Poet's Marigold or Calendula

The Calendula has been named 2008 Herb of the Year. My sweet little Granny gave me an envelope containing nearly a tablespoon of seeds from her garden; that was three summers ago. Today, I have so many of these pretty pot marigolds, I had to pull them up to make room for the rainbow carrots and pole beans I wanted to plant. If any of you would like some calendula seed from my garden to plant in yours, leave a comment and I will save and send some.

Calendula, when made into a cream has been used on the skin to treat wounds, infections, burns, bee stings, sunburn, and even mastitis. I made some of this cream myself using calendula oil bought from the health food store.

One of my favorite and easiest ways to use calendula is in our summer dinner salads. By just pulling the petals from off the head and sprinkling them on top of what would have been a plain old salad we now have something a little more festive and healthful. There are many wonderful was to use this beautiful little flower and I encourage you to check out The Herb Companion for a few more ideas and recipes. The following recipe comes from my March 2008 copy of The Herb Companion.

Calendula Cornmeal Crisps:
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup dried or fresh calendula petals
1 cup pecans
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
scant 1/2 tsp nutmeg
12 tbsp softened butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

In a food processor, combine sugar and calendula; pulse until calendula starts to break down into smaller pieces. Transfer calendula sugar to a shallow bowl.

Pulse (or chop with a knife) pecans and cranberries until coarsely chopped; transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Toss to mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure ¾ cup of the calendula sugar and put it in food processor with butter. Process until creamy and blended, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape sides if necessary. Add egg and pulse for about 1 minute; add vanilla and pulse to blend. Add dry ingredients and process until just blended; do not over mix.

Transfer dough to bowl with nuts and fruit; stir to distribute nuts and fruit evenly. Using a spoon or your fingers, scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball about 1 inch in diameter or slightly bigger. Roll balls in remaining calendula sugar and place on baking sheets, spacing balls about 2 inches apart.

Using a flat-bottomed glass, gently press balls to about ¼-inch thickness. (Dip bottom of glass into sugar occasionally to prevent sticking.)

Bake cookies about 14 minutes, until their edges are lightly browned. If baking two sheets at once, switch places halfway through baking time.

Remove cookies from sheets immediately and cool on racks. (If the cookies cool on the pans, they will harden and break when removed.) Store in a tightly covered tin.