Just this week I was cooking dinner and my husband walked in the house and asked what smelled so good. I had cooked some pasta for dinner a few days or so earlier. Having been in a rush I didn’t measure or think, I just dumped the remainder of the pasta into the pot and cooked it. I ended up with a lot of pasta! We have been eating it for days! For a couple of the meals I added meat and vegetables. But one day I hadn’t defrosted any meat so I needed something. You know how I like to have something quick to cook after teaching a class whether it is Nia or Gentle Yoga. I often pair up beans and rice — as you know my favorite recipe is Red Beans and Rice. But I had never put beans with pasta, but I thought, “Why not?” So I added a bell pepper and some garbanzo beans to the pasta. When cooking my primary spices are onions and garlic, I decided since we had been eating pasta for days I needed to change up the flavor a bit. I normally save thyme for marinades and the aforementioned recipe. By “save” I don’t really mean I keep it just for those things, I really mean I don’t even think about it except when making those things. I use it when a recipe calls for it, but I don’t think to just put it in what I am cooking. So, I think what my husband was smelling was the thyme. It was a different type of yummy aroma. Of course, I wanted to learn more about thyme.
According to Wiki the Greeks thought it was a source of courage. And the Egyptians used it for embalming. Also, Wiki states it is thought that the Romans were responsible for the spread of thyme throughout Europe by using it “to purify their rooms and to ‘give an aromatic flavor to cheese and liqueurs’.”
I think of it as being “twiggy” or leaves so recently when I received some ground I was surprised. I know the leaves, especially fresh, are more flavorful, but I sometimes do not like to have the leaves in my food. So I was happy to have the ground thyme to include in my pasta dish. I just put the past in a pan to warm it up, added the garbanzo beans, cheese, and some green bell pepper. As it was warming I sprinkled on some thyme and salt. I was actually surprised at the flavor. It was really good. Whenever I learn something or get surprised I think to post about it. I mean, I didn’t know. I never thought to just put thyme in my pasta. I also never thought to put garbanzo beans with my pasta. I know many people use thyme frequently and with confidence, but I hadn’t until now!
If you consume thyme by the tablespoon you’ll receive a good dose of vitamin K and iron. Per tablespoon 30% of the Daily Value and about 9.5% of the DV respectively.
Turns out that thyme oil or at least a component of it is an antiseptic and it is used in mouthwashes. It also has antibiotic properties and helps fight fungal infections.
The leaves can be made into a tea to help with coughs and bronchitis.
The World’s Healthiest Foods’ website says there are “about sixty different varieties including French (common) thyme, lemon thyme, orange thyme and silver thyme”. Seems like I need to get to using thyme more so that I work my way through all the varieties.
How about you? Do you cook with thyme often? Did you know there were so many varieties?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 