In the French Revolutionary Calendar today is the Day of Chicory. 10 facts about chicory:
The scientific name for chicory is Cichorium intybus. It’s a woody, perennial herbaceous plant with bright Blue Flowers.
Common chicory is also known as blue daisy, blue dandelion, blue sailors, blue weed, bunk, coffeeweed, cornflower, hendibeh, horseweed, ragged sailors, succory, wild bachelor's buttons, and wild endive.
It’s related to the Dandelion and common salad greens, such as endive.
The entire plant is edible. The leaves can be used in salads or as a substitute for Spinach. The leaves have a bitter taste.
People have been eating chicory since ancient Egypt. In ancient Rome, a dish called puntarelle was made with chicory sprouts.
The roots have many uses, too. They have been used as food for Horses, a substitute for oats.
Another use is as a substitute for Coffee. Roasting and grinding the roots produces a caffeine free drink which is dark and tastes rather like coffee. Its use as an alternative to coffee probably started in the time of Frederick the Great, who banned the import of coffee so that people would drink German beer instead. People wanted coffee, though, and experimented with various plants until they found chicory worked best. In the 19th century, France found itself in a similar situation when Napoleon Bonaparte blocked foreign imports to boost local industries, which is sometimes referred to as the Continental Blockade. They, too, found that chicory was an acceptable substitute. It was also used during the American Civil War in Louisiana, and remains popular in New Orleans.
Some brewers use roasted chicory to add flavour to stouts, and in Belgium they make a Beer called witloofbier, where chicory is added to strong ales to augment the hops. Witloof is the Dutch word for chicory.
Chicory is native to western Asia, North Africa, and Europe. It is often found as a wild plant on roadsides in Europe. It prefers limestone soils, but tolerates an array of conditions and has been classified as a drought tolerant plant.
Chicory is mentioned in ancient Chinese texts about silk production. These recommend that people who look after the Silkworms should not eat or even touch it.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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