Oregano? Pizza herb? Antioxidant booster.

Oregano.
Pizza Herb? Antioxidant Booster!
Fragrant oregano and honey tea during the cold Russian winter...
One of my first childhood memories.
We used to collect it during summer from meadows, buzzing with bees, drying it in a shed and preparing for a long winter.
Then I came to Australia and learned that its also an awesome addition for meat dishes, especially Mediterranean (one of my favourite dressing recipes that I learned here is below).
And here East meet West.
Oregano is a very underrated medicine herb in Western culture.
Its contains thymol, carvacrol and rosemarinic acid.
Thymol and carvacrol are two phytochemicals that considered to be an anti – bacterial and anti – fungal agents. If you are making your own soap or anti – bacterial spray, just add a few drops of oregano oil in your product.
Due to a high content of rosemarinic acid, Oregano is a champion among anti – oxidant food (its anti – oxidity activity level is more than 42 times than apple). It helps to fight with free radicals – by-products of metabolism that can potentially cause cancer. Making your own face tonic? Just drop inside a few leafs of this terrific herb to fight with the wrinkles (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1meHGwidFxNB9FPwrXBbag).
And here is the impressive list of vitamins that contained in 100 gram of Oregano (recommended daily allowance per 100 gr):

• Dietary fiber- 107%
• Folates- 69%
• Pyridoxine- 93%
• Vitamin-C- 83%
• Vitamin-A-230%
• Vitamin-K- 518%
• Iron- 550%
• Manganese-203%
• Carotene-ß- 4112 µg

With all of these goodness of essential oils and vitamins oregano is good against bronchitis and respiratory infections, osteoporosis, cold and flue, bloating, allergies, fatigue, dandruff, muscle pain; it improves your heart health and detoxifies the body.
There are quite a few ways to add oregano in your dishes:

• first and obvious choice: sprinkle your pizza;
• add to soups, meat and mushrooms dishes;
• infuse oil by adding a few sprigs of oregano in a bottle;
• salad dressings; 
• sandwiches;
• eggs and omelettes.

Oregano is one of the few herbs which is more superior in flavour once it's dry. If you buy one in the supermarket ensure that you buy organic one as you don't want to pollute your body even more instead of detoxifying it.
If you buy fresh, always look at the leafs and avoid the plant with yellow or dark – spotted foliage.
However, the best way to get your oregano is:
TO GROW IT IN YOUR BACKYARD
Its easy. Oregano is very handy.
Here are a few hints below that you may find useful.
There are two types of oregano:

• Mediterranean, relative to mint. I grow this type in my backyard.
• Mexican, relative to lemon balm. Its more pungent in flavour.

If you decide to grow both of them, plant them away from each other, or they will cross pollinate.
You can grow it from seeds (this is what I did and now oregano plants are available for sale from my place), cuttings or divisions.
If you grow them from seeds, spread seeds on top of a moist soil, they will germinate approximately in one week. Transplant after they've grown around 3- 4 cm tall.
Oregano prefer full sun or part – shade. Main grows in a part – shade and doing really very well.
Oregano grow in any soil, you don't need to water it (only a few first week, when its establish), don't need to be fertilised either. Beautiful!
You need to cut it periodically to avoid woodenness and it becoming bushy.
The best time to harvest for drying is in mid – summer, before it starts to blossom to get the best flavour. However, the best tea is made from oregano's flowers and besides, oregano flowers attract a lot of beneficial insects to the garden, including bees. That why I always leave half of my oregano bed uncut.
Oregano is a good companion to beans and broccoli's. Main is also very happy to grow together with lemon balm.
You can dry oregano or freeze fresh in an air – tied container.
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Here is the recipe of one of my favourite teas:

• one part of oregano flowers
• one part of black currant leafs
• infuse for five minutes, add a dash of honey
• enjoy!

Compress against acne:

• finely chop 2 tea spoons of oregano
• infuse with one cup of water
• apply to your skin every day

Tea against bloating:

• one tea spoon of chamomile (here is the post about this wonderful herb>>>>>>>
• one tea spoon of oregano
• infuse for five minutes
• Drink twice a day: morning and evening.​