earth mother

It could be the perfect June day... when I get to go out to my tiny garden and plant lemon verbena.

I had the best tea of my life after a dinner party of cooking teachers at Mary Risley's home in San Francisco. Someone went into Mary's awe-inspiring garden, plucked a handful of lemon verbena leaves, put them in a clear glass teapot and added boiling water. The bright green leaves floating in the water and the herbal, lemony scent and flavor of that tea were memorable!

Or try this amazing ice cream....

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

2 cups cream

2 cups milk

1vanilla bean, halved and scraped

30 lemon verbena leaves, chopped
10 egg yolks (you can use fewer for a less rich ice cream)

1 cup sugar

Heat the cream, milk, vanilla bean and lemon verbena leaves. Let this mixture steep for about 2 hours, or until you love the flavor. Reheat until hot.

In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar until well blended. Temper the eggs by whisking some of the hot cream into them, then pour the mixture back into the pot.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Don't boil or let it reach over 180F. Strain into a container and chill until cold.

Pour into ice cream freezer and freeze.

It's so effortless to grow herbs, and takes so little space. A tiny plot in your backyard, a sunny pot on a deck....they are very forgiving. It's so lovely to leave the world of technology and pick a handful of your very own herbs for a delicious salsa verde to drizzle over the grilled chicken for dinner. It's a connection to the earth that we can all have.