I just saw this in my Instagram feed so wanted to pass it along since I know several artistic people through this blog who create art around botanical themes.
Share your art through the Journal of American Herbalist Guild!
Unlike in Great Britain and other countries, in the U.S., herbalism is not regulated at the state nor federal levels, therefore it is a self-regulated industry. The American Herbalist Guild serves that function though really only for clinical style herbalists. It’s a great resource for many reasons and checking out their site is worth it for all the herbal info available such as educational resources, webinars, symposiums, etc.
Their journal is accepting both articles and art submissions right now so if you have something you’d like to share, take a look and see if it is a good fit for you.
Hello! If you have free time over the holidays, you might want to check out an episode or two (or nine) of Nick Polizzi’s series Remedy. I’ve shared it here before and seen most of the episodes myself at this point and think it worthwhile sharing every time it comes up as free. Here are the episodes to choose from:
I like the information in these and how it is presented by a variety of different people in multiple fields. For the most part, the people interviewed are reasonable and offer sound advice (there are a couple of exceptions) and they are actual practicing in their fields today so if you want to actually see someone, you can look them up and possibly book with them. The information is presented in a way that shows how herbs and other natural products and behaviors can support your optimal health, along with the modern medical system which is important and necessary. There are a few exceptions, as I said, but whatever feels reasonable and resonates for you, that’s up to you because we are all responsible for ourselves and accountable for our health, our behaviors, our judgement calls, and our patterns.
Watch if you like, or don’t, I’m not affiliated, just sharing because my mission regarding herbs is not only connection, but also that people take their health and well-being into their own hands so they are more confident and capable in all aspects of their lives. We all still need doctors and other health professionals in our lives, but if we can all move towards homeostasis bit by bit on our own, those interventions will be fewer and less invasive in the long term.
The other day I was at my neighborhood grocery store, a big chain that caters to every walk of life imaginable and carries everything from shoes to light bulbs to cheese and chicken. It is generally a place where customers walk around in a zombie state, focused on their lists and phones, especially this time of year when minutes are short and stress levels are high. It is not a place where I expected to connect with strangers over herbs, and yet, herbs are able to provide connection in the unlikeliest of places turning a mundane chore into a delight at a distracted hour. Here’s what happened:
I happened to be buying two boxes of herbal teas (Yogi brand) among my frozen foods and paper towels, and the cashier, a young, edgy looking woman with numerous visible tattoos and hair shaved on the side in a modern take on the 80s punk sort of way, squealed and grabbed the licorice one and said it was her favorite. I said it was indeed a good one and both my sons’ favorite to which she replied that they shouldn’t drink too much of it because of the estrogen content. (I have not looked into the truth of her statement but my sons don’t drink enough to worry about that anyway). Intrigued, I asked her if she studied herbs and she responded only as much as what she’s interested in, and since that tea happened to be her favorite she looked into those herbs and then she proceeded to tell me everything she knew about herbs with a radiant smile and sparkling eyes. Clearly a passion. I was a tad worried that the woman behind me was getting annoyed at our chatting so I looked behind me to see if she was OK and saw a conservatively dressed older woman positively rapt and ready to jump into the conversation. As soon as I turned towards her, she started talking about the dandelions in her yard and how she harvests them and cooks with them and shared her recipe for jams she makes from foraged foods. Three women at different ages and stages connecting over how herbs show up in our lives~ we could have been at an outdoor Roman market in ancient times, some things do not ever need to change.
It was so fulfilling to be in the midst of these strangers sharing and the fact that herbs are what led the three of us to connect in an otherwise sterile situation was not lost on me. Herbs have a way of doing that, of connecting people through cooking, healing, crafting, gardening, and just pure passion. Herbs connect us to each other, to our past, and to the earth, and if we could follow the vines and roots they so elegantly share, we could reach such peaceful places and joyful collaborations.
May your holiday season be full of peaceful and joyful connections that continue through the new year and beyond.
OK, maybe not ALL my life, but as long as I’ve been cooking gluten-free foods, I’ve looked for gluten-free tortellini and have never found any (other than mail order frozen stuff which never looked appealing.) This is fresh pasta, found in the refrigerator section (although could potentially be found in the freezer section) AND there is a dairy free version as well. Cue the heavenly choir!
Manini’s is a local company here in the greater Seattle area (I’m not affiliated), but they have a wide presence and you can find their products through Amazon Fresh. Their 4 cheese tortelloni (not sure where they are getting their spelling from but I guess I’ll adopt it here) is a favorite with my youngest son and I enjoy it too, although the real reason I have searched high and low for this sort of pasta is to make tortellini soup. My oldest requires the dairy-free version so I plan on making the soup using the dairy free version when he’s home from college over the holidays.
Have a festive Thanksgiving to all those in the U.S. this week. I am grateful for you!!
Fall hasn’t truly set in here but the urge to spend more time in the kitchen has shown up on time anyway. We didn’t need muffins in the house, especially now that we are down to two, but muffin baking beckoned regardless. My original vegan take on Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free recipe for blueberry muffins can be found here, but it never quite right to me. Yesterday, instead of looking at what I’d done before, I started from scratch with Bob’s recipe and modified it anew, but this time I used eggs instead of an egg replacer. If you want these to be vegan, just use your favorite egg replacement. (Mine is simply to use 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal with 3 tablespoons of warm water per egg.) As last time, my recipe does not include any berries because my son prefers baked goods without berries, but 1.5 cups of blueberries can be added, or if you have raspberries, those would be especially good with the vanilla and cinnamon. These muffins are great without any berries though and taste almost like a biscuit, but not quite. (I think the 2 teaspoons of baking powder are also what give it a biscuit-y taste.)
This recipe that I manipulate is right on the back of Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-free One-to-One flour which is my favorite gf flour for baked goods. It’s easy to use and it saves me from buying a handful of different flours to mix and match trying to find the perfect blend. The other main thing I do with this recipe is to reduce the sugar by quite a bit, and to use both cane sugar and brown sugar. This might be why my muffins end up tasting somewhat like a biscuit instead of just a pure muffin, but they are still tasty as can be. Whenever I make these, I go ahead and double the ingredients to make 24 muffins, but the following is for 12 regular-sized ones.
Vanilla-Cinnamon Gluten-free, Dairy-free Muffins
(I am affiliated with Mountain Rose Herbs but not with any of the other pages I have linked to.0
1.5 cups of optional ingredients such as blueberries, raspberries, or even chocolate chips
Start by preheating oven to 425 degrees and prepping your muffin pan with either paper liners or spray oil. Add the dry ingredients (besides the sugar) together in a bowl and stir. Cream the sugar and softened vegan butter together with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the eggs and mix, then add the dry ingredients a bit at a time while mixing, rotating with adding the half cup of oat creamer. At this time, you can add in any other ingredients that you want, such as 1.5 cups berries or chocolate chips, but they taste great just plain. It’s a very thick batter, not runny at all. Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin pan for 12 normal sized muffins. Put the pan in the oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, then let them cool on a cooling rack for at least five minutes before digging in.
I hope the call to the kitchen continues and I get back to soup making soon, but where I live has a tiny kitchen compared to my old place which makes it a little less inviting. I shouldn’t complain, and I’m not because honestly, I love where I live and think it’s far better than my old place for many reasons, but cooking just hasn’t been the joy it once was lately. I’m finding joy in other things though, and I hope you too are indulging in joys every day.
Happy fall y’all! 🍂 (And happy spring to those in the southern hemisphere🌷).
It’s on day 8 with 5 more days to go, and I waited to share the link until I’d managed to watch a few to make sure they were saying informative, sound things, and they are. It’s been very reasonable and enlightening so far and I haven’t heard anything questionable or outlandish, so feel comfortable sharing the link.
Even though it’s day 8 already, the format of these docuseries is usually that they release one per day for how many episodes they have, and then after the last one airs, they release all of them for 24 to 48 hours so you can catch the ones you missed. I recommend watching the earlier episodes when that occurs because the newest to me information was the link that Alzheimer’s has with diabetes. That was explained quite well. The episode about the best diets for preventing brain decline was good too.
*This post includes affiliate links to Mountain Rose Herbs. I highly recommend their essential oils, herbs, and crafting materials, but use whatever you have on hand first!
A couple of weeks ago my niece mentioned that her sunscreen, which she loves, attracts bugs, which she does not love. I recommended putting essential oils into the sunscreen container because bugs do not like essential oils. I realized later that it’d be more useful to actually add the essential oils right before you put sunscreen on, and an easy hack for anyone who would like some insect protection along with their sun damage protection. I’ll explain how to do just that in a moment, but also want to remind you how easy it is to make your own bug repelling sprays and body oils for when you are heading outside and maybe do not need sunscreen, such as enjoying summer nights out, or you just want to be able to spray yourself repeatedly throughout the day. I have all the details on making your own bug repellent here.
Instructions:
To make your sunscreen into a bug repelling screen as well, all you need to do is squeeze about a tablespoon of sunscreen into your palm. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oils into the sunscreen, mix it together, and then lather it on your body. This hack is for your neck down, not your face. Start on the lower end of that 5-10 range, so 5 or less drops of essential oils per tablespoon, to make sure your skin isn’t sensitive and then you can add more drops next time if you wish.
Which Essential Oils?
Almost any essential oil can be used and will be effective, but do not use citrus oils because they can cause hyperpigmentation. Citrus oils are mostly obvious, such as sweet orange, lemon, and lime, with one exception, bergamot. Please avoid these and any other citrus essential oils in your sunscreen. Particularly effective essential oils are citronella (of course!), lemon eucalyptus (not a citrus oil despite the name), thyme, and all the mints but especially peppermint. Be a little cautious with peppermint because it is a cooling essential oil but just as dry ice can burn, so can peppermint at certain levels and everyone’s skin sensitivity level is different. Mixing essential oils is recommended because some bugs are repelled more or less by certain scents, so your end result will be more effective with two, three, or more essential oils.
Let me know if you try this and how it works out for you!
Happy Bug Repelling 🐜🚫 and remember, it’s good for the bugs too because if they aren’t bothering you, you aren’t bothering them! ☮
Bay Laurel is my all-time favorite herb in terms of the rich stories where this herb takes center stage. Nowadays we think of this herb as a culinary herb, although one that we don’t actually eat but instead use it to flavor beans and broths, so even that makes it a bit of a standout. Bay laurel is the herb at the root of bay rum, which you may have already read about here or in my book because I love to talk about that traditional men’s scent and make it on occasion. Bay laurel leaves have signified triumph, nobility, and scholarly success since the Greek heyday, and the Romans adopted that symbolism just as they adopted so many of the Greek ways. Olympian winners were crowned with laurel wreaths, and scholarly successes were also celebrated with laurel crowns. The word baccalaureate derives from bay laurel, as does the word laureate, as in Nobel laureate, poet laureate, etc. Graduates can be seen donning laurel crowns which is something that I’ve wanted to do for my own sons ever since I first researched bay laurel years ago and found modern photos online of both Olympians and graduates with glorious crowns of bay leaves around their heads. My oldest graduates from high school in a couple of weeks so I decided it’s time to break out the garden wire that I have had for years for just this occasion. If you would like to make your own, here’s what you’ll need:
Floral wire
Floral tape ideally but fishing wire, floss, or any kind of strong thread will work
Fresh Bay Laurel leaves
Scissors
How To:
Take two pieces of garden wire and measure them around the head you want to crown, or your own and make adjustments based on your best guess if the head will be smaller or bigger than yours.
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
One last little tradition that I love involving bay leaves is that people used to sleep with one tucked under the pillow to promote good dreams and/or to boost creativity. Give it a try if you need some creative inspiration whether in your waking life or in your dreamscape! Let me know if you try any of the above!
Congrats to any grads out there and their families too! 🎓🎉🎓🎉
In a rare fit of fastidiousness, I looked up the sunrise and sunset times for today, hoping for the satisfaction of seeing a neat 12 hours on display, some proof of order in the midst of so much chaos. Instead I was greeted with this surprise:
Wait, what?!
It looks like the sun is already taking over the show here in the Pacific Northwest, and I can’t say I’m too disappointed by the promise of order I was unexpectedly denied. Nature is not known for timeliness, yet the grander efforts and gifts seem to always appear right on time. The earth rotates, we spin in and out of darkness and light, the seeds beneath us somehow know when to peek out, the trees bud, the birds chirp, and the bunnies are born. It’s spring here and we once again have our turn at renewal, warmth, and light. What changes are you making?
Nettles are the first herb I think of when I think of spring herbs. They are known for being highly nutritious, blood building, skin clearing, and overall detoxifying. People use them in salads, pesto, soups, and tea, and they provide a ‘green’ taste that is refreshing and very spring-like. Not surprisingly, nettles are also often used to treat environmental allergies, which certainly do get triggered in the spring, just when nettles are at their peak for using. Nettles have a long history of being used as a textile as well. A fun fact I just read recently on Gaia Herb’s website is that …”during the First and Second World Wars, Nettle fiber was used as a substitute for cotton yarns, when this material was unavailable.” Herbs are amazingly versatile and I just don’t know what we’d do without them. What is your favorite spring herb?
We are so fortunate to have herbs and produce year-round in our modern lives, but there are still good reasons to eat with seasons in mind as much as possible. We evolved eating seasonally, and our bodies know best what to do with the foods that naturally surround us. In a world where rituals and connection with nature are waning, we all still need to eat, so why not add some seasonal thought to our plates? It’s reassuring to know some patterns persist despite the unending tumultuous turns of events which seem to color our days more and more. It is worth reflecting on these seasons that we are jetting through at such a fast pace, and find comfort in the truism, “some things never change”, such as the contrary nature of March:
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” -from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Whether you are experiencing the spring or fall equinox right now, I hope you are enjoying the transition and ready to make the most of the light and dark at your disposal.✨🌿🐰
Just a quick note to recommend this episode of Sarah Otto’s healthy gut documentary (no affiliation): https://gutimmunesolution.com/episode2-live/. If you have food intolerances, this explains how leaky gut is at the root cause and how to heal your digestive system and reintroduce those foods. I believe it’s only live for the rest of the day (2/23/2022), although these types of documentaries usually follow a format of replaying all the episodes for 24 hours after the last one airs so if you are interested and you miss it, check back in a few days.
