China Bayles' Book of Days

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

January February March

April May June

July August September

October November December

INDEX OF RECIPES

INDEX OF COSMETICS, CRAFTS, AND MEDICINES

SPECIAL FEATURES

PRAISE FOR THE CHINA BAYLES MYSTERIES . . .

“Mystery lovers who also garden will be captivated by this unique series.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“One of the best-written and well-plotted mysteries I’ve read in a long time.”
—Los Angeles Times

“An entertaining detective writer.”
—The Dallas Morning News

“A nice book to curl up with on a blustery day.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Albert has created captivating new characters and a setting dripping with atmosphere.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[China Bayles is] such a joy . . . an instant friend.”
—
Carolyn G. Hart

“A treat for gardeners who like to relax with an absorbing mystery.”

—North American Gardener

“An appealing series.”
—Booklist

“A wonderful reading experience.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Gripping.”
—Library Journal

“Cause for celebration.”
—Rocky Mount (NC) Telegram

China Bayles Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THYME OF DEATH
WITCHES’ BANE
HANGMAN’S ROOT
ROSEMARY REMEMBERED
RUEFUL DEATH
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
CHILE DEATH
LAVENDER LIES

MISTLETOE MAN
BLOODROOT
INDIGO DYING
AN UNTHYMELY DEATH
A DILLY OF A DEATH
DEAD MAN’S BONES
BLEEDING HEARTS
CHINA BAYLES’ BOOK OF DAYS

With her husband, Bill Albert, writing as Robin Paige

DEATH AT BISHOP’S KEEP
DEATH AT GALLOWS GREEN
DEATH AT DAISY’S FOLLY
DEATH AT DEVIL’S BRIDGE
DEATH AT ROTTINGDEAN
DEATH AT WHITECHAPEL

DEATH AT EPSOM DOWNS
DEATH AT DARTMOOR
DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE
DEATH IN HYDE PARK
DEATH AT BLENHEIM PALACE
DEATH ON THE LIZARD

Beatrix Potter Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM
THE TALE OF HOLLY HOW

THE TALE OF CUCKOO BROW WOOD

Nonfiction books by Susan Wittig Albert

WRITING FROM LIFE

WORK OF HER OWN

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This is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

A nonfiction work inspired by the author’s favorite fictional characters.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is complete and accurate. However, neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader, and therefore neither is responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health or dietary needs require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

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PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime trade paperback edition / October 2006

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Albert, Susan Wittig.
China Bayles’ book of days : celebrating the mystery, myth, and magic of herbs : a treasury of
herbal lore, recipes, and crafts from the world of pecan springs / by Susan Wittig Albert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-425-20653-9

1. Cookery (Herbs) 2. Herbs. I. Title.

TX819.H4A43 2006
641.6’57—dc22 2006008501

http://us.penguingroup.com

A NOTE TO READERS

I have herein communicated such Notions as I have gathered either from reading of several Authors, or by conferring sometimes with Scholars, and sometimes with Country people; To which I have added some Observations of mine own, never before published: Most of which I am confident are true, and if there be any that are not so, yet they are pleasant.

—WILLIAM COLE, THE ART OF SIMPLING, 1656

For years now, China Bayles has been nagging me about writing a book primarily about herbs—no murder, mayhem, or other unsavory doings, just herbs and the ways they are used in people’s lives. China isn’t the only one, either. I regularly receive letters that ask for information about growing and using herbs and close with the plaintive question: “When are you and China going to write a book about herbs?”

This book is our answer. In it, China and I have adopted the traditional format of the
book of days
, or daybook: the personal calendar in which people over the centuries have recorded meaningful events, ideas, things to do and to celebrate, and odds and ends of interest. A person’s daybook might record religious and national holidays, saints’ feast days, the sun’s passage through the zodiac and the phases of the moon, and information about planting and harvesting. For centuries, people have found such personal calendars indispensable, as a kind of collective memory of what was important in the past and what might be of importance in each day of the present year.

Because herbs play such an important part in China’s life, and in mine (and we hope in yours, too) our
Book of Days
is all about herbs. What is an herb? For me, the best and most inclusive definition is the one adopted by the Herb Society of America: Herbs are plants that are grown or gathered “for use and delight.” Herbs may grow tiny or tall, in the tropics or the deserts, in a wild meadow or in our gardens or on our windowsills. We may grow or gather these ourselves, or purchase the dried or processed plant material. Indeed, herbs are plants for use and delight.

In this book, China and I have gathered together tidbits and treasures about the plants we love to live with, as well as their many mysteries and myths and magical uses. There are quite a few practical items, too—recipes, crafts, gardening tips, and ideas for ways you can put more
green
into your daily life. The recipes are uncomplicated and designed for average cooks, but all feature the flavors of our favorite herbs. We’ve also featured a few people who know and grow herbs, and a few gardens and herb farms you might like to visit. And because China’s mysteries are all about herbs, we’ve included tidbits from her books, as well as brief essays about the mysteries and some special contributions by the irrepressible members of the Myra Merryweather Herb Guild, Pecan Springs’ oldest civic organization.

I became interested in herbs many years ago, as a doctoral candidate working with medieval English texts in which both medicinal and culinary herbs figured prominently. Among my efforts: the translation of the earliest English cookery text,
A Forme of Cury,
compiled in 1381 by Richard II’s cook for the Royal kitchen. For the past twenty years, growing and using and learning and writing about herbs has been a way of finding my place in life, on this green earth, and in this amazing universe, so full of mystery and magic. I have learned that when I live in harmony with the plants around me, with the circling seasons, and with the earth itself, I live in greater contentment and peace. And when China Bayles brought her herb shop into my life in the early 1990s, my sense of possibilities for living a green life grew even stronger. Perhaps this book will help you see how this can be true for you, too.

Some of this material has appeared in other forms: in the China Bayles Mysteries (I’ve noted the titles where appropriate); in the Book of Days pieces written for the
Herb Companion
from 1998-2002; in
China’s Garden
(the herbal newsletter that China and I published from 1994-1999); and in China’s pages on my web site (
www.mysterypartners.com
) and in “Lifescapes,” my Internet journal (
www.susanalbert
.
blogspot.com
). It has been revised and rewritten and assembled here in a format that China and I hope will please you. You will find reading suggestions throughout the book, a glossary, and an index of recipes, crafts, and medicinal preparations. (One word of caution: Herbs contain plant chemicals that can affect you in a variety of ways. Never take a therapeutic preparation of a plant until you have done your homework!)