Mediterranean herb demonstration at Berkshire Athenaeum

PITTSFIELD – More than 50 men and women, eager to learn about how to use Mediterranean herbs in cooking, attended an educational – as well as tasty – program in the auditorium of the Berkshire Athenaeum.

The Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum sponsored the special event.

Mary Ellen and John Warchol of Stockbridge Herbs, a farm-based herbal business in South Deerfield, kept the audience completely engaged for more than an hour and a half. Mrs. Warchol then showed everyone how to make a white bean spread, fresh garden vegetable salad with basil vinaigrette and basil butter orzo.

She distributed taste samples in small containers on trays to all attendees. There was a lot of munching and tasting going on!

She also brought two round lemon olive oil cakes that she had baked at home, cut them into pieces and shared them, to the total delight of the audience.

Delicious smells abound

The smell of garlic, butter, mint and scallions wafted through the room as she worked on the recipes.

Mrs. Warchol explained Mediterranean cuisine uses the freshest ingredients possible from farm, garden or sea. The fat used most frequently in that cuisine is olive oil.

Fish is also used frequently, too, but not much red meat.

A lot of Mediterranean cooks use citrus to brighten foods and herbs, such as mint and spearmint, profusely, she said.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Warchol are retired educators. Mr. Warchol taught English and American literature for a total of 34 years on both middle and high school levels. Mrs. Warchol worked as a guidance counselor when they met and then married.
Mr. Warchol’s late Polish grandfather bought an 80-acre farm on Stockbridge Road in South Deerfield, thus the name Stockbridge Farm. It had a nine-room farmhouse and he paid $1,500 for it, Mr. Warchol said.

Grandparents had large family

His grandparents also had 12 children, three of whom all died in one week from a flu. Three additional children also died early in life, leaving six, including Mr. Warchol’s father.

His grandfather grew asparagus on the farm. When Mr. Warchol’s father took over, he turned it into a dairy farm.

Then John Warchol inherited the family farm. He said his wife saw an ad in the newspaper asking for people willing to grow lavender. They decided to give it a shot. They dug up their front lawn and planted 600 lavender plants. He said both English and French lavender grow well.

He kept the cows for awhile but he was still teaching full-time. The time came for him to make a choice, he said. It was either the students or the cows and he chose the students. The cows had to be sold.

Mr. Warchol also added basil as a cash crop at the farm  and at one time grew up to 50 different varieties.

Engaging and humorous speaker

A totally engaging and often humorous speaker, Mr. Warchol told many different stories to the audience. He also shared all kinds of information about his growing herb experiences.

For example, he said a type of basil called Mrs. Burns lemon is “incredible.” To this day, he has no idea as to the identity of Mrs. Burns, but he loves that lemon variety.

Cinnamon and Thai lime basil are also good, he noted; the latter even deters squirrels from invading plants.

It’s extremely easy to grow basil, he said. It just needs dry soil and full sun. Globe basil grows in perfect rounds and is perfectly shaped, he said.

He’s experimented with different things throughout the years. His wife, an excellent cook, told him, “If you grow it, I’ll use it.”

Tomatoes killed by blight

This season, he grew tomatoes planted from seed. Unfortunately, all of them died when hit by blight, he said.

That will not deter him, however. Mr. Warchol said he will start growing tomatoes again next year.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Warchol encouraged the audience to support their local farms.

“They are dying out like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.

Mr. Warchol mentioned a couple of companies he uses to buy seeds. They includ Seeds from Italy of Kansas and Johnny’s in Maine.

Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum Programming Chairperson Marilyn Manning met the Warchols two years ago while attending the Deerfield Craft Fair. She said she invited them to come and speak for the Friends-sponsored activity in Pittsfield.

Friends chairperson speaks

Prior to the the evening’s event, Florian Ptak, Friends chairperson, addressed the audience and encouraged everyone to join the Friends. The volunteer organization sponsors events such as the herb lecture but also buys items needed in the library, such as the new curtain on stage in the auditorium.

“We buy things to make the library a more pleasant place for you,” Mr. Ptak said.

The Friends, started in 1938, will sponsor several events for their upcoming 75th anniversary.

Online sales of lavender products

Stockbridge Herbs sells all kinds of lavender products online such as wands, spritzers, dryer bags, dream pillows, stress balls and eye pillows.

The Warchols are members of the International Herb Association and the Herb Society of America.

They present numerous educational programs such as “Edible Flowers – A Kitchen Bouquet,” “Celebrating the Spring Herb Garden,” “No Gluten! No Problem,” “Creative Ways with Salads,” “Basil – King of Herbs” and many more.

They publish a free monthly newsletter, too. For more information, check out their website at stockbridgeherbs.com.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on September 20, 2012. Filed under Community Events,Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry