New Year, New Dreams

I was reading on facebook the other day.  My friend KiKi posted a comment..... " It was time to dream new dreams to get to watch them come true.".......

  It struck me how wonderful the world has been to me these last few years, and how many amazing people and adventures I have been on as of late. I have learned alot the past few (5) years about plants,  deepened into relationship with them and my Herbal community.  Sitting in a little conservative town in the center of Washington State, I sometimes wonder what the heck I am going to do with all this passion, knowledge, and insight. I am called to it, just as I was called to be a Mother, to be a Chef. I love it, and there is no separating myself from being an "herbalist" in my daily life any longer.  It informs how I view my world daily in my musings, my interactions, and my personal beliefs, and my politics. So this is a big thank you to those teachers and friends, who have been a part of this journey, and a wish list included for the future, to get to watch new dreams come true. 

To my ancestors, who reminded me through learning from the plants that we always have teachers.  To my Huna Kumu Kanalani, for setting me on the path of apprenticeship.   To my mom,  she is a naturalist at heart,  she is a keeper of sacred ground and lover of trees.  To my Nana, She loved roses, who in her parting from this world gave me a gift that was used to start my herbal journey.  To my sisters, Kally and Lyn,  both keepers of sacred lands,  Thank you for allowing me to walk your sacred spaces. To my dad, a farmer, and lover of the dessert.  Thank you to my children,  for drinking my tea.........

Thank you to my first formal herb teacher, Suzanne Jordan, of Cedar Mountain Herb School.  The way you teach about plants, where they live, is priceless.  To that amazing spring/summer apprenticeship Group!  Ellen, Kate, Carrie, Whitney, Cassandra, Myrha,........  all of you, you are still held close in my heart, and I love it when we get to chat even if it is only on line! What an amazing group of women!  You inspire me.

To all the teachers at The School of Traditional Western Herbalism.  Matthew Wood especially.  He is a Master, and I am honored to sit at his feet and learn, anytime that can happen. I am a "Woodist" plain and simple.  (I see a T-shirt design coming on.....)
Scott Kloos, I am so thankful for your sharing of Plant Spirit Medicine. Thank you for being true to yourself, and showing me how that is possible. Paul Bergner,  I have learned so much from you,  and I hope to be able to live up to your standards.  Margi Flint,  I think I reference your book more than any.  You are a wonderful teacher, and I am deeply grateful for the time I have got to spend learning from you.  Chris and Hanna,  thank you for taking all the time and care to make this school possible........ I can't wait to see the new teaching space.....  :)

To my dear friends Dina, TJ,  Alyssa, Coko, Chris, Matthew, Lynn, Mikey  (Carrie and Kate) and the rest of my classmates through this school.  What an honor it is to talk plants with you.

Herbal conferences in AZ.   Martha Burgess, Mimi kamp, Charles Kane, Eric Yarnell......  to name a few.

Grandmothers council,  What an example of how to truly be in community. Learning plant medicine from  Flor De Mayo, Grandmother Julieta, and Grandmother Rita.  Red Spider Woman,  in asking you about Tobacco: holding my hand, you looking into me, saying,  "so, you want to know about Tobacco huh...." with the eyes of spirit....... a moment in my life I will never forget.   Thank you Grandmothers.

So whats next?  I have a few people I hope to get to study with someday..........  Sevensong......  I fell like I learn from you quite often,  you do a great job of educating anyone who wants to take the time to learn.  I would really like to do an herbal first aid class with you.  Jim Mcdonald....Calamus.....  what can I say?  Aviva Romm......  I am making Tinctures right now to help with pretussis.  I live in Grant Co. WA.  Where the outbreak was so bad last year,Thank you.
 Charles Garcia,  I have fallowed you for a few years,  Curadoism is a system that speaks to me, and your realism is refreshing.  "Give Care". I will try sir.
 Kiva and Jess,  you and Plant Healer are the only reason I would think about buying a  "kindle" or whatever the things are called so you can download books and read them.......  your words speak to my soul, and give me hope for the future.

It is with a full heart, I sit here and dream new dreams.......  Happy New Year Everyone!   

Gluten Free Lemon "Cream" Meringue Pie

I received my first Cook book at the age of 6........  It was a Betty Crocker Children's Cook Book,  and I am sure I still have it in my stash somewhere.  Food and cooking have been my life, passion, lively hood and way I have been able to take care of the  people i care about..  My baking experience has really given me great roots to start to explore Gluten free baking.  It can be easy, and it can be challenging, depending on what you want to recreate.  I believe you need to start where you are at.....  (in anything)  So , I will be giving recipes for both regular flour, milk, etc, and also subs for making things Gluten, and dairy free.  I bake quite often for my friends, and family members who are cutting gluten and dairy out of their diet.

A note about substitutions,  think of the Texture and color especially when substituting for dairy.  I prefer coconut milk, as I think it substitutes really well.  I have even used it in chocolate ganache.  My Katie,  doesn't do well with coconut milk, so I used Hemp milk for this recipe.....  it turned out a little brown,  but it was absolutely delicious!  And if you have never made a pie crust before......  there is a learning curve involved.  Handle it as little as possible, re-rolling only makes things worse.  It is better to patch and pat it in the pan.....  besides you are really going to cover it all up anyway with filling, so RELAX!!!!

I used Namaste foods Biscuits, Pie crust &More!  for my Crust.  I used butter(you can Sub organic shortening here) just fallowed the recipe on the bag, adding 1/4 cup pdw sugar to make it a sweet crust.  I divided this dough in 1/2, wrapped in plastic, shaped them into a disk, and put in the refrigerator overnight.  (at least an hour, this really helps distribute the moisture in the crust and chills the fat so it will be nice and flaky)  Roll out on a floured surface, use a pastry scraper to move the crust to the pan.  Pat int place, patching where needed.  Flute edges, and bake 400*  for 12 to 15 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Filling:

2 cups Hemp milk
2/3 cup turbonado sugar
1/2 cup fresh organic squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup corn starch (can sub sweet rice flour)
4 egg yolks
2 Tlb butter (can omit)

Heat Hemp milk and sugar in saucepan. 
Whisk cornstarch into lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add egg yolks.
When milk is almost to a simmer,  add a cup slowly whisking into the egg /lemon mixture.(this is called tempering)
Now add this mixture back into the simmering milk on the stove, whisking the whole time.
Cook over Medium heat until boiling, and continue to boil for 1 minute.  pull off heat and add butter.
Place in a bowl, placing plastic wrap against the filling, and cool in refrigerator. (a couple hours before you start on the Meringue)

Meringue:

4 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
pinch sea salt

Bring a small pan of water to simmer on the stove.  In a stainless steel bowl,  mix egg whites, sugar and salt.  place bowl over simmering water. Mix by hand with wire whisk, continually mixing, until It is hot, (about 140*)  Remove from heat and beat by hand or with electric mixer until stiff, but still shiny peaks form.  (stiff peaks are when you slowly raise the beater out of the bowl, and turn it over, and the eggs come to a point,  they do not bend over....) 

Place filling in prepared crust, spread Meringue  over top, sealing all edges, and bake in a 400* oven for 7 to 10 minutes until Meringue is colored evenly. 
cool

We like to add a layer of Raspberries in the filling.
Happy Baking!


 

Wandering with Walnuts

You have to have faith in the future to plant a Walnut Tree..............
My Father planted 2 out at the farm, from a mail order catalog I think.  They can grow up to 150 ft high..... and live several times as long as we humans.  They were planted next to the Horse corrals, and it has been a good relationship.  The old Manure has fed the trees...... and the horses have beautiful shiny coats.

It took a few years for the trees to produce....  they were just little saplings when they were planted.  When they finally did set,  My parents convinced my Baby Brother Rand he could make a killing selling FRESH, HAND CRACKED WALNUTS.  He went to the store and saw they were $2.79 a pound (yes, this was a long time ago....)  and Rand , being the bright business mind he was..... saw dollar signs on those  trees.The wheels were set in motion.  All Fall he picked and shelled walnuts until the freezer was full.  He even had a great slogan.........  "Hand Picked by Real Native Americans".........   Yes it was a grand plan,  until Ma and Pa gave all of his hard work away......  to his sisters, visiting friends......  Neighbors........  so much for the Walnut fund..........   But thank you Rand,  for the Walnuts! 

My children also got to get in the walnut harvesting business.....  they would get a Quarter for every bag full of walnuts they picked up.  (they assure me this was NOT enough money.....)  and now My brothers children pick up the walnuts at the farm.........  and tonight,  I am cracking a batch. 

Walnuts have long been considered Brain food......from the doctrine of signatures.Walnuts are one of the few nuts that contain omega -3 fatty acids and they are the main non-fish source of Alpha -linolenic acid. They are nutrient dense with antioxidants, vitamin E, and minerals. They are a rich source of protein, dietary fiber and have no dietary cholesterol.(Murray 461)

A 1/3 cup serving of shelled walnuts contain 210 calories, 20 grams of fat,  5 grams of protein, and 6 grams of carbohydrate.    Shelled by your own had and kept in the freezer, they will keep for a year.

Sally Fallon, in Nourishing Traditions
 http://books.google.com/books/about/Nourishing_Traditions.html?id=xIKkmlKOFfQC
Shows you how to soak and then re-crisp your nuts to retain the wonderful nutrition in walnuts. Soaking them overnight helps neutralize the natural enzyme inhibitors in the nuts so your body can more easily absorb the nutrition.  Her Rosemary Walnuts are amazing.......  I just love this book in general......  I highly recommend it.


Walnut Pesto,Cinnamon Walnut Granola, and of course many a Carrot cake through the years have had the secret ingredient of wonderful fresh walnuts. 

Yesterday, My baby brother Rand and his partner had a beautiful baby boy, Max Davin.  I think, the best gift I could give them, is a Walnut tree.
You have to have faith in the future to plant a Walnut Tree...............

Fall and The Push to Harvest

It is Fall, the smell of cool ground, leaves, apples, and urgency are in the air.



Growing up on the farm,  food preservation was part of our summer routine.  I remember standing on a chair helping my mom can peaches......  stirring the sugar and water in the jar with a wooden spoon. Grape juice, pears, cherries.........  and of course apricot pineapple Jam.  My Dad pulling in the yard with a pickup load of corn to be shucked, blanched, cut off the cob, and frozen.  We would trade potatoes for carrots.....  My dad raised dicing carrots for freezing.....  the size of sugar beets..... yes really.......... (i still have a distaste for cooked carrots...... we ate them so much in the winter....) we would buy 25 lb bags of Onions.

 We raised our own Beef.  My dad was a master..... I still compare the beef I eat to that I grew up on. Lamb was also eaten on occasion,  yes, Snowball and Herkimer (Lyn's "pets") were delicious.....

 My mom made Home made bread, I didn't learn to make bread until after I left home. Why would I, I got to eat hers!    I inherited her stone grinder.  It has been well used, from my childhood, to my own business adventures,  this grinder has made many a loaf of bread. It has ground wheat, rye and corn.

In Idaho it is Potato Harvest.  I have sorted on the back of a combine, Graded potatoes as they left the cellar.  Drove  "Spud Truck" even to buy a fancy sewing machine I wanted.  Not those fancy 10 wheelers with the automatic transmissions. No, we are talking Double clutching BOBtails from the past.....  that are still put to good use in Idaho.......  Thank you Angie and Shelly for helping me learn the art of potato truck driving.

There was not much fruit in Idaho where we lived.  My Mom and Dad would Bring us boxes of canned peaches, wonderful Washington apples, walnuts from the farm, 25 pound bags of Pintos and Red beans .  My dad would dry apples, he dipped them in pineapple juice to help with the color.  My kids still fight over these when I make them.  We would send them home with Idaho potatoes.......   Ashton is the seed potato Capital, they raise dense hardy potatoes in the high country next to the Teton's.

Spudnuts are a tradition after harvest...., we celebrate the abundance of family, home, community and the earth. 

We had our own Spudnut Festival last month..... here are a few pics, and the Basic recipe.  Spudnuts are Potato Doughnuts.  The first time I had them was at Grandpa Wayne's and Grandma Ruth's House. This was a staple in my bakery in later years.

  In this modern age of supermarkets and  the "free market" system, we can go to the store and buy any fruit or vegetable we desire, almost any time of year.  Yet there is still within me, this urge to "stock up". Is it my farm heritage?  The long hard cold winters in Idaho that I spent?  To me, it is something deeper.............  A connection to the seasons, the elements, the rhythm of life. A thankfulness to the abundance of the earth, and the comfort of knowing I put a little summer away for the winter.


   

Spudnuts

Cook:

2 large russet potatoes in enough water to cover.

 Poor off water to cool.  Mash potatoes.

In a large mixing bowl combine:

4 cups bread flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup powdered milk

2 Tablespoons Yeast

Add cooled potato water, and enough extra water to make 5 cups total. (should be warm, not cold)

Stir in mashed potato.  Let this mixture sponge for 15 minutes until it appears bubbly.

Add:

5 eggs

1 cup melted butter

1 Tablespoon salt                   

4 cups  unbleached All Purpose Flour

10 cups Bread Flour, or enough to make a medium soft dough.

Knead until smooth and elastic.

Let rise until double. Punch down. Let rise again.

Roll out on floured surface to ¾ inch thick.  Cut, let rise till double.

Fry in hot oil (375*) till golden brown.  Ice as desired……

 

Dancing With Desert Sage

Sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Growing up in the Columbia Basin in Eastern Washington it is present everywhere.  My father Max and Uncle Dean Gardner came to this valley in 1955 and bought land.  They had to break some of the land out of sage brush to be able to farm it.  Sagebrush was known by past pioneers as a marker for good land.  It needs a very balanced PH to grow.

One of my earliest memories of sagebrush was our family "Christmas Tree".  Miniature lights, and decorations, along with a felted figurine rabbit named Thumper,  in honor of my sisters pet rabbit.

When I moved to South East Idaho, sage was there to greet me. Some of my favorite memories are driving in the desert with my dad, picking Oregon Grape, choke cherries,  and of course smelling the sage.

Back to the Columbia valley again, My connection deepens with this plant.  Picking sage on the banks and bluffs of the Columbia River is a humbling experience.

Medicinally, It has many uses.  Michel Moore has an extensive writing in Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West.  As does Mathew Wood in 7 Sacred Plants as Medicine. I would like to share some of the ways I have used this plant with success.  It should be noted that this plant is contraindicated during pregnancy.

Making my own smudge sticks for personal use, and as gifts, has been a great way to connect with the spirit of the land that I live on.  I had the honor of taking 2 of my daughter last year pick sage for their own smudge sticks.  It was a wonderful day, and they have really enjoyed using something they made themselves.

I have also made dessert sage acetum.  (Artimesia tr. extracted in vinegar)  I used this as a topical treatment for bronchial complaints along with a tea to support the person.  A Steam treatment also worked really well. 

Desert Sage extracted in oil, is a great anti fungal and antibacterial.  I have used it alone, or in mixtures to create salves for healing skin conditions.  It can also be used for pain relief.  It is a powerful Medicine.   wonderful for  meditation.

Michel Moore talked of it being very hard to drink as a tea, and should not be taken internally for long periods of time internally.  I have taken his word for it, and use sage topically. Herbalist

Suzanne Jordan of Cedar Mountian Herb School recommends only 3 leaves of this very powerful plant if you do take it in a tea form. 

So, enjoy the summer,  pick this sacred plant and bring it into your life,  and remember the smell of sage after it rains in the desert...........  Blessings,  Ann