An Herbal Diary

Sassafras is a richly nuanced medicinal tree that also has a distinctive place in the culinary world. Sassafras root bark is responsible for the flavor of root beer, but it is no longer used due to a Food and Drug Administration ban. The reasons for this fortunately do not transfer to sassafras leaves which have a long history of being essential to classical Southern gumbo. I think sassafras falls in...

What makes a fruit or vegetable easy to find in grocery stores? While there are many answers to this question, a lot of edible medicinal herbs are not, herbs like nettles, burdock root and elderberries. To this list, I am adding sumac berries. Sumac may not give us delicious fruit, but there is good reason to get to know it better and I am doing this in my kitchen. And in case you are wondering, this is a totally diffe...

What makes a tree medicinal? The answer to this question depends on the medicine we are searching for. Especially in spring, trees can be medicine for our eyes. After the grayness of winter, glorious flowering trees like dogwood and magnolia are sweet visions. Aside from landscaping decoration, both dogwood and magnolia along with many other trees,have long been used for strong medicines derived from their bark.Tree ba...

Plant energetics is a way to understand how a plant can affect the body through our senses and how it feels in the body. Energetics is subtle, but so helpful when choosing herbs. The difference between warming and cooling plant energetics is like feeling the warmth of the sun versus a cool plunge into the ocean. In this episode, we delve deep into warming energetics and match these with a group of trees that provide gr...

Pine trees are trees that are very familiar especially because of their long thin needles and pine cones. But they seem overlooked for their culinary and herbal remedy benefits. In this episode, I am back in my kitchen with elegant pine needles brewing a tea blended with warming spices and preparing a skin healing salve. I’ll talk you through all the steps. 

Thank you for joining me!

Pine Need...

Herbal teas are a lovely way to be creative and experience herbs on a daily basis. Brewing herbal teas can take on different forms and tastes, including juice-like creations when dried berries are used as the main ingredients. These berry teas are a wonderful way to gain nutrient benefits from herbs. In this episode I am sharing my current favorite method for brewing herbal tea that feels more like a juice. Thank you f...

The Little Herb Saver:

Lemon balm is like a blanket of peace, calming a nervous stomach, reducing anxiety, elevating  a gloomy feeling, and providing relief for sleepless nights. That’s a lot, but that’s also not all. 

Lemon balm is easy to grow, lovely to eat or drink as tea, powerful in its own right but not in a way that lends caution to using it. To get more lemon balm into our lives, can ...

Lemon balm is soothing, calming and uplifting, whether fresh or dried its a pleasure to have and use. Lemon balm is such a gem that it deserves a a two part herbal monograph. Here in part 1, Dina focuses on lemon balm's origin and the benefits it can offer for us now. Also offering favorite sources for dried lemon balm and some recipes for making teas and tinctures. Thank you for joining me.

Recipes in Epi...

Baking and herbs both calm my heart and mind. In today’s episode, I am back in my kitchen baking scones with lemon balm infused heavy cream blended into the batter. Lemon balm is a delight to grow and the fresh leaves offer a beautiful perfumey aroma that can uplift a heavy heart and offer a peaceful moment. In the kitchen, it’s medicine for the baker. 

Lemon Balm...

Rounding out my broth episodes with ginger provides the perfect example of how lovely tasting herbal tea can second as herbal broth which then infuses the food we eat with an extra layer of nourishment. Ginger is a great example, because it is such a foundational culinary herb with multitudes of methods and recipes incorporating ginger both fresh and dried.. As for soup, ginger itself may be added as...

Could chicken soup be medicinal because of the plant and herbal ingredients?. Chicken adds nourishment but I propose the healing qualities are due to onions, thyme, bay leaves and pepper.

Chicken Stock (from my kitchen)

½ gallon water (2 quarts)

3 pounds chicken bones (joints - wings, ...

Another form of kitchen alchemy and extraction: Kvass. This fermented beverage is refreshing and tangy. Using Kvass as broth may be unconventional but it is also uncommonly good, especially beet kvass used in borscht, either cold or hot. Give it a try.

Kvass Recipe

12 slices dark rye bread

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