Kathy-Diane Leveille’s Weblog

Rosemary: Antioxidant, immune system booster.

Thyme: Fights colds and flu, immune system support.

The title for the short story “Rosemary’s Thyme” in my book “Roads Unravelling” was inspired by my love of herbs.  On my daily walks along the river, I noticed something growing in the eaves trough of an old house by the shore. I began to imagine the kind of character who might pick that unusual spot for a garden on purpose.  A quirky grandmother emerged in my mind’s eye, but her granddaughter, Rosemary, quickly elbowed her way to the front of the stage.

It’s sad to see the garden disappear as the last of the leaves fall from the trees.  But I still enjoy the harvest through the winter via the herbs I gathered and dried in the fall: Bee Balm, cat mint, lavender, thyme, sage, mint.  There’s nothing nicer than catching a whiff of a dish in the slow cooker seasoned with fresh herbs:

Stuff a small roasting chicken with:

2 garlic cloves

3 sprigs of rosemary

1 lemon sliced

Place breast down over 3 cubed potatoes and 4 cubed carrots in a slow cooker.  Cook on low 6-8 hours until juices run clear.

It’s interesting that cat mint, which gets our feline friends revved up, has the opposite effect on humans.  In fact, Herb of Herb’s Herb Farm in Cambridge Narrows, tells me that just stripping cat mint leaves off the stalks for drying puts his wife to sleep. Nature’s remedies are full proof.

Starting in December, I’ll be posting excerpts from some of the stories in “Roads Unravelling” starting with “Rosemary’s Thyme.”  So fill up the slow cooker, sit back in your favourite chair and enjoy.