[Preliminary Thoughts: XI]
Herbs can be decorative.
Culinary flavoring.
Healing agents.
Cultural talking points.
Teas.
Domesticated.
Wild.
I’ve found a direct correlation between the diversity of one’s experience with herbs and openness to new ideas. Not that herbs are revelatory, though they can be, but they float somewhere near the boundaries between medicine, culinary adventure, and folklore. Which is to say, they are barely on the cognitive map of most Americans.
Basil on a pizza or overgrown rosemary in Grandma’s yard, sure. But rose hip or comfrey are probably not drying on most counters. For the people that do have them hanging on strings above their hearth or waiting in a jar next to their tea kettle… now, I’ve found these people are interested in the diversity the world has to offer.
What is it that builds our appetite for learning?
For new ideas?
For expansion and challenge?
For alternative medicine?
For new flavors?
I’d like to explore some of these (herb) questions this year. I think you’ll find them interesting.
