Mary Ellen's Herbs at ISeeSpots Farm

 

 

 

Mary Ellen has been growing herbs in her gardens since she was a teenager.  The joy of gathering fresh herbs to stuff inside birds for the grill or to marinate meats or vegetables in for a family dinner cannot be overstated.  There has been only one problem.  The herb beds were just too prolific.  Many extra plants and greenery were produced, flooding the needs of one family.  Offers of free excess herbs to friends and neighbors also often went without takers.  Ultimately, the sheep, bunnies, and chickens received most of the excess for these many years.  That would be appropriate as they were the ones that supplied the fertilizer to enrich the clay and sand soil.

 

In 2009, it finally occurred to Mary Ellen that she could dry the excess and search out some markets for these wonderful flavorings for our taste buds.  The process took a few months as the learning curve started at almost zero regarding permits and application processes required to sell food items.  As a registered dietitian, those topics had not been studied and put to use.  The 3 original dehydrators went into full-time operation.  An additional 2 larger dehydrators were purchased from Excalibur during the summer and fall harvesting season.

 

As of Spring, 2010, Mary Ellen Herbs at ISeeSpots Farm carries:

 

DRIED HERBS:

 

We had quite a cold and extended winter in North Carolina.  It was actually the perfect sort of year to test the viability of various varieties of plants for future years' production.  Rosemary is always the tough plant to protect and stay robust through our cold period.  The rosemary plant suffering the worst was actually about 4-5 years old.

 

The gardens are bursting forth with growth already this spring with traditional favorites, such as parsley, sage, rosemary, and marjoram.

 

New and exciting flavors are available in old favorite herb varieties, such as tarragon, chives, basil, oregano, and thyme.  Herbs are sold for $3.50/ 4 oz (liquid measure) spice bottle or $2.50/half cup dry measure.

 

BASIL:  Basil comes in many flavors, colors, and growing styles.  Lime Basil has a mild citrus nuance used with fish and vegetable dishes.  A green pepper variety tastes and smells pretty much like green peppers.  The gardens also will be producing the standard large leaf and purple ruffled varieties this summer.  There are a couple Columnar Basil plants being tested.

 

CARDAMOM:  OK....  Mary Ellen's love of this Scandinavian pungent and sweet herb/spice is showing.  There are 4 plants in the garden that survived all the babying that could be provided in the basement over this winter.  No seeds have yet been produced.

 

CHIVES:  What garden is complete without a clump of chives growing?  Dried chives has the reputation for being about as potent and interesting as dried grass.  It doesn't have to be, and we believe our dried chives truly enhance foods with their flavor.  Part of that trick is that we harvest and have the dried chives in glass jars within 4-6 hours.  Garlic and common chives are both growing vigorously in the gardens.  Use garlic chives when you want to add garlic flavor to foods in the same manner as common chives are used to mimic onion flavor.  Garlic chive vinegar has been another popular infused product on our shelves.

 

CILANTRO/CORIANDER SEED:  Cilantro is a favorite in Mexican cuisine and is produced during the earlier portion of the plant's life cycle from the leaves.  As the plant goes to seed, the seeds are harvested as coriander.

 

CURRY PLANT:  This herb truly carries the scent and flavor of the traditional curry spice blend, but is in no way considered to BE the curry spice.  It can be used in dishes that are enhanced with the curry flavor and is one of the newer plants to be grown at ISeeSpots Farm.  The 2-year original plants didn't make it through the winter of 2009-10, and we are giving this herb one more chance to prove itself this summer.

 

DILL:  Like cilantro, this plant produces both green foliage and seeds that are used in the kitchen.  Like chives, the dill weed gets a bad reputation for having no flavor when dried.  Again, our dill weed moves through the harvest and drying process to tight storage in glass jars within just a few hours.  Dill weed enhances potatoes, salmon, breads, and many salads.  The seeds are often used in pickling or in breads.

 

FENNEL:  Bronze and Green are grown for their many varied uses.  The seeds are considered an excellent breath freshener as well as used in breads and salads.

 

LEMON GRASS:  This tropical plant is not hardy in our winters, but it adds such a presence in many ethnic dishes as well as in tea blends.

 

LOVAGE:  Lovage is used as a celery-like flavor and is a vigorous perennial.  Use in soups and salads as you would celery.

 

MARJORAM:  Tender perennial that has a sweet earthy smell and flavor.  It is used in many Mediterranean dishes.

 

OREGANO:  Oregano can vary tremendously in flavor from one variety to another.  Both the Italian and Greek oreganos spread quickly and love our hot and humid summers.  After many discussions with customers at the Greensboro Curb Market, the decision was made to rip our all of the Italian oregano and concentrate on only the Greek standard variety as it has the greatest potency and truly carries the essence of what makes oregano such a wonderful seasoning herb.  The Hot and Spicy variety of oregano will be tested this summer to determine if it will become a second variety available or if it will disappear as did the Italian variety.

 

ROSEMARY:  There must be 10 different cultivars of rosemary gracing the gardens.  This plant is a bit more finicky in the Piedmont of North Carolina, but well worth the effort in flavor.  Add leaves to poultry and biscuits for starters.

 

SAGE:  Berggarten sage is grown primarily for the whole leaf market.  Common and Purple sages are also harvested.

 

SAVORY:  Winter savory is not quite as strong in characteristic flavor and smell as the summer savory plant.  Only winter savory is currently grown and harvested.  The herb is used in egg dishes as well as in a multitude of herbal blends.

 

TARRAGON:  French Tarragon plants made it through the winter, spreading their roots a bit further afield than the mother plants that were established in 2009.  The Mexican (or Texas) Tarragon has been slow to come back up, but is becoming re-established quickly as warmer days have come in late April.  The differences between these two plants labeled as "tarragon" are striking.  The French Tarragon is used as the traditional tarragon.  The Mexican Tarragon has a much stronger anise-like smell and flavor.  It is actually the one that was used in our first round of tarragon vinegars and has been quite popular.

 

THYME:  How many rhymes and jingles have been written over the years with this perennial favorite?  We grow the standard German, English, and French varieties.  Lime, lemon, orange, and orange spice varieties provide their own flavors and are also available but in more limited quantities. Lime thyme seems is vigorous and easily propagated. 

 

NATURALLY CAFFEINE FREE HERBAL MINT TEAS

 

Fresh green mint tea is a timeless relaxing beverage, be it hot or iced.  The herb garden contains many varieties of plants dried and used as the basis for teas.  Dried mint leaves can be purchased in tea bags (20 per tin) or in bulk packaging.  Tea bags are oxygen bleached and are individually filled and sealed with a heaping teaspoon of dried leaves.  Most people use mugs that are larger than the traditional tea or coffee cup, and the tea bags are prepared with this in mind.

 

Each tin is $5.50 and bulk teas are $2.50/half cup dry measure.

 

BALM:  Lemon and lime balm plants are used singly or in conjunction with mints to create teas.

 

MINT VARIETIES:  Apple, Blackberry, Blossom Farm's Favorite, Candy, Chocolate, Ginger, Grapefruit, Hazelnut Latte, Kentucky Colonel Spearmint, Lemon, Lime, Lavender, Margarita, Mojito, Orange, Peppermint, Pineapple, and Wintergreen.

 

MISC. HERBS FOR TEAS:  Anise Hyssop, Catnip, Chamomile, Costmary (also known as Bible Leaf), Lemon Grass, and Lemon Verbena.

 

VARIETY BLENDS:  Carribean, Orange-Lemon, and Tropical Sunrise were popular the first season.

 

HERBAL AND FRUIT VINEGARS

 

Infused wine vinegar is truly a treat for the senses.  Organic red and white wine vinegars are infused with the farm's herbs as well as fruit produced on site.  Sold in 5 ounce bottles for $5.00 each.

 

We carry black raspberry, blueberry and persimmon fruit vinegars.  These are all made with organic red wine vinegar.

 

Herbal wine vinegars are made with organic white wine vinegar with the exception of basil, which uses the red wine vinegar.  Available herbal vinegars include basil, garlic chive, rosemary, sage, and tarragon.

 

Main home page:  www.iseespots.com               Email Mary Ellen with questions

 

These should be up on the shopping cart soon so they can be ordered quickly and simply.