Mountain Rose Herbs and The Essential Herbal Magazine giveaway!

Check it out, folks!
Visit the Mountain Rose Herbs Blog and get all the details.  You can enter to win all the ingredients for a winter cough syrup recipe I use here at home a lot AND a year's subscription to The Essential Herbal Magazine.

I snitched this picture from their blog to whet your whistle...

Don't wait too long, the contest is over on Oct 2nd, so hop on over to their blog and find out how to enter.  Now!  Go on, Scoot!!!

Women Herbalists: Lydia Pinkham

Women Herbalists:  Lydia Pinkham

The Essential Herbal (www.essentialherbal.com) Mar/Apr ‘12

While Lydia Pinkham might not be at the top of the list as a famous female herbalist, I think she appeals to me so much because of business savvy and because her business began as a family enterprise.  Her Vegetable Compound continues to be produced today.

Lydia Pinkham lived from 1819-1883 in Lynn, MA.  To better understand her success it helps to have a little bit of background on the medical history of that time.   The beginning of the century medicine was in a “heroic phase” of purging, bloodletting, and blistering.  This was the common treatment form everything from pneumonia, hernia, to amenorrhea.  Emetics, leeches, lancets, harsh purgatives were all used with a free hand for any ailment.   And then in addition was calomel (chloride of mercury) a powerful cathartic.  Therapeutically useless calomel broke down the intestines into a virulent mercurial poison.  It produced a violent laxative effect and profuse salivation as the body continued to rid itself of the drug.   Continued use lead to softening of the gums and mucus membranes and loss of teeth.  These treatments continued through to the middle of the century and into the end of the century by older docs.

In addition to purging, puking and bleeding, Doctors of the time were creating an anxiety within women of the weakness of their sex.   The concept of the delicate wife or the woman taking to her couch with the vapors was played upon. Menstruation was seen as an infirmity.   In addition physician’s odd treatments of prolapsed uterus, leucorrhea, menstrual pains or menopause lead women to feel they had little to gain with a visit to the regular doctor.  

As people were gaining a mistrust of “regular” doctors, other medical theories were being developed.  Samuel Graham (of Graham bread and crackers) was lecturing on diet. Thompson studied with a local yarb and root doctor and learned of Lobelia inflata, Indian tobacco, leading to his theories of disease “heat is life, cold is death” and his Thomsonian School of medicine.  Then Hahnemann came with his theories of “infinitesimal dose” and his homeopathy school.  

 Lydia Pinkham began selling her compound in an era marked by medical controversy, public dissatisfaction with the medical profession and an obsessive concern with woman’s weakness.    Lydia Pinkham had been making her compound for years and giving it to friends and neighbors.   Her family had the idea to sell the Vegetable Compound when her husband a speculative business man hit financial ruin in the “Panic of 1873”.  It was a true family business sons working on promotion and advertising, daughter turning over her paycheck to underwrite the business, Lydia did the manufacturing and so the business of  “Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound” began.

Promotions began with circulating flyers door to door in small towns and larger cities.  The return on the investment of the printing and time spent circulating was not worthwhile so the Mrs. Pinkham bravely took out a four page ad in the Boston Herald for close to $900.00.    Sales soared!  The company continued to print advertising in newspapers and magazines, hiring agents and eventually having an in house advertising agent for over 60 years. The advertising expenditures for 1900 were over $770,000!   The company also produced a variety of booklets on such topics as Home Dressmaking or War time Cook and Health Book as cleverly camouflaged advertising.  In 1920, 11 million booklets were printed and the company built their own printing press to do so.  Part of the advertising campaign encouraged woman to write for help with their health.  Advertising that “Mrs. Pinkham regards every letter as a Sacred Message” and that “No man will ever see your letter”, thousands upon thousands of letters were received and a bevy of young women hired to write standardized responses.

The company certainly went through its share of problems through its 100 year history.  By 1905 a steady barrage of criticisms were being leveled at patent medicines hurt business.  Major magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and Colliers were printing articles with such titles as “The Great American Fraud”.  Patent Medicine Counterfeiters were fairly common to the industry.  The Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1911, whose slogan “Let the Label Tell” required proprietary medicines to list ingredients which cut down on quackery.  While the Vegetable Compound needed to change its labeling and its healing claims, this led to an era of prosperity for the company.  Family squabbles occurred and in the 1930’s-1940’s, with all of the original family deceased, there were numerous court battles among the cousins for control of the company.   The 1940’s changes were brought on by the Federal Trade Commission, American Medical Association and the FDA, the company adapted and complied. 

In 1950, sales hit below the two million dollar mark for the first time in a decade.  Lydia Pinkham was now an old woman in old fashioned clothes.   Druggist’s described the consumer of the Vegetable Compound as well over 30, mature, less educated and in the south or cities often Black.  The company created a fictitious and modern Ann Pinkham but in the end did not respond astutely enough to changing times.  In 1968 the company was sold to Cooper Labs and moved out of the country.

In 1980, when I first began giving garden tours in the herb gardens of The Rosemary House, when I spoke of pleurisy root as one of the ingredients in Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound invariably there would be a woman say “a baby in every bottle” a carry over from one of their stronger advertising campaigns.  Now, at the mention of Lydia Pinkham I am faced with blank stares.  While today it seems easier to find a bottle of her Vegetable Compound in an antique store then in a pharmacy, I still admire the woman behind the compound for her shrew business sense and for her willingness to talk about female issues honestly and forthrightly.

The original formula of Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound   was based on John King’s American Dispensary.

For 100 pints:

8 oz Unicorn Root (Aletris farinose)

6 oz Life Root (Senecio aureus)

6 oz Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)

12 oz Pluerisy Root (Asclepias tuerosa)

12 oz Fenugreek Seed (Foenum graceum)

Suspended in alcohol

Susanna Reppert Brill, The Rosemary House, Mechanicsburg PA

 www.TheRosemaryHouse.com

Equinox

The official end of summer is here, but we've been feeling it for a few weeks now.  Flowers have given way to seeds or fruit, with only a few stragglers like the flowers of the sunchokes, the stray fall spikes of lavender, complementing the sprays of goldenrod, fireweed, asters and Joe Pye weed in the meadows.  This year there was barely any blue vervain.  Elderberries suffered because of the drought, and for some reason the early summer harvest of lavender was lacking.
I'm trying to balance the feelings of sadness at watching another growing season fade with the relief of being able to rest for a few months.  While I have lots of friends who feel that named days are just another day, something like an Equinox is an opportunity for me to think about what is in or out of balance in life.
We're meandering along, trying to find a little more time for doing our favorite things like writing, walking in the woods, and playing in the gardens.
Work is the major part of life here on the farm, but we have all managed to make it about things that we love, so it seems more like play.  We often start early in the morning and continue well past dinner - sometimes until we fall into bed.  Our children are now struggling to find ways to live their lives similarly, doing things they love well enough to make a living while enjoying enough to perhaps put in 18 hour days and still want to continue.  We learned it by putting those hours in for others before figuring out that we'd prefer to do it for ourselves.  I hope the kids don't need to do that, but it might be necessary.
Lately we've been pulling back from some of the extraneous things, trying to put aside some time for fun.  Right now we're racing against the calendar, trying to find a few days to go to the beach for a few days before it gets too cold.  It's been many years since my sister and I took a few days that didn't include a speaking engagement somewhere along the way.  If you travel for business, you know that it's tough to enjoy the trip as anything resembling a vacation.  Usually, it's just trying to get where you need to be on time, and then scooting back home to catch up on what piled onto the work tables while you were gone.  We've enjoyed speaking to 100's of groups over the years, criss-crossing the country on wild road trips (pre-GPS, lol).  We've cut back to about 3 shows that we really enjoy each year.  That feels about right.  It would be nice to be able to go as participants for a change...
Another thing about balance is fitting in the needs of others while still taking care of ourselves.  We're thinking that the current fall schedule of classes will be our last - and we're not completely sure we'll be doing these.  Each year people ask for classes, and we schedule them, but they just don't seem to work out time-wise for enough people to make it worthwhile.
To be honest, we won't be sad to let them go.  Both of our businesses (the magazine and the wholesale soap) have crazy schedules that can blow up overnight.  We may think we've got everything under control and then wake up to find that we've been slammed with orders while we slept.  That's a great thing, but it makes classes difficult, working around that kind of craziness.  We're thinking that after working to build our businesses all these years, maybe it's time to stop trying to do "everything" and concentrate on the things we do best and enjoy the most.

So we'll see.  We always have a hard time letting things go.  Well *I* do.  Maryanne doesn't, but she lets me drag them back into the schedule without too much squawking.  Who knows how things will shake out?
I hope you give some thoughts to balance on this Equinox too. 
We burned out pretty hard in 2000 from doing too many different things, and know that the magazine and the soap are our top priorities - and having some fun.

Rose Hip Jelly

From The Essential Herbal Magazine Nov/Dec '11

Pure Rose Hip Jelly Recipe

by Twyla DiGangi


Rose hips are the ‘fruit’ of the rose plant. They appear late in the summer and stay on the bush the entire winter.

Wild roses (Rosa spp.) have been used for a wide variety of uses through the ages. The entire plant is both medicinal as well as a natural source of food. The petals can be added to salads, or eaten on their own as a trail snack. The petals also make a nice natural band-aid for minor cuts when camping or hiking. The root is used to treat diarrhea, flu, dysentery, and worms. Decoction of the root and leaves makes a wonderful cleanser for your system. The entire plant can be used as a wash for wounds and injuries. Roses and the hips are high in vitamin C, E, B, and K as well as a good source of beta-carotene. This makes them a very nourishing meal that is highly nutritious. The spring shoots can be stripped and eaten raw.

Medicinal Uses of Rose Hips
During World War II importing oranges became impossible for a lot of different countries. British soldiers would gather rose hips by the hundreds because of their high vitamin C content. They would make syrups and jellies to keep away scurvy. Three rose hips have the same vitamin C content as one large orange.
The seeds of the rose hips were sometimes cooked by some native groups. They were then used to treat muscular pain. The fibers in the seeds have been known to irritate the digestive tract. They also have a cyanide-like compound that is destroyed by drying or cooking, making the rose hips safe for consumption.

Using Rose Hips for Food
Rose hips can be added to stews, teas, made into pemmican, jams, and jellies. It is better to collect rose hips after the first frost. This makes them even sweeter as well and softens them a bit. Collect on a sunny day after the morning dew has evaporated.  Make sure to cook or dehydrate rose hips before eating them.

Recipe for Pure Rose Hip Jelly

You can collect rose hips even in the middle of winter to make jelly all winter long. Take extra care if harvesting in the winter and dress for the cold weather. The rose hips will be very soft after you get them home and they begin to thaw out.  Always make sure that the plants haven’t been sprayed with pesticides.


16 cups (4 quarts) ripe rose hips
8 cups (2 quarts) water
2 packages of pectin powder
5 cups of sugar
½ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon margarine (optional, will reduce foaming of the jelly)

After you have cleaned your rose hips and removed the tops put them in a large stainless steel pot. Pour the water over them and bring to a simmer. Let them simmer until soft. It will take about an hour. Remove from heat and with a potato masher mash the rose hips up a bit. Strain it all through a jelly bag or large piece of cheesecloth until you get 4 cups of rose hip juice.

In pot add rose hip juice, lemon juice, the two packages of pectin and the margarine. Stir until well combined and bring to a boil. Add your sugar and mix well. Return mixture to a boil that can’t be stirred down. Stir constantly for one minute and then remove from heat.

Ladle into sterilized jars. If you are going to process the jelly in a water bath canner process for 10 minutes. Let the jars sit for 24 hours without disturbing them. Label and put your jelly away.

This jelly is filled with vitamin C making it a healing agent to help boost the immune system, as well as a nutritious jelly for sandwiches or toast.

"Parts" in a Recipe?

Measuring in “Parts”

Tina Sams

The Essential Herbal, Sept/Oct '10

Often people have a difficult time converting recipes from “parts” into a more familiar standard of measurement.  Once it is understood, it is a very freeing way of communicating a recipe.  I generally assume that parts refers to measurement by volume, but it can also refer to weight in some cases.

Let’s take a recipe for an herbal tea blend:

2 parts chamomile

1 part raspberry leaf

½ part peppermint

If we exchange the word part(s) with cup(s), the recipe would translate to:

2 cups chamomile

1 cup raspberry leaf

½ cup peppermint

But perhaps we would like to only make a small amount in order to see if we like it.  In that case, we could exchange part(s) for teaspoon(s), translating to:

2 t chamomile

1 t raspberry leaf

½ t peppermint

In this way, a part can be any type of container which is then used as a unit of measurement.  Shot glass, Dixie cup, quart deli container, gallon, 5 gal bucket, bushel, barrel, truckload  – anything at all!

This works for dried herbs, liquids, and just about anything that one would like to blend.

In the recipe given above, exchanging “part” for “pound” (or other weight unit) is not appropriate because a pound of peppermint is smaller in volume than the chamomile or raspberry leaf.  When we create a formula that we intent to use parts by weight, we note that specifically when writing the recipe down.

New! Elderberry e-book!

 An Elder Gathering

What do you get when you gather 6 herb women with a combined experience of nearly 150 years?  A lot of great information, that's what!

For the last month, we've been working together, choosing recipes, sharing methods, and thinking about how much we love elderflowers and berries, and even learning from each other.  We're very happy with the results.  Condensed into 40 pages, the e-book is available for just $5.
Purchase it today and use the information and recipes for your elderberries right now!
Link to purchase:    http://www.essentialherbal.com/category/BOOKS-DVDS-3

Pineapple core - dried

Over the past few months, I have been eating pineapple a lot.  It started when we dropped grains and sugar from our diet here.  It's always easier to take something away if it is replaced with more variety in what will become regular.  So instead of starchy, sugary snack-y stuff, I chose some fruits and foods that wouldn't typically have been affordable.  It's was a good trade-off, and fresh pineapples landed on the counter at least once a week.
A happy side effect came from the bromelain, an enzyme that decreases inflammation.  People often notice relief from joint pain and arthritis when taking bromelain, and that was true for me too.  I also noticed another side effect in the easing of gastro-intestinal symptoms I've been working on through diet.  The core has more bromelain than the fleshy fruit portion, and it seems like there has to be a way to preserve them. 
I have chopped up a couple of cores and have them soaking in vodka.  Pulling a slice out one evening in an attempt to stave off stomach problems worked, but woo boy - very potent to chew.
Today I decided to dry the core in the oven.
 

 

  First I sliced it very finely into small pieces, and laid them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
They went into the oven on the lowest setting (Warm) and I left to do some work for a few hours.
When I returned, they were done. 
They taste just like small pieces of pineapple flavored candy.
Never again will a pineapple core go to waste!  These would be worth drying even if it was just for the deliciousness, never mind the health benefits.

To fix things, or not

I spend a lot of time thinking about how connected everyone is these days.  Not necessarily to each other, but to devices of communication.  Even in my own home, there are times when several people are "together", but some of them will be engaged in a conversation of texts or emails while attempting to be present.
The thing that has really made me think about it a lot lately is the fact that a storm knocked out the answering machine on my phone a couple of months ago.  I don't use a cell phone unless traveling, so at least when outside I am free.
At first, I mentally planned how to fix it and it would seriously take about 3 minutes of wire wrangling, yet it hasn't happened yet.  "Oh no!" I thought, "How will people leave a message?"  And still I don't fix it.
I get a little guff now and then for not having a telephone number on the web site.  We're 11 years in, and email has worked out pretty well so far.  The typical business-like reasons are that I am not available during regular hours, not willing to handle phone calls at all hours, and at one time there was a teenager with an unpredictable attitude.  Perhaps anymore, the fact is that I just can't think on my feet anymore.  I'm USED to being able to give responses some thought, look on the calendar, check back on prior communications, or whatever it might take to sound like the system here (and my mind) is intact.
Throughout my childhood, well into adolescence, my mother was bound to the front portion of our home 24/7.  Extensions from over 40 businesses rang on a switchboard, and she took messages for all of them.  She tracked down doctors, got emergency fuel deliveries taken care of, and pretty much juggled the problems of 100's of people a day.  She rarely ventured outside, even after an outdoor ringer was installed.  It wasn't worth the hassle.  I started helping out with the phones at the age of nine.  Really.  Later, after that was sold and she went to work for someone else, at 14 I went to work on a bigger answering service with over 200 businesses, a few police departments, an alarm company, a Western Union office, and the first FAX line in the county.  2 people worked at a time, and it was ... um... fun.  Afterwards I went on to be a police dispatcher with the county, where I learned the true meaning of the word emergency, and also how very many of them occur during an 8 hour shift.
So over the course of the last couple of months, I've realized the reason for my resistance to doing anything about the fried message machine.  It is so much easier.  There are probably fewer people who remember than those who don't, but there was a time when you could be alone.  At one time, if the phone rang and nobody answered, that was that.  No messages.  No guilt about getting back to anyone.  The caller could try later, or go ahead and live their life, perhaps checking in the next day.  You could go on a hike and never talk to anyone except the person physically walking beside you, or maybe your dog. 
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll probably fix the phone in a few days.  But always, I'm easier to reach by email :-)

Mid-Autumn Fruit Splurge

This year, the fig tree has grown large enough to be supplying me with a bounty that is finally pushing me to try different things with them, rather than simply plucking them off the tree and eating them while standing in the yard.  They are full of so many good things.  Fiber, potassium, vitamin K, calcium and iron, for starters. 
Earlier this year, I found a recipe for Vanilla Fig Bars and waited patiently.  I made it the other night and it was very good (I added a touch of honey from my friend Zan's bees).  The only thing is, I can never just leave a recipe alone.  Eating one of those bars, I kept thinking how good that chock-full of health cookie base of almonds, coconut and figs would be used as a crust for a tart of some sort.
And so today, in order to step away from some of the less than savory bits of news coming across the computer, it became a reality.  No eggs, dairy, or grains used.  No baking.  Just perfection.

The recipe for the fruit topping was just a conglomeration of what happens to be on my counter at the moment:
1 cup of fresh ripe elderberries
1 cup sweet ripe figs
1 large juicy peach
about a tablespoon of grated ginger
3 tablespoons of rich, dark honey
1/4 cup sugar
These were all set to simmer until it became a luscious, bubbling, fragrant mass - about 15 minutes .

In the meantime, I put together the crust.  Using fresh figs with the coconut and almond makes the whole thing turn out looking just a little bit more like ham salad than I'd like, but that fades a bit as it sets up.  It holds together exceptionally well.

At the very last minute, I added about 1/4 cup of coconut flour to the fruit mixture, just to help it thicken.  It was taken off the heat for 10 minutes, and then spread over the crust.  It is wonderful!  Absolutely delicious, and while it is nowhere near low-calorie, it is full of things that are good for us.

I suspect my daughter will top it off with a dollop of yogurt with a smidge of honey.

The Essential Herbal Sept/Oct '12

 We've been a little absent on the blog lately, but it isn't for lack of activity!  All kinds of busy here on the farm, with harvesting, preserving, maintaining, and of course the magazine and soap businesses keeping us stepping.
The Sept/Oct '12 issue is headed out to subscribers now, and should be arriving in the next 2 weeks.  If you'd like to join in the fun, subscribe!  We've got plenty.  Not sure?  Click on the free issue along the right sidebar of this blog and check it out without risk. 
Here's what you'll find in the current issue:

Field Notes

During childhood, we establish our relationship with nature. Are we still playing and sharing that with the kids in our lives?

Herbal Connections, Winter Herbs, Marita A Orr

Getting our herbs lined up for the winter ahead, Marita shares her favorites and methods for use.

Grooming & Pruning Herb Plants, Michele Brown

The Herbfarmer gives advice for keeping our herbs in good shape to face the weather ahead so that they’ll be ready to spring into action as soon as the warmth and light return.

Seasonal Support, Suzan T Scholl

Lots of great herbs to have on hand, and now is the time to gather them.

From the Vault, Secrets of the Scented Bead, Carol Huettner

You may be very surprised to learn how myrrh beads and aromatic amber resin are created. It probably isn’t anything like what you expected.

Medicinal Vinegar Tinctures, Marci Lautanen-Raleigh

Alcohol-free medicinal herbal extracts in a base that is good for you? Read on!

SouthRidge Treasures, Pesto, Mary Ellen Wilcox

Look out basil, Mary Ellen is taking pesto far beyond the usual.

Mullein the Great, Marci Tsohonis

This common roadside weed has so much to offer. Like so many plants that we pass daily, it is worth a much closer look.

Autumn Magic, Heddy Johannsen

Welcome the season by celebrating the offerings of nature in the kitchen. Cider making without a press? Hmmm…

Oatmeal—Food as Medicine, TEH Compilation

We know about oatstraw and milky oatseeds as herbal preparations, but sometimes forget that it can be much simpler and we can incorporate the same benefits in delicious every day dishes.

How to Dehydrate Lemons, Delores Harris

Dehydrated citrus can be utilized in many ways over the holidays. Great instructions for excellent results.

Pumpkin, TEH Compilation

Is it the pumpkin, the spice combination, the delicious health benefits of deep orange foods, or the seasonal connection? All of the above? We love pumpkin in just about everything.

Take Three Weeds, Sharon Wolfe Topsick

Teachings from an elder.

What is an Herbalist, Jackie Johnson, ND

Do you ever wonder about this title and what it means?

Herban Legends, Rita Richardson

Old wives’ tales? Maybe, maybe not, but interesting either way.

 

We're sure you're going to love this issue as much as we do.

Drying Elderberries

Right now, we only have a small quantity of berries ready for drying.  Later, we'll have huge flats of screens out, but for now this is my favorite method and it works for just about anything you'd want to air-dry.

Most everyone has some of these paper plate holders around the house.  We rarely use paper plates, but the holders have become something that we use almost daily from the moment the first spring greens show up until the very end of autumn.

The berries can be heaped on the plate to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.  They will quickly dry down and separate, and I've never had any spoilage.  The same can be said for most flowers or leaves.  There is a lot of circulation, and open baskets are great for drying. 

After a couple of days the berries are starting to look like tiny raisins, and they will continue to dry for a week or more, depending on the temperature and humidity.

When they have completely dried, keep them in a sealed container in a cool, dry place and you'll have plenty to get through the winter!

Treasure from the Storm

We had a gully-washer last night, and a lot of branches broke.  We didn't notice any problem on any of our trees around the house, and I was very relieved to not lose any elderberry branches.  They usually are the first to go in high winds, being so heavily weighted by fruit.
This evening my daughter and I wandered around the tree farm a little bit.  We were about to go visit the puppies at my sister's when we came upon some mimosa branches that had come down in the storm.

We quickly set to work and soon found that a basket was needed, so Molly ran down to the workshop while I continued working in the quickly dwindling light.
The inner bark of mimosa feels so slick and emollient.  The wood beneath is as white as bones.  The bark came off easily in long straps, and we stuffed a large market basket with our treasure.

The bark and flowers of the mimosa tree are both considered to be extremely helpful for grief and sadness, and I have personally found this to be true during several intense situations over the past few years.  The easiest way to describe its action is to say that it pushes the gray clouds away and allows the mind to stop focusing entirely on the sadness.  It is also a wonderful herb to have on hand for winter blahs or times when I just want to cheer up a little bit because life is too serious.

In the past, I've dried the flowers, but they are very labor intensive and an overflowing basket dries down to a few cups of material.  It takes weeks of harvesting (and a few bee stings) to obtain a 1/2 gallon jar.  This year I didn't dry any, instead making tincture with the fresh flowers only.

On the other hand, the bark dries beautifully and retains the components better and for a longer time.  Every year I find a few small branches, but can't bring myself to cut a larger branch.  Usually I wind up with a cup or so of dried bark.  The bark is unusual in that the outer bark is almost paper thin (on branches - it's thick on the main trunks) and the inner bark is fairly thick.  This will make a great addition to winter teas, and some of it will go into the jars of flower tincture that I started a couple of weeks ago.
To read a little more about mimosa:

 https://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/2009/07/happiness-herb-s.html

https://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/2010/01/got-stress.html

From the Vault

Something old, something new...

A few months ago, we received an extraordinary gift from The Rosemary House!
Any herbie worth their salt has read something written by Bertha Reppert.  She was a prolific writer whose mission in life was to spread the love of herbs far and wide.  Besides writing many books herself (many of which are still available at The Rosemary House), she was also quoted in many herb books and contributed many writings to various herbal newsletters around the globe. 
Prior to the advent of the internet, herb businesses were a completely different animal than what we've come to know.  They were nearly all physical locations - stores, gardens, and classrooms with doors that people walked through.  Marketing a business was an expensive proposition, and many herbal newsletters were published in order to stay in touch with customers and encourage visits and mail orders.  Some newsletters were stand-alone businesses, but more often they were used as marketing tools.  The herbal community enthusiastically provided content for these newsletters, contributing articles, recipes, and craft instructions in exchange for a way to also get their own names out there.
Mrs. Reppert was a favorite contributor, and she also received copies of all those newsletters and saved them - all of them - for close to 30 years.

So we were gifted with boxes and boxes of these herbal gems.  For the most part, the businesses are gone, and in many cases so are the writers.  The information varies from juicy tidbits to extraordinary revelations.  The audiences were typically small, with between a few hundred to a thousand readers, so many of these items were seen by few people - most of whom have moved on in one way or another.

We mulled this over for some time, trying to figure out how or *if* we could ethically enrich The Essential Herbal with any of this treasure trove.  We've decided to try to contact writers whenever possible, and give full credit to any re-print, putting it under the banner "From the Vault".  In the upcoming issue, you'll find an article on myrrh beads!

We're very excited about the opportunity to reclaim some of this herbal knowledge and expect that you'll find a little "something old" mixed in with all of our usual content that teaches and inspires, in just about every issue of our magazine for years to come. 

Summer "Salad"

So far, this summer has been an interesting one here on the farm.  For the most part, we are pretty well insulated from the very serious natural disasters that have hit so many parts of the country, but having so much contact with friends all over means that we are very aware of the bigger picture.  It was very dry here, and the anxiety we felt as the patch of sweet corn languished and died was just a small taste of what our friends in the midwest are experiencing.  The threat of brush fires was a constant reminder of the cauldrons to the west, and the weeks of high 90's and cloying humidity was still mild compared to many parts of the US.  We've been lucky so far, and the storms over the past week have refilled our streams, reservoirs, and ground water levels.  Right now the temperature is in the mid 60's (but that humidity is still with us...) so we're getting a break.

All in all, we went about our business(es) and had a few adventures.  We utilized the extreme heat to melt soaping fats and pounded out nearly 30 batches in the last month.  Every time the shelves looked full, orders poured in and emptied them again - but that's the plan, isn't it?

I've gotten to play with some different tinctures, like wild lettuce and lobelia, made a gallon of sour cherry "bounce" and our CSA share is keeping me busy trying new recipes and eating great foods.  Beets, squash, cucumbers, kale and eggplant are big right now.  Bob's potatoes and onions were harvested the other day and sit in crates down in the work barn.  We got to meet our favorite big-city beekeeping gypsy and Renegade Farmer, Zan Asha last week, and it was fun to toss ideas back and forth.  That was followed by a few days with my guy, and now we're looking forward to a little time with friends from the Big Apple.  It's a good mix here.  Although it might sound a little wild, everything falls into a lovely rhythm and we enjoy every bit of it.

In the midst of this, the deadline for the Sept/Oct issue of The Essential Herbal arrived.  I bundled up the well-stuffed file of articles and sent them on to Maryanne for lay-out.  I was more than a little surprised to hear that it looked "light" to her after setting all the content, but then we realized that several of the articles were in a format that didn't carry over when she got started - and then realized that we'd need to use a smaller font and shrink the margins to get it all on the allotted pages.  THAT'S more like it!  There's a perfect blend of articles covering all aspects of herbal use - culinary, medicinal, growing, and enjoyment - and now if I can just get a focus for the field notes section, we'll be all set.

It's hard to try to imagine what August and September will bring this year.  We're in new territory and have never had a year like this one before.  All I know for sure is that there will be a bumper crop of elderberries to process, and I'll be distilling lots of white sage from my own plants and there should be plenty fragrant leaves of rose geranium for the still as well.  We'll keep on keeping on and hope for the best.

Yarrow Bath Tea and Compress

In the Jul/Aug '12 issue of The Essential Herbal, Alicia Grosso provides a glorious bouquet of ways to use yarrow for the relief of summer's irritations.  Here's one, excerpted from her article - simple to make, and very versatile.

Yarrow Bath Tea and Compress 
    Dry yarrow
    Dry lavender flowers
    Dry rose petals
    Dry milk powder
    Light muslin square, reusable muslin bag or heat-seal tea bag

Make a mixture of dried botanicals. Three parts yarrow, one part lavender, one part rose petals, one part dry milk.  Store a bulk amount in a dry jar with an airtight lid.  Fill bags as needed and drop one into a warm bath.  Alternatively, use the saturated bag as a small compress for sunburn.  Gently swab tender areas.

Reality of Herbal Fanaticism

The climate and landscape of alternative care has been changing rapidly over the last couple of decades.  In herbs, we've gone from a time when medicinal herbs were something we did for our families, to a full-blown industry, with all the elements (good and bad) that entails.
Herbs, healthy eating, learning to manage stress, and a myriad of alternative preventive models have come to the forefront, allowing individuals to make a real difference in their own lives.  In many cases, people have come to the study of herbs because they've learned to manage or even cure chronic illnesses that the allopathic medical community could not relieve. 
Even when we had our shop in the mid-90's, we listened to our customers who were disappointed in the care they'd received by doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and drug companies.  It is hard not to jump on the bandwagon sometimes, but throwing the baby out with the bath water is not the answer.  I personally despise drug companies and insurance companies.  They've clearly demonstrated that they will choose money over mankind (or any species, for that matter) every time, but talk to the parent of a child whose life depends on a medication, and it changes the dialogue.
With the advent of heated discussions about funding insurance over the past 4 or 5 years, I've heard more and more herbalists saying that there is no place for the allopathic model.  This is to me a childlike fanaticism.  Charming, but foolish.
 
The argument is that with proper prevention and care using herbs and lifestyle, there is no need for medical intervention.  On the surface, I admit that this argument sounds good.  We can control all kinds of diseases that typical Americans moderate with drugs.  Lots of herbalists treat themselves and their clients for things like diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic liver disease, bacterial infections, cancer, you name it.  The other day I saw several postings about treating dental abscesses at home.  Nevermind that *anyone* can show up and declare themselves an herbalist - we'll leave that for another day.  In fact, there are many, many things that can be successfully treated with alternatives, good choices, and proper education on how to use these modalities.  The truth is, the average person "cherry-picks" from the options that would help, and  doesn't have time (or inclination) to devote to learning all there is to learn about what is required.  This can be like teaching a man to fish where there is no body of water.

What they don't seem to be considering are all of the things that happen to people that cannot be healed with an herb or sutured up with some sinew in the backwoods.  If I average it out, I'd say that I've seen a doctor about once every 5 years, and have been hospitalized about once every 10 years.  I'm pretty healthy, and we use herbs for most any discomfort or self-limiting illness in this house.  We try herbs first.

There are things that no amount of herbal knowledge will help.  An ectopic pregnancy in my 20's had one and only one lifesaving solution - surgery, stat.  A couple of my siblings were involved in car accidents that would have left them disfigured and disabled without surgical intervention.  A brother-in-law developed bacterial meningitis from a tooth abscess.  An herbalist friend who treated her own high blood pressure suffered a debilitating stroke.  A sibling with Hepatitis C was cleared of the virus through medical intervention.  A sister-in-law born with a heart defect so severe that her parents were advised not to name her, is now 57 because of medical intervention.  These are just people in my close little world.  The list of things that herbs and diet cannot address is long.  Do we choose to ignore them?

In earlier times, it was fairly common for women to die in childbirth.  Children born with congenital disease or malformations were doomed to live (or die) with them.  People wandered around with puss-y sores and growths, poorly healed compound fractures, and all kinds of remnants of alternative healing, because that was the only thing that was available.

So now, when I talk to someone who has embraced this model, saying they don't need doctors because they can cure everything (and just how do they get those things diagnosed?), it makes me think about the damage they are doing to their brothers and sisters who work in herbs, and the legitimacy that so many have fought so long and hard to achieve.  Showing up at the emergency room as a failed herbal experiment is exactly the sort of thing that brings the whole industry under scrutiny.  This lack of responsibility that eventually falls back on allopathic medicine when it is too late to be of any help is how we lose options and access to herbs. 

At a recent herb festival, I found myself in a cluster of long-time herbal friends ranging in age from 49 - 70ish.  For the first time, the talk turned to medical issues some of the group or their loved ones were experiencing.  Stuff happens as we age, no matter what kind of life we've led.  A little life experience can go a long way...

There is an important place for all healing methods, and we would do well to remember that in order to keep what we have.  Fanaticism blinds us to the value of that which we are not interested in seeing, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there.

Neck Coolers–for keeping cool…

These neck coolers are one of the easiest ways to keep cool in really hot weather when you need to be outside, or just need to cool down quickly.  We’ve used them at outdoor shows or in the garden, and the relief is pretty amazing. 
With the heat wave that has been going on in many parts of the country, and is now heading eastward, I thought I’d share this craft.  Now, understand that these can be found for sale – On our website.  But… it’s the kind of thing you can make a dozen of for just a little money and time (although not as nicely done), and throw into the cooler with the beverages during the upcoming holiday.  Having plenty of them will mean that they can be worn until they start to warm up, and then switched out with another, icy-cold one.
You’ll need some polyacrylamide crystals, marketed as root water crystals in the garden centers across the country, and some fairly closely woven cotton material.  Old sheets that have worn spots would be great for this purpose.

I’ve whipped one up by hand because I know not everyone has a sewing machine.  You will probably notice that I’m not terribly particular about measurements either.  The only measurements that really matter are that:
*the scarf is long enough to tie loosely about the neck
*the pocket that holds the crystals is only about 5 or 6 inches wide
*do not be tempted to use more crystals – you’ll burst the seams
Start with a strip of fabric 40” long X 5” wide.  Fold it in half lengthwise, and sew it into a tube.

Turn it inside out, and fold in half lengthwise.  From the fold, measure 2 1/2” to 3” on each side.

 
Sew ONE of those lines, widthwise.

Add one teaspoon full of the crystals.

Sew the other line, forming a packet that holds the crystals and reinforce the seam that runs lengthwise so that the crystals stay inside.

 

If you’re hand-sewing, these three seams are the most important to use very small stitches on.  The long initial seam isn’t too important, it just forms the tube.
You can then finish off the ends of the tube by turning them in and hemming.  Doing so at an angle is a nice touch. 
Submerge the neck cooler in cold water for about 15 minutes, and apply.  It will stay cool for quite a while, and when it starts to warm up, flip it over for further cooling.  Throw it back into the cold water and it’s ready to use again.  It will be about 3/4 – 1” thick in the pocket.

These are reusable until the cloth wears out!  Just allow them to dry naturally.  The crystals release the water and return to their tiny dry selves.  Until you need them again.

Fruit popsicles

We eat a wide variety of fruits here, but lately the addition of our own berries in the yard and those from our CSA share have challenged even us to keep up.  Today I found myself with a counter full of small containers of black raspberries and gooseberries, a couple of rapidly browning bananas, a couple of limes, and some frozen organic strawberries.  Our first real heat wave had me thinking of smoothies, but then I remembered the popsicle mold that came home a couple of months ago…

Years ago, working in a factory that had no air-conditioning, I discovered that fruit can make a huge difference in extreme heat.  Later when we worked long days in costume at a renaissance festival, strawberry and banana smoothies saved us on many afternoons. 

There have been a lot of pictures and recipes for fresh fruit popsicles showing up on the various social media sites lately, but the thought of whole chunks of frozen fruit molded into a solid form, while beautiful, in reality seems like it would be messy.  I got out the blender instead.

The basic “recipe” was 2 small bananas, a generous handful of frozen strawberries, an equally generous handful of mixed wild berries, and about 1/4 lime (rind and all).  About 1/4 cup of water was added to help the blender, but that probably wasn’t necessary.  It was good, though.

The resulting fruity goop was naturally sweet and thick.  It poured easily into the molds.  The part that didn’t fit into the mold was delicious, and the tiny chunks of lime rind were really a nice addition – as were the tiny fruit seeds.

Into the freezer for a few hours, and the popsicles were ready.  Delicious! 

This is definitely something I’ll be doing all summer, but the popsicle molds probably won’t be a part of it.  Reusable lidded cups would work much better for us.  We’re all adults, and it is murder getting those molds to let go without pulling the stick out.

Peaches will soon be ready, and all of the luscious summer fruits – melons, berries, nectarines, pineapple… I can’t think of a fruit that wouldn’t work.  Herbs could be added too, but for the most part concentrated infusions in place of the water used above seem that they’d be best.  Give it a try if you find you have leftover fruit.  The banana gives it a creamier texture without overwhelming the flavor of the other fruits.

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

During the past week, we’ve been noticing the yarrow popping up and blooming.  It isn’t quite in full swing yet, so in preparation, I thought I’d post a past article on this deceptively diminutive flower.  We gather it throughout the summer to dry for use in teas, salves, tub teas and tincture.  Don’t pass up this sweet weed.
Yarrow - Useful, Beautiful and Easy
Susan Evans
The Essential Herbal May/June 2010

With a lot of gardeners, yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is a love it or hate it plant. Sure, it has Napoleonic tendencies, marauding through the garden, but its many admirable qualities override this small flaw. I find it to be a beautiful, durable garden plant that blooms happily away in neglected areas of the yard in full sun, poor soil and limited water.

We first heard of yarrow from Achilles,
Homer’s warrior from the Illiad, who learned of its healing qualities from the centaur Charon. Constantly fighting over one thing, or another he used it to heal the battle wounds of his warriors. Some of its common names include Soldier’s Woundwort, Knights Milfoil, Bloodwort, Staunchweed and Nosebleed.
The first time I witnessed the curative powers of yarrow was when I ran a landscaping company. One of the boys on my crew was prone to profuse nosebleeds, occasionally sending him to the emergency room. While we were working away one afternoon I heard the familiar exclamation as Cameron started spurting blood all over the shrubbery he was pruning at the time. Having recently read about yarrow’s styptic qualities, I instructed him to chew up some nearby leaves and stick them up his nose. The rest of the crew jeered and laughed but he did it. We were all amazed and repulsed when Cameron pulled out the bloody bolus and the bleeding did not resume. Since then I have used the chewed leaves of yarrow as one of my favorite trail medicines to stop bleeding and temporarily disinfect cuts and abrasions.

Yarrow has a surplus of healing qualities. It is used for the internal bleeding of heavy menses, bleeding ulcers and hemorrhoids. Native Americans used it for everything from bleeding to urinary disorders and digestive ailments. Yarrow has been used to reduce fevers, relieve chest colds and as a digestive and general tonic. The roots have been chewed for sore gums and teeth. I have used yarrow as a disinfectant tea to wash injuries and skin rashes. Yarrow contains salicylic acid, which is a pain reliever used in aspirin and has anti-inflammatory properties. I’ve also heard it makes a good hair rinse. I find a lot of herbals recommending yarrow as a tea. I guess, if you like bitter. I prefer to make a tincture or capsule of the dried plant, thereby missing out on the tongue curdling taste.
Yarrow seems to have a split personality when it comes to magical properties. On one hand it was thought to be a favorite of the devil, used in evil spells. Two of its numerous common names are Devils Plaything and Devils Nettle. On the other hand it was often used to protect against evil. Sprigs were tied to cradles to prevent witches from stealing a baby’s soul. It was also worn and strewn over thresholds to protect against evil. Try it the next time the in-laws visit. Yarrow was used in love spells and divination, the stalks are used in readings of the I Ching.
For a durable garden plant yarrow is hard to beat. A hardy perennial, it grows from 1-3 ft high, depending on the variety. It blooms from late spring through fall if you remove faded blooms. Flowers come in pink, red, yellow and the wild form, white. It has ferny leaves and straight stems. I often read that it makes a good companion plant, enhancing the health of plants around it. I don’t know where these authors live, but in my Colorado garden, I have to keep a close eye on yarrow as it likes to overrun my less assertive perennials, which hardly consider it a good companion, more like the neighborhood bully. I consider this it’s only drawback.
Cut and hang yarrow flowers upside down to preserve for beautiful dried flower arrangements.
Useful for so many things, easy to grow and beautiful to boot, what’s not to love about this plant?
Susan Evans is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and owner of Chrysalis Herbs.

The Essential Herbal July/August '12

The newest issue is on the way to subscribers - filled with all the summertime herbal goodness you've come to expect from The Essential Herbal.  Subscribe today for 6 luscious issues each year.  Choose from print or pdf format!

Field Notes
Musing on the harvested goodness of summer and how we obtain great food.

Druid Plant Quiz
Cover artist Suzan Scholl provided a quiz that takes the cover from being a picture into a learning opportunity.  You'll love it!

Druid Herbals, Suzan T Scholl
An ancient people, we still use many of the same herbs today.

Louisiana Lagniappe, Shrimp Pasta Salad,Sarah Liberta
A cool, delicious dish to serve family or friends in the heat of summer.

A Rose by Any Other Name, Rita Richardson 
Rose Geranium, to be precise!

What to Do About a Sunburn, Cindy Jones
Herbal relief from summer's ravages on the skin.

Herbal Recipes for Well-Being, Heddy Johannesen
Learn to make a tincture, salve, body scrub - and more!

May Apples in Summer, Maryanne Schwartz
Often thought of as a spring flower, we rarely see the apples.  Time to look closer.
 
Wildharvest Adventure in Ohio, Jeni D Greenwood
Ready to grab your basket and go?  Jeni will have you itching to harvest some wildlings.

The Rose, Marita A Orr
Oodles of delicious and delightful culinary treats made from roses.  This article is one you'll want to keep for years to come.
 
Tomato Freezer Jam
Quick and easy?  You bet! 

Literary Seed Cake
Bake up a little history (and eat it too)
 
Summer Herb Sauces, Marcy Lautenan-Raleigh 
Lots of new and interesting ways to use herbs and bring new zest to the table.

The Humble Dandelion, Sandy Michelsen
Dandelions are still in the yard.  Use 'em up!

SouthRidge Treasures, Tansy, Mary Ellen Wilcox
"Today, it is used mainly as a decorative plant, but it does have an interesting past as a culinary and medicinal herb."  Lots to learn!

The Soap Pot, Yarrow Sunburn Suite, Alicia Grosso 
Full instructions for salve, lotion, soaps, and compresses for this wonderful, healing herb.

Salsa!, Tina Sams 
If you've only tried tomato based salsa, you may want to check out these colorful, flavorful fiestas for the tastebuds.

Women Herbalists, Maud Grieve,Susanna Reppert Brill
Susanna takes us for a visit with another fascinating historical woman herbalist.

Herbal Mothproofer Mix 
Gather those herbs and protect clothes and linens.