I can't proclaim the brilliant idea for this cake came from me. I confess, I eat nettles in every way possible, even blending up raw in a morning green drink (yes, all green plants come from my lawn). When Debbie Miller of Earth Rythm Wellness in Ogdensburg, NY shared the recipe with me... I think the whole North Country knows I am a Nettle Queen, I thought "Why Not?" We make carrot cakes, beet cakes, zucchini cakes and breads; nettle cake sounds like a splendid idea to me.
Read moreSpring Fling with Nettles
Stinging nettles poking out of the ground, 4/16/15.
I grow nettles in the "flower" bed up against my home. I have been asked on many occasions: "What person in their right mind would plant nettles in any flower bed and the bed right up against the house?" The answer is obvious to me; I am not in my right mind and who wouldn't plant nettles so close to the house? They are oh so close when I need them for soups. stews, stir fries, pesto, tinctures, medicinal infusions, etc.
Now here is the double edged sword with this situation: they are close at hand but these 'lil buggers like to run and take over the world just like mints. They create this under soil runner that, well, just runs, and runs, and runs spiraling out of control. I spend the spring pulling the renegade nettles out of the rest of the flower bed in front of my home. When I planted them, 5 years ago, I politely asked them to stay in their space on the side of the house. I even dug down into the soil and planted sandstone pieces to deter them from running. They out smarted me.
As aggravating as this can be, I do have a steady supply of spring nettles that I do not feel guilty about pulling. I snip the leaves to eat and plant the runners along the yard's edge hoping for yet more nettles to eat and make medicine with.
My bowl of nettle tops and leaves.
A close up of 2 nettle tops ready for dinner.
Nettles in the pan, a gentle saute' in butter is all that is needed.
The stems that I gently cooked first; why waste the nutrients?
Cooked nettles waiting for me to consciously devour them.
The finished salad with nettles scattered across the top.
I have made mention of my Spring difficulties around food. All winter I graciously and gratefully eat local cabbage, root veggies, and squash. I save my frozen local summer veggies to tide me over when I can no longer stand the thought of a root veggie and cabbage slaw. Yes, it does happen. (My winter leftovers are waiting to be made into sauerkraut when I can dig enough wild leeks to enhance this kraut batch.)
I yearn for local food: asparagus, greens, fiddle heads, peas, strawberries...
To survive until the local food is bountiful once again, I buy food from California. There, I confessed. The above salad is Romaine lettuce, celery, carrots, and juicy red peppers from California. I also buy non-local fruits: mango, banana, kiwi, citrus, and canned organic pineapple. I am desperate for neatly gift packaged sunshine to tide me over to the local food scene. A ripe mango has a serious amount of sun waiting to burst out of its skin. I bow my head in gratitude to the people, the trees, and the soil that brings me these gems to keep me happy.
I plopped the above salad down in front of my kids, minus the nettles of course. They would have flipped had I expected them to eat Nettles! (They did each have a small spoonful that they chucked into their mouths and barely chewed before swallowing. Someday they will appreciate the things I have exposed them to...) Here was my salad response:
"Finally, a real salad. No more nasty cabbage - root veggie slaw! Yay!"
Poor kids, they suffer so.
"Wow, Mom broke down and bought something that didn't grow within 20 miles of our home."
When do they learn to not harass the person keeping them in food?
Tip for the day: Get outside. Snip some nettles. Hey, dig some wild leeks and saute' them together, ever so gently. Enjoy the taste sensation, the local wild food, and the spring nourishment for your body. Oh yeah, don't bother sharing with the kids!
To create your own female energy spring fling:
Join the Female ♀ Moon Cycle Wisdom Training
Tuition, this year, stays at $72 Bucks in honor of My Mom,
an awesome female, & her Birthday (April 17th)!
Breakfast of Champions
No - No you people of the 70's and 80's (myself included), it is not Wheaties!
So what is this concoction on the plate and in the bowl?
- Local, pasture raised eggs fried to the perfect, "still liquid" yolk state,
- Wild leeks chopped and placed on top, and
- Local, pasture-raised, goat milk cheese, slightly melted, on top... and in the bowl?
- Kraut made from Kent Family Farm's root veggies, cabbage, and burdock with added: fresh wild leeks from around the corner and up the hill; then I added dandelion greens, nettle tops*, and chives from the front yard.
Yummy, cell nourishing way to start the day!
*The nettle tops were raw, chopped very finely. Yes, nettles will leave the characteristic "sting" on the tongue and back of the throat... but it is very mild, barely noticeable!
Stinging nettles have been used for urtication. Urtication means flailing the affected joints with nettles for the relief of arthritis and like conditions. So eating raw is a 'lil self tongue and throat therapy! Who would want arthritis of throat and tongue?
Wild Leeks
4/25/14 The Leeks are Back! YAY!
Seeing them in the woods, after a long winter, nourishes my soul!
Digging them, with the prospect of taking home for dinner, nourishes my body.
Knowing that peas, asparagus, dandelion greens, stinging nettles, spinach, and strawberries are just around the corner nourishes my mind.
No more snow, correct?
More leeks dug 4/26...
Fine chopped for my last batch of sauerkraut for the season...
Packed down into the kraut crock... 14 days and voila' wild leek infused sauerkraut! Want to sample? I will dig it out of the crock around the 12 of May.
Constipation 101
Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass.
Generally speaking, humans should have at least one bowel movement daily, in the AM shortly after arising. Some humans have bowel movements within a short time frame from each meal.
For others, things do not work so smoothly. Having bowel movements every 2 to 3 days is not normal. What is happening is the solid waste material is compacting and backing up just above the level of the anus, in the rectal and descending colon. See picture above.
Solid food waste moves from your small intestine, into the ascending colon where you see the appendix. Solid waste then moves up the ascending, across the transverse (part of colon going straight across the lower abdomen), and down the descending colon. When solid waste moves into the rectum, it stimulates nerves that tell us it is time to head to the bathroom. Solid waste then leaves the body through the anal opening.
When this does not work so smoothly, meaning things get backed up, and constipation is the result.
Read morePreventing Hair Loss, Restoring Hair Growth
Amazing herbs for health, hair, skin.... Stinging Nettles, Yarrow, and Rosemary (in the order they appear above).
Recently, it seems, that many people have been asking me in my workshops:
"What can I do about hair loss, thinning hair as I age?" This is a topic that hits home with me as I have always had very fine and thin hair. More thinning with age? What will I have left?
So I decided to do an experiment with me as the guinea pig. This is all natural, no abuse to the guinea pig's (ME!) skin or eyes as happens in commercial body care product testing.
Keep in mind this is about hair growth. It takes time and a long term commitment (uh-oh!)
1. I have added the following herbal essential oils to my shampoo: Rosemary, oregano, peppermint, and yarrow. I add about 8 drops per ounce of shampoo and I recommend using an all natural shampoo. Chemicals in our hair care products clog the pores of the scalp and contribute to unhealthy hair, scalp, and hair loss. Aubrey Organics products are a nice choice, available at Nature's Storehouse in Canton. Read ingredients for "whole" ingredients, just as you would on a food product label and you can find other natural brands as well. Read the ingredients, not just the "all natural" hype label on the front of the product.
2. I make a tea and pour it over my scalp, making certain to soak my hair, well, through to the scalp, all over my head. It is made with the whole herbs yarrow, nettles, and rosemary. See pictures above. For information on making herbal teas, email me.
I make a quart every 4 days and use 1 cup per day after shampooing. Shampoo less often, the tea lasts longer. Keep it refrigerated and always label your quart jar. It is fine to drink, so no panic if someone should indulge in a 'lil of your herbal, scalp tea.
3. I then massage my scalp in two different ways. One is the general "rub my fingers and knead the scalp" method. The other is placing my fingers in a stationary place on the scalp and shifting the whole scalp back and forth and side to side underneath my fingers. This helps tremendously with scalp circulation and relaxing the scalp muscles around the actual hair shaft. Do this massaging when washing your hair, when applying the above scalp tea, and when spraying on the below concoction of herbs.
4. A scalp spray made up of about 1/3 cup of the above scalp tea which I then add the rosemary, peppermint, and oregano essential oils to it. I am thinking about adding drops of the tinctures of yarrow, nettles, and horsetail as well. This is made to spray onto the scalp, before bedtime, and massage the scalp as per above.
5. Oh, and I am taking a saw palmetto and horsetail herbal tincture (easy to make with the herbs, good vodka, and a month's time to let the herbs "steep" into the vodka. Horsetail is good for hair and skin health and saw palmetto is an herb for hair loss prevention / restoration.
Did I not say I was being a guinea pig?!
Today, as I write, it is November 9th. I have been playing this hair restoration game for about 1 month now. I imagine it will take at least 6 months before I can see any major changes (yes, my hair grows slowly!).
See what I mean about this being a long-term commitment... let's just see if I can stick to this hair restoration challenge and then report back my fabulous results. Then, I will patent my formulas and become the rich, modern day Lady Godiva (Yes, I will also need to make some more of that face cream and take care of aging on the face as well) riding the streets of Potsdam!
Horse or Harley? Horse called Harley?
If all else fails, I still have this gorgeous Doo-Rag (from my Harley riding days), graciously modeled by my Thanksgiving pie pumpkin! I will plop it onto my head and tie into place, forget about making any more scalp tea, and then, I will buy another Harley. Or maybe a horse and I will name her Harley!
Update March 2019: It is 5 1/2 years later, where the hell does the time go?
Time & commitment to the process is absolutely required. I cannot say I have been consistent with above stuff.
What I do now, 5 1/2 years later:
whole foods 100% (well, 98.435%) of the time.
take Synergy multi-vites for women (I only take 2 daily, not the 4)
take Synergy’s whole food vitamin c, magnesium daily, extra vitamin D 2-3 X weekly, and use wild yam herb capsules for general feminine health
rub this oily herb infused goop on my scalp 2-3 times weekly on the nights I am going to wash my hair the next day. Less is more and this bottle lasts for months.
herbal medicinal infusion “teas” for bone, skin, hair. Sometimes this is simple a stinging nettle only infusion. I make 2-4 quarts at a time so I have enough for a couple days to a week.
whole health living AND yoga every day. Well, seriously, yoga (links to many blog posts I have written about Yoga’s amazing benefits for health, weight loss, healing, inner peace…) in every moment but that’s because Yoga is not about the poses.