Time Tumbling in the Snowstorm

One minute I'm standing in my kitchen handing my daughter warm, just out of the oven Snickerdoodles, and then next thing I know, 20+ years of snowy winter weather and happy memories flood my brain.  In that second, the spirit of giving smacked me square on the forehead.

 
Ever since her first snowstorm, my daughter has associated hot cocoa with snow fall.  Forget bread, milk, and toilet paper!  Around here, there must be cocoa.  It can be painstakingly made from scratch, or from a packet.  It doesn't matter - only that there is cocoa.  Marshmallows are a must, whipped cream a bonus.  Sometimes we've swirled a candy cane in there, and she's tried just about every kind of addition you can imagine.  It always comes back to cocoa and marshmallow.   A snowstorm without cocoa is just unthinkable.

Yesterday she was stuck working at the mall while the snow started falling.  We live on the far side of two very steep S-turns several miles back a country road.  I fretted during the day (will this ever end?) and made some soup to have ready when she got home.  The relief when she made it home was great.  All was well, cozy and safe.  After dinner she went to her room to work on a project, and I headed to the kitchen to whip up some of her favorite cookies. 

As they came out of the oven, I called to her to hurry and get herself some cocoa.  That moment... when she walked into the kitchen and saw the cookies (I'm no Betty Crocker - this is a rarity) was when it hit me.  In a flash, I saw her at 2 years old, standing at the door in her little snowsuit covered with icy snow... at 3, when on her birthday, her gifts and goodies were in the trunk of the car encased in 2" of ice (and she insisted that we make party hats from newspaper)...

at 5 years old sitting at the table red-faced from the cold... at 7 on the floor with her friends just in from sledding... at 13 bundled up in sweats and blankets watching cartoons... all of the years rolled in together as she got her cocoa and cookies with that same gleeful gratitude.  I almost started to cry.  Not at the passing of time, but from the fullness.  Nothing I could give to her on Christmas morning would hold the same weight as that reward of cocoa and her favorite cookies, year after year, storm after storm.

Sometimes I think about all the mistakes I made along the way.  Just for that one moment, I felt like maybe I got something perfectly, beautifully right.  Funny how the little things can sneak up on you and feel like a tsunami.

Yule Magic

Excerpted from an earlier Nov/Dec issue of The Essential Herbal: 

Yule Magic

Yule is a magical time of year. Trees adorn our homes and shimmering snowflakes drift by the windows. The chilly nights force us indoors, when families and friends share in festive fun. This article will show you how to make Yule crafts for gift ideas and decorations.

Yule Cones
Pine cones make great ornaments. Go on a nature walk to find some pine cones and acorns. Clean the cones and acorns, remembering to thank the trees for sharing their seeds. Rinse the pine cones under cold running water and put them on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for twenty minutes. The pine cones open up and the bacteria die. The sap dries and leaves a pretty sheen on the pine cones.

Last year at Yule, I painted a pine cone with silver paint and sprinkled the cone with silver glitter. The pine cone looked beautiful. Alternatively, you can put pine cones once coated with paint or clear glue, and silver glitter, into a Ziploc bag and shake the cones. Allow the cones to dry, tie a ribbon onto the pine cones, and place on your tree or a mantle to grace your home with rustic beauty and fragrance.
or dried flowers, and sprigs of holly. Tuck the stems under the holly and use as a tree ornament.

Yule Sachets
Use a four-inch square of festive fabric. In the center, put a tablespoon of a scented herbal mixture. See the incense recipe above for inspiration. Bring the ends of the fabric together. Tie the ends with ribbon or twine, making a pouch with the herb mixture inside. Tuck a sprig of holly or a cinnamon stick into the twine or ribbon.

Yule Epsom salts mix
The holidays can be stressful with relatives visiting and shopping. The best gift for a friend is one that relieves stress. Here is an Epsom salts mix to reduce the stress of the season.

You will need the following: a large clean stainless steel bowl, a spoon, a measuring cup, a jar, a ribbon, cardstock (for label tags), sea salts, peppermint essential oil, and a candy cane, Epsom salts, and glycerin.

Empty the Epsom salts into the mixing bowl. Add the sea salts. Stir in the glycerin and six drops of the essential oil. Focus on your intent as you mix the ingredients. As you stir deosil, add your energies to the mixture. Stir until blended. Add the salts to the jars carefully. Create a tag for the jar and attach to the jars. Tie a ribbon around the jar and tie on a candy cane. Peppermint is zesty and invigorating, and evokes memories of Christmas in the woods.

You can also put some sea salts into a separate bowl and add food coloring. As you put the Epsom salts and sea salts in to the jar, alternate between the Epsom salts and the sea salts to add color to the mixture.

These crafts are easy to do and affordable. I hope you enjoy these crafts and that you have a merry Yule season.

Heddy Johannesen is a freelance writer with several published magazine articles, a book of poetry, two anthologies and Ezines to her credit. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and at her blog: http://lady-spiderwitch.blogspot.ca.

An Herbal December

 From our Nov/Dec '10 issue:

The holiday blitz is upon us and the mantle of winter is about to descend.
Here’s a monthly reminder to help you choose/use herbs and spices each day of this busy month. Happy Herby Holidays.

Dec. 1- Make a big batch of onion soup for busy weekday nights. Stick a few cloves into an onion and brown it thoroughly in an oil butter combo to add to the stock/soup. Remove to serve.

Dec. 2- Saute red and green pepper slices in olive oil with a pinch of marjoram. Serve with burgers.

Dec. 3-For a quick snack or dessert serve apple wedges with bleu cheese and savory biscuits or crackers.

Dec. 4- Bring aromatic greens into the house and as many fresh herbs as you can find at the market.

Dec. 5- Make orange or apple pomanders. Use a turkey skewer to start the holes and tuck whole cloves all over the apple/orange surface. Roll in powdered cinnamon.

Dec. 6- St. Nicholas Day. Hide a mint chocolate and some shiny coins in your child’s shoe in honor of St. Nick.

Dec. 7- When arranging greens you can easily remove the pine sap from your hands with canola or vegetable oil.

Dec. 8- Mince parsley and chives and add to your waffle recipe for chicken and waffle supper.

Dec. 9-In this season of early darkness, lore tell us that garlands of winter savory were worn to ward off drowsiness.

Dec. 10- Air-dry a cup of cranberries on a rack or alternatively dry in a low oven. Use in a winter potpourri with some bay leaves.

Dec. 11- The feast of the Escalade is celebrated in Switzerland. The Swiss defeated the enemy and protected their walled city by throwing vats of hot vegetable soup on the marauders. Make some vegetable soup and top it with grated cheese and chopped chives.

Dec. 12- Roast some onions with plenty of dried thyme. Serve with beef.(ps-don’t throw it on the table!)

Dec. 13-St. Lucy’s Day- Make a tea with a pod of the spice cardamom.Or if ambitious make a cardamom cake or buns to celebrate the Festival of Lights and Lucy on this day.

Dec. 14- Bay leaf, or laurel, protects and purifies. If you have a bay plant treasure it- place it near your manger.

Dec. 15- The herb rosemary makes a pretty tiny spiky wreath. Tie with thin red ribbons for each place setting.

Dec. 16- Today marks the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Take an herbaltea break this afternoon.

Dec. 17- Add a cinnamon stick for stirring to a cup of hot chocolate.

Dec. 18- Simmer whole cloves, orange peel, powdered cloves and allspice berries for a room refresher.

Dec. 19- Seeded biscuits: Before baking the rounds, paint top with melted butter and sprinkle on poppy seed, celery seed and fennel seed.

Dec. 20- Make mulled wine for an open house. Warm red wine with 1-2 Tbsp. sugar, some cinnamon sticks, and orange/lemon segments.

Dec. 21- Serve your next steak with a generous pat of rosemary butter. To soft butter add minced rosemary, ground pepper and a splash of lemon juice.

Dec. 22- Make some cranberry/mint ice cubes. Add 1 berry and 1 small mint leaf to ice cube compartments. Cover with a little water.Freeze. When frozen add more water to encase the berry.

Dec. 23-Defrost last summer’s pesto and serve on pasta tonight.

Dec. 24- In many homes fish is the tradition on Christmas eve. Fennel fronds go well with all fish and lend a clean anise flavor to a fish soup.

Dec. 25- Serve your Christmas roast on a bed of curly parsley and surround with cherry tomatoes.

Dec. 26- Traditional “Boxing Day” in England. Collect, recycle any boxes, paper and ribbons today and enjoy a plate cinnamon topped snickerdoodles.

Dec. 27- Revisit your tins of spices today and toss any that have lost their punch. Restock with fresh spices for the coming new year.

Dec. 28- Have omelets for dinner tonight. Top each with a shower of chopped chives, marjoram and Italian parsley.

Dec. 29- Place lavender sachets in coat closets.

Dec. 30- Resolve to have an herb garden in the coming year. Concentrate on just few herbs that you always use like dill, lemon thyme, garlic chives. Send for garden catalogues to inspire.

Dec. 31- If t home for New Year’s Eve plan on a cheese fondue or raclette- a sprig of thyme on the cheese tray will neutralize odors.

Submitted by Rita Richardson

Holiday Gift Basket with Essential Oil Blends

Holiday Gift Basket
Nov/Dec '11 issue TEH
Kelli Scott

I love nothing more then to put together a basket of homemade goodies for family and friends.

When most people think of a basket of goodies they think of cookies and breads, I think of essential oil blends and such.  The items in my baskets are full of comforting smells just like the cookie baskets, but instead of adding inches to your hips they will bring calorie free comfort to your soul.

Some of the things I like to make for the gift baskets are:
holiday spice room spray
chest cold rub
sanitizer spray
muscle aches and pains oil rub

Along with these I will usually include a bar of homemade soap, and a spray bottle customized to the fragrance that the recipient loves.  For example, my mom loves peppermint, so I may make up a spray bottle for her pillow full of peppermint.  With having just that small item in there, they know that basket was made just for them with thoughts and love.

I have included recipes for the above mentioned blends, I hope you enjoy them.  Most of all I hope those that receive your baskets enjoy them.

recipes:
muscles aches and pains
1.5 ounces oil
10 drops rosemary
6 drops juniper berry
5 drops wintergreen
10 drops clove
5 drops black pepper
5 drops cajuput

Holiday spray
3 drops Clove
2 drops Cinnamon
3 drops Ginger
3 drops Nutmeg
3 drops Orange
3 drops Frankincense
2 ounces distilled water
5 drops emulsifier

Sanitizer spray (thieves blend)
10 drops cloves
10 drops lemon
5 drops cinnamon
10 drops eucalyptus
10 drops rosemary
2 ounces distilled water
15 drops emulsifier

Chest Rub
6 drops eucalyptus
6 drops rosemary
4 drops peppermint
3 drops pine
3 drops thyme
5 drops camphor

(editor's note:  one can use a small teaspoon or two of alcohol - like vodka - as an emulsifier, or a few drops of liquid lecithin)

Black Friday in Tinytown

Anyone with a television, a radio, or an internet connection has realized by now that Black Friday (or is that Black Thufriday?) is now the biggest day of over-consumption in all the world, nay Universe!  It is practically our patriotic duty to get up from the dinner table, grab our credit cards, and head out to the mall, where we can battle our way to heroic, epic shopping extravaganzas.  Retail giants across the land offer cherished electronics and gift items at bargain basement prices, hoping that we'll stray from our battle plan and accidentally buy something for full price.  It's the kind of occasion that defines Americans.  Not in a good way, but it does define us.

Years ago, I can still remember the excitement my sister and I felt going into our first Black Friday in our little herb shop along Main Street, a street that led directly to the mall in the neighboring town.  All day we watched the traffic streaming by.  Cars flying past with their trunks tied around packages, while the cabins were filled to the brim with bags and cramped people.  That was the day that we found out that Black Friday is for large businesses.  A few exhausted stragglers stumbled in just before we closed and made our day worthwhile, but that was just a freak occurrence.

ghost town

Here's the problem... micro-businesses, of which there are thousands and thousands, can't provide the kind of discounts and come-ons that the big boys do.  We struggle with price increases from our suppliers, and usually wind up eating them for years before we decide we must pass them along to our customers.  We juggle and scrimp, trying to keep our prices reasonable every single day of the year.  There is absolutely nothing that we can do to compete.  We give the customers the best price we've got all year long.  Doesn't it make you wonder how much those big guys with the big discounts are making the other 364 (now 363) days of the year when these things aren't on sale?  It does me!

Now with just an on-line business, I used to try to come up with something to garner a little attention on the big day.  The shipping policy that was implemented at that time ($7 maximum shipping, or free shipping on US orders over $100) worked pretty well - so I've kept it as an everyday thing since then.  That's how it works for us tiny businesses.  We just do our best every day.

Then there's Small Business Saturday and Cyber-Monday.  I'm sure they're helpful for some people, but nobody *I* know in business.

So here's the thing... when you purchase from the shops of tiny businesses like mine, you know a few things.  You know you're getting the best deal we can give you.  You know that the price isn't going to change next week, making you feel cheated.  More than anything, you know that you've supported the work of someone who is putting their heart and soul into their work.

Stop by sometime - we'll be here every day, all year :-)

Crazy Kelp Berries

I talked about the general malaise a little while ago, and since then have talked to more and more people all across the country who know exactly what I'm talking about.  At this time of year we are quite desperate to overcome this issue.  My sister and I each have our own businesses that bloom in the last few months of the year.  Between The Essential Herbal deadlines, Lancaster County Soapworks, regular everyday business, and some happy surprise projects, we're pushing it.  The tree farm gets busy, and we have to work around that schedule to get everything done - so it gets a little stressful in the best of times.

In a conversation last week, someone mentioned iodine for thyroid support, and it was as if I was in a V-8 commercial being bonked on the head.  Being of a certain age when women's thyroids can get wonky, and having mostly given up table salt through attrition, I decided the iodine rich powdered kelp that I got on a whim from Mountain Rose a couple months ago would be a great idea.  That evening, I mixed a teaspoon of kelp with a glass of water.  The taste was okay to me, but it took about an hour to clear the powdered kelp from my throat.  However, the next day it was clear to me that there was a slight shift.  I'd been taking B and D vitamins, and the kelp gave me the little shove over the hill.

This is where it gets a little crazy...
The drink was rough (smoothies would be great, but I do nothing regularly).  How to take a reasonable quantity daily without making everything taste vaguely like seafood?  Food as medicine is my favorite method, but one must be realistic and honest about it.  I knew I wouldn't do that.  So I decided to try making a thick paste with honey, and rolling it into balls. 

I used a couple of tablespoons of honey with 1/2 cup of kelp.  That wasn't quite dense enough, so I added perhaps a tablespoon each of dulse and bladderwrack that were purchased along with the kelp.  The balls are about the size of blueberries, and rolled in 10X sugar so they don't stick together, and rest on a bed of 10X and honey/ginger crystals. 

They aren't delicious, but they're not terrible either.  They're small enough to swallow whole, but I usually give them a chew or two before washing them down with water.  It solved a problem.  Capsules would work too - but that would be too easy - lol.

Next time, I'll probably try it with tahini and then roll them in sesame seeds.  Although the flavor of the seaweeds isn't as strange with "sweet" as one would think, it just might be good with sesame.  Coconut oil might be a good solution too, and kept in the fridge they will stay very firm. 

Wholesome Holiday Treats ('08 excerpt)

Wholesome Holiday Treats
Nov/Dec '08 Essential Herbal Magazine
Sue-Ryn Burns hillwoman.com

My holiday gift list is going to be a lot more personalized this year. Everyone will probably get some of the herbal jellies I’ve become obsessed with making and something crocheted (another obsession). My husband is already planning to dig up and process major amounts of our killer Horse Radish to share. I will make sure everyone gets some Thyme herb with instructions for making some fast acting antispasmodic tea, and probably some Elecampane Root too, in case respiratory flu makes the rounds. And most likely we’ll be baking our traditional favorites, including European Yule Bread.
I’ll probably mix up some Yogi Tea for friends to try as well. Years ago a friend shared her recipe with me. We found it really warming and comforting on long wintry nights. With heating costs expected to be unpredictable, warming teas may be really helpful this winter. For a really decadent late evening treat, add some “half’n’half” and home made Kahlua or other liqueur. I have also substituted Coconut milk for regular dairy and found it quite pleasing.

European Yule Bread

1 Cup warm water
1 egg slightly beaten
1 ½ Tbsp butter or oil
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3 cups bread machine flour
2 Tbsp powdered milk
1 tsp dry yeast
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup candied fruit
½ tsp ground fennel seed
½ tsp ground cardamom seed
½ tsp ground coriander seed
¼ cup chopped unsalted nuts pecans, walnuts, or almonds are good

Mix flour, spices, sugar, salt, powdered milk, and dried fruits in a 2 qt mixing bowl.
Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blending tool.
Add warm water to bread machine bucket. If using oil, beat it gently in with the egg and add to warm water.
Scoop in mixed dry ingredients.
Bake on medium setting.
OR
Let the bread machine make the dough, shape it into three smaller loaves and place them into greased pans. Allow them to rise, covered, in a warm place for about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
OR
You can also make your dough in the traditional manner by hand in a large bowl. I usually add the dried fruit when I knead the dough if I do it by hand. Let it rise once, knead it, and let it rise again shaped into the form of your choice on a large flat sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours or until golden brown and hollow sounding.

Cool on racks, then wrap in foil until you a ready to serve it or give it away. It makes morning toast seem like cake for breakfast!

Linda’s Yogi Tea

Equal parts by volume; Whole Cardamom Pods ( half part if you are using Decorticated Whole Seeds), Cloves, Peppercorns ( in a pinch you can substitute Allspice Berries), Ginger Root pieces, Coriander Seeds, and Cinnamon chips or Cassia Buds (if you can find them). Add or subtract spices you’re not fond of.

Simmer a 1/2 cup of the mixed spices in 6 cups of water gently in a non-reactive pot for thirty minutes, or to desired strength. Strain and add 2 cups of milk. Rewarm gently, sweeten with honey, and serve.

Kahlua (I’m not sure if that is correct) 3 Cups Water 3 Cups Granulated Sugar 10 Teaspoons Instant Coffee 4 Teaspoons Vanilla 1 Quart Vodka (Cheapest you can get) Bring water, sugar and coffee to boil. Simmer 1 hour. Cool to room temperatur...

Read More at www.vicariouslyvintage.com/2010/06/16/kahlua/

Kahlua (I’m not sure if that is correct) 3 Cups Water 3 Cups Granulated Sugar 10 Teaspoons Instant Coffee 4 Teaspoons Vanilla 1 Quart Vodka (Cheapest you can get) Bring water, sugar and coffee to boil. Simmer 1 hour. Cool to room temperatur...

Read More at www.vicariouslyvintage.com/2010/06/16/kahlua/

Kahlua (I’m not sure if that is correct) 3 Cups Water 3 Cups Granulated Sugar 10 Teaspoons Instant Coffee 4 Teaspoons Vanilla 1 Quart Vodka (Cheapest you can get) Bring water, sugar and coffee to boil. Simmer 1 hour. Cool to room temperatur...

Read More at www.vicariouslyvintage.com/2010/06/16/kahlua/