Nourish and Thrive
Hello my friends! I have a great post for you today, something a little bit different. I recently had the chance to go through a really cool book all about beeswax and what you can make and do with it called The Beeswax Workshop by Chris Dalziel. You might know Chris from the blog Joybilee…
Traditional mead is made with honey as the sweetener, but I’ve always wondered about using maple syrup instead. As it turns out, this is actually a thing that people do, and the technical term for “maple mead” is acerglyn (just as a mead made with fruit is called a melomel). For it to be mead,…
Herbs can be powerful allies during all stages of life, including pregnancy. While care must be taken to make sure that you are choosing herbs that are safe for you and the baby, there are a few that are very helpful during this time. In fact, I’m in my third trimester as we speak (yay!),…
Calendula is one of my very favorite flowers. Not only is it a beautiful addition to the garden, but it has many amazing health benefits. I feel lucky that it grows readily and wild in our backyard without me having to do much, as it reseeds itself every year. You can read more about how…
I know a thing or two about hummus. I got turned onto the store bought version long before it was popular, and shortly thereafter starting making my own. At first I would use canned chickpeas, then I got fancy and started cooking them from scratch. My homemade hummus was really good, but never quite as…
Fall and winter is often the time for getting sick, although it can happen at any time of year. Luckily there are some great herbal allies that can help us get through the worst of it. While there are many different herbs that are good for boosting your immune system, I’m going to talk about…
The dark and dreary winter is often brightened by beautiful citrus. Even though I don’t live in a place where citrus can grow naturally, I still enjoy it while I can. There are many ways to use and preserve citrus, and I often turn to making lemon or grapefruit curd, as I can’t get enough…
You might remember a couple of weeks ago I made a turmeric bug, which is basically a “starter” for making fermented sodas. The turmeric bug started bubbling away very quickly, within only a few days, which was really exciting. That means it’s time to make a naturally fermented turmeric soda! This is similar to how…
Turnips are a vegetable people love to hate. This is something that I don’t understand, because I think they are awesome! (No, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck). They are cheap, easy to cook, easy to grow, and just like beets, you get two tasty vegetables in one. Turnip greens are actually one…
Oregano is an amazing herb, and definitely one that everyone should have in their backyard herb garden. Not only does it add great flavor to your favorite dishes, it’s also a powerful medicinal herb. Many of the common culinary herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage also have healing benefits, and do double duty in the…
One of my favorite things to ferment is to make a ginger bug. It’s always worked well for me, and I love the ginger sodas I can make from it, like my strawberry rhubarb soda. I have heard and read that the same thing can be done with turmeric root, and it is something that…
Foraging in winter is not always easy, and it gets even harder the further north or higher in elevation that you are. The super cold temperatures, low light, and heavy snow cover in these areas can really make it difficult for anything to persist and survive through winter. There are a few wild plants that…
Since cannabis became legal in Oregon last year, we were able to grow a few plants this past summer without any worry. We bought clones from the local cannabis pharmacy that were high in CBD, one of the major medicinal compounds in marijuana. CBD is different from THC (another highly medicinal compound), in that it…
When the cold weather comes, there isn’t anything better than a foraged and infused cocktail. While there isn’t always a whole lot to forage for in the winter, conifer needles are pretty reliable this time of year. This is a good thing, because they are a wonderful treat, especially during the holidays. I recently made…
Growing your own food is one of the most rewarding things that you can do, whether you have a large homestead on many acres or a small backyard lot. Either way, it is well worth the effort to have homegrown produce. It is helpful in many ways to be able to extend the season a…
I’m really excited about this because fire cider is something that I’ve wanted to make for a long time, but for some reason haven’t… until now! I was inspired to finally make it this season because it’s one of the recipes in the online Intermediate Herbal Course that I’m taking at the Herbal Academy. There…