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Monday, June 11, 2012

A lovely Monday...


Good Evening my dears.. 
Hope you all had a great weekend..

It turned into a lovely Monday here in New Brunswick.. 
This afternoon I decided I needed to do a little herbal work.. 

My lovage is at least 4 feet high...
 
As you can see it has taken over half of this raised bed.. 


You can google all of the wonderful things about lovage.. 
All I know is that it is one of my favorite herbs.. 
I had made an experimental bottle of pickled lovage a few weeks ago and I must confess that I ate the whole bottle by myself.. 
Not something that Terry wanted to give his opinion on.. 
Oh well.. I loved them.. 
So different from most pickles...


All I did was to cut them up and wash them.. 
Then I made of brine of ... 
6 cups of water 
2 cups of white vinegar
1/3 cup of coarse salt.. 
* actually, I used lovage salt that I had made last Spring  and still had some left.. 
Bring to a boil ..
Add 1/2 tsp. of red peppercorns and 1 bay leaf to each bottle.... Cover with brine..



I ended up with this much... 
Then I tied the leaves up and will dry out and use for my soup herb bags that I made HERE


Once it is dried really well then I will stuff the leaves into a mason jar to use in salads and such.. 
It has a lovely celery and cardamon flavor.. 

You can also make vinegar like I made HERE..
The chives are all in bloom and ready to make vinegars and dressing like HERE...

I thought I would show you a neat wee thing I bought the other day.. 

A little battery light that goes in water in your vase of flowers.. 
Neat, eh?  

Thank you sweet ladies for your lovely visit.. 
We did not get to the cottage yet.. 
Several things came up but we do plan to get there this week.. 

Just leave me a note so I know you dropped by.. 
Love hearing from you... 

God bless...

22 comments:

  1. I was here - LOL
    -l-
    PS- I can't remember my password so that I can sign in :( ....musta' been too long

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  2. I've enjoyed reading your recent posts, and I love hearing about all the things you do in your home:) I've never heard of lovage. Does it grow wild in your area, or do you plant it?

    Blessings!

    Sherry

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  3. Hi Faye..
    wow.. your lovage is impressive.
    I have decided that the unknown herb that was given to me, is indeed mugwort.
    Drat! I was hoping for lovegae.
    Guess I'll have to get a start somewhere and get it started.

    Love those pickles that you made.
    Sound tasty, and they are so attractive in the bottles.

    Smiles :)
    Kerin

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  4. Very interesting...I'll have to ask the herb guy at the local farmer's market about it when I go on Friday...perhaps it is another herb I can try! This is my first year trying cutting celery too...I'm quite impressed...have you ever grown that herb?

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  5. Joyce at Sweet Briar PatchJune 11, 2012 at 9:57 PM

    Hi Faye, you are so creative. I have never used lovage but, yet again, you are inspiring me! I will have to try pickling some since I am a real pickle lover. I hope your back is feeling fine now (I know how bad that can be since mine acts up quite frequently). Down here in MD it was 96 degrees at 4 p.m. and the heat has worn me out. I am off to bed and hope you are enjoying yours too!!

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  6. Hi there, how have you been? I have been trying to catch up with reading and commenting on blogs.

    I always love your pictures. And what lovely weather. :)

    Have a wonderful week my dear.

    Take care, Janet W

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  7. Hi Faye ~ your herbs dryinglook so pretty against your prim blackboard!
    Lovage? The only use I've heard of so far (until today!) is the drink brandy and lovage...perhaps your hubby might try it in that form ?
    (just a wee dram!)
    WA happy week to you both,
    xxx H

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  8. Morning Faye Henry
    I have never heard of lovage before.
    Just love all you share friend.
    I look forward to trying the vinegar.
    Hugs & JOY
    Trace

    www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

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  9. I can smell the lovage in Holland. I have a small plant in my garden(10cm)Hope it will look like yours in a few years.
    Have a blessed week!
    Dieneke

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  10. Hi Faye,

    First I must tell you I am so happy you had a great trip but also so missed your blog updates and inspiration. :). I did make the rhubarb jam but not sure if it set. I did it at the cottage and haven't been back, here's hoping when I go on Thursday night, it has set. My Dad is being admitted to the Stan Cassidy rehabilitation center in F'ton on Wednesday, please pray for him and my Mom and also the Doctors that they can help him get feeling better and a bit more mobile. My Mom is so excited about coming to St. Martin's sometime this summer on a Monday with me to see your shop. I do not think she has been to St. Martins before, but I have only been there twice, here's hoping we do not get lost. I do not know what I will make this weekend at the cottage, although, I do plan on planting some peppper and tomatoes in old wash tubs my Mom gave me. :) Hugs to you Faye, have a great day.

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  11. Well lady I must look up the Lovage plant - I've read a couple times here now about it so I will do it when I'm off here.
    What a wonderful post - as always.
    Blessings,
    Karen

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  12. Glad to have you back Faye;

    I have a smaller than yours :0) Lovage plant that I am enjoying using. So far, I have only used the leaves fresh in cooked dishes where I would have used celery. As you mentioned Lovage has a great flavour. I have been wondering what else to do with it though ...

    Laurie

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  13. Hi Faye. You sure do make a lot of interesting things! I have never seen lovage but have heard of it. I didn't know you could pickle it. The waterproof tealight is a cute idea. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. I know I am. Blessings, Pamela

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  14. Hell Faye, great pictures,enjoyed very much. The flowers look so pretty in the glass, the tealight so sweet. Blesssings Francine.

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  15. Faye
    This is the 1st time I've heard of lovage too. How interesting!
    It's also the 1st time I've seen a battery in water. How pretty!

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  16. Your photos are lovely. Who would guess you could put a light in water?

    Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage!

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  17. Thanks for the idea about the lovage. Mine is getting pretty big too. I must confess, I am not particularly fond of the taste but it does make a beautiful plant. Enjoy your day and God bless.

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  18. I've never heard of lovage - I'm sure that doesn't surprise you. hehehe But if it can be pickled, then I'm sure I would love the finished product.

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  19. i love my herbs too! they lasted through the central pa winter and I had green parsley on my Christmas dinner plate...how fun.
    I have never heard of lovage...or using a light in a glass..thanks for the new information!!

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  20. Thanks for this recipe. I will try it this year when my lovage gets a little bigger. So far I have only dried a little for soup through the winter. It has never really grown large, but it seems to be doing better this year. I will definitely be giving this one a try as I love unusual pickles too.
    Thanks.

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  21. Thanks for the recipe. I never thought about pickling lovage.




    Inviting you to this week's Carnival of Home Preserving up at my blog and open until this Thursday. New edition each Friday.
    http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/06/carnival-of-home-preserving-15-come.html Hope to see you there!

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