SF Sunday Market Madness

I love love love summer markets especially when I'm not working them because you actually get to enjoy the market!

Yesterday I planned on hitting up just the Indie Market but when I stopped in Glen Park to get cash I thought I'd just take a peek at the Glen Park Market just around the corner....... 

It's still quite a small market being fairly new but I found out today when you go at there end of the day ( a not so secret tip of mine)

just before 1pm....

you get great deals!

  My $5.00 produce bag turned to be

Full of super fresh produce

and we feasted on grilled veggies

so easy in the summer when you don't want to cook....

So then I was back on my way to the Indie Market when I thought....I wonder if there's anything good at the Alemany Flea Market today..........

  and sometimes if you look really hard you

 might find... a hidden treasure :-D

Like this polka dot tea pot and serving tray!

nice but a little pricey

Or something super creepy...

                            Like a container for keeping your dead flies!

 Nothing here for me today........

         

So Finally!

The 4th annual Indie Mart

First time for me and it was a great turn out

Tonnes of great designers, live music, food and lot's of people watching                         

         

 Do it yourself workshops....

   and crafting...  

this pic's for Tanya

I did pick up some great pieces at a steal from Theme clothing

as they were fundraising for a new space!

Now you see what I get up to when I'm not in the garden!

Finally Harvesting!

Today's harvest

So it may not be enough to sustain a household for even a day, it's a start!

I'm saving that one blackberry for Kris! It's his favorite.

I'm learning how to get along with the perpetual fog that surrounds my neighborhood, it's like Spring all the time with bits of Summer....One of the benefits of continual Spring

A never-ending supply of Chickweed (stellaria media) This nutritional green is often overlooked as a weed but has many amazing uses! It's the main ingredient in my Chickweed Balm for eczema as it is great for dry, itchy, flaky, irritating skin conditions. Appy topically or better yet just eat it!

I use Chickweed as a salad green, in pesto and in my juicer, wherever you would use spinach.

New research also indicates it is a useful antihistamine.

Some of the other plants in the garden...

Calendula, Dill and Bergamot

Cherry Tomatoes (the only kind that will grow here without a greenhouse)

Our Blackberries coming along...

and I happened to find some Catnip (nepeta cataria) growing under the Rosebush

Used for insomnia, colic in babies, respiratory infections fever and sore throat, headaches, indigestion and stress.

As always folks please consult a herbalist or someone knowledgeable with plants before experimenting with herbs as they can have possible side effects (although rare) and make sure you properly ID the right plants for use.

Happy Tincturing

Yes! I finally have a tincture press!
Some things are much easier to acquire in the States...

Until now I have been hand squeezing/wringing out my tinctures, which is time consuming and after about doing 3 tinctures your hands feel like they they have rope burns all over them! Not cool!

Oh right...what is a tincture??????

Tincturing is a super infusion of herbs in a 'marc', the marc is usually a solution of alcohol or glycerine.

I only use glycerine in all of my tincturing as I am allergic to alcohol. Plus it tastes a lot better!

Tinctures are concentrated and can be used instead of a decoction or tea as you only need to take a small amount at a time and they are travel friendly!

So after soaking in the glycerine for about 6 weeks you need to strain out the herb and this cool contraption makes it sooo much easier!!!

Here I'm straining out my Echinacea Tincture....



So just fill the little cloth bag with tincture
put it in-between the 2 bowls
screw down the top screw thing....
and out pours the liquid medicine

Perfection!!!

Finished Product!

Echinacea angustifolia Glycerite!

available on my online sites......

White Buffalo Naturals on Etsy

White Buffalo Naturals on Poppy Swap

How To Make an Infused Honey

I've been planning on infusing honey's for awhile so when Kris got sick this weekend it seemed like the perfect medicine for him.
Honey is a great delivery medium for strong tasting medicines not only because it tastes good but it has amazing healing properties on it's own.

Thanks to its antimicrobial action, it not only soothes sore throats but can also kill the bacteria that sometimes cause them including the influenza virus. Moving down the esophagus and through the digestive tract, honey can help to heal ulcers and upset stomachs and has also been proven to regulate intestinal function, alleviating both constipation and diarrhea. Honey also contains a variety of antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Honey is also used for a sleep aid, treating hair loss, controlling weight, treating tooth decay and much much more! Yay go honey!
So to increase the anti-microbial virus fighting sore throat soothing energy of honey I infused this batch with some dried Bear root, Sage, Lemon peel, and Propalis (that I just picked up locally from the market)

Propalis is another amazing medicinal product from the bees that comes from their collection of leaf buds and bark from trees, that they then use to line the walls of the hive for protection.
The propalis is shown here in the jar on the right ground into a powder.
It tastes very bitter so best used with honey:)

Bitter root/Bear root or Osha root, very strong medicine used for sore throats, virus', respiratory and mucus membrane ailments.
Lemon peel for sore throats, coughs, colds and flu
Sage for inflammation of mouth, gums and throat, laryngitis, loss of appetite, weak stomach, and night sweats.

Cut up root and put dried herbs in into a cup of honey on very low heat or in a double broiler. 
You do not want to heat the honey too high as it will reduce the healing properties of the honey. You just want to cook out the medicinal properties of the dried herbs.
I left mine to simmer for 1 hour.

You then want to strain before the honey cools too much while the consistency of the honey is thin.
As it cools the honey starts to thicken and it gets harder to strain and then things get messy!!!

I then pour into sterilized jars and save the honey'd herbs to suck on or eat later.
Kris liked the honey and found it very soothing for his sore throat but would not try the honey'd herbs.
They were still very strong but the honey made them quite palatable, plus the strongest medicine is still going to be in the herbs!












You can use this format to infuse honey for flavor, medicinal qualities and gifts for friends, such as flavoring with Lavender flowers, Mint leaves, Lemon or Orange peel, Cinnamon or Cayenne.
Use your imagination and favorite flavor pairings to get creative!

When Life Gives You Lemons

Today is bring your dog to work day......Kris took Levi to the office and Kita stayed home to help me work

I've wanted to start using these delicious lemons from our backyard for something other than just juicing! Although they liven up any juice or tea.......

Known for it's health benefit for generations, lemon helps to strengthen immunity, cleanse stomach and purify the blood.
Lemon juice is especially useful for people having heart problem, owing to it's high potassium content.
It controls high blood pressure, and helps with respiratory issues and throat infections.
Lemonade also helps you stay calm and cool:)



Other than our loads of lemons we have beautiful roses surrounding the house in full bloom,
so we started brainstorming......


I had wanted to harvest the rose petals to use in teas
but I started thinking they would make a delicious lemonade!

We set out the petals to dry a bit and to let out any inhabitants.....


Tip #1 make sure you grate and squeeze your lemons BEFORE harvesting rose petals...just in case you get pricked! Lemon juice in tiny cuts = mucho pain!

Rose petals infusing in the sun for rose flavored water

      

Break time!
Kita likes the shade from the lemon tree:)








And for extra Rose flavour and health benefits we decided to add Vitamin packed Rosehips to our Lemonade!


For this Rosehip Lemonade recipe you will need:

11/2 cups of fresh lemon juice (7-8 lemons)
5 cups of water
1/3 cup or 6 tblsp of honey
2 tblsp rosehips
3-4 teaspoons of rose water (optional)
*flavor to taste
rose petals for garnish

Combine water, rosehips and honey in a saucepan, heat over med-low heat for 30 minutes to infuse the rosehips.
(At this point you could add whatever flavor you want to your lemonade....just replace the rosehips for green tea, black tea, mint, or a fruit infusion)

Let cool, strain rosehips, then add to pitcher of freshly squeezed lemon juice, add rose water to taste
Serve with rose ice cubes if you are feeling really fancy!

YUM!


I have a lot of other recipes I'm thinking about that use lemons, like:
- Lemon sugar
- Lemon herb pesto
- Lemon echinacea ginger super immune elixer
- Several lemon infused honey's





And I have to use all this zest!!!!

So check back for our ongoing lemon thriller!!!

Planting Time!

Late start on planting this year, April 4th already! Back in Victoria I would have my seeds in the basement germinating already.

Don't hate.....I know most of the country is still under snow!:)

But it's super warm here in Cali already so I can start planting outside now...except for those seeds that need to be kept in the dark.

Finally got some supplies....

Un-packed my seeds......

And planted!

I'm keeping these little guys in the fountain to protect them, it gets a bit windy sometimes.

Always good to plant on the new moon...you can go really into planting by the moon phases but I keep it simple and try to plant on or just after the new moon.
Every time I stick to this, plus say a few words and give an offering I get the strongest healthiest plants.



I also got a few starters from the gardening store as I'm not great growing tomatoes from seed!  But then of course I got carried away....do not let me into a plant, herb or shoe store! Dangerous!!!

Tomatoes, Cilantro, Onions and some Borage seeds

Peppers-Piquillo (mild red) and Garden salsa
(med-hot). We eat a lot of salsa

There's also some mixed beans in there

I also picked up some native Coyote mint (monardella villosa) which will have pretty pink flowers and makes a great tea for sore throats and respiratory ailments....and much more

And I couldn't resist this Blue sage (salvia nemerosa) it reminds me of Skullcap (scutellaria laterifloria), my favorite herb <3

I love all sages...I left a beautiful sage garden back in Victoria.

I'm also planting California White Sage (salvia apiana) and Purple sage (salvia officinalis purpurea)

Levi checkin out the new plants....



We also got some Blackberries, Kris' fave.....acorn quash, sweet peas, sugar peas, and sunflowers....and I don't know how many seeds around the house.....I might have to get Kris to build me some stacking garden beds cause I've already filled the pots!

Super excited about growing in California......we'll see what comes up!!!

How to make an Infused Oil and why

What is and infused oil and why do you want to learn how to make it??

An infused oil is a "carrier" oil that has been permeated "infused" with another material usually plants or herbs.

You can use this technique for making flavored oils for dressings and sauces or to make yourself a nice massage oil or healing oil.

I usually use First Cold Pressed organic olive oil, especially for culinary infusions. This extraction method is done using lower temperatures and leaves the oil unrefined (no added chemicals) and will last longer before going rancid.

How can you tell if your oil goes rancid or spoiled?? Generally smell and taste
If it tastes bad it probably is!

Always keep oils from heat and light to last longer and use within 6 months

To make a culinary oil go out and pick out some nice bottles (if you want them on display) I generally use mason jars as I keep mine in the cupboard so they last longer and they are easy to use....unless I'm in the mood to be fancy, (which does happen from time to time).




I love roaming the Sally-Anne for unusual bottles and containers. Just make sure to clean them really well so not to contaminate food! Also make sure they are dry as any water left in the jar can create mold



Next buy nice fresh dried herbs for a reputable sources with no additives. If whole lightly crush before putting into the bottle.

I usually keep a bottle of rosemary infused oil readily available and I use it on pretty well everything. Plus the health benefits of regularly adding spices to food help fight off colds flu's and disease. You can also use fresh garlic, dried chili peppers, and vanilla!

Try making several small bottles of different flavors to try, that way you will use them quickly before they go off.

After adding the solid material of your choice next fill the jar with oil and place in a paper bag in a sunny location for 2 weeks.

This is the solar method, the paper bag keeps the oils out of the direct sunlight and it does not heat the oils too much.

You can also use the stovetop hot water bath method but be careful not to heat the oils too high or you could burn the oil.

I prefer the solar just because I like doing things the old fashioned way!
Unless I am in a hurry to make a medicinal oil.
Plus I like to think the sun adds a little extra flavor!  



You can start to use your infused culinary oils right away if you like a light flavor, the longer the herb is kept in the oil the stronger the flavor will be. You can also strain out the herb if your oil gets too strong.




Now onto my personal fave's....massage oils and medicinal oils

If you read the tops of the jars in the pic above then you saw Arnica and
white willow written on top. I make these in large batches because they are main ingredients for my famous salve "Wolfsbane Salve" that everyone loves so much.

These oils need to be strained before using, which is simple enough....I first use a stainless strainer then further strain though a muslin cloth.





For massage oils you can use other lighter oils like Grapeseed or sweet Almond oil which absorb nicely into the skin.




Arnica is a great oil to have around as it is great for sore achey muscles, stiff joints, sprains and injuries. You can apply it right to bruises and swellings for quick healing and pain relief.

St John's Wort is another great oil to use if you suffer from nerve pain, sciatica, or injuries with nerve damage. a great healing oil, St John's Wort is also used for burns, wounds, sores, eczema and ulcers.
It's also great on a sunburn, which I happen to be using it for right now!:(

You have to use the fresh yellow flowers of Hypericum perforatum for true St John's Wort oil and not from the many common garden variety shrubs out there.



You will know in about 2 weeks if you have the right flowers as the oil will turn a beautiful red color.
This oil is left in direct sunlight to mature not in a paper bag.

There are many uses of making your own oils and there's a lot of information out there.
If you have any questions on infusing oils or how to get the materials or for a specific purpose message me:)

Coming soon.....videos on how to make medicine stuff!!!!