Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge - Help Fight Climate Change!

http://350.brighterplanet.com/

Mystery Tomato...

Lately I'm into a compulsive gardening mood ;).
I've bought a whole bunch of seeds (heirloom and organic mostly)...Enough for a micro farm though I only have a container garden on a porch.
Most of the seeds I ordered are from Bountiful Gardens, Wild Garden Seed and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds from which I received a free packet of trial tomato seeds of a variety named Pink Israel.
I searched all over the web for some info about this tomato but couldn't find anything, not even a picture. The funny thing is that Baker Creek doesn't sell this variety yet.
So I basically have no other choice than growing this mystery tomato to find out what it looks and tastes like...At least I know that it's a pink heirloom and I suppose from Israel, so potentially a variety that can handle warm weather (or so I hope).
So if I start it now, I should be able to taste it by the end of the Summer/beginning of the Fall (here the Fall can get even warmer than the Summer).

The Self-Healing Cookbook

"The Self-Healing Cookbook - A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods with Whole, Natural Foods" by Kristina Turner, is one of those books that everybody should own, read and use.

This book has a wholistic approach to food: you'll find nourishing, grounding, cleansing and healing recipes. The focus is on well-being, balance and being in tune with your body & the seasons in a fun, creative and nourishing way.

The book also explains the effects of certain foods on the body. There's also an interesting & useful "Healing Foods Glossary" at the end of the book with recipes for homemade herbal remedies.

Spelt, quinoa and corn bread

June's Blog Party...

...Will be hosted by me ;)

The theme is "Cooling Herbs for the Summer" (I think we are all looking forward to good tips and great recipes).

The deadline is June 15th.

Submit your posts on the Herbwifery Forum or send me an email (with your name please).

CHOCOLATE GODDESS LIP BALM

All natural, this Chocolate Goddess Lip Balm is handmade with real organic chocolate, cocoa butter and honey (plus a few other natural ingredients).Hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm ;).

A Small Harvest of Green Oats

Dear Arugula...

This month's blog party is hosted by Darcey and has "Spring Greens" for theme. I'm very much into arugula lately so it seemed an obvious and natural choice.

Arugula is also known as rucola, rocket or roquette (in french).

When people think of arugula, they often have the typical Italian Summer salad in mind with tomato, basil...etc. But arugula belongs to the Spring. It's a green that is now widely available since it has become popular and most people are now familiar with it.

But what most people don't know is that arugula was and still is a wild green. Wild arugula (Rucola Selvatica) is commonly found on the side of trails or waste lands...Places you wouldn't think of going foraging.

Wild Arugula doesn't look like the cultivated one (Eruca Sativa) : it's smaller and has more dented leaves. It also takes longer to grow (there are many places that sell the seeds which are fairly easy to grow, even in a container). I find its taste sharper, more spicy and peppery ;).

We often forget that beyond the natural vitamin and mineral content of what we eat, food is also our medicine...And arugula is no exception: it's very rich in vitamin C, sulfur and minerals. Arugula is a tonic and stimulates appetite. It's a diuretic and cleanses the kidneys. It has expectorant properties and helps to break mucus down. Arugula juice cleanses wounds and ulcers. For a long time, it was believed that arugula was an aphrodisiac...This was the reason why Hildegard von Bingen forbade its consumption to her fellow nuns.

Whatever your reason is to use arugula (from the ones mentioned above) and besides its edible use, a decoction of the leaves can be made using 1 tbsp of dried leaves per cup of water, steeped for 2 minutes. The recommended dosage is 2 to 3 cups of this decoction per day.

Did I mention that the flowers are edible too?

Translations from "Sauvages et comestibles - Herbes, fleurs et petites salades" by Marie-Claude Paume and "Secrets des Plantes" by Michel Pierre & Michel Lis.

Tisane Gourmande...

I was craving a sweet gourmet tea with some of my favorite flavors...And here it is!

Tisane Gourmande is a 100% organic blend of vanilla rooibos, cacao nibs and cinnamon chips. I especially enjoy it with a touch of sweet honey ;).

It's great if you wish to start the day with a touch of sweetness or as an afternoon tea. It's a soothing and relaxing blend...I find it quite inspiring too, great for creative projects...

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do ;).

Back to My Roots...

I have decided that it was time for me to get back to restudy/relearn from the French & European traditions of herbalism which are strongly rooted in Folk Medicine and Grandmother Remedies. The Materia Medica can be easily found in one's garden, nearby woods or at the farmers market and is a blend of edibles with aromatic, wild and not so wild medicinal plants.
It's the people's medicine: onion syrup, cabbage poultice, hand & foot baths, thyme tea, herb infused wines and blackberry liqueur, just to name a few remedies...

I like the approach of Maurice Mességué (who likes to work with "the Simples") and Germaine Cousin-Zermatten (a charming grandmother who makes healing concoctions with the wild medicinal plants of the Alps). I also like Jean Palaiseul's "Grandmother's Secrets: Her Green Guide to Health from Plants"; and have rediscovered the works of Maria Treben, Sebastian Kneipp...and even Hildegard von Bingen!

There are herbalists out there, whose greed has taken over the joy & pleasure of teaching, learning and sharing this ancient healing art. This same greed clouding their judgement, raising their ego and darkening their heart...How can such people claim to be teachers, healers or even guides?

I have never followed one way of thinking, learning or doing things. It is important to learn from difference sources and compare them to have the best knowledge and understanding of one herb. I especially enjoy ancient herbals with tidbits of information that have often been overlooked, forgotten or lost.

For example, I enjoy drinking nettle tea/infusion at night. I've noticed that I sleep well this way. Since nettle is a nutritious herb with a tonic effect on the body, one might not think of having a cup of nettle tea before bed time. Yet I have found one source mentioning that in the British Isles, nettle has been used as a treatment for insomnia.

People from the past still have a lot to teach us...

Celebrate the Goddess through Compassion

"From the moment we first come to know Her, the Goddess draws us in through the power of Her compassionate love. We turn to Her for comfort, for solace, for tender acceptance, as a trusting child turns to her mother.
As a daughter of the Mother of Compassion, take what She has taught you and offer it to others.
Offer your healing to the suffering of the world, and add your light to the sum of light.
Look gently into the eyes of your fellow humans, show them you truly care, as the Goddess cares for us all."

SageWoman 2008 Calendar

POEST and Earth Day

Some other members of POEST (Pagans of Etsy) are also having a Sale on Earth Day.

Check our Blog for more details:
http://pagansofetsy.blogspot.com/2008/04/earth-day-sale.html

APRIL 22ND: EARTH DAY SALE!

I'm having a sale on Earth Day.

On April 22nd, I will offer -20% off my shop's current offerings with the exception of items that are already on sale.

The amount of the discount will be refunded (the discount is calculated on the total amount before shipping).

My friend Hedgewitch will be donating all proceeds on the 22nd to 'Friends of the Earth', an environmental charity.

Feel free to check her shop: http://hedgewitchUK.etsy.com

Introducing Black Annis Cosmetics

Over the past few months, I've been thinking about having a small lines of natural & botanical cosmetics. I know that mineral powder have become very popular but they are also quite pricey.

I chose the name Black Annis Cosmetics because I wanted a Faery inspiration for my line. Since my products are natural and made with herbs, it seemed very appropriate (hopefully the Fairies will appreciate and bless my products as well).

In the Celtic Faery lore, Black Annis is a hag. Hags are often described as ugly & nasty old crones; I believe they are very misunderstood spirits of power and wisdom. One of my favorite tree to work with (both on a spiritual and medicinal level) is the Elder tree. The Elder is a Faery tree and portal to the Underworld. The spirit of the Elder is an old and wise crone who will gladly help and even bestow gifts if treated with all due respect. Elder is a tree of transformation as well.

My Fair Lady Face Powder is the first item of this new cosmetic line. It is a veil powder more than a foundation powder because it will prevent the skin to become shiny but won't cover blemishes (or very lightly). It's a powder that I recommend for light and fair skin complexions.
My Fair Lady is made of arrowroot powder and pesticide-free rose powder that imparts a natural pinkish hue to the powder as well as a nice rose scent. I really enjoy it ;).

I'm hoping to be able to come up with a matching blush but it seems that it'll be harder than I thought. Other than that, I will be offering herbally infused tinted lip balm in shades of pink and red (if I'm lucky maybe even a violet) similar to my Wise Woman Lip Balm in texture and goodness...

The Ten Most Indispensable Herbs according to Matthew Wood

http://www.woodherbs.com/Indispensable.html

Feminine Mystique & The Goddess

This is an online article from Nourished Magazine, feel free to leave a comment:

“How has the Goddess filled your life and how do you express Feminine energy?”

http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/feminine-mystique

Amber Forest Soap

This soap is handmade with saponified oils, coconut milk, ethically wildcrafted siskiyou cedar leaf infusion (with spring water), eucalyptus honey, ethically wildcrafted fresh pine needle infused oil (in organic extra virgin olive oil), unrefined beeswax, crystallized amber essence, amber tincture, ground siskiyou cedar leaves and juniper twigs.

It has a distinct sweet vanilla-amber like scent.

Result of the Nettle Kefir Experiment

Well, I'm pleased ;).
After 24 hours, I strained my infusion. The smell has changed.
The kefir grains turned brown. I rinsed them and put them back in their little jar.

The taste of the nettle kefir is very interesting: it's similar to an herbal wine. It's a little fizzy due to the fermentation, which produces a little bit of alcohol (the alcohol content of Kefir will vary from 0.06 % (Marshall 1984), up to a maximum of 3% alcohol. The average alcohol content in home brewing is around 0.5% with a loose lid and 1% in an airtight jar. Shaking the fermentation container during the fermentation time also results in higher alcohol content).

I have never tried kombucha tea but I believe it must be somewhat similar. I will experiment with some other herbs and maybe even juices.

The Nettle Kefir Experiment

I recently bought some live kefir grains to make my own kefir with organic milk. I tried twice and didn't like neither the taste nor the smell of it. I read that you can also you these kefir grains with herbal infusions or fruit juices...So I figured that maybe I'd like my kefir better in an herbal base.

I prepared 2 cups of nourishing nettle infusion that had steeped for 4 hours. Once strained, I warmed the infusion lightly and added 1 tbsp of honey (I used raw mountain honey). I rinsed the kefir grains thoroughly with spring water, since I only used them twice they haven't had the time to get used to a dairy environment, therefore they shouldn't take long to adapt to the herbal infusion. Once clean and strained, I placed the kefir grains into a 1 quart mason jar then poured the sweetened nettle infusion over it. I closed the lid and gently shook the jar.

It should take 24 to 48 hours but it can take longer since I don't know how the kefir grains are going to react to this new environment. I will keep a close eye on the infusion, gently shaking the jar from time to time. I will have to smell and taste the infusion to know if and when it's ready to be strained and enjoyed.

I hope it'll taste better this way ;)!

Celebrate the Goddess through Gratefulness

"There is no more profound prayer to the Great Goddess than a simple "Thank You."
And there is no end to the things you have to be grateful for.
From the first object your eyes behold upon awakening to the last thought before slipping into dreams, each day holds infinite opportunity for you to express your gratitude.
Each heartfelt whisper of thanks increases your blessings.
Each sincere expression of gratefulness opens you to bliss.
Each moment, no matter where you are, give thanks for the beauty and bounty that is yours."

From SageWoman 2008 Calendar