All About Thyme: November 2024

Finding More Greenspace in Your Life

November’s Special Days: A Potpourri of Celebrations

Herb of the Year for 2024.  Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Selected by the International Herb Association
Flower of the Month for November: Chrysanthemum, first cultivated in China as a flowering herb, introduced in Europe by 18th century Dutch explorers
November is National Sweet Potato Awareness Month

Week 1
November 5. I don’t suppose you’ve forgotten what day this is. In England, it is also Guy Fawkes Night, marking the foiling of a plot to blow up Parliament. (But really an excuse to enjoy a slice of Yorkshire parkin.)
November 10. St. Martinmas Eve, the end of harvest. In Germany, traditionally celebrated with Martinsfeuer (bonfires and dancing) and Martinshörnchen (Martin’s horns, or crescent rolls).

Week 2
November 11. Veterans’ Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day in Canada. In the Commonwealth, Poppy Day.
November 13. Indian Pudding Day. (There’s more to this than you think. Really.)
November 15. National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Who knows what utterly disgusting thing is lurking at the back of that shelf?

Week 3
November 21. The Great American Smokeout. Yes, tobacco is an herb, one of the most profitable—and the deadliest. If you do it, ditch it. Today.
November 22. The Sun slides into Sagittarius. And here comes your Sagittarius issue of Growing Green with the Zodiac, with the workbook (for paid subscribers).
November 23. National Eat a Cranberry Day. (Who stops with just one?)
November 19: In England, it’s Stir Up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent. Time to stir up a pudding!

Week 4
November 28:  You’re right, it’s late this year. But Thanksgiving is always worth waiting for!
November 30: John Mason patented the Mason jar on this day in 1858, changing our food preservation habits forever. Well, until 1924, when Charles Birdseye came up with the first food freezer.

Cranberry Sauce and Gratitude

Image: FreePik

I made cranberry sauce, and when it was done put it into a dark blue bowl for the beautiful contrast. I was thinking, doing this, about the old ways of gratitude: Indians thanking the deer they'd slain, grace before supper, kneeling before bed. I was thinking that gratitude is too much absent in our lives now, and we need it back, even if it only takes the form of acknowledging the blue of a bowl against the red of cranberries.—Elizabeth Berg

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is an herb—but you knew that, didn’t you? Native Americans used the wild berry as a medicine, a dye, and a food. The colonists copied these uses, naming the fruit “craneberry” because the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring seemed to resemble the head and bill of the Sandhill cranes.

Image: Muskoka Lake Farm & Winery

In 1816, Captain Henry Hall accidentally learned how to cultivate cranberries when he cleared brush from a Cape Cod patch of native cranberries and sand drifted across the acidic peat soil, burying the bushes. To Hall’s surprise, they produced a heavy crop. Now, U.S. farmers harvest approximately 40,000 acres of cranberries each year. For many of us, the Great American Cranberry is synonymous with the Great American Turkey. But it has other important uses.

The Medicinal Cranberry

• Native Americans applied crushed cranberries to open wounds and brewed the berries to treat intestinal ailments.

• To prevent scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C, 18th-century American mariners carried a supply of dried cranberries on their voyages.

• Research confirms that these tart red berries can prevent urinary tract infections and reduce the risk of kidney stones.

• And recently, a compound in cranberry juice has been found to be effective against plaque-forming bacteria that cause gingivitis and gum disease.

If you’re using cranberries therapeutically, choose a supplement or pure cranberry juice, not one of the many “cocktails” currently on the supermarket shelf.

The Tasty Cranberry

Cranberry sauce is a tradition on the Thanksgiving table. Here’s China Bayles’ old-fashioned favorite.

Spiced Cranberry Orange Sauce

1 pound fresh cranberries, rinsed
3/4 cup sugar
juice and zest of 1 large orange (leave the zest in large pieces)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cloves, stuck into a section of orange rind for easy removal
1 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken
1/2 cup light red wine

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop and sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove cinnamon, cloves, and zest. Chill. About 10 half-cup servings. A zingy, healthful, make-ahead sauce for that special turkey!

More cranberry recipes here. (We love the cranberry mustard!)

November’s To-Do

You’re hosting an election-watch party on Guy Fawkes night? You probably won’t do fireworks (well, sparklers, maybe, depending on . . . well, you know). Fortify your guests with an autumn fruit tray, a classic Wensleydale cheese, and a traditional Yorkshire parkin—a rich, gingery oatmeal-molasses cake. Serve with warm cider or something stronger.

November 11, the end of World War I, is now the day we honor our servicemen and women. The choice of the red field poppy as a symbol of remembrance was inspired by John McCrea’s World War I poem, which begins: In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow/Between the crosses, row on row. The field poppy is not the opium poppy. Learn about these two related medicinal plants, which share a tragic battlefield history.  

 November 13 is Indian Pudding Day. Here’s what you need to know about this historic dish, which dates back to 16th-century England. The post includes an interesting bit about the Hasty Pudding Club, plus an authentic recipe. And here’s the Southern version of this dish—fried cornmeal mush—which I remember from my mother’s kitchen. Artisan corn has given new life to this old dish.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the history of Thanksgiving, read this fascinating post by journalist Aimee Levitt: How “culinary propaganda” from a women’s magazine made Thanksgiving a thing.

We all love sweet potatoes, a traditional accompaniment to the holiday turkey. But you don’t have to smother this versatile vegetable in lots of add-on calories to make it taste good. If you’re cooking light, try these oven-fried sweet potatoes. Or how about sweet potato rolls? Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta-carotene and are a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamins E and A—as well as fiber, of course. They’re an ally in the battle against such chronic health issues as heart disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Thanks for reading! I’d appreciate it if you’d ask your favorite librarian to put you on the waiting list for the latest China Bayles mystery, Forget Me Never.