Foods that Heal ~ Spicebush

Harold  was the man who introduced me to this native shrub called Spicebush. To Harold, Spicebush was a common shrub with many uses. Although this shrub is found throughout all of Ohio, I had never seen it near our home in Cleveland. Probably because it is an understory shrub, meaning it grows under other trees in the woodlands, and there was not  much in the way of woodlands on the west side of Cleveland where I cam from!.

During a hike in the woods near our home in Rutland, Ohio Harold broke off a small twig from this beautiful plant and had us put it on our mouths, much like a large toothpick. The taste was spicy and the fragrance was intense. He explained that folks around here use the twigs by adding it to hot water to make tea. Harold and his brothers would make batches of this tea during deer season every fall when hunting. I loved it the taste. Honestly I'm not sure if I loved the Spicebush itself, as much as I loved that Harold took time to show us so many things in these woodlands, he was a treasure for sure.

Spicebush ( Lindera benzoin) is in the Laurel Family ( Lauraceae). It bears bright red fruit in late summer and early autumn on the female shrubs. These berries are often eaten by wildlife, yet they are so abundant here that the bounty is plentiful for all. The glossy foliage is dark green and is often found near its neighbor the Paw Paw Tree.

Local Paw Paw expert Chris Chmeil uses the leaves of this shrub for tea.This is Chris at our local Athens Farmers Market, showing dried Spicebush twig and leaf. We've both been at this market for years, Chris with Integration Acres and me with The Herbal Sage Tea Company.

Letting the berries of the Spicebush dry, I then prepare tea from this dried material.I like to crush the berries and blend with local mints or other herbs to create inspired blends. I vary the amount of berries in each blend, as well as vary how much the berries are crushed. When the berries are crushed the flavor is more intense than when left slightly crushed, then the taste is milder.

Often folks say the berries taste similar to allspice. I can taste the subtleness and understand their comparison, but I admit there is nothing like this berry as far as unique flavor.The berries,leaves and twigs can all be used as tea. It is said that this tea will relieve fatigue, cold symptoms and intestinal disorders. Oils from the berries have been applied topically to treat bruises and as a general first aid, first relief, for cuts and abrasions. The strong fragrance of the leaf, crushed is often used to invigorate while out in the woods hiking. Try crushing a leaf and add it to you pocket, remove and smell when needing a bit of energy! Using the leaf, berry ,or twigs as  a compress has traditionally been used to soothe mild skin irritations , rashes and  itching.

When brushing up against Spicebush in the woods I often think of Harold and am forever grateful for the patience he took with a city gal and her urban son, although poking fun of us for our naivety , he helped to open up a whole new natural  world  for us.

The Herbal Sage Tea Company will have  Native Spicebush  Tea Blend available as soon as the berries are harvested and dried. Check on this seasonally delightful at
www.herbalsage.com

If you want to learn more and taste Spicebush visit The Paw Paw expert, Chris and friends at this year's Spicebush Festival in Athens Ohio. Follow the link below  for details
http://www.athensohio.com/events/festivals/summer-solstice-spicebush-celebration.

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Foods that Heal

This is the first blog on my series entitled,
"Foods that Heal". My focus is on herbs and their therapeutic effects, with the idea that herbs are not only something to add to water to make a tissane or tea, but something to add to your meals or use to create a meal.
I will be interviewing Athens,Ohio area growers, producers and foodies for this series and allow them to share with you their favortie Foods that Heal.

Today's herb is one such herb,it is one of my favorite herbs for health.Nettles ( Urtica dioica),also known as Stinging Nettle are best harvested in spring, when the leaves are fresh and full of healthful juices.They are considered a spring remedy and a general detoxifying herb for the whole body. Nettle has Vitamin C, protein and fiber. It also works in creating relief of allergy symptoms as Nettle is a source of quercetin which is a flavonoid that inhibits the release of histamine. Many find that by drinking Nettle tea consistently they exhibit less allergy problems. Nettles are nutrient dense and contain the minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sulfur and zinc, as well as vitamins B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, C, E, K and folate. In addition, Nettle contain numerous phytochemicals, including lycopene and beta-carotene.Nettle is also a diuretic,helping to rid the body of excess fluid and toxins.

If you choose to harvest Nettle yourself, be sure to wear gloves as Nettle has fine hairs on the leaves and stems that contain chemicals that sting and burn when it comes in contact with the skin.Folk remedy suggests that stinging yourself with Nettle will relieve pain associated with arthritis. I just find it uncomfortable if I harvest without wearing gloves. When the leaves are steamed in tea or cooked, the stinging will not occur.Nettle also looses much of its sting when dried.

It is most often prepared as an infusion, pouring a cup of boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of the dried herb and leaf to infuse for 10-15 minutes I make it into a tea and also use the leaves as food. Nettle is nourishment, simple yet effective, nourishment.

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Today, I have chosen to make a batch of Nettle sun tea, which after steeping for the entire day, I will strain and put into the frig for refreshing cups of Nettle tea for a few days!
We served Nettle to everyone at Athens Farmers Market on Saturday and converted many naysayers to the wonderful taste of Nettle tea.We brewed it hot, then cooled it and sampled it as Iced Tea. It was wonderful!

Slippery Elm Bark Changed Everything

Here in Tealand we handcraft our blends. Working closely with healing herbs has allowed us to become very familiar with each one.Sometimes we use the flowers, or berries.Other times the whole plant,and with some herbs, we work with the roots or bark. Slippery Elm Bark is one of these.We blend with slippery elm utilizing the inner bark of the tree. This mucilaginous part of the tree offers the utmost in healing.It not only soothes an achy throat, but it has been traditionally used to help soothe the entire digestive system.
Generally we blend using the cut inner bark, it is very fluffy and somewhat stubborn in blending well with other herbs. We had an idea, why not use the powdered slippery elm bark? We add the powdered version of this healing tree to our Essiac formula and it works well with the other powdered herbs. Well... the answer is in the photo. Do you see that shine to the blend once water has been added? This blend was allowed to steep for 10 minutes, and when we began to strain it, well, the healing ,soothing, muscilaginous nature of slippery elm bark slowed the straining process almost completely to a halt! WOW! We were surprised at the thickness that the powder produced compared to the cotton cut version of the inner bark.Remember this is the same herb, the same part of the tree, only cut differently!The taste was somewhat altered as well, we think a bit smoother, much like one of Thayers throat lozenges, made from slippery elm bark. The recipe stayed the same except for this, what we thought,would be a minor change. Many of you may like this new version, and if so grab a package of Calm Your Cough Tea now, as this blend is a once in a blend situation.On a side note, if you don't like it and picked up a package please send us an e-mail and we'll ship you out our traditionally blended Calm Your Cough Tea!

Hunting the Elder plant in SW Florida

I found this plant while biking on Pine Island Florida this week. It is called Kalanchoe delagoensis. Common names are Mother of Thousands or Chandelier Plant. Although not a native plant,I have seen it blooming this week in Pine Island Sound and along the Manasota Key area. I was told that it was brought here as a house plant years ago and has since gone invasive on Florida's coast. The bright colored coral tubular flowers hang together, hence the name chandelier plant. The two places where I found it were near old home sites, long since abandoned. I was also told that it takes 2-3 years before the plant flowers, but once it starts to grow it is very invasive.I was on a mission to find the Beach Elder or Marsh Elder, native to Florida when I found this beautiful plant. The Beach or Marsh Elder is not a true Elder (Sambucus), but nonetheless I was intrigued when I was told that elder grew amongst the ocean areas.I have a real affinity for elderberry and love to use it when I can in my blends. When I travel to SW Florida yearly I bring extract made from elderberry that grows in SE Ohio known as Sambucus nigra (black elderberry) for some local friends. The health benefits are far reaching with a focus on supporting one's immune system and helping to fight off the flu. At The Herbal Sage Tea Company we make a highly concentrated extract with the elderberry fruit, as well as adding these powerful antioxidants to our Family Health Tea with elderberry. Thanks for reading this blog and I will share new plants that I discover as I travel the way of the Herbal Gypsy.

Country Commerce

Country Commerce

The rural ways of the entrepreneur can be quite basic and driven by necessity. When I drive by signs such as this one I try and imagine who is this business person. Not only what is it they are selling but who are they? Why here? Why are they here, down this country road and what is it that keeps them here?

This particular sign on a bend in the road in Meigs County has grown since early spring. Cookies have recently been added to the inventory as well as business hours. I suppose they had folks stopping by at all times trying to purchase goods. One knows that although a buying customer is a good customer a browsing customer can waste allot of one's time.

Perhaps because I too sell, that I can relate to an enterprising soul. The growth of this sign assures me that this grower, baker, chicken handler is destined to prosper. I wonder if pumpkins will be added come October? I'll keep you posted!

Chesterhill Auction

Thursday I attended the Chesterhill Auction, in Chesterhill, Ohio. Driving about 40 minutes deep into the country I drove past the auction sign and into the small town of Chesterhill. I knew I had passed the entrance but for the life of me did not know where I was.I stopped to ask directions at a small convenience store/gas station, the first woman I asked who was working the counter had no idea about any Amish auction. I thought this was a bad sign,that the locals did not even know about it. I thought that perhaps I had really driven too far!Finally one of the women from behind the deli counter was able to direct me. She knew where it was , yet had never gone herself. I was told I hadn't gone to far and to turn around and make the first right past the building with the orange roof.
So I proceeded to drive back in the direction I came and look for this orange roofed place, I never did see the building but I was driving slow enough that the Chesterhill Auction sign rose up out of the clay soil and presented itself to me! Yes I had arrived.
Luckily I was early for the auction and sat in on a compost tea workshop, being The Tealady, I felt it was important that I attended, and had hoped that I had not missed it due to my detour. Kyle O'Keefe, an Americorp worker from Rural Action taught the workshop, he was a wealth of information.
The auction was filled with folks looking for a fresh deal and many of us were successful! I brought home first of the season red raspberries, and some fresh strawberries.I was told that 95% of the sellers at the auction were Amish and the buyers where made up non Amish and Amish.

There were a few Amish handmade items, and I bought a bird house and a nicely built wood basket.I'll use the basket at my farmers market to display my elderberry tea, and the birdhouse will find a nice home at my in laws 200 year old home in PA.
Do you attend a local farmers market? Tell me about it, I'd love to learn more about your experiences at these events,and hope to stop by Chesterhill again next week.

96 degrees in the shade

The Herbal Sage Tea Company was a part of the Athens Farmers Market today. The GOBA event,
http://www.goba.com/
was traveling thru Athens today. This adventure ride for cyclist's promised to bring 2,000 riders into Athens. The weather was so unbearably hot that many of the cyclist took refuge under the shade tress at Athens Community Center, without stopping by the market. I don't blame them ! We were vending in temperatures that reached to 96 degrees Although I sold quite a bit of our Iced Zesty Green Organic Tea, we did not have the crowds thru, as we had hoped. Athens Farmers Market runs Wednesday and Saturdays April thru October, from 10 am til 1pm. Stop on by and see us ! For Market information visit
www.athensfarmersmarket.org