The Herb Companion Magazine

I just got a chance to take a look at an issue of The Herb Companion.  No, it’s not the sister publication to High Times.  The Herb Companion is a magazine about cooking with, growing, and the (alleged) medicinal benefits of herbs.  If you saw my posts a few months ago about the Aerogarden, you may have gathered that I have a thing for fresh herbs.

Half of the publication seems to be comprised of ads for natural remedies and herb growing videos/kits/seeds.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing if those products target you. but I quickly flipped by them.   A good portion of the articles in the magazine were dedicated to growing medicinal herbs, and in the January 2010 issue, there was a great writeup on planning a low-water garden – their monthly “Design Challenge”/”Garden Spaces” would help those like me who are completely oblivious as to how best to optimize garden space.

The food related articles were really where my interest in The Herb Companion lay.  The January issue had a writeup on Chai Tea (a happy coincidence considering one of the latest Culinary Tips posts), herb infusions, and herb butters.  Basic techniques, yes, but the articles were clear, well written pieces with easy to follow instructions.

I enjoyed flipping through The Herb Companion.  It is very heavy on herbal healing and gardening, with a dusting of food/cooking articles, but it was nice to let my mind wander to non-food related places for a while.  Maybe I’ll even plan a ‘Exotic Herb Spa Day’ myself – might take a few more issues though.  If you’re not up for a subscription, request it at your local library.  It’s a tough time for paper publications these days, and even though a lot of information is available online, magazines provide professionally written, well researched articles, so support your oldschool pulp and paper media.