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 

Welcome to Healing Basket Herbs

My name is Ann,  I am a Herbalist, Chef, Baker, and mother of 6.  Food has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  My memories and life experience are anchored in me through the smells, sights and tastes of nature. My intent with this blog is to reconnect ones self to the food, plants, animals and people whom we walk this earth with.  I believe small changes make a great  difference, and hey, we all have to start somewhere.............  I will share my successes, and my struggles.......like trying to post this blog! 

My heritage is  Native American, I am Cupa, from Southern California, Karuk from Northern California, and Chetco from Southern Oregon; Scottish, and Hebrew descent.  Working with plants has helped me reconnect to these roots, to understand and appreciate my ancestors, their connection to plants.

I live in the desert,  harvest here and in the nearby mountains.  My first formal internship was in Burlington WA. with Herbalist Suzanne Jordan.  We spent a day in the woods every week, harvesting and learning.   I had the honor of meeting many beautiful people and plants there. I grew  to love the coastal plants. I am currently Studying at the School of Traditional Western Herbalism in Portland. Once a month I drive the 41/2 hours to Portland for a 3 day intensive.  This is my 2nd year in this program.  I LOVE it.  I am humbled by the amount of knowledge my teachers have, and their willingness to share  with us.

I also Grow many Herbs in my yard.  It is an old house, so I have many beautiful old apple trees, wisteria, and roses.  My herb gardens are still being formed.  It is a work in progress,  but then, isn't everything.  I also enjoy permaculture, so I am trying to implement  some of those principles in my landscape.  Heirloom vegetables are also a passion of mine,along with cooking, baking, and a little quilting.

So, thats a little about me, my interests and point of view.

 Welcome to my Herbal Journey...................