"By the Hearth" pre-release special!

Finally! The fall and winter compilation - By the Hearth - is almost here! This incredible compilation of the first five years of issues filled with fall and winter herbal wisdom and knowledge is just weeks away from release. The Essential Herbal Magazine is entering our 10th year of publication. Those first years were amazing, filled with the generous and creative sharing from herbalists everywhere. Our audience was very small though, and we have put those magazines into a volume you won't want to miss.
Like the spring and fall compilation - Under the Sun there are over 225 pages (245, in fact) of recipes, herbal lore, herbal remedies, experiences, wild edibles, crafting instructions, and information. By the Hearth also includes an entire section devoted to projects for holiday gifts and decorations.
But here's the fun part: we're having a pre-release special! If you order before the printer delivers it to us, you get a full 20% off the cover price. It is just $19.95 until November 7th, but after it arrives here, the price will go up to $24.95.
Oh, but that's not all! Every book ordered during the pre-release special will be entered into a drawing for some great prizes. There will be a lot of winners, too! Prizes so far:
* we'll be giving away some subscriptions to The Essential Herbal Magazine
* our friend Dennis Ellingson will be sending signed copies of his soon-to-be-released book, God's Wild Herbs, filled with information, pictures, and recipes on 121 wild edibles around us.
* Maryanne at Torchsong Studio has created a bracelet called "Ice & Snow" as a prize, and I have her thinking about one of her teapot pendants in colors that commemorate the cover.
* We'll be working on some of the crafts in the book to add to the list, some luscious soap, and I will be contacting some of our advertisers and suppliers (or feel free to contact me if you'd like to supply a prize), so expect this list to grow! I will post the prize list periodically as we go on.

*** order as many as you like on the special, they will make excellent gifts for the herbies on your holiday gift list. Each book gets another entry into the drawing :-).

The Essential Herbal - Nov/Dec 2010

The Nov/Dec 2010 issue of The Essential Herbal magazine is in the mail! Here's a little look at what to expect:Table of Contents

Field Notes from the Editor

Tales from the Tetons: Crafts and Food, Kristena Haslem

Beeswax ornaments and some spicy, warming recipes.

Baking Old-Fashioned Sourdough Bread, Melissa Nicole Sidelinger

From making your own starter, to taking that hot bread out of the oven!

Feverfew, Cindy Jones

Information about feverfew in skincare and arthritis.

Gifts for New Herbies, Tina Sams

Ideas on what a new-to-herbs friend might want to build an apothecary of their own.

Hibiscus Acetosella, Cory Trusty

How to use this herb for vinegar, vinaigrette, and a sweet and sour sauce.

Try a Tincture Mary Hammond

Simple instructions for making tinctures with alcohol, vinegar, and glycerin.

SouthRidge Treasures: Under the Mistletoe, Mary Ellen Wilcox

A long, lore filled past brings this herb to our doorways… sacrificial bulls, white robed Druids, and much more.

The Lore of Holiday Plants, Jackie Johnson

There is much magic and medicine in the history of the plants we gather ’round us in the Yuletide.

Herbs of the Zodiac: Sagittarius, Susanna and Bertha Reppert

Anyone for some Sagittarian Apricot Crunch?

A Month of Herbs, Rita Richardson

There’s something herbie to do everyday in the month of December.

Autumn Baked Vegetables, Rosanne Tartaro

Roots and spices roasted together for a delicious meal.

Louisiana Lagniappe: Spiced Fruit Compote, Sarah Liberta

Fruits and spices combined to make any holiday gathering even more special.

Licorice, Maryanne Schwartz

Although real licorice is rarely on the candy shelf, this delicious root is full of beneficial actions.

Spice Wreath, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh

Gather ye nutmegs, while ye may…

Historical Herbal: Astrological Botany, Kathleen Setzer

How were herbs classified astrologically during Elizabethan times for medicinal use?

The Soap Pot: Castile Soap, Alicia Grosso

Pure, gentle, olive oil soap, gilded with herbs.

The Global Herbal: North America, Marita A Orr

The evolution of herbal medicine in North America, a fascinating history with discussion of several specific herbs.

Keep an eye out. We'll be running a pre-order special for By the Hearth in the next couple of days, and there will be a drawing with great prizes with everyone pre-ordering automatically entered.

No gettin' around it... fall is here.

I wandered around a bit today. Picked the last three figs from the tree, and noticed that they were chilly instead of warm from the sun. I savored them while walking to the mint patch to make a good swipe at the meadow tea (spearmint) and fuzzy (apple) mints. We're expecting lots of rain over the next couple of days, and this may have been the last crack at them before frost nips their leaves.
Everywhere I looked, there were single, final attempts at blooming; that one last valiant try at casting seed.
Tomato plants still budding... A tattered and tenacious morning glory... Lavender that just won't quit... A small cuke growing amid dry, dusty leaves... A smallish deeply colored lone bloom of anise hyssop... A single little pink, visible from across the yard... A meager tuft of hydrangea struggles over the dried flowerheads... A tiny bit of purple beams in the middle of the faded butterfly bush... In some ways this is a relief. The last 6 or 8 weeks have been filled with manic harvesting and preserving in spaces of time snatched from between getting the magazine out, the Balms & Salves book out, the busiest couple of months Sis's soap business has seen in 10 years, and now By the Hearth is nearing completion. Whew! Yep, I'm happy to see fall tumble in.
Here comes the cocooning season, when we can really play with new crafts or recipes. Books can be read at leisure. Maybe some time to visit with friends or do some real writing, rather than cramming in an article here or there.

And Autumn is beautiful too... Oranges, reds, and golds will glow in the sun beneath the special blue sky that only really shows itself at this time of year. Pumpkin pie - need I say more? And the time to relax and enjoy all the wonderful things we've dried and saved for this part of the year. Now, once I get the holy basil that is on sheets upstairs cleaned and jarred, it will be play time!
Well... and get the book out... And a bunch of other stuff. But seriously, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It comes every year about this time!

Herb "Clay" Bowls

We have some pretty great conversations on the chat list for The Essential Herbal Magazine. A couple of weeks ago, Brenda asked if anyone knew anything about "herb bowls", and the topic meandered in the background. Until yesterday. Yesterday I woke up with the burning desire to try making them.
Over the years I've made tons of incense cones and herb beads using clays made with herbs as the main ingredient, and have put together books and kits for those items. It suddenly hit me that a similar clay could be used to create bowls. And so it began.
Since the purpose of the bowls is primarily fragrance, powdered cardamom came to mind. I mixed about 1/2 cup of the cardamom with about a tablespoon* of gum tragacanth. It was probably way more tragacanth than was needed. To that, I added water gradually until a nice clay consistency was reached.Lining a bowl with cling wrap, I formed a bowl inside, and then decorated it with cardamom pods (more on that later*).Next, I made a little coiled clay pot. Both of these were made from that 1/2 cup of powder.As they were drying, Kathleen Setzer (Historic Herbals writer for TEH) suggested that they would make wonderful votive holders, with the heat from a candle releasing the scent of the herb. Hmmm.
And then I pulled out the frankincense!
For this, I used about 3 tablespoons of powdered frankincense, and 2 teaspoons of gum tragacanth - again, way more than necessary and added water slowly to form the dough, and used a custard cup covered with cling wrap as a mold. The dough was exceedingly tacky, but after about 10 minutes on the mold, it started to calm down. At that point, I started inserting pieces of Copal, a sunny, yellow resin, thinking they would create tiny windows in the bowl.*Gum tragacanth is a very strong binder for working with herbs, that adds no scent of its own. A teaspoonful would have been more than sufficient in either of the mixes described above. It absorbs a great deal of water, and using so much means that I will probably have some cracks to deal with as the clay dries and shrinks. I'll make a slurry and patch them when the cracks show up later. An ounce of the gum would be plenty for 5 or 6 cups of powdered herb.
*Adding the cardamom pods along the top of the first bowl didn't really work. Many of them did stick, but as the dough shrunk, several dropped off, and got a dab of glue.*Another thing I discovered was that cling wrap on the outside of the custard cup held fast to the glass, making it very difficult to remove. The inside of the clay bowl remains moist because air doesn't reach it, so it has to come off to dry. To do that, I used a darning needle and blew hard into the space it created between the cling wrap and the glass. Not sure what to suggest in its place just yet, though... Just keep that in mind when molding.
*All things considered, so far I really like them. The coiled one was the simplest, the frankincense the most difficult.
*Less finely powdered herbs are on my to-do list, as the tragacanth will hold it nicely.
*These bowls cannot be washed, however I'd like to mention that I've submerged beads made with tragacanth in water for 5 minutes to test them, and while they do get slightly gummy on the surface, they do not dissolve in that length of time, and dry well to their original appearance.
*Grind the herbs in a coffee grinder or blender to get a nice consistency, or order them in powder form from one of our advertisers listed in the sidebar >>> :-)
The possibilities are endless. Offering bowls, tiny bowls for the Yule tree (be sure to make a hole or handle in that case), votive holders... and the herbs!!! Rosemary, lavender, rose, anise, spicy cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg, sandalwood, cedar... ah -I am in trouble now. I might add some orris root to the next batch just to help fix the scents.

Sitting with plants

Ask anyone who works with plants, and you'll find that we all have our reasons and rituals for spending time near the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots. For me, I first noticed at 18 that while living in the center of the city, if I didn't get out into the green for a week or more, I started to feel a little crazed and off-balance.
Being outside in the company of plants now, my mind wanders and ideas spring to life. I may have long internal conversations that work through long forgotten issues, and almost always I am humming a tune. It is calming, quiet, relaxing, and more than anything - real. No matter what mood took me outside, it will be lifted and more serene in short order.
So when I saw that Pam Montgomery was leading a day class at The Rosemary House on Plant Spirit Healing, I cleared my schedule and signed up. It was a delicious day! She was able to lend fact to a lot of what those of us attending were already sensing, and added intention and focus to everyday interactions with the world of green. I picked up a copy of her book so that I can get more involved in what was taught.
The day started with a table full of perfection from Nancy's Sweet Remembrances kitchen. She made the marscapone/pistachio strawberries that I fell in love with at their 40th anniversary celebration, as well as scones, and some sweet bread loaves. I was trying to resist, but could not. Fruit, teas, and coffee were served as well. I might add that she was hosting a shower at her tearoom in just a few hours, but everything went as smoothly as silk.
Tables and chairs were set up under the enormous cedar and holly trees, and I nestled in, feeling almost hugged by the trees. My friend Lorie, who never fails to crack me up while adding wise asides, was at my table, and it was an extremely pleasant surprise to find that Betsy (who often writes for the magazine) and Carol were at the next table over. Of course Nancy and Susanna were there - so it was great to see so many friends all at once! The weather was magnificent. The deep blue sky, early Autumn breezes... just beautiful. I'm so glad we were outside.
The morning discussion centered on plant intelligence and our relation to the origin of plants. Pam told us about several scientific studies, including the Gaia effect, in which plants have changed to take up increased carbon dioxide in order to maintain the environment. She talked about how proximity with plants releases oxytocin in humans, which explains the relaxing effect we experience in the garden, meadows, and woods. Lots of fascinating facts that verified those instinctual feelings.
We then wandered around the garden, looking for a plant that called to us. One of the first things I noticed was this plant growing from a chimney three stories up, but considering that we would be sitting with our plant...
I moved on to a lush, inquisitive hops vine. We spent 20 or 30 minutes with the plant of our choosing (or perhaps those that had chosen us), opening up to the personality of them, seeing the strengths, differences, specialness in the essence of them.
We broke for lunch (another delicious array from Sweet Remembrances), and then went back to work. One of the most amazing things that Pam shared, was that although people make this seem difficult and *hard*, it is not. "The plants do all the work," she said, "It isn't rocket science." So we just have to open up and allow them inside our hearts. We sat with our plants some more, and I will say that the hops and I had an interesting time together. I was shocked. I know how this sounds, but while *I* wanted to go in a certain direction, the hops had an entirely different idea - so that's where we went.
We all said our goodbyes, and I wasn't sure I'd taken away all that much from the class. Sleeping on it crystallized it. It was a wonderful, enriching class.
Many thanks to Susanna Reppert at The Rosemary House for consistently bringing in great herbalists to teach each fall! We are so lucky in this area to have such wonderful learning resources. In just a couple of weeks I'll be wandering down the road in the different direction to the Farm at Coventry, where Susan Hess will be hosting Phyllis Light for two evenings of Appalachian Herbal Healing.
Note: I snagged the picture of Pam from the Green Nations website, and the book picture from Amazon.

Herbal Candy

A Spoonful of Sugar - Making Herbal Candy
From The Essential Herbal Magazine July/August 2010
By Tina Sams

A couple of years ago, Marty Webster wrote about making horehound lozenges, and the instructions were very inspirational for me. Before I knew it, all kinds of ideas were running through my head!
Oh, it started simply enough.... what about elderberry? Maybe something relaxing? Oh! And Holy Basil "on the go"!
All you need is a candy thermometer, a large, heavy pan, and an afternoon. A helper for cutting in the end helps too.
When I was a kid, one of my best friends was from a large farming family, and they had an interesting side business. They made hard candies in about 15 flavors. On candy making nights, I would often stay overnight and help, because many hands were needed. In their basement, they had a stove, and would set 4 kettles filled with sugar, water, and Karo syrup to boil. There was a ping-pong table (probably reinforced) that took up most of the room, and we were stationed all around the table with heavy shears. The table was dusted with confectioners sugar. The father would heave a marble slab up onto the head of the table. As the first kettle reached the right temperature, he'd pour the molten mixture onto the slab, and work it with paint scrapers. Then he'd add the color and flavor and continue to fold the sweet, thickening mixture together. Finally, he'd start to cut it into fat 1/2" wide strips, and toss them out to us to cut into bite-sized pieces. It had to be cut quickly before hardening, but those first few strips were soft and very warm. We would always sample a piece or two. Quality testing at its finest. By the end of the night, there would be bins full of candy, and a bunch of kids high on sugar.
These memories also inspired me. I'm sure that that production set-up would not satisfy today's regulations, but it sure was fun.
The recipe I use is:
3/4 to 1 cup of strongly infused herbal "tea"
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
I have not had a chance to experiment with honey, and I believe that one could use all sugar, but this recipe worked well for me. You may want to try a few variations if the corn syrup is objectionable.
To make the tea, I put the herbs, berries, etc., in a pint jar and covered with boiling water, allowing it to steep for several hours. Then I strained it and squeezed the dickens out of the pulp to get all the good stuff. If there is less than a cup of liquid, that's fine.
Put the liquid into a large (at least 2 quart) pan. It bubbles up a lot during cooking, so you need a lot of space.
Add the corn syrup and stir to blend. Add the sugar and turn on medium high heat. Stir only until the sugar is dissolved. Set the thermometer on the side of the pan, with the tip in the liquid, but not touching the bottom of the pan.
Let 'er rip!
While it cooks, grease a 10 x 13 glass cooking dish and put down plastic wrap on a surface where you'll be doing the cutting - probably 2' x 3' is sufficient. Sift confectioners sugar or cornstarch over the plastic wrap.
When the temperature of the candy reaches 300 degrees, turn off the heat and stir briefly.
Pour it into the baking dish. Have something under the dish to protect the counter from heat.
Wait a minute or two, and lift the edge of the candy to see if it can be lifted to cut. When this is possible, use scissors to cut a strip, and toss it out to a waiting helper who will cut it into pieces. This really is difficult to do alone, but it's possible. Keep cutting the strips until it is finished.
If the candy in the baking dish hardens before you've finished, you can place it into the oven and heat it, but it will probably stick to the dish. I've taken out the whole piece that is leftover, melted it in another pan, and repoured it into the original baking dish. Clean-up is easy, hot water dissolves the candy.

Here are the infusions I started with:

Elderberry Bits
1 cup fresh elderberries
2 slices ginger
zest from one lemon

Lemon Balm Bombe
3/4 cup freshly picked lemon balm
1/4 cup freshly picked passionflower leaves, flower, tendrils
1/4 cup blueberries
zest from one lemon
20 drops of lemon eo just before pouring into baking dish

Tulsi Twist
3/4 cup freshly picked holy basil
1/4 cup dried goji berries
1/4 cup freshly picked chocolate mint

Herbalicious Medley
juice and zest from one orange and one lemon
1/4 cup holy basil
1/4 cup elderberry
2 slices ginger
3 rose geranium leaves
sprig of lemon thyme
sprig of rosemary
sprig of lemon verbena
1/4 cup mint
2 pods cardamom

Lancaster Central Market

Central Market is something that I rarely give much thought to; it's always just been there. Growing up before malls and urban sprawl, going "downtown" was the only true option for shopping. Back then, I never wondered how long the market had existed or even gave much thought to the (at that time) horse-drawn carriages that brought goods into the city for sale, hitched outside the market house for the day.
Our county has many markets that have been in existence for decades - some for a century or more. Green Dragon in Ephrata is one that I researched for a paper in college, and that one has quite a colorful history - including a "roadhouse" period that has a fairly unsavory flavor. At one time, in addition to the Central Market we had Southern, West End, and Eastern Markets that all ran on different, overlapping days, ensuring that there was always good fresh foods available at any given time. The Eastern Market is in the midst of a revival, but Central Market has always been there.
In 1730, Alexander Hamilton included it in the original plan of the city, and conveyed personal property to the City of Lancaster in a deal that ensured that the market would always be there. It has run continuously from that time, with a building being constructed first around 1757, and then being remodeled into our outstandingly beautiful current market building in 1889. The Market House is under reconstruction right now, but the changes are internal. The building itself is about 1/2 block long and half as wide, surrounded by a narrow cobblestone alley on all sides that includes hitching posts that are these days used almost exclusively for our mounted police force.
I remember going to Central Market on rare occasions as a child, mostly for baked goods when we happened to be in town shopping for clothes. We lived out in the country and there was no scarcity of fresh produce and meat for us, and Tuesday nights found our grandfather at Root's Market towards Lititz for produce and donuts to bring home. Home delivery of breads and milk were also a part of life.
Later, my first job and apartment led me to spend more time at market. I lived a block away from market, and worked for a paper supply company a block in the other direction. Each market day, the owner of the company would walk to market and get orders for bags, cake or pie boxes, candy boxes, plates, plasticware, deli-wrap and foil, etc., and then those things would be delivered before the end of the day to the standholders. Nearly everything I ate came from the market, where standholders supplied beautiful produce, fresh meats and fish, dairy goods, and baked goods. At least once a week, I'd take home fresh cut bouquets of flowers for the apartment.
In the early 70's the big mall came to town, and nearly wiped the city out. I married and moved out of the center of the city, making trips into the market a special treat. It began a long, sad period of decline for the downtown area.
The 90's brought about an exciting revival for the City of Lancaster, with arts being the main focus. The town is now full of art studios, specialty shops, a school of art and design, music, theatre, and many incredible eateries. It is once again an exciting hub of activity, and I was so happy when our kids started finding reasons to go "downtown".
Central Market is still the jewel in the crown of the city. On market days (Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday), the city is once again teeming with shoppers. It is a real testament to the vision of Alexander Hamilton that this one vibrant part of our heritage has been the thing that seems to have held steady and given hope and purpose to the people who led us back to our town.
I try to get there at least once a month, although it is a special trip. There is nothing like the offerings of freshly prepared ethnic foods, specialty foods, organic produce and grass-fed beef, fresh ground horseradish, jellies, cider, artisan breads - and so much more - that are beautifully displayed for purchase. The homemade sauerkraut that families have purchased for decades to serve on New Year's Day with fresh pork and potatoes also from market, the fresh turkeys picked up just before the holidays (along with that tender celery for stuffing!), the smoked hams, the first strawberries, spring peas, green onions of spring - they all are part of what makes this place special.
If you visit Lancaster, visit the oldest continuously running market in the US. It is steeped in the work and life of centuries of good people, and is the heart of our area.