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Parker House Rolls/Cloverleaf Rolls/Hot Cross Buns (Rombauer)

Scald:  1 c milk

Add and stir until dissolved:  1 T sugar, 2 T butter, 3/4 tsp salt

Sprinkle 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast over 2 T 105-115 degree water.

Add the milk moisture to the yeast bubbliness once it has cooled to lukewarm.  Beat in one egg.  Stir in (somewhere in the vicinity of) 2 2/3 c flour.  Do so gradually, as you want the dough just properly workable, and if it tips over to too dry, none of these work very well.  Start with stirring and shift to kneading once neccesary.  Place in a greased bowl, brush with melted butter, cover and let rise until double.

Parker House Rolls:  Roll dough out and cut rounds.  Crease the middle, then fold and press edges.  Let rise on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Cloverleaf Rolls:  Punch down after that rising, and roll into balls.  Size them so 3 of them will 1/3-1/2 fill a muffin round.  Put three in each section of a muffin tin…  or tins.  Brush with melted butter, and then cover until doubled again.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns:  Change the dough above by increasing the sugar to 1/4 c and adding to the sugar:  1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 c currants or raising, 2 T finely chopped citron.  After first rising, shape into 18 balls and put on greased baking sheets.  Cover and let rise until nearly double.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Milk Glaze for Hot Cross Buns:  1/2 c confectioner’s sugar, 2 T hot milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Warming it over a double boiler will eliminate the weird taste powdered sugar often leaves in icing.

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Quick Winter Herb Bread (Gramma Betsy)

2 1/2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp marjoram (I didn’t have any so left it out and added a few leaves fresh sage)

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch thyme

1 c raisins

1 c ch nuts (used almond meal instead)

2 eggs

4 T honey

1 1/2 c buttermilk

1/2 c butter, melted and cooled

Mix dry ingredients.  Add raisins and nuts.  Beat eggs.  Add honey to eggs, followed by buttermilk, followed by butter.  Stir into the dry ingredients swiftly.  Split in two, put in greased loaf pans, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

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Plantain

Name:  Plantain

Latin:  Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Plantain is a liver strengthener and blood builder.  Holding the hot tea in your mouth can assist with tooth pain caused by infection.  Used as a poultice, it can help a variety of skin conditions, including the rashes caused by stinging nettle, poison ivy/oak, bug bites, and burns.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Name:  Sage

Latin:  Salvia officinalis

Other Common Names:

Family:  Mint

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Anti-bacterial, both internally and externally usable.  It is also a gentle stimulant, adding energy to the system without overstressing it.

Use in tandem with:

Uses for Pets:

Directions & Warnings:

Edibility:  Lovely with poultry specifically, and a wonderful spice for a number of other concoctions.  Makes a nice addition to a variety of teas.  Suggested to lightly flour fry it in olive oil and serve as an appetizer.  So many things to try.

Other uses for:

Growing:  Perennial.  It likes full sunlight and good drainage.

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Cardamom (Eelettaria cardamomum)

Name:  Cardamom

Latin:  Eelettaria cardamomum

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:  Seeds

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Cardamom seeds can be used to freshen the breath, improve digestion, and improve appetite.  They are known to help tonify and condition the stomach, liver, and intestines.  They can relieve coughs, mitigate bronchitis, assist against fevers, and ease inflammation of the mouth and throat.  Cardamom also helps to strengthen the immune system.  It is a useful aid during pregnancy for nausea, as it is a pregnancy-safe digestive aid.  There is evidence that cardamom may also be an anti-viral.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Name:  Ginger

Latin:  Zingiber officinale

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:  Rot

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  This is a wonderful herb for nausea.  I have persistent food issues due to chemical allergies and the after-effects of an old illness, and most of the time one variant or another of Ginger tea will settle my stomach enough for me to eat.  It is used to settle the stomach and as an antacid because it blocks the breakdown of pepsinogen into the compound that causes a particular sort of ulcer and stomach irritation.  3 to 4 T added to bath water can help with detoxification.  Taken as a tea before or during a meal, it will help to mitigate gas.  Ginger also has anti-inflammatory capabilities, when used as a tea or eaten.  It can also function as a healthier stimulant than caffeine.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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Anadama Bread (Matthew Galliard)

1/2 c cornmeal

1/2 c molasses

1/2 c cooking oil

2 1/2 c water

1 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

6-7 c flour

Put 1 c water and cornmeal in a saucepan, bring to a boil slowly.  Let it thicken, but not burn.  Remove from heat, add oil, molasses, remaining water, and salt, and yeast.  Stir smooth.  Cool to around body temp.  Put in 2 c flour and leave for 15 minutes for yeast proofing.  Add flour and knead until slightly sticky, but smooth.  Let rise in covered greased bowl until double.  Punch down and let sit 10 minutes.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.  Shape into loaves, put into pans, let rise again.  Bake at 450 for 30 minutes or to 190 internal temp.  Let cool 30 minutes.

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Blessed Thistle (Cnicus Benedictus)

Name:  Blessed Thistle

Latin:  Cnicus Benedictus

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  This herb is good for most urinary, pulmonary, and liver disorders.  It can also be used to enrich and increase milk in nursing mothers.  As a tonic, just prior to puberty, it can be used to help ease initial cramping.  Also tonifies the stomach and the digestive system generally.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:  Large doses can cause nausea, so use care with amounts.

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Clove

Name:  Clove

Latin:

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Used as a pain killer, typically for tooth pain.  Can either be an oil that you use with a cotton swab or finger and brush over the area in pain, or you can tuck a whole clove into your mouth near the painful area and suck or chew on it.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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