Thursday, June 28, 2007

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, dancing a jig;
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog;
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog;
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.










And a hillarious book! To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Roots, Shoots More........Making Herbal Beers

Here is a link to an article I wrote for Hilltown Families plus an excerpt from Mrs Grieves!


The excerpts below are from A Modern Herbal, by Mrs. M. Grieve, F.R.H.S., originally published in 1931 by Jonathan Cape in England and Harcourt, Brace & Company in the U.S., the latter as reprinted by Dover Publications since 1971.

RECIPES FOR HERB BEER

Formerly every farmhouse inn had a brewing plant and brewhouse attached to the buildings, and all brewed their own beer till the large breweries were established and supplanted home-brewed beers. Many of these farmhouses then began to brew their own ‘stingo’ from wayside herbs, employing old rustic recipes that had been carried down from generation to generation. The true value of vegetable bitters and of herb beers have yet to be recognized by all sections of the community. Workmen in puddling furnaces and potteries in the Midland and Northern counties find, however, that a tea made of tonic herbs is cheaper and less intoxicating than ordinary beer and patronize the herb beers freely, Dandelion Stout ranking as one of the favourites. It is also made in Canada.
Dandelion is a good ingredient in many digestive or diet drinks. A dinner drink may be made as follows: Take 2 oz. each of dried Dandelion and Nettle herbs and 1 oz. of Yellow Dock. Boil in 1 gallon of water for 15 minutes and then strain the liquor while hot on to 2 lb. of sugar, on the top of which is sprinkled 2 tablespoonsful of powdered Ginger. Leave till milk-warm, then add boiled water gone cold to bring the quantity up to 2 gallons. The temperature must then not be above 75° F. Now dissolve 1/2 oz. solid yeast in a little of the liquid and stir into the bulk. Allow to ferment 24 hours, skim and bottle, and it will be ready for use in a day or two.
A good, pleasant-tasting botanic beer is also made of the Nettle alone. Quantities of the young fresh tops are boiled in a gallon of water, with the juice of two lemons, a teaspoonful of crushed ginger and 1 lb. of brown sugar. Fresh yeast is floated on toast in the liquor, when cold, to ferment it, and when it is bottled the result is a specially wholesome sort of ginger beer.
Meadow Sweet was also formerly much in favour. The mash when worked with barm made a pleasant drink, either in the harvest field or at the table. It required little sugar, some even made it without any sugar at all.
Another favourite brew was that of armsful of Meadowsweet, Yarrow, Dandelion and Nettles, and the mash when ‘sweetened with old honey’ and well worked with barm, and then bottled in big stoneware bottles, made a drink strong enough to turn even an old toper's head.
Old honeycomb from the thatch of an ancient cottage, filled with rich and nearly black honey, when boiled into syrup and then strained, was used in the making of herb beer, while the wax was put at the mouths of the hives for the bees.
Dandelion, Meadowsweet and Agrimony, equal quantities of each, would also be boiled together for 20 minutes (about 2 oz. each of the dried herbs to 2 gallons of water), then strained and 2 lb. of sugar and 1/2 pint of barm or yeast added. This was bottled after standing in a warm place for 12 hours. This recipe is still in use.
A Herb Beer that needs no yeast is made from equal quantities of Meadowsweet, Betony, Agrimony and Raspberry leaves (2 oz. of each) boiled in 2 gallons of water for 15 minutes, strained, then 2 lb. of white sugar added and bottled when nearly cool.
In some outlying islands of the Hebrides there is still brewed a drinkable beer by making two-thirds Heath tops with one-third of malt.
HOP BITTERS, as an appetiser, to be taken in tablespoonful doses three times in the day before eating, may be made as follows: Take 2 oz. of Buchu leaves and 1/2 lb. of Hops. Boil these in 5 quarts of water in an iron vessel for an hour. When lukewarm add essence of Winter green (Pyrola) 2 oz. and 1 pint alcohol.
Another way of making Hop Bitters is to take 1/2 oz. Hops, 1 oz. Angelica Herb and 1 oz. Holy Thistle. Pour 3 pints of boiling water on them and strain when cold. A wineglassful may be taken four times a day.
To make a good HOP BEER, Put 2 oz. Hops in 2 quarts of water for 15 minutes. Then strain and dissolve 1 lb. of sugar in the liquor. To this add 4 quarts of cold water and 2 tablespoonsful of fresh barm. Allow to stand for 12 hours in a warm place and it will then be ready for bottling.
 
[from NETTLES, Urtica spp.]
Nettle Beer
The Nettle Beer made by cottagers is often given to their old folk as a remedy for gouty and rheumatic pains, but apart from this purpose it forms a pleasant drink. It may be made as follows: Take 2 gallons of cold water and a good pailful of washed young Nettle tops, add 3 or 4 large handsful of Dandelion, the same of Clivers (Goosegrass) and 2 oz. Of bruised, whole ginger. Boil gently for 40 minutes, then strain and stir in 2 teacupsful of brown sugar. When lukewarm place on the top a slice of toasted bread, spread with 1 oz. of compressed yeast, stirred till liquid with a teaspoonful of sugar. Keep it fairly warm for 6 or 7 hours, then remove the scum and stir in a tablespoonful of cream of tartar. Bottle and tie the corks securely. The result is a specially wholesome sort of ginger beer. The juice Of 2 lemons may be substituted for the Dandelion and Clivers. Other herbs are often added to Nettles in the making of Herb Beer, such as Burdock, Meadowsweet, Avens Horehound, the combination making a refreshing summer drink.
 
[from MUGWORT, Artemisia vulgaris]
The Mugwort is said to have derived its name from having been used to flavour drinks. It was, in common with other herbs, such as Ground Ivy, used to a great extent for flavouring beer before the introduction of hops. For this purpose, the plant was gathered when in flower and dried, the fresh herb being considered unsuitable for this object: malt liquor was then boiled with it so as to form a strong decoction, and the liquid thus prepared was added to the beer. Until recent years, it was still used in some parts of the country to flavour the table beer brewed by cottagers.
 
[from DANDELION, Taraxacum officinale]
The dried Dandelion leaves are also employed as an ingredient in many digestive or diet drinks and herb beers. Dandelion Beer is a rustic fermented drink common in many parts of the country and made also in Canada. Workmen in the furnaces and potteries of the industrial towns of the Midlands have frequent resource to many of the tonic Herb Beers, finding them cheaper and less intoxicating than ordinary beer, and Dandelion stout ranks as a favourite. An agreeable and wholesome fermented drink is made from Dandelions, Nettles and Yellow Dock.
In Berkshire and Worcestershire, the flowers are used in the preparation of a beverage known as Dandelion Wine. This is made by pouring a gallon of boiling water over a gallon of the flowers. After being well stirred, it is covered with a blanket and allowed to stand for three days, being stirred again at intervals, after which it is strained and the liquor boiled for 30 minutes, with the addition of 3 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, a little ginger sliced, the rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon sliced. When cold, a little yeast is placed in it on a piece of toast, producing fermentation. It is then covered over and allowed to stand two days until it has ceased ‘working,’ when it is placed in a cask, well bunged down for two months before bottling. This wine is suggestive of sherry slightly flat, and has the deserved reputation of being an excellent tonic, extremely good for the blood.
The roasted roots are largely used to form Dandelion Coffee, being first thoroughly cleaned, then dried by artificial heat, and slightly roasted till they are the tint of coffee, when they are ground ready for use. The roots are taken up in the autumn, being then most fitted for this purpose. The prepared powder is said to be almost indistinguishable from real coffee, and is claimed to be an improvement to inferior coffee, which is often an adulterated product. Of late years, Dandelion Coffee has come more into use in this country, being obtainable at most vegetarian restaurants and stores. Formerly it used occasionally to be given for medicinal purposes, generally mixed with true coffee to give it a better flavour. The ground root was sometimes mixed with chocolate for a similar purpose. Dandelion Coffee is a natural beverage without any of the injurious effects that ordinary tea and coffee have on the nerves and digestive organs. It exercises a stimulating influence over the whole system, helping the liver and kidneys to do their work and keeping the bowels in a healthy condition, so that it offers great advantages to dyspeptics arid does not cause wakefulness.
 
[from YARROW, Achillea millefolium]
In Sweden it is called ‘Field Hop’ and has been used in the manufacture of ber. Linnæus considered beer thus brewed more intoxicating than when hops were used.
It is said to have a similar use in Africa.
 
[from SAXIFRAGE, BURNET, Pimpinella saxifraga (salad burnet)]
It is also prescribed in asthma and dropsy.
Small bunches of the leaves and shoots, tied together and suspended in a cask of beer impart to it an agreeable aromatic flavour, and are thought to correct tart or spoiled wines.
 
[from BURNET, GREATER, Sanguisorba officinalis]
. . . the herb is also largely used in Herb Beer.
 
[from MARJORAM, WILD, Origanum vulgare]
The tops are also sometimes put into table beer, to give it an aromatic flavour and preserve it, and before the introduction of hops they were nearly as much in demand for ale-brewing as the ground ivy or wood sage.
 
[from MEADOWSWEET, Spiræa ulmaria]
It is one of the fifty ingredients in a drink called ‘Save,’ mentioned in Chaucer's Knight’s Tale, in the fourteenth century being called Medwort, or Meadwort, i.e. the mead or honey-wine herb, and the flowers were often put into wine and beer. It is still incorporated in many herb beers.


 

Monday, June 25, 2007

what i love

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Things I LOVE:

This morning while I was painting Zoe dressed herself from scratch....even remembered underwear!! This is the outfit she chose (plus her red stripped sneakers which I made her take off before stepping into the office) I LOVE it so much.




And a sneak peak of how the office is coming along!

Monday, June 18, 2007

A perfect weekend! Friends and Fresh Flowers,




Kate and Don up at Woodlad Essence are great. Good friends, fabulours teachers, mentors, collegues, amazingly inspiring, magical people. We drove up to their place Thursday evening, Friday I taught a class to the advanced apprenticeship "Intro to Clinical Aromatherapy" in a beautiful new "mushroom house" and Sat morning more good friends arrived and the fun began!

Ash Bark Basket Making.....

Into the woods we went to an ash grove




We picked a tree, a 18-24 year old fast growing tree. Then we gave thanks.



We measured, and scored and removed the peel









Then back at the shop we scored and folded (same shape/pattern as McDonalds fries) and laced up the sides with soaked hickory laces and reinforced the top. Finally we made loops to attach the straps.





Zoe too made her own basket! I drilled holes in pieces of Ash Bark and she laced the soaked hickory.



and bonus fun......

blueberry pie,



SWEDISH PANCAKES ("Plattar")
Ingredients and Preparation:

3 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, optional

In a blender, combine all the ingredients above until smooth.
Heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until very hot.
Lightly butter the skillet and pour 1/2 cup of the batter into it.
Swirl the pan with batter to expand to a thin layer.
Cook until bubbles form and the pancake is golden brown on the bottom, about 1-1/2 minutes. Flip turn and continue to cook for about one more minute. Remove from the fry pan. It should not be necessary to add more butter to the pan for more pancakes. When finished, fold each pancake into quarters. Traditionally topped with the traditional dollop of lingonberries we ate with strawberries.

Inkle Loom Weaving.... (straps for the baskets)



What a great weekend! I am feeling full and thankful.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Itch Relief Spray and Poison Ivy Relief Concentrate


Students at Blazing Star Herbal School making.........

ITCH RELIEF SPRAY:
Decoction of Comfrey, Plantain. Violet, Mugwort and Jewelweed Leaf, 30% Witchazel, Alcohol, Grindelia extract.
POISON IVY CONCENTRATE:
Succous (plant juice preserved in alcohol) of Comfrey, Plantain. Violet, Mugwort, Grindelia and Jewelweed Leaf


Here are links for a few more herbal blogs:

The Herbwife’s Kitchen
Guido Masé
Gaias Gifts

Monday, June 11, 2007

Fun with Shadows!


What kind of dough won't make good bread?
Shadow (Shad dough)






"Your shadow is closer to you than anything else"

Your shadow starts at your feet, a shadow starts where the light is blocked.







Can you make your shadow big or small?
Can you hide your shadow?
Can you make your shadow touch another shadow without bodies touching?
Can you make your shadow point different directions?
Can you make your shadow not touch your feet?
Work with a partner to make shadow monsters (2 heads, 4 arms, etc)

Saturday, June 09, 2007

We had a wonderful time at Eric Carle Museum. We lucked out as we stumbled upon





As we were arriving David Costello author of Here they come was giving a presentation in the audotorium. First he sang a song (a-sing-along song) next he talked about the illustration process in a really understandable way. He also had a question and answer session led by a puppet character from his book. Then together with the young audience a monster was created. Zoe was so into it that after when we were in the art room she repeated the process and created her own monster with 9 eyes and 8 noses......Next ,she wanted to find David and show him her monster. We found him and he added a little monster to her page....a collaborative effort! Then Zoe said "now write your name!"

There was also a fun wand making project that Zoe enjoyed and also a dress up area. (photos to follow)

Friday, June 08, 2007

I've just been tagged by Sara over at Twiningoaks


The rules are simple…Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Hmmm 8 facts about me........

1) At 13 years old I was infactuated with Boy George! I collaged a full wall of my Laura Ashley bedroom with his mugshot! which included a life size picture of him. When my grandmother visited from Greece she asked me who that pretty girl was!

2) I love color. I collect paint strips- Dunno what I am going to with them all but someday I'll be happy I have them, I know.

3) The first big concert I went to was Adam Ant! at the Wembly arena in London. Yep, I grew up in London in the 80's

4) I love books! New books, old books, antiquarian books, home made books.....Presently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver READ IT..... GO BUY IT NOW !! I even gave you the link.

5) I really miss playing Tennis. I used to play tennis, watch tennis, coach tennis. I have barely played in 10 years. I hope that one day soon I will play regularly again.

6) The life of Hobo's has always intrigued me. The Children's Art Museum which I run is just a few feet from the train tracks.....trains go by a couple of times a day, I still wonder what would happen if I hopped on one.......I have also planned a trip goat packing down through Central America, and of course dream of motorcycling across the country......

7) In my CD drive presently you'll find

* Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem latest release Big Old Life
* Susan Werner The Gospel Truth
* Erin McKeown Sing You Sinners
* Kris Delmherst Strange Conversation
* Tracy Grammer & Dave Carter Seven Is The Number

8) I drive too fast.

Tagging Zanne, Simmy, Sienna

edited june 11th

it took me a looong time to think of 8 things and now i keep thinking of more

- i love striped socks and tights
- i love owls and hedgehogs
- i love macs
- i love key lime pie

- i have a phobia of cows

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Hermit Crabs- A lesson at the Beach

Folkmanis Mini Hermit Crab Finger



The hermit crab is a type of crab that doesn't have a very hard shell. Not a true crab, it uses other animals' old shells for protection; they especially like old whelk shells. As the hermit crab grows in size, it must find a larger shell.

The hermit crab is a crustacean; there are about 500 different species of hermit crabs around the world. Most hermit crab species live on the ocean floor, but many live on land. Female terrestrial (land based) hermit crabs must return to the sea to breed. Hermit crabs are invertebrates, animals without a backbone. They have an exoskeleton, an outer shell that provides support for their body but does not provide much protection from predators. They vary widely in color, from red to brown to purple, with stripes, dots, and other patterns. They have ten jointed legs; the front two legs have large, grasping claws (called pincers or chelipeds) and the rear pair of legs are very small. They have a flattened body, sensory antennae, two eyes located at the ends of stalks, and a soft, twisted abdomen (which the hermit crab keeps hidden inside its shell).

Hermit crabs are omnivores (eating plants and animals) and scavengers (eating dead animals that they find). They eat worms, plankton, and organic debris.


A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle



All this Eric Carle talk must mean a trip to Eric Carle Museum

Fun at the beach!








Ogunquit Maine

Friday, June 01, 2007

Last night I woke Zoe up to take her outside to see the fireflys..........It was spectacular. I am not sure she really knew what to make of it, being woken up and then standing outside in the dark during a thunderstorm!!! I do not think I have ever seen such a show!

Firefly

Firefly, firefly,
Wow, how you glow!
Under your body
You light up below!
Firefly, firefly,
Wow, how you shine!
At night in the dark
I can see you just fine!

Meish Goldish




The Very Lonely Firefly



How much do you know about this magical insect?

* Lightning bugs! (Careful... It's spelled lightning, not lightening...) also called fireflies, are not not flies. They are beetles and part of a scientific family that contains the largest order of living things—290,000 species at last count!! The Firefly Family is technically known as the Lampyridae. In fact, there are about 136 different species of fireflies illuminating earth's summer nights.

* Glow-worms, which produce light similar to Lightning Bugs', also are beetles, but they belong to a different, though closely related, family, the Phengodidae.

* Good places to find fireflies are over meadows or lawns and at the edge of woods or streams.

* At night, the very end (the last abdominal segment) of the firefly glows a bright yellow-green color. The firefly can control this glowing effect. The brightness of a single firefly is 1/40 of a candle. Fireflies use their glow to attract other fireflies. Males flash about every five seconds; females flash about every two seconds. The light given off by fireflies during their abdominal flashes is called bioluminescence. Even the eggs and larvae of some firefly species glow.

* The adult fireflies signal each other with their lights and mate. Flashing Lightning Bugs are trying to attract mates. The female's eggs are laid a few days after mating, on or slightly under soil. The eggs hatch in 4 weeks. The larvae, once hatched, begin to feed until fall. They burrow underground and overwinter. Fireflies overwinter as larvae buried in the soil and emerge in the spring to feed. In summer, they pupate for about 2½ weeks within a small earthen cell before emerging as adults.

* Fireflies are carnivorous. As larvae they eat earthworms, snails and slugs, plus they may scavenge certain small dead animals and other organic material . Adult Lightning Bugs, who can live for several months, probably feed on plant nectar.

* This firefly is harvested by the biochemical industry for the organic compunds luciferin (which is the chemical the firefly uses for its bioluminescence).





Robert Frost - Fireflies in the Garden

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.


Edited on June 18th 07:

For more on Fireflies with kids check out this blog Switzerite Thursday June 14th