Editorial Review

Betty Crocker is on the health bandwagon. Not one for fads, Betty sensibly bases this 175-recipe cookbook on the Food Guide Pyramid guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association and many other medical and nutrition professional organizations. You learn tips for cutting down on fat and cholesterol, understanding the different kinds of fat, and making smart food choices for heart health. The idea is to reduce fat by making ingredient substitutions and small alterations, but not making drastic changes. The recipes are varied and creative and don't resemble "diet food": Ginger Shrimp Kabobs, Vegetable Potstickers, Stuffed Veal Chops with Cider Sauce, Vegetable and Ham Jambalaya, Curried Chicken and Nectarines, Caribbean Fish Salad, and Thai Shrimp and Rice Noodle Nests. The desserts include Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Raspberry Topping (only 20 percent fat!), Blueberry-Lime Torte (about 15 percent fat), and Double Chocolate-Date Cake (about 25 percent fat). Recipes are labeled with symbols indicating "low-calorie," "low-fat," "moderate-fat," "low-cholesterol," and "moderate-cholesterol," so you can choose how far you want to go. Each recipe has a hefty amount of nutritional information: calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, fiber, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and diet exchanges. Cooks who love knowing what the dishes should look like will enjoy the 45 mouth-watering color photos. Read more

Reviews (13)

Cookbook
I didn't find very many recipes that I would want to make. I was a little disappointed being from Betty Crocker.

Life Resource
Only a month ago was my huband, who is also diabetic, sent home from the Dr. and told me he had to lower his fats and cholesterol. Now I being a starch fanatic had no idea where to stsrt to change our diet. This cook book has given the basis on which to make healthier choices that are easy and tasty as well.
Disappointing
The recipes in this book would not convert anyone to low fat, low cholesterol cooking. A more creative and tasteful collection can be found in the American Heart AssociationLow Fat, Low Cholesterol Cookbook. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Gardening    4. Health & Healing - Low Cholesterol    5. Health & Healing - Low Fat    6. Health & Healing - Weight Control    7. Herb Gardening    8. Herbs    9. Low-cholesterol diet    10. Low-fat diet    11. Recipes    12. Cooking / Low Cholesterol    13. Health & wholefood cookery    14. Horticulture   

Reviews (5)

Herbs
I am taking a medicinal botany class and was not satisfied with the information the text book gave me and wanted to know more I saw this book and ordered it.I love it.It is a must have for someone interested in herbs even my instructor found it helpful.

Best of it's kind
I have an older edition that my sister bought for me for christmas several years back.It's one of the few books i'll have for the rest of my life because of its incredible value as a comprehensive herb and plant info resource.The edition I have has pictures, names, references in the front with longer descriptions in the back in the same style as an audubon society field guide book.It's great for picking up and reading random stuff or to lookup the medicinal uses of a specific herb.The book never ceases to amaze me.Of all the herb books i've read, this one is time and again the most useful.

Superb Comprehensive Book
This book is very comprehensive.It is fairly easy to use with both Latin and English names.There are many photographs to support herb descriptions.The book doesn't does not have a botanical key to support identification of more unusual specimens (I don't miss this, others may).
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Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Health & Fitness    4. Health/Fitness    5. Herb gardening    6. Herbal Medications    7. Herbs    8. Pictorial works    9. Reference    10. Gardening / Herbs    11. Gardening   

Reviews (114)

The index is very useful
I was disappointed in the superficiality of the descriptions for the herbs and their uses, but the index is very useful. Folk names, common names, and Latin names are all easily found -making it much simpler to track down the plants you want at your local greenhouse.

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series)
This is a great general book. A word to the wise. Some of the herbs that he recommends are posionous and should be not ingested. These herbs are in no way flagged in the book at all. Lily of the Valley, Mandrake, Belladonna are all dangerous and not for use without extensive research. Remember even if you see lots of food on the forest ground not all of it is safe to eat.

practical info for the practicing witch
what I like about this book is not the info on obcure plants that I have to send away for, but the info on things and herbs you can find in the grosery store. like some fruits and spices.
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Subjects:  1. Charms    2. Gardening    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Herbs    5. Herbs (Botany)    6. Magic    7. Magick Studies    8. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    9. Occult sciences    10. Plants    11. Witchcraft & Wicca    12. Body, Mind & Spirit / Magick Studies    13. Complementary Medicine    14. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques   

Editorial Review

Burpee has created a truly encyclopedic, but non-intimidating, guide to organic vegetable gardening that can be used and appreciated by anyone, whether or not they've ever stuck a seed in the ground. All the essential information is here--how to condition the soil, how and where to plant, sprouting schedules, what kind of yield to expect from each plant variety, and harvesting tips--in beautiful, bountiful, illustrated detail; the book's largest section, "Plant Portraits," contains explanations of the many cultivars of each vegetable and herb. If you're a novice vegetable gardener or new to organic gardening and can only afford one gardening guide, this may be your best value. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Well Organized, Comprehensive, Excellent Layout
Burpee's "The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener: A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically" is fantastic.In addition to what Burpee lists on the back cover of what is inside the book, there are also many easy-reading tables that contain excellent information such as the vitamin(s) that each vegetable contains, different cultivars, plant PH needs, watering needs per week, crop yields, etc.Many interesting tidbits. Vegatable Gardening Made Really Easy
Very similar in content and structure to Ortho's Complete Guide to Vegtables. The difference comes in the experience the writer has growing and maitaining the various plants.I find using both books gives different perspectives for growing and caretaking of plants but conatins the same basic information.For instance the Ortho book has better Garden Setup and maintenance data, and raw data on the various gardening aspects like fertilizer and pest eradiction.The Burpee book focuses on plant and cultivar details a little better. The book is filled with plenty high quality pictures of plants and their fruits using multiple pictures of various cultivars within plant families. Absolutely awesome
My daughter bought this for me on fathers day and it has helped me immensely.From the sections on soil testing and conditioning to the extensive vegetable articles, it has really helped make this year a total success.Read more

Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Herb Gardening    5. Herbs    6. Organic    7. Organic gardening    8. Vegetable Crops    9. Vegetable gardening    10. Vegetables    11. Fruit & vegetables    12. Gardening / Vegetables   

Reviews (7)

Guide to Spyragics
Originally published in Italian in 1985, this classic work deals with the spyragic process, by which, through separation, purification and recombination, a spyragist (parachemist, or alchemist, take your pick) enhances and amplifies the essential and intrinsic effects of an herb. While incorporating quite a bit of ayurvedic philosophy, it's still a text firmly rooted in Western alchemical techniques and practice, and walks the aspiring student through the spyragic process, step by step, along with herbal planetary correspondence tables which go quite a bit beyond the over-simplified Cabbalistic correspondences of the current New Age stream of thought.
alchemy or spagyric?
I havent read this book, but I am very doubful, if this really about alchemy. I heard, that laboratory equipment, that author proposes, is very expensive and thats not a case of alchemy. Alchemy in its essence need very simple and nonexpensive instruments. There exist fundamental difference between spagyrics and alchemy and that fact many people dont realize.

Worthy of your time
I recently began taking some natural medicines along with my husband, so I thought I would try making my own. Though I am still in the early stages, I feel confident that The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy has given me a solid base from which to start.
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Subjects:  1. Alchemy    2. General    3. Healing    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. Herbal Medications    7. Materia medica, Vegetable    8. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    9. Complementary Medicine    10. Health & Fitness / Healing    11. Herbs    12. Pharmacology   

Reviews (21)

Everything you need!
I LOVE this book! It shows you how to grow, cook and use herbs in arrangements. It tells you what the history of the herb is and what other cultures have used them for. I'm not the best at writing reviews and I never do... but I would buy this one!!! It's a great price for a great book!

Great book to have on our shelf
Will serve as a reference for years to come. Good visuals of different herbs with complete index.

new to herbs
being new to herbs this is one book i think every beginner should have. the info in this book is great tells you what herbs for crafts, cooking, med's, and growing. this is the 2nd book of Lesley's that i have and i will be looking out for more of her books. she makes it so you can read and learn not go to sleep.
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Subjects:  1. Gardening / Horticulture    2. Gardening/Plants    3. Herbs    4. Gardening / Herbs   

Reviews (1)

Extremely Enlightening from Medical and Historical Standpoin
This book is very good.It offers methods to help one to observe health status by observing various bodily functions.Unfortunately, I have been able get more information in this approach to medicine.There are some very healthful and tasty receipes in this book also. Imani Christi's offers a very wholistic approach to health maintenance and way of living. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 980-1037    2. Avicenna,    3. General    4. Healing    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health/Fitness    7. History of Medicine, Medieval    8. Medicine, Arab    9. Medicine, Herbal    10. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    11. Systems Of Medicine    12. Avicenna    13. Complementary Medicine    14. Health & Fitness / Healing    15. Herbs    16. History of medicine   

Reviews (1)

Illustrations
I was impressed with the thoroughness of the herbal information in this book, and doubly impressed by the superb illustrations! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1910-    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Black American Sociology    4. Folk Medicine    5. Folklore & Mythology    6. General    7. Herbalists    8. Herbs    9. History: World    10. Lee, John,    11. Materia medica, Vegetable    12. North Carolina    13. Social Science    14. Sociology    15. Therapeutic use    16. Complementary Medicine    17. Ethnic studies    18. Lee, John    19. North America    20. Social Science / Folklore & Mythology    21. Specific disorders & therapies   

Reviews (8)

Delightful
This book is a joy-containing not only the facts about the Medieval herbs and plants-but also charming references to the amazing character of Cadfael.
Cadfael's pictures
This is most useful as a guide to Elis Peters' novels. The index of plants is oriented toward the fictional Cadfael and his uses, rather than to mediaval practice. Medieval Plants and Brother Cadfael
Not only is this gorgeous books with excellent pictures of plants, it shows a deep insight into Brother Cadfael's herbarium and his respect forplants. I loved the excerpts from the many Brother Cadfael books. I wouldhave liked to have seen a bit more on the layout of Brother Cadfael'sgarden and perhaps some recipes and potions. Still the authors produced abeautiful book at a reasonable price with the pages crammed with in-depthinformation on herbs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. England    2. Gardening    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardening/Plants    5. Herb gardens    6. Herbal Medications    7. Herbs    8. History    9. Plants, Useful    10. Shrewsbury    11. Therapeutic use    12. Vegetables    13. Gardening / Vegetables   

Reviews (15)

I LOVE THIS BOOK
This is a great book for a beginning herb gardener.The first half of the book is a general overview of gardening techniques, designs, and uses for herbs.The second half gives specific information on growing and using many herbs.This has been extraordinarily helpful to me as background and reference for me.
"Must Have" for aspiring herb growers
Great resource book.Covers all of the basics in clear, simple instructions.

A complete herbal reference book!

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Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Herb gardening    5. Herbs    6. Utilization   

Editorial Review

Since 1990, Jerry Traunfeld has been the chef at the Herbfarm, a restaurant-nursery nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State devoted to propagating an exceptional variety of culinary herbs, edible flowers, and greens. People wait months for a table at this restaurant, where Traunfeld's unaffected yet sophisticated cooking unfolds in a nine-course dinner. Reading his recipes, you understand why. It is hard to get through even the first chapter, on soups, without starting a shopping list for making Green Gazpacho, a cooling blend of cucumbers and green pepper with spearmint, parsley, and cilantro, or Herbal Chicken Noodle Soup, lavish with fresh basil, chives, tarragon, and marjoram.Read more

Reviews (26)

Cookbook for Chef's on Herbs
I've been gourmet cooking and growing most of my own herbs now for years, some successfully, and others not so.In looking for some aid with what ails my herb garden, sought this one out as possibility.
My favorite cookbook--Easy Elegance!
Growing up in the Seattle area, the Herbfarm Restaurant was our local version of Napa's French Laundry:very difficult to get into, very expensive, but a 'must-do' culinary experience where you'd likely be served the meal of your life.In the late 90s, I worked with a guy who held another job as a part-time prep cook at the Herbfarm.After the restaurant burned down and chef Jerry Traunfeld was finishing up this cookbook during the re-build, that prep-cook brought in a few of the recipes for me to preview before the book went to press.After trying the pork with sage, onions and prosciutto served over toasted coriander mashed potatoes and runner beans with summer savory, I was hooked!I had to go out and buy the cookbook, and I still use it more than any other.
A real treasure
The recipes in Jerry Traunfeld's The Herbfarm Cookbookwill make your taste buds perk up and sing.And they'll have your friends begging for dinner invitations.Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery (Herbs)    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. General    5. Herbfarm Restaurant (Fall City    6. Herbfarm Restaurant (Fall City, Wash.)    7. Herbs    8. Specific Ingredients - Herbs, Spices, Condiments    9. Cookery by ingredient    10. Cooking / General   

Reviews (13)

every woman should have this book
it's a great book with lot of recipes for all your beauty needs like i said every woman should have this book and man for that matter it's a great money saver and it's just a really great book

Straight and to the point
This is a very good book for the beginner like I am.This book has a chock full of very useful information without all the fancy pictures.Most spa books are built like magazines with colorful vivid pictures and not alot of information.This book is to the point and addresses many things and is not filled with fillers or useless junk information.It may not be as aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but it give you the information you want and need to learn about herbal spas.There are many great ideas in here that can easily be used to build your own unique custom gifts that are more personable that going to commercial stores.There is enough reference in here to build your own concoctions as well.I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in herbal spas.

Thorough book on home beauty
Not only does this book offer recipes and tips on inexpensive, chemical-free beauty care, but the author also offers advice on purchasing, storing and choosing the proper products. It's a great resource if you want to save money but still look great and without putting toxins in your body.
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Subjects:  1. Beauty & Grooming - Cosmetics    2. Beauty, Personal    3. Consumer Health    4. Diet / Health / Fitness    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health and hygiene    7. Health/Fitness    8. Herbal Medications    9. Herbal cosmetics    10. Herbs    11. Personal grooming    12. Women    13. Cosmetics, make-up & skin care    14. Health & Fitness / Herbal Medications   

Editorial Review

There are herb gardens, and then there's the Herbfarm, both an award-winning restaurant with an award winning chef, Jerry Traunfeld, and an herb farm--literally. Over the past 14-years Traunfeld has had a farm's worth of herbs to work with in his commercial kitchen and at home. He opened the doors to his commercial kitchen with Read more

Reviews (5)

A green kitchen
If you've always cooked with herbs, but always rushed off to the grocery store to get them fresh for your recipes, now is the time to stop and pick them fresh out of your own garden or pot! This book has a lot of great detailed information about how to grow, cut and cook with herbs. There are also a lot of pictures so you're not left wondering what something, you may never have seen before, should look like. The recipes are easy and tasty, the information is simple and this book makes a great gift or center piece on any coffee table. You'll be entertaining guests with your new recipes, indoor herb pots and wonderful cookbook, while explaining it all, in no time.

One of the best cookbooks published with simple recipes!
I have a bookcase full of great cook books.This is one of the best I have ever used because the recipes are simple and so full of flavor and one is better the next.Most recipes have no more than seven or eight ingredients and the photos included really represent the final dish.

Even Better than The Herbfarm Cookbook
I have both of Traunfeld's cookbooks.I have had great success with the Herbfarm Cookbook, and did not think that there could be a better effort, but the Herbal Kitchen is even better.They are different books and I will use both, but the Herbal Kitchen includes more fabulous dishes that you can put together on a weeknight.The Herbfarm Cookbook is a much more thorough compendium of recipies and herb growing/properties information.Get them both. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery (Herbs)    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. General    6. Herbs    7. Specific Ingredients - Herbs, Spices, Condiments    8. Cooking / Herbs, Spices, Condiments   

Reviews (2)

Semi-formal vegetable garden?
The concept of edible landscaping is given a boost toward a practical and beautiful kitchen garden in this book.The history behind kitchen gardens ("potagers", that is gardens designed around culinary use rather than solely appearance) is interesting and lively, and the sections on a few modern garden case studies is useful.
A great read on vegetable garden design. Buy It.
`Designing the New Kitchen Garden, An American Potager Handbook' by professional garden design consultant, Jennifer R. Bartley is a very serious book, absolutely perfect for the zone 6 snowbound gardener to buy in December, when nothing is growing, and it's even too cold to start hardscaping projects.
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Subjects:  1. Design    2. English Garden Design And Planting    3. Fruit    4. Garden Design    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Gardening/Plants    8. Herbs    9. Kitchen gardens    10. Organic gardening    11. Vegetable Crops    12. Vegetable gardening    13. Vegetables    14. Fruit & vegetables    15. Gardening / Garden Design   

Reviews (19)

Scott Cunningham is Great, But This is Much of the Same
I love Cunningham, but lately I've noticed that you have to be really careful of what of his you buy.He's obviously such a popular author that Llewellyn is putting out as much of his work as they possibly can.The problem is, many of these publications are redundant.
I hope you like this book
Maybe it is not as good as Encyclopedia of Magic Herbs I don't know, but this is the best Herb magic book I have, I love Cunningham the person to read when you first start and also books are good references when confused or unsure.

Fits a Niche Very Well
I found that this book is excellent as an overview and introduction to herbal magic. It includes basic theory, practice, some common traditions, forms of mixtures/spells, and simple mixtures/spells for common themes. The book will give the reader a very broad overview from which the reader can determine whether or not he/she would like to study herbal magic in greater depth.
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Subjects:  1. Herbal Medications    2. Herbs    3. Magic    4. Magick Studies    5. New Age    6. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    7. New Age / Parapsychology    8. Witchcraft & Wicca    9. Body, Mind & Spirit / Magick Studies    10. Magic & alchemy    11. Mind, Body, Spirit    12. Wicca   

Reviews (4)

THE BEST! TEN STARS!
I absolutely adore herbs. Rosemary, thyme, and lavender are my favorites, but all the others are delectable as well. Emilie Tolley and Chris Mead are the best partnership in the gardening world.Emilie really knows thecultivation of these wonderful growing things, and I adore Chris for hisbreathtaking photography. Together they created a volume for herb gardenersthat is instructive, inspiring, and incredible. A remarkable team, thistalented duo illustrate how to create an herb garden that will add to yourpersonal happiness. They introduce us to forty herbs that will saturateyour senses but will not try your patience. Follow their lead and you mayend up doing what I do, reaching into your rosemary or thyme and succumbingto the most exquisite natural smells in existence. Our gardening friendsshow us everything we need to do to prepare the soil, care for the herbs weselect, design a simple or detailed herb landscape,and grow our herbsindoors. They know we need inspiration, so Emelie and Chris provide us withsome of the most gorgeous herb gardens in the world. They take us toEngland's Cotswolds to a reigning authority, Rosemary Verey. Her gardensare profuse and lush. Mrs. Verey's home, like many gardeners isevolutionary; she has an abundant cottage garden, a kitchen garden, and anexquisite knot garden, always maximizing the use of herbs in her landscape.The path to the kitchen garden, or potager, is laden with stones that liesbetween two inviting rows of lavender.There is a large section devoted toherb gardeners around the world each with their own designs andinterpretations of showing off herbs in all their romantic and aromaticsplendor. There is more!Turning the pages, we find methods for drying andpreserving, creating beautiful crafts such as wreaths,sachets, potpourri,topiary,miniatures, decorating for holidays, and, oh my goodness, themost tempting recipes! My, oh, my! I'm diving right back into my Herbsbook!

Inspiring
This is the most inspiring and beautiful herb book I have ever read.This is the book that got me "into"herbs and the herbal lifestyle.It truly changed my life.The pictures are beautiful, and the content isintriguing.Beginning with basic information on growing 40 common herbs,it takes you through beautiful gardens in the U.S. and Europe, Showsgorgeous herbal crafts, and has great herbal recipes.Really a greatintroduction to the wonders of herbs, but the experienced herbalist wouldlove it too.A definitive herb book!

The best herbal arts resources book
If you are new to herbs, this is THE book to really turn you on to thisvast subject.If you are experienced, the book is an invaluable resource. If you just like great books with incredible photography, you will be proudto diplay this book on your coffee table.Buy it and enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery (Herbs)    3. Gardening / Horticulture    4. Gardening/Plants    5. Herb gardening    6. Herbs    7. Home Gardening    8. Pictorial works    9. Utilization    10. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (12)

Old but still good
This is a good book about the marijuana plant itself but is a bit dated. Still if you want to learn more about breeding and plant physiognomy then this is a good choice.

Excellent text on arranging a breeding environment
If you have read some other reviews posted for this book then it would seem as if this researcher was talking out his ass but if you bother to actually read the book at all then you will realize that the information provided may or may not be intended for either your level of education as far as cannabis goes or for the specific agenda behind your reasons for growing cannabis. Clarke�s Marijuana Botany Review + What You Really Want!
The best place to start with this review is to tell you that you do not want this book if you are new to growing. This is not where you want to be going. Getting this book is a mistake which many new growers have made. So you have been warned!! There are other books that cover cannabis cultivation much more accurately like "The Cannabis Grow Bible" by Greg Green which I very highly recommend or "Indoor Marijuana Horticulture" by Jorge Cervantes a reasonably good grow guide. I find Ed Rosenthal's books a little wrong at times and Mel Franks work is far too old to be practical these days. So if you are looking for cultivation information go in that direction first but if you want some cannabis botany science and breeding information then carry on with this review. Read more

Subjects:  1. Health/Fitness    2. Life Sciences - Botany    3. Science    4. Herbs   

Reviews (15)

This is the One.
This is the one, the one book I feel anyone serious about herbs should have in their collection. It has proved invaluable to me in so many ways. It includes cosmetic and medicinal for most any herb you can think of. It is also good for information on traditional uses and background knowledge. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get a grasp on how it is organised (it didn't take me long) it proves indespensible.

The Herb Book
I gave the Herb Book three stars. It is a good reference book but it is a bit overwhelming, and very vague in some areas. I personally would have cauterized it different, and would have given more instructions about how to use the plants in everyday use.

THE ONE
I bought this book when I was 12 at a library sale for 25 cents.Since then, I've spent quite a bit more on herb books, but this is still the best of my collection!It's a fantasic reference book because you can look up herbs by common name, scientific name, and even by what ailments they treat.It doesn't contain much New Age spiritual information, which suits my scientific mind just fine.The author presents very logical arguments for making your own medicine/cosmetics/spices, whether purchased, home-grown, or wild-gathered.Just like other reviewers have stated, this is my number one resource on herbs, even with the development of the internet and google. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Therapies    2. Consumer Health    3. Diet / Health / Fitness    4. Gardening    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Herbal Medications    7. Herbs   

Reviews (1)

"A lovely garden was the spirit of the housewife"
In this charming book, Sophie Hodorowicz Knab answers all of the questions that anyone might have about the use of herbs in Poland.She starts by informingus about an archaeological site that dates back to 550-400 BC. The site was discovered in the Bydgoszcz province in1931.It was determinedthat the early inhabitants grew several types of grain and used herbs in medicinal preparations andfor flavoring foods.