Herbal Hacks, Part 1: Food and Drink

The Herb Society of America Blog

We asked and you delivered! Over the summer we asked folks to share how they used herbs to make their lives easier or more fun. We received many great responses, and want to thank everyone who contributed a little snippet of herbal how-to. We received so many responses, in fact, that we’ve decided to offer them in installments, categorized by topic for easy reference. Please enjoy this week’s selection – herbs in food and drink.

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I love to use fresh herbs as drink garnishes and in ice cubes. Edible flowers and leaves enhance my beverages, from my morning smoothie to my afternoon glass of wine! – Janice Cox

Dried blue cornflower petals sprinkled over salads – or as a garnish on other foods – for a beautiful blue punch of color! Flowers are harvested each year from my garden at the end of a hot day, dried on white cotton…

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The Healing Properties of Baneful Herbs | Coby Michael Ward — Good Witches Homestead

Baneful herbs, herbs that are toxic or potentially deadly have been and continue to be some of mankind’s most important medicines, while their applications have evolved, drugs like atropine, scopolamine and digoxin have botanical origins. It is because of these plant’s chemical potency that they are so important. These herbs also have very powerful spirits […]
The Healing Properties of Baneful Herbs | Coby Michael Ward — Good Witches Homestead

DIY Recipe of the Month: Spiced Pear Liquor • The Organic Alcohol Company

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

October’s recipe is extra exciting to share, not only because we are showcasing our newly available Craft-Grade Pear Spirits, but because fall flavors like Clove and Cinnamon and ripe Pear happen to be an all-time, cozy-inducing favorite. We now have our Certified Organic Craft-Grade Pear in house, and it was hard to choose what recipe to make with this fragrant, juicy, and delicious spirit.

Our Spiced Pear Liquor is a perfect addition to give you all the Autumn feels. As the evenings get darker a little earlier, you can brighten them up with this seasonal warming spiced liquor. It’s a great addition to your baking recipes or to make delicious cocktails. A favorite libation of mine is adding a dash of this flavorful liquor to a dry apple cider and poured over ice.

You can experiment with different spice blends and quantities to make it perfectly yours. As with all…

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Rose Hips – Herb of the Month

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Maryann Readal

If you grow roses, plan now for rose hips. Simply leave the spent flowers on your rose bushes after their last bloom of the season. Do NOT cut them off. Allow the fruits of the rose, which are the rose “hips,” to ripen on the bush. The hips will turn red or orange depending on the rose variety. When the sides of the hips are soft to the touch, they are ready to harvest. Waiting to harvest until after the first light frost increases the flavor of the hips.

Now, you may be wondering why you should allow your roses to form hips. Here are some good reasons:

Ounce for ounce, rose hips contain eight times more vitamin C than oranges, according to the US Department of Agriculture Food Data Central.
They are also rich in vitamins A, B, E, and K, as well as other nutrients.

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Getting Results with Herbs, a free training with Rosalee de la Forêt

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

We are thrilled to share with you that Learning Herbs will open their registration this morning for Taste of Herbs with herbalist and best-selling author Rosalee de la Forêt who has created a transformative online training.

Rosalee writes and teaches with such substance, and depth, but also makes it very easy and practical for people to understand. In Rosalee’s ‘Taste of Herbs’, she has a way of showing people how to understand and apply the energetics of herbs to every day herbalism and it is quite brilliant.

Click here to register!

Source: Getting Results with Herbs, a free training with Rosalee de la Forêt

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An Ode to Autumn — Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Autumn is the season when the world mellows out and takes stock on what has already been achieved. Change occurs, but at a reassuringly slow drift rather than a hurried panic. Planet Earth takes on a warm glow as the sun shrinks back into the soil. Golden moments with friends, family and self shape the […]
An Ode to Autumn — Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Free Webinar: Plants, People & Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany – American Botanical Council — Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

We are happy to announce the first in a new series of Ethnobotany Webinars from the American Botanical Council and the Sustainable Herbs Program. Leading ethnobotanists Michael J. Balick and Paul Alan Cox will be discussing their new book Plants, People & Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany, revised from the first edition published in 1996. Balick […]
Free Webinar: Plants, People & Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany – American Botanical Council — Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

A Weed Lover’s Manifesto

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Andrea Jackson

I love weeds. There, I said it. Don’t worry, I do pull them (there’s a reason why they’re called weeds, after all), but I am much more likely to make a tincture or a salve or something good (yes, good) to eat than to discard them completely.

After all, weeds were really the first herbs. Emerson said “weeds are but an unloved flower.” They have also been called a plant out of place. Consider a field of commercial dandelions with a single forlorn rose bush growing in the middle. Now which one is the weed?

Plantago_major_SZ356869_Freshwater_MCotterill_IWNHAS Weeds tell wonderful stories, and as we learn them, they take us on a journey to discover where they came from and how they came to be who they are today.

For example, there’s the common broadleaf plantain (Plantago major). Broadleaf plantain is everywhere, which is a good thing for…

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American Botanical Council and Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs Warns Consumers about High Toxicity of Oleander

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Herbal science group emphasizes that consumers should NOT attempt to produce oleander-based home-remedies or self-medicate with the dangerous poisonous plant.

AUSTIN, Texas (August 18, 2020) — The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) today warned the public about the substantial toxicity associated with all parts of the oleander (Nerium oleander) plant. ABC warns consumers not to ingest any parts of the plant, or capsules, tablets, teas, or extract preparations made from leaves or other parts of the oleander plant because it contains chemicals that can cause serious effects to the human heart, including death.

The ABC warning came as a result of recent media reports that President Trump may be considering asking (or may have asked) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the drug product called oleandrin as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Oleandrin, as a purified pharmaceutical investigative drug product, has been researched for its potential…

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HSA Webinar: A Recipe for Success

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Bevin Cohen

I’ve long been amazed by the generous bounty offered to us by Mother Nature. Even as a young boy picking wintergreen berries in the woods, I just couldn’t believe that these tasty treats were available for me to enjoy, in quantities greater than I could ever consume, and the only cost was an afternoon in the shady forest, harvesting the luscious fruits as I listened to the melodious whistling of the birds and the occasional scurried sounds of a startled chipmunk or squirrel.

As an adult, my appreciation for Nature’s endless gifts has only deepened, and I find myself preaching her message of abundance to anyone willing to listen. Through my work as an author, herbalist, and educator, I’ve been placed in a unique position to share my knowledge, experiences, and passion with audiences the world over, and the core of my message has always remained the…