August 29th is More Herbs, Less Salt Day. This is a day to try and cut down on salt intake, changing flavor with more herbs and spices.
My first book I have used before, as one of my friends is a serious salt patron. The book is “Salt, The Fifth Element” by Garnett Laidlaw Eskew, published 1948. While this day is to limit salt in ones diet, there is a quote from Jean De Marcounille, 1584:
“The sacredness and dignity of salt! This mineral is like unto the four elements-earth, air, fire, and water. So universal, so nesessary to life, it is the fifth element.”
There are many interesting stories, one of Joy Morton developing business of Morton Salt (when it rains, it pours). He also established the Morton Arboretum. His father, Julius Sterling Morton, was also a tree lover. HE was the founder of Arbor Day.
To humor the day, I will promote several books on herbs. The first is “Garden Herbs, Culture; Storage: Uses” by George E. Whitehead, published in 1944. This book, as the title suggests, explains how to raise, harvest, dry, and use herbs. It is a straightforward book. There is an interesting chapter though on how to distill herbs, with a good old fashioned still. Do I hear some schnapps calling me…
The next book is newer, called “Field Guide to Herbs and Spices” by Aliza Green, 2006. The subtitle is “How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market”. This is a wonderful how to guide for everything. It is like a bird guide. It lists every type of spice, explains what it can be used for, and even has a section of pictures to help identify. This should be in every cookbook library, and kitchen.
The third book is from my Peter Pauper Press library, “The ABC of Herb and Spice Cookery” published in 1957. In the introduction, the editor states:
“If your dishes seem too common,
You can change them in a trice,
With a dash of kitchen magic;
Just a bit of herb and spice!“
There are wonderful recipes from ‘Australian Oxtails in Mustard sauce” to “X-tra good Ham Sauce.” Enjoyed some very good recipes, and much of the book is written in rhyme. It is a clever book, as many of the Peter Pauper Press books are.
Salt or no salt…spice up you day with a good read.
But…There are rules. In cooking, they may be “Read the recipe first” or “Keep your knives sharp.” For other things…
August 29th is also “According to Hoyle Day.”
To honor the rules and regulations of games, we celebrate Edmond Hoyle. He died on this day in 1769, at the age of 97. I have the book “Hoyle’s Rules of Games” edited by Albert H. Morehead and Geaffrey Mott-Smith, 1963. “As Webster is to Dictionaries, so Hoyle is to Games”. This is the forty-fourth revision of his original rule book of various games, printed around 1748. It is updated on all sorts of indoor games.
So spice up your life today. That could mean cooking “Crunchy Gochujang Fennel”, or “Herbal Hot Pot”, or “Spicy Herb Sauce”; or it could mean card games like “Between the Sheets” or “Strip Poker”.
Just make sure you follow the rules…It’s a big dill, so thyme to get flushed!
Librarytomes 