Thursday, March 26, 2015

And thyme

You knew it was coming. Le thym (thyme) is another Mediterranean herb that does relatively well in our cooler climate. It also is planted on the south-facing wall of the house to maximize warmth and sunlight. Fresh thyme is very good, but we find that we use dried thyme more often because it's easier and just as good. Depends on the dish.

Fresh thyme. The brighter green leaves are this year's spring growth.

So there are the Simon and Garfunkel herbs. Our garden, like many around us, also has a large laurier sauce (bay laurel tree) the leaves of which we use frequently. I mentioned that I've also grown sarreitte (savory), basilic (basil), cerfeuil (chervil) and, less successfully, ciboulette (chives). Now I'm getting hungry.

11 comments:

  1. "So there are the Simon and Garfunkel herbs."....
    and for the second day I will have to get rid of that damned earworm!!
    I'll listen to some Deep Purple..

    Wild thyme isn't restricted to the Mediterranean tho' Walt...
    it is native to the British Isles and grows, well, as far north as Scotland....
    the only difference is that you need more of it to get a good flavour.
    That, I presume is where the sunshine helps!?
    We used to grow the Butterfly Lavender on the allotments in Leeds...
    one very hot week, one year, when it was in flower....
    I actually smelt it... most of the time it never got the conditions to give off scent!

    Tim
    at la Pré de la Forge

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  2. Mention of Simon and Garfunkel always reminds me of the time in the spring of 1970 when I hitchhiked from Aix-en-Provence to Paris with a fellow student to attend a S & G concert at the Oympia music hall in Paris. I also sat in the front row at a concert they gave at Duke U. in N.C. in 1969. Feelin' groovy...

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    1. Two Simon and Garfunkel concerts- wow! I saw Bo Didley and Ray Charles (not at the same time). Duke really attracted some great musicians and you were there at the right time.

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  3. You're getting hungry and I'm having the unexplainable urge to go to Scarborough Fair.

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  4. Hope you're feeling groovy yourself, Walt, after last night's upset stomach. ;)

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  5. And we had fun getting through customs when we came back with your bay leaves. It was just a short detour, and we got through, but they made a bit of a fuss.

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    1. ginny, carrying 'herbs" across international borders is always a little touchy... ;)

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  6. I've often wondered why these four herbs in the tune. Is there some magical/mystical reason for them? Can you help?

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    1. michael, it seems to be about rhythm and rhyme. Wikipedia provides an explanation.

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