Preserving a Peck of (Jalapeño) Peppers: 5 ways
We were blessed with a bumper crop of hot garden peppers this season, particularly jalapeños. Yesterday, we picked several pounds of peppers off a single plant! So what do you do with so many jalapeños coming at you all at once?
A Pinch of Lov(age): Preserving Herbs with Salt
If you found yourself with the happy problem of having an abundance of fresh garden herbs this season, you might be scrambling to find ways to use or store them before the cold weather rolls in.
Air drying, freeze drying and freezing are common ways to preserve fresh herbs, but there’s another way. An easy way… herb-infused salts!
Stocking Your Herbal Apothecary
For the majority of our history, we’ve relied on the inherent wisdom of plants for both medicine and nourishment. Even as modern pharmaceuticals become widespread, nature continues to provide a plethora of safe, effective remedies to those who know where to look.
When Life Gives You Sumac… Make Sumac Pink Lemonade
Let’s make some super-easy sumac pink lemonade! A cold-water infusion of the ripe berries produces a nutritious and refreshing lemon-like beverage known as “sumac-ade” or “poor man’s lemonade.”
Mint-Infused Honey (Plus a Mocktail Recipe!)
There’s nothing quite like fresh mint. It’s chock full of benefits all by itself, but paired with raw honey it becomes a therapeutic (and delicious) powerhouse!
Fermented Foods Rock (& Why You Should be Making Your Own)
By now, most of us have at least a general understanding that maintaining healthy gut bacteria is pretty darn important to our overall health. But what exactly does that mean?
Water Kefir SOS: Troubleshooting Your Brew
Making your own probiotic-rich water kefir can be a rewarding and cost-effective hobby, but as a living culture, it can sometimes throw you a curveball. Room temperature, water quality and inadequate nutrition are just a few factors that can influence the health of your kefir grains and the quality of your water kefir.
Anatomy of Fire Cider
Are you ready to spice up your wellness routine? Created in the early 80s by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, fire cider is a traditional herbal tonic that combines a base of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and local honey infused with a variety of stimulating herbs and spices. The fiery concoction is designed to boost digestion, improve circulation and support overall immune function. Over the years, fire cider has taken on a life of its own, gaining popularity among herbalists and natural health enthusiasts alike. It’s one herbal preparation I try to always keep on hand!
Got Garlic Scapes?
I just love garlic scapes! They add visual interest to a vegetable garden with their whimsical, Dr. Seussian spirals. But while they look charming and I’m always a bit sad to cut them off, removing the curly green stalks dramatically improves the development and flavor of the garlic bulbs forming below the soil. There’s another reason to remove the scapes… They’re delicious! ♥
Garlicky Sunchokes with Lemon Butter
Sunchokes are crunchy, nutty and mildly sweet and tend to take on the flavor of whatever you cook them with. To me, they resemble a cross between a potato and a water chestnut, so we use pretty much any way we would normally use water chestnuts or potatoes. You know… “Boil ʹem, mash ʹem, stick em in a stew.”
