I’ve been doing a little seasonal formulating for the amazing Acadia Herbals (our local herbal store in downtown Northampton) this season.
☀️ ❄️ You'll find the “Bright Winter Light” tea blend, a long-time favorite of mine perfect for a dark cold winter afternoon combining the anti depressant properties of Citrus bergamia (bergamot) with, Pink Roses, st Joan's Wort and Goldenrod- capturing the light and essence of the Spring, Summer and Fall with a little caffeine boost offered by the “best” most fragrant Earl Grey Tea i have yet to try. This tea is meant to be sipped seated by the fire reading a book or perusing seed catalogs or having a captivating conversation, so that the flavors and essence of the herbs that fully integrate into your body.
🌎 🌲 🎄 🌳 To help you stay connected, clear and grounded through-out the season we have blended a bio-regional conifer “Forest Bathing” bath blend. Soak in it or perform a new moon 🌚 salt scrub and take in the forest smells of local Balsam, Juniper, Cedar needles with a little Black Pepper and Orange 🍊 peel blended into a base of sea salt and epsom salts. Best taken after a long walk in the snowy woods! This is based of the Japanese Art of Shinrin-yoku which basically involves the medicine of simply being in the forest or in our case bring the forest to your bath tub!
Go to a Forest. Walk slowly. Breathe. Open all your senses.
And finally an herbal powder based on the traditional balancing Ayurvedic "Golden Milk", to send you off to dream land feeling nourished and fulfilled after a long productive winters day ”Golden 🌅 Sunset Powder” (because it looks like a sunset) featuring Ashwagandha, Turmeric, Black pepper, Ginger, Sweet Cinnamon and Cardamom mix with raw milk or your fav milk alternative (mylk) and heat gently- especially good with a small amount of homemade tulsi honey!
Visit Acadia Herbals in Downtown Northampton to find these blend and so much more!
Are we still engaged? Still paying attention? Are we feeling burnt out? How's everyones holding up? How are the self care practices coming along. Having a strong self-care tool box helps us stay strong in the face of overwhelm, stress, anxiety, continued disappointment. Good self care practices also help us stay resilient and strong as we continue to participate in the resistance. May is Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) season, and we at Blazing Star Herbal School will begin a 4-6 week of daily nettle infusion, this should nourish and strengthen your adrenals and help increase your vital energy
Nettle as food, Nettle as Medicine
Challenge 1:
30 days of Nettle Leaf (Urtica Dioica) infusion!
Easy enough...
Use 1oz (30g) (2 handfuls) of dried plant matter (nettle in this case) in a quart jar. Fill the jar to the top with boiling water, put the lid on and let it steep for a minimum of four hours at room temperature. (Overnight is appropriate). When ready strain and squeeze out. Compost the herb. Drink the liquid, 2 cups daily. Drink at either room temperature iced or heated. Keep refrigerated. NB once prepared the infusion lasts only 2 days.
Prepare infusions in quart canning jar with a tight lid to prevent the volatile essences and vitamins from escaping. Also these jars are convenient to carry around with you.
Long steeping allow for the extraction of chlorophyll, vitamins and minerals. Steeping in a closed jar prevents the water soluble vitamins from escaping in the steam.
Why Nettle??
in summary:
”Nettle strengthens and support the whole body”- David Hoffman.
- Nettle is one of the most nutrient rich wild foods
- Rebuilds adrenal glands (which excessice coffee drinkers/worry-worts/ people feeling like their basic rights are one at a time being taken away over stress) As a general rule drink at least 1 cup more herbal infusion than coffee!! Builds stamina and gosh knows the fight will be going on for a long time!
-Strengthens the kidneys In Chinese medicine, the Kidney (organ-meridian system) is considered the foundation for good health and vitality
-Mineral/Vitamin Rich, Including Vit. K an anti Hemorrhage ingredient Therefore Nettle is useful for people with anemia or mal-nutrition and in Strengthening to the body after surgery/illness/ or periods of extreme stress.
- Helps eliminate fatigue and exhaustion. A great herbal ally for people with CFS and other compromised immunity diseases. An ally in many chronic conditions include allergies and nerve inflammations (sciatica) Improves body's resistance to pollens, molds, and environmental pollutants
- Good for adults or children who have over-used antibiotics and tend to get sick easily.
- Anti-rheumatic (Topically, fresh nettles have been used for arthritis as the stinging part brings blood to the affected area (somethinG known as a rubefacient), thereby increasing circulation and often relieving pain)
- Nettle is a prime remedy for treating fatigue and blood sugar balancing. Nettle can also help to regulate body metabolism and has been used for the entire endocrine system, from balancing the thyroid, strengthening adrenal function and restoring the reproductive organs. It works on blood sugar levels both directly and also indirectly as, by energizing us and increasing vitality, and reduces cravings.
- Helps Hair and skin nourisher
Nettles message to us for these time : To be aware/conscious/intentional
:: A few Fun Recipes::
Green Smoothie with Wild Dandelion, Nettle and Pineapple
Calories: 172 | Fat: 1 g | Protein: 5 g | Sodium: 34 mg | Fiber: 2 g
Mix together add to your favorile smoothie recipe and and store in the freezer between uses.
Feel free to let us know you are joining the challenge. At the end of the month let us know if you have experienced and health changes. At the end of 12 months of challenges I will put all monthly participants name in a hat and draw a prize! So the more months you participate in the better your chance of winning. Prize yet to be decided!
Oh the wise words of Mary Oliver. I know Fall has arrived when I am making big pots of soup and mixing herbs into new blends of herbal chai's, (hoping someone will stop by for a cup) dreaming about spending time on the couch reading Mary Oliver, quilting, planning next seasons garden and reminiscing about the fleeting days of summer!, like its been months since we saw the sun! I feel like I am chasing the last few Summer rays...still hoping to get to the coast one more time, maybe in early November.
We have been talking a lot about Gratitude over on the Blazing Star Herbal School Facebook Page- feel free to join in the conversation with your favorite Gratitude quote and activities. Gratitude is an emotion of connectedness, which reminds us we are part of a larger universe with all living things. It opens the heart and activates positive emotion centers in the brain. Regular practice of gratitude can change the way our brain neurons fire into more positive automatic patterns. The positive emotions we evoke can soothe distress and broaden our thinking patterns so we develop a larger and more expansive view of our lives. I have been doing a walking meditation daily focussing on being thankful. I have also been thinking a lot about creating a category of "Herbs of Gratitude" so far I have Tulsi, Cacao and Vanilla. What herbs would you put in that category. What would qualify an herb to be an herb of Gratitude? I would love to hear your opinion here or on FB.
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The 2012 Apprentices made vegetable based soap this month with out guest teacher Desiree Cohen. Soon there will be a post on the Apprentice blog with lots of pictures. Registrations are coming in for both the Beginner (tuesdays) and the Advanced Apprenticeship (thursdays) for 2013
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I am excited about this months "Harvest Moon Special" as it centers around one of my very favorite element of herbalism which is medicine making! and allows for much creativity! which is why I call it
(click on title and scrol down for more information)
It is the 4th offering in the DIY series, Do-it-Yourself Herbalism Series ...practical, thrifty and fun! It has been called "an Art Course for the Herbal Student", and a course "that will lubricate your senses" Why do I love creative medicine making so much? It adds opportunity to create beauty, nourishment and richness to an ordinary day, more blessings to be thankful for...and as your olfactory senses are stimulated it helps the brain register more happiness! This course is for everyone serious students of herbal medicine, homesteaders, urban dwellers, ...anyone that wants add a little colour and creativity to their kicthen!
This course covers:
Water Based Preparations (infusions (hot/cold), decoctions, medicinal baths, compresses,
formentations, mouthwashes, inhalants)
- Alcohol based preparations (tinctures; maceration,percolation & spagyric methods)
- Oil Based Preparations: Oils, Liniments, Salves, Cremes
- Acetates, Glycerites. powdered herbs and honeys
- Understanding basic interactions of plant phytochemicals to make better medicine
- Recognizing and assessing the quality of dried herbs
- Choosing the appropriate form of the remedy
- The importance of effective record keeping
- Terminology and definitions
- Equipment needed for creating herbal preparations
- Principles of Ethical Harvesting
- Basic Herbal First Aid remedies
- Intro to Food as Medicine
- Herbal Nourishment
- Grow (your own) Medicine!
here is a sample of creative, tasty and nourishing made my apprentice Shannon Toye for my birthday it's a cheesecake with a goldenrod, mango syrup glaze! Yum!
Learning to create your herbal medicine at home is both empowering and eye-opening. Herbs are magical but preparing and using them doesn't have to be mystical. Click on the link below to take advantage of this monthly special and begin this 12 module Harvest Moon Journey!
BUY NOW for just $175
I will give 10 spots away at this lowered price after that the price returns to $250 so act fast! to take advantage of this deal!!
The recipe I have to offer you this week one of my favorite nourishing seasonal recipes.
Favorite Fall Time Chai
Roasted Dandelion Root
Burdock Root
Chaga
Cocoa Husks
Orange Peel
Cinnamon
After decocting the herbs I steam a little milk (you can use coconut milk though I use raw milk) add a hint of Vanilla Essence and Maple Syrup and add a little to your chai. Sometimes I prefer to use a little Tulsi honey instead of the Vanilla and Maple Syrup for an alternative flavor! Yum!
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So while you enjoy your Chai, here is a little Mary Oliver to watch and listen to. If you have never listened to her read her poems you are in for a treat, I frequently start the day listening to her read a poem "Many Miles" is my favorite Collection but " At Blackwater Pond" is also fabulous.
Mugwort Soba! Jade Green pasta who can resist it! It is a treat! and today we topped it with another treat a green cashew creamy sauce.
2 Cups of cashews (soaked over night)
2 Cups of Cashew soaking water
2 limes (juice)
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 cup of basil leaves
1-2 cups of Dandelion greens
1 cup of Nettle Greens
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
A little seasalt
All together in the blender!
Put a generous helping over a generous helping of mugwort soba. (Parmesan optional) and a side of maple ginger glazed kale to balance out the greens! YUM!
- 1-2 cups of mushrooms ( we used shitake, maitake, oyster)
- 1 cup wild greens (we used dandelion)
- 2 cups parboiled fiddleheads, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch of scallions
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 or more ounces butter
- 18 ounces arborio rice
- 1 glass white wine
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese
1) In a heavy bottomed pot, saute the ramps, mushrooms, greens, bacon and fiddleheads in the oil and butter for a few minutes
2) Add the rice and heat for a minute or so stirring gently to prevent burning. Add the wine and let it evaporate.
3. Cup by cup add the warmed stock and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Keep risotto at a gentle simmer throughout the cooking. As the stock is absorbed gradually add more. Continue to add the stock as required until the rice is cooked. The risotto should be runny but not liquidy. Toward the end of this process still in the parmesan!
Enjoy! No photos it was eaten to fast.
The remaining ramps and dandelion greens were made into pesto with some basils, lemon juice and cashews! Now to get over to Whole Foods to buy some Mugwort Pasta!
I am a huge fan of Seaweed!. It provides us with unbeatable nourishment, medicine, beauty and an opportunity feel so alive spending time at the ocean. My love for seaweed is not subtle for I have it tattooed all the way down my right arm! When I was at Pats Tats, in Kingston NY (BTW- she is the best tattoo artist) getting my seaweed arm she said that it is the medicine of the tattoo fan too as it helps eliminate heavy metals from the body and as much some of us herbalists love permanent body art we all know that the inks are not so great for us.
Gathering seaweed is both meditative and adventurous work that immerses one into the water element according to the cycle of the tides followed by long hours of drying and sorting under the baking sun. Drying seaweed rather than delivering fresh is much more economical because it can be done in bulk quantities and it stores well for many years. Seaweed can be easily soaked, re-hydrating the plant into a highly nutritious food- enjoy toasted as well.
When you integrate seaweed into your kitchen you are greatly enriching our food culture. Seaweed is a balancing food, and one that can be added to a daring or simple menu.
Here are some of the wide variety of locally gathered wild edible seaweeds that Kacie offers. She has both Pacific and Atlantic seaweed in stock.
Below you can read a short description of each seaweed.
Bull Whip Kelp- bright green and flaky. Salty flavor with a bit of sweet from the spore patches. Great ground into a furikake mixture with sesame seeds to shake on rice, eggs, popcorn and more.
Kombu- Sweet, smoky flavor. Best added to a pot of beans to tenderize, flavor and aid digestion. Highest in iodine. Detoxifying as a broth for miso soup.
Sea Palm- Toast for a crispy snack- toss with roasted almonds or cashews. Soak to reconstitute and use as a noodle. Complimentary to mushroom dishes. Unique texture.
Wakame- Soak to reconstitute. Taste reminiscent to chicken bouillon. Tasty in soups and with stir fried or steamed veggies especially carrots. High in vitamin C and calcium.
Nori- Strong ocean flavor. Best toasted or deep fried and eaten like a chip or crumbled into a variety of dishes. High in protein.
Dulse- Beautiful deep red hue. Versatile. Needs minimal cooking, just add to sautéed greens and soups just at the end of cooking. Fry and eat like chip.
Kacie will be sending one reader 2 oz packet of her Soup Seaweed Mix which is a flaked combination including atlantic kelp, kombu and wakame! All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite seaweed recipe! and don't forget to wander over to She Sells Seaweed and support the amazing work that Kacie is doing harvesting amazing seaweed for us! We will choose a winner on April's New Moon Sat April 21st 2012.
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And the winner is #4 Nathalie Lewis!! Congratulations you will be sent a bag of soup mix seaweed! from She Sells Seaweed!
A wonderfully spicy sauce to use on cooked vegetables, grains, pasta & entrees. Especially decongesting for colds and scratchy throats.
10-13 cloves Organic Garlic
1/2 cup Sesame Butter or Tahini
1 inch piece Ginger Root, grated
4 tsp Dark Toasted Sesame Oil
1/4 cup Tamari or Shoyu Soy Sauce
Juice of 1 Organic Lemon (& grated peel)
Honey (to taste) or Maple Syrup
Water (to thin to gravy consistency)
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender. (It will be thick.) Dilute with water to gravy consistency. Add honey to taste, to mellow flavors.
Herbal Gomasio:
1 tablespoon 14 mushroom powder
1 talespoon ground Kelp/Dulse Powder
1 tablespoon hemp seed
1 tablespoon Milk Thistle Seed (ground)
1/2 tablepoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon course pink Himalayan Salt
1 cup sesame seeds.
Gently roast the Sesame Seeds. Once cooled grind the sesame seeds. Combine all ingredients and store in the refrigerator. Gomashio is used mostly in Japan and Korea. Traditionally, it is made using a suribachi, a Japanese grooved ceramic mortar with a wooden. Nutritious and super tasty what more can you ask for!
If interested in buying a Health Promoting Gift Certficateplease scroll down and read the post below. It is not too late and can be emailed directly to the recipient. And remember to comeback on friday for the Giveaway!
Add Astragalus, Kombu and 14 Mushroom blend to water, bring to boil. Simmer for 2 hours. Remove from heat and let stand overnight. Remove Astragalus. Add rice bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until done approx 1 hour. In a castiron pan with a little olive oil gently roast the pine nuts and chopped up garlic for about 5vmins over medium heat. Mix with the rice and enjoy.
Use rice as a base for meals.
Roasted Roots:
- Pre heat oven to 425 degrees
Ingredients:
Potatoes (several kinds)
Sweet Potatoes and Yams
Beets
Carrots
Parsnips
Jeruselam Artichokes
Garlic (peeled)
High Mineral Chicken Broth (see day 1 of Holiday Recipes)
Olive Oil
Tamari (we are in love with the miso from South River Miso) Lucky for us they are just down the street!
Juice of 1 Lemon
Prepare oven tray with Olive Oil, Tamari and Lemon Juice
Fill an oven tray with cut up veggies.
Cover with 1/2-1 cup Chicken Stock
Bake until ready
Enjoy!
All herbs can be purchased at Mountain Rose Herbs. They provide great quality organic herbs!
If interested in buying a Health Promoting Gift Certficateplease scroll down and read the post below. It is not too late and can be emailed directly to the recipient. And remember to comeback on friday for the Giveaway!
4 cups water 5 slices fresh ginger peeled (if using young ginger there is no need to peel) 2 teaspoons of green tea Our favorites are Ancient Forest and Pu'erh Tea(you could also use 2 green tea teabags)
1 tablespoon of freshly juiced lemon juice 2 tablespoons of herbal honey (I like to use Sage but you could really use any herbal honey. Thyme for a deeper respiratory condition, Tulsi for overall sweetness, Goldenrod if allergies are bothering)
Bring the water and ginger to a boil, and lower heat to a simmer for 15 mins. Remove from heat add the green tea and let steep for 10 more mins. Strain. Stir in the lemon juice and herbal honey. You can drink it warm or chill for an hour. For added vitamin C and sweetness once chilled you could add the juice of 1 orange.
If battling a cold I usually add my supportive tinctures to this....echinacea, or monarda and sip/drink it though out the day as needed.
Here us another recipe for a beverage that we drink often this time of year.
Hot Blackcurrant Cider with Ginger Brandy
4-6 cups Apple Cider 1 cup Fresh/Frozen Blackcurrants Ginger Brandy (to taste)
Heat Cider gently. Juice frozen blackcurrants. If you do not have a juicer a blender works though I would add a little cider. Depending on whether you like "pulp" you may need to strain the juice. Add to heated cider. I keep the teapot on the woodstove to keep it warm through out the day. Add the Ginger brandy to taste.
Our Elderberry Delight syrup is often added to this brew!
If interested in buying a Health Promoting Gift Certficateplease scroll down and read the post below. It is not too late and can be emailed directly to the recipient. And remember to comeback on friday for the Giveaway!
PS It just occurred to me that I should post an Sage Hone Recipe just incase....
Medicinal Honeys
Sage
-1 glass jar with lid
- enough raw, preferably local, honey to fill the jar
- enough fresh Sage to fill the jar
a chopstick or stick
Fill the jar, more or less, with roughly chopped Sage leaves. Then, drench the plants with slightly warmed (enough to be pourable) honey until almost full. Stir with stick or chopstick until thoroughly mixed. Then poke at the mixture to release any remaining air bubbles. Top off with more honey.
Let sit for a few weeks or so until the honey takes on the taste and fragrance of the herb. If you live in a very humid, moldy climate you may want to either keep the jar in the fridge or add some (as you like, any amount will help preserve it) brandy or rum to the mix.
The sage honey is fabulous as a Winter remedy, take a tablespoon in a cup or hot water, add some lemon juice, ginger and echinacea tincture and drink freely at the first onset of cold or cough.
For our first recipe this week I will share a favorite soup recipe in our house "CREAM OF LEEK WITH LEMONBALM"
But first the immune building broth that recipe that many of our recipes begin with
HIGH MINERAL CHICKEN BROTH
Ingredients:
Several pieces of Organic Chicken (I used backs, necks and or bones)
A couple of unpeeled white onions (coarsely chopped)
3-5 Carrots cut into thirds or so
1-2 parnips cut into thirds or so
2 sweet potatoes with skins quartered
A couple of celery stalks
5-6 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
4 unpeeled cloves of garlic
Several dried Astragalus roots
A few oz of shitakee and maitakii mushrooms (dried or fresh)
1-2 Strips of Kombu (seaweed)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Rinse all the veggies. In a stockpot combine all ingredients except for the salt. Fill pot with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and skim off the scum and the fat that has risen to the surface. Lower to an active simmer and cook for 2-3 hours. Add the salt. Strain through a cleese cloth. Bring to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
CREAM OF LEEK WITH LEMONBALM
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 leeks (plus one for garnish if desired)
- A large handful of Lemon Balm
- Chicken stock - about 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) per serving (SEE RECIPE ABOVE FOR HIGH MINERAL CHICKEN BROTH)
- 1 large potato, quartered
- Salt and pepper
- A squeeze of lemon juice + some grated zest
- Raw Heavy cream
- A pinch of ground ginger
Chop, slice or dice the onions and leeks. Put a thin layer of butter pan on your stovetop. Add the onions/leeks to your pan and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook the onions/leeks over low heat on your stovetop. Stir the onions occasionally with your spatula . Place the lid back on the pan after you finish stirring. Continue to cook the onions over low heat until they are translucent and have a soft texture, which will indicate that the onions are done.
Add the chopped lemon balm; cover and let cook for a few minutes over very low heat so that the ingredients release their juices. Add the chicken stock and the quartered potato to the first mixture; let simmer over medium heat until the potato is cooked. Purée the soup in the blender on the "liquefy" setting; Season with salt and pepper; add some lemon juice and a little chopped lemon balm. Whip the cream; add a pinch of powdered ginger and some thin strips of lemon zest which has been blanched in boiling water for a few seconds. Ladle the soup into serving bowls; garnish with a spoonful of whipped cream and a few leek rounds.
If you would like you can repeat step one for the extra leek for the garnish.
Enjoy on a cold Winters night. The lemony flavor makes me think of it around Solstice.
If interested in buying a Health Promoting Gift Certficate please scroll down and read the post below. It is not too late and can be emailed directly to the recipient. And remember to comeback on friday for the Giveaway!
