Class: Basic Cooking with Herbs — Part 2 - Soups and Breads
Instructor: Marge Snyder  
Location: 1830 Rowley Ave., Madison
Fee: $15 Time: 6:00-9:30 p.m. Class size limited.
Learn how the simple addition of herbs, spices or blends can change the flavor of everyday dishes.  You'll make a variety of soups (plus how to supplement commercial stocks to make them taste almost homemade), and you'll make some interesting breads, including yeast, quick, biscuits, crackers, muffins, etc.
Choose either date to attend the class.

Turmeric Study Group
Carl Swanson will host a Tumeric study group on Saturday, Feb. 7, starting time to be determined. If interested, contact Carl either by phone at 608-259-1008, or e-mail at rickswansonw@aol.com for details and study sheets. 

Saturday,
9 a.m. -
11:30 a.m.

9 a.m. - Business Meeting
10 a.m. - Starting your Herb Garden from Seed and Cuttings presented by member Jane Gahlman.

Monday
6 p.m. to
8 p.m.

Gourmet Dinner: Mardi Gras theme held at Olbrich; Joanie Lawrence, Chair 274-1122; Volunteers needed. Please contact Joanie to sign up for a specific recipe and to volunteer to help. Menu/recie link available in your February News in Brief electronic newsletter.
Decorate a mask (click here for a template and instructions to make your own), or decorate a hat or come in full costume, but NONE ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND. We will present three prizes after everyone has voted by name for their favorite mask, hat, and costume.
A non-alcoholic Hurricane Punch will be provided along with tea and water. Please bring your own table service (plate, cup, soup bowl or extra cup and silverware for you and your guest since MHS is going green.
Creole cooking is based on French stews and soups and influenced by Spanish, African, North American and the Anglo-Southern groups. Cajun food is the poor cousin of Creole, and tends to be spicier and more robust then Creole. The herbs, spices, and other seasonings you will find in Cajun/Creole cooking are: bay leaves, black pepper, bitters - Angostura or Peychauds's, cayenne and other chilies, garlic, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, Tabasco, thyme and vanilla. We look forward to meeting you all at this fun event.

Dying Silk Scarves with Natural Dyes
Member Meeting 9:00–9:30 a.m.      Program 9:35 a.m. 
The March 14th program presentation will be a workshop, “Dying Silk Scarves with Natural Dyes,” by MHS member, Rosemary Stenback. The morning agenda has been modified to provide extra time for this hands-on workshop presentation. A brief business meeting will be held from 9:00–9:30 a.m., with the workshop immediately following from 9:35–11:15 am.
Participants are encouraged to arrive early so that there is time to complete the entire project.
The workshop fee is $15 and includes a silk scarf, natural dye materials, and hands-on instruction from Rosemary for the first phase of making a scarf. You are encouraged to bring a favorite herb, spice, flower, or other items to include in your personal design.
Space is limited, so please contact Rosemary at 833-3532 by March 7 to register.  

Mini Class – Step by Step: How to Design an Herb Garden
This workshop will provide step-by-step guidelines for starting a basic or specialty herb garden. We’ll cover the ground rules for success including garden design principles, plant selections, and growth habits. We’ll work together on some sample herb garden plans. Handouts and templates provided. 
$10.00 — MHS Members only
Where: Lauri Lee's House at 222 Merryturn Rd., Madison
Register: 242-1059 or laurilee210@sbcglobal.net

Tea Party: Renaissance Theme
A “Renaissance- and Medieval-themed Tea Party” will be the MHS special event on Saturday, April 18 in Olbrich’s Atrium room. Carrie Wilkey and Dawn Dennis are the event chairs, as well as the speakers, for this event. They’ll delight us with their knowledge of the use of herbs and spices used during this fascinating era in history. Participants are encouraged to wear clothing or accessories from this period to enhance the festive environment.
A team is needed to help Carrie and Dawn to plan and provide the centerpieces, set-up and cleanup. Medieval-themed recipes will be provided at the March meeting or you may bring your own favorite tea party food item. This is a “free” event, and we’re again “going green”, so please bring your own teacup, plate and silverware. A signup sheet will be available at the March meeting so that you can volunteer to help, register to attend, and pick up recipes.

April 28 or 30 - Marge’s Mini Cooking with Herbs Classes
Simple Salads, Main Dish Salads and Herbal Vinaigrettes
Due to continuing interest, I’m offering another Mini Class this spring. I have to admit I learn things at each one of these fun get-togethers. And, you folks are terrific, creative cooks. I should also point out that the classes are for all levels of cooking. New members – this is for you! It sure is a great way to meet people in a more casual setting, plus you get a meal out of it!
The price is quite reasonable—still $15.
Tuesday, April 28 – 6-9:30 p.m.  OR  Thursday, April 30 – 6-9:30 p.m.
Call Marge Snyder at 233-6219. Let’s get lots of new members!

May 16 Herb Plant Exchange / Annual Meeting / and Free Member Brunch
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16 to share and swap your early spring herb plants. Give your extra plants a good and appreciative home with another herbie by bringing your extra herb plants and seeds, as well as your magazines and books. Please label the plants, and if they are less common, please bring information to share such as their name and how to grow them.
Here’s our schedule for the morning:
**9–9:30 a.m.  – The free BRUNCH.  Continuing to go green and please bring your own table service.  We’ll provide the napkins and tea. Please be on time. 9:30–10 a.m.  – The Annual Meeting
10–11 a.m.  – The Plant Exchange
**PLEASE NOTE THE TIME OF THE BRUNCH

When you arrive, bring any herb plants, seeds, or books to the designated table (you’ll see it).  Then head for the Brunch table. We’ll start the meeting promptly at 9:30 a.m.  Remember, you don’t have to bring any plants to participate – just leave a token donation (50 cents or 75 cents, or whatever) it’s optional. Any leftover plants will be donated to the Master Gardeners Demonstration Gardens for the public to enjoy.

OLBRICH’S NEW HERB GARDEN SERVICE PROJECT
This is new this year, and our chance to give back to the community and Olbrich. We’re looking for volunteers (two at a time) to be in the Herb Garden to answer questions and hopefully engage families (especially kids) on the pleasures of herbs. You don’t have to be an expert (or an Olbrich docent – just a member of our Group) — we’ll have a Plant Cart with books and props for Show and Tell.
The times we need volunteers are:
The 1st & 3rd Sundays in June, July, and August from 1–4 p.m.
Please, please consider volunteering for this new and important community service project. This year will be a trial year and we need your help—even if it’s just an hour.  Let’s help Olbrich. Show the community how herbs have changed your life, and how they can impact everyone’s life.  Bring your kids.
Call Marge Snyder (233-6219) or e-mail me at masnyder826@charter.net

We have enough people registered to do our road trip this year, and we still have room for a few more people. We will meet at the Park ‘n Ride by the Beltline to leave at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 19. Traveling on Lamers Bus Lines, our first stop is the Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh. Everyone is asked to bring their own lunch for Friday, which we will eat when we arrive at our second stop, the Gardens of the Fox Cities in Appleton. From there we drive to the Green Bay area, where we will visit the Mayflower Nursery, and the Green Bay Botanical Gardens.

After we get settled in at St. Norbert's College, we'll go for a group dinner in De Pere/Green Bay area. The meal is included in the cost of the trip. Saturday morning's breakfast, in the cafeteria, is also included in the price of the trip, after which we'll visit the garden of Jane Cole. Jane was a well-received speaker at our general meeting last October. From Jane's place, we will travel north to Sturgeon Bay to visit the Garden Door and Peninsular Research Station Show Garden. We will have a box lunch from the Inn at Cedar Creek, in a pleasant setting to maximize our garden touring time. When we leave Sturgeon Bay, we travel along the Lake Michigan route stopping at the West of the Lake Gardens in Manitowoc. Depending on time we may make another stop before heading back to Madison.

For the ride home we plan to continue our tradition of having everyone bring an herbal treat to share on the bus. We will provide coolers to hold all of the goodies and beverages. We will send the final itinerary to those who register for the trip, so that you know out time line and what to bring with you.
We have a limit of 35 people for the trip, so be sure to register soon if you want to be included. The full or final payment of $125 is due on May 16, the day of the Herb Exchange/Brunch/Annual meeting. We hope you can join us.

Progressive Garden Party is Theme of MHS Member Garden Tour: The 2009 MHS Member Garden Tour on Sat., July 25 will be a “Progressive Garden Party” featuring herb gardens of members on Madison’s east side. We’ll have appetizers and beverages at each garden that we visit. The tour will be held from 9 a.m.-noon and we’ll visit gardens at the homes of Susan Churchill, Mary Zins, Jim and Barbara Furstenberg, and Lauri Lee. We’ll end with a potluck garden party picnic. If you would like to add your home to the tour, please contact Rosemary Stenback at 833-3532.

Summer Gourmet Dinner – Scandinavian Theme at Olbrich – On August 10th (Herbert Hoover’s birthday!) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., will be our peak-of-the-season Gourmet Dinner.  The theme is SCANDINAVIAN. Perfect for the best produce of the year.
Many of you are from Scandinavian backgrounds, so this is where we need your input.  PATTY ELLSWORTH and MICHELLE SCHUMACHER are planning a wonderful, seasonal menu that will knock-your-socks-off. The menu will be fresh and delicious, as these dinners always are, and we’d like to invite you to join us. 
Contact Patty  or Michelle  or Marge Snyder  and select a recipe to make and/or volunteer for set-up and clean-up. Think Midsummer Nights Dream—in August.  Guests are always welcome.
We’ll continue to go Green—bring your own tableservice.

Wreath-Making Workshop – Bonnie Kulke, one of our resident herbal experts, is planning to offer a wreath workshop in August, at her home in Marshall. All this is contingent on whether her crop of artemesia returns (last year’s flood ruined much of it.) If you’re interested in learning how to make wreaths for the holidays, or anytime, this is for you—beginner or experienced crafters are welcome. Call or e-mail Marge Snyder (masnyder826@charter.net)  if you’re interested.  Bonnie will arrange a time.

Herbal Jams and Jellies Workshop – Plan an entire day of herbal jelly-making. Jan Jacobson-Johnson and Carrie Wilkey will be your hosts/guides. It will be a full, all-day marathon. Bring a dish to pass for lunch. Please bring a lawn chair to enjoy some sunshine on the front porch or deck.
Many have already signed-up, but the venue has changed. It will held at Jan Jacobson-Johnson’s home in Pardeeville (on the lake.) If you have signed-up and cannot attend, please let Carrie Wilkey know   At the moment, the class is full, but we’ll take a few on a waiting list. You’ll get more information on what to bring closer to the date.

Cooking with Herbs – A Culinary Presentation
Colleen Bell and Natascha Buter from Cook With Herbs LLC will give a talk titled “Cooking with Herbs–A Culinary Presentation”. The talk will focus on how to use some less commonly known herbs such as Anise Hyssop, Chervil, Epazote, Hyacinth Bean, Lemongrass, Mitsuba, Red Shizo, and Chocolate Mint in your cooking. The talk will feature a cooking presentation using these herbs with lots of samples to share.

Native American Herbs Study Group – Many of you have indicated that the small study groups are your thing, so this summer we will have another one for you to join. This is open to beginners and experienced herb people.
After Olbrich’s Herb Garden got an overhaul with the drainage system, it set in motion an opportunity to have one of the area’s first public Rain Gardens—herbal, no less. Samantha Peckham, Olbrich’s Herbal Horticulturist, is planning to add a section close to the Herb Garden devoted to Native American Herbs.
To help implement this endeavor and learn more about Native American herbs, Samantha is planning to have a study group on the subject sometime this summer. She will let us know of the date, time, etc.
If you are interested in joining her, please call (233-6219) or e-mail Marge Snyder.  

Leaf Casting Workshop
Following our MHS business meeting at 9 a.m., we will be making a leaf casting garden project. Jane Gahlman, one of our members and who works at Scheonheit Gardens, will be our instructor. The price is $15. You must sign up ahead so we can contact you with what supplies you need to bring. E-mail Marge or Jane Gahlman if you plan to attend. These make great gifts.