Taken Over By Fruit

My life has been taken over by fruit.  What started out as a small canning project/idea at the beginning of the year has taken over a large part of my life.  Part of the problem is that right now everything is ripe.  Everything.  Right now.  And.... I'm a canner.  A lot of people aren't canners.  What does that mean?  They give you free food.  Lots of free food.  I LOVE free food.  I hate wasting ANYTHING.  And, therein lies my dilemma.
Long nights are spent in the kitchen frantically canning fruit and veggies.  Some will be for sale, some will be for gifts and some will just be for me.
My yard has fallen to the wayside, my carpet needs to be vacuumed, my dog looks at me longingly for a walk and my diet consists mainly of smoothies and tomato sandwiches - neither require much effort, little dishes and fill me up.
I love canning, and love cracking open a jar of tomatoes I canned 4 months ago and making sauce.  I love spreading blueberry jam on toast in February while I plan my garden for this year and wait for the snow to melt.  Invited to a party with nothing to bring?  Throw a jar of cherries in a bowl, add some spices and toss it into a pie crust.  Ta da.  I love canning.

Those pears we foraged last week, they have been kind enough to not go bad while I decide what to do with them.

Remember Me?

Hey, I'm back!  I didn't actually go anywhere, my life just got super crazy for a few weeks and I had absolutely no time to write anything.  I'm going to try to change that; try being the operative word - things are still crazy.

To start with, I got a new job.  It kind of came out of nowhere, but at the same time it didn't.  I had been putting out to the Universe for months now that I wanted a new job.  Something where I would have a set schedule, work earlier in the day, be close to home, make more money and be in a position to not only work with people to help them incorporate herbs and other aspects of natural health into their lives, but where I could learn more about herbs/health myself.  My friend works at a local organic grocery store here and they have a Health and Beauty/Vitamins Dept, which she was managing.  Well, she was promoted to managing the Grocery Dept (pretty much the bulk of the store), which left the HBA/Vitamin Dept in need of a manager.  Do you see where this is going?
So far, this job is amazing.  I'm home every day by 3:45pm.  I actually get an afternoon AND evening to do things like vend at the Farmer's Market.  What?  And.....I get weekends off!  What?!  This is crazy.  Not to mention all the reps. from various companies I've had the pleasure of meeting, all the new products I get to try, all the learning/trainings I've participated in already.  It's amazing.  I'm working, learning, helping people and I'm only 2.3 miles from my home.  The Universe heard me.

While all that was happening (I also got to go to Columbus for a trade show my first week!) I've been spending a lot of time at my garden.  My backyard garden has become somewhat of a lost cause.  In addition to my neighbor's dogs the weather here in Northeast Ohio has not been favorable.  We are almost through August and the hottest it has gotten is 80.  While the temps are nice, not having full sun, cooler temps and obnoxious dogs means my garden isn't happy.  One of my tomato plants is barely 2ft tall and has ONE tomato on it.  Seriously.  I planted some cooler weather veggies and they are sprouting and doing okay so I'm hoping for a bumper fall crop of broccoli, carrots and greens.....

My garden plot was doing great until this past Monday.  I showed up to find my beans ripped from the fence and thrown in a heap in front of my tomatoes.  Some of the tomatoes were knocked over, our fall seedlings were trampled and our stick markers were broken.  Behind the fence, where there was all kinds of lush green including lots of different medicinal/edible plants, everything was gone.  Like, someone took a flame thrower and destroyed everything.  I called the City and the Westerly (the building that owns the property we grow on) and was informed that the city had pulled everything because they are going to be re building the fence (so we need to have everything moved away from the fence within the next 6 weeks) and that the Westerly hired a "professional" landscaper to do some work and he was instructed not to spray within a foot of the gardens.  Really?!  A whole 12 inches is going to protect our ORGANIC garden from whatever bullshit you are spraying?  So, basically my garden is worthless.  I haven't called the Westerly back yet after they left a message informing me what happened because I've been too pissed off.  Thankfully the other local gardeners/farmers have been having a way better year than I have so I'm still filled up on produce - it's just not mine.

Roxy was sick for a minute, but she seems to have bounced back again.  She's 14, she's missing a toe, missing a tooth, has had a tumor on her liver for 2 and a half years now, developed Vestibular Syndrome two months ago, was sick for a few days this week and just keeps going.  My brother insists I'm doing some kind of magick/voodoo to keep her alive.  Despite her age and setbacks she still goes up and down 2 flights of stairs multiple times a day, goes for mile long walks, runs around the house, has a wicked appetite and is just generally in good health - save for breath that'll melt off your eyebrows.

So, that's what is new with me.  In foraging news, we've started our wild pear harvest, we delved into some local Sumac and made sumac-ade and we are still picking clover blossoms.  I'm also going to start my plantain harvest shortly.

Glorious Mulberry Jam

Mulberry Jam!  Mulberry Jam!  Mulberry Jam!
I'm super pumped that it's time for mulberries - the ignored and forgotten fruit.
If you want to learn how to identify and locate this fruit, I've already posted about that in my Lakewood Patch blog, Urban Foraging:
http://lakewood-oh.patch.com/groups/urban-foraging/p/marvelous-mulberry

For Spittle and Lawn Grass, I want to talk about some of the health benefits of these lovely berries and about the jam I made!
For starters, they are FULL of antioxidants which are great for lessening the damage caused by free radicals.  These antioxidants come from the anthocyanins, which give fruit (not just the mulberry) it's color.  It is thought that anthocyanins, in addition to helping fight free radicals, are also good for improving eye sight, helping to fight off cancer and to help with overall health improvement.  Sounds good to me!
**while both the fruit and leaves are edible, only the ripe fruit and cooked leaves are used.  Unripe fruit and uncooked leaves are toxic and mildly hallucinogenic.**
Mulberries also contain a significant amount of protein, in addition to vitamin C, iron and potassium.  They make a great pick me up snack for those mid afternoon lulls. 
Mulberries are also great for boosting your immune system, increasing a healthy blood sugar level and in Chinese medicine mulberry is used for inflammation.
One more thing about eating/using mulberries; if you pick them, you'll notice 1. an annoying little green stem that is impossible to remove without destroying the berry and 2. a large amount of seeds.  Both are edible and best left intact.  There is quite a bit of nutrients packed into that little green stem!  I don't even bother with a food mill or cheese cloth when making jam, I leave everything in there.
Mulberries are quite good dried and they make an excellent addition to granola - the seeds will give you a satisfying crunch.

While all the health benefits are well and good (and I certainly appreciate them) my favorite thing about mulberries is making jam! 
The first thing I did was go out and pick my mulberries.  This can be done be either picking them individually off the tree, or placing a tarp down and shaking the branches. 
I then brought the berries home, washed them and began simmering them on the stove with sugar! 
 I brought it to a boil, added some pectin and tada!  Mulberry jam!  I also have plenty of berries in my freezer to make another batch of jam and to add to baked goods later in the year.  I'm thinking a mulberry pie for Thanksgiving.....

This little guy dropped out of the tree when we shook it.  It is a male Clubionid and he was kind enough to stand still so I could get a photograph.  (Clubionids are more commonly known as sac spiders - I'm sure you've seen the yellow sac spider in your house once or twice.  If you look closely, you can see two "boxing gloves" between his front legs.  Those are his pedipalps, which are swollen because they contain sperm.  The females, while they also have pedipalps, they are not swollen.  This is a sure fire way to sex a spider.  Try it next time you see one!)

If you are interested in making your own jam, I used 9 cups of fresh berries to 6 cups of sugar.  I brought it to a rolling boil and added 1 packed (3 oz) of liquid pectin.  I then canned and processed in a hot water bath. 
If you just want to taste and buy the jam already made (pretty please!)  I will be at LEAF Nights 5:30-8pm Thursday nights on the front steps of the main branch of the Lakewood Public Library on Detroit Ave. 
Thanks for reading this!

Chenopodium - A Lovely Weed

The heat and humidity are finally here.  My tomatoes and peppers, if they could, would be jumping for joy.  I will do the jumping for them.  It finally feels like summer. 
And with that, it's time to get back to what this blog is supposed to be about - wild plants!  Thanks for sticking around and reading while I dealt with my wisdom teeth, the neighbor's dogs and my dog (who is vastly improving ever day!)

I want to talk today about Lambs Quarters (Chenopodium album).  This is a "weed" that I can almost guarantee you have growing in your yard, your sidewalk or your garden.  Maybe check that forgotten patch of overgrown plants behind the garage?
Once you see it, you will forever be seeing it (and once you eat it, you'll forever be looking for it!).

This plant has many common names - lambs quarters, pigweed and goosefoot.  The name "goosefoot" comes from the thought that the leaves resemble a goose's foot.  As a matter-of-fact, Chenopodium actually translates to "goose foot."  Another interesting "feature" of this plant that is reminiscent of the goose is the white, mealy underside of the leaf.  This is commonly mistaken for either a pesticide/herbicide or mold.  It is in fact neither, but a nifty feature of the plant that allows water to just roll off the leaves (like water running off a goose's back!). 

Here is the underside of the leaf - which you can see is has a white hue to it.  (If you encounter some  Chenopodium try spraying it with the hose or splashing it with water.  The water will just bead and roll off.)
This plant usually grows between 3-5 feet tall and has a slender, grooved stem.  The stem can be tinged red, most often near the leaf joints. 
This plant is a favorite of foragers because it is quite tasty (has a spinach like taste), prolific, easy to find and nutritious. 
According to "Wild Man" Steve Brill "if you begin learning wild foods with only a few wild plants, this widely distributed, easy-to-identify, tasty, nutritious and long in season plant should be one of the first on your list."
To prepare this tasty treat, trim the leaves off the stems and use it anyway you would spinach.  Raw in salads, steam it, saute it, add it to soups and stews. The leaves are full of beta carotene, calcium, iron and potassium and it dries well so you can save it for winter time soups or powder it to add nutrients to various dishes.  The seeds are also edible providing calcium, protein and potassium.

One thing to be cautious of when dealing with lambs quarters is that it will absorb nitrates from the soil and can make you sick.  If you suspect the area you have located your lambs quarters to be contaminated, move along and find another spot.

And..... don't forget I also started blogging for the Lakewood Patch!
 http://lakewood-oh.patch.com/groups/urban-foraging/p/prolific-purslane

Thanks for reading!

Birthday, Solstice and Dogs

Yesterday was the official first day of summer.  I found it fitting that it was finally "hot" out.  Today it's pretty warm and humid too - we are supposed to get thunderstorms later :) 
I haven't been good about taking pictures this week - but a lot of epic things have happened.
Wednesday night I got a frantic call from Mr. X informing me that Roxy (our Shepard mix) was unable to walk, she was drooling and her eyes were twitching.  I left work early and came home to find my dog basically acting as if she was drunk.  Vertigo, vomiting, unable to walk or stand.  Scary stuff.
We did some research and took her to the vet.  While it could be a number of different things, given the sudden onset and how greatly she has improved over the last 72 hours, I'm going to go with option number one - Vestibular Syndrome.  What is that you ask?  Well, for some reason, doctors/vets have no idea what causes this or how to cure it - the Vestibular nerve (located near her ear canal) becomes inflamed - typically in older dogs.  This inflammation causes twitchy eyes, drooling, vertigo, and ultimately the inability to stand or walk.  The only way to really deal with it is to give your dog Dramamine to curb the motion sickness enough that they can eat and drink.  We've had to carry her up and down the stairs and keep her harness on in order to help her walk and basically feed her by hand because her head is tilted so much.  Recovery can be in as little as a few days to as long as a few weeks.  After barely 3 days, she went from complete immobilization to standing and walking on her own.  She is still wobbly, her eyes have a slight twitch and her head is still cocked to the right, but she has vastly improved since Weds.  Hopefully by Monday she will be back to her old self.
So that happened.
Then Thursday was my birthday!  Woooo!  After getting the vet out of the way and learning what was going on, I had to get ready for the farmers market!  My friend Kara surprised me with an awesome handmade (and beaded!) necklace of a spider with a sugar skull bead!  Very awesome!  My brother showed up and gave me a new trunk that he had made to house all of my wares!  There are slots for all the jars of jam and shelves that fold out to hold my ZombieSocks!  And, it has wheels!
My evening concluded with pizza and some Arrested Development.
Yesterday I had the fam over, and my mom made her famous cheesecake and we played Cards Against Humanity.  All in all it was a good time.
And.......I also learned that I am now going to be blogging on the Lakewood Patch website about urban foraging and wild edibles!
I also, hopefully, will have big news soon, but that will have to wait!
Thanks for reading this!
Happy Summer :) 

Favorite Days

Today was one of my favorite kind of days.  I love getting up early and savoring as much out of my day as I can, and today was no exception.  I was up at 6:30am this morning because today we were going strawberry picking (we being my friend Morgan and myself).

We got to Fitch's early and it was still cool and overcast - some of the best weather from strawberry picking in my opinion.  We picked 8 quarts of strawberries total.  While checking out they had a few quarts of "preserve" berries that were a little over ripe so I bought one of those too.  I also got a quart of berries last night with my CSA share, so we were up to 10 quarts of berries.  Not bad.  I currently have 1 quart sitting on my counter for munching, 2 quarts macerating in some sugar and vanilla for jam making tomorrow and 3 quarts in my freezer for later use (Morgan took her 4 home to meet similar fates).  I'm beyond pumped that fruit is finally in season again.

After arriving home and prepping the berries for their various duties we set out to find some red clover.  Red clover is currently in bloom EVERYWHERE.  I had a small patch in my yard I was hoping to dry for infusion making, but the resident rabbit decided he/she wanted to eat it instead.  Better the clover than my veggies!

For today's purposes, it's convenient that I live near the freeway* - there are all kinds of wildflowers, edibles and medicinal plants growing along the freeway.  We found tons of Crown Vetch (not edible nor medicinal but beautiful non the less):

Chicory, which makes a wonderful coffee like beverage - we will be returning in the fall to collect the root to roast. (Those yellow flowers in the background are Trefoil.)

 Curly Dock :

Day Lily :

And, the shining star of the day, Red Clover:

We are currently drying the red clover on screens

I placed the screens on the back porch for about an hour to allow all the little critters we inadvertently brought home with us time to scamper away - and not in my house.
I've talked about infusions before, but just a quick tutorial, you take about an ounce of dried herb (which is equal to roughly a cup) and place it in a jar, cover with boiling water, steep over night, strain and drink.  It's a very vitamin and mineral rich beverage.  Red clover is good because it is full of phytoestrogens and phytosterols so it is an excellent anti-cancer herb as well as good for women dancing with menopause.  Ancient peoples used Red Clover as an herb of immorality and protection and according to Old Wives, placing a blossom or two in an amulet bag would insure good health and a strong spirit.  You can tincture the fresh blossoms in alcohol, mix them with honey for a Red Clover Blossom Honey, or dry them like I do and use them for infusions.
During our travels today, we also found some Sumac with berries that will be very ripe soon - Sumac-ade!  About 6 pear trees with young pears nearing maturity and a mulberry tree with berries that will hopefully be ready next week!


*When I say "along the freeway" we are actually below the freeway, where large areas of grass and wildflowers, which are regularly mowed by the city, but not sprayed, are located.  We are not right on top of cars, exhaust and other debris.

No Thank You Western Medicine

My life has been pretty boring these past few days - it's amazing how much having your wisdom teeth removed takes out of you. 
While I do have health insurance, I use it primarily to have my teeth cleaned twice a year and get my bi-yearly eye exam and new glasses.  I'm not a fan of Western Medicine at all.  I don't understand it. 
I do indulge in the occasional ibuprofen, it doesn't upset my stomach, doesn't contain any caffeine and it get's the job done. (nobody wants to be at work for 8 hours with raging cramps, waiting for the cramp bark and raspberry tea to kick in.) - beyond this however, I don't rely on any prescription or over the counter medications. 
I wouldn't go so far as to say I was terrified of having my teeth taken out, but I'm 28 (or will be on June 20) and I've never broken a bone, never had stitches, never had any form of anesthesia, I've never been to the ER (for myself) or experienced any sort of medical emergency or issue.  This was all completely new to me. 
In order to have my teeth out, the surgeon prescribed a 10mg Valium to take prior to my surgery.  I decided, despite my misgivings toward Western Medicine, that I would "follow the doctor's orders", at least at first, and see what happened.
The Valium was ridiculous.  My friend sent me a text message and I couldn't even coherently respond.  Dislike.
The surgery went off without a hitch.  I will hand it to Dr. Goldstein, he knows what he is doing.  I wasn't even in there an hour and a half.  I had essentially no bleeding and no complications.
Upon leaving the office, I was given a prescription for Prednesone and Percocet.  The first day home I took 3 Percoet.  The last one made me vomit.  I nixed those.  I continued to take the steroid to help with the swelling, but after 2 days I just felt "weird."  All I wanted to do was sleep, I felt spacy and couldn't focus.  I nixed those as well.  I've basically relied on a fairly healthy diet ("fairly" because let's face it, I can't eat shit right now so I'm going to indulge in the ice cream, pudding and mashed potatoes) my Plantain rinse, my warm salt water rinse and the occasional ibuprofen - I didn't have any pain until about 4 or 5 days after, at which point I had a dull ache in my right jaw. 
After getting all the "drugs" out of my system, I feel a million times better.  I felt more inclined to eat, drink a f*ck ton of water, get outside, get some sunshine and do a little weeding and yard work.  THAT is what has made me feel better and helped heal me.  Today marks six days since having my teeth out.  I'm still tender, sore and ever-so-slightly swollen but I'm feeling like a normal person again.
That being said, I think I'm going to continue to stick with my herbs and healthy diet.

Plain Plantain

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite wild plants/herbs, plantain.  It is one of the first plants to make an appearance in the spring (which I have mentioned before) but now it is everywhere and even easier to spot because one species, Plantago lanceolata, is blooming. 

There are two common species of this plant, also known as "ribwort" that you will or should be able to find growing in your yard, narrow leaf and broad leaf plantain.
This is the narrow leaf:

And this is the broad leaf species:

The broad leaf takes a while to bloom, but has similar flowers to the narrow leaf variety.

This is a plant that has been used in herbal medicine for a long time.  It is thought to have come to America by European settlers because the Native Americans referred to it as "white man's foot."
The name "ribwort" which is also commonly used in older herbals comes from the deeply "ribbed" or "veined" leaves on this plant.
What makes this plant so awesome is that it is a great first aid remedy.  Got stung by a bee?  Grab some plantain.  Poison ivy?  Plantain.  Any kind of skin irritation, sore or wound, plantain is what you want. 
It is most commonly used to heal topically, traditionally by making a poultice and then placing that on the affected area.  This is most easily done by grabbing a couple of leaves, chewing them and then placing the chewed up mass on the wound.  I've done this when I was stung by a bee, as well as the countless times I've cut myself.  Make a poultice, place it on the cut, cover with a bandaid.  No need for neosporin!
Dry, itchy skin?  No worries, try plantain.  Not only can you use it as a poultice, but you could also make an oil/salve/balm from this wonder plant and use that instead.  Over 20 anti-inflammatory constituents have been found in plantain!  You can even dry plantain for winter use, powder the herb and then dust the powder over the affected area.
To quote Susun Weed (one of my favorite herbalists)

"Plantain—the “bandage” plant—soothes and cools. The fresh leaves counter infection, stop pain, slow bleeding, reduce swelling, and quell itching, internally and externally, in both acute and chronic conditions. Plantain has remarkable restorative and pain relieving powers on the skin and all mucus surfaces: mouth, throat, lungs, sinuses, stomach, intestines, kidneys and bladder."

The more I learn about plantain, the more I love this plant.
You can also eat the leaves, they are great in spring salads, or as a pot herb as they get older.  You can even season and dry them the same way you would make kale chips!

Plantain is also really good for teeth and gum health - it is an excellent tonic for pulling out infection and toning gums.  An infusion of plantain can be used as a gargle as well as placing wadded up leaves on the infection site and biting down to draw out infection.
Which brings me in part to why I wanted to talk about plantain today.  Since I had my wisdom teeth out on Friday, I decided to make an infusion of dried plantain to use as a rinse to help the healing.
I went out earlier in the week and collected a bunch of leaves and dried them.  The night before my surgery I placed the dried leaves in a quart mason and jar and filled it with boiling water, let it steep over night and then strained it in the morning.  Infusions are only good for about 36 hours, but I used it multiple times to help my mouth.

I've taken great care in icing my face, drinking plenty of fluids and I've been on an almost liquid diet as well, but I've had next to no pain (I've required no pain killers save for the day of my surgery) and the swelling has not been to bad (I think the swelling is due in part to the removal of a piece of my jaw bone in order to have access to my wisdom tooth....) so I would say the plantain rinse is doing it's job!

Have you found any plantain in your yard?

Farmer's Market Kick Off!

So...the moment I've finally been waiting for!  Thursday night was the kick off to this year's Farmer's Market!  Technically it is a CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up along with several local farmers and vendors slinging their wares.  I've purchased a share the last 3 years and this year I decided I was going to vend there.  I'm so thrilled. 
My friend Morgan and I combined forces and we are calling ourselves "Morki's Wares n' Such" so in addition to seasonal jellies and jams, we also have baked goods and handmade items. 
Of course it was raining, but my friend Colleen of Goody2Shoes Bakery was also vending, so we all huddled under a tent together.  My lovely friend Kara was on hand to take some pictures!

 Rose jelly was the favorite, so I'll be making another batch of that this week.  We also have some fun ideas to mix up our Canooooes (which are just homemade Twinkies.) Within the next week or two we will also have fresh strawberry jam on hand.
All in all it was a great time, a lot of friends came out to say, some I haven't seen in a long while and we look forward to next week, and hopefully some nicer weather.

I'm currently recovering from my wisdom teeth removal yesterday, which wasn't as bad as I thought, but I'm already over the swelling and stitches and liquid diet I've been on.

Coming up in the next day or two, we're going to talk about Plaintain!

Roses

A few weeks ago, it was dandelions.  They were everywhere.  In my neighborhood, they were basically the first "wild" flower to bloom.  I knew spring was coming when I saw the first one.  It all went down hill from there.  Pretty soon, I was seeing field of yellow everywhere I went; fantasizing about making jelly, frying the flower heads and eating the greens.  Fortunately, I was blessed to have quite a few in my yard - which I was able to eat and make jelly with - of which I wrote about in previous posts.

Now is the time for roses - wild roses to be exact.  From the time I spotted the first few buds, I've been anxiously awaiting their bloom.  Two weeks ago, the first ones came.  Only a few at a time.  And then an explosion.

I love this rose bush I have in my yard.  When I first moved here, it was the only thing of color in the backyard besides green.  She was a rather large bush, full and unruly, long tendrils bowing down to the ground with flowers.  I just let her do her thing, I didn't have much experience with rose bushes and was afraid to trim or cut for fear of injuring and ultimately killing this lovely plant. 

Then I came home one day to find my landlord had taken it upon himself to do some yard work.  The rose bush had been hacked to the ground.  It was just a stump.  I felt like I had had the wind knocked out of me.  It was gone.

Or so I thought.
It came back with a vengeance the following year, and has been left untouched (except for a light pruning by yours truly) since.

Besides being beautiful, why are roses important?  For many reasons.  It has been part of stories and lore for ages.  This flower is sacred to Isis, it's the flower of Aphrodite and sprung up from the blood of Venus.  Native Americans used the rose for it's beauty and for medicine.  Remains of roses have been found in ancient burial sites throughout North America that can be dated from 20-40,000 years old.

Roses have also been used throughout history as an aphrodisiac , to east tension and anxiety and to uplift the spirits.  They have a renowned tonifying  and regulating effect on both the female and male reproductive organs.  An infusion of rose petals can relieve menstrual cramps and strengthen bones. 
When working with rose, the petals, leaves, leaf bud and fruit (the rose hips) can be used.

Rose petals can be infused in oil and used for massage to help with the circulatory system and to soothe the nerves.  You can also make a rose water - which makes a wonderful astringent toner.  However, the first thing I like to do with roses, besides prune a few to bring into the kitchen, is to make jelly.

Which brings us back to this year.
Thursday there were more than enough blooms to collect 2 packed cups of petals. 

Isn't it gorgeous?  We've had some wonderful rain storms the last couple of days and now the rose bush is bursting with more blooms.  This is the only thing I hate about gardening/canning season.  The plants don't wait for you to have time to put them up as preserves - it must be done on their time.  Which means I'll be squeezing in another jelly making session this week before opening day at the Farmer's Market Thursday!

Two In One Day!

Since I got my bitching out earlier, I figured I would come back this evening and write about some happy things.  A lot has been going on the last week, mostly prepping for up coming events (you know, the usual...)
For starters, I'm in the process of making my own kombucha!

I was fortunate enough to have a friend who gave me a scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.)  There is a lot of information on-line about making kombucha and what it is, so I'm not going to get into it.  But basically it is a yummy fermented tea that helps introduce a lot of good bacteria and microbes into your gut.  It takes about 7-10 days to ferment and I started mine this past Sunday, so I will know if it fermented and worked properly rather soon!  Can't wait!

I've also been slaving away in the kitchen making things and testing recipes for the upcoming farmers market - which if you've been following  along, you know I've been prepping for this for quite some time.  Today we made Twinkies!  - we are calling them Canooooes so as not to be confused with the famous ones.  We also made our first batch of rose jelly - it's GORGEOUS!  And I think we'll be making a few more batches!

The roses came right from my backyard.  I've got a gorgeous wild rose bush that has been growing for longer than I've been here.  It even survived being hacked to pretty much nothing 3 years ago and still came back stronger than ever!  It's one of my favorite things in the yard.  And it makes such a gorgeous jelly!

To continue with the theme of things I've been making - I make creatures out of socks.  This produces a lot of bits and pieces of socks that aren't quite big enough to do much with.  A couple weeks ago I ran out of socks (a tragedy in my house) and only had some scraps to work with.  Scrapies were born.  I've made 6 so far, and all will be available at the show I'm doing Saturday, Crafty Mart!  Each are only $5 and I love all of them!

Well, it's been a long day and I've still got some things to do before bed.
Thanks for reading this :)  Hopefully I will see you at Crafty Mart or LEAF!

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

I think this year is going to be very trying for me on the gardening front.  Due to the cold snap we got last week, I've officially lost 2 tomato plants and I think a few more may be following along.  In addition to killing the tomato plants, I've noticed a lot of my sprouts have basically just stopped growing.  I'm hoping this warmer weather will encourage them to shoot up and out now.  My cantaloupe still has not sprouted either.  And, if that wasn't annoying enough, I went out to check everything out 2 nights ago and found 3 of my beans and 1 of my sunflowers smashed. 
Now, I've already determined I've got a rabbit - he ate all my red clover - but this was not a rabbit.  This was a dog.  I've seen my downstairs neighbor's (I live in a duplex) dog walking through my garden previously, so I just assumed it was him.  The only thing I had on hand for a "quick fix" was some bird netting.  My hope was that would at least keep him from wondering through, especially if he got stuck. 
Well, yesterday morning I let Roxy out and guess what? My neighbor on the other side of me has a dog now too.  A boxer/pit bull terrier mix.  A very aggressive I-want-to-come-through-the-fence-and-eat- you boxer/pit bull terrier mix.  And I'm not just saying this because it's a pit bull.  I've known many a pit bull and they are sweet hearts. 
So, Roxy sees this dog, and this dog sees Roxy and they ran to the fence and started going at it running up and down, barking and growling - the netting did nothing. ;(  To make matters worse, both dogs are named Roxy, so screaming their names didn't help.

 Since I can only garden along the fence rows, building a fence would keep me and the dogs out, so that is out of the question.  So, the only thing we could think of was more tomato cages.  At least then the dogs have to run AROUND my plants instead of THROUGH them.  **crossing fingers**

Oi.  I'm hoping this time next year I'll be living in my own house, with my own yard and no neighbor's for at least a quarter mile.....

In other news, I've got Crafty Mart this weekend and the start of the Farmer's Market next Thursday!  Morgan and I will be making rose jelly today and we are doing a test run of the bakery item we will be selling.  Once we know how everything turns out, I'll reveal what it is!

I will hopefully be blogging more, now that the garden is in and I'll be taking a hiatus from doing shows, save the Farmers Market every week.  I'm going to be teaming up with my friend's husband to teach some Tai Chi workshops - I'll be doing some weed walks.  And I'm already prepping classes for the fall.

Thanks for reading this!

Rabbits and Seeds

I broke down and planted my tomatoes and peppers yesterday (in my yard anyway - tomorrow we will plant them in the garden plot.)  They were starting to get leggy and needed to stretch out under the hot sun with a miles of dirt beneath them.  Of course, now that they are in the ground, it is supposed to go down to the 60's this weekend..... the joys of living in Northeast Ohio.....

I think this year will be a good year for the garden.  For whatever reason, my cantaloupe is refusing to sprout, but everybody else is happy. 
I've also discovered a young rabbit living in my yard. 
As I've mentioned before, I have a small yard - that I rent.  There is not a whole lot I can do with it, because it isn't mine.  While we do make sure to mow, and obviously I plant things, I've made it a point to keep the back corner of the yard as natural as I can.  There is some variety of cultivate tree that a previous tenant left to languish in one of those wooden barrels that I have yet to identify, a ton of dandelion, aster, a wild rose, wild strawberry, Canada thistle and a gorgeous red maple.  It creates a shady, over grown oasis for all kinds of wildlife.  I put a gargoyle statue back there to watch over everybody and I cobbled together a birdbath from things I garbage picked and the birds love it.  I've watched grackles spend 10 minutes splashing around in it, bathing themselves. 

So, this rabbit.  I've seen it in my yard several times during the winter, most often finding it's droppings.  I thought maybe it was after my kale that I had planted in the fall, but it was never touched.  The other day I discovered it hanging out in the huge stand of aster I have growing in the back.  I think that is where he/she is living.  Most gardeners would be freaking out about this, trying to deter it and keep it away from their vegetables.  I was excited to find a wild animal using my yard as a home - my efforts to keep that area "untouched" are paying off.  That being said, I could be changing my tune here shortly when I start noticing my vegetables are disappearing.  But for now, I'm more concerned about keeping the neighbor's dogs out of the garden than the rabbit.  I think they might have something to do with my lack of cantaloupe.

Cleavers Tincture and Vanilla Extract

My garden and garden plot are slowly coming along and pretty soon I'll be able to plant my tomato and pepper plants I've been lovingly tending since the end of March. 
I spent the day running errands and getting a lot of things done around the house that I've been putting off.  I also had some time to play with my new camera.  No more fuzzy, low light photos!  Mr. X gave me my birthday present early :) 
I spent a lot of time outside today and in the kitchen.  I was able to pick about a 1/4 cup of violet blossoms, so I'm soaking that in some water over night.  I was hoping to get enough to make some jelly, but I'm thinking it'll just be a syrup instead.  Then I can add it to seltzer water and make a violet soda.  I also headed out to the garden plot and loaded up on Cleavers to make a tincture.  A tincture is a type of medicine made by infusing alcohol (typically vodka) with a fresh herb; in this case Cleavers.  It traditionally sits for at least 6 weeks before use and then is good indefinitely because the plant material is preserved in the alcohol. 
Cleavers are a fascinating plant that get their name because they "cleave" or stick to passing animals and humans.  A large clump of them make a great sieve.  They are also known as "bedstraw" and were typically used by midwives who prepared a bed of the plant for childbirth.  This practice was learned from watching deer, who also give birth and bed down in bed straw; hence, Cleavers are considered deer medicine in Native American culture. 
Cleavers are great for all kinds of things including calming of the nerves and filtering out toxins (and helping those organs whom perform this function).  According to Matthew Wood in The Book of Herbal Wisdom, "In short, we may say that Cleavers cools, moistens, filters, detoxifies and promotes transportation within the hidden waterways of the body."   Cleavers has also been used to cure cancer, traditionally of the tongue and thyroid.  Needless to say, Cleavers has a lot of uses and this is just the tip of the iceberg!
To make the tincture, I collected the Cleavers, cleaned them ( I didn't rinse them, I just checked for dead or brown plant matter, non-Cleavers plant material and insects and spiders), I crammed as much as I could fit into a jar, filled it up with vodka and screwed a lid on.  Then I labeled and dated it.  Tada!  In 6 weeks I'll have Cleavers tincture!

I also made up another batch of homemade vanilla extract!  All you need is a few vanilla beans, a nice bottle or jar and some vodka or rum!  I sliced my vanilla beans down the middle, but DO NOT scrape!  I placed them in the jar, warmed some vodka, then poured it over the beans and voila!  It'll be ready in about 6 weeks as well and the longer it sits, the stronger it gets.  I also do this with almonds and fresh mint!  It's WAY cheaper than store bought and now that you have a large bottle, you can add as much as you want to whatever you want!  Sadly, I didn't get a picture.

Tomorrow will be homemade mustard, violet syrup and banana bread!

Perseverance

I'm starting to really get frazzled and frustrated.  I have too many irons in the fire and not enough hands pull them all out.  I find myself getting more and more irritated at the amount of things I need to accomplish and finish that I can't finish because I have a job to go to.  The little things that used to just annoy me at work are really pissing me off because I don't want to be there anymore.  I want to be at home, working in the garden, sewing, canning, blogging, trying new recipes, preparing new classes, teaching etc... but instead, I'm at work.  I've started to internalize my frustrations and now my back aches, I have a pinched nerve, my shoulders hurt.... This just makes things worse. 
Ultimately, the only way I'm going to feel better is by working harder to get me away from my job.  But that will only happen by stressing myself out more and working harder than I already am.  Ugh.

On the bright side, I am making strides in walking away from my job.  I paid off my car on Friday - hurray!  I got my birthday present early - Mr. X bought me a new camera;  This means I get to take killer photos in ANY light and promote myself much better than I am now.  I had a great time at the Cleveland Flea this weekend and made a sizable amount of money which will allow me to purchase supplies to continue getting ready for Farmers Market season here in a few weeks. 

I'm getting there slowly but surely - I need to just keep plodding along.  I don't have the word "Perseverance" tattooed on my back for nothing.

This past week has been somewhat long, stressful and frustrating.  My wisdom tooth decided to make an appearance (again) so I've been in pain for most of the week.  Being an herbalist, I strive to use only herbs when taking care of myself and my injuries; that being said, typically the only remedy suggested and known for taking care of tooth pain is cloves.  Well, guess what?  I'm highly sensitive (swollen-tongue-covered-in-canker sores kind of sensitive) to cloves.  So that rules that out; ibuprofen and I have become friends - I have an appointment with the oral surgeon on Friday to schedule the removal of this demon tooth.

While that has been going on, I've also had to get my garden ready, my garden plot ready, dandelion jelly made and lots of prepping and making of things for the Cleveland Flea this coming Saturday and the farmers market starting in June - this is the point where I loathe having a real job.

The good news is all of my seeds (save for a few because I ran out of potting soil) are in the ground or their respective pots.  The garden plot is pretty fantastic:

It doesn't look like much now, but in a few months....

I was pretty stoked to find some garlic mustard and cleavers around the area too!  And I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say I was excited to find garlic mustard.  Yes, I know it's an invasive - but have you ever eaten any?  It's quite yummy and you can make quite the tasty horseradish-like vinegar using the root.  I like to cook the greens down with some garlic, olive oil and a splash of veg. broth and let it simmer.  Toss with some pasta or serve over rice!  Yummy!

Dandelion jelly was made this week as well.  It'll be ready for sale here soon, I just need to make labels.  And I think we will be making another batch this week, in addition to a few quarts of dandelion wine. 

Isn't the jelly pretty?

Dent-de-lion

Friday I spent some quality time with one of my favorite spring plants, the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).  If you've been following along with me, you know that I've been including the leaves of this lovely plant in my spring salads over the past couple weeks.  I love them in the early spring because they aren't very bitter.  They still have that "dandelion" taste, but no where near as bitter it will be in a few weeks. 

Before I get into what awesome dish I made with my dandelion, I want to talk a little bit about it -  what it is and why you should eat it.

For starters, the dandelion is a perennial, herbaceous plant with very deeply toothed leaves.  These "toothed" leaves are where it gets its name, dent de lion, meaning "lion's tooth" in old French.  While many people feel the dandelion is an annoying weed worthy of the worst kinds of weed killer, it is interesting to note that they were introduced by Europeans, particularly in the Midwest, in order to provide spring food for the honey bees.
Dandelions have since become well adapted to "disturbed" habitats and adverse circumstances, wide spread and more difficult to exterminate than most other competing "weeds" - but I'm sure you already knew this!

Why would anybody want to eat this lowly, annoying weed?  Well, for starters it is higher in beta carotene than carrots.  It has a ridiculously high iron and calcium content as well as vast amounts of B vitamins, C, E, P, and D, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.  Not to mention the fact that it grows virtually everywhere, so you don't have to make a trip to the store or spend any money to obtain it!  (Although they do sometimes sell dandelion greens at the grocery store.)

A lot of people do not like the taste of dandelion because it is bitter.  Well, yes, yes it is.  But that bitter is good for you.  That bitter helps your stomach produce more hydrochloric acid, which not only aids in better digestion, but helps your body absorb more calcium from you food as well as help against an upset stomach.

Dandelion greens also help increase the amount of blood and water waste eliminated by your kidneys and urine.  This will help decrease fluid swelling and congestion.
I could go on and on about the wonders of dandelion - I have a few more recipes I'll be making in the coming weeks so I'm sure we'll get into dandelion more... - but for now I want to get to my yummy dandelion dish!

Yay for Dandelion greens!
The first thing I did was go into my yard and collect as many dandelion greens as I could.  I managed to fill a large bowl.  ** remember that when cooking greens, what seems like a lot, will cook down to not much of anything, so don't be afraid to get A LOT.**

 This was about as much as I was able to collect.  Sadly my yard isn't very big.
At this point don't worry about washing the greens, just place them in a dry 1-3 quart sauce pan (depending on how many greens you've collected.)  Boil some water in your tea kettle. 
When the water is boiling, pour it over the greens.  Stir them around for a minute or two, rinse and repeat.  I did this three times. 

At the third water change, I left the greens in the water and brought them to a boil for a couple minutes; until the greens were nice and soft.  I drained them, dumped them into a glass dish and added a little Braggs Liquid Aminos (you could us tamari or soy sauce instead) and some fresh garlic.

Tada!  Notice how much is left after cooking?  In order to make this more substantial, I wilted a ton of kale from my garden and added it.  Delicious! 

Let's Talk About Salad

I want to take this time to talk about salad.  In recent years, salads have become more than just ice berg lettuce, a partially green tomato, croutons and ranch dressing. Prior to that, a salad was anything containing jell-o.  No, really.

One of my favorite pastimes is looking through the old cookbooks for the 40's and 50's just for the pictures.

Today, however,  salads can have everything from pasta or rice, fruits and nuts to various forms of protein (chicken, tofu, steak, seitan) and all manner of veggies.  I love cooking up some orzo and mixing it with all kinds of chopped veggies from the garden and a little bit of oil and vinegar.  Incidentally, I could do an entire post on just using different kinds of oils and vinegars to make dressings.  But anyway....

Even though was have "recreated" (if you will) the idea of the salad, we still stick to "safe" food ingredients.  For most, the idea of going in the back yard and collecting "weeds" to put in their salad bowl would never cross their mind.  It's a sad state of affairs, really.  With spring finally (I hope) being here, there are plenty of fresh greens springing up all over your yard that you could add to your salads, or eat on their own.  Why waste money at the grocery store on "spring greens" that were grown half way across the country when you can take 10 steps into your own yard and know exactly where the produce is coming from and what environment it was grown.  Not to mention, the vitamins and minerals you'll get from the weeds you pick will far surpass anything you'll find at the grocery store. 
That being said, what does one put in their salads?  Well, there are plenty of different plants to choose from and unfortunately, living in a very urban environment, I don't have as wide a variety as I would like, but this is what I do have:

This is broad-leaf plantain, hiding in some clover.  It has very similar properties to lance-leaf plantain, but for most it is more common.  It is just beginning to come up in my driveway, so I only collected a few leaves to give her a chance to get more sun and grow.  The leaves are very mild, like a mild lettuce.  Very yummy, and perfect for beginners - one of my favorites. 

The other two that I'm using pretty regularly are ones that I have already talked about in previous blogs, but I'll give a quick refresh -

The top picture is dandelion and the bottom is purple dead nettle.  The dandelion greens are quite tasty right now as they are young and not very bitter.  Once the flower head starts to form they become more and more bitter.  When I add them to my salads, I only do a handful of leaves so as not to overpower everything else.   The purple dead nettle has more of an "earthy" taste to it.  Not like beets do (I don't care for the taste of dirt) but you can definitely tell they are not a cultivated plant.  I enjoy them, and you can eat everything, stems, leaves and flowers.

I suggest collecting  some of each of the above mentioned greens and adding them to your salad, not making an entire salad out of them.  Slowly begin incorporating them into your diet - enjoy going out into nature to collect your lunch instead of the refrigerator.   Not only is it delicious, but it is relaxing and enjoyable too.  Spend a few minutes sitting in the sunshine (it's a fabulous way to get your Vitamin D!) and enjoy your lunch!

April Snow Showers

It's times like these that make someone like myself insane.  I took 5 days off of work in order to prepare for a class I was teaching, a show I'm participating in tomorrow and to work in my garden.  You would think that the middle to end of April would be an appropriate time to get in there, "weed" turn the soil, mix in some compost and maybe start some colder weather crops like chard and kale. 
Well, Weds. was an OK day, but I had grocery shopping to do, a house to clean, a dog that needed a walk and a class that evening to prepare for.  Thursday was GORGEOUS!  It was 81 and sunny!  My plum tree finally bloomed!

 I came home, looked out the window and Tada!  It was amazing. 
I had an aromatherapy session first thing in the morning and then it was off to check out my community garden plot with my friend.  Unfortunately we couldn't really do much with it because they want to till at the beginning of May; so all we really got to do was plan.  I did get to pick some tasty chives and anise that was left behind from last year though. 
So, Friday I was hoping to get into my yard.  Surprise!  It's raining.  All day.  And it's cold.  Mr. X and I decided instead to do some shopping to spruce up our house.  We scored some sweet throw pillows (one of them has a lady bug on it!), a whole new bed set and we re-did the bathroom with a new shower curtain, towels and rugs.  So my house looks nice, but my yard is still sad.
Okay, so it's Saturday.  I'll get in there today?!  Nope!  Guess what?!  It's SNOWING!  I guess it's just as well I haven't done any planting yet, but come on!  Mother Nature needs to get her act together. 
Tomorrow I have my show for most of the day and then it's back to work on Monday.  Such is life I suppose. 

My Yard

I love my yard.  It's taken me a long while to appreciate it for what it is, but I've gotten there.  When I first moved it I thought it was small and ugly.  I was thrilled the backyard was fenced in so Roxy could run around, but beyond that - yikes.  The previous tenants had planted some flowers along the fence, but they moved on and the plants died.  The grass area that I did have was barely 20x20 and the whole back half was shaded by a maple tree.  That first year I only used the yard if I had friends over or Roxy had to use the bathroom.  I paid it no mind.

The following year I decided I would I would grow some veggies.  That required ripping out anything that got in my way.  I was able to clear both fence rows on the north and south side of the yard and managed a fairly decent vegetable garden.  I also discovered wild strawberries, a wild rosebush and some Althea growing.  That was what really got me paying attention to my yard.  After I cleared way for veggies, I made sure to leave a large part of the back untouched for the birds and other wildlife.  I learned to identify what was growing between the cracks in the driveway, along the garage and in the areas I wanted to plant veggies and herbs.  I made it my goal to learn each and every plant in my yard and what I could do with it.  Can I eat it, make medicine from it or just admire it for it's beauty?  It thrills me beyond words to go into my back yard and identify everybody. 

This afternoon I headed out and this is what I found waiting for me :

This is purple dead nettle.  I tried to get a better picture, but the sun was full on so this was the best I could do.  I'm sure you have this plant growing in your yard right now.  Does it look like anything else you know of?! - MINT!  It is a member of the mint family - although it certainly does not smell like mint.  It's called dead nettle because it doesn't sting like stinging nettle does, but that is a misnomer, because it's a mint.  It is edible, so I recommend picking some for your spring salads; it is very high in iron and fiber.  I think it has a very "earthy" taste, which I enjoy especially after a long winter.

The next lovely I spotted was Dandelion!

Yummy!  Since she hasn't bloomed yet, she is quite tasty and not too bitter.  A lot of people do not like dandelion greens because of the bitterness, but if you catch them early enough, it isn't too bad.  There are plenty of dandelions already in bloom in my neighborhood, but the ones in my yard are still taking their time. 

My plum tree and maple tree both have buds on them and the maple has already opened hers.  I can't wait for plum - it's intoxicating once she is in full bloom.
Maple:

This is plum. 

Lastly there are some white violets blooming in my yard beneath the plum tree.  They are tiny and I couldn't get the best picture with my camera -

Violets are edible as well and high in vitamin C, but given that I only have about a dozen little ones in my yard, I thought I'd leave them be and enjoy them only for their beauty.

What do you have springing up in your yard right now?