New Morning Tea

John has posted another quicky video over at Culinary Herbalism, this time on making yogi tea, a recipe given to K.P. Kalsa by his mentor. 

I used to make a similar tea but it had more ingredients than the ones listed and I never got around to mixing it because of the length of the ingredient list. I just brewed up this tea this am and it is very similar in taste (delicious!) but with fewer ingredients is much easier to make. I like mine sweet so I add honey. 

Check out the video and try it for yourself. There's even a downloadable file with the recipe on it so you can print and hang it on your fridge or where ever you can conveniently store it for using. And if you missed the first video that includes 2 yummy recipes for a completely nourishing and healing meal, you can click on the tab at the upper left side of the page to get back to that video.

Curious About Making Your Food Your Medicine?

One of the best things about herbs is their ability to heal, even when used as food. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart and one I have recently begun embracing wholeheartedly, so much so that when I heard my good friend John over at LearningHerbs.com had created a Culinary Herbalism Course with natural healing specialist K. P. Kalsa, I got very excited.

See, although I fully believe in using my herbs in cooking, I never know if I'm "doing it right" or if I'm using enough herbs or the right herbs. And then, along comes this course! If you are interested in learning more about healing your family and loved ones through food, this is definitely the course for you!

Culinary Herbalism

I for one will be there, learning all I can to incorporate herbs in my food. This course is pre-launching this week and there will be lots of videos and recipes shared over the next week for you to decide if you'd like to take the actual course or not. The previews are no obligation so head over and check out the first video to see what it's all about!

This course takes herbalism to a whole new level. I know you won't be disappointed in what you see with the first video, I myself learned something new while watching it. I am thrilled and am going to be trying out my own versions of the recipes later this week.

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the Culinary Herbalism website right now and check it out!

P.S. I'm an affiliate of Culinary Herbalism and will receive a commission if you sign up through me but even if I wasn't, I'd still be recommending this course because I have seen the amazing courses John offers and I know this course is going to be just as amazing, if not more so, just from previewing the first video. My commissions I earn through this course go to a good cause...improving Herbal Roots zine through better technology and tools. 

Catching My Breath

March? Where did it go?! I cannot believe it is April already. I apologize for the lagging on the Herbal Ally posts, even with cutting back to every 2 weeks I find myself not able to keep up with my own assignments or postings. And now here we are in April and I have a list of deadlines for articles and such out the door, all standing in line along with the bag of potatoes and onions that need to be planted, the seeds that need to be tended, the children than need to be schooled and mothered and a whole list of other to do's.

Sigh.

Mother's mood swings have got me in a tizzy. Commit to warmer weather already, please!!! I realize spring is about going between warm and cold but really, I need warmth. Not to whine or anything.

I posted up the next ally post, yay me! Now to get caught up in my own challenges and report them on here. I'll work hard on that in the next 2 weeks. How is everyone else doing with their challenges? I promise to come around to everyone's blogs and get caught up reading about your own personal experiences, i truly enjoy reading about them! I have some new folks to add to the mix as well, welcome aboard to those who have joined in the last month.

All of our goats have kidded, we have 5 beautiful healthy kids, 2 doelings and 3 bucklings (why do we always get more bucks than does?!). I plan on keeping the girls for future milkers but hope to sell the boys. They are all handsome little devils and I think will throw good kids of their own someday. I'm also starting to look for a new buck as I cannot breed him to these sweet girls in a year. I've been milking one of the mamas daily and will start with the second doe next week. The 3rd doe, my first to kid this year has not been milked yet even though her kids will be 2 months old and ready to wean in 2 weeks as she has been ill. I was worried I was going to lose her for awhile but she seems to be slowly bouncing back. I hope so because she is my favorite doe and I've grown quite attached to her. I've treated her for just about every little thing I can think of and others suggested with no idea what was wrong. Humans are so much easier to treat than animals, at least they can tell you where it hurts.

We have wwoofers coming in the beginning of May this year, our earliest arrivals yet but I'm glad because May is typically busy with weeding so it will be wonderful to have help with that. I just may stay on top of the garden this year (fingers crossed).

The dreads are over 5 months old now and starting to shrink up a bit. This picture was actually taken at the 4 month mark, I need to get a 5 month picture taken. My dad asked me if I was going to brush my hair and if I COULD brush my hair if I wanted to, hahaha. He asked me 'what do you call that?' about my hair. He had no idea what dreadlocks are. I mentioned to him that Samson had locks. I don't think he appreciated my biblical reference. I like not having to use a comb or brush anymore. I like just wrapping them in a scarf or a bandana and not worrying about them. At times I'm wistful for my long curly hair, but then I remember how much it tangled and how it was breaking off from trying to keep the dreads out of it. Then I don't miss it anymore.

A good friend was visiting last week and we started talking about mixing herbs into our meals, intentionally placing nourishment in our foods, secretly, so the picky eaters would not notice but so we could still get the nourishment into their bodies. We talked of how this kitchen witchery herbalism crept into our lives without us noticing and how it felt good to naturally incorporate herbs into our foods as medicine without even thinking about it. For me, the challenge is to get kelp, mushrooms and other important herbs into our bodies right now in light of the tragedies that have struck Japan which is indirectly affecting us. At the same time, my family has been raving about how wonderful the meals taste. What is it exactly that I'm putting in to them that they are noticing? Is it the herbs? The intention? The love? All of the above I hope.

Today is supposed to be back up to 60 which still seems cold after the beautiful 80's weather we had Sunday but definitely better than the 48 degrees weather we had yesterday. Hopefully some onions will get planted, some time will be spent with nettles (or at least more regular time, I've visited the patch several times this past week and harvested some already too), and I'll be able to cross off one more deadline I have listed on my writing to do list.

How is your spring treating you?

Herbal Ally Challenge #9 Completed

I've been going through my Ally journal to review for my self and for writing next month's Herbal Roots zine issue which is on Nettles. It has been great refreshing my memory on everything I've read and learned about and discovered in the past 3 months with Nettles.

My seedlings sadly aren't doing too well. There may be 1-2 seedlings that have actually sprouted. I'm not giving up on them yet though. I continue to water them and hope they will sprout. Time will tell.

I use the vinegar when I can to incorporate it into meals. I tried doing the spoonful in water but it was harsh. It made my stomach turn so I stopped because I truly do not want to turn myself off to the powers of vinegar. Instead, I turned to salad dressing making.

I used a basic method of simply splashing olive oil and nettle vinegar directly on a salad to eat. It was alright but nothing spectacular.

This weekend, I made some delicious spring salads that the family raved over. I took to the yard and harvested burdock, violet and lamb's quarters sprouts which I thoroughly rinsed and added to a spring salad mix. I chopped up strawberries and orange slices (leftover from a kid who didn't finish them off) and tossed them in the salad along with almonds and gorgonzola cheese. Then I mixed together some homemade apricot jam and nettles vinegar for a dressing.

Oh My Yum, was it good!

I'll continue adding nettles vinegar to dishes to try whenever possible. I've just started harvesting nettles so I'll be adding the vinegar to steamed nettles soon.

Herbal Ally Challenge #11: Write A Story

For the next two weeks, we are going to imagine what it’s like to be our ally and write a story about our ally. Susun Weed suggests:

“Write a story from the point of view of your green ally. If you’re having trouble getting started, write a warm up page praising your green ally and telling him how much you like him and why.”

Assignment 1:
To get started, write a love letter to your ally. Tell him or her how you first met, when you first fell in love with him and what it was about your ally that made you feel this way. List any details about how or when you first realized you were smitten and what you did to get closer to your ally. Write about how he makes your feel when you are around him or under his influence.

Assignment 2:
Make a list of everything you like about your ally: his personality, his strong points, how he works, what makes him tick. 

Assignment 3:
If you are still at a loss of what to write, look to Susun Weed’s book Healing Wise for inspiration. Read a few or all of the beginning entries titled “_________ Speaks” in each section to get a feel for how you would write from your ally’s point of view. Write what you think your ally would like to tell you if he or she could speak and what he would want to tell you or anyone else interested in him. 

Share one or more of your writings on your blog if you feel comfortable doing so. 

Assignment 4:
Continue meditating with your plant and journal your experiences. Note any changes to your plant in size, color, bloom cycle, etc. Pay attention to your ally’s journey of life.

Assignment 5:
Continue with your infusions, using your oils and vinegars and journaling about your experiences. 

(herbal faeries are made by my good friend rebekah of mulberry mudd. i think she captures their essence perfectly!)

Herbal Ally Challenge #10: Ally Meditation

Spring is here! Now is the time to get outside as much as possible and exploring your herbal ally is the perfect excuse to be outside. 

For the next two weeks, we will be visiting our herbal ally daily if possible, sitting and meditating for 5-10 minutes. 

In Susun Weed’s article You Can Have a Green Ally (http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/December04/healingwise.htm) her first exercise is:

Sit and breathe with your green ally for 3-10 minutes a day. You breathe out and the plant breathes in; the plant breathes out and you breathe in.

We are going to progress our daily meditation with our ally over the course of two weeks.

Further Reading:

http://www.herbalallies.com/communicating.htm 

The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner (online article: http://www.gaianstudies.org/articles2.htm)

The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner (you can see excerpts of the book here: http://www.susunweed.com/Excerpt_Language_of_plants.htm) or see on google reader: Lost Language of Plants

Assignment 1:
Sit with your herbal ally for 5-10 minutes each day. Expect nothing, offer nothing but your gratitude for this ally. Close your eyes, clear your mind and picture your ally. Breathe in, picturing your ally breathing out. Breathe out, picturing your ally breathing in. As you breathe out carbon dioxide, your ally breathes in carbon dioxide. As you breathe in oxygen, you ally breathes out oxygen. Realize that you and your ally have a dependency on each other for life. You share each others resources so that you both may live. Feel this in your heart as you focus on your ally you are sitting next to.

Assignment 2:
Each day after your 5-10 minute meditation, journal any experiences you had during this exercise. It’s best to take your journal with you so you can sit and write before getting up and being distracted by other thoughts. This can be just a few words, a drawing or a story, anything that comes to your mind after exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide with your ally. How do you feel? What did you see in your visualization with your ally?

Continue Assignments 1 and 2 for 7 days. After 7 days, continue on to the next assignments:

Assignment 3:
Sit with your ally as before. Greet your ally and thank him for his herbal wisdom he is offering to you. Start your meditation with the first exercise, breathing in and out while visualizing your ally doing the same and sharing resources with you. After becoming focused, ask your ally why he chose you or why you were drawn to him. Stay aware of your breath and try to keep your mind clear. Your ally may or may not choose to share wisdom. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get any answers at first. Your answer may come in the form of a thought, an emotion or an impression. After a few minutes, whether or not you have any communication with your ally, thank your ally for his wisdom and offer gratitude for him.

Assignment 4:
Again, journal any thoughts you have from your daily meditation. 

Continue Assignments 3 and 4 for the next 7 days.

After two weeks of daily meditation, compare your journal entries and see if you notice any changes with your thoughts, feelings and impressions you’ve kept track of. 

Assignment 5:

Continue with your infusions, using your oils and vinegars and journaling about your experiences. 

Updated: Herbal First Aid Kit for the Car

ETA: I've added some links to my Master List PDF, Suture Cheat Sheet and some YouTube instructional videos on suturing below.

Next week I'm teaching a basic Herbal First Aid class at the library so it's causing me to clean out my kits and restock them which is a good thing! I'm not good at restocking supplies and replacing old ingredients so this was a great time to do so.

For my truck, I purchased a pouch at a thrift store that cost me 69 cents. It is vinyl lined on the inside making it a tad bit water proof and nylon on the outside. Lightweight and durable. I plan to purchase some iron on fabric in green and white to cut out a first aid kit emblem to iron on to the outside. Until then, this will be fine. (For my reason behind using green and white instead of red and white, read this article).

The bag itself measures 11 inches X 7 1/2 inches and 2 1/2 inches wide when full.

Everything is sectioned off into individual packages, mostly arranged by category. The band-aids are placed in an old altoid tin which I might switch out for the misc. things that include tweezers (they will poke a hole in the bag), fingernail clippers, safety pins and a razor blade.

While I am not a big fan of plastic, I like to be able to see what's in each packet, plus it gives the items a bit more waterproofing. I labelled each bag with contents and taped it across the seal for 2 reasons: 1). if it is opened, it most likely won't be resealed the same and I'll know I need to go into that section and re-stock and 2). to give a list of items so people won't go unnecessarily rummaging through each packet searching for what they need.

This first picture shows the tin of assorted size and shapes of band-aids, a bag containing 4 vinyl gloves and a bag containing peppermint and ginger candies. The candies are a great for helping with upset stomachs, nausea and motion sickness.

The next bag contains 1 tube of lip balm, 1 - 1/2 oz. plantain salve and 1 - 1/2 oz. goldenseal salve. Plantain is great for bug bites, to stop bleeding, bee stings and general wound care. Goldenseal is great for treating more nasty wounds. 

Next is the misc. bag. This is the bag I might switch out a bit with the band-aid tin.

It contains: 1 mini multi-tool, 1 pair nail clippers, 1 tweezers, 1 lighter, 1 razor blade, 8 assorted sizes safety pins, 10 alcohol swabs and 3 blister treatment pads.

This next bag is for more serious cuts that band-aids won't handle.

It contains: 4 butterfly closures, 5 steri strips (similar to butterfly but longer), 1 bottle super glue and as a last resort, 1 4-0 suture kit and 1 3-0 suture kit. I have never sutured but I have watched videos and have a copy of instructions to remind me. I have several of these and I might open one up to practice with on a bit of meat. While I don't foresee ever being in a situation to require using these, if something were to happen, I'd rather be prepared than not.

This next bag contains 3 types of tape: a bandage type adhesive, duck tape and the self sticking wrap that has no adhesive on it. 

This bag contains gauze pads: 4 x 4, 3 x 3 and non-stick.

This last bag is the medicine portion of the bag.

It contains the rest of my herbal medicines: 

~1 flannel to be used for compresses, etc. 

~10 papaya enzyme tablets, great for upset stomachs when the ginger or peppermint don't seem to be working (but not to be used if you suspect an ulcer)

~3 teaspoon portioned bags of cayenne to be used for a heart attack (1 bag/teaspoon in a cup of warm water drank will keep the heart attack victim alive. if they have passed out, trickle some in their mouth slowly, wait a bit and repeat until they come to then have them drink the rest). The cayenne can also be poured into a wound that is bleeding profusely (or you can have the victim drink the same water formula as the heart attack victim) to stop the bleeding. Yes, this seems insane and painful but it will save lives. You can read more about using cayenne for heart attacks and bleeding on Dr. John Christopher's website.

~lavender essential oil for burns, insect bites, to calm
~tea tree essential oil for mosquito bites, disinfectant
~rosemary essential oil for waking up a sleepy driver, calming irritated children, clearing sinuses
~peach elixir for bee stings, coughs
~cherry elixir for coughs, anxiety, stress
~plantain tincture for bee stings, bleeding, allergies, help draw splinters out
~willow tincture for headaches, inflammation, etc. (use like aspirin)
The flannel is wrapped around the tincture and essential oil bottles to keep them from breaking.

I still need to add a few items to my kit to make it complete: strike anywhere matches (they were left behind in the truck), a quick clot to stop severe bleeding (a maxi pad can be used as well) and a sewing kit that I am still assembling with thread, needles and buttons.

Here is a PDF of my Master List which I laminated and placed in my bag. On the back I placed a sketch of how to suture along with reminder notes. You can find my version here. If you wish to include sutures, I highly recommend watching these 4 videos for a complete instructional. My notes are based off this video and the sketch is embellished from his handout (a link is under his videos). He also has a lot of videos about building First Aid kits which is useful but he is strictly a conventional MD when it comes to medicine (no herbal info).

Do you have a first aid kit in your car? Did you purchase a ready made kit, create your own or customize a ready made kit with your own items?