More and more folks are beginning to catch on that when you plant a garden, you get more than just food for the body. You are also planting and harvesting food for your soul. Can you imagine then, the breadth of sovereignty and satisfaction that can be accessed by additionally growing your own medicine?
The following is an excerpt from Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz’s book, Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, taken from the “Fire” chapter. It’s an easy recipe for iced hibiscus tea using fresh mint (Mentha spp.) and dried rose petals (Rosa spp.), harnessing the power of the Sun. She calls it Isis Sun Tea. The main ingredient in Isis Sun Tea are the calyces of the Hibiscus sabdariffa shrub, also known as roselle or by its common name, hibiscus.
One of my favorite ways to use hibiscus (oh, count the ways!) is in fire cider. Fire cider is basically a spicy herbal vinegar, often sweetened with a little honey. It’s taken by the dropperful or spoonful, depending on the cider’s strength and imbiber’s palette. Fire cider helps to clear out the sinuses and wake up the immune and circulatory systems. It can be taken to ward off a cold or other respiratory infection.
The emerald nettles queen reigns over the herbal realms with vim and vigor. The leaves of this legendary herb are packed with vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll, and this vitality infuses into nutritive herbal teas, vinegars, and medicinal foods. It’s true that nettles (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae) wears a crown of nearly invisible silver prickles, primed to sting any who might dare to trespass, but the sting is disarmed when the leaves are dried or cooked.
Do you already love drinking herbal tea? Are you getting most or all of your herbs from the store or online? Then maybe it’s time to call in your own herbal tea garden! You don’t need a big yard or even a yard at all.
Your garden wants to feed you—not just with the cultivated plants you tuck into the soil, but with a profusion of wild greens and herbs that spring up of their own generous accord. These feral guests surpass domestic veggies in nutrition and are often brimming with medicine, which makes them worthy of our attention and care in cultivated spaces.
When violets begin to pop up in the spring landscape, it’s our cue that a vernal promenade of mineral-rich, cleansing herbs is in full swing. Violet keeps excellent company—look for herbs like chickweed, cleavers, dandelion, plantain, and stinging nettles when violet’s heart-shaped leaves and purple blooms appear on the scene.
In our kitchen, we almost always have a batch of this sauce on hand. We store it in the refrigerator and pull it out as needed. It is delicious spread onto toast or bagels and topped with fresh tomatoes and chickweed. This sauce is a convenient way to add fresh garlic to dishes just before serving. Baked fish, home fries, and roasted roots are all enhanced by this tasty sauce.
This ebony brew is a true bittersweet elixir, enriched by the deep earthiness of the mushrooms and the hearty sweetness of the cinnamon and maple syrup.
When violets begin to pop up in the spring landscape, it’s our cue that a vernal promenade of mineral-rich, cleansing herbs is in full swing. Violet keeps excellent company—look for herbs like chickweed, cleavers, dandelion, plantain, and stinging nettles when violet’s heart-shaped leaves and purple blooms appear on the scene.
