I know, I know. Rosemary, again. I wrap with it and decorate with it and stuff it in chickens. Next thing you know, I’ll be weaving it into my french braid so that when I strum the guitar in front of the fire I can toss my hair over my shoulder and stir its scent into the air. I’m just kidding. My hair’s not long enough for a french braid!
A few days ago, in my post on wrapping paper, I used a line about Greek restaurants in Astoria, New York. I knew what I wanted to write, that I have enough rosemary to supply all the restaurants in the business of making Mediterranean lamb and rosemary dishes, but I didn’t want a marathon sentence. In my first draft, I decided the word Greek flowed better than Mediterranean, even though all countries along the Mediterranean cook with both lamb and rosemary. I know, I tend to over think things. What’s more, I’m just getting started.
Once I figured out which word to use, I researched where the largest concentration of Greek restaurants are in the continental US. I wanted the sentence short and snappy, the opposite of this post. The answer, obviously, was Astoria, New York. I have no idea if it’s true, but I suspect it is. The internet never lies.
What may not be obvious is the purpose of this post. It’s only to share the interesting mythology I learned while researching rosemary, lamb, Greek restaurants, the Mediterranean, and common cooking techniques of countries that border the Mediterranean Sea all to write a post on wrapping paper. The rosemary mythology, it would appear, is quite contentious among art historians and other academics. Hold onto your pocket protectors, fellow word-nerds, your heart is about to take flight.
There are several camps. The first one holds that rosemary derives from the Latin name rosmarinus or “dew of the sea.” This refers to the hardy plant’s ability to live on only the humidity of the sea’s breeze. Fair enough. Another camp believes the bush was born from the semen of the Greek god, Ourano. Aphrodite gets a name check, too, mainly because she exits the sea draped in rosemary. First of all, eww. Second of all, I don’t know how the rosemary didn’t wash off in the water or how Aphrodite got it to drape since it stands straight like a soldier but, whatever.
The third theory involves the Virgin Mary. Historians say that during her flight into Egypt, she stopped to rest against a bush with white flowers. Since this bush was prickly, she draped along the top her blue cloak. When she got up from her rest, the flowers on the bush had turned the blue of her cloak and the plant from then on was referred to as the rose of Mary.
Pretty neat as far as useless information you will never forget, right? You can imagine which version this romantic Catholic fancies most.
GASP! I had no idea the third theory existed … I have goose bumps. How pathetic is that? Sigh.
And I’m glad I am not alone in my research craze. When I was without a computer for two weeks it wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t email, catch up on Facebook, or blog … it was the fact that I couldn’t immediately look something up that I was curious about.
What can I say? I snort words …
I’m with you, I love #3. And gag on #2! No matter which one is true, I love rosemary. Ours doesn’t flower all year long, but it stays green even in Winter, and make my garden look and smell wonderful. And of course, it’s lovely to be able to go outside and get some for a recipe. Have a lovely weekend, Jules!
We have a large population of Greeks here in Manchester, NH… so I’m most familiar with #2.
Anyway, is it wrong that I saw 30 Rock last night and when the boob hug between Liz and Tracy came up I thought of your post about describing side hugs and the Mr. came to mind. Sometimes I want to turn off my brain…
: )
B
Some of the funniest things I read anywhere are the gems which are incidental to the main point of your story. Today it’s the comment about the french braid: I have always had long hair, often worn braided, and in my youth….
Hee. Glad you liked it. I actually worked a bit on that line. ;)
Is that growing in your yard?! If I could get rosemary to grow here instead of bushes and bushes of mint then I just might try that french braid thing. As long as I did not have to strum a guitar; reminds me too much of college and sitting around singing songs instead of studying.
Yup. That’s in my side yard, next to the orange trees. I took the pictures in a way so that it would be pretty to look at. Trust me, they are overgrown mammoths. They are huge, like hedges, and not at all that attractive since my husband thinks everything should be hacked to within an inch of it’s life.
Loved this interesting meandering, especially the bit about Astoria. Where would Virginia Woolf have gone without stream of consciousness? It’s how we get to the best bits. My mum always quoted (don’t know source) ‘rosemary grows in the homes of the righteous.’
“The internet never lies.” The best line in the post, besides the ‘Ewww’ (so true). I love information like this. My Rosemary is dying, I am really bummed, who kills Rosemary? No one, it’s impossible. Talk about feeling like a loser…
Miss B, don’t worry I killed both of my beautiful rosemary bushes. It was so sad. They lived all summer in the sweltering heat on my deck with no water. I brought them in the house for the winter and they died. I’m still in mourning. I don’t know where I will ever get bushes that size in this area again. The first time was a complete fluke and I don’t anticipate getting a second chance.
Your rosemary is so, so beautiful! I don’t know about the theory about it living on just humidity. Ours is fairly hardy but it certainly starts to give up if I neglect it long enough (which is all the time, sadly). I think ours is male, because we don’t get the beautiful flowers.
It would make a beautiful wedding bouquet. ;) Maybe yours hasn’t flowered because it’s still young? My bushes must be well over 10 years old and are close to 4′ tall in some areas. They span well over 6-8′.
I am seething with jealousy. Rosemary is just about my most favorite scent/spice/plant and for all these years I have grown it in my garden, I have never once seen it bloom. I think I saw one or two tiny buds, but never like this. Wow. Looks like you are really enjoying it in abundance out there in CA –have a hunka roast lamb for me sometime!