Easter Ham and Basiled Egg Scramble

photo used with permission under MorgueFile free license

Wondering what to do with all the left over ham from Easter dinner? Make a light meal of your deliciously seasoned ham and eggs seasoned with basil. If you have a lemon basil in the garden, it will add a fresh taste to a light meal.

If you're not growing basil in your herb garden, why not? There are many varieties of this easy to grow herb. Basil has so many culinary and medicinal uses that no herb garden should be without it.

Basiled Egg Scramble

Melted cheese and basil turn simple scrambled eggs into a gourmet treat that’s easy to fix. A quick breakfast on their own, these eggs, served with an English muffin and piece of fresh fruit make a nice lunch for 4. Serve with a garden salad and juice for a light dinner.

Beat 8 eggs with:

•  ½ cup of milk  
• ½ cup of fresh, minced sweet or lemon basil. (¼ cup of dried basil will work if the fresh is not at hand)

Melt 1 Tablespoon in pan

Cook the egg mixture, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are almost set.

Sprinkle with 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste

Cover and remove from heat.

When the cheese has melted, give the scrambled egg mixture a quick toss and sprinkle with paprika.

All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Need a Hostess Gift for the Easter Dinner? Give a Pot of Herbs

If you're invited to a friends house for Easter dinner, consider giving a pot of herb as a hostess gift instead of the usual Easter Lily. Potted herbs have a much more personal touch, and your hostess will think of you as she snips the fresh herbs for years to come.

Now is the perfect time to find herbs to give as gifts and share with friend right in your own garden. As long as you're invited out for dinner on Easter, you may as well take advantage of the time you save on dinner preparations to work in your little plot.

As you do the spring cleanup of the herb garden, you’ll probably find shoots from the perennial herbs and want to take a quick break for a cup of herbal tea as the scent from the fresh, tender leaves surround you. Before you start the teakettle, take the time to divide the thyme, chive, oregano and mint plants first, and turn that fresh herb tea time into a gathering with friends. 

Once back to the herb garden, look over the upright thyme and lavender and give them a light groom. Don’t pull them out, even though they probably look quite dead. It takes a bit longer for new growth to show on the old branches of these herb plants. The deadwood can be identified and removed later in the spring, once the new growth has sprouted from most of the branches.

The tarragon, sage, lavender and thyme probably look like they won’t survive, but leave them alone. Pull the weeds, but don’t cut back the herbs until strong new growth appears.

As the April showers bring the herbs to life, continue to divide root clumps and runner roots so that the herb plants get good air circulation. When your friend’s gardens are full, consider donating the potted herbs to clubs holding fundraisers. Senior citizen clubs are often filled with gardeners who would enjoy receiving a living herb plant. Make sure the pots are properly marked with the name of the herb.

When you give a pot of herbs as gifts, include a card with your favorite herbal recipe

photo under morgueFile Free License

All written content ©2010 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Sweat Out your Cold With Herbs

Photo used with permission under MorgueFile Free License

As much as we try to avoid them, sooner or later we’re gonna catch a cold. The bad thing about colds is that you don’t only catch one. You don’t even catch only one a year. Some years it seems that all we have to do is hear someone sneeze and we’re soon hit with a common illness that makes us want to just go to bed and whine like a baby.

There are many herbal teas suggested for making us feel more comfortable while we’re waiting for the common cold to run it’s course. But did you know that some herbal remedies will also help you sweat out a cold?

A diaphoretic herb is one with properties that promote perspiration. The sweating helps remove toxins from the body.  Adding some chopped, raw garlic and honey to a ginger tea  will get the process working well.

Calendula, or the pot marigold, has diaphoretic properties, as does catnip, lemon balm, oregano, peppermint and rosemary. Some of these herbs can be found fresh in the produce aisle of the grocery store if they are not already growing in the garden. If you can’t find fresh catnip in the grocery store, look for a dried preparation at the health food store.

These herbs will not cure the common cold, but they can help make you feel better. The herbs can be brewed alone or mixed together. Other herbs can be added until you find a great tasting tea that can be enjoyed anytime, even when you’re feeling great.






All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Tea Party for Mom and the Colicky Infant

photo used with permission from morgueFile free license

I usually don't like to recommend herbal remedies for children. It has nothing to do with the safety of the herb. I hesitate because I don't want my suggestion of a remedy to cause a parent to diagnose the condition and possibly mask symptoms that prevent the child from receiving professional care. 

I only offer the following information because Pediatrics reviewed 15 clinical trials on infantile colic and recently released the results of the study. They have determined what we already knew. Herbs can help ease the symptoms of colic.

Fennel extract seems to be the most effective herbal remedy for the baby showing symptoms of colic. Fennel seeds are a natural aid to digestion. They help to expel gas as they relax the muscle lining of the digestive tract.

German chamomile and lemon balm also showed effectiveness is the clinical trials. These herbs are often recommended for teas to give a calming effect to the drinker.

A tea made with a combination of fennel, balm mint, licorice and chamomile was also studied for their effects on infants and found effective.

After a sleepless night spent trying to sooth a crying baby, both mom and her child could benefit from the soothing tea. Mom can brew a double batch and enjoy her cup, diluting some and letting it cool before letting the baby join her relaxing tea moment.

There were no recommendations made during the study of the strength of the concoction for the colicky infant. Like all herbal remedies, introduce the new herbal remedy in small doses to make sure that the substance is well tolerated.

Let the herbal tea cool before giving it the baby.

Herbal remedies are never meant to substitute for medical care or treatments that are suggested by your health team. They are offered as a temporary way to ease the occasional problem. If the problem persists, call the doctor.

All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Did you know Thyme is the Favorite Herb of Fairies?

Thyme is not only one of the favorite herbs of gardeners, cooks, bees and herbalists, it also loved by fairies.

Every herb garden should be given plenty of room for thyme. But did you know that creeping thyme makes a good ground cover? The more you walk on it, the better it grows. And the sweet scent as the natural oils are released by your footsteps is sure to calm your nerves.

Learn more:

Thyme, an Ancient Herbal Remedy

Natural Herbal Medicine Proven over Time

Jul 13, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Thyme, A Natural Homemade Herbal Remedy -Zsuzsanna Kilián

Thought to be a favorite of fairies, known to be a favorite of bees, the herb thyme symbolizes both courage and innocence.

During the period of the Crusades, ladies embroidered thyme sprigs of the sleeves of their knight’s before they went off to battle. Hundreds of years ago, thyme worn in the hair of a maiden meant she was available for marriage.

One of the oldest herbal remedies, the use of thyme is documented on Egyptian papyri dating back to about 1600 BC. At one time a tincture of thyme was used as a homemade headache remedy and to prevent nightmares.

Read more at Suite101: Thyme, an Ancient Herbal Remedy: Natural Herbal Medicine Proven over Time http://www.suite101.com/content/thyme-an-ancient-herbal-remedy-a131754#ixzz1EXLVOMk4

All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

They Say Yarrow Cures Almost Everything

If you look, you can see yarrow growing almost everywhere. In fact, some people might even consider it a weed. But don't yank it out of your garden until you learn about it's use in natural medicine.


Even if you don't use the herb as a natural herbal cure, yarrow, if properly contained, is just a pretty plant that will only give more interest to the look of your herb garden in adding height.


Dried yarrow is also a nice filler for homemade herbal crafts.

Yarrow - Natural Remedy for Almost Everything

Herbal Contraceptive, Natural Hair Loss and Hemorrhoid Treatment

Jul 15, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Homemade Herbal Remedies - Kriss Szkurlatowski

With as many names as it has uses, Achillea millefoliu grows wild all over the world, ready to treat hypochondria, fevers, cyctitis, balding and even pest control.

Among its many names are milfoil, nosebleed, staunchweed, bloodwort, soldiers's woundwort, and staunchgrass.

As useful as it has been through the centuries, yarrow is considered a wild herb that grows where it wants and is difficult to contain. It is resistant to most commercial weed killers.

Read more at Suite101: Yarrow - Natural Remedy for Almost Everything: Herbal Contraceptive, Natural Hair Loss and Hemorrhoid Treatment http://www.suite101.com/content/yarrow-natural-remedy-for-almost-everything-a132382#ixzz1EXApRaQ9

All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Ease Muscle Pain with Boneset Herb

Boneset isn't the best tasting herb that you can use. You probably don't want to use it in any of your herbal cooking recipes. But, if you're looking for a natural homemade herbal remedy for a cold or muscle ache, learn about the benefits of the herb bone set.


Mix it with honey to make an herbal tea taste a little better.

Boneset Herb for Muscle Pain of Influenza

Herbal Tea once Listed in US as Official Medicine

Jul 15, 2009 Patrice Campbell

Homemade pain relief with herbal tea - Brian Lary

The vile tasting boneset herb plant was one of the most hated yet most widely used medicinal plants of early America and well into the 20th century.

Called “ague weed” by Native Americans, the settlers called it Indian Sage. It has also been referred to as thoroughwort, sweating plant, feverwort, crosswort, and wild sage. The Chippewa Indians charmed deer by rubbing the root fibers of the herb boneset on the whistles they made to call deer.

A summer perennial, boneset flowers in July and August. It grows wild in wet, sunny meadows, often growing near milkweed.

Read more at Suite101: Boneset Herb for Muscle Pain of Influenza: Herbal Tea once Listed in US as Official Medicine http://www.suite101.com/content/boneset-herb-for-muscle-pain-of-influenza-a132206#ixzz1EXCrrPhZ


All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Called to the Herb Garden by Spring

Spring is the time to take action to protect your emerging herb garden from its worst enemy. That’s right, gardeners. Get out there and make a stand against the weeds that are ready to invade the bare spots of every garden, even your hardy, precious herbs.

It’s also a good time to get rid of the debris that may have made its way into your little patch of herbs during the winter. Insect pests and diseases often spend the cold months lurking in garden debris and the warming weather can bring these dangers out into the sunshine to wreak havoc on other garden areas if they contaminate your gardening tools.

Be careful where you walk if the garden is holding a lot of moisture from the melting snow. Walking on wet garden soil compacts it, making it harder for the roots of emerging plants to spread out and grow. This will inhibit the amount of nutrients they can take in.

If you’re adding to your herb garden this year, it’s time to get ready to start any seed herbs indoors. By the time the garden dries and the soil is warm enough to handle new seedlings, they’ll be ready to be hardened off and go into the ground.

Spring is an exciting time for the herb gardener. I can smell the aroma of a pinched herb leaf or a cup of tea freshly brewed from fresh herbs.  But the tea made from the herbs I dried last year will have to do for now.

photo used with permission from morgueFile Free License




All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.

Trees and Shrubs can also be Considered Herb

We think of herbs as small plants that are grown in the back door. Often shrubs and small trees have wonderful medicinal herbal value. Don't overlook the benefit of adding elderberry to your herbal garden.

The trees and shrubs in your garden space define your area. Don't overlook their importance if you're planning a landscape. Choose trees that grow well in the area without a lot of attention from you, but don't forget to plant a tree or shrub that will hold a special meaning for you.

Be bold when looking for inspiration on what trees to plant. If you plan on living in your home long term, watching a tree grow and marking the progression of the years by comparing the height of tree with photos of the kids or grandkids who play beneath it can bring back pleasant memories each time the fragrance of the tree floats to you on a gentle breeze.

A seldom thought of small tree for the yard is the Elderberry. With beautiful blossoms that give way to fruit, the elderberry also plays an important part in herbal medicine and folklore. It has been used for such a wide variety of ills that it has been known as the peoples medicine chest.

Life presents many challenges but it’s nice to know that simple things can make it easier. Sometimes one has only to look around to see what is at hand. Need to keep witches at bay or ease painful sinus congestion? Grab a sprig of elderberry leaves.  Read More

photo used with permission under morgueFile Free License

All written content ©2011 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.