This is the third post in a series on medicinal spices. You can read Part I and Part II by following the above links. If you’re a Green Prophet, you know that simplifying your life and using less chemicals can be good on you and the environment. Heading through the alphabet, today, we’re discovering the surprising properties of H to N: the value of hyssop, juniper berries, nigella, and nutmeg/mace.

Photo of flowering hyssop by Armin Jager via Wikipedia

Hyssop is a slightly bitter spice that isn’t much used in cooking these days. Its strong flavor, something like sage and something like mint, is best suited to hearty stews, roasts, and soups.

Yet hyssop has several medicinal uses. Notably, it’s an effective antiseptic. Tea made from it heals sore throats and soothes coughs by loosening mucous. We haven’t tried this, but it’s said that tea of hyssop, applied as a poultice (soak a big wad of cotton or a clean cloth in it) will bring down the inflammation of a black eye. Hyssop is part of the Labiatae botanical family, and like all the Labiatae, it’s helpful in soothing indigestion, flatulence, and stomach aches.throats and soothes

With it’s useful properties come warnings, though: according to the Plants for a Future database, hyssop tea may

…irritate the mucous membranes, so it is best given after an infection has peaked, when the herb’s tonic action encourages a general recovery[254]. The plant should not be used by pregnant women, however, since in large quantities it can induce a miscarriage.

Photo via Wikipedia

Juniper berries are known as a flavoring in Scandanavian cuisine, but the plant is native in the Mediterranean as well as in Northern Europe and the U.S. The characteristic aroma of gin comes from juniper (we are convinced that an ice-cold gin and tonic is a very medicinal thing to drink, of a summer’s evening). Juniper berries are diuretic and helpful in controlling arthritis and rheumatism.

Photo of Nigella seed by The Goblin via Wikipedia

Nigella is sometimes, confusingly, referred to as black cumin, black onion seed, or black caraway. Stick with local names for this little black seed – ketzach in Hebrew, habbat al-barakah in Arabic. Or if shopping for it outside of the Middle East, nigella sativa. In the Middle East, we enjoy its pungent taste sprinkled on breads and crackers.

In the Arab world, nigella is said to cure everything except death. It’s used as a folk medicine to treat respiratory and intestinal ailments, abcesses, kidney stones, and parasitic infections. The oil expressed from the seeds is used as treatment for eczema and other skin irritations. We can attest to the power of nigella tea as a galactogogue (a remedy that helps nursing mothers produce milk).

Photo of nutmegs via Wikipedia

Nutmeg is the seed inside a pulpy fruit, and mace the lacy membrane covering the nut. When the tender mace is separated from the nut, it hardens. This is the only fruit that yields two spices. Sprinkled over eggnog or other hot drinks, both help relieve nausea and vomiting. According to the herbalist Maude Grieve, “Grated nutmeg mixed with lard makes an excellent ointment for piles.”

All mention of nutmeg and mace carry the same warning: large doses, meaning even one-half of a nut, are proven to be narcotic and toxic. Back in the late 1960s, people discovered its mild hallucinogenic properties and thought it would fun to get high on on it – only to find out that it made them sick with extreme nausea that lasted for days, due to liver damage.

Keep with the pinch of powdered spice sprinkled over your hot drink, as folks have enjoyed it for centuries, and you’ll be fine.

Like cooking “green”? See more earth-friendly recipes:

• Tehina Cookies
• Stuffed Poussins
• Creamy Eggplant Soup

Top photo of garlic by Miriam Kresh.

Wait – that’s supposed to be “sow your wild oats” – isn’t it?

It makes more sense to reap them. At this time of year in the Middle East, native Avena sterilis sends up its nodding seed heads in empty lots, fields, and neglected gardens everywhere. All you have to do is yank up a handful, stalk, leaves, seeds and all, and bring it home to make tea. The oat kernels hidden inside the bearded husk are tender and difficult to extract by hand, but the good news is, you can cut up an entire stalk (minus the root), take this oatstraw and brew a nourishing tea out of it.

How is oatstraw tea good for you? This home remedy is rich in calcium and the minerals and vitamins that nourish bones (helps prevent osteoporosis). It helps to stabilize blood sugar. Nowadays people know that when you eat the grain as oatmeal, you reduce cholesterol and improve blood circulation, but fewer take advantage of wild oats to make the infused tea, which does the same.

Herbalists often prescribe a soothing cup of oatstraw tea as a tonic to strengthen the nerves and help reduce tension and anxiety. It’s a good hot drink for jittery adolescents – or their stressed-out parents. Drunk before bedtime, it helps you sleep better. It is said to reduce headaches and menstrual cramps.

Oats combined with nettles, are known to be a sexual stimulant to men and an aid to lactation for nursing mothers. For these purposes, use one tablespoon of oatstraw and two teaspoons of nettles per two cups of boiling water.

Use this soothing plant to ease skin irritations. Simmer a good handful of oatstraw in a liter of water for twenty minutes. Strain the tea and add it to your medicinal bath. Or put oatstraw into a clean nylon sock and let it steep in the hot water while you bathe. For children with chicken pox, an oatstraw bath is one of the kindest things you can do.

How do you use oatstraw? Pick it now, while it’s still green and tender. A bagful will keep you going for a long time. Cut off any dirty parts near the root. One long green stalk is enough for two cups of infused tea. Cut it up with scissors, put the pieces into a cup, and pour two cups of boiling water over it. Allow the tea to infuse for four hours. Even better, overnight. Strain and drink, either gently re-heated or cold. It is mild-tasting and good; very slightly sweet.

Oatstraw dries quickly, which makes it easy to store. Just put the stalks in a jar or spread them out on a cloth and allow them to dry, in the shade. When the stalks and heads are a light golden color and rustle dryly, you can store them in a glass jar. It will keep a year.

To brew tea from dry oatstraw, take a tablespoon of the chopped material and pour two cups of boiling water over it. Allow it to steep four hours to overnight, as with the green stuff.

Dosage is three cups of oatstraw tea a day, for any purpose.

If you keep birds, try poking a stalk, either green or dry, through the bars of the cage. Budgies, especially, love them.

And children love to gather them. If you’re not going to be planting a tree for Tu B’Shvat, you might take the little ones out to discover the wild oats. It’s free, green food and medicine. Just remember, when you forage it, to take only what you think you’ll need and no more.

Other springtime posts you’ll enjoy:

• Five Edible Wild Plants You Can Pick Yourself
• Recipe: Almond Blossom Liqueur

I love this blog. I love Lebanese food, and author Joumana, a Lebanese ex-pat living in the States, presents recipe after delicious-looking recipe, Slow Food style.

Just a small example – the Toom garlic paste, a staple flavoring in Lebanese kitchens. Whirl garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil in the blender, thickening the paste if you want with a cooked potato or bread. Use it to flavor almost anything. That won me; I’m an unabashed garlic fan.

Then there are at least four recipes for kibbeh, recipes for flatbreads (the one featuring baby artichokes brought water to my mouth), and many more.

The last time Joumana visited Beirut, Lebanese chef and food project genius Kamal Mouzawak gave her several packages of za’atar spice, herb salt, khamouneh, a spice mix based on cumin, and freekah, wheat smoked in the fields while still green.

She is now running a raffle for them, including a recipe booklet. The raffle is on till Jan. 31st, so if you’re interested, leave a comment on her post about Kamal Mouzawak and the amazing work he’s done with small farmers and local ingredients, here.

Good luck!

More recipes to enjoy:

• Vertical Farms May Be The Only Crop Solution For The Middle East
• Ful and Choumous, The Middle-Eastern Working Man’s Lunch
• Community-Supported Agriculture: Organic, Local, and Tasty!

::Taste of Beirut blog