Making your own sauerkraut is easy. All you need is some cabbage, salt, and a container. That's it. I love making traditional foods like sauerkraut because it connects me to the timeless traditions around the world of people culturing vegetables to sustain health. Naturally f
Castor oil is derived from the Castor bean (Ricinus communis) and has a long medicinal history dating back to ancient Egypt. The plant was mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medicinal treatise,  and evidence of the plant was found in tombs said to be as old as 4000 BCE. Internally...
It feels like it’s been far too long since I last sent a newsletter out to you dear community! That’s because spring for me begins in February, and that means lots of time harvesting outside every spare moment I have, with little spare time on the computer.  The months between February and ...
Decades ago, renowned herbalist Rosemary Gladstar gave the name Fire Cider to a spicy, delicious respiratory tonic made from simple kitchen ingredients.
The basic ingredients include pungent herbs such as onions and garlic, steeped in apple cider vinegar which has its own health benefits.
The first herb that captured my imagination and my taste buds was Elder (Sambucus nigra). I was twelve years old, and it was the first summer at my grandparents new home in rural Ontario.  My grandfather called me to the backyard to meet him near the lake bayou.  There, growing elegantly amidst wild...
I haven’t had much time to blog lately as I’ve been so busy putting in the garden and harvesting spring herbs. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week. As most herbalists know, nettle can be used as a tender green vegetable. Nettle pesto, nettle soup, nettle stirfry, sauteed nettle, and a more decaden...
With so many cases of Hand, Foot & Mouth (HFMD) Disease causing a stir in my home community I’m compelled to write about this common infection – namely to let folks know that it is not as dreadful as it’s name.
First, this illness is not related to Foot & Mouth Disease (aka Hoof & Mouth Disease) Â f...
Wise sages throughout history have been known to say nature provides humans with all the medicine we may need for every illness. While it may be so that we haven’t yet decoded all of Nature’s elixirs – or perhaps we’ve collectively lost much of this wisdom through our industrialization and domestica...
I’ve never considered myself skilled at making face creams until I experimented with eliminating shea butter and cocoa butter from my recipe– two staple ingredients listed in every face cream recipe I’ve ever come across. It took me a while to realize the reason my creams came out so grainy in textu...
It may seem that your favourite kombucha and fancy sauerkraut are new health food trends, but cultured foods have been around as long as people have. Naturally fermented foods were borne out of necessity: to preserve food in the absence of refrigeration. Fermented foods, also called cultured foods...
I’ve just returned home after spending nearly 2 months in California. Oh how I love that state! The people, the mountains, the sunshine, and of course the bright and bountiful flowers found everywhere.
Standing in wildflowers found along a sidewalk in Oakland, CA.
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