~This post was written for the Smoke Theme of the Wild Things Roundup~

The rising smoke of fragrant plants has long been considered the food of gods and ancestors by humankind. Throughout the centuries, it has retained the connotation of sacred space, magic, and the sensual. Even now, just the description of white smoke rising from an ornate censer can evoke images of ancient temples and forgotten rites. This is no surprise given the power of the olfactory system over memory, dream, and desire.

For the modern American human, however, the word incense may be more likely to bring to mind the suffocating stench of chemical infused headshop fumes than anything sacred, beautiful, or the least bit subtle.

My own sense of smell is sensitive to say the least, and I’ve been studiously avoiding most strong smelling things like perfume and incense at all costs for many years now. And not just because of some sort of uppity aesthetics either. The truth is that many scents, mostly synthetic but some botanically derived essential oils as well, can make me physically ill. I’ve grown wary of staying in motels or other people’s houses because of how I can wake up with my face swollen, my body covered in hives, and distinct difficulty in breathing.

Nevertheless, I’ve long loved burning the resins of local conifers on our woodstove during the cold season. I personally far prefer the sweet smoke of a Piñon’s resin to that of any of Frankincense or even Copal. Even the dried leaves of Juniper or Cypress species rank among my favorite smudge or incense scents, far above much more costly, and often exotic, alternatives. When I breathe in the sweet, wild scent from the very trees that make up the forest I live in I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the many levels of delight and healing they constantly provide me with.

Then I met Sarah Lawless, an herbalist in British Columbia, who introduced me to the concept of more complex native plant incenses. After smelling the incredibly sweet, complex, and euphoric smoke of her Rocky Mountain and Hawthorn-Rose Kyphi incense from her Forest Grove Botanica, I knew I was done for, and had to have more. You can read her article on making kyphi on her blog.

Sarah’s lovely work also inspired me to create incense from Southwest plants, and more specifically, with the plants of the Saliz and White Mountains of NM and AZ that I so adore. I have to say that these experiments and explorations in the realm of fragrance have been some of my most meaningful when it comes to establishing intimacy with place and gaining a greater understanding of their medicine and magic.

Now first off, before I launch into any recipes, I want to make a quick but important point. That sticky stuff glued to the bark of your local Pine tree. That is NOT sap (or pitch, for that matter). Sap is found deeper inside the tree and transports water, nutrients, hormones, and other vital fluids through the plant. Resin is an immunological secretion used by trees to help protect the plant from potential pests and pathogens, often secreted after the outer surface of the tree has been breached. While I won’t be getting into the deeper, more detailed workings of tree fluids (more on that coming soon) in this article, I feel that understanding the purpose of resin for the tree is important for a couple of reasons. Not least is so that the harvester will understand what the resin produced for, and in turn hopefully realize that it’s very important not to rip large chunks of resin off a wound on a living tree. You then open the tree up to potential infection and could place that tree’s life in danger. My point then, is that it makes the most sense to harvest resin that’s already on the ground or is overflow, not from the actual wound. Another option is to find downed trees or branches and harvest resin from where they are no longer needed.

Types and Technicalities

There are certainly easier types of incense to make than what I like to do, and abundant recipes for them can be found online. I’m writing about this type because I love it so and feel like it could use a bit more exposure so that more people can try it with their own local plants. On the other hand, it can get way more complicated than this, and once you familiarize yourself with the process, it won’t take long at all to get the hang of it and start adapting in many different directions.

The kind of incense I’ll be talking about here will be considered kyphi like to some but does not adhere to any rules or historical recipes. I like it much better than most powdered incenses, and makes a great alternative to loose incense when you feel like mixing things up a bit. I divide my ingredient types up into categories, which makes it easier to come up with a balanced recipe when I know what I need and allows for simpler substitutions as well.

Ingredients

Resins:

Conifer Resin – Pretty much any sort of conifer resin will work here, the hardened is easier to deal with than that which is still soft and gooey. I work with Piñon, Ponderosa, Juniper, Cypress,

Bud Resins – Cottonwoods are the most obvious of these but a number of other trees produce leaf bud resin as well, including Alder, Birch, and some Cherry trees.

Bee Resin – This is simply propolis, the more unrefined the better. Like the other resins, it helps hold everything together and smells wonderful as well.

Leaves & Flowers

Huge number of options here depending on what you’re going for, experiment with a single isolated ingredient and see how it smells when it burns. Figure it’s going to burn way hotter and scorch easier on its own than in the final mix so just go for the general idea. Rose petals, Yarrow leaves/flowers, Douglas Fir needles, White Fir needles, Yerba Santa, all sorts of Sages, Artemisia flowers/leaves, Vervain flowers/leaves, and

Roots & Barks

Orris (a specific species of Iris) root may be the most famous example of roots in incense, but there are many aromatic roots that work well here, including Calamus, aromatic Cyperus species, and Angelica/Lovage/Oshá. Heartwood or bark of Juniper, Cedar, Alder, and many other plants can also add amazing nuances to the incense.

Berries & Berry-Like Objects

Rose hips, Hawthorn haws, Elderberries, and Juniper berries (actually cones) are some of the easiest to come up with but many more dried berries could work here, including Cranberries and Huckleberries.

Infused Honey, Meads, & Wines

Any aromatic honey or fermented honey preparation can work here, or a good wine made from local plants. I’ve used Rose infused honey, Alder/Rose mead, Alder leaf infused honey, Apple mead, Hawthorn infused wine, and many other variations. Infused honeys that are just a bit off, but not growing any strange fuzzy animals (in which in refer to our friendly molds) can work great.

Miscellania

Unrefined beeswax is my main item here, it helps hold things together while smelling nice. Too much will make your incense smell like a guttering candle though.

Proportions & Directions

Now we get to the part where people cuss me for my lack of precise measurements. I hate to tell you this, folks, but I hate measuring shit out. I have to do it in certain situations, as in formulas I use clinically, or when I make botanical perfumes, and in particularly delicate dishes. But not here, here I just go by feel and smell until I find the balance I like. I’ll provide my preference guidelines and you’ll have to figure out what you like best from there.

The thing to keep in mind here is if you don’t add enough resinous material, your incense will scorch and smell burnt much more easily. If you don’t add enough honey/mead/wine you’ll miss out on that sweet, complex flavor that comes with the fermentation and honey. Other than that, it’s pretty hard to mess this up.

You can mix and match endlessly and most likely never get bored, using each opportunity to showcase another dominant scent or scent combo. My most recent batch was Juniper-Cottonwood, and the one before that was White Fir-Rose Hip, and the one before Colorado Blue Spruce-Elderberry-Juniper.

Figure about 1 part resins (conifer resin, propolis, bud resins), 1 part berries, 1/2 part beeswax, 1/2 part roots/bark,  and 3 parts leaf/flower, all by (eyeballed) volume.

Grinding Note: I grind all my ingredients by hand in a mortar and pestle. Yes, it would be much quicker and easier in an electric grinder, I just prefer the old fashioned method for this particular project.

• I usually start with grinding all my berries an berry like objects up to a rough powder. When I work with Juniper cones, I prefer to roast them lightly beforehand.
• I then grind my conifer resins and propolis to a powder and add.
• Then I grind my leaves/flowers roughly (larger for things like Douglas Fir needles, more finely for flowers like Rose) and my roots/barks to whatever fineness I can manage by hand in my mortar and pestle.
• Next I grate the beeswax.
• This all goes in a bowl together, and gets well stirred. And this is very important, because if you don’t get a fairly even coating of resin on everything, you’re going to end up with very inconsistent incense.
• I then slowly add the warmed honey/mead/wine until the mix is sticky but not wet.
• Then I cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and put a 1-2 inch thick coating of the mixture on the paper. This part is messy and sticky, prepare to smell good afterwards (and stick to anything you touch).
• Next I place the sheet on the cool side of my woodstove wait for the sheet to warm. When the resins start to melt and the whole mess starts to look gooey, I stir and turn the tray slowly round and round until the whole thing is warm and melty.
• I then press the mixture flat on the tray again, and put it in a warm (but not hot), dry place to cure/dry for several days to a week.
• Once mostly dry (but possibly still a bit sticky-soft), I break or cut into small pieces and store in an airtight container away from light or heat.
• Burn on charcoal or a warm (not blazing) wood stove.
• Breathe deep.

I don’t consider this to be hard-earned room deodorizer, but rather a very visceral connection to the land and plants. Another form and facet of the plant devotions I discussed in my last post. I treasure every breath taken of the pleasure these plants provide me.

This is a post by both myself and Loba for the Wild Things Roundup which is focused on Acorns for November

From Kiva

Our family had a wonderfully wild foods infused Thanksgiving this year that was especially rich in roasted Acorns and White Fir, as Oak and Fir trees are common plants in the canyons and mountains of our bioregion. Despite the fact that there was not even a single acorn on the Oaks this year because of the severe drought the SW has been experiencing, we had enough stashed to create an incredibly tasty Thanksgiving dinner. For this Acorn themed Wild Things Roundup, I’m including recipes by both Loba and I, and all sweet! While our family isn’t particularly sweetener centered, we decided that the holidays are a great time to share these decadent recipes.

Here we have a recipe for Acorn syrup, one for Cranberry Acorn Compote and one for Acorn Cheesecake that utilizes the first two recipes.

My apologies for the lack of food preparation pictures, I’m afraid we were all too busy celebrating and cooking and eating to bother with a camera.

Here are a couple of previous acorn posts I’ve written.

Acorn-Infused Butter

Wild Woodlands Morning Brew

Please Note: We’re using our local SW acorns from species such as Quercus gambelii, Q. emoryi, Q. turbinella & Q. grisea which only need to be roasted before shelling and using. If you live somewhere besides the SW, your acorns may be more labor intensive and require leaching.

Simple Acorn Syrup

The point of this recipe was just to find another concentrated acorn preparation so that I could add more acorns to everything. Especially combined with maple syrup, this is a great way to add the rich, nutty flavor to many desserts. Just try to avoid drinking it straight out of the bottle.

Ingredients

1. 1/4 C Roasted and smashed/ground Acorns
2. 1.5 pints of water
3. 13 oz Sugar or about 3/4 C Honey or Maple Syrup
4. Pinch of salt

1. Decoct acorns in water for appr. half an hour to an hour.
2. Strain, reserving liquid and saving acorn pieces for other recipes.
3. Add sweetener and salt to 1 pint of the decoction (if you have any leftover you can use it for tea)
4. Simmer for 45 min or until reduced by about 1/3 of volume.
5. Store in fridge or other cool place.

Cranberry Acorn Compote

This recipe results in an aromatic and rich compote that works great as a topping but it’s really pretty hard to resist just eating it out of the pot as soon as it’s done. The White Fir (Abies concolor) is an incredible match with the sweet-tart flavor of cranberries.

• Reserved acorns from Acorn decoction or syrup recipe (about 1/3 C after being decocted)
• appr 3 heaping Tb Honey
• 4 Tb White Fir Infused Olive Oil (oil infused with other evergreen needles or even Rosemary could work here)
• Handful of dried Cranberries (sweetened)
• 1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 medium sized crisp Apple like Honeycrisp, diced
• 1 Tb butter or Acorn infused butter
• pinch of salt

1. Grind acorns (preferably while still damp from decoction) with food processor or mortar & pestle to a rough meal
2. Stir in honey and place on low heat on the the stove
3. Let barely simmer while stirring frequently for half an hour
4. Remove from heat
5. Place cranberries and 1 Tb of White Fir oil in small skillet or pot
6. Cook over low heat for appr. 1/2 hour (can be done concurrently as the Acorn honey is cooking)
7. Add cranberries and oil to acorns and honey, stir well
8. Saute apple in butter until tender but still crisp
9. Stir apple, vanilla, salt and remaining Fir oil into acorn mix.
10. Allow to sit for a few hours before eating

Makes about 1/2 C of compote. If you wish to use this compote to make a thick topping for your cheesecake, you’ll probably want to double the recipe.

From Loba:

Acorn Cheesecake with Cranberry-Acorn Compote Topping

As soon as Kiva made her magnificent compote, we knew it had to be made into something truly worthy of its genius. Pie was on our minds. Kiva suggested cheesecake, and offered the use of the lovely acorn syrup she’d just made. I gladly tinkered with my favorite recipe to make this version. Cheesecake is one of those things I’m always happy to provide. I was thrilled to remember I’d just found a bit of acorn meal hiding in the pantry to flavor the crust. Try as I might, I couldn’t wipe the slightly anguished look on my face the whole time I was eating it– it’s that painfully good. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so sad to see that cast iron skillet empty.

The crust is gluten-free and very reminiscent of traditional graham cracker crust in flavor and texture. You could substitute wheat flour for the oat flour, but you’ll lose the crumbly effect. If you don’t have any in your kitchen, oat flour can easily be made without a food processor by rubbing rolled oats together in your hands– makes your hands really soft, too!

The acorn meal I use in the crust is from Southwest acorns that I have simply roasted before being ground into flour with an ancient metate and a coffee grinder.

The Crust:

• 1/2 cup melted butter or acorn infused butter
• 1/2 cup acorn meal
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• several grinds fresh nutmeg

In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Form into a cohesive ball of dough and press into the bottom of a 9” cast iron skillet (if you have one without a wooden handle) or a 9” pie dish (not a tart pan– too shallow). I like to bring the crust only about halfway up the sides of the pan, making it fairly thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, watching carefully. Be sure to take it out as soon as it gets evenly browned. When pressed with a finger, the crust will collapse a bit and seem a bit too fragile. Taste it to make sure it’s cooked all the way through before adding the filling.

The filling:

The piima (a cold process culture somewhat similar to yogurt)  I use in the filling is made with half heavy cream, half half & half. I like to soften the cream cheese in the warmer of my woodstove while I’m making the crust. Setting the packages by a sunny window or in a bowl over some steaming water for a half hour or more works well, too. Don’t be tempted to skip or reduce the rather large amount of alcoholic substances– they help provide a lovely depth and a great balance to the acorn flavor. Be sure to taste the filling before putting it in the crust– you may wish to add a bit more acorn syrup, if it doesn’t seem sweet enough to you. Also, please know that I bake my cheesecake in a woodstove oven, so the timing is not terribly reliable– this one is truly worth watching like a hawk! Do be sure to set the oven temp as low as I mention, it will result in extra creaminess. You could even bake this in a water bath to make the edges of the cheesecake as creamy as the middle, if you’re really devoted to perfection. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet of the proper sort, this would be an extra good idea.

• 2 8 oz. packages Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup piima or sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 4 tablespoons Kiva’s Acorn Syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, preferably homemade with cognac or brandy
• 2 tablespoons spiced rum, or 1 tablespoon cognac and 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1 tablespoon Acorn Infused Butter (see Kiva’s recipe)

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and softened cream cheese, then beat in the piima or sour cream, the Acorn Syrup, Acorn Butter, vanilla and rum. Taste and adjust if you like. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees until just set, about 35 minutes. I find it perfectly done when it’s puffed up around the edges but the center is still just the slightest bit wobbly. Closest attention must be given, however, to find this magic moment. Cool and refrigerate before serving, if you can stand to wait that long. The center will firm up perfectly after proper cooling, and maintain an ecstatic level of creaminess that can be lost if the whole pie puffs up in too perky a manner.

After the pie has chilled completely, cover the top with the Acorn Compote. Serve slices with black chicory coffee, or Acorn-Fir Tea barely sweetened, and if you’re being crazy-indulgent, maybe some homemade whipped cream or homemade eggnog on the side, as we did.

Smoky Chai in the leaves

On this windy November afternoon I brought a thermos of my favorite smoky chai and a crisp mcintosh apple with me to a small copse of Alder trees and Wild Roses by the river. Listening to the breeze keening through the Pines on the mountain above, I sat down in the soft leaf litter and leaned against the silver barked  trunk. All around me, the air was thick with the musky-sweet smell of Autumn turning rapidly to Winter. On the ground, the rust and copper colors of fallen Oak and Maple leaves provided a stark backdrop to the lush green of young Mountain Nettles (Urtica gracilenta) that continue to persist and have been providing our family with nightly meals of Nettle soups and Nettle breads.

Frankly, I’m not sure there’s much in this world better than being curled up in leaves under my favorite trees with the smells of Fall, river water, spices and smoke all mingling together. The only word I can find to describe it is ~rich~. Rich in the sense of delicious and decadent, and rich in the sense of wealth. Simple wealth, certainly, but overwhelmingly satisfying and beautiful just the same.

Mountain Nettle (Urtica gracilenta)

Yes, this is a post about tea. I won’t be discussing the medicinal qualities or therapeutic actions of the plant, just how good it tastes and some suggestions for creating your own brews made up of smoke and spice. There’s a medicine in this sort of joy and beauty all it’s own. Something deeper than memory, so close to our bones that we might call it primal. Drinking in the sweetness of experience is a talent we humans have when we can just shut our brains up enough to be quiet and feel.

Now, normally I prefer to obtain as much as my medicine, food and beverages locally (and ideally, harvest it myself) as possible. I do make occasional exceptions to feed my obsessive affection for the fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis, as long as I can find high enough quality tea from a reliable, ethical (or rather, as ethical as things like tea and coffee and chocolate can be) source. In particular, I’m a devotee of smokey, strong black tea. This is especially true in Autumn and Winter when all sorts of rich, overt flavors seem to help balance the seemingly monochrome landscape with their sensory power.

The Teas

Fallen Alder (Alnus oblongifolia) Leaf

Preface: I almost always order my tea from Mountain Rose Herbs, partially because I can trust their ethics and partially because they just have excellent tea at a very good price. If you order from somewhere else you may need to adjust the proportions based on variations in taste and strength. That said, please adjust according to your preference as you go along. These aren’t proper recipes anyhow, just basic proportions so that you can create your own cups of smoke and spice.

Proportions here are based on volume not weight.

Russian Caravan

Russian Caravan is a tea that, in general, is strong, highly caffeinated and ranges from mildly smokey to something tasting rather like cigarette ashes brewed as tea. At its best, Russian Caravan is complex, smokey, full-bodied and with a depth of flavor that few other beverages can match. However, the name of this well known  tea is a bit of a misnomer as the tea brought in caravans from China to Russia was not smokey at all. According to early descriptions, it was actually a delicate, lightly fermented tea that the Russians preferred. Yes, most websites and companies selling Russian Caravan have an elaborate tale about the campfires of the caravans lending their flavor to the chests of tea… but while this is a great story, it’s seems to be just that, a story.

Whatever its origins, I’m a huge fan of Russian Caravan in its modern incarnation. Unfortunately, the quality and taste of the mix can vary a great deal from shop to shop and company to company. Therefore, I blend my own. It’s very simple to get a rich, complex and pleasantly smokey tea from just two or three teas varieties.

• 3 Parts Assam (if you choose to use a lighter base, such as Darjeeling, you’ll want to use a higher proportion of it to the Lapsang Souchong)
• 2 Parts Lapsang Souchong (Mountain Rose’s Lapsang Souchong is smoked over Spruce wood and brews to a beautiful red color.)
• 1 Part Pu’erh (optional but I like the mossy, minerally flavor it imparts and the red color it adds)

Spruce Fire Masala Chai

Masala chai has become incredibly popular in the US. On one hand I certainly appreciate the availability and myriad variations, but this has also resulted in a great of deal of powdered artificial vanilla-flavored, corn syrup sweetened nastiness that I would put right up there with boxed smoothie mix and red koolaid as far as taste. A good masala chai is a miraculous and delicious thing, especially with a dash of heavy whipping cream and a spoonful of wildflower or buckwheat honey. It really doesn’t need any improving at all but given my penchant for for smokey teas, I decided to make a smokey chai for the Winter months and so far my guinea pigs (otherwise known as friends and family and whoever else will take sips from the cups I push in their direction) concur that smoke and spice make a lovely pair indeed.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to assume that you know how to make your own masala chai or that you have a pre-made blend (preferably made with whole tea leaf and spices rather than powdered.) If not, recipes abound, as do excellent blends.

• 3 Parts Masala Chai (preferably a blend with a fair amount of Cloves included)
• 1 Part Lapsang Souchong

Yep, that easy… I think this tea tastes even better if brewed an extra minute or two.

__________

The sweetness of Autumn turning to Winter

This post is part of the July Wild Things Roundup, a great blogparty-type event created and hosted by my student Rebecca of Cauldrons & Crockpots and Butter of Hunger & Thirst focused on recipes and info about foraging wild foods. I always enjoy all the great posts they put together for each month but thus far hadn’t been able to make time to participate myself. With July’s theme being Wild Rose though, how could I NOT join in? Also, if you don’t already follow the aforementioned blogs, I highly recommend them.

Rosa woodsii growing on the banks of the San Francisco River

Gathering Rosa woodsii flowers and leaves

I work with Rosa spp. extensively in my practice and have a personal affinity with it. Every May I hike through riparian canyons and mountain meadows in search of one of my most beloved plant allies. The most common local species is Rosa woodsii, a common Western wild rose that rambles across riverbanks, canyon walls and the borders of upper elevation swamps.

Even this year in the midst of drought and fire I found a few roses blooming. Perhaps the most striking scene was during my drive up into the White Mountains for the first time after the Wallow Fire swept through eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. There on the side of a road in the middle of the burned out forest, surrounded by ash and blackened trees was a single Wild Rose bush, untouched and covered with late blooming flowers that were fragrant in the muggy heat of late June.

With its sweet flowers, rambling ways and formidable thorns the Wild Rose serves as something of a personal emblem and role model for me. In general,  I tend to relate at least as well to plants as I do people and usually prefer their company, especially when I’m stressed, overtired or upset. Spending time with Roses, especially the crazy haphazard hedges that grow head-high along the river here in the canyon, is both nourishing and challenging to my inherently pitta-fied ways. Their curved thorns brazenly grab and hold my skirts whenever I try to hurriedly maneuver among the plants to gather their petals… and the more I move the more tangled I end up. Until I learn to stand still and sort skirt from thorn which causes me to slow down long enough to breathe in the entirely intoxicating scent of the flowers combined with the musky aroma of the red-tinted leaves.

Rosa woodsii blooming by the San Francisco River

The medicine of Rose is not only in the lessons that entangled interaction can bring, but also as a traditional remedy throughout its growing range. While often mostly thought of as a pretty flower or invasive nuisance (Multifloras), they don’t always get their due in regards to clinical significance. I’d be hard pressed to imagine my practice without Rosa’s amazing nervine, cooling, mood enhancing anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, astringent, bioflavonoid-rich medicine. Whether for gut inflammation, sunburns, anxiety or constitutional heat, this common herb’s actions are widely applicable and incredibly useful. I won’t belabor the point here as I’ve already written a great deal about this plant previously. Check out the links below for more of my Rose-centered ramblings:

• Rose Monograph
• Sweetbriar by the River: A Romance in Pictures
• Step by Step Rose Elixir
• Rose Vinegar: My Favorite Sunburn Soother
• Sweet Medicine: An Overview of Honeyed Healing and Sensory Delight

Wild Rose Birthday Feast

Rhiannon dancing around the kitchen to the music of Gipsy.cz while she, Loba and I cooked the birthday feast.

When my 31st birthday rolled around recently in the second week of July we celebrated in traditional canyon feasting form, and I spent much of the day happily in the kitchen listening to Ukrainian and Romani music while cooking. For the dessert I decided to prepare Wild Rose Baklava and Spiced Wild Rose Ice Cream. Considering the drought this year, I was extra grateful that I’d stockpiled so much Wild Rose infused honey over the last couple of years. The fresh flower infused honey was the perfect consistency to blend with the crushed pecans for a flavorful yet delicate confection that was indulgent but not overly sweet.

While I certainly enjoy the traditional Rosewater flavor present in many traditional Baklava recipes, I have to say that the addition of Wild Rose to the mix definitely increased my love of this particular dish, accentuating the rich butter flavor and adding a wilder note to the whole affair. Next time around I might use the Wild Rose infused honey in the nut mixture again while making a Cinnamon spiced Wild Rosehip syrup to drizzle over whipped cream to top the baklava. Below you’ll find my approximate recipe, as always please feel free to experiment and adapt to your personal tastes.

Wild Rose Baklava

As most of my regular readers already know, I’m not one for exact recipes. Consider my instructions to be guidelines and remember to taste and adjust according to personal taste as you go along. There are many many regional variations on baklava, my recipe is based loosely on Claudia Roden’s Turkish recipe from her New Book of Middle Eastern Food. However, mine is a creamy variation (somewhat like the Turkish muhallebili baklava) which helps hold the nut filling together since I use far less sugar/honey than most recipes and also includes a Persian influenced spice blend. You can also use your favorite recipe and just substitute rose infused honey or add Rose water to the sugar syrup.

Some people are intimidated by making baklava, but really, it’s super simple and easy if somewhat time consuming with all that butter brushing and dough layerings.

Ingredients

• 1 /2 batch or 1/2 package of phyllo dough
• 1-1.5 C butter roasted Pecans (or similar nut), coarsely ground
• 1 package cream cheese, warmed until soft
• 1-2 sticks melted butter to brush on phyllo dough (more or less depending on how you feel about butter )
• 1/2 C Wild Rose infused honey (Yes, you can use any Rose infused honey you like the taste of. This is just standard Rose petal infused honey, you can even leave the petals in the honey if you like the texture rather than straining them out). You may want more honey than this. I don’t care for very sweet desserts, so if you have a serious sweet tooth, you’ll want to adjust for that.
• 1-2 Tbs Rose water (optional)
• 1 Tbs Orange zest, finely chopped
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Cardamom
• 1-2 Tsp salt

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 F
2. Butter a square baking pan
3. In a mixing bowl combine nuts, rose water, orange zest, vanilla, salt, all spices and 1/4 C Rose infused honey. If you’re using fresh Rose infused honey then the honey should be thin enough to pour and mix well. If you used dry petals, you may need to warm it in order to mix it.
4. Fold in cream cheese.
5. Blend until smooth. Add more spices etc., to taste. Then set aside
6. If  using packaged phyllo dough, remove dough from package and cut appr. in half or a little larger than your pan. Wrap one half in damp cloth or similar and return to a cool place.
7. Begin laying the sheets of phyllo dough, one at a time, brushing butter over each layer as you go. If your sheets of dough are somewhat rectangular even after cutting in half (this is normal), just layer it so that you rotate how you lay the long side in the pan so it ends up fairly even. Layer half of the phyllo dough.
8. Spread the nut/spice/honey mixture evenly over the sheets.
9. Cover with remaining phyllo dough sheets, remembering to butter between each layer.
10. With a very sharp knife, cut diagonal parallel lines about 2 inches apart in diamond shapes. Be sure to cut all the way to the bottom.
11. At this point, I often add more butter by pouring some into the cut areas.
12. Of course most people bake their baklava in their oven. However, it was way too hot in our cabin to have the woodstove going so I cooked mine by putting the baking pan inside in a large cast iron pan with a pot lid over it and cooked it on the propane stovetop over low heat for about 45 min. It worked great, and I just browned the top by warming each piece in a pan face down before serving. Most of my readers probably won’t want to mess with my elaborate parlor tricks, so just figure baking in the oven for about 30-45 min at 300 F or until golden brown.
13. Then pour remaining Rose honey over the top of  the still warm baklava and let it soak in a bit before serving.
14. Top with whipped cream or ice cream as you like.

We ate ours warm topped by homemade Wild Rose ice cream while sitting in the garden with the beginning of a summer rain falling on us.

~~~~

©2011 Kiva Rose

Summer’s Spice: Beebalm Flower Infused Honey

It won’t be long now until the first brilliant purple flowers of Beebalm explode into bloom here in the Canyon. Locals call this gorgeous wildflower either Oregano de la Sierra or just Wild Oregano. Because yep, it tastes spicy and rather Oregano-like. The botanical name of this particular species is a bit long, being Monarda fistulosa var. menthaefolia, but really, any Monarda species will work just fine for most medicinal, culinary and other uses. The specific actions will, however, vary with the exact flavor and impression of the particular plants you work with.

There can be quite a bit of taste variation through the genus of Monarda, all are aromatic but some veer more toward the sweet end of the taste spectrum while others are definitely most appropriately called spicy. Our own wild Beebalm certainly has the capacity to make your eyes water and to elicit surprised yelps from the sensitive mouths of those who didn’t quite believe me when I said it was hot. There’s also often a buttery or oily aftertaste, a smooth slickness left on the tongue after ingestion of a leaf. This buttery effect doesn’t seem to be present in all species but is certainly an element of our local Beebalm.

This versatile plant has myriad uses in food, medicine and beyond and its one of my favorite herbs to talk about at length. It can be prepared a variety of ways, from the dried leaf to the tincture of the flowering tops to a sweet elixir of the flowers. What we’ll be talking about here though, is the preparation and use of the flower infused honey.

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Ingredients

• About a pint jar full of recently harvested, roughly chopped Beebalm flowers
• Appr. a pint of local raw honey

Directions

1. Fill jar with Beebalm flowers
2. Fill again with honey
3. Stir with butter knife, chopstick or something similar to remove air bubbles
4. Top off with honey
5. Repeat until jar is full of flowers and honey
6. Cover and allow to infuse for about 4 weeks

Now you have Beebalm flower infused honey. You can either warm it gently and strain it or use it as is. The flower bits taste good and make the medicine stronger but not everyone appreciates the texture.

Here are a few ways in which Beebalm honey can be helpful:

• Burn/Wounds – An excellent dressing for wounds and burns, even severe or extensive burns. Honey itself is very healing and can help to prevent or resolve infections, but the blood moving properties of Beebalm speed healing, lessen pain and treat infection. I especially love a combo of  Evening Primrose (Oenothera)/Beebalm flower infused honey for moderate to severe burns or wounds.
• Sadness & Stagnant Tension – Beebalm is a relaxant nervine. Being vary aromatic, it tends to be dispersive, moving energy and fluids up and outward. This makes it especially helpful for Kapha types with a tendency toward stagnation on a emotional level. It can help with sadness or tension that won’t seem to go away, especially when accompanied by a sense of stuckness and coldness. Be aware that it can make already spacey Vatas even more spacey (it’s that upward movement thing, when Vatas often need grounding, downward moving herbs). They’ll often like that euphoric feeling but it may or may not be helpful to them overall. Beebalm is also common ingredient in my formulas for those with seasonal affective disorder.
• Tummy Troubles – Being an aromatic with an affinity for the gut (otherwise known as a carminative), Beebalm works very nicely on achy, bloated bellies where there’s a sense of stuckness and dampness. It also combines well with many bitters, which would also usually be indicated in such a scenario.
• Sore Throat – Especially good for those achy, sorta scratchy sore throats. If there’s a sense of rawness, add in some Mallow root or Elm bark. If it’s more of a sharp, burning sort of sore throat, add in or substitute Rose petals.
• Respiratory Infection/Congestion – I’ve often talked about Beebalm leaves used in an herbal steam for cold/damp respiratory infection and congestion but the honey also makes a great addition to many respiratory formulas.
• Inflammation – Beebalm is great for many forms of systemic inflammation. I seem to use it where a lot of people would use Ginger, which makes sense with its spicy, diffusive taste. However, Beebalm is more variable in temperature (a la herbal energetics) and has a more complex mix of stimulant/relaxant effects. I also learned from West Viriginia Herbwife Rebecca Hartman that Beebalm can be mighty useful in addressing acute Lupus flareups, especially where there’s concurrent rheumatoid arthritis and the flareups manifest as acute joint inflammation and body pain. I usually work with the tincture/elixir for this purpose, but the hones seems to work pretty well too.
• Infections – Those of you who’ve read my other writings on Beebalm will be familiar with how often I use it for many sorts of systemic or local infections. However, the sugar content of honey makes this particular preparation less than ideal for that use, so stick with the tea, elixir or tincture for that application.
• Food – Well yeah, it just plain tastes good. Add it to nearly any hot tea, to all sorts of sauces and desserts or even just straight from the spoon (not the whole jar at once though, folks).

~~~

All Photos ©2010 Kiva Rose

Most of my readers well know my fondness for the sweet, rich taste of New Mexico’s wild acorn. This smooth dark nut from the evergreen woodlands of the Southwest’s middle mountain ecology is often prolific and a great favorite of local wildlife. And with good reason, as this little nutrient powerhouse is both delicious and deeply nourishing, providing us with fat, protein and a plethora minerals…. The problem with acorns and with the SW’s other great nut, the pine nut, is that they’re small and take damn near forever to shell a sizable enough amount to make much food. With this in mind, I’ve been experimenting with various ways of concentrating and extending the flavor.

I was recently trying to figure out how to best send the flavor of acorns to a dear friend of mine, and because this friend has a particular love of butters and oil, it occurred to me to attempt to infuse the taste of the acorns into an oil. Now, I knew this could be done by first decocting the acorns into water and then adding to clarified butter and then cooking off the water, as I do with ashwagandha and certain other herbs but meh, I’m not much fond of such long drawn-out methods. So, I figured that nothing could be hurt by trying to directly pull the flavor of acorns out into the butter, after all, most nuts are quite oil-soluble. And if it didn’t work, well, the butter would still be fine and the buttery acorns would be extra good in a stew or nutbread.

I love making a dark, hearty brew with my roasted acorns for my morning beverage and so I always have a handful or two recently boiled acorns on hand. I took a large handful of the acorns and tossed them into a small pot with a stick of butter. I let the butter get hot and froth up and then moved them to a cooler burner on the woodstove to barely simmer for a bit longer. The acorns were on the stove for a total of about 30 minutes. Afterward, I strained the now deep-fried acorns out of the butter and preserved the liquid in a small jar and set aside the acorns to be ground up and used in seed-cakes or tortilla or chocolate.

Once the butter cooled back to solid, I had a fabulously rich and acorn-infused treat that tastes amazing in venison stew, chocolate, homemade herbed mayo, nut-breads, eggs, and so many other dishes, both savory and sweet! You can bet that there will be some acorn infused butter in my egg nog this year, and probably  into my holiday berry and nut stuffing as well.

I tried the same thing with roasted Pine Nuts and Hazelnuts (as seen in the picture), both of which turned out rich and flavorful, with the Hazelnuts being the mildest tasting of the three.  These nut infused butters will definitely become a staple in our kitchen, if only we can keep Rhiannon from eating it all with a spoon!

Ingredients

• 1/3 – 1/2 C of flavorful roasted nuts (acorns*, pine nuts etc). If the nuts are very hard, as is the case with acorns, soak them the night before or boil them for a few minutes (and drink the tea). If the nuts have a milder taste, you may need to use a larger amount.
• 1-2 sticks of unsalted (preferably cultured) butter or other mild-flavored  fat/oil.

Directions

1. Place butter and nuts in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat.
2. Allow the butter to heat until a froth forms on top, stirring occasionally (some people prefer to skim the milk solids from the surface, I however, just stir them back in).
3. Stir, and turn the heat to low. Continue to stir and let the nuts continue to infuse in the butter for about 20 more minutes, depending the heat, and the nut. Longer infusion will generally result in a stronger flavor.
4. Remove from heat, and strain, reserving both nuts and butter.
5. Allow to cool. The full flavor will not be apparent until the butter is cooled and set.
6. Store the butter in a small canning jar or similar airtight container. Save the nuts to use in any dish that needs a touch of flavorful, nutty goodness.
7. Eat your infused butter on everything and anything, or right out of the jar.

*If you use acorns, you’ll want to roast them first, and you’ll probably want to use Southwestern acorns, since they seem to be far tastier than acorns from back East. If you’re from somewhere other than the SW and have delicious acorns, please leave a comment, my readers would love to hear about it, I’m sure

This is for the November Blogparty on Morning Ritual Beverages hosted by Kristine of Dancing in a Field of Tansy.

There’s nothing like breathing in the richness of the forest while waking up to the beauty all around us. Witnessing dawn erupting in shades of magenta and gold over the horizon while immersed in the taste of the pine trees and oak forest is an incomparable experience that even the most hardcore coffee junkies should take a morning to gift themselves with.

No, it won’t send you out of the door in 30 seconds or less on an adrenalin high from hell, or keep you awake for that all nighter you’re about to pull.  Instead, it’s more likely to center you in the present, open up your lungs and your heart to the possibilities of the day, while warming your limbs and bringing the forest into your body and soul.

I have chosen common woodland plants for this aromatic and wild brew – herbs easily collected in sizable quantities by even children, especially for those living in the American West. The herbs are rich in antioxidants, minerals and other nutrients. It’s fairly neutral in temperature, mildly warming and circulatory stimulating, and is unlikely to push anyone’s constitutional buttons. It can easily be warmed up with some Ginger root, Calamus or something similar or made a bit cooler and more relaxing with the addition of Rose hips, Cherry bark or Peach leaves.

My instructions include how to make teas separately from each of the plants and then how to blend them together for a delicious and complex brew. I do this because, for one thing, each of these plants make excellent beverages on their own and secondly, because you may desire to use the acorns you decoct for tea to make some acorn meal for other goodies and may not want them pine flavored.

The Ingredients

Pine, Spruce or other Resinous Conifer Needles

I love our scraggly Piñon Pines that grow in near desert conditions and jut from sand and cliffside with equal ease. These trees can produce huge crops of the tasty and fat-laden pine nuts they are know for as well as a sticky resin that’s makes a multipurpose medicine for salves, cough syrups and tinctures. But in this case we’re going for the green, sweet smelling needles. Depending on your particular spp. your Conifer (from Engelmann Spruce to Eastern Hemlock to White Pine to Douglas Fir) will have varying levels of sweetness, citrus overtones, resinous qualities and flavor strength. Their flavor also changes with the season and growth stage, as well as locale and exposure to sunlight, so nibble around and find your favorite scent and flavor before harvesting a few small branchlets to bring home and try. As a rule, the stronger, the better!

The needles can be used fresh or dried, but if you live in a place where they’re common like I do, you might want to collect them fresh every few days (or every morning), just as I do. I use the needles as well as the chopped up branchlet stem/bark. Use about a large handful of chopped plant per 2-3 cups water, and simmer for at least fifteen minutes, or until you can’t wait any longer to taste it. Depending your spp. you may need more or less plant matter, there’s so much variation in strength that personal experimentation is the only way to come up with a workable recipe for each person. Delicious and refreshing all on its own, all day long.

Oak Acorns

Preferably a SW variety such as Evergreen, Emory, Gambels’ or something similar. Southwestern Acorns are naturally sweet, with very little bitterness and a rich, dark taste reminiscent of a cross between hazelnuts, chocolate, coffee and the wildwood in autumn. Most people think of Oaks as beacons of strength and stability but they are also sensual treasures. Our Evergreen Oaks are usually gnarled and twisty, curving into wild shapes reminiscent of flowing water, but elementally earthen and growing from spiraling roots that weave between rocks and through narrow crevices. Our Acorns are small, smooth and a beautiful shade varying between golden brown and nearly chocolate in color. The taste is awe-inspiring and without peer among any of the nuts I’ve ever eaten, and adds a wonderful complexity and depth to breads, cakes, chocolate, as well as many beverages and stews.

We simply gather our acorns in Autumn, roast them in the oven until dark and dry in the shell, and then crack and use as needed. If you live somewhere other than the SW, you may need to leach your acorns in running or boiling water before roasting and using.

Once the acorns are roasted, you just take a handful, place in a small pot and cover with about three cups of water and boil until the water is a dark, muddy brown and smells like heaven on a stovetop, usually about 20-40 minutes. It also tastes amazing on its own or blended with Cherry bark or Ginger.

Juniper/Red Cedar Berries.

The small, very dark berries that are juicy and sweet, not the giant, hard, empty ones that don’t taste like anything. These little fruits are VERY strong, and you don’t need much. I gather ripe berries in Autumn and dry for use as needed. Some years there will be tons left on the trees even at the end of Winter and some years, they’ll be gone by October. They taste spicy, strongly aromatic and somewhat bitter. They’re wonderful for flavoring meat and making sauces, in addition to their myriad medicinal uses.

Even if you don’t normally care for Juniper’s very strong flavor, when used in the small proportion listed here, you’ll find that it adds a nutmeg-y like flavor, a hint of spice that add subtle warmth and complexity to the finished brew. Whatever you don’t drink, you can add to a sauce or stew.

You can use 5-7 berries per 1 cup of water, infuse for ten minutes in just boiled water. In most cases, even this will be really really strong.

Rain or Spring Water.

Ok, it doesn’t need to be rain water, but when making a tea of these amazing wild plants, it’s best to use the highest quality, wildest water you can find to complete the magic.

Maple/Birch Syrup or Wildflower Honey.

If using honey, it may be preferable to choose a light, delicately flavored variety.

Cream or the Nut/Seed Milk of your choice.

A splash (or two) is optional, but delicious.

Directions

Now, to put it all together.

• Just use 1 cup Pine tea and 1 cup Acorn tea plus about 1 tsp of Juniper tea.
• Then add cream and either maple/birch syrup or honey to taste, because the Pine and Acorns are both naturally sweet, very little sweetener is generally needed.
• Sit down somewhere near a window or outside and sip slowly, enjoying the emerging morning and the flavors of the forest blooming on your tongue. Simple. Wild. Delicious.

Optional additions and/or Substitutions:

• A small handful of Chokecherry bark to either the Acorn or Pine brew.
• A handful of Rosehips to the Pine tea.
• Roasted Dandelion/Chicory in addition to or instead of Acorns. Be aware though, that Chicory (probably due to the inulin) can cause varying degrees of upset belly, and that both herbs are strong diuretics and not necessarily appropriate for those with cold constitutions or low blood pressure.

~~All Pics (c) 2009 Kiva Rose and Jesse Wolf Hardin~~

The taste of a drop of rich wildflower honey, a lick of peach elixir or a sip of spice infused cordial is sensual, comforting and ecstatic all at once. Humans crave and love all things sweet, and while it’s clear that this is the taste most easily overdone and abused, it still retains its own medicine and magic.  Bees, maple trees, beets and other sweet creatures gift us with their rich blessings, and when used wisely they can be powerful allies in the healing process and add a special magic to the amazing sensory experience that is life.

I’ve chosen to do a general overview of a wide variety of Sweet Medicines this month’s blogparty post, including recipes, tips and insights where appropriate. My favorite sweet medicines are always those that can be used in small doses as an effective remedy and still taste not just sugary, but of the unique essence and flavor of the particular plant. Likewise, I don’t use sweeteners in my herbal preparations to cover up or mask flavors but rather to enhance and bring out the taste.

The medicinal effects of many herbs are dependent, at least in part, upon their taste. For instance, bitters work primarily through activating the release of gastric juices and are triggered by the taste. This means that if you choose to bury the bitterness in sugar, you are losing out on a big part of the plant’s medicine. I much prefer to compliment and enhance the flavor of bitters with aromatic herbs and just a touch of sweetness (depending on the case and what’s needed) which, once you’re acquainted and comfortable with the bitter taste, be quite satisfying and yummy.

Let’s just be clear that I don’t deal in exact measurements (that would foster dependance in my readers, and besides, I just can’t be bothered with measuring tools) so please take my proportions and adjust them to your personal tastes. I am using the folkloric method for infused honeys, vinegars etc in this post, so relax and wing it, you’ll be fine without weighing everything, I promise.

You will note that most of my preferred sweet medicines (like elixirs) or those that are very concentrated and require a small (or even tiny) dosage, such as a few drops of Rose up to half a dropper of Elderberry Elixir. They’re basically the same strength as tinctures, maybe a little bit stronger, depending on the herb.

~~~Cordials & Tonics~~~

Cordials are basically a combination of hard alcohol (often brandy) and a fruit flavored syrup or concentrate. The result is usually drank in cute little cordial cups with dessert (or perhaps breakfast, if you’re hardcore that way) or added to sweet foods for flavor. My cordials are less sweet than most with intense taste, most often made with a combo of wild fruits and herbs and some good hard booze. Many cordials are often drank straight but I really like using them as a flavoring in teas or sauces or other foods as well.

My version of tonics are basically tasty cordials but with more of medicinal level of herbal concentration, still suitable for sipping but ~strong~.

All recipes make one pint of cordial or tonic.

Wild Canyon Cordial

• 3/4 C wild grape juice (I suppose you could use domestic but it will be much less intense and complex in flavor)
• 1/4 C prickly pear fruit juice (or several tablespoons of syrup)
• slightly less than 1 C of Scotch
• large splash (or two) of a good merlot or dry elderberry mead
• 1 tsp of cinnamon tincture ( you can use a couple pinches of powdered instead if you like)
• Mix together in pint canning jar, cap and ideally allow age and mellow at least a month before indulging. However, if you can’t wait that long (I never can), it’s good to know that the addition of the wine really smoothes out the flavor and makes it a lovely sipping experience from the get-go.

Southwest Sunset Cordial

• 1 C Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce (I just use a jar of our home-canned, non-chunky sauce)
• 1 C Tequila
• juice of 1 Lime
• 1/2 tsp salt (no really, it’s perfect)
• sugar or honey to taste (depends on how sweet your sauce was and how sweet you like it, rose infused honey is an extra bonus here)
• Generous splash of chardonnay

Mix together in pint jar and shake well. Let age for at least month.

Chokecherry Heart Tonic

• 1/4 C Chokecherry bark or bark/flower tincture
• 1/2 C Chokecherry fruit concentrate or syrup (possibly more if your concentrate isn’t strong tasting, ours is very intense and flavorful but the stuff you get from stores is often tasteless and terribly sweet and just don’t work for this)
• 1 C Brandy
• Sugar/honey to taste (very optional, just depends on your syrup and sense of taste)
• 1/4 tsp of Cinnamon tincture (or a good pinch of powdered cinnamon)
• 1 tsp Ginger infused honey (or just add a good pinch of fresh grated ginger)
• Generous splash of Merlot or Elderberry mead (optional)

Mix together in pint jar and shake well, allow to age for at least a month. This stuff is strong and somewhat mind-altering (in a relaxing kind of way), so use in small doses. It’s an excellent heart strengthener for people with signs of inflammation, high blood pressure, heart palpitations and general heat symptoms.

Wild Rose Tonic

This is my most complex cordial recipe listed here. It’s not difficult, just multi-step. Well worth it in my opinion though.

First, make a half pint of infused honey with finely chopped, de-seeded fresh wild rose hips, plus 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp. grated fresh orange peel and 1/4 tsp cardamom. Let infuse for one month, do not strain.

Then:

• 1 C spiced Wild Rose hip honey (as seen above)
• 3 Tbs Wild Rose petal tincture (or more, as desired for flavor)
• 1 C Brandy or Cognac

Mix together in a pint jar and shake well, allow to age for at least one month. This cordial/tonic is relaxing, uplifting and wonderful as a heart tonic, nervine, anti-inflammatory and bioflavanoid rich blood tonic. For a real treat, make a small cup of half Chokecherry Heart Tonic and half Wild Rose Tonic.

~~~Infused Wines & Meads~~~

This is easy, it’s just good wine infused with herbs and spices. It can be made with just enough herbs to add a bit of flavor, or it can be made more medicinal strength with a higher proportion of herbs.

All recipes are make one pint of wine.

Sweet Summer Cherry Wine

• 2 tbs dried Chokecherry twigs, chopped
• appr 20 Hawthorn berries, fresh or dried
• 3 unsulphured dried Apricots
• small handful raisins
• appr 1 pint red wine or a dark mead like elderberry, blackberry or pomegranate. Alternatively, this is also quite good in apple wine.

Place together in a pint jar, and allow to infuse for at least one month before straining and using. Don’t forget to eat those apricots and raisins, they’re very tasty. This is another heart and blood tonic, great for strengthening the heart and building the blood, it’s also relaxing and a wonderful way to wind down.

Mary of the Sea Wine

• 2 medium sprigs (about 3 inches long each) of fresh Rosemary
• 1 tsp grated fresh Ginger
• 1 tsp grated fresh Lemon peel
• appr. 1 pint white wine or light mead.

Place together in a pint jar, and allow to infuse for at least one month before straining and using. This makes a lovely warming circulatory stimulant, digestive tonic and tasty addition to many recipes.

~~~Glycerine Tinctures~~~

This is what most people (including myself, in the past) usually call glycerites. However, glycerites are creations generally beyond the scope of the home apothecary (think: lab), and what most people are making are properly named glycerine tinctures.

I’ve never liked the cloying taste of herbs tinctured in only glycerine, and that added to the facts that glycerine isn’t terribly shelf-stable and that it is a very highly processed product have just reinforced my original leaning away from glycerine.

For a while I was making some of my elixirs with glycerine (plus brandy or vodka, never alone) rather than honey, but despite my general avoidance of all sugars I have gone back to using honey in my elixirs again. It tastes better, your body recognizes it as food (with nutrients and everything) and it comes from beehive rather than a factory.

Glycerine tinctures are made similarly to alcohol based tinctures, preferably with dried plant material because the water content of fresh plants tends to cause the glycerine tinctures to go off rather quickly. Also, aromatic herbs are those generally best extracted with glycerine, like Lavender, Chamomile or Mint.

For dried herbs, fill the jar about halfway with plant matter ( a bit more if using flowers or fluffy plants a bit less if you’re using root, bark or other dense plant matter), then cover with a solution of 3/4 glycerine and 1/4 distilled water. Stir well to release air bubbles, cover and store in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks before decanting. Use within a year.

~~~Herbal Elixirs~~~

An elixir (from my perspective, anyhow) is really just a tincture with some honey added for flavor, property and preservation purposes. It’s a super easy and very effective way to work with many herbs and flowers and berries are often especially well suited to this method, although almost any aromatic plant is lovely as an elixir.

Elixirs are really my favorite sweet medicine and I’ve become a bit infamous for my constant rambling on about Elderberry and Rose elixirs. Here’s a few reasons why I’m so fond of this particular preparation.

1. The sweet taste brings out the aromatic flavors and heart healing properties of many herbs.
2. Honey actually adds to how well the herbs are preserved and increases the shelf-life of the tincture.
3. Unlike most sweet medicines, it can be used in very small doses, thanks to the particular combo of honey and alcohol. This keeps it from having much of a blood sugar impact.
4. Because it helps to bring out the flavor and aroma of many herbs, the herb’s nervine effects are enhanced, often in a significant way.
5. They’re also extremely simple and intuitive to make, here’s an example recipe made with Honeysuckle, with a few suggestions for other herbs that make lovely elixirs.

Honeysuckle Elixir

• 2 C Honeysuckle flowers and buds
• 1/3 C raw honey
• app 1 pint of Brandy (or rum or cognac or scotch or whatever you like)

Fill a pint jar with Honeysuckle flowers and buds (pick a spp with very little or no bitterness), then add about 1/3 C of raw honey. Stir well so that the flowers are well coated. Now fill the jar with brandy, vodka, scotch, cognac or whatever you like. I actually prefer 60% alcohol with Honeysuckle Elixir, so I usually dilute some Everclear for this. Stir again, and then taste. If it’s not sweet enough tasting (it will initially taste mostly like alcohol so you have to guesstimate), add a bit more honey. Now cover tightly, shake well and then store in a cool, dark place (shaking occasionally to dissolve the honey properly) for 4-6 weeks.

This elixir makes a wonderful relaxing nervine, and is amazing for all kinds of hot, acute conditions including fevers, bronchitis and infections. It can also be used externally if needed.

Lavender, Tulsi (Holy Basil), Ginger, Vanilla (yes, Vanilla is an herb too), Cinnamon, Rose, Fennel, Anise, Mullein flower, Evening Primrose flower, Juniper berry, Borage flowers, Beebalm, Sage and so on… Nearly any aromatic plant, including most kitchen spices, make wonderful elixirs.

~~~Electuaries~~~

Essentially, a paste of powdered herbs and a sweetener, in this case honey. These are intense and very flavorful. In the past, they have often been used to hide the flavor of bitter or unpleasant tasting herbs. My recipes are meant to be used in small amounts, usually I just roll a little ball out of the some paste (about half the size of a marble) and suck on it slowly, but it can also be spread on foods or taken straight by the spoonful.

They’re especially good where the whole herb needs to be taken (instead of extracted with a solvent like alcohol) and where coating the throat and GI is an important part of the medicine. An especially lovely and elegant way to treat sore throats, bronchial irritation or sinus congestion. Just don’t overdo it, this is medicine not candy.

Here are a few recipes with proportions and usage suggestions and directions at the end.

Winter Cherry Nourishing Electuary

• 2 parts Ashwagandha
• 1/2 part Nettle Seed
• 1 part Tulsi
• 2 parts Elm

This makes a lovely moistening adrenal tonic very helpful in times of stress or depletion, providing energy while relaxing the nervous system and body. It’s fairly temperature neutral, and generally gentle enough for anyone.

Wild Rose Electuary

• 1 part Rose
• 1/2 part Sage
• 2 parts Mallow

A great throat soother and excellent for calming down belly stagnation and heat. Powdered Evening Primrose flowers is very nice in this as well.

Basically, just mix your finely powdered dried herbs together in the desired proportion. Then, add enough slightly warmed honey (just warm enough to flow, not hot) to create a thick paste. Stir well, to make sure all powder is integrated. Check your texture and adjust as necessary, I like mine to be thick enough to roll into little balls but soft enough to be pliable. Using a mucilaginous powder as a primary part of your powders will help it all stick together better and will add a soothing, healing quality to the preparation. An electuary can be used right away, but I prefer to give mine a couple weeks to age and mellow a bit.

~~~Infused Herbal Honeys~~~

Beebalm Flower Infused Honey

• 2 cups of freshly harvested Beebalm (Monarda spp)
• appr 1 pint of Raw (preferably local) honey.
• pint canning jar with lid

So easy and delicious, making this herbal honey is as simple as filling a pint jar with your Beebalm flowers and then covering with raw honey. Next, stir the bubbles out (chopsticks work good for this), top it off with more honey if needed and then cover and store in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks. Very often, I don’t even decant my Beebalm honeys I just use (or eat) it, flowers and all. It’s a spicy-sweet ambrosia that will drop you dead in your tracks in open-mouthed amazement at the taste of it.

A lovely diffusive nervine and relaxant diaphoretic, Beebalm honey has a wide realm of application, from sore throats to tension headaches to fevers. This is one of the world’s best wound and burn dressings as well, often working to heal even stubborn bedsores and longterm infections.

~~Oxymels/Sekanjabin~~

A wonderful beverage of herbs infused in vinegar and honey. It is acidulous and sweet at the same time, and especially good for remedies relating to the lungs and GI as it is by nature expectorant and stimulating to the digestive tract. It is generally very cooling because of the sour taste, unless you really spice it up with warming herbs. I prefer apple cider vinegar for most of my oxmels but red wine vinegar or others may be used in its place.

Basically, we just combine an infused honey and an infused vinegar together and violá, amazingly tasty Oxymel! If you use molasses (in which you can decoct herbs) instead of honey, you have Switchel.

Recipes online will have you make a sugar syrup and cook the whole oxymel, but I prefer a cold infusion which seems to result in purer, more refreshing taste with less of that syrupy flavor.

Mint Sekanjabin

Mint Sekanjabin is a classic Arabic cooling drink to enhance digestion and is very tasty too!

Mint Infused Vinegar

Fill a jar with fresh mint, cover with vinegar. Cover and store in a cool, dark place for 2-4 weeks before decanting.

Mint/Lemon Infused Honey

Fill a jar with fresh mint, then add two tsp of grated fresh lemon peel and the juice of one lemon then cover with honey.

Add 4 parts infused honey to 1 part infused vinegar to a jar and mix well. Now you just add a teaspoon or two to a glass of water, stir and yum!

Other herbs that would work well here include Basil, Holy Basil, Lemon Balm, Sweet Clover, Peach leaf and even Rose. Add spices to taste (orange peel and Ginger is great with Rose etc) and enjoy.

We’re celebrating my 29th birthday today with an amazing meal, and one of the stars at the center of it all are these amazing primal (or nearly so) donuts (which also happen to be gluten free). I’ve done four variations in this recipe, and they were all amazing, with the Blueberry/Pecan being the most hardcore primal and the Chocolate having the best texture and the Vanilla Maple (w/ or w/o Pecans) being the sweetest and perhaps most reminscent of traditional bakery donuts. All of these though, are firm and nutty, with a rich flavor and satiating effect that the carb rings and krispy kremes just can’t even begin to compete with. I actually prefer them to commercial donuts, and even the pickiest dessert eaters take very well to these delectable little morsels!

I apologize in advance to the primal folks for all the sugar on ~top~ of the donuts in the pictures, it’s purely for visual effect and completely unnecessary to the taste experience.

Below is the basic recipe, with appr. proportions for making 17-20 donuts. It’s all very adaptable and should be changed to reflect your personal taste and preferences. I’m not really into creating detailed, perfectly measure recipes, because I just don’t cook that way but these measurements should work just fine until you’re confident enough to mix it up. For detailed instructions on deep frying, use google

Flax Donuts with 4 Variations

• 2 C. Flax Meal
• 1 C. Almond Meal
• 3 Tbs. Coconut meal/flour (optional, can be replaced by extra almond meal)
• 4 tsp Baking Powder
• Salt to taste
• 5 eggs
• 3 tsp of melted butter or coconut oil
• Water to moisten (Cream or half & half are super yummy too)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract (appr. since I make my own)
• Unrefined Coconut oil for frying in

Mix dry ingredients well. Mix together wet ingredients except water. Combine, and moisten with water or cream until pliable and still sticky without either falling apart and crumbling every time you pick it up or sticking to the bowl in a sodden mess. You want to be able to shape it into a firm donut shape without too much trouble (though you’re hands are going to get sticky, regardless).

So that’s the basic, completely unsweetened recipe with no flavorings. You could just deepfry them plain like this but I think they’re yummier with a few additions. So, I divided the dough into four equal sections and flavored each separately, and measurements below reflect that. If you want to make one batch in one flavor, then quadruple the ingredients below.

Variations

Blueberry- Pecan

This is the easiest to keep completely primal and still be super tasty, definitely a favorite!

• Large handful of dried blueberries (fresh would also work, but I didn’t have any), half chopped and half whole.
• 1/3-1/2 C. Butter toasted pecans, roughly chopped
• 2-3 tsp Maple syrup (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I really like cinnamon, but this is also optional)

Fold into mixture, taste and adjust as needed.

Chocolate Coconut

This has a super smooth texture and is wonderfully rich, but of course cocoa powder is a bit bitter and wants some sweetener to taste its best. I used brown sugar in this recipe but of course honey or maple syrup would work fine too.

•  3-5 Tbs dark cocoa
• 3-5 Tbs coconut meal
• 3-5 Tbs brown sugar
• Vanilla to taste
• Water or cream to moisten (after all those additional dry ingredients)

Fold in mixture, taste and adjust as needed.

Vanilla Maple

Sweet, crispy and very satisfying!

• 1-2 Tsp Vanilla extract (to taste)
• 1-3 Tbs Maple Syrup to taste (the darker and more flavorful the better and the less you need)
• 1/3 C. Butter-toasted Pecans, roughly chopped (optional, it’s great with or without).

Fold in mixture, taste and adjust as needed.

 Shaping and Cooking

Now, you simply shape into small biscuit like shapes, poke your finger through the center of each, firm it up and place on wax paper. Get all of them ready, and then deep-fry in small batches (depending on your fryer) in unrefined coconut oil until golden brown. Place on paper towels or paper bags when done. You can optionally roll in cinnamon sugar while still warm (unnecessary of course, but they look better in pictures that way).

A Caution

Flax can give you a bellyache in large amounts in any form. If you eat six donuts, you’re going to regret it. I usually only eat one at a time, but most people can get up to three at a time without issue. If you’re extra sensitive to flax, go real easy on this or possibly use a greater proportion of almond or coconut meal.

All Winter long, we keep baked apples and winter squash roasting away in the wood stove. They get distributed into nearly every meal and snack, along with copious amounts of spices and butter for a special cold season delight that warms both belly and soul. We don’t eat flour based pastas and so find spaghetti and gila squashes to be a great base for tomatoey or creamy sauces as well as thick stews. They also make phenomenal desserts and soups when creamed.

This recipe is one of my all-time favorite winter snacks and it’s so simple! The combo of smooth, sweet squash and savory, creamy nut butter is rich and nourishing. It also totally fulfills my craving for something comforting without being too carby or sweet. I sometimes make this as a quick lunch or evening snack but it’s really appropriate for any meal. Most people prefer it warm but it’s also very yummy at room temperature as well.

• 1 Cup Winter Squash – I like a half and half combo of baked spaghetti squash (or Gila squash, a sweeter variety of the spaghetti) and acorn squash because of the great texture it imparts but you could use any slightly sweet winter squash
• 2 TBs Nut Butter – my favorite is Sunflower Seed butter at the moment (especially the Once Again brand with the little raccoon on front, I can’t seem to manage to make my homemade taste quite that good for some reason) but hazelnut or cashew or almond all taste great.
• 1 Tsp butter (optional)
• 2 TBs cream or nut/coconut milk of your choice (optional)
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla and black pepper to taste (optional)
• tiny sprinkle of maple syrup or maple sugar (optional)

Bake the squash until soft and sweet (don’t settle for hard, cardboard like strands of spaghetti squash, cook it til it’s actually done), scoop out seeds  and then scoop squash flesh into your bowl. Melt butter on still warm flesh and stir in, add milk and spices and stir well. Add nut butter and stir slightly, enough to distribute evenly but not enough to dissolve into oblivion. Sprinkle maple and additional spices on top to taste. Dig in! Lovely with a cup of strong chai on the side while sitting in front of a toasty stove or roaring fire.

Acorns are one of the great traditional foods of the Southwest, they have been savored from peoples as varied as the indigenous peoples of southern California to the Irish settlers of New Mexico. I cannot speak for the Oaks of other parts of the country, but I can say quite definitively that the acorns of my home region are of unparalleled tastiness. In fact, I prefer them over every other nut I have ever tasted and that covers quite a range. While I once preferred Hazelnuts, I have been slowly but surely won over by the local acorns and pine nuts to the point that other nuts almost seem strange to eat.

There is the unfortunate misconception that acorns are always very bitter, but this is simply not true. ~No boiling or leaching necessary!~ Our acorns need but the gentlest of processing — only to be gathered, roasted to a medium brown color before being shelled and ground to a fine meal. They do not even need to be gathered brown, it’s perfectly fine to harvest them while still green and on the tree, as long as they have reached near their full size.

Once they have been made into a fine meal, they can be added to soups, breads, tortillas, cakes, brownies and every form of chocolate imaginable. They add a flavor reminiscent of hazelnuts, coffee and chocolate that varies from tree to tree and species to species, but is delightful in every manifestation. There is a delicated magic to these wonderful nuts, touched by faery and blessed by a special richness unlike any other food.

Keep an eye out for Loba’s upcoming post on the Anima blog also all about acorns (we are a little bit obsessed) and will include lots of lovely recipes. For now, you can check out my previous posts and recipes.

Sweet Southwestern Acorns – Another general overview of acorn processing

Banana Acorn Cake

Roasted Corn Soup with Toasted Acorns & Fresh Rosemary

Lentil Soup with Acorns

This is SO yummy and quick to make. It’s not exactly low-carb but it is free of grains. If you’d like it to be less dense you can add a tsp or so of baking powder, but I like it this way.

1/4 Cup acorn meal

1/4 Cup cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 Cup unrefined coconut oil

1/3 Cup Maple Syrup or Honey

2/3 Cup mashed bananas

1 egg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together, then mix wet ingredients together, then mix all incredients together. Pour into pre-oiled pan (a smallish bread pan works good) and cook for appr. 20 minutes at 350.

Keep in mind we use a wood stove, so I’m guessing on the temp It’s lovely with chocolate added, or some cardamom and ginger or grated orange peel. Yum, enjoy!

This relish is an Enchanted Pantry twist on one of the more unusual Mediterranean recipes.  You can eat it right away, but it gets even better overnight.  It’s great mixed with some yogurt and eaten with pita or other fresh bread, with maybe a little hummus alongside.  Carnivores will especially enjoy it served with any wood grilled cuts, wild meats, a pork roast or chicken, or even atop a perfectly seasoned meatloaf.

1 cup good quality green olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped toasted almonds
1/4 cup chopped parsley or watercress
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Return to room temperature before serving.

Rose vinegar is supremely easy to make and has about a million uses. Here’s how you make it: get yourself a jar, fill it about halfway with dried Rose petal or leaves, or all the way up with fresh petals and/or leaves. Fill to top with a high quality apple cider vinegar. Let infuse for at least two weeks, and preferably six weeks. A plastic lid will prevent the Rose vinegar from eating through the normal metal canning lids (turns your vinegar black too, very unpleasant). Your vinegar will turn a lovely shade of reddish pink to brilliant ruby if you use colorful petals (dunno how yellow comes out it, I’ve never used them).

A cloth can be soaked in this lovely preparation (dilute to 1 part vinegar to about 7-10 parts water) can be used placed on the forehead for headaches (especially heat caused headaches), wrapped around a sprained ankle or used to wash itchy bug bites and heat rashes. It excels at pulling heat from an inflamed area in a very short time. It is especially powerful at rapidly quenching the redness and pain from a sunburn in to time flat. In fact a medium sunburn, if caught within the first 24 hours, can be nearly erased in three or four applications of vinegar over a period of six hours or so. Even where there is threatening sun poisoning and blistering skin, it can greatly ease the pain and lessen the general trauma to the body. While not a replacement for emergency care in severe burns, it is nearly always incredibly helpful.

~~~~

 Sunburn Treatment

• First, do yourself a favor and don’t smother your sunburn in salve or oil. It just holds the heat in and worsens it, no matter how healing the herbs contained therein may be.
• Depending on the size of the burn, pour about 1/3 a cup of Rose Vinegar into a bowl, then add several cups of water and mix thoroughly.
• Get a soft, absorbent cloth and dip into the liquid. Gently wring it out, being sure the cloth is still quite wet. You may want to use very large cloths/towels if the area burned is very large.
• Place the cloths over the affected areas, it will very cold at first but the cloth will rapidly become hot. Keep re-dipping and wringing as soon as the cloth gets warm. Depending on the severity of the burn, I usually re-apply at least a dozen times during the first session.
• Let the skin airdry. For a medium burns, I repeat the application about once every two hours. For severe burns, every hour. For light burns, as often as is needed.
• Before bed, a topical application of fresh Aloe Vera gel can be applied (from the plant, not weird preserved stuff from a bottle) to the area.
• Keep up the treatment until the area no longer feels hot to the touch. If the burns are very severe and there is the possibility (or existence) of infection, dress the burns with Rose and/or Beebalm honey between vinegar applications.
• Once the area has cooled off (and stays that way) it’s ok to use a healing salve or cream like Rose, Alder and Elderflower to speed the skin’s complete recovery.

If there’s no Rose vinegar on hand, plain or similarly herbal infused (Elderflower, Chickweed, Alder, Plantain) apple cider may be used.

This is such an effective treatment that I wouldn’t dream of traveling without it or not having several quart jars of it in my pantry and medicine chest.

This is Loba and I’s favorite way to cook up Beaver meat. I prefer fresh tomatoes or homemade tomato sauce but we’ve given the ingredients in easy to find materials for your convenience. This is a simple and tasty recipe and can easily be adapted to become beaver chili or something similar. It’s also excellent plain, wrapped up in some brined grape leaves.

extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint jar beaver meat
1 big can whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons bee balm or oregano
lots of black pepper
1 cup red wine

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, add the rest of the ingredients, and smush the tomatoes with your hands. Add some more water if it seems a bit thick.  Simmer for a few hours.  Taste, and adjust the salt and pepper if you like, and add a bit more olive oil. That’s it!  Enjoy!!