Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 20

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 20 – May 27, 2012

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

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and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Sorry this issue is so late but I have been real busy lately – and loving it.

Last Monday we took our yellow and white cat, Tigger, for his check up at the veterinarians and were told that he has cancer.  The tumor is in the back of his throat and growing into his eye and down his neck.  Tigger now coos like a dove instead of purring.  So, the tumor is somehow affecting his purr box.  Since Tigger is still eating, drinking, eliminating, and getting around, although he has an excessive amount of saliva that tends to just hang out of his mouth.  We are frequently wiping the saliva from his mouth and now he has a bit of a rash where we’ve wiped.  The vet said to treat him like we are his hospice and just make the rest of his life as comfortable as possible.  When he deteriorates to a point that we feel he is in pain, then we need to take him back to be put to sleep.  This is very hard on us.  We lost one of our dogs earlier this year to old age.  Tigger is not that old for a cat.  He is only about 8 or 9 years old.  At least he is no longer on the Prednisone.

Since I cannot deal with losing another animal right now, I will just let The Great Physician heal him and I have prayed.  I am a believer in doing all you can do, then stand.  An internet search revealed that thyme is used in human cancer treatment.  Tigger now drinks water fused with thyme.  The thyme information was very interesting.  One article said that thyme is the single best antiseptic known to man.  There is a warning that the essential oil of thyme can be poisonous to humans at 1 teaspoon.  I haven’t learned to make essential oils, yet.  The fusion or tea made with thyme leaves and stems has no known down side or contraindications.  It is even said to be good for hangovers.

In the Cajun culture a traiture (pronounced tray tour) is kind of like a shaman, only without the religious aspects.  The traiture knew the recipes and uses for all of the plants in the swamp.  They were also mid-wives.  Mama told me once that her grandmother (Landry) was a traiture.  That must account for my love of growing and using herbs.

A lady who knows me via our WBL Facebook group contacted me this week to monogram some children’s robes.  These robes are adorable.  We used a teal colored thread and the Curlz font.  She is supposed to bring more robes in on Tuesday.  She owns Confetti Coutures.  Confetti Coutures is a full service event hosting and party planning facility in Pensacola.  Visit her website at www.confetticoutureevents.com.  What a great idea for a business.

We have been working on our Etsy Store this week.  Drop by for a visit.  There are some new items.  They are new handkerchiefs.

The new apple mint plant has already rooted an additional plant.  I am trying to propagate clippings in pots, but goodness, if it’s going to do the work for me, that is great. 

The chocolate mint is a beautiful plant.  We have it as a hanging plant and it is lush, green or gorgeous.  I want to propagate clipping from this plant, too.

Now I have to figure out how to use these two new mint plants in cooking.

This weekend is busy in the embroidery room.  There is a baby shower next weekend and I’m making a blanket.  Sure hope it turns out nice.  I’ve been planning this blanket since I heard about the expectations of this bundle of joy.  It was going to be personalized and beautiful.  Right now we do not know how the parents want the baby’s name spelled.  Out went the personalization.  The baby is a girl but the Mama says no pink.  So, I started planning all over again.  I think they will like this baby blanket.  This is the weekend before the shower and there is a lot of work to do on this blanket.

There will be another baby blanket after this one.  The next one is for my Great Granddaughter, Makayla Re’Nae.   

There should be some very interesting embroidery coming up later this year.  I’ve decided to learn how to use the boring needle on the new Amaya machine.  This should be interesting.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

Thyme has been used for various purposes throughout the centuries. In medieval times, thyme was regarded as a plant that imparted courage and vigor. The ancient Romans considered it a remedy for melancholy. Thyme, along with roses, was often added to homes in the ancient past to provide a sweet-smelling aroma. The ancient Greeks used thyme for incense while the Romans were known to add thyme to cheese and alcoholic beverages.

Exotic Names

There are about 350 species of thyme including the many cultivars. Since they readily hybridize in cultivation, their classification is quite complex. Many species are good garden plants, having a neat habit, fragrant foliage and small pink or lilac flowers. Although the flowers are small they are very numerous, and they produce copious nectar, making thyme flowers a favorite of the honey bee. Some of the finest-flavored honey comes from thyme nectar.

The thyme plants are perennials, belonging to the mint family, and exist in various shapes and colors. The plants can be erect and bushy, reaching 18 inches in height or creeping and spreading, growing to about 3 inches high. The flowers vary with many colors from white to mauve, lilac, magenta, blue-violet, and pale pink while leaf colors vary from light green to olive grey-green, golden green, dark green, silver, or bronze-tinted.

All these differences give rise to a variety of exotic names for the various cultivars such as Golden King, Silver Queen, Archer's Gold, Rainbow Falls, Pink Ripple, Goldstream, Lemon Curd, Silver Posie, and Highland Cream. The leaves have unique aromas providing a variety of odors such as pine scent, a camphor-like scent, caraway scent, lemon, orange, tangerine, celery, or a eucalyptus-like scent. The unique aromas and flavors of the various thyme plants are the result of subtle differences in the terpenoid composition of the essential oil they contain.

Thyme is one of the most fragrant and pleasant greenery's to have growing in your garden. Their small size makes them ideally suited to crevices in paving, rock gardens, and containers. They thrive in stony or rocky situations and loves plenty of sunshine. They can be used in the garden to deter beetles and other cabbage pests. For healthier growth it is important to trim them after flowering and also remove the dead flowers. Sprigs can be picked during the growing season and used fresh or dried.

Culinary Use

The most commonly used thymes for culinary purposes are the common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and lemon thyme (T. x citriodorus), while the most commonly used medicinal thymes are common thyme, Spanish thyme (T. zygis), and creeping thyme (T. serpyllum). They are all native to southern Europe and Western Asia, but they are now cultivated commercially in many parts of the world. Much of the commercial thyme comes from Spain, which has 37 varieties of thyme.

The fresh or dried leaves of thyme as well as the flowering tops are widely used to flavor soups, stews, baked or sauteed vegetables, casseroles, and custards. Thyme provides a warm tangy flavor, somewhat like camphor, and can retain its flavor in slowly cooked dishes. Thyme is also used in marinades (especially for olives), and in stuffings. The leaves can also be used in potpourris and moth-repellent sachets.

The essential oil of thyme can be used not only to flavor foods, but is also added to soaps, toothpastes, cosmetics, perfumes, and antiseptic ointments. The oil is used in aromatherapy to relieve pain and elevate mood. In addition, it may have a calming effect in stress-related conditions. Thyme baths have been used to help relieve aches and joint pains.

Therapeutic Use

Thyme contains an essential oil that is rich in thymol, a powerful antiseptic, antibacterial, and a strong antioxidant. The oil of thyme is used in mouthwashes to treat inflammations of the mouth, and throat infections. It is a common component of cough drops.

Because of its essential oil, thyme possesses expectorant and bronchial antispasmodic properties, making it useful in the treatment of acute and chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Thyme enhances the action of the cilia in the bronchi and directly acts on the bronchial mucosa. The terpenoids are responsible for the expectorant activity of thyme while a variety of flavonoids are responsible for the spasmolytic effect of thyme on the bronchioles.

All the members of the mint family, including thyme, possess terpenoids which are recognized for their cancer preventive properties. Rosmarinic and ursolic acids are major terpenoids in thyme that possess anti-cancer properties.

A tea can be made by adding one teaspoon of crushed thyme in half cup of boiling water, letting it steep for 10 mins and then straining. The tea can be drunk 3 to 4 times a day for the treatment of coughs. The tea may be sweetened with honey, which also acts as a demulcent, thereby increasing the tea's effectiveness.

Safety

Thyme is entirely safe to use and has no side effects. However, the essential oil of thyme may be irritating to the skin and mucous membranes, and may cause an allergic reaction. Some varieties produce a stronger reaction than others. Medicinal doses of thyme and especially thyme oil are not recommended during pregnancy as thyme can act as a uterine stimulant.

Author: Winston Craig, MPH, PhD, RD.

Page printed from:
http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/herbs/thyme.php =================================================================

Thank you to Sandy Goodman for submitting the following joke:

An elderly couple, who were both widowed, had been going out with each other for a long time. Urged on by their friends, they decided it was finally time to talk about getting married. They went out to dinner and had a long conversation regarding how their marriage might work. They discussed finances, living arrangements and so on. Finally, the old gentleman decided it was time to broach the subject of their physical relationship.

'How do you feel about sex?' he asked, rather tentatively.

'I would like it infrequently.' she replied.

The old gentleman sat quietly for a moment, adjusted his glasses, leaned over towards her and whispered, 'Is that one word or two?'

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C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.