In reading Roz Cummings retrospective food column today had an elated epiphany about thyme. And I quote from Roz:
Most transcendent moment in an organic gardenHA! A tincture of thyme! I'm familiar with the expression, having heard it before, probably from my grandparents. I had no idea - and apparently neither did she!
When I visited Sooke Harbour House, on Vancouver Island last spring, I took a tour of the organic garden with Nichka Phillips. While showing me the herbs, she mentioned that the French use thyme in a tincture to treat respiratory ailments. I suddenly remembered the expression that I heard my father use all my life whenever the topic of healing came up -- "Nothing heals as well as a tincture of time." Might he really have been saying "a tincture of thyme"? It made me feel connected to him, even though he died a few years ago. The sense of feeling connected to someone I loved while standing in an aromatic garden in a beautiful place was completely lovely.
(if you are interested, her full article is here.)
