CNN.com - Food Central - Recipes - Compound Butter - April 25, 2000 Compound Butter

From 'Morning Glories: Breakfast, Brunch, and Light Fare from an Herb Garden'
by Sharon Kebschull Barrett (St. Martin's Press)
April 25, 2000
Web posted at: 10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 GMT)
Author Sharon Kebschull Barrett recommends compound butter for herbs with a delicate flavor. It can be used in place of plain butter on biscuits, waffles and breads or stirred into grits and omelettes.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 to 4 tablespoons minced herb leaves
Coarse salt as desired
Freshly ground black pepper as desired
With a mixer or wooden spoon, beat together the butter and 2 tablespoons of herb leaves. Taste and adjust flavor with more herb leaves and salt and pepper as desired.
Pack into a small ramekin dish to serve casually, or form into a log: Place the butter in a line down a sheet of waxed paper and use the paper as a guide to shape a log. Roll it up in the waxed paper and chill; slice into thin pats to serve.
Suggested herb combinations:
Chervil, chives and tarragon
Chives, marjoram and savory
Chervil and parsley
Basil and rosemary
Basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme
Rosemary, sage and marjoram
Savory and thyme

Herb World News Online · Research Reviews In the first clinical study of its kind, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that purple grape juice (Vitis labrusca L., Vitaceae) helps protect heart health in those affected by coronary artery disease (Stein et al., 1999). According to the study, two weeks of grape juice therapy increased vasodilation (relaxed blood vessels) while decreasing harmful oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Impaired vasodilation is thought to be one of the earliest manifestations of heart disease. Previous clinical studies on red wine have produced similar outcomes, leading some researchers to speculate that the alcohol content is the factor that protects against heart disease. The results of the current study provide support for the theory that flavonoids (including quercetin, catechins, myricetin, kaempferol) and tannic acid are the more important constituents in purple grape juice and red wine. It is also likely that white grape juice and white wine provide fewer benefits because they contain mainly juice, without the healthful components from the grape seeds and skins.

Becky's opinion-This is great news since me loves grape juice! : )

Herb World News Online · Research Reviews "The antioxidant activity of green and black tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Theaceae) in the body (in vivo) is well established, but an important question remains: Does the addition of milk to tea inhibit the bioavailability of antioxidant tea polyphenols? Not according to the results of this Dutch study, which showed that a single dose of either black or green tea with or without milk caused a significant rise in plasma antioxidant activity (Leenan et al., 2000)."
Not sure why anyone would think milk would inhibit antioxidants, but hey! now we know it doesn't, : )