the Witchen Kitchen Beginner Herbal

tammy June 14th, 2009

I finally have Mullien that I can harvest! I have admired them from afar for several years now, but never had any I could get to easily for medicine making. Here she is just beginning to flower. I see Mullien flower oil, and dried Mullien leaf for infusion, and Mullien leaf syrup, and Mullien root tincture in my future!

Want to know more about the medicinal properties of Mullien? Read this excellent article written by Michigan herbalist, Jim McDonald: http://www.herbcraft.org/mullein.html

The violet is prolific here also this year… off to gather some to dry for nourishing infusions!

• Herbal Remedies , Wild Crafting
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tammy February 2nd, 2009

My new favorite winter nourishing herbal infusion is a combination of equal parts violet leaf and linden flowers, with a hefty pinch of nettle seeds. Pour a quart of boiling water over, seal, and let sit for 4 hours or more. Strain and drink. Yumm!!!

This blend is addressing my winter constitutional dryness beautifully, moistening up those mucous membranes, easing digestion, helping to purify the blood, and nourishing my kidneys and adrenals, which tend to be weak. Plus I think it tastes really, really good. I’m loving it!

What are your favorite winter infusion and tea blends?

Personal note: Sorry for the scimpy posts of late. This winter is turning out to be a transformational one for me. I’m going through a lot of transitions at the moment. I will get back to focusing on my herbs and blogging soon! Thanks for being patient

• Food as Medicine , Herbal Remedies
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tammy January 13th, 2009

Dear readers, I simply can NOT get motivated to go out into the cold and dig any roots!  So alas, I am postponing that article once again.  Instead, I thought I would share with you how I made this lovely herbal eye pillow in less than an hour today.

I am making these to use with my massage clients.  They are divine laid over the eyes just as they are, but they can also be heated or cooled to make a hot or cold pack.  Just pop them in the freezer for a couple of hours, or sprinkle some water on them and microwave them for about a minute or two.  Very nice to sooth a headache or a muscle ache. And they are super easy to make and fast.  I literally spent less than an hour doing this, from start to finish.

Warning: I do not measure anything, so if you need exact measurements these are not the instructions for you!

First gather the materials.  You will need some fabric, some dried herbs, and some flax seed or rice, plus your usual sewing tools and thread.  The flax or rice will help to hold the heat or cold if you use it as a hot or cold pack, and give it some weight to help hold it in place on the body. The herbs should be something that smells nice.  You can choose something relaxing like lavender buds or rose petals, or something more energetic like peppermint or rosemary, or any kind of pleasant combination you can think of!  You want to choose a fairly sturdy fabric that will not pull apart at the seams or let the herbs or the flax/rice poke through with use over time.

I have a big box of fabric scraps that I have saved over the years from various sewing projects.  I chose a nice thick flannel for the main pillow.  This will hold up for a long time, and can be wet for the microwave without leaving water spots on the fabric.  Because I am wanting to reuse mine with multiple clients, I also made a removable cover that can be washed between clients. For the cover I chose a more elegant silky fabric.  I chose to fill my pillow with lavender buds and flax as these were what I had on hand at the moment.

Next, make the pillow. Make two layers of fabric, wrong side out, and then eyeball about how big you want the finished pillow to be.  Add just a little more all around to allow for the seam.  Cut the fabric to the desired size.  This does not have to be exact!  Just think of the average face and about how big it should be to cover the eyes comfortably.

Sew the two layers together, but leave one side open so you can fill it with the herbs and flax. Flip it right side out before filling.

Fill with your herbs and flax or rice.  I did one scoop of flax, then one scoop of lavender, then one scoop of flax… and so on until it was full.

Finally, tuck the raw edges of the open end inside and sew it up.  I used the sewing machine because it was faster, but if you don’t want your stitches to show you could do it with a needle and thread and hide them.

If desired, make a removable cover. For this you want to make a little envelope for the pillow that can be taken off and washed when necessary.

To cut the fabric, you can use your finished pillow as a guide.  I laid mine on the fabric and wrapped it up to see how big it needed to be (allowing for the seams… don’t forget the seams!).  It’s okay if the finished cover is a little big, but not okay if it is too small, so err on the side of slightly larger than you think you will need.

After the fabric is cut to the desired size, hem the edges that will overlap and open to take the pillow in and out (see photos of finished cover above and hemming below).

Fold the fabric wrong side out with the hemmed edges overlapping by about an inch or so.  Sew the ends together.

Flip it right side out and you are done!  Then you will just need to tuck your pillow inside.

Viola! You have a beautiful new herbal eye pillow!  (And, I swear, it took me longer to put this blog post together than it did to make the pillow!)

• Cosmetics, Body Care , Herbal Remedies
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tammy December 28th, 2008

When I read this herbal by Linda Ours Rago I felt like I was reading about my own little piece of the world.  The achingly beautiful descriptions of the land and the plants she examines make me feel homesick and anxious to step outside my door, where I know I will find the very same plant communities, the very same smells, the very same colors.

In Blackberry Cove Herbal: Healing with Common Herbs in the Appalachian Wise Woman Tradition, Rago details the seasons and plants common to the region around the Blue Ridge Mountains, specifically at her Blackberry Cove Appalachian mountain farm in West Virginia.

The herbal is organized by season and gives lots of specific information about which plants are available for wild crafting in this region during every month of the year, and also lots of ideas for what to do with them.  She includes many recipes for time honored herbal remedies of the Appalachian wise woman tradition, and also weaves in the lore and magick of the culture as they relate to the plants.

I live on the other side of the Blue Ridge, in Virginia, so my ecosystem is pretty similar to hers.  I have found all the plants she covers growing at pretty much the same times she describes.  This herbal would make a wonderful beginners guide for a year long study of common local plants if you happen to live in this bio-region.

And even if you don’t live around here, many of the plants described are quite common in a variety of regions and much useful information can be gleaned.  The book is also beautifully written and beautifully illustrated, and is an enjoyable read, regardless.

Here is an excerpt from “December”:

…[O]ne hearty cup of pink sassafras root tea every spring will charge up your metabolism and thin your winter-sluggish blood.

The oldest Appalachian grandmothers say we should find a spot plentiful with sassafras seedlings.  Then after a hard frost in December, near the dark of the moon, tell the whole grove that you appreciate their strength and beauty and need their good medicine.  Pull up one entire small seedling, cut off the whole top, and save the roots.  Wash them well in running water, cut in three-inch lengths, dry slowly in a warm oven, and store away until spring.

In early spring place five pieces of root in a pot with a quart of cold springwater.  Bring to a boil and simmer gently for fifteen minutes. The water will turn a rosy color.  Sweeten with sugar or honey.  Take no more than a cup a day for several days.

Save the roots, dry them again, and resuse them over and over until the decoction no longer turns pink or has that distinctive sassafras aroma.

And speaking of digging Sassafras roots, I promise that post on root medicine is coming soon!  I had forgotten how busy this week would be… no time for root diggin’ yet! Today will be nice, so I think I will get out there later this afternoon.  Sassafras is on my list of roots to gather, along with Poke, Blackberry, Mullien…

• Book review , Herbal Remedies , Wild Crafting , Wise Woman Wisdom
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tammy December 17th, 2008

Very cool!

Read the article, Back to Nature: Top 100 Herbal Medicine Blogs, here:
http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/40/back-to-nature-top-100-herbal-medicine-blogs/

(You can find Witchen Kitchen under the subtitle The Basics)

Thanks for the mention, NursingDegree.net!

And thanks to all of YOU READERS! Without you this blog would have no visibility at all.

For my next post… I think it’s time to start digging winter roots!  It has finally been cold enough around here to have the fire burning for a few days straight.  Perfect time to dig roots to infuse in oil on the back of the wood stove!  Stay tuned…

• Fun Stuff
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tammy December 9th, 2008

Since the kids have grown up and had kids of their own, it’s very seldom we are all together at the same time for meaningful activities anymore.  But Saturday turned out to be very magical for us in that way.  We got our first real snow (which only amounted to less than an inch, but hey!) while all of my kids were at the house with their children, so we decided to put up the Christmas tree together.

We’ve been using an artificial tree the last few years, but found when we hauled it out of the shed that mice had made their home in its branches this past season and had peed all over it!  Sorry, not putting the lovely odor of mouse pee all up in my house for Christmas!

So it was snowing, all the kids and grandkids were there together… seemed like perfect timing to go out in the woods and find a live tree this year.  And that’s just what we did.  It was a very special memory we made together, all of us bundled up tromping through the woods, AND we found a beautiful, fat cedar in the perfect shape.  It’s bare on one side, but with that side against the wall you can’t really tell.

At first I had a few reservations about cutting down a perfectly healthy and living tree just to indulge our holiday hoopla, but I have since come to terms with that.  Part of being on a spiritual and sacred earth walk means understanding that all living things participate and contribute to the whole of life, sometimes in life and sometimes in death.

We take the lives of plants and animals everyday to sustain and enhance our own lives.  The hard truth of the matter is that no life can continue unless something else dies to feed it.  I also believe that in some mysterious way, when we honor and gratefully receive these gifts, each living being that gives its life does so as a willing participant.  It is good to honor these everyday sacrifices and give heartfelt thanks when we eat a meal, use a plant for medicine, or even cut down a live Christmas tree.

I believe that in the grand scheme of the Universe, this particular tree we brought home grew in that very spot, to just the right size and shape, for just that moment when it gave its life to be a part of our family’s unity and love.  We will honor and embrace that sacrifice.

When I went to put water into the tree stand after we had set it up, one of the grandchildren asked me if the tree was going to keep growing.  I told him, no, it would begin to dry out and it would die within a few weeks.  He was sad about that and thought maybe we shouldn’t have cut it down.  I had to scramble to explain to him the understanding I had come to about life and death and this humble tree, in a way that he could understand.  I also wanted to find a way that we could honor the tree’s life, one that would be meaningful to the children.

What we came up with was that after Christmas, when we take down all the decorations, we will carry our tree to our bonfire spot and have a grand smudging ceremony!  Cedar is a traditional sacred smudging herb, and this seems a fitting end for our lovely tree.  We will thank our tree for being part of our family celebrations and for making our holiday so special.  Then we will burn the tree and watch it’s spirit rise up to return to the Great Spirit, carrying our prayers with it.  The children think this is a great idea and they are excited.

I used to feel so sad when, the week after Christmas, I would drive through my city and see all the dead and discarded Christmas trees lying on the curbs up and down the streets, with stray pieces of tinsel still clinging in odd places, just waiting for the garbage trucks.  The holiday was over and now they were just thrown out like nothing special, the people moving unceremoniously on to the next thing.  I am very glad to have found a way to make the death of our Christmas tree just as meaningful and special as all the rest of our celebrations.

Bringing an evergreen tree into the house to decorate and celebrate around is but one of the many ways to mark the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, with the days growing longer and longer thereafter.  Many religious mythologies symbolize this phenomena of “light triumphing over darkness.” Whether you celebrate the return of the sun to longer days, or the coming of the Son, or something else entirely, may you all find special meaning for this holiday season.

• Earth Spirituality , Wild Crafting , Wise Woman Wisdom
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tammy November 25th, 2008

Well, we’ve been chosen.  This guy showed up at our door a few days after Halloween and decided to stay.  We tried to get him to go home by refusing to let him into the house, but he just stayed at our window all night meowing, tearing screens off the window, and pawing at the door like a puppy.  We’ve decided to stop fighting what seems meant to be.  So, now we have a cat named Nuisance (that, by the way, our dog hates! yikes!).

It all started with the tuna fish.  When he came to our door, he was very skinny and obviously malnourished, and seemed to be in some pain also, as if he had maybe injured his tail or his pelvic area.  Whatever injuries he had weren’t too serious — he could walk and jump just fine — but I noticed an odd twitching in his tail when I rubbed him and felt a lot of heat in the lower regions when I moved my hand down his back just above his spine.  How could I not open up a can of tuna for the sad little guy?

In the few weeks he’s been with us, his belly is no longer sunken and his fur is getting shinier.  He likes to be massaged, and the twitch in his tail is diminishing.  He’s looking quite healthy these days.

Nuisance truly lives up to his name in the way he demands attention and a thorough rubbing down every time he comes near, how he wants to be fed 15 hundred times a day, and the way he regally commandeers the warmest spot by the fire.  He’s definitely got a strong sense of what he wants and when, and doesn’t settle for less. He’s teaching me a lot.

It’s also a big hassle to make sure the dog and the cat are never in the same room together (no, no, no — fur will fly!).  But he is so darn lovable and rewards us with such satisfied purrs after he gets us in line, that we don’t really mind the nuisance all that much.

• Fun Stuff , Wise Woman Wisdom
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tammy November 25th, 2008

It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to come here and see all the comments and to know that people are actually reading what I write.  I absolutely love it when you leave a note for me

I’ve been working a lot the last few weeks, so haven’t had time to respond to everyone individually, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all you readers.

Here’s some love back to YOU!

• Fun Stuff
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tammy November 19th, 2008

See that big rock down by woods edge?  It’s a solid piece of quartz, as are all the babies around it.  That’s my future meditation and medicine garden, which I plan to build up come Spring.

The big rock faces East and has a perfect little depression on the top for my behind to rest comfortably.  The babies in front make perfect stepping stones up to it.

When the foliage is gone in the Fall and early Spring, I have often sat there early in the morning to meditate as the sun comes up.  My plan is to clear some space and plant a medicine garden all around it so I can have access all through the Summer too.

Here is a view from atop the rock.  Directly in front there is a huge rose quartz stone embedded in the ground.  If you look carefully you can see the Stone Person in it.

Here is a closer view from a few weeks ago before all the foliage was gone.

It’s a powerful place, and I look forward to spending a lot of time there.

• Earth Spirituality
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tammy November 19th, 2008

I can not believe how incredibly easy it is to grow garlic! Just look at this little plot of land that I carefully mulched over with grass clippings.  There is garlic planted in there, uh-huh, uh-huh…  [doing the happy dance here]

Since I use garlic almost every time I cook, as well as in medicines, this is a major, major skill for me to know how to grow it myself. For some reason, I thought it was a very complicated thing and had never yet taken the time to look into it.  But my herbal email buddy, Leslie, enlightened me a few weeks ago to how easy this is, so now I’ll spread the knowledge.

You only need to buy a bulb (or two or three or four) of organic garlic from the produce section of the grocery store.  Break it apart into cloves, then plant each of the cloves about 4 inches apart, pointy side up.

Like most plants that grow from bulbs, you plant garlic in the Fall (I actually planted this a few weeks ago, late October, zone 7 Eastern U.S.). It is supposed to start sending up green shoots in the Spring, and by late Summer, early Fall there should be whole bulbs under the ground everywhere I planted a clove.  Leslie says that when it sends up shoots you should pinch the flower heads off so it will keep its energy down in the ground to make those bulbs fat and juicy.

There are also lots of varieties of garlic that can be special ordered.  Although I’ve not ordered garlic from them before, I have gotten good seed from Southern Exposure, and will probably try some of their garlic next year.

See, I told you it was easy! I think maybe anybody can grow garlic!

• Organic Gardening
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