Celebrating the 2016 Herb of the Year, Capsicum! Well Almost!

My Favorite Pepper Mill from Penzey's!

It has pepper in its name, but it isn't quite what is being celebrated.  A couple of readers have asked about growing peppercorns, one who lives in Florida and one who lives in Vermont.  And silly me thought it was perfect because the 2016 Herb of the Year is pepper.  Well, not really pepper.  It is capsicum, the true pepper.

Pepper was prominent in the ancient world and was a source of fabulous wealth during the medieval and colonial spice trade.  Pepper provided the pungency of Indian food until it was partially replaced by chilli peppers from the New World.  It remains the most important and popular of all spices in overall value and trade volume.  Peppercorns are from the genus Piper which has a very large number of species, but only P. nigrum has any importance as a spice.  Black pepper is native to the Indian equatorial and tropical forest regions, especially along the Malabar Coast (South India).  Besides India, it is cultivated in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and China.

The plant is a climber, with stems that have green oval to heart-shaped leaves, 3 to 7 inches long and adventitious (meaning they are formed accidentally) roots anchoring it to the ground.  It has inconspicuous flowers.  The fruit or peppercorn is a berry like drupe about 3/16 inches in diameter.  They are green when they are unripe and then red.  Plants are propagated from seed or cuttings.  The developing seedlings need to be staked and are kept low so that growth is horizontal.  In their native lands they can grow to 20 feet.

Production begins 5 years after planting.  The spikes of fruit are harvested before they mature so as not to lose the fruits.  The spice that is obtained from the fruits is made up of black, white and green pepper.  Black pepper comes from whole fruits picked just before they are completely ripe and are briefly cooked.  White pepper from ripe fruit with the endocarp (the inner most membrane surrounding a seed in the fruit) of the pulp separated from fermentation.  Green pepper are made by pickling the unripe fruit to keep them from darkening.

Ground pepper quickly loses its aroma, so that ideally it is stored whole.  The spice has stimulant, digestive and eupeptic (good digestion) qualities.  Black pepper is used in practically all savory dishes and even in sweet ones.  When I was at the Spice Festival at Kew Gardens last fall, a chef combined strawberries with black pepper.  They were delicious.  Because I am into jam and jelly making, here is a  strawberry and black pepper jam recipe! May have to substitute raspberries instead!

The pungent principle is piperine (only 1% as hot as capsaicin from chili peppers).  White pepper is more pungent and has musty flavors resulting from the fermentation process.  The peppery aroma is due to rotundone, a compound also found in Shiraz wine.

So the real question is can Florida or Vermont grow peppercorns?  My guess is that Florida has a better chance than Vermont just by location.  I did find a post from my friend, Jim Long's blog about growing peppercorns from plants he purchased in Florida!  It is called Growing Black Pepper.  Hopefully his tips will be helpful to Linda in Florida.  I would just say to my Vermont reader, Bev, buy the best quality peppercorns and use a pepper grinder to get the best flavor.  I would also mention buying in bulk is not always the best way to buy spices.  Even though it may be more expensive, the spices will be used up in a timely fashion.  If you have a favorite spice company, please share it.  I buy a lot of spices from Penzeys Spices.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  A gloomy day here in the 'Burgh.  Talk to you later.

Tower or Tree and Merry Christmas to You All!

The Tower of Babel by Barnaby Barford

I thought this was a perfect interpretation of a tree and maybe not a perfectly decorated Christmas tree, but Barnaby Barford put together this installation for The V & A (which is already gone and sold off) of 3,000 china shops photographed by the artist from the most derelict at the bottom to the richest at the top.  The project speaks at its base level about London, the British society and economy and the British as consumers, but it could speak to our economy as well in America.   The Herbal Husband being an architect was why I was drawn to this Tree/Tower as my first thought, but once I knew it was called The Tower of Babel, it made sense to me more and more.  In the Bible, The Lord comes and scatters the people and stops their building of the tower to the Heavens.  We need to find something that will give us more tolerance and understanding of every language and bring us together because we are in the end all human beings and we need to treat each other with dignity and respect.

So Merry Christmas and The Herbal Husband and I hope you are having a wonderful day with your family and friends.  This month has flown by but there are a few more posts to come in my 31 days of blogging!  Continues to be a California Christmas here.  Rain is arriving later this evening, could have been snow!  Going to walk some of those delicious cookies we have gotten from the neighbors!  Here is our Christmas card to you from the Kew Gardens!  I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Season Greetings from Kew Gardens!

My 2015 England Adventure to the Victoria & Albert Museum!

What Do These Buildings Make Up?

A Medieval Fabric

Examples of Stained Glass

An Interesting Face

A Beautiful Tapestry

Handwritten Book

Another Beautiful Tapestry!

And Another Tapestry!

A Brass Marker

Some of Their Miniature Portraits!

The Reference Library

Just One More Raisin Scone and Earl Grey Tea!

My last full day in London was spent at the Victoria & Albert Museum or as it is affectionately called The V & A.  I really wanted to see the collections of embroidery and stitching and textiles from many ages.  I didn't do enough research to discover that they have opened The Clothworkers' Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion in Blythe House.  You can also search their vast collections online and that maybe what I will do some snowy winter's day!  So instead of textiles I turned my attention to their Medieval collections and other items.  You get a bit of a taste of what I saw!  Of course there was one more scone and tea just for me!  My last day was filled with travel nightmares.  I started at 8 AM at Heathrow and ended at my house at 11:45 PM which was actually 4:45 AM London time!  It was a very long day, but I had a fabulous trip.  I am a very lucky and blessed lemon verbena lady!  Hope you enjoyed my adventures.  More to come in 2016!

Well, I will let you see what that top photograph really was tomorrow!  It will be Christmas day!  I hope you are having a wonderful day with family and friends.  We will be with our friends, the Devereauxs for Christmas.  Even though it is Christmas, I will be posting a brief post tomorrow!  Continues to be a California Christmas here as our neighbor said.  Safe travels for everyone!  Will talk to you tomorrow. 

My 2015 England Adventure in Stratford-Upon-Avon!

Shakespeare's Birthplace and Gardens

Medlar Tree Ready For Picking!

Is That You Will?

Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Garden

Mary Arden's Farm

Dinner at the Arden Farm

The Kitchen at the Arden Farm

Hall's Croft

A Bed Chamber in Hall's Croft

The Hall's Croft Garden

A Small Herb Garden at the rear of Hall's Croft

Holy Trinity Church

Shakespeare's Tomb

Harvard House

The Dining Table of Harvard House

Teasels to Keep You from Sitting!

Discovering Painted 'Wallpaper' on the Walls of Harvard House

Tea at the Hathaway Tea Room

A Substantial Afternoon Tea Tray

Had Enough for a Picnic Dinner for the Train Ride Back to London!

I am doing a presentation in March of 2016 on the herbs and flowers of Shakespeare.  Ironically enough I had planned a train ride to Stratford-Upon-Avon during this trip before I decided to do the presentation.  It is fate!  I had had such lovely weather up to the day I went to Stratford and I should have known it would rain!  So I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked in the gardens taking photos.  They do have a wonderful double decker bus that goes from major point to major point in and around Stratford that did help.  I could not waste time or enjoy looking around as much as I would have liked.  I call it power touring!

I did go to Shakespeare's birthplace first because it was in town and not far from the train and before I got the bus.  There are costumed guides that take you through that time period and the last little guide asked me what was my favorite Shakespeare play!  Yikes!  Had to think quickly and so I said A Midsummer's Night Dream and she quoted something by Puck!  Really wonderful the young mind!  I would have been fumbling to get the quote out!

So next I got to the bus and made my way out to Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Gardens.  I sort of rushed through the cottage so I could get out in the gardens before it rained harder.  And got the next bus to go to Mary Arden's farm, a working Tudor farm.  Got to see the blacksmith at work and the tail end of the dinner the Reppert sisters told me to attend.  If they weren't drinking real alcohol, they were acting very well.  Let's just say they enjoyed their meal and drink!  Then it was back to town and a stop at Hall's Croft, the house of Dr. John Hall who married Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna.  The gardens contain many medicinal herbs that would have been used by Dr. Hall.  Then I walked to the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare was both baptized and buried.  A beautiful church inside with lovely stained glass windows.  The last house I got to see was called Harvard House and was built and owned by Thomas Rogers, a butcher and corn and cattle merchant.  It was a townhouse of that time.  Shakespeare purchased New Place nearby which was the largest house in Stratford.  I discovered yesterday that New Place was really the gardens that I needed to see, but sadly New Place and gardens are closed until April of 2016.  So hopefully I will get to see the traditional gardens of Tudor times when I go in May.

I finished off my day in Stratford with an afternoon tea at Hathaway's Tea Room.  The tea itself was very good and very well priced.  I had roast beef, egg mayonnaise and prawn Marie Rose sandwiches, a scone with strawberry conserve and clotted cream and two desserts, a lemon meringue tart and a coffee cake.  The service the day I was there was lacking.  In fact people left when they weren't waited on right away.  I took a box away that's how much food was left!

I headed for the train station.  I had a late direct train (9:30 PM) and as the trains came and went I soon regretted my choice.  A young girl with a gym bag came and sat down beside me.  She was eating a bag of crisps (chips) and putting her finger into the bag to get the flavor and licking her finger.  I said to her, honey those crisps must be good.  She nodded her head.  I asked her if she would like to share my dinner.  She nodded again.  I opened it and it had flipped around, but she picked out the lemon meringue tart and she said she would like it.  I asked her what her name was she said Maya and I told her my name was Nancy and I was from Pittsburgh.  Her eyes lit up when I said Pittsburgh and she told me she had a friend that lived in Pittsburgh.  I told her she would have to come and visit and then her train came and she was gone.  As the train master locked the bathroom and the room where they sold newspapers and snacks, I grew more apprehensive.  There was a lone young woman on the other end of the bench.  She was eating her dinner.  She was carrying a floor lamp with her.  I went down to her end of the bench and asked if I could join her.  She said sure in a hybrid American/English accent.  A young actor trying to make it work.  Long story short she convinced me to take the train with her.  They will never check your ticket.  Well, they did, but I was OK.  Hope to see you next time I am in England, Blake!

So we are getting down to the end of my Adventures in England.  One more post to go!  Still  surprisingly warm here in the herb garden.  Not Christmas like at all.  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you tomorrow!

My 2015 England Adventure at the Spice Festival at Kew Gardens!

A Sunday Market on the Walk to Kew!

The Produce and Fruit Look Great!

A New Restaurant to Have Afternoon Tea?

Had to Have My Morning Scone and Cuppa!

King William's Temple

A Celebration of Saffron!

Information on Pepper and

Ginger And

Vanilla Among Others!

Giving The Scoville Units Scale Life!

Presentations and Food Tastings All Day Long!

Keik Serving Lunch!

Love the Gate of the Student Vegetable Plots!

Part of the Plant Family Beds!

Waterfall in the Rock Garden!

It Was Definitely a Two Scone and Cuppa Day at Kew!

A Beautiful Display of Containers at Kew!

I always try to come up with extras during the time I am on vacation in England.  Doesn't necessarily have to be gardening inspired, but I did find that Kew Gardens were having Spice Festivals on Sundays in October.  I had been to Kew on my last visit and I wasn't planning on going back this visit, but I thought it would be a fun day!  Soo I bought a ticket online and took the Tube to Kew.  When you come out of the Tube station there is a lovely group of shops and restaurants to greet you.  On this particular Sunday and maybe it is every Sunday for the neighborhood, there was a market.  The markets bring the neighborhoods together no matter where in the world you are.

So on to the Spice Festival at Kew.  There were lots of vignettes all over the grounds and so you saw a lot of the gardens and learned about different spices.

My favorite part was finding out whether I was a supertaster or not.  Just by putting a piece of special paper on your tongue, you could find out if you were a supertaster, a taster or a non-taster.  Because my paper just tasted like paper, I am a non-taster.  So I wondered with my GERD, and if I can't have chili or spicy food, what spice should I be eating and the speaker's response was ginger and horseradish!  Both of which I can tolerate!  And after this visit to Kew, I think I will always go to Kew on my England vacations because there is just so much to see and enjoy.  I also want to have a cream tea at the Kew Greenhouse.  Always up for scones and tea! 

We finally have bright sunshine and warm temperatures in the herb garden today!  Even warmer tomorrow!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be!  Talk to you tomorrow!