Dehydration of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Come learn how to preserve apple slices, berries, carrots, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs like parsley and dill at home in a dehydrator. Register at: https://tinyurl.com/CornellDehydrationFruits. 6:30 p.m. via Zoom
The Link LonkIt is logic that the handiest place to grow herbs is near the kitchen. Decades ago, the kitchen garden was located just a few steps from the door, often planted in tubs or barrels. For example, historical Canoa Ranch in the Santa Cruz Valley had such an arrangement.
There are a number of seasonal herbs that can be planted in this area anytime from March through September. Following are a few of the more popular varieties.
• Sweet Basil has a fragrance that is strong, fresh, and pungent with hints of pepper and mint. It requires well-draining, rich, moist soil. Harvest the leaves and stems when plants are 8 inches high, before they bloom.
• French Tarragon is a perennial growing to 2 feet tall with unique licorice-like flavored stems that are delectable in herb vinegars and poultry dishes. Tolerating filtered shade, it prefers full sun and will die back in winter.
• Rosemary leaves and stems can be harvested any time. This perennial is a vigorous grower in our desert, thriving on low water and extreme heat. Fresh or dried, it can be used in meats, breads, eggs, many vegetables, even in sachets and potpourris for its spicy scent.
Rosemary is one of the prettiest herbs in the garden and among the most versatile in the kitchen.
• Mints are sometimes too easy to grow and come in a variety of flavors. These spreading perennials die back in winter but quickly return in spring. Pick from apple mint, peppermint or spearmint to heighten the flavor of meats, sauces, vegetables, jellies, or tea.
Part of the kitchen herb garden at Historic Canoa Ranch, ready for harvest.
• Thyme is a durable, spreading perennial that makes attractive and fragrant groundcover alongside the garden path. Harvest in early morning when not in bloom. Snip the fresh piney-scented leaves to use in salads, stews, seafood dishes, and cooking oils.
To learn more about growing and using local herbs, consult “Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing & Using Them Today,” by Tucson author Jacqueline A. Soule.
Mary Kidnocker is a University of Arizona Master Gardener who lives in the Green Valley area.
Herb Atchison, who has been mayor of Westminster for nearly eight years, announced Monday night that he was stepping down from his position “upon the recommendation of my physician.”
His resignation, which took effect at the end of Monday’s city council study session, came less than a week after Westminster confirmed that enough signatures had been submitted to trigger recall elections against both Atchison and Councilman Jon Voelz.
Westminster residents behind the recall effort are upset over what they say are the city’s high water rates. The council will suggest possible dates for the recall election of Voelz next week.
In an interview with The Denver Post on Tuesday, Atchison said the recall election was “not a deciding factor” in his decision to step down. It was an ongoing health issue.
“My health issue is a private issue,” said Atchison, 74.
Petition signatures gathered to recall two other council members — Anita Seitz and Kathryn Skulley — were insufficient, the city determined last week. Seitz, as mayor pro tem, is now acting mayor and will be sworn in Monday for a seat she’ll have to defend in the November election.
Before being elected mayor, Atchison served two terms as a Westminster councilman starting in 1997 before being term-limited. His term as mayor would have expired in November.
As for future plans, Atchison said he hasn’t gotten that far.
“I plan to stay here, where my home is,” he said.
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A team of researchers, including some from Worcester Polytechnic Institute found that extracts from leaves of the medicinal herb known as sweet wormwood inhibit the replication of COVID-19 and two of its variants.
WPI biology professor Pamela Weathers was part of a team, which included researchers from Columbia University and the University of Washington, that found that leaves of the Artemisia annua plant may represent a safe, low-cost therapeutic treatment for COVID.
“Artemisia annua has been studied extensively, and it has been used safely for more than 2,000 years in traditional medicine to treat a variety of fever-related ailments,” Weathers said. “A. annua could provide clues to new safe, cost-effective small molecule therapies or even be used as an antiviral nutraceutical.”
Researchers determined that extracts of the plant were more effective against the virus when levels of a key therapeutic compound in the plant, artemisinin, were low. The findings led researchers to believe that one or more compounds in Artemisia annua, also known as sweet wormwood, may lead to a safe, low-cost therapeutic treatment for COVID. However, researchers said they have yet to identify which compounds when combined work best.
The work was described in an article published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
During the research, scientists soaked dried leaves from sweet woodworm in hot water and tested the solutions against COVID and the two variants originating from the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Results showed that the extracts of A. annua did not block the virus from entering cells but interfered with its ability to replicate, eventually killing it.
Weathers said more work is needed to identify the compound or combination of compounds in responsible for slowing the virus’ ability to replicate.
“These findings add to evidence emerging from other labs around the world that this plant possesses compounds that could help patients who are infected with COVID-19,” Weathers said. “We also know that the plant possesses compounds that inhibit inflammation and the formation of scar-like tissues known as fibrosis, which also affect patients with COVID-19. Together, these characteristics point to a plant that bears a lot more study.”
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The Oatmeal Sound Company, made up of James Hodges (left) and Ed Billock, perform at the second annual Bertram Art, Herb & Wine Festival on Saturday, May 8. Photo from Oatmeal Sound Company Facebook page
The Bertram Art, Herb & Wine Festival celebrates local artisans from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 8, in downtown Bertram. The Bertram Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual event and has lined up more than 50 vendors selling a variety of items.
You might even find that perfect Mother's Day gift. (Reminder: Mother's Day is May 9, the day after the festival.)
The Highland Lakes has become a destination for wine lovers. So many wineries and vineyards dot the landscape that it's difficult to visit them all, but you can sample several of them in one day at the Bertram festival. Winery booths will have staff on hand to answer questions and help you make a selection.
You can also try local craft beers, including from the San Gabriel River Brewery, the festival's featured beer provider.
The event also includes live music. Pauline Reese takes the stage from noon to 2 p.m. followed by the Oatmeal Sound Company from 3-5 p.m.
For more about the Bertram Art, Herb & Wine Festival, contact the Bertram Chamber of Commerce at 512-350-7436 or visit the event's Facebook page.
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It's important to do some dumb stuff on a trip. That’s not hard. Dumb comes naturally. Dumb is part of our daily lives.
How about standing on a corner in Winslow, Ariz.? The Eagles song “Take it Easy” is a great road trip song. “Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me.”
We were driving from Flagstaff to Santa Fe on the second day of our 6,000-mile cross-country road trip and Sue suggested we stop in Winslow. She’s not as conversant with dumb as I am so her suggestion took me by surprise. However, it got us off I-40 and onto Route 66 and soon there we were on the corner. We struck up a conversation with Sam and Terry from Southern Illinois. They were about our ages, he short and grizzled, she tall and friendly. They were in the midst of their coming-out-of-COVID trip. They’d be on the road until July. They were taking a trip and taking it easy at the same time.
Trips can use a sense of humor just like they need a playlist and Sam and Terry were game. They snapped pictures of us in front of the sign and we did the same for them.
“This is a mecca for baby boomers,” Terry said.
“I had to come here,'' Sam said. “This is one of my top five songs. Now they’ll let me into hippie heaven.”
Earlier in the day, we’d gone off script by veering off I-40 and going to the world’s largest privately held crater and meteor site. How does someone own a crater? I’d like to see the will: “We leave our three beloved children one massive hole in the ground.”
Talk about a lark, taking a flier, going to the circus to see the two-headed baby. It had bust written all over it. We bit and when we did, every mile a new sign appeared: “Five miles to impact zone." "Four miles to impact zone."
You know what? When we pulled up and saw the museum built into the hillside, paid $20 a piece ($20? Are you kidding?) and then walked up the concrete pathway to the top of the rim, we almost gasped and wept at the same time.
What a hole. It was magnificent. Hard to imagine how big that meteor was that hurtled out of space but maybe a small rock can make a big hole when it’s going a zillion miles an hour. One thing was certain: Sometimes adventure starts when you take a detour and leave the itinerary in the car.
You never know how the day is going and judging by the way it had begun in Flagstaff, you wouldn’t have called its chances good. The day started with my homemade raisin oatmeal muffins and lukewarm mocha from Starbucks. I learned something about my make-them-from-scratch muffins. Not only are my muffins overrated, but they don’t travel well across state lines.
Still hungry from breakfast, we stopped for lunch at Gordo’s Cafe in Gallup, N.M. It was on a frontage road in an industrial part of Gallup and you might not have bet the farm on what you’re going to find but who knows about food anymore.
Surprise. I ordered two chicken tacos and one beef taco in a crispy shell. Sue had a chicken tostada. It was the best chicken I've ever had, white meat, shredded just right. Usually people bury their chicken remnants in tacos and enchiladas but Gordo’s put their best chicken foot forward. It was a chicken revelation. It’s worth going to Gallup and Gordo’s just for that chicken.
We returned to the road and I learned something else. As good as those chicken tacos were, it might not be the best idea to do the afternoon drive after tacos, rice, beans and three homemade corn tortillas.
Especially given the weather we encountered. The first song of the day had been Creedence’s “Who'll Stop the Rain” and it wasn’t the windshield wipers that couldn’t keep up. Between the chicken tacos and the torrential rain, I was struggling.
There’s weather and there is real weather. If we had that kind of rain in Bakersfield in an hour, we wouldn't be complaining the rest of the year.
Forty miles outside of Santa Fe, I was officially tired. I saw a sign that said 100 miles to Las Vegas. We’ve just driven a thousand miles and we’re still only 100 miles away from Las Vegas. What do we have to do to get away from that city?
“That’s Las Vegas, New Mexico,” Sue said.
I knew that. I was just messing with you. I knew that there was another town named Las Vegas in the U.S.
Santa Fe impressions: Definitely the most attractive median strip coming into a town I’ve ever seen. The buildings are light brown, no more than three stories high and calming. If you have high blood pressure, you can run, swim laps or go to Santa Fe. Get up early, take a walk and see the architecture and outdoor sculptures in the morning light.
Next up: on the road to Oklahoma City.
