The fresh herbs of summer — notable in bouquets of long-stemmed basil, lavish fronds of dill and green leafy cilantro — are past, and now I turn to the fragrant dried herbs offered in bulk from large jars along the rear wall of the HaBA section. It is pleasing to find a growing number of organic ones that are available on the shelves.

Dried-leaf tarragon, thyme, sage, marjoram, savory, as well as caraway and anise seed, are among varieties long grown, dried and used in more Northern climates. So I replace my dill weed and seeds with caraway seed and dried leaf marjoram for good digestion in cabbage and turnip/rutabaga recipes. Marjoram is also that special herb that combines with thyme and sage in traditional bread stuffing, well known and loved in this holiday season. Savory too is often a part of that favorite blend of herbs! One can use these herbs in wild rice, whole grain and vegetable stuffings as well, and is certain to carry the remembrance of Thanksgiving dinner whenever served.

In cooking beets, I now use tarragon and anise seed, with some ground allspice for warmth. Every autumn I buy allspice balls to use in my pepper mill for the cold days of winter. When I was in Sweden studying lactic acid fermentation of vegetables, some nutritionists from the University of Lapland in Finland were there as well, and said that allspice was important for warmth in that cold climate, having been known since the days of trade routes coming from the Orient. Pepper ground from a variety of pepper balls, on the other hand, is actually a cooling spice and ismore important in hot, tropical climates where it causes one to perspire after ingestion, which is cooling as the perspiration evaporates off the skin — not what on needs in cold weather! A number of favorite Scandinavian cookie recipes use this spice as well. Adding dried or fresh cranberries to the pot in cooking beets brings a nice northern tang to this sweet root. In cooking with onions, sage comes to the fore now — and allspice is also complementary.

Thyme replaces basil in most of my winter fare — superb with carrots and squash. I often use it in combination with the traditional stuffing blend when cooking winter squash. In a pot of barley leek or onion soup, thyme and sage are prime. I start the barley cooking for a while with bay leaf and dried rosemary, before adding the leek/onion and herbs to cook for another half and hour. Add some barley miso for extra flavor and warmth.

Savory — summer or winter — is known as “bohnen-krauter” or bean herb in Germany — and is essential, along with onion and celeriac, in the northern bean pot. Complementary to the cabbage family of vegetables too, savory was used for a spicy-hot effect before allspice came to the North.