You can learn a lot from your neighbors. Sometimes even the smallest bit of wisdom learned from a neighbor can completely revolutionize your life. My neighbors have literally saved the lives of a few of my animals in the past. But those are stories for another day. If any of my neighbors are reading this, and you know who you are, then please know that I am deeply grateful for you. In any case, back to the story at hand: My friend and neighbor, Sonny, can literally grow anything. Her freezer is full of blackberries and figs and peaches. She and her husband grow, harvest and sell the most wonderful pecans, and she never hesitates to share. On more than one occasion she has lined the back table at church with a beautiful offering of fat green cabbages and plump juicy red tomatoes. The advantages of being in a small church community in the South are, “Ya’ll take some I’ve got too many! Here’s you some plastic Wal-Mart bags to put stuff in!” I visited Sonny’s farm about eighteen months back. After I had admired her beautiful pond with the ducks happily splashing in it, and wondered at her gardening skills apparent in the healthy tomato plants, each of which was at least half the size of a mini-van, and while I was enraptured by the cutest baby peacocks in a pretty cage on her front porch, she offered me some lemongrass tea. I was immediately intrigued. It was lighter colored than traditional sweet tea, the hallmark beverage of the South. It had a very light and pleasant flavor with a slight hint of citrus. It was delicious. Now she really had my attention. She pointed to the plant she had made the tea from. It looked like a pretty ornamental grass. She cut off a few of the stalks for me to take home and the smell was completely amazing and wonderfully pungent. With the long fresh stalks and leaves in my hand, and her instructions on how to make the tea fresh on my mind, I headed back home.
When I told my dear husband about it, he promptly stopped at the local hardware store and gardening center on his way home from work the following week, and then presented me with my very own lemongrass plant. He planted it out back, and no thanks to me, (my gardening skills are improving but still way less than great) it quickly grew to some 6 feet high and almost 2 feet wide at the base. Now I can enjoy Sonny’s lemongrass tea whenever my heart desires, since she told me how to freeze sections of the leaves and stalks for use over the winter. (When the frost hits the plant its leaves turn brown and dry up. Not to worry though it will return the following spring.) So in honor of wonderful neighbors everywhere, here is how to make Sonny’s lemongrass tea:
3 Comments
Beth Snellgrove
3/30/2016 08:28:40 pm
Hey Debbie! I have really enjoyed reading your blog. I share your love of chickens and all new babbies on the farm. As caretaker for my parents (my dad has Alzheimer's/my mom has rheumatoid arthritis) I like to help them enjoy things beyond their front yard. One way I accomplish this is to share stories about all of our animals, which they really seem to enjoy. I look forward to sharing your blog with them. The photos are great. Please continue to share!
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7/10/2019 04:21:02 am
I really could use some lemon grass tea right now. I heard it can make my belly flat. I have been constipated for the longest time and I feel there's a lot of toxins in my body. I want to get rid of all of those and only lemon grass can do that. I am even thinking of keeping that plant in my yard. Unfortunately, I can only do this indoors. I do not have a lot of space in my property. If there is a way I can keep as many as possible, I would sure do it because lemon grass is the go to herb for everything bothersome. It keeps us healthy and it makes our grilled food more delicious.
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AuthorI'm Debbie. I love listening to chickens cackle and sing. I love Lindt chocolate truffles, a good cup of coffee, and a good book. Archives
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