In my front yard I have a thriving planting of Oregano Vulgare. Although the herb is best eaten before the plant flowers, there ARE some very practical things that you can do to utilize the flowers.
Here are 7 suggestions:
Don't pinch off all the flowers (if you must pinch off at all!) because the pretty, fragrant flowers will attract pollinators like the honey bee. Bee farmers may actually thank you for the mild oregano-flavoured honey that results.
The flowers have a more delicate flavour than the leaves and are a lovely cullinary addition to salads, sauces, and Mediterranean-type dishes.
Essential Oil of Oregano has been valued for its curative health qualities for generations! Even just 'smelling' the plant is said to be very health-giving. Put a garden chair next to a clump of oregano so you can sit there to take the sun and breathe in the fragrance. Make a tea by pouring hot water over 3 T. of flowers, steeping for about 10 minutes, sweetening with honey and drinking about 3X a day. This tea will be helpful for menstrual cramps.
Place a sachet of dried flowers under your pillow to help soothe your mind after a brain-binging day.
Oregano is a great companion plant grown near cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli to repel the cabbage butterfly.
Birthday Gift for a "Chef" Friend: Draw together a bouquet made up of oregano flowers, sage, mint, thyme, rosemary,cilantro flowers, arugula flowers and chive flowers (example).The beautiful bouquet will have deliriously fragrant notes that just might get you an invitation to dinner!
Wreath-makers, check here and see some of the wonderful wreathes you can fashion with oregano flowers!
To your living health! See: 7 Things To Do With Rosemary
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My husband and I are both over 70, and while we have the odd age-expected ache or pain or fallen hair or swollen ankels or whatever, we have avoided many of the BIG Diseases: Heart Disease, diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, Cancer-- but we have had family with these diseases and there is a good chance that we will have something like this hit at some time. That is the way of the world these days, is it not?
So, to be proactive and preventative, we believe that "Food is Our Medicine" and we adhere to a Whole Food/Plant-Based way of eating as much as possible. We also watch a lot of those health seminars that mesh with our way of thinking that plants/herbs are the answer-- or at least our first rule of order when we feel ill. We loved the Chris Beat Cancer series because, well, who wouldn't? Chris is a charming young man with a friendly, compassionate mission to help others learn about how they too can beat cancer without (or only as a sideline) chemo or radiation.
Recently he talked about a lemon-garlic mixture that worked for one of his clients. The friend took this mix every day for about 14 months-- worked up to taking 3 Tablespoons of the mix over the course of a day-- and at the end of the 14 months: NO TUMORS!
Well, we thought, if it is that powerful at killing tumors, it is certainly going to be powerful in preventing them in the first place?
We are not doctors or scientists of any certification, but it seemed logical to us that this mix would be something we could happily build into our regular regimen every morning.
At first we tried to take it 'straight' on an empty stomach-- but just one teaspoon full of the mooshy sour-bitter liquid made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack. I'm not kidding.
So, because we are allowing ourselves some licence since we don't actually have tumors (that we know of) and decided that we would put the puree into our smoothies. That has worked just great for us. The lemony-garlic flavour really enhances the other flavours in a vital way, as strange as it might sound to have garlic in a Green Smoothie.
THE BACK STORY ABOUT LEMONS AND GARLIC
Okay, this is the worst possible pseudo-junk-science explanation you will ever get, but let's get on with the recipe okay? You can look up the synergistic qualities of Lemons and Garlic elsewhere on the web. I am just going to say that each of them-- the perky little citrus Lemon and the bold little garlic crowns-- pack a lot of antibiotic. phytonutrient punch. Garlic contains the strong organosulphur compounds called Allcin (yes, sounds like the girl's name). In a clinical trial, extracted allicin (i.e., the amount you would find in about 20 cloves of garlic) was shown to prevent the common cold.
The Lemon is a powerhouse. Vitamin C, fiber and various phytonutrients in the lemon make for a fortress against some forms of Heart Disease, Kidney Stones, Anemia, Obesity and some of the compounds in lemons have been shown to "...prevent... malignant tumors from developing in the tongues, lungs and colons of rodents". So, yes, let's try this out. If you have concerns, please do your due-diligence and speak to your trusted health provider. INGREDIENTS 3 healthy, organic Lemons (small) 6 Garlic crowns or however you think equal the weight of 3 lemons (you can weigh each). The ideal is to have them be the same weight. Apple Cider Vinegar (doesn't need to be the expensive Organic brand-- this is for washing) PREPARATION AND METHOD
1. Immerse the lemons in water to cover, and add about 1/4 C. of Apple Cider Vinegar and put aside for the time that you will spend preparing the Garlic.
2. Smash the garlic to make the peel go quickly. Yes it seems like a violent idea, but it really works to process the garlic quickly. Then peel. See the video below to see how chefs do it.
See how Chefs Smash and Peel Garlic:
3. Cut up the clean lemons into 1/4s or 1/8s. Be sure to leave the skin on, but get rid of seeds. They might be okay to consume, but they are SOOO bitter.
4. Put Lemons and Garlic in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add a little filtered water if your lemon is not very juicy.
5. Spoon the creamy mix into an ice cube tray. Freeze. Put into a medium size baggy and use one a day in your smoothie. Or, you can just put the mix into a jar with a lid in the fridge and use a teaspoon per person each day.
I am a big fan of Chris Wark, Cancer overcomer/thriver and know that there are folks who will benefit from my referring this book-- sure to encourage and inspire you:
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If you are a fan of hermit cookies with their yummy touch of spice and delightful munchy-crunchiness, you will love this baked porridge for breakfast (or dressed up a little as a dessert).
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups oat milk or other plant-based milk
2 T. maple syrup
2 cups rolled oats
2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 Medjool dates , pitted and chopped
Small handful walnuts, chopped
Click for Pumpkin Hermit cookie recipe:
Method to make pumpkin hermit porridge:
Preheat oven to 350° F/177 C.
In a medium bowl mix rolled oats, pumpkin, spice, baking powder and nut and dates.
Blend banana pumpkin, milk, and maple syrup
Pour blender mixture over dry ingredients and combine well.
Divide evenly among 7 or 8 large muffin cups or ramekins.
I am such a Nervous Nelly when it comes to planting "exotic" plants like this little hardy(?) eggplant.
10 seeds cost me $7.
When/if it actually germinates indoors, then, the following instructions:
"Using a clear plastic cloche or floating row cover (hoop bed????) will help growth by increasing warmth.
Cool Temps increase leafy growth but no fruit will set. Plastic mulch(????) placed over the prepared and fertilized soil for a week before transplanting will increase the temperature and increase better fruit set. Grow like peppers BUT keep in mind that eggplants need even more warmth before transplanting (mid to late June.) If the plant is below 21°C (70°F) the fruit may not set "ARGHHH
*West Coast Seeds: Untreated seeds for organic growing, non-GMO
