Hope, healing, wholeness. This is my journey.
This past weekend, we went a-foraging. It's been super dry here, and unseasonably warm, so no mushrooms or other wild edibles to be found, unfortunately. (I did manage to find some still-green gumballs for medicine making, but that will have to be a separate post.) In an effort to find something, we went off the beaten path,… Continue reading Nature Fights Back
Echinacea has become widely known and an accepted herbal remedy around the world over the years. It is widely available in various forms in most drugstores, grocery stores, and on the internet, and is touted as the natural remedy for colds, flus, and anything else that a doctor might prescribe antibiotics for. Tinctures are usually more available… Continue reading Understanding Herbs: When Echinacea Fails
I was never a huge fan of radishes. They add a bit of a punch and crunch to a salad. They are pretty good thinly sliced with cucumbers and tossed an asian flavored vinegarette as a garnish. But for a normal meal, that's what, 2, maybe 4 radishes. The bunches at the store were always waaaay more… Continue reading Radishes. Not just for salads anymore!
I will admit, this has been, by far, the hardest step towards wellness. It's an ongoing effort, but it does get easier with time. It has been about leaving behind all the things I used to hide behind or use as an excuse, and really accepting the solitude and nakedness of not being anything but… Continue reading My journey to wellness, wholeness, and health: Step 1
I've been experimenting with lactic acid fermentation for a couple years now. I've always enjoyed anything salty and sour, but always thought pickling was responsible for all of it, and that 'pickled' things were just a yummy treat for the senses and the mouth. It wasn't until I went on antibiotic therapy for my Lyme… Continue reading Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut
As a kid, we used bar soap for bathing and hand washing. As the one responsible for cleaning the kitchen and the bathrooms, I always dispised the leftover gunk that those bars of soap left on the sink rim where they sat, so when I moved out on my own, I switched to liquid hand… Continue reading “All-natural” Experiments: Liquid Hand Soap
Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is one of those plants that has a whole slew of names depending on where you are from and how back you look. Some other names are alehoof, gill-go-over-the-ground, haymaids, tun-hoof, hedgemaids, catsfoot, creeping Charlie, field balm, runaway robin....the list goes on. When I first discovered this plant growing at the edge of… Continue reading Forage Friday/Weed Walking: Ground Ivy
Spring has sprung and the weather is warming and with the sunshine comes the flowers. Daisies have always been among my favorite flowers. They are a member of the Asteraceae family, which includes so many of my other favorites, including: cosmos sunflowers dandelion calendula echinacea/coneflowers dahlias chrysanthemums artichokes zinnias marigolds ….there are actually over 30,000… Continue reading Putting the Ahhhh in Afternoon, with Chamomile
I haven't wanted to write this post simply because of the faddish nature of the subject of 'bone broth' / 'meat stock' / whatever. (Incidentally, my kids have dubbed it 'chicken noodle soup without the chicken or the noodles,' so add that to the list.) But today I discovered yet another sad societal turn of… Continue reading Stock, Broth, Bones and Scraps (and some not-recipes)
Continuing with our weed walk, this week is plantain...the plant, not the banana-like thing that shares the same name. There are actually over 200 species in the genus Plantago, but there are two I'd like to cover that are most common in the areas that I've seen, Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata. Plantago major Broadleaf plantain, common plantain,… Continue reading Forage Friday/Weed Walking: Plantain
No Magic Pill 