As much as I love all local foods, there’s something truly special about wild, totally uncultivated food growing right at my feet, and in the case of the Wild Grapes, dangling right above my head. There’s a vitality to be had in wild river-grown Watercress that the best cultivated varieties can’t even compete with. The [...]
For those of us unable to eat grains in any form, bread can seem like a thing of the past. I went years without eating bread, much to my great sadness. And then, I discovered flax! I’d made flax crackers before and they’re great but I had no idea flax could become something firm, fluffy [...]
I do a lot of brewing here. This is in part to compensate for the lack of refrigeration at the center but also just because I love the process of fermentation. I make homemade wines and ales of all kinds, but want to start here with a basic primer for Lacto-Fermented Herbal Brews because they’re [...]
While many of the herbal bloggers are busy on planet Dandelion, I’ve been off in a different direction. While I adore Dandelions, they’re not very common here, and my attention generally remains on what’s abundant and available. To this end, I’ve been laying on the river banks with my face buried in this season’s most [...]
We’ve been enjoying meals packed full of preserved and fresh greens nearly every day for the last few weeks. We don’t have a freezer or fridge out here so we’ve had to be a bit inventive with our preservations techniques. We also don’t care much for canned greens, and you can only eat so many [...]
Another excerpt from Loba’s Enchanted Pantry, written in the days before I knew that garlic and tomato sauce both do strange things to my belly. It is fabulously yummy though, so enjoy an extra bowl for me Oh, and for those of you who requested a copy of the cookbook, I’m in the [...]
3 Parts Larrea leaf/flower infused oil
2 Parts Cottonwood bud infused oil
1 Part Cypress (or Thuja) leaf/berry infused oil
1 Part Ginger root infused oil
Sprinkle of Chile powder (you can use Cayenne, but I prefer Chile Piquin myself)
Blend oils and Chile powder, then add melted beeswax until you reach your desired consistency. I’m assuming you know how [...]
Rebecca mentioned on her most recent blogpost how Winter is the time to switch from leafy greens to roots and seeds, and I couldn’t agree more! There’s so profoundly nourishing and magical about cold season root brews. I have this amazing Chinese round clay pot that was a gift from a dear herbal friend, that [...]
Here I am, late but present for this month’s blogparty hosted by Dreamseeds
Ever since the cold weather came, complete with ice, rain and chilling winds, we’ve been brewing many pots of Ginger tea and long cooked bone broths on our antique wood stove in the cabin’s cozy little kitchen. The glass herb jars that line [...]
Another Loba’s Lovin’ Kitchen specialty! For the greens, I especially recommend Watercress…
1 1/2 quarts of water
1 small butternut or other winter squash, cooked and cut up
1 cup of cooked brown rice (optional)
3 carrots, chopped
1 large bunch of broccoli, chopped
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger, minced
5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
3 or more tablespoons mellow brown miso
3 tablespoons [...]
Down by the river, the mud is skimmed with ice — crisp spectral lace that forms, transforms and disappears in the midday sun. We’ve had a few hard frosts in the past week, yet the green things on the riverbank keep on growing. There’s Yellowdock, Watercress, Violets (just a few), Sweet Clover, Horsetail, Landcress and [...]
This is a nice little recipe to use when there’s deep, hard congestion low in the chest and possible inflammation and infection. It’s also good for simple sinus congestion. All three of these herbs are traditional lung and sinus herbs, and have the total effect of instant (though somewhat temporary) congestion, reducing inflammation and tightening [...]
Another amazing and incredibly simple recipe from Loba’s Enchanted Pantry cookbook. This one is especially timely, with root veggies very much in season and Watercress still available in many places. Even when I lived in the NE I could often find Watercress growing from springs that don’t freeze in the Winter, look under the snow [...]
It’s become fairly common knowledge even among the scientific establishment that honey makes a superior burn and wound dressing. It’s especially good at preventing and resolving infection, even with antibiotic resistant infections. It also excels at keeping inflammation to a manageable level and seems to help the regeneration of new tissue.
The next obvious step is [...]
Serves 2 to 4 (depending on how much else is being served)
4 quail
1 1/3 cups Merlot
2/3 cup chopped dried figs
A pinch of cinnamon
4 tablespoons sour cream
Salt
Cook the wine and figs together until reduced by half, adding the cinnamon at the last. Take off the heat and stir in the sour cream, reveling in the beautiful [...]
