Dearest readers, many many months ago I detailed how I make scones, which I now make weekly. The above photo will show you how they have evolved as I am now experimenting with using fresh fruit, particularly berries. This morning’s lot I filled with blackberries which I am slowly harvesting from the front yard. This was a wild thing which in the past I’d clipped back, as it’s growing among the nandina, but in light of a shift towards more homegrown foods I thought I’d take advantage of its living amongst us and let it spread, which I’m glad I did.

I’ve plucked at least $15 worth of berries from its thorny stalks in the last ten days, and I know they are organic, lovingly cared for and tenderly picked. So they are included in today’s scone fare and it turns out they are a good choice and lovely besides. Happy result.

The scones are part of an ever growing trend in my home to have certain prepared foods on hand, ready for our busy lives: an Always There list. There are always scones. There is always green tea. There are a few others I’m slowly establishing. This week the one I’m most excited about is iced chai, for hot summer days, of which there have been abundance lately!

Prior, for years, I always have made chai on holidays. Recently it occurred to me to ask why? Why not make it frequently? We love it. It’s right up there with “saving” your favorite dress or shoes or bag (or china) for special occasions. And there’s a place for that, surely. But why relegate chai to only a few times a year when we adore it and it’s so good for us? Added to this expansive line of thinking I decided to try iced chai, which was such a hit I made the leap to add it to the Always There list. This involves a slight inner commitment of time and resources. I have done that and today was my first day. I’m going to share with you how I do that and perhaps you will decide to do same. Over the years I’ve become rather applauded for this recipe so and I’m pleased and honored to share with you today.

This is so easy. First you cut up a big piece of ginger root. You probably are aware that ginger root aids in digestion, stimulates circulation and is a powerful anti-inflammatory. How wonderful I’m increasing this marvelous food used for centuries in this capacity into my diet.

Place the ginger in a stainless steel pan with seven cups of water, two or three sticks of cinnamon, and a small handful of cardamom seeds. (I counted this morning; I used 18.) Cardamom is also good for facilitating digestion. There are also some interesting studies in Scandinavia regarding the combining of cinnamon with honey for arthritis pain. Check that out. Bottom line: chai is good for you and beyond delicious.

Bring to a slow boil, then cover with the lid ajar and let this mixture boil for about a half an hour. The only thing you need to do is to take a wooden spoon and push the cardamom seeds up against side of pan so they open, releasing their goodness and fragrance into the mixture. It will now look like this.

OK, you’ve removed from heat. Now to this mixture you want to add eight to ten English Breakfast tea bags. If they have strings, cut them off without puncturing the bags. They just create a tangle later. Cover this and allow to steep for at least ten minutes. Then remove lid and add two cups of high quality milk. [Note I swear by Strauss Family Dairy whole milk, which I can get in N. CA. I don’t know their distribution range.] Now add honey to taste. And allow to thoroughly cool.

I now remove all the tea bags, but leave the other ingredients for their great goodness only enhances with time. I put into a nice sturdy red Le Creuset pitcher I happen to own and love. This will invariably become The Chai pitcher for the rest of summer, reliably in the front of the frig. Happy us.

And here is how I chose to serve ours today. We prefer iced chai sans ice, ironically. Chilled is enough for us. But traditionally, I am certain, iced chai would be chock full of, well, ice! 🙂

I do hope you will try the chai. Please let me know how you liked it. And may this nurture your bodies, your homes and your spirits.

Love and kitchen blessings!
Kathryn xoxo
Yummy postscript: Began wondering this hot summer afternoon how vanilla ice cream would fare in iced chai. Let me highly recommend chai floats!!

Posted on July 21st, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Work | 22 Comments »

My interest in herbal remedies was kindled first in the 60’s in Northern California, when exploring alternative healing practices first was in vogue. Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss was everybody’s standard reference, and to this day this book remains on my shelf. My knowledge was enhanced when I moved to Amsterdam in the 70’s where I helped open and run a vegetarian restaurant, which included an herb shop upstairs from the cafe. I loved the many shelves lined with clear bottles of herbs. I knew their sacredness, their gifts. And I have continued to learn over the years. Chamomile, peppermint, licorice root and ginger tea are all standards in my kitchen and I will be eternally grateful for their healing properties. So it was with great delight that I noticed Timber Press had recently published Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary by Daniel E. Moerman, a professor and well known ethnobotanist. He is former editor-in-chief of the scholarly journal Economic Botany.

The indigenous peoples lived for many thousands of years on this continent prior to Europeans arriving. The first permanent villages in my area of Northern California were established nearly 12,000 years ago. Indigenous tribes lived in harmony with the Earth and they knew and understood plants. They were not distracted by the myriad technologies and manufactured goods and services that take our attention away from the out of doors. They lived very close to the Earth and became intimate with what they found there. They had time to explore. They learned. And they passed this knowledge down from ancestor to ancestor. What might we learn from them? Is this book a book to be taken literally, as gospel? No. But it is an excellent starting point of invaluable information for all and anyone interested in the medicinal value of plants. What might we learn? One small example is that oft times the chemicals within a plant were created by the plant for very specific means. For example the pyrethrin in chrysanthemums was a way of the plant protecting itself from insects, and lo and behold, we extract this substance from the chrysanthemum and use it for the very same reason. There are many instances when our needs are the same as the plants needs; this is just one of many threads worth examining.

While most likely the value of plants found in their environ was known by each family, in some instances there was a special person who attended the native tribe, a medicine man or medicine woman. This learned person was entrusted with the well being of the tribe. The members of the tribe turned to this person for his or her healing skills and knowledge.

Ma-tu, Pomo Medicine Man, painting by Grace Hudson,
courtesy Grace Hudson Museum

To ascribe the role of medicine man or medicine woman as one of superstition or ignorance, as is sometimes the case, is naive at best. This wisdom keeper, while not all-knowing, knew much. It is a blessing that Professor Moerman has drawn on the research of literally hundreds of serious scholars to arrive at such an invaluable compendium of this knowledge and wisdom. It is especially fascinating that the information gathered has been cross-referenced across 218 Native American tribes.

The ten plants with the greatest number of drug uses by Native Americans are: Achillea millefolium, common yarrow; Acorus calamus, calamus; Atemisia tridentata, big sagebrush; Lomatium dissectum, fernleaf biscuitroot; Prunus virginiana, common chokecherry; Artemisia ludoviciana, Louisiana sagewort; Oplopanax horridus, devil’s club; Juniperus communis, common jupiter; Mentha canadensis, Canadian mint; Urtica dioica, stinging nettle.

Stinging nettle

The values of stinging nettle are not completely lost, are they? I recall when I lived in Holland that I was told that the Dutch drink nettle tea as a spring tonic. I was also told that to rejuvenate themselves that elderly folks rolled in it! I was never able to verify this and was not privy to seeing it happen, in any case!

What is most true for me about Native American Medicinal Plants is that I now have in hand a beautiful tome I can in my leisure over the years turn to in order to expand my knowledge of the plants that cross my path. To be able to add to my knowledge of plants how they might have been used for thousands and thousands of years by the people who traversed the lands I now walk adds dignity and depth to the plant, to the culture that lived here before I, and to my own learning. This reference book is highly recommended!

Love and garden blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Posted on July 5th, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 18 Comments »