Dandelion Coffee

I'm harvesting all sorts of things this time of year. Not only is my garden abundant with beets, collards, kale and beans, but my yard is abundant with a variety of plants that I like to harvest as well. One of my favorite is dandelion. First of all, you can find it just about anywhere and second of all, there are so many ways to work with this plant. In the spring making dandelion wine and dandelion flower fritters are two of my favorites. But this time of year, as the energy of the plants is beginning to move back into the roots, I begin collecting and continue well into the fall.

Dandelion coffee has a great flavor and is good for you too. (and if you make it yourself, it sure is a lot cheaper than starbucks!) It also stimulates your digestion without stimulating your nerves.

Towards the end of the summer and well into the fall is a good time for digging up dandelion roots. You can dig them up during the spring or summer as well, but in the fall, the roots are a bit more bitter which make them perfect for coffee. After digging the roots up, cut off the greens and wash the roots well. If my wood stove is running, I place the roots on a cookie sheet and roast them right on top of the stove. Otherwise, you can place them in an oven. Roast them slowly and as soon as they're dark, remove from heat. I chop the roasted roots and add them to a coffee bean grinder til they resemble a coarse powder.

You can brew the roasted roots in a coffee maker or place directly in a pot. The grounds can be fine enough to go through a strainer, so I just let them settle to the bottom of the pot before I pour into a cup. Adding a bit of cocoa powder to the dandelion coffee makes a great fall drink!

Vinegars!

Summer is a great time to be making special vinegars that you can use for the rest of the year for salad dressings or sprinkled on your cooked greens for a wonderful nutritional boost. Some people say that vinegar, rich in enzymes and potassium, help to build a healthy immune system and aids in digestion by keeping a healthy PH balance. Vinegar is also good at extracting both the nutritional and medicinal components from plants. So, for an added benefit, collect your favorite herbs this summer, both for flavor and medicinal benefits, and place in a large jar. Then fill the jar with apple cider vinegar, cover and let sit for 6 weeks before straining the plant material. Don't forget that vinegar can rust a metal lid, so if you can, use a plastic lid and glass jar. I'm going to be collecting burdock, yellow dock and dandelion roots to add to my vinegar for a healthy tonic I can use through out the year. Enjoy your summer!

Healing ear infections, naturally

There are many children that are plagued with painful ear infections, especially during the winter months as we are more susceptible to colds and flu. Although using natural remedies shouldn't always replace a visit to your pediatrician in acute cases, they can provide immediate healing and comfort. And although antibiotics may be necessary in some cases, even medical doctors are reluctant to hand out antibiotics every time there is an infection because of the damaging effects they can have on our immune systems making us susceptible to even more disease.

However, there are other ways to deal with ear infections that are safe, effective and soothing. The remedy I most often have used both when my children were young as well as myself when my ears begin to feel discomfort is a Garlic Mullein Flower Remedy. I collect mullein flowers through out the later months of summer and into the fall to dry and store for use during the winter. As you may not likely have mullein flowers on hand, especially during the cold and flu season, you can use just garlic. I pour about a 1/4 cup of olive oil into a pan, and very slowly heat with a clove of garlic and about a tsp. of dried mullein flowers. I don't chop the garlic so as not to worry about any small garlic pieces getting into the ear. Sometimes I will make a larger batch and store in the refrigerator to use as needed. After heating enough to release the smell of garlic into the oil, I let it cool to about body temperature. I have applied it in one of two ways. I will often apply it using a cotton ball in which I then place in the ear and let sit, perhaps pressing a hot water bottle to the ear as well. I will also take a dropper full of oil and carefully apply several drops around the ear canal, allowing it to slowly seep into the ear.

Doses of acidophilus given several times a day is also helpful in healing ear infections. It is more effective than eating yogurt since it's a good idea to eliminate dairy products and sugary foods during ear infections.

Another remedy that is effective for healing hear infections is making an onion pack. Saute fresh onion in olive oil until translucent. While still hot, place cooked onions on a piece of cotton cloth or flannel and fold and then hold to the ear as a hot pack.

According to Rosemary Gladstar, well known herbalist, in traditional chinese medicine, it is believed that the health of our kidneys is directly related to the health of our ears. She recommends that providing your child with warm packs for his/her lower back, providing plenty of fluids and cranberry juice to support the kidneys will benefit the condition of the ears greatly.

Have a warm and healthy winter!

Elderberry Syrup - Winter's tasty medicine!

We are fortunate to have two Elderberry bushes in our yard that yield approximately 10 or more gallons of berries each fall. Not only do the berries produce an incredible purple/pink color when it comes to dyeing wool, it has the highest vitamin C content than almost any other berry. So whether I am making jelly or syrup, I know that I am also making a delicious medicine that I can use through out the winter months. This year I made several jars of jelly and several more bottles of syrup. Usually I make a cough syrup that I add honey, yarrow and other immune supporting plants. I didn't necessarily find that my family used it as often as I would have liked. I think because it was more of a medicine and was only sought after when they didn't feel well. This year I made syrup and put it in maple syrup bottles. We use it on our pancakes and waffles and I like to sweeten my tea with it or mix it in with my plain yogurt. It's really tasty either way and is still a "medicine" that is good for my family. Here are a few tips for making Elderberry Syrup.

Frozen Elderberries (being such a small berry, they are easiest to work with when frozen)

Scrape frozen berries off their branch using a fork and place in a pot.

Add water to just barely covering the berries.

Boil while stirring and mashing the berries.

Once cook

ed, remove from stove and strain through a wire mesh.

Measure out juice and add equal amounts of sugar or honey. Unfortunately, making syrup or jelly does require a fair amount of sugar.

Return to stove and cook until it has been reduced and is thick like syrup.

I made a really large batch this fall and put in a little pectin to thicken it but you can also accomplish reaching the right consistency by boiling it down.

I poured the syrup into maple syrup bottles and sealed them so that I could store them with out refrigerating.

When I am making more of a medicine, after straining the berries, I will return the juice to the stove and infuse it with yarrow, echinacea, fresh nutmeg, ginger root and cinnamon.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and blessings on a healthy winter for you and your family!

Embracing Darkness

Our striving for consciousness and enlightenment that has been at the forefront of the New Age movement has in a sense uprooted us from the earth, our lower chakras, and a place of deep feeling and passionate living. We continue to seek our answers from the light and turn away from the darkness and dangerously "lift" ourselves above any pain or thoughts viewed as negative. Why I refer to this as dangerous, is because in doing this, we create our lives from a false center, one that is not rooted in the earth, authenticity and truth. And from this place, we struggle to create the lives that we truly desire leaving us frustrated, confused and exhausted.

There is much richness found in darkness and as we enter into the darkest times of the year, I invite you to embrace it, to sit in the stillness and seek your answers from within the darkness. Darkness is the place where all things come from. It is the seed buried deep in the fertile rich soil gathering its nutrients through out the winter months and it's the depth of our soul where our untapped potential lives. As you embrace this time of year and your own inner sanctuary, you will find the return of light from within as the Winter Solstice nears and new ideas and wisdom begin to ignite your inner flame.

Nanny Berry Pudding

We don't always find a place that has enough nanny berries to make it worth our while harvesting them. But this year, Ric found a number of bushes abundant with berries on his way back from one of our after school programs. For those of you who have never had Nanny berries, they are black/blue in color and have the taste and consistency of a prune. They have a fairly large flat seed in them making processing fairly tricky. They make a tasty fruit spread, but this year I made them into pudding and then poured the pudding while still hot over a warm, vanilla pound cake. It was really delicious so thought I better pass the recipe along.

- place berries in pan and just barely cover with water

- boil and then when soft and tender, mash them the best you can separating the pulp from the seeds.

- boil some more to reduce the water by about half.

- I then put it all in my food strainer and tried to get as much of the juice and pulp as I could by using the food strainer attachment for pumpkin. I would have liked to have had a lot more pulp, but ended up with a fair amount of a thick juice substance.

- I put the juice back on the stove, added just a little sugar, some vanilla, and about 1Tbs of flour for thickening. I could have used cornstarch but didn't have any on hand.

It made a dark, rich pudding that would have been wonderful served in small bowls with a bit of cream poured on the top. However, since I already had a pound cake in the oven, I poured the hot nanny berry pudding over the warm pound cake. YUM!

Autumn Olive Berry Jam

Every fall, Ric and I go in search of Autumn Olive Berries. They look similar to honeysuckle bushes, however, their red berries look as if they've been coated with glitter and their leaves are long and slender. Some say they are the next pomegranate because they are so high in antioxidants. One year we made fruit leather from the berries, but we prefer filling our shelves with jars of jam. It's so delicious, good for you and is a beautiful rose color. Here is how I make it.

-Place berries in a pot and fill with just enough water to barely cover the berries.

-Cook over heat until the berries become tender and are easy to mash.

After the berries have been heated and mashed, strain through a wire mesh strainer to remove seeds. I push some of the pulp through the strainer, which I wouldn't do if I was making jelly. But because I want to use as much of the berry as possible, I prefer

using the pulp and making jam, although it still has the consistency of jelly, just not the clarity.

-Measure the juice and then return to your pot and add 1 box of pectin for every 4 cups of juice.

-Bring to boil until pectin is fully dissolved.

-Add equal amount of sugar to juice and bring to boil once more stirring frequently.

-Pour hot jam into sterile jars and seal.

If a lot of foaming occurs while you cook the jam, add just a bit of butter to reduce the foam.

Enjoy this beautiful and yummy tasting jam on your warm bread and biscuits during the cold winter months.