Spicy Szechuan Chili Crisp
Calling all spicy food lovers! I adore spicy foods. There’s something about it that makes me feel vital and alive. Besides being positively addicting, capsaicin — the constituent in chili peppers that makes them spicy — confers a number of health benefits.
Allow me to introduce you to your new culinary best friend: Spicy Chili Crisp.
Honey-Mint Lip Butter
I’m one of those weird people who insists on having about 47 chapsticks or lip balms in strategic places around the house. And in the car, in my desk, in multiple purses, my gym bag, my pocket, melted in the dryer (oops)…
Mineral Enriched Tallow Deodorant (That Works)
Over the years, I’ve also tried many (so, so many) recipes for homemade deodorants, including Milk of Magnesia, magnesium oil sprays and even Desitin with varying degrees of mediocre success. They just didn’t work for me, and I always gave up and reluctantly went crawling back to my commercial antiperspirant… until the injustice of being forced to use a toxic product made me angry enough to try again. Rinse and repeat.
So why worry so much about finding a quote-unquote “natural” hippy-dippy deodorant?
Spicy Dill *Everything* Rub
There is a hidden gem of a restaurant called The Settlement not far from our home in the neighboring town of Priest River, Idaho. I’ve been all over the world, and I can honestly say they have the best dry rub chicken wings I’ve ever tried.
Mr. Redheaded Herbalist and I love their recipe so much that I took a stab at recreating the spice blend at home.
Buzz Buttons 🐝
At a recent herbal apprenticeship class, I was introduced to Acmella oleracea, also known as spilanthes, buzz buttons or the “toothache plant.”
Spilanthes is a frost-tender tropical plant and not remotely native to northern climates, but it can be grown as an annual in most growing zones given enough sun and water. With unusual looking yellow and red gumdrop-shaped flower heads, spilanthes can be a visually striking addition to a flower or herb garden.
A Simple Way to Supercharge Your Tinctures & Oil Infusions
At a recent herbal apprenticeship class, I learned a very simple tweak to my usual maceration process that creates much more potent alcohol tinctures and alcohol intermediary infused oils. It’s not just about speeding things up… the vibrant colors achieved by blending herbs as part of the infusion process are mind blowing! ♥
Herbal Titos & Tonic Mixer with Cinchona Bark
jump to the recipes Everything old is new again, and cocktails are no exception. Gin & Tonic was originally created as a more palatable way for 19th-century British soldiers to take their medicinal quinine — a bitter tasting antimalarial extract from the bark of the cinchona tree (Cinchona officinalis). Turns out, it tasted pretty darn good! […]
Making a CBD Salve with St. John’s Wort
A good CBD salve can be an indispensable tool in your pain-management arsenal. The trouble is, CBD products can be so darn expensive — particularly if you’re a salve snob like yours truly and want an organic, clean, high-quality salve infused with botanicals.
Fortunately, high-quality salves are easy to make, and investing in a jar of CBD concentrate makes it FAR more affordable to keep CBD salve in the budget!
Working with St. John’s Wort
St. John’s wort is one of the best known and most used herbal medicines in the world. And like so many of our medicinal wild plants, it’s considered a noxious weed in much of the western US. In my county, we’re actually required to eradicate all trace of the plants on our property within 10 […]
Making a Healing Scar Salve w/ Gotu Kola & Comfrey
It’s not such a coincidence that many of the same herbs that are beneficial to keeping aging skin healthy and happy are also useful for healing wounds and minimizing scarring — it’s all about skin repair!
