Herb season - 1

Spring is in full, if not particularly warm, swing, rains have been copious and every green life form is booming. This means weeds, of course, but it also means herbs, so many of which double as weeds down here. But only for those who don’t know— or don’t care — they’re herbs. We do, so we had our first herb harvest season.

Mint/spearmint

No bean soup is a true bean soup without a sprinkling of dry spearmint. It gives the dish a pleasant smell but it also does more than that, neutralising its flatulence effect thanks to some of its ingredients.

Mint or spearmint is also a staple in the Slav household during cold season, when we use it to neutralise the taste of chamomile in the tea we drink for sore throat, and to help alleviate the inflammation. Great for stomachaches and upsets of various origins, too.

Spearmint has been growing nicely here since last year and this year we tried to grow some mint from seed, which was a spectacular failure. Good thing the neighbours have a thriving mint colony and generously shared a few plants to help us start our own.

Mallow

It grows all over the road by the house. It grows along streets. It grows everywhere. It is a weed and a bee magnet. It’s also a herb and a wonderful one.

Like mint, mallow is prescribed by local herbalists for colds because it can help with coughs and respiratory infections. We haven’t tried it in this capacity yet because we, and that means the female members of the family, keep it for more important purposes: skincare.

Because of its anti-inflammatory properties mallow makes a simple cure for various minor skin irritations. We make an infusion of a tablespoon of the dried blooms in half a cup of water and apply topically. It acts even faster than chamomile, which is saying something.

Thyme

Another bee magnet, thyme blooms in May. Incidentally, thyme blooms are yet another traditional cold remedy. A lot of the local herbs are used as cold remedies because they share properties — anti-viral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory. They are also said to be a sort of immune system boosters.

Thyme is also a member of the Tummy Trouble Squad. Few childhood memories are sweeter than the one of a cup of thyme tea and a buttered toast on a cold December morning. It goes great with roast lamb as well, especially in the company of mint. Best dual-purpose goods, herbs.

P.S. We don’t harvest all of the bee magnets. We take half and leave the other half to the honeymakers. Then the honey goes into the herbal tea to reinforce the healing effect.