I'm always excited when Bee Balm bursts into bloom to add its startling color in my garden. This beautiful herb of the mint family is rich in historical lore and the list of its medicinal uses is long and impressive. The story is that the colonists switched to using their native Bee Balm after the Boston Tea Party. They didn't miss imported tea at all once they tried what was so easily available all along. The name Bee Balm comes from the use of the flowers in poultice form to ease bee stings.
Besides the traditional use of both leaves and flowers in tea, iced or hot, you can use this beautiful flower in garden or fruit salads, soups, breads, or as a garnish on any plate. It is particularly good with pork as it is slightly minty in flavor. The leaves have a bit of a citrus flavor added in with the mint. If you have a recipe for citrus rind, you can substitute with Bee Balm leaves.
Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love this plant as much as we do. But we'll all sacrifice a bit and make sure we have some available at market next week.
Previously I said on this blog that we are fostering an attitude of "self-lagniapping". Yesterday showed a significant turn in that direction. More people came specifically to buy our herbs and flowers to beautify and flavor their food. Some had specific recipes or creations in mind while others wanted jazz in their salads. Also more people are realizing we are specializing in out of the ordinary items and came by to peruse the choices of the week. They went home with grape leaves, podding radishes, golden beets and the very popular dragon carrots.
I would like to thank all our customers who are finding they enjoy and share our quirky propensity for decorating food.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment