So here I am opening it, carefully, though with this kind of binding there isn't a worry about cracking the spine. :) This is a beautiful book and exactly what I wanted. herbs & spices the cook's reference Jill Norman The page edges and backgrounds are different colors. I can't find a theme for the colorings, on first glance, and it may just be for pretty. The author talks about different definitions of spice by region and uses what she calls the European version (though it's what I've always used too) that herbs are called herbs whether fresh or dried, and the same for spices. The very first one is parsley. She only has curly, flat leaf and root, and I have more kinds trying to die in the garden (I'm the only one I know who has trouble grown parsley but none growing roses and orchids), but that's what I like about the book. I can taste the difference between the different kinds of flat leaf parsley I have, but they're really nearly the same. Each large picture of the three forms gets a one paragraph description, takes about flavor and where it's from. There are a couple of paragraphs of culinary uses for the group, what kinds of things it goes in, how to prepare it, what it goes well with and what it's necessary for. There's a sidebar with a paragraph of "tasting notes", then "parts used", "buying and storing" and "grow your own" (which just talks about seeding and not why mine always wants to die...) On the other hand, extra pages are devoted to multiple kinds of sage and thyme, for instance (those are very happy in my garden and thrilled to be in the book!). This template is used for all the entries. They're written using lists of overlapping names and a point of view that straddles the Atlantic. My only quibble so far is that the author says that welsh onions (which have nothing to do with Wales which I learned from an article online) are different from scallions, but as far as I can tell she's the only one who thinks so...the Latin names are the same. So no matter how hard she has tried to cover global usage, I think it's an impossible task. On the Rosemary page, since there aren't a bunch of alternate forms, she uses the facing page for a big picture and small paragraph on Herbes de Provence. Similarly, on the spice side, there are pictures of it ground and also of it in use, when there aren't a bunch of alternates to show. There are pictorials on bruising, grating slicing and shredding spices, dry roasting and frying spices, grinding crushing and making spice pastes, and how to deal with fresh and dried chili peppers. On the herb side, there's stripping, chopping and pounding herbs, drying and rubbing herbs, and making vinegars, oils and butters If I'd had this book three days ago I would have seen chives flowers before mine bloomed. :) At the end are short chapters on herb mixtures, which are recipes bouquets garnis, pastes, seasoning mixes etc. Spice mixtures includes some curry pastes and powders, seven- and five-spice, masalas, ras el hanout etc., organized by region of origin. The Sauces and condiments chapter has everything from salsa verde to pesto to bearnaise, salsas, chutneys and sambals. The Marinades include dry adobo, and some other, more general flavors. The Soups and Light dishes have things like tarragon soup, fattoush and spring rolls. There are also a couple of pages each for fish, all meats, and vegetables, many leaning East, but some Western too. There's a pasta, noodles and grains section with some classics and a desserts and drinks page with some basics. There's an extensive bibliography, a couple pages of sources around the world, most UK, The Spice House (father of Penzey's) and several US live and dried herb purveyors, some Canadian and Australian, and a few other countries. Also a website (in French) for Middle Eastern herbs and spices. I haven't had it long enough to know if the index is good, but given the organization, it almost doesn't have to be. Most of the pages are the two page layouts that I described above. There isn't a lot of verbiage. This isn't a botanical or a gardening book. (Yeah!) What it is is a great reference for people who don't want to read through a whole big book to get a quick answer, who generally know how to cook and how to garden, and just want to look up the essentials. I didn't even know there was lemon myrtle! (It's Australian.) And the recipes are best for spice mixtures and least for complete dishes to make. Those, however, could be great jumping off points. I love this book!! It's very easy to browse, and will be easy to use, and it's SO PRETTY! and it says just what I want to know without wasting my time with excess and has big, delicious photographs, instead of tight little drawings and parsimonious crowded snapshots. This one is getting shelf space in the kitchen. :) edit: words left out about Spice House founder above. The Spice House was founded as bricks and mortar by Penzey Sr. Penzey's was started later as a catalog business by Penzey Jr., and has become a larger chain of bricks and mortar. Both have (crummy) web sites, though Spice House is much better. Spice house has more variety. Penzey's probably makes more money by limiting. Personal opinion. YMMV. This post was edited by plllog on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 0:22

"How can I tell if it is *really* French Tarragon?" If the nursery has only one variety of "Tarragon," it's Russian Tarragon. If they only have "French Tarragon," it's mis-marked. If they have both French Tarragon and Russian Tarragon, put one of each plant next to each and compare them. The French Tarragon should have: darker leaves, smoother leaves, shinier leaves, a stronger, more pungent aroma a stronger flavor with no trace of bitterness Russian Tarragon has a weaker flavor and aroma, with a slight bitter edge. If the nursery has both "Russian Tarragon" and "French Tarragon," and they appear, smell and taste virtually identical, they are both Russian Tarragon. If the nursery is growing from seed, the seed supplier is probably the origin of the misidentification. If they are growing from cuttings, the nursery itself is suspect. If they buy from a "wholesale nursery," then the problem is upstream in the chain, and the wholesale nursery or their seed supplier is suspect. Which brings me to this overall advice: If you're planting herbs to cook with, when shopping at the nursery, smell and taste every plant you're going to buy. Reject any with weak flavor or off flavor or off aroma. Find that taste good and smell good. Don't buy any of that "cat pee sage" we see g posts about on here. Oh, and some mint is good. Be careful, that's another one that spreads far and wide from where you plant it. One final note, even with all "perennial herbs," there are some differing requirements from one type to another. Separating your herbs in some way will work to your advantage. You could have your "garden guy" use blocks or bricks build up "raised beds" and separate your various herbs. I use old tires for raised "mini-beds" in my herb garden. I cut out the sidewall on the side that goes down on the ground. I break up the soil underneath to allow for some deeper root growth, and I work some perlite into the soil because here my soil is very water retentive with a lot of clay in it. I then fill in the tire with a mix of good topsoil and "forest floor compost" that I rake up from the woods here on my acreage. I rake the loose leaves off the top, then rake up and shovel up the "coffee grounds" like layer under that, on top of the topsoil. It's great compost. You can use a mix of any good finished compost and good draining topsoil/garden soil to build up the raised beds. Some perlite in the mix will help with drainage.

Cilantro bolts when stressed (heat, over-watering, under-watering). If grown in containers, Cilantro bolts when the tap root hits the bottom of the container. I wasn't aware that the root was a useful/desirable part of the plant. I grow Cilantro indoors in the winter, under artificial lighting in larger containers. The ideal container is at least 12 inches (30cm) deep. This winter (that's just ended), I grew some in a 16 inch planter pot. I planted about 15 seeds, and after about 6 weeks, thinned it down to 5 plants. The 5 plants went over 14 weeks before the first plant bolted. Actually, two of those plants still haven't bolted yet. The roots are much larger when the plants have a container of adequate depth. A 14 or 16 inch terra cotta clay pot or plastic planter pot or a "5 gallon" bucket with holes drilled in the bottom are the best containers I've found. You can get 3 to 5 plants ultimately in a 14 inch pot or the 5 gallon bucket, and 5 to 7 plants in a 16 inch pot. Planting 2 to 3 times what you need initially will give you some herbs to cook with early, before thinning to the ultimate crop.

Susan ... OMG osh ... THANK YOU very much for all the FUN gifties you sent my way ... You did not need to send all those, but I really appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity, very much appreciated! a lovely card and note ....LOVE the beautiful FLAMINGO hand towels, those are already out and hanging, the fantastic assortment of seeds in the cutest little bag, wow! I plan to get these sown probably Monday ... seasoning, flamingo luggage tag, journal, crossword puzzle book, trident gum, handcream, lip gloss set, honey vanilla chamomile tea bags - cant wait to try this! THANK YOU so much Susan .... I had lots of FUN with your herbs and spice swap Susan and enjoyed learning from your postings!