks the eggs
to the hair) and again comb with a fine tooth comb.
Repeat frequently, first once a day, then twice a week and then for
prevention at least once a month.

My Grandmother Says Corner: at my grandmother's time - of course no such
things as conditioners were available - so she used to put MAYO on the hair,
again as a lubricant to loosen the glue of the eggs. And also margarine or
oil can be used.
But then you need to shampoo again to remove the margarine from the hair.

All things in this letter have been checked by me personally. What can I
say, I feel now like I am a descendant of the Adams family or a relative of
Freddie Kruger.

Raya

From: "ariann" <ariann  at nmia.com>
To: <sca-cooks  at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] a herbal related question
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 09:27:55 -0600

1 - You can make kitchen herb wreath gifts from contrasting stalks of herbs.
From your list I would use: sage rosemary parsley, and basil.  You could
also add lavender just for the color and fragrance.  The stalks need to be
6-8 inches.  Use rosemary as the base of your wreath, because it's strong,
flexible and doesn't shrink when it dries.   Tie 6-7 rosemary stalks
(branches) in a circle, attaching them (on the bottom) at 3-4" intervals, so
the final circle looks like a pinwheel with 3"-4" of each stalk/branch
pointing out from the circle.  Attach your other herbs to this pinwheel-like
circle.  When you stagger the placement of each type of herb around the
circle, it makes a flat wreath.  You break off what you want for cooking.

I use different size cords and ribbons for effect, but nothing smaller than
#10 cebelia crochet or it breaks the herb stalks after they have dried.
About the second day of drying the herbs have shriveled and are loose.  Wrap
a thin, colorful ribbon around the wreath to hold down the loose herbs and
hide the construction threads.  You can finish it with a bow.

These wreaths tend to get dusty, but you can remove the dust using the same
compressed air used for cleaning PC keyboards.

2 - Another easy way is to make herb bags from small netting or muslin, pink
the edges and tie off with white cotton cord.  I crochet, so this is one way
I use up all those little scraps of thread.  Place them in a clean jelly/jam
jar.  Put a label on the lid, so you know what's in them.  If it's a gift,
glue a circle of wrapping paper to the lid and put the herb contents label
over that.  They're pretty decorative on the countertop and I find I
actually use them more, than when I put them in the cupboard.  They last 8
months to a year before they start to lose flavor.

Aside, if you pick the lavender before it flowers, you can make lavender
wands as fragrant non-edible gifts.  They are non-period, but fun and easy
to make.  The instructions are in most newer herbal craft books.

Ariann

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