Healing Teas | Living in Natures Love

celebration

Edible Celebration

This is the time of year to have a birthday! Imagine the edible bounty that is on display almost moment by moment as it emerges! To celebrate with a good friend the morning began with foraging out in the yard.

Garnish

The edible garnish you see are pansy, cherry blossoms forget me nots on the celebratory dessert. On the plate the edible garnish you see fresh native current (of the Pacific Northwest), wild English daisy, dandelion, rosemary, butterbur, polyanthus, forsythia and oxalis flowers, wild garlic chives, and columbine leaves. The hard boiled egg was dyed with scotch broom flowers the evening before.

Salad

The salad the ingredients was what was available that morning. We had overwintered veggies; red lettuce, small kale and Swiss chard leaves, hairy bitter cress, purple dead nettle, dandelion, malva, yellow dock and herb Robert leaves (weeds), rosemary, mint and oregano leaves, angelica and fennel, chives and the leaves from the flowers; creeping jenny, oxalis, barren strawberries, butterbur, hollyhock, forget me nots.

Soup

Began with a beef broth and miso. The ingredients added came from the yard. These included overwintered leeks, kale and Swiss chard together with a few herbs, rosemary and oregano. Sprinkled on top – rosemary flowers.

Tea

Tea was a wonderful infusion of bay laurel leaves!

Keeping it simple, for me, heightens the flavours of all the ingredients and there isn’t the heaviness of eating afterwards, only a sense of full filled that lasts through out the day! That means no snacking!!!!

I heard back that this was the best birthday lunch ever!

Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

Herbs, Flowers ‘n Roots

As part of the infusing process for a soothing and healing bathing experience I have begun to make tea from the same herbs, flowers and roots as those I use. I find the experience of drinking the tea as I draw a bath full-filling. It is satisfying to be treating the outside as great as the inside! For a few moments in my week I am connecting to a fuller awareness of the inside-outside connections.

The herbs, flowers and roots used in this early spring tea and infusion were; feverfew, mullein, butterfly vine, calendula, peony and Nootka rose flowers, mullein, feverfew, celery leaves, spruce needles, and mullein root. I choose these plants as they are beginning to come to life in our garden and indoors as they sprout from seed.

Become aware of the relationship to what foods & medicinal’s you invite into your experience, inside and outside, for radiant health. Developing one’s connection to the plants, herbs and trees through gardening, eating and harvesting them increases the body’s alignment to their qualities, whether eating or making healing products (tinctures, oils, teas, and poultice’s) with them. If you plant seeds, do what the aboriginal gardeners and seed collectors of Southern Countries still do today, soak the seeds in your mouth a moment before planting! Now that is an intentional connection!!!!