Hanging in there!

While Queen Marigold is languishing at a few publishers that I've researched and sent it off to, I am mindful of the apparent lottery of submitting a manuscript in the hope someone will love it enough to publish it.   I know that I need to be pro-active and continue to believe in my work enough to keep pushing it.   I also want to protect it; somewhat like sending off a child into the big wide world.  Will someone understand it, appreciate it, and believe in it enough to put in the hard yards and nurture it through to maturity and completion?  Of course I'm aware there are myriads of talented writers out there with IMPORTANT things to say, but the passion for this book is derived from a belief that children's imagination is precious and deserves to be fostered. 
I am encouraged by writers such as C.S.Lewis who believed in the concept of imaginative writing enough to write stories of pure imagination for children to engage with - the idea of men such as Lewis and Tolkien joining with other writers to discuss the children's stories they were writing fills me with encouragement as even as intellectuals in an era when children were still largely 'seen and not heard', they believed in the joys of introducing children to imaginative fantasy.  
I believe a beautiful way of doing this is to encourage children to explore the natural world in a safe manner ... and what better way than introducing them to a fantasy world of edible herb characters while at the same time being encouraged to try simple recipes using fresh food all the family can enjoy.   Not only are children engaging in imagination and play, they are also being empowered to build healthy skills that will stay with them for a life-time. 
So with that in mind here is a sample chapter from Queen Marigold featuring one of her royal subjects in the herb garden, Royal Rosemary ... enjoy! (Each of the herb characters in the stories is referred to as a 'herbling')

  Royal Rosemary’s Story

Royal Rosemary had thin, dark green leaves with a strong aroma and flavour.  They were used in the family’s favourite baked vegetables and puddings. 

Royal Rosemary loved to learn new names and say them out loud.   The only name he preferred not to remember was his own.  He thought Royal was a silly name, so he asked everyone to call him Roy.

Today Roy Rosemary was having fun saying all the new herbling names out loud.   This was his VERY favourite thing to do.  Then the worst possible thing happened.  Roy Rosemary forgot a name!  He tried to think, but he just couldn’t remember.  Oh, dear!

He felt so sad, and feeling sad made it even harder to remember new names.

Roy Rosemary heaved a big sigh and said, “I’ll have to wait and see if I can remember Lottie Lemon Balm’s name.”  The other herblings nearby chuckled.  Roy didn’t think there was anything to laugh at!  Not at all!

Then Roy realised he had just said the name he had forgotten!   Roy Rosemary started to chuckle along with his friends.  Then he remembered why he had forgotten her name. 

He had heard Lottie Lemon Balm saying how sad she felt.  Roy Rosemary knew he had to help her.  If she was sad, then he would be sad and forget her name again.  Oh dear!

He would ask Mrs Mint to help.  Mrs Mint was Lottie Lemon Balm’s aunt and was always so friendly and kind.  Together, he and Mrs Mint tried to think of clever ways to make Lottie Lemon Balm happy.  But they couldn’t think of anything at all.  The blue wren was no help either.  He had darted away on some secret mission.

Then Roy Rosemary had an idea!  Lottie Lemon Balm was new so perhaps she hadn’t got to meet everyone yet.  Maybe she would feel better if he introduced her to all the other herblings in the herb garden...oops! Herbdom (Sshhh! don’t upset Queen Marigold).  

Now Roy felt a little better.  He must remember to tell Lottie Lemon Balm about his idea!  That should cheer her up!  And Roy Rosemary happily began to say all the new names out loud again, starting with Lottie Lemon Balm’s name.  It was his VERY favourite thing to do. 

Later that day, the little girl who lived in the house-with-the-big-red-front-door came along the Herbway.  She picked Roy Rosemary’s thin dark green leaves to flavour one of the family’s favourite meals; Rosemary Baked Sweet Potato followed by Apple Crumble with Rosemary.   What a wonderful day Roy Rosemary was having.

Perhaps soon you might like to help a grownup make one of these dishes.  They might become family favourites too.  Just like the grownups and the little girl who lived in the house-with-the-big-red-front-door.

ROSEMARY BAKED SWEET POTATO (Serves 4-6)

You will need:

1 chopping board

1 large chopping knife

1 pastry brush

1 teaspoon

1 kitchen scrubbing brush

1 bowl

Clean cloth

1 baking tray lined with baking paper

1 oven

Oven mitts

1 skewer

Yummy ingredients:

1 small bunch of rosemary

1 or 2 kumara sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

¼ cup of olive oil

Now the fun starts:

Set the oven temperature to 220 degrees Celsius

Rinse sweet potatoes in clean water and scrub with the kitchen scrubbing brush

Pat the sweet potato dry with the paper towel or clean cloth

Rinse the rosemary in clean water and pat dry with the paper towel or clean cloth

Strip the rosemary leaves off their stalks using your thumb and forefinger

Keep the leaves and discard the stalks

Cut the sweet potato into fat chunks using the chopping board and large chopping knife

Place the sweet potato chunks on paper lined baking tray

Brush the potato chunks all over with the pastry brush dipped in olive oil 

Put the rosemary leaves, cumin and turmeric into the bowl and mix together

Sprinkle the rosemary, cumin and turmeric mix all over the sweet potato chunks

Place sweet potato chunks into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until soft in the middle and caramelised on the outside

Remove from the oven and let cool a little before eating

Delicious as a snack, or served with steamed green peas or Queen Marigold’s Sunshine Salad (keep reading to find this recipe) ...  Scrumptious!!!