China Bayles' Book of Days (70 page)

With holly and ivy so green and so gay,
We deck up our houses so fresh as the day.
—POOR ROBIN’S ALMANACK, 1695

Outside-In: From Susan’s Journal

This is the day that I begin bringing the out-of-doors inside, in preparation for our family holiday celebrations. Boughs of juniper and cypress from the trees along our creek make lovely wreaths and a swag for the mantle, and we hang the mistletoe, with great ceremony, over the kitchen door. Rosemary is a green and fragrant addition to the centerpiece on the dining room table, while the lighter, fluffier foliage of southernwood softens the arrangement and the brilliant red berries of pyracanthus and our native yaupon holly perk up the darker greenery. I immerse the clipped greens in a tub of warm water, then drain and stash them in a trash bag and put them where they’ll stay cool until I’m ready to use them.

Of course, many of these lovely evergreens have herbal uses, and I remember a few of these as I gather them. Juniper berries are a distinctive ingredient in gin, but they’re also diuretic and antimicrobial, while juniper oil is used to treat rheumatism and soothe sore muscles. It’s a traditional strewing herb, and Queen Elizabeth I burned it in her bedchamber to scent the air. An infusion of the bark was once thought to restore lost youth, but that’s probably wishful thinking. Mistletoe was a sacred as well as a medicinal herb, a protection against sudden calamity (like lightning) and the powers of darkness. Southernwood, in addition to its use as a stimulant, was a folk remedy for baldness. Rosemary’s antiseptic, antioxidant leaves help preserve food while adding flavor, and recent research suggests that rosemary really does help to improve the memory.

So I’ll sit down and enjoy a cup of rosemary tea while I try to remember where I put all the boxes of holiday ornaments. And perhaps a few drops of juniper oil in a warm bath will take out some of the long day’s muscle fatigue and restore a little youth. Baldness won’t be a problem until the end of this busy month, when I’ve torn out all my hair.

To remedy baldness of the head. Take a quantity of Southernwood and put it on kindled coal to burn; and being made into powder, mix it with the oil of radishes and anoint the bald place, and you shall see great experiences.

—EDWARD POTTER’S PHYSICKE BOOK, 1610

This month keep thy body and head from cold: let thy Kitchen be thine Apothecary, warm clothing thy Nurse, merry company thy Keepers, and good hospitality thine Exercise.

—NEVE’S ALMANACK, 1633

DECEMBER 8

Buddhists celebrate this day as Bodhi Day.

On this day in 566 BCE, Siddhartha Gautama, meditating under the Bodhi Tree, is said to have attained enlightenment and became the Sakyamuni Buddha. The Dalai Lama says: “At the heart of Buddhism lies the idea that the potential for awakening and for perfection is present in every human being and it is a matter of personal effort to realize that potential.”

Enlightenments

The Bodhi tree, or Bo tree (
Ficus religiosa
), is a large fig tree native to India. It has a great many herbal uses, in addition to being revered as the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. The bark was used to reduce blood pressure, the leaves to soothe earache, and the root to ease toothache. The fruits were thought to prevent cardiac difficulties.

We don’t have any Bodhi trees in our neighborhood, but its smaller cousin,
Ficus benjamina,
lives in a corner of my small writing studio, reminding me of the many and various paths the spirit takes on its journey to self-awareness. Buddhism is culturally eclectic, and at this season, some American Buddhists choose to decorate this tree (as Christians decorate the fir tree) with colored lights to symbolize enlightenment, strings of beads to represent the unity of all things, and three decorated balls to signify the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha (both the historical Buddha and the Buddha in each of us); the Dharma, or teachings; and the Sangha, or spiritual community shared by all who practice the Dharma. They may celebrate the day with tea, cakes, meditation, and readings.

THE SYMBOLIC FIG:

• It has been said that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil described in the book of Genesis may have been a fig tree.

• In the Book of Jeremiah, rotten figs symbolize corruption and destruction.

• In the New Testament, Jesus rebukes an unfruitful fig tree.

• The fig is one of the two sacred trees in Islam.

• Because the fig flower is hidden inside the fruit, the fig was sometimes regarded as a flowerless tree. In Buddhist and Hindu texts, “seeking flowers in a fig tree” indicates a pointless or impossible task.

DECEMBER 9

“Bocconcini?” I asked, looking at the menu Janet had made up for the Friends of the Library luncheon. “What’s that?”

“Mozzarella balls,” Janet explained. “Marinated in olive oil and basil vinegar, with red pepper flakes.” She looked smug. “One of the gourmet tricks I learned in cooking school.”

“Maybe it’s a little too gourmet for the Friends of the Library?” I suggested tentatively.

“We have to raise their standards,” Janet replied. “Otherwise, I’d be flippin’ burgers and fryin’ up onion rings, like Lila Jennings, over at the Diner.” She frowned. “I hope I don’t have any trouble finding those little balls in Pecan Springs.”

—“THE KHAT WHO BECAME A HERO,” IN
AN UNTHYMELY DEATH

Cheese and Herb Treats

If you’re serving gourmet treats for your holiday get-togethers, be sure to include Janet’s basil bocconcini. (Janet? She cooks for China and Ruby at their tearoom.) There are lots of ways to experiment with cheeses marinated in herbed oil. You might want to substitute other flavored vinegars; add sage, savory, rosemary, peppercorns or dill; or add small button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and ripe olives.

JANET’S BASIL BOCCONCINI

½ pound baby bocconcini (substitute cubed mozzarella
cheese, if you can’t find the balls)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons basil vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 whole garlic cloves
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil, or 1½ tablespoons
dried

Mix together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper flakes, garlic, and basil. Pour over cheese and marinate for at least 24 hours. Serve at room temperature, with toothpicks. Makes about 24. Refrigerate leftovers, if any.

Garden Basil, if stroked, leaves a grateful smell on the hand, and the author insinuates that it receives fresh life from being touched by a fair lady.

—MAVOR’S 1812 EDITION OF THOMAS TUSSER’S
FIVE HUNDRED POINTS OF GOOD HUSBANDRY

DECEMBER 10

Here is a pomander rare
A ball of spice to scent the air.
Before its fragrance moths do flee
Hang it high, then, fortune come to thee.
—ADELMA GRENIER SIMMONS

Pomanders

My three children are grown now, but I have pleasant memories of the herbal pomanders we made together during the holidays—a “must” present for each of their grandmothers.

The word
pomander
comes from the Old French
pome d’embre
, or apple of amber, and referred to the aromatic mixture of gums and resins that was enclosed in a bag or perforated metal case and carried or worn as a protection against odor and infection. As time went on, pomanders became decorative and were worn as jewelry; later still, they were made of fruit, scented and preserved with cloves. They were no longer worn, but tucked into clothes presses and drawers to repel moths.

An easy-for-kids-to-make pomander starts with foam balls, oakmoss, a spice potpourri (made of whole allspice, cinnamon chips, sandalwood slivers, star anise, cloves), cinnamon oil, and white glue. Place the oakmoss on a plate. Cover the ball with glue and roll it in the oakmoss until it’s completely covered. Let dry, then glue pieces of spice potpourri onto the ball, starting with the largest pieces and filling in with the smaller ones. Dust with powdered cloves and dot with a few drops of cinnamon oil. Hang with a ribbon loop.

To make the real thing, poke holes in an apple, orange, or other citrus fruit with a skewer or a fork, piercing to cover the entire fruit randomly or in a spiral or other pattern. Push whole cloves into the holes. When the fruit is completely studded (the closer the better—the cloves should be no farther than ¼-inch apart), put it in a small paper bag with a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and shake gently, being careful not to dislodge any cloves. Dry in the oven (pilot light only) overnight, then repeat the paper-bag treatment daily for the next five or six days. Display your pomanders in a basket, or hang in a sling of criss-crossed raffia. When the holidays are over, tuck them into your dresser drawers.

Scents were more perpetually to be obtained by carrying a pomander, which was originally an orange stuffed with spices, and thought also to be good against infection. Cardinal Wolsey is described as carrying a “very fair orange, whereof the meat or substance was taken out and filled up again with part of a sponge whereon was vinegar, and other confection against the pestilential airs . . .”

—LADY ROSALIND NORTHCOTE, THE BOOK OF HERB LORE

DECEMBER 11

The theme garden for December: A Windowsill Garden.

Herbs with a View

Our Texas winters are relatively mild, thank goodness. The winter wind blows hard from the north, and we usually have a string of days with below-freezing temperatures, but snow is a rare thing. Many of my herbs are happy to stay outdoors all winter, but some of the plants like to spend the frosty months inside, where it’s warm. If you live in a frostier climate, where the north wind brings plenty of snow, you’ll no doubt have quite a few herbs to bring in.

On south-facing windowsills and on shelves and racks in the area I use as a greenhouse, I keep scented geraniums (rose, lemon, lime, cinnamon, Earl Grey), aloe, lemon balm, pineapple sage, and lemongrass. I like to grow annual herbs and some biennials in windowsill pots, too: dill (I’m partial to “Fernleaf,” because of its small size), cilantro, basil, chervil, parsley. And I enjoy seeding a few perennial herbs in pots—fennel, borage, catnip—so that they’re ready for their great garden escape when the weather warms up. I fill the plant saucers with pebbles so that there’s some humidity in the air during these indoor months, mist those that seem to want a shower, and try not to overwater.

None of this is very organized or tidy, of course. There’s always a hurly-burly rush on that awful night when the forecast warns of the first hard freeze, and I scurry around, hunting for trays and saucers. But things sort themselves out, and both the herbs and I enjoy the time we spend under the same roof. What’s more, when I’m cooking, they’re handy for a pinch of this and a leaf of that—and when I’m tired, I don’t have to go far for a refreshing sniff.

For elegant indoor gardening ideas:

Tabletop Gardens: Create 40 Intimate Gardens for the Home, No Matter What the Season
, by Rosemary McCreary

As no Plant can live without Air, a Gardener must now act with Judgment in helping his Green House Plants; for the Air Abroad is now so sharp, that was it to be lett into the House immediately upon the Plants, it would pinch many of them to Death . . .

—RICHARD BRADLEY, THE GENTLEMAN AND GARDENER’S
KALENDAR, 1718