The Indoor Garden

So, work has become very hectic with the holidays fast-approaching in the retail world. Working at Apple with only a week until Christmas has proven to be one crazed whirlwind affair so far! It is stressful at times since there are probably 300 customers within a store that is no bigger than my kitchen and living room combined. That being said, I would not want to work in any other mall store for the holidays! Each coworker that I work alongside of is very friendly and helpful no matter how crazy it gets, and most of us act like silly high school kids when we have free time. So, that was my intro into saying that I've been so busy that I haven't gotten to post about my seedlings that I started!

So, you got to see my chickpeas that I started. Well, since then, they have sprouted quite well and are already quite leafy! Here is a small progression of their growth in the past few weeks.

Also, I have added mung beans to my repertoire in my indoor kitchen greenhouse. I bought just bulk mung beans from the local Whole Foods market, a supermarket that prides themselves on all-organic products (though I believe that organic products do not have to be as expensive as they are there; I think they know that they can mark up their products because they market themselves as totally organic and some people will pay through the nose to get organic products...I could go on and on about this...I'll stop). So, here is what has been happening with my bean sprouts!

I used a large yogurt cup and some napkins as the growing container.

I soaked the mung beans overnight to help the beans shed their outer coat.

Before and after soaking.

The bottom of the yogurt cup had holes poked into it to allow drainage and then a wet napkin was used as a filter and rooting medium to keep conditions moist and humid. I then covered with cling film and placed the beans in a cool and dark room.

Day 3

Day 5

Today - day 14

 Every day or so, I rinse the mung bean sprouts so keep them moist and I make sure that the container is well-drained before I leave it so that mildew doesn't set in. I have moved them out into a bit of light to see if they will get a bit meatier so I can eat them with salads and pho.

In the other room, I have moved the cuttings of rosemary that my grandmother gave me into pots since they have finally begun to root. 

The rosemary and the oh-so-professional rooting technique of sticking 'em in water
and leaving 'em on the kitchen counter.

Some of the roots on the rosemary. I stripped the leaves off up to where the roots were and potted the cuttings. The leaves went into a delicious rosemary chicken recipe.

2 cuttings started, interspersed with mung beans (I want to make my own mung beans for sprouts next year)

 So that is an update on the plants I have started. Sadly, the update on the potato is that it has been unceremoniously chucked out back into the cold, unforgiving winter climate. I didn't start the potato properly so it was getting leggy up top instead of growing downwards, but mostly it was attracting fungus gnats badly. I have another potato sitting out, waiting to grow sprouts from its eyes. I may start it in a trash can later this year where it will have much more room to grow!

Soon to come, I am working on mistletoe and some of the herbs of Christmas lore! If anyone knows of Hanukkah herbs, Kwanzaa herbs, and so forth, pass them along! I have had no luck finding many that aren't Christian-related! Taking suggestions on the next herb after that. Thinking chamomile, basil, mugwort, anything really. The sky's the limit!

Some last minute notes on mint...

I realized that I had forgotten to mention a few more interesting tidbits about mint that I had found.

Just as I had mentioned before the burning of rosemary in funeral pyres, mint was also burned for its virtues that the Greeks thought to be associated with the afterlife. In fact, the Greeks who belonged to the cult of Demeter and Persephone (goddesses of the harvest and underworld, respectively) participated in a religious "journey" called the Eleusinian Mysteries. This journey would bring them closer to the gods and reward them greatly in the afterlife. A key part of this journey was a sacred fasting, followed by consumption of a drink called kykeon. Kykeon consisted of mint, barley and water and when drunk often times gave people visions of their afterlife. Nowadays many believe that this is because the people were consuming barley that had been parasitized by ergot, which caused a psychodelic effect.

In first aid, menthol is used in "mineral ice" when ice cannot be obtained readily. And lastly, menthol is used in many perfumes to bring out floral hints, especially with rose perfumes! And that's it for mint! On to thyme!

The Life and History of Mint

I always seem to enjoy starting these posts with a disclaimer along the lines of:

Now when I speak of mint, I speak of the popular mints such as peppermint, spearmint, pennyroyal. If I were to get into everything under the MINT family, the list would just go on and on. Just to give you an idea, the Lamiacae family includes basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, lavender, sage, savory, oregano, and the well-known teak trees. That is just a SMALL number of the Mint relatives.

Mmmm...I'm in the mood for some ice cream now!

True mints have the genus name Mentha. This name comes from a story in Greek mythology about a naiad (a nymph associated with a river) named Minthe who kept guard over the Cocytus river in the underworld. The story goes that one time Minthe caught the eye of Hades, and he proceeded to seduce her. But his wife, Persephone, found them out and promptly turned her into a lowly shrub to be trampled underfoot by all that passed by. Hades could not undo the spell and took pity on Minthe's situation by adding fragrance to her so that she would smell all the sweeter when trod upon.

It's not hard to see that Hades and his wife Persephone have some issues at home.

Mints are mostly perennial herbs, well-known for their low growth, spreading tendencies, and highly aromatic quality. Most mints prefer full sun to partial shade, though they are more susceptible to rust fungi in the shade. They have thin, serrated, pointed leaves that can dry out easily, so most mints prefer to have frequent watering, though they don't like to sit in water. Anyone who has had a mint in their garden can probably tell you that once a mint gets established, your other plants had better watch out, since mint can be pretty invasive.

Another story about mint shows how it became popular as the herb of hospitality: In Ovid's Metamorphoses, he tells the moral of Baucis and Philemon. It is said that Zeus and Hermes (Jupiter and Mercury, for those Romans out there) came down from Mt. Olympus disguised as regular peasants and visited a town, asking if anyone knew of a place that they could rest and have some food for the night. All of the people in the town closed their doors to the gods in disguise save for the old married couple, Baucis and Philemon. Upon inviting their guests in, Baucis and Philemon proceeded to crush mint and rub it all over their house to get rid of the earthy smell of their common home. Then, they fed their guests and allowed them to rest for the night. After their meal, Zeus and Hermes showed their true identities to Baucis and Philemon and warned them to leave the town as a flood was coming. Everyone from the town other than the old couple perished in the flood and all houses were washed away except the old couple's, which was turned into a temple. From then on, mint was seen as a great sign of hospitality.

"Jupiter and Mercurius in the house of Philemon and Baucis" by Peter Paul Rubens

Mint at one point was used by the Pharisees to pay their tithes. The Romans would crown themselves in peppermint to invigorate and refresh the mind. The Greeks believed that mint could clear the throat and cure the hiccups. In the middle ages it kept the fleas at bay, was used in baths and was strewn about on the floors for scent. In Central and South America, mint is known as hierbabuena or "good herb". Japanese mint was thought to be a type of birth control. In magic, mint is used in spells to ensure safe travel, to invite good spirits, and to bring money.

In the kitchen, most people probably think of mint jellies and sauces to go with lamb or in candies, the most common place for mint use. But, there are many other uses for mint: Welsh cooks often add mint to their boiling water before preparing cabbage. Dried mint is sometimes used in split pea soup instead of salt. Mint is used in compliment to veal, lamb, eggplant, many different beans, and fruit. It is a popular herb in Greek, Indian, Middle Eastern, North African, and Arabic cuisine.

A perfect flavor: lamb chops and mint sauce.

Mint is great medicinally as well, one of the true home remedies out there. Cosmetically, mint stimulates the skin. Steeping a cup of fresh peppermint or spearmint in a quart of cool water makes mint water, which is great for washing the face and keeping it cool. Mint steeped with rosemary in vinegar is said to be a home remedy for dandruff. Medically, mint has been used to cure almost anything you could think such as dog bites, colic, digestive issues, headaches, heartburn, and insomnia. Here are just a few remedies still used today: peppermint steeped in warm milk is said to be good for the stomach and for menstrual cramps, peppermint tea is good for flatulence, fresh peppermint leaves applied to the forehead help with headaches and help with joint pain, gargling with spearmint tea helps with a sore throat.

Refreshing and delicious while still warming!

It is important to know which mints are good medicinally and which are more aromatic! The reason peppermint is so good for medicine is that it produces MENTHOL. Menthol is great at its job because it is considered an antispasmodic (it calms muscles) and it helps to stimulate the flow of bile to the stomach, promoting digestion. Spearmint is less effective and is usually used more for flavor than for medicine, though the U.S. EPA has been reviewing the potential of using R-carvone (chemical from the oil of spearmint) as a mosquito repellent.

Another quick note before I end this post, since I could go on all day about mint (seriously, there are too many remedies and uses for mint! :D). Never should anyone EVER buy peppermint seeds! If you want PURE peppermint, you will not get it from seed. Peppermint is a sterile hybrid between Spearmint and water mint, so you will never get seeds from it. 

And so as my post comes to an end, I say bring mint into your life! Give it to a neighbor as a housewarming gift, make yourself some tea (for those where it is getting colder), make yourself some mint water (for those where its is still warm out), or just have some nice mint chocolate chip ice cream and think back to how much history is behind that simple minty leaf!

Enjoy!

The Life of Rosemary

When I mention rosemary, I'm sure that most people think of the herb that makes chicken and potato dishes delicious. But rosemary has a long history with a wide variety of uses.

Rosemary, or Rosmarinus officinalis, gets its latin name from "Ros" which means "dew" and "marinus" for "the sea". The "dew of the sea" was thus named for its growth in the Mediterranean, where the plants were usually sustained by just the humidity of the sea. According to some, the common name "Rosemary" comes from a biblical tale of the Virgin Mary; once when she stopped to rest, her blue cloak passed over some white flowers. The flowers turned the same shade as her cloak, and thus the flowers were called the "Rose of Mary". 

The color of St. Mary's cloak is the color we know common rosemary flowers to have today.

The rosemary plant is a perennial woody shrub in the mint family, well-known for its flavor and aroma which is reminiscent of pine and lemon. These days, most people know the rosemary plant as being great in the kitchen and in aromas, but there as so many other uses of rosemary throughout the world. Historically, rosemary was used for more superstitious reasons. To the Greeks and Romans, rosemary was thought to have been the plant of Aphrodite/Venus and so the plant was thought to attract love. The herb was thought of as a cleansing herb: the hands were washed with rosemary before healing and it was burned to clear areas of negative energy.

Even today, Wiccans place Rosemary within a "mojo bag" to bring themselves knowledge or love

Rosemary was also thought of as the herb of remembrance, which is why Greek scholars would wear a sprig on their head or drink teas of rosemary to help them think. It was also a prominent herb in weddings and at funerals. In weddings, the bride would wear rosemary around her neck as a sign of fidelity, that she was always in remembrance of her new husband. At funerals rosemary was planted at the graves or burned with the body, as a sign of remembrance for the dead. Later in history, rosemary was still used in funerals, though in a more technical way: many believed that the strong smell of the herb helped to keep from catching a sickness from the dead. It was hung around the neck to help the body "remember" its youth.

A Roman wedding: the woman to the far left is holding a garland of rosemary to be placed on the woman after the marriage.

Rosemary was used throughout history as a treatment for many different affectations of the body, such as gout, skin irritation, digestive problems, and wound cleansing. Nowadays, doctors and scientists are researching the actual benefits of rosemary! What's really interesting is that they found that rosemary really does seem to be an ACTUAL herb of remembrance! They found that rosemary has three key acids: carnosic acid, caffeic acid, and rosmarinic acid. Carnosic acid has been found to help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Caffeic and rosmarinic acid both are anti-inflammatory and strong antioxidants, which means that they help to prevent cancer, skin aging, and reduce the effects of asthma or toxins in the body. So, start cooking more often with rosemary: it'll keep you sane! Literally!