Herb Day

South Texas Unit

of

The Herb Society of America

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27th Annual Herb Day Symposium

From Everyday toGourmet

 Held Saturday, April 25, 2009

Houston Civic Garden Center in Hermann Park

Thanks to our Door Prize Donors and sponsors.

Pam Harris promised to share her recipe for the delicious chicken dish she demonstrated at during her talk.

Easy Chicken and Pasta  Serves 4 to 6

Chicken strips, pre-cooked*

2 cups grape tomatoes

24 seeded calamata olives

3 T capers

2 cups chicken broth

8 marinated artichoke hearts

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 T olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice or white wine

1 pat butter

salt & pepper

Warm olive oil in the skillet and add the tomatoes, stir gently and cook until tomatoes begin to soften slightly. Add capers and olives, cook for approximately 1 minute more. Add 2 cup chicken stock and the oregano, cook over medium heat until stock begins to reduce (by 1/3 to1/2) and thicken and the tomatoes soften but do not fall apart. When stock has thickened add lemon juice, butter and salt & pepper to taste. At this point add the chicken and the artichoke hearts. Warm through and serve over hot pasta. Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

*You can cook your own chicken or use the breast of a roasted chicken, I think shrimp would be wonderful also. This makes a great vegetarian meal if you leave out the chicken and chicken stock and use vegetable stock instead, the cooking method is the same.

 

Gift shop* open during registration and between sessions

9:00 am

Registration (Refreshments available)

*Gift shop open

9:30 am

Welcome and Introductions
9:40 am

Bees in Your Herb Garden

 - What we can do to encourage this most useful insect

 by Donald Burger

10:45 am
Break 
* Gift shop open
11:00 am

“There's an Herb in My Soup?!”

 - Creative uses of herbs in the kitchen to make gourmet meals from simple ingredients – everything from dressed up packaged foods to beautiful salads

by Pam Harris & Mary Versfelt

12:30 pm
Box Lunch – Garden Tours available
*Gift Shop open
Herbal Snapshots:
1:15 pm "Herbal Sorbets"

by Benée Curtis

1:40 pm

“Sex in the Garden”

- Butterfly culture in the garden

by Margaret Lloyd-Bingham

2:05 pm

“Planting a "Thyme" Out” Chair
 - planting a unique garden chair with a seat of beautiful thyme varieties

by Gloria Cabrera

2:30-2:45 pm   
Door Prizes & Closing Remarks
* Cash and checks only accepted in the Gift Shop
Gift shop will feature plants appropriate for spring planting in the Houston area, and 
handmade crafts and goodies.

Due to a computer glitch between two computers, the recipes using the Herb Seasoned salts included in the booklet were printed with a few errors.  The corrected recipes are available here as a downloadable version.

Many that attended the 24th Herb Day, Tea Around the World requested a copy of the poem, "I Need My Tea,"  (click on title) that was read in the morning.  We've included a copy here.  Enjoy! 

Our Speakers - 

Margaret Lloyd-Bingham became a master gardener in 2001.  She developed a  passion for gardening while growing up on her grandfather's farm in England.  She became interested in learning more about insects while developing a butterfly garden in her back yard.  She loves to share this information with others.

Donald Ray Burger teaches "Beekeeping in Your Backyard" through Leisure Learning Unlimited.  He has kept bees in his backyard for ten years.  He is the immediate past president of the Houston Beekeepers Association and is their current webmaster and editor of The Houston Skep, their official publication.   He is frequently interviewed by local newspapers and television stations and is the featured beekeeper at the new insect exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science, where you can see a film of him at his beehives explaining how to keep bees.  Donald is also a practicing attorney in Houston and you can read his article on "Bee Law in Texas" at his website  www.burger.com.  The website also features an extensive section on gardening in our area.  He will be speaking to us on "Bees in Your Herb Garden" and what we can do as gardeners to encourage this most useful insect and pollinator.

 

 

 

Gloria Cabrera has been a member of the South Texas Unit for 9 years.  She is a past Unit Chair and has also served in other capacities within the Unit.  Her love of gardening and herbs prompted her to move to the country in Conroe two years ago . 

Benée Curtis has been a member of the South Texas Unit for 19 years.   She is a past Unit Chair and has served in many other capacities within the Unit and at the national level.  She likes to incorporate herbs into her cooking in new ways.  A recent fresh batch of strawberry sorbet inspired the research into making sorbets.

Pam Harris has been a member of the South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America since 1996 and a Master Gardener since 2000.  A native Texan and ex pre-school teacher Pam enjoys growing, cooking and crafting with herbs.

Mary Versfelt is a native Texan and holds a BS Degree in Vocational Home Economics from TWU.  She taught school in Midland, Texas, married and raised a family of four while living, gardening and cooking in five countries and many "oil patch" towns across the U.S. She receives great pleasure from sharing and encouraging happy thymes in the herb garden through herbal classes and presentations.

Thanks to the Local Businesses that Support Us

A big thanks to these area businesses and supporters that generously donated door prizes or supplies for Herb Day 2009.  We’re very grateful to these businesses for their donations.  The door prize drawings are, without a doubt, a feature our guests always anticipate.

·         Buchanan’s Native Plants

611 E. 11th St. 77008

713-861-5702

http://www.buchanansplants.com/

·         Elm Tree Creations

Pam Harris Proprietress

·         Lucia’s Garden

2216 Portsmouth St. 77098

713-523-6494

http://www.luciasgarden.com/

·         Té House of Tea

1927 Fairview St. 77019

713-522-8868

http://www.tehouseoftea.com/

·         The Arbor Gate (2 gifts)

15635 FM 2920, Tomball 77375

281-351-8851

http://www.arborgate.com/

·         Wabash Antiques and Feed Store

5701 Washington Ave. 77007

713-863-8322

http://www.wabashfeed.com/

·         Another Place in Time

1102 Tulane 77008

713-864-9717

http://www.anotherplaceintime.com/

·         Joshua’s Native Plants and Garden Antiques

502 W. 18th St. 77008

713-862-7444

http://www.joshuasnativeplants.com/

·         Member Lois Sutton (2 gifts)

·         House of Coffee Beans (coffee for refreshments)

2348 Bissonnet 77005

713-524-0057

http://www.houseofcoffeebeans.com/

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I Need My Tea

by Lois Jean Howard and Wanda Bell

 

My checkbook won’t balance

The house is a mess

And now I remember,

Too late, I confess.

He asked me last week,

And I said, “It’s all right.”

He’s bringing the boss home

For dinner, tonight.

(sigh)  (Sip of tea)

            I need my tea

            To comfort me.

 

My hairdresser told me

I need to beware

That with all of this madness

I’m losing my hair.

My heart skipped a beat,

“A thin spot, you say?”

Next thing you’ll tell me,

It’s all turning gray.

(sigh)  (Sip of tea)

            I need my tea

            To comfort me.

 

I can’t find my car keys,

I haven’t a clue.

I’m late for my meeting,

It started at two.

Oh why did I say

I would give that report?

Now they’ll all know

My preparations came up short

(sigh)  (Sip of tea)

            I need my tea

            To comfort me.

 

My boys have been crazy

This week, night and day.

I love them all dearly,

But I really must say,

My garden’s a shambles,

First base was my mint.

They broke my new rosemary

Where they pitched their tent.

(sigh)  (Sip of tea)

            I need my tea

            To comfort me.

 

I’m tired of this carpooling

I’m out of my head.

I spend more time driving

Than I do in my bed.

With three little boys involved

In 9 different sports,

My body, my psyche,

They’re all out of sorts.

(sigh)  (Sip of tea)

            I need my tea

            To comfort me.

Through all of life’s troubles

If misfortune’s your lot

It will all fade away

When you pick up this pot.

For tea is our comfort,

Our solace in life.

Each cup will bring gladness

And wipe away strife

            I love my tea

            It comforts me

 

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