Volume XIX, Issue 5, July, 2010

HERB GUILD THYMES

The Charlotte Herb Guild Newsletter

Next CHG Meeting

July 13, 2010

7:15PM

Photographing Your Herbs

Charlotte History Museum

3500 Shamrock Drive

View Larger Map

Please bring a chair or a blanket for yourself.


Park in front of the Museum. 

 Enter the Museum to gain access to the grounds.

Bring your camera(s), and a USB cable (if you have one) for the printer (outcome:  notecards)

Hostesses:  Dixie Spivey, Karen Sullivan, Gina Simmons

Guests:  $12.00

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Notes from the June Meeting

What a beautiful evening it was to bring herbs and flowers to the women residents of "Changed Choices!”

Thank you to Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries for preparing and organizing great tasting food. Everyone enjoyed the festive snack food bags.  The bags were a great idea and worked well with our outside venue.

Most of the Guild members arrived before the residents from Changed Choices returned home from their meeting. The CHG members brought an abundance of herbs and plants.  In addition, Home Depot generously donated a couple of flats of herbs and vegetables.  On arrival, members began planning and planting. As they worked, they shared with arriving residents the joy of gardening, how gardening brings together people from all walks of life.  The joy of growing, harvesting, smelling and touching plants is a universal joy.

The resident women immediately took to the soil, plants and pots.  They can now enjoy a wide variety of potted herbs and flowers:  lavender, thyme, garlic chives, parsley, basil, day lilies, black-eyed Susan's, hosta lilies and much more.

Thank you CHG Members and a special thank you to the Home Depot!

Recorded by Dana DeBellis

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June Recipes

Broiled Pineapple with Honey and Basil  

Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries

Yield:  6 servings

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon crystallized ginger

1 tablespoon chopped basil

1 pineapple

Skin and slice the pineapple into ½ inch slices. Place as single layer in a glass 9 x 13 pan. In a saucepan, mix honey, vinegar, ginger, basil and stir over low heat til warm. Drizzle honey mix over pineapples. Broil pineapples 3 minutes til golden. Garnish with fresh basil.   Serve warm or cold.

Rolled Salami with Herbed Cream Cheese

Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries

Yield:  12 servings

1 pound salami, thinly sliced

1 cup softened cream cheese

1/3 cup capers

1/3 cup Kalamata olives

½ cup parsley, chopped

Mix cream cheese, capers, olives and parsley. Place a teaspoon of mixture onto salami slices.  Roll salami into a tube shapes and serve.

Shitake Mushroom and Prosciutto Frittata

Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries

Yield:  6 servings

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

8 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped

2 shallots, minced

¼ cup water

1 ½ tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

2 whole large eggs

6 large egg whites

¼ cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper to taste

8 thin slices of prosciutto, sliced into 3 long strips 

24 thin fresh chives, used as garnish

Preheat broiler.

Melt butter in non-stick skillet.  Add mushrooms and shallots, sauté for three minutes. Add water and cook/stir until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in tarragon. Add egg mixture to mushrooms, cooking at high heat, stirring briskly until eggs are softly scrambled, two to four minutes. Then place skillet under broiler five to six inches from heat source and broil until eggs are golden brown and firm, about one to two minutes.

Slice frittata into individual slices and wrap prosciutto around each slice with a chive garnish..  Serve at room temperature

Victorian Lavender Cookies with Rose Water Icing 

Adapted from The Spice House   

Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries

Yield:  4 dozen

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lavender, crushed

1 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 ½ teaspoons water

6 ½ teaspoons rose water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, lavender, flour, baking powder and salt. Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  While the cookies bake, prepare the icing by mixing the powdered sugar with water and rose water. Drizzle over the cookies after they have cooled.

Fresh South Carolina Peach Cookies  

Adapted from a recipe of Theresa Thunderbird

Theresa Nardi and Holly Jeffries

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 medium fresh ripe peaches

½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl.  Add egg and beat until light and fluffy.  In another bowl mix flour, baking soda and spices.  Stir flour mixture into egg mixture, a little at a time.  Peel, pit and finely dice peaches, stir into cookie mixture.  Stir in raisins,  Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Bake 20 minutes until cookies brown on top. Cool and serve.