Every Monday night my girlfriends and I get together to watch Gossip Girl and catch up on the latest gossip in our own lives. We take turns as hostess and look forward to this weekly night of much needed girl time.

We usually delve into an array of junk food items such as pizza, Pringles, cookies, etc. But every once in awhile, we think it might be more beneficial to our health if we opted for some more nutritious snacks.

Always on the lookout for healthy snack food options, I discovered this super quick and easy recipe for a Coriander Fruit Dip. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect for a girl’s night in.

Photo by Cracker and Cheese/Courtesy Flickr
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Simply combine cream cheese, yogurt and honey, along with coriander seed powder, cinnamon powder and nutmeg ground, for a sweet spiced dip. (Click here for the full recipe from Frontier Natural Products Co-op.) Serve chilled with any variation of fruit. (I chose strawberries, bananas and pineapple.)

The dip was a hit. Plus, the ingredient that gives it its flavor, coriander, is a powerful anti-bacterial agent and a good source for minerals such as potassium, calcium and iron. If I make it again (which is a strong possibility) I might try to spice up my presentation by making fruit kabobs. 

Photo by zoomar/Courtesy Flickr
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Now it’s your turn. What kind of simple and easy dishes do you recommend I whip up next time I host girl’s night in? Send me your suggestions at gdebacker@ogdenpubs.com and I might publish your recipe in an upcoming post.

Take advantage of what's in season right now, and right now, during the month of October, figs are in season.

Figs provide an array of health benefits. They are rich in antioxidants, calcium and fiber; treat constipation, indigestion and bronchitis; increase energy and sexual desire; and have anti-diabetic properties.

There are four major fig varieties: black mission, which is dark purple, brown turkey, which is seen mostly in fresh markets, kadota, which is nearly seedless and most often dried and canned, and calimyrn, which has a nut-like flavor and golden skin.

Photo by Xerones/Courtesy Flickr
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Try these herb-infused fig recipes.

• Fresh Figs with Ricotta and Apricots: Chop up fresh chervil and French tarragon, mix it with ricotta cheese and honey, and serve with figs and apricots.

• Dried Figs with Fennel Seeds: Scatter fennel seeds on a small plate, dip fig halves into them and arrange on a second plate. You can press a few toasted almonds or cashews into each fig to serve.

Also, remember that figs are highly perishable, with a shelf life of 10 to 12 days, and should be consumed immediately.

What a cute idea! The Herb Companion staff absolutely loves this adorable gardening idea: an herbie chess set. Thanks for sharing this with us, Theresa Loe (Visit her blog, Garden Fresh Living)!

This gardening chess set was seen in one of the many displays at the LA Garden Show.

Which herbs would you make the pawn? Most importantly, which would you make the Queen?

Garden Fresh Living 

Do you have any cute gardening finds? Send it to gdebacker@ogdenpubs.com and we may post it in one of our blogs!

On an evening excursion to downtown Chicago last weekend, I stumbled upon a fabulous find. The Lurie Garden at Millennium Park is a well-known tourist attraction to both Chicago residents and visitors. But shrouded in the dark of night, it felt like my own secret garden.

I drove to Chicago for a wedding that went from early Friday to late Saturday, so Sunday evening was my time to explore. After bumping along through hours of construction and traffic, I was grateful to find a tranquil place where noise and distraction couldn’t find me. Even though the street musicians were amazing and the Chicago Blues Festival was raging, I needed a silent break.

Photo by Hometown Invasion Tour/Courtesy Flickr
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I’m not sure whether I was in the “dark plate,” where the darker, lush plants were, or the “light plate,” which had more colorful vegetation. But after hours of examining GPS screens and reading street signs, the last thing I wanted to do was read a map to find out. I just wanted to explore. I didn’t even want to wrench myself from the moment long enough to take pictures, not that I could have seen much in the dark.

Photo by Zolk/Courtesy Flickr
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Next time I hope to go a little earlier before sunset so that I can not only take more photos, but also read the placards with plant listings and go for a guided tour. Lurie Garden also offers an interesting lecture series covering topics from sustainable strategies to natural lawn care and workshops that give a closer look at the perennial garden. The only vegetation I could actually see was great plumed grass and foxglove. I never thought of myself as a “city girl” because I’ve never lived in a big city, but the fact that I could identify only a few of the plants has put me to shame.

That’s another benefit urban gardens provide. Not only do they contribute to urban revitalization, decrease climate change and provide free entertainment, but they also give us the knowledge of plants that we lost when we started moving away from nature. I love Chicago’s motto, “Urbs in Horto.” It certainly was the “City in a Garden,” I just wish more cities were.

Photo by Ariel Tilson

I don’t know if I’d enjoy a walk through the Lurie Garden in the daytime as much as this first time. I want to selfishly keep my experience to myself. The moonlit stroll through Lurie Garden felt so romantic and private, that is, until the security guards chased me out to lock up for the night.

Constantly in search of the best natural face wash, I’ve recently stumbled upon a company with endless natural beauty treatment choices: derma e. The company combines vitamins, antioxidants and botanicals to create eco-friendly beauty treatments, such as its new formula Very Clear Cleansing Scrub ($13.95).

This exfoliant is a new product to join the Very Clear Skin collection, which includes the Very Clear Problem Skin Cleanser, Cleansing Scrub, Problem Skin Moisturizer and Spot Blemish Treatment. The formula combines tea tree, willow bark, rosewood, lavender, aloe and chamomile to treat blemish-prone skin.

The exfoliant, designed to remove dead skin cells in order to stimulate new cell growth for clearer skin, is gentle, relaxing and seems to work very well with my skin. My acne has stayed under control as of late and I truly believe it has something to do with this 4-ounce tube. Its major ingredient, tea tree oil, is amazing because it’s natural and powerful as a disinfectant; it most commonly treats a wide variety of skin ailments such as acne, rashes or sun burns.

(News & Tips: Swine Flu Prevention and Hand Washing Tips)

However, it is an herb that you either hate or love, in my opinion, because the smell of tea tree oil is very strong—and the derma e formula is no exception. I’m not a fan of the tea tree oil smell and have found other formulas that my olfactory system enjoy a lot more. If you absolutely can not stand its scent, you may not enjoy its powerful aroma lingering on your face.

(Ode to Tea Tree Oil)

Still, even if you’re not a fan of its smell you may want to learn to just deal with it because recent studies have shown tea tree oil to be a very powerful, natural antibacterial agent. A study in 2000 showed that tea tree oil is 5 percent more effective than commercial medication when treating scabies mite in an in vitro situation. More recently, a new study may soon prove that a tea tree oil wash can prevent Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is resistant to most commonly used antibiotics. According to Reuters Health, the study is expected to be complete in 2010 and looks promising for tea tree oil based on previous studies.

So what do you herbies think? The price is reasonable and the results are positive. Will you be trying the Very Clear Cleansing Scrub anytime soon?

According to TastingTable, black garlic is very trendy with foodies right now. It's a new variety of garlic that has recently hit the market. When I first saw an image of black garlic I thought it looked like something I had baked, meaning I had messed up yet another meal by leaving my dish on the stove for a little too long. In reality, it is just garlic that has been fermented with nothing special added to it.

Black garlic develops its dark color, soft texture and sweet flavor while it ferments for about a month. Not only is it tasty, it is healthy—it is said to help prevent cancer and it is packed with twice the amount of antioxidants as raw garlic!

To incorporate black garlic into your next entrée, visit www.blackgarlic.com for recipes such as Black Garlic & Tomato Sauce, Mushroom & Black Garlic Risotto and Oven Baked Beef with Black Garlic.

www.gobizkorea.com

Discover magazine (one of my non-Herb Companion faves) features a magnified (by a scanning electron microscope) image of a strawberry (Fragaria spp.). Check it out; it's really cool. 

The make-up of the fruit is clearly visible, with the seeds looking like boulders in a red sea. Plus, they give a great tip for teeth whitening, which works because of the fruit's malic acid. (Mix crushed strawberries with baking soda.)