As promised, here's a post to start telling you a little about some of the herbs I'm growing for medicinal purposes.  I decided to start with one of my most favorites:  Lemon balm.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is in the mint family.  It has a square stem and opposite leaves just like regular mints.  When you first see a lemon balm plant, you'll probably think that it is a mint.  But rub a leaf and take a sniff - that delightful lemon fragrance is unmistakeable and unforgettable.  In fact, I could grow lemon balm just for its scent alone, it's that nice.  The leaves also have a lemony flavor with a minty undertone.

Lemon balm is easy to grow and doesn't really require any special attention.  I have successfully grown lemon balm from seed and from transplanting a young plant that I purchased.  It's a perennial and will come back year after year.  It is a mint and will take over if you don't keep it controlled.  I suggest planting it in a raised or contained bed.  When it gets over a foot tall, cut it back to 4-5 inches tall to encourage bushing out.  Here in East Tennessee, it is early July and I have already had 2 harvests from my lemon balm, and I'm about to cut it back again.  You can dry the leaves or freeze them in ice cubes.

The fresh leaves make a wonderful addition to a green salad or a fruit salad.  It's also fabulous to add to a glass of iced tea.  For an extra special touch, you can freeze leaves in ice cubes and then use those ice cubes in your iced tea.  In cooking, add some chopped leaves to a seafood dish or added to a light sauce over poached or baked chicken... basically in anything where you may have normally added a little bit of lemon.

As an herbal tea, lemon balm on its own is delightful with just a tiny bit of honey.  Combine it with goldenrod and a little bit of catnip and it's amazing!

Besides lemon balm's culinary uses and pleasant fragrance, it also has medicinal value.  It definitely deserves the "balm" part of its name.

Lemon balm is mildly sedative and relaxing, making it a good choice for a nighttime herbal tea, especially if you're battling insomnia.  Additionally, because of its relaxing effects, it is frequently recommended for relief of anxiety and depression.  I guess the best way to describe lemon balm is "pleasing."  If you're troubled or stressed, turn to lemon balm for a soothing, calming way to relax.

It's also a good remedy for upset stomach, gassiness or indigestion, especially when accompanied by stress or anxiety.  Lemon balm calms an upset stomach and relieves indigestion.  Its action is mild enough for children and it has even been recommended as a remedy for babies with colic.  As a vasodilator, it helps bring down high blood pressure, relieve migraine headaches and help bring down a fever.

Lemon balm also has antiviral properties and is an effective healer of cold sores which result from herpes simplex.  You can either apply a lemon balm tea or an ointment of lemon balm to the sore.

With the combined sedative, antiviral and digestive-calming properties, lemon balm is an all-around "feel better" herb.  Plus, it's an immunity-booster and a good choice for an addition to your arsenal of teas and remedies for cold and flu season.

For tea to drink, place either 1 tablespoon dried lemon balm leaves or 2 tablespoons fresh leaves in a cup of hot water.  Cover and let steep 10 minutes before drinking to get the full benefit.

To make a topical ointment for cold sores, first you need to make an infused oil.

Gather a bunch of lemon balm and either dry them completely or let them wilt overnight.  You don't want to use fresh leaves to make an oil because the water content is too high and could cause your oil to spoil quickly.  I prefer to use completely dry herbs to make infused oils because I want them to last as long as possible.

Fill a clear glass jar with dried or wilted leaves (don't pack the jar, just loosely fill it).  Cover the leaves with olive oil.  Actually, you don't HAVE to use olive oil - you can use any vegetable oil such as sunflower, grapeseed, safflower or whatever you prefer, but olive oil is the most popular choice.

Cover the top of the jar with a cloth or some other material like a coffee filter or several thicknesses of paper towel.  Secure the cloth or coffee filter over the top with a twist tie, rubber band or canning jar ring.  The point is to let the oil breathe but not let any debris fall into the oil.  Don't close the jar with a solid lid.

Let the jar sit in a sunny window for at least a week - two is better - for the oil to become infused with the herb.  The herbs will soak up the oil, so you may have to add some more oil after a while, which is fine.

After the oil is infused, strain out the herbs and put them in your compost pile.  You now have an infused oil which can be used as-is or used to make an ointment.  Store your oil in a cool, dark place.

To make a basic ointment, heat 8 oz of infused oil together with 1 oz beeswax until the beeswax is melted.  Pour into clean, dry jars (baby food jars and 1/4 oz canning jars work well), or small plastic containers.  When cool, place lids on jars and store in a cool, dark place.

Lemon balm is a great starter plant for those who want to try their hands at growing medicine gardens.  It's an herb that the whole family can enjoy.  With the way it grows, you may end up sharing extra plants with friends in years to come.

The Ball Blue Book for many years has been a much-trusted resource for canners of all levels of experience.  In fact, the first version of the Ball Blue Book was published in 1909.  It was the first canning book I ever had when I got started.

The other day I bought the latest edition of the Ball Blue Book.  What follows is my personal review.

As far as the recipes go, the vast majority are still there.  Notably (and disappointingly) missing are squash pickles, stew vegetables, roasted tomatillo-chipotle salsa, cranberry apple relish (a huge personal favorite of mine and a very popular holiday gift), freezer tomato ketchup, and fruit crisp dessert (from the dehydrator section).

The directions and layout of the book are basically the same as the past 10 years.  All the instructions are easy to follow and make the canning process almost foolproof.  (Let me offer myself as evidence of that.  If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it!)

HOWEVER... (watch out, y'all, TennZen's fixing to go on a rampage)

I guess canning has become chic, or else Hearthmark, aka Jarden Home Brands, aka Ball Corporation is more concerned about the almighty dollar these days, because our beloved Blue Book has been turned into a glorified commercial for Ball products.

The marketing boys at Ball got sneaky and decided to "doctor" the recipes a little.

Let me show you an example.

Here are ingredients for a pickle recipe from the new edition:
cucumbers
sugar
Ball salt (listed as "canning salt" in previous editions)
vinegar
water
Ball Mixed Pickling Spice (listed as "mixed pickling spices" in previous editions)
Ball Pickle Crisp (optional) (not listed in previous editions)

If I were a novice and had never canned anything before in my life and had absolutely no idea about canning or pickling, I'd be scratching my head at ingredient #3.  Ball salt?  If I went to the canning supplies section of the store, I'd most likely see a jar of Ball canning salt.  That's what the recipe is calling for.  I would not know that there are other brands available or that I specifically needed to use canning salt.  The ingredients just say Ball salt.

If I, the theoretical novice canner, took the time to read through the entire book and its instructions, I may have noticed the "Salt" paragraph in the "getting started" section that says

"Use a pure granulated salt for brined and fresh pack pickles.  Pure granulated salt like Ball Salt for Pickling and Preserving does not contain iodine or non-caking additives that may cause pickles to darken or brine to become cloudy."  

Then I'd know that I needed special salt for canning pickles and I might even be observant enough to notice that Ball isn't the only company that makes canning salt.  Morton Salt also has a very good pickling and canning salt, for instance.

If I'm like a lot of people, though, I'll just go straight to the recipe and start from there.  In that case, the Ball salt ingredient may be meaningless to me.  I could either use Ball brand canning salt (score another sale for Ball Corp) or any old salt I may have on hand, which could yield unsatisfactory results.

I wish Ball would have clarified the recipe by listing the ingredient as "canning salt (such as Ball brand pickling salt)".  I could live with that.  Same with the pickling spice.

This isn't the worst example, though.  They got downright ugly with the jelly (and if you're familiar with this blog, you know I take jelly seriously).

Ingredients for a jelly recipe, new edition:
3 c bottled grape juice, unsweetened
6 Tbsp Ball Classic Pectin (listed as 1 pkg powdered pectin, previously)
sugar

This example, in my opinion, is playing dirty.  With the new recipe, it only gives the option of using Ball's new pectin, which is only sold in bulk jars.  It would seem that Ball doesn't have the single-recipe boxes of powdered pectin anymore.  There is not even a mention of substituting a box of any other pectin (like Sure Jell, Certo, or Jel-Ease) in the newest Blue Book.  I take that back - there IS a "how to measure" chart near the back of the book that says how to measure the bulk pectin, but even it is misleading, only comparing the Ball bulk pectin to Ball packaged pectin.  (Example: "6 tablespoons Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin = 1 (1.75 oz) package Ball original pectin")

Even the "Pectin" section of the "getting started" chapter introduction says:

"Use Ball RealFruit Pectin to make jams and jellies having a truer fruit flavor and perfect gel every time.  Ball RealFruit Pectin is available in Classic, Liquid, Low and No-Sugar Needed, and Instant varieties.  Each recipe in this guide will indicate the correct type and amount of pectin to use.  Use only the type of pectin indicated in the recipe as they are not interchangeable."

The way that reads to me, the novice canner, is that no other pectin other than the Ball pectin will work to make these recipes.

I'm here to tell you now that it just ain't so.

Let me make this clear to all you current and potential jam and jelly makers:

HOW TO CONVERT BALL BULK PECTIN MEASUREMENTS TO OTHER PECTINS:

6 TBSP BALL CLASSIC PECTIN = 1 PKG ANY OTHER REGULAR PECTIN
1 POUCH BALL NEW LIQUID PECTIN = 1 POUCH ANY OTHER LIQUID PECTIN
3 TBSP BALL LOW/NO-SUGAR PECTIN = 1 PKG ANY OTHER LOW/NO-SUGAR PECTIN
5 TBSP BALL INSTANT PECTIN = 1 PKG ANY OTHER FREEZER JAM PECTIN

The only caveat:  Do not try to substitute powdered pectin for liquid pectin, or vice versa.  If a recipe calls for powdered pectin, you must use powdered pectin.  If it calls for liquid pectin, you must use liquid pectin.

Pbbbllllttttthhhhh to you, Ball Corporation.  (That's a raspberry, in case you missed it.  Go make some jam with it!)

I understand that Ball and its various parent corporations are in the business to make money.  I am not against making money.  I am all for a free market.  I'm a Libertarian, after all.  I'm about as free as they come.

But, for crying out loud, Ball... don't go THIS crazy on us.  I mean, you already practically own the market when it comes to canning jars and supplies.  I have been many places where Ball jars and lids are the only options available.  Those jars aren't cheap, either.  Don't rub it in our noses and change your recipes in the Blue Book so radically as to exclude all other options.

This sort of thing - changing the recipes to constantly scream "Ball, Ball, Ball" all the time - is a big turn-off to me.  As brand-specific as this new edition book is, I almost shouldn't have had to pay for it.  It's basically an advertisement in disguise.

Maybe I'm being too much of a purist.  Maybe I'm just set in my ways.  Pardon my ranting.

If you need a good canning reference book, I recommend you go to the National Center of Home Food Preservation website and download their canning guide. It's bigger than the Blue Book.  It's also FREE.

Exercise your own right to freedom of choice.

Up to my ears in zucchini, I've tried to find new ways to enjoy them and preserve them.  Well, thanks to the good ol' National Center for Home Food Preservation, I found an unusual recipe and thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's for zucchini pineapple.  Yes, you read that right:  PINEAPPLE.  You can use it just like regular canned pineapple.  It tastes the same and has just about the same texture as pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple.

OR you can use it like zucchini in baking.  Imagine zucchini bread made with zucchini pineapple.  YUM!

Another plus - it looks really pretty in the jar.  Holiday gift-giving ideas?

And lastly (my favorite reason), it is SO easy to make.

ZUCCHINI PINEAPPLE
4 quarts peeled, cubed zucchini or peeled, shredded zucchini - SEEDS REMOVED
46 OZ. canned/bottled unsweetened pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice
3 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, mix all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes.

Clean and sterilize 9 pint canning jars.  Keep jars hot.  Clean canning lids and rings.  In a small pot of water, simmer the lids but DO NOT BOIL.  Fill boiling water canner with water (enough to cover pint jars plus at least another inch of water), cover and bring to a boil.

Fill jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove any air bubbles by running a rubber spatula or bubble freer wand in the sides of the jar and gently pressing against the zucchini.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp rag.  Place the canning lid on the jar and screw on the canning ring to finger-tight.  Place jars into the boiling water canner.

Place the lid on the canner and bring to a boil.  As soon as the water starts boiling, set your timer to process the jars for 15 minutes (or as adjusted for your altitude).

After the processing time is complete, remove the lid and turn off the heat.  Let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner without tilting them.  Let jars sit undisturbed on a towel for 24 hours.

After filling all my jars, I had some "pineapple" left over.  Mr. Zen absolutely loves pineapple and he was really shaking his head at me when I started cooking this recipe.  I let him taste some of the leftovers.  Let's just say that he is a believer now!

This stuff is really delicious!  Of course, you can tell that it's not TRUE pineapple because of the texture, but the taste is so good.  In fact, it didn't have quite the harsh acidic bite that true pineapple has and didn't leave our tongues stinging afterward.

I can't wait until I get another "mess" of ripe zucchini so I can make some more.

Aloha, y'all!

It's been a busy couple of weeks at Chez Zen.  We went on a camping vacation and had a fantastic time.  Mr. Zen and I also celebrated another wedding anniversary (that rascal spoiled me again).  After that, it was time for another Independence Day fireworks extravaganza, in which all the assorted Zenlets enjoyed blowing up stuff.  No fingers or toes were lost in the excitement.

During all that, the garden kept right on growing.  I guess time and vines stop for no one.  We're now being rewarded by some monster zucchini and tomatoes.  This one is bigger than my hand.   We haven't applied any extra fertilizer or Miracle-Gro or anything like that - we just planted the 'mater plants in their raised beds, weeded, mulched and watered.  Nothing else.  Wow!

The zucchini are growing like crazy, too.  I don't have any pictures of the biggest ones, but they were as big as my forearm.  I usually try not to let them get that big and prefer to pick them when they're around 5 inches long, right after the bloom has fallen off, but while we were away on our trip, the zukes just went out of control.

So, after using up some of our first harvest in fried zucchini, zucchini bread, in salads, grilled, and in pasta sauces, I sliced and grated a lot of it for freezing.

With the rest of it, I made pickles.  You can substitute zucchini spears for cucumber spears in any quick dill pickle recipe.  I wouldn't substitute them for cucumbers in a fermented recipe where you have to let the cucumbers sit in a crock for several days or weeks in a brine solution.  I don't know how well that would work.  But in a quick pickle recipe where you raw pack the spears in the jar, pour the hot pickling liquid over them and immediately process in a boiling water canner, you can substitute zucchini for cucumbers.  They may not stay as crisp as cukes would, but the flavor is just as good.  I haven't tried adding anything like Pickle Crisp to my zucchini pickles.  If I make another batch later on, I may try it.

Here is a good dill zucchini pickle recipe:

ZUCCHINI DILL SPEARS
7 lbs zucchini (about 30 medium zucchini, each about 5 inches long)
1/3 cup canning salt
Ice water
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp dill seed
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp mustard seed
4 cups white vinegar
1 cup water

Wash and rinse zucchini.  Cut off stem and blossom ends.  Cut lengthwise into spears - yield about 12 cups of spears.  Place spears in a large container and sprinkle with canning salt.  Add ice water to completely cover the zucchini.  Place a large plate upside down on top of the zucchini, then stand a quart jar filled with water on top of the plate to weigh it down and keep the zucchini completely submerged in the ice water.  Let stand 2 hours.

Clean and sterilize 6 pint canning jars.  Keep jars hot.  Clean canning lids and rings.  In a small pot of water, simmer the lids but DO NOT BOIL.  Fill boiling water canner with water (enough to cover pint jars plus at least another inch of water), cover and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl, combine garlic and 1 tbsp dill seed. Set aside.

Combine sugar, mustard seed, 1 tbsp dill seed, vinegar and water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Drain and rinse zucchini.  Place spears in the hot pickling liquid and return to a boil.  As soon as the liquid beings to boil, remove from heat.

Spoon 1 tsp of garlic/dill mixture into a canning jar.  Pack zucchini into jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Add pickling liquid to cover zucchini spears, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove any air bubbles by running a rubber spatula or bubble freer wand in the sides of the jar and gently pressing against the zucchini.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp rag.  Place the canning lid on the jar and screw on the canning ring to finger-tight.  Place jars into the boiling water canner.

Place the lid on the canner and bring to a boil.  As soon as the water starts boiling, set your timer to process the jars for 10 minutes (or as adjusted for your altitude).

After the processing time is complete, remove the lid and turn off the heat.  Let the jars set in the canner for 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner without tilting them.  Let jars set undisturbed on a towel for 24 hours.

I also made some sweet sliced zucchini pickles, which turned out tasty!

A. She was abducted by a group of aliens who intercepted one of her radio transmissions and wanted to learn more about making jelly from purple hull peas.

B. She retreated into the mountain wilderness to spend a year in silence, pondering the meaning of life and the existence of the perfect bread recipe.

C. She was swallowed up by a rogue kudzu vine and was forced to hack her way out, bare-handed. She spent the following year in recovery, mumbling something about Roundup and dynamite.

D. None of the above.

The answer is... LIFE happened to TennZen. I went through a job change, made some new friends, tried my hand at some new interests, and expanded the garden.

I lived, loved, laughed and cried. Now I'm back to tell the tale.

The blog had to take a back seat for a while, then it just plain got away from me. I missed it like crazy, though. And I missed all of you.

One of my new friends (the self-styled "Prez") persuaded me to take up the virtual quill once again and get thee back to the blogosphere.

So, here I am. Back in the saddle again. (Thanks, Prez)

Life itself hasn't changed too much on Zen Mountain. Mr. Zen and I have a few more gray hairs, and Things 1 and 2 have grown.

We completely overhauled the garden and now have everything planted in raised beds. At first I was kind of a skeptic, but having seen how much easier it is to manage everything - from watering to weeding and everything in between - you can put me down as a believer. I'll post more about that later on. But we were inspired by Mel Bartholomew and his Square Foot Gardening method (though we have a lot more than just a few square feet in our garden).

I'll tell you what we have planted in the garden:
Potatoes (red and white)
Sweet potatoes
Green beans (including some scarlet runner beans, which I'm really excited about)
Tomatoes (several different varieties)
Cucumbers
Squash
Zucchini
Watermelon

I didn't bother with English peas, okra or purple hull peas this year, simply because I tried them in the past and the yield wasn't worth the space they take up in my garden.

Fruits:
Peach (the peach tree is very full of little peaches right now)
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Grapes (including a wild grape)
Apple (though the tree did not bloom this year for some reason)

Herbs:
Chives
Yarrow
Catnip
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Lemon thyme
Sage
Parsley (2 varieties)
Anise hyssop
Blue vervain
Lemon balm
Wormwood
Bee balm
Soapwort
Comfrey
Calendula
Feverfew
Roman chamomile
Lemon verbena
Citronella
Lavender (4 varieties)
Rosemary

I'll tell you more about all the herbs in upcoming posts as well.

I am very grateful to be back. It reminds me of Grandmother, when she'd say "come on in and set a while," coffee and a slice of her cake ready and waiting.