Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Twitter and Facebook

Just a reminder that I am on both, and update, usually daily.
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/home.php?ref=home

Twitter
http://twitter.com/healingherbals

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Spring, I think and teenage driving

Welcome to the first week of Spring, I think ??? Why the uncertainty? Cause the good people at the National Weather Service are telling us to expect snow on Friday and Sat !! Woot ! At least they aren't predicting below freezing temps, like they are going to get, just a little west of us. But we did get some rain last night !! yeah ! I went out today to pull some weeds and dig up some grass and Wow, the difference a little rain makes is amazing ! The clover I planted around the elderberries and the yard has popped up, plus I see tiny other bits of green in all my garden beds, this makes me very happy.
I worked in the yard, I planted my dwarf pear tree, and moved some gravel that was around the pool (that is no longer there) and put it around the door to my shed. I once again over did. How do I know, cause my muscles feel like putty and now that I have taken a shower, I don't even have the energy to get up and fix something to eat, but I must ! Fibromyalgia can be such a pain, literally and emotionally ! There is no, take it easy today, cause then I can work tomorrow, you learn that when you have the strength and feel like working, you take advantage of it, because you may have a bad week following. And no, it does not make a difference, believe me, I have tried ! But the research also supports it. So that is just the way it is

I promised to tell you about doing the OK Food Coop delivery, well that will wait a day or two, because I forgot to take my camera, so I bought a disposable, took it in to be developed and forgot to have it put on disc, but some pics are coming. Plus, my experience with pulling the trailer, OOPS !

I took my 15 year old out on Sunday for her first official "unofficial" driving lesson. She can't get her permit till she is 15 1/2, so I took her to a large, mostly empty parking lot and began her instructions. She listened to me, was very calm and the lesson went well. She told her daddy that he could not teach her to drive, because he would not have the patience. And I do ?? Has she met me?? LOL No, it did really go well.

My friend and webmistress and I are revamping the website, so you will be seeing a new look soon. But if you order anything now, mention this blog and receive a 10% discount on your order
http://www.healingherbals.org/
As far as future events, I plan on being at the Sand Springs Herbal Affair on April 18th, come to see me and my friends at the Peppermint Dragon, who are graciously sharing their booth with me, they have great starter plants !

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Herb Butters

Written by my good friend and web mistress herballyinspired@gmail.com

Herbal Buttery Goodness

Most people by now have started preparing their gardens for the year. Some may be still in the planning stages, some may be prepping beds or cleaning up containers and calcuating how much soil and mulch to purchase and some may even be planting things like potaoes or cool season lettuces.
It's especially exciting to see those first shoots break through the dirt, or those first few leaves unfurl! When you start making plans for your herbal part of your garden, don't forget to add Herb Butters to your list of "Must Do"!
Herbal butters are easy, inexpensive and yes, even freezable. You can plan a variety for different occassions throughout the year. Just open up your freezer and pull out an herb butter especially flavored for your special family Thanksgiving that you planned today! Making herb butters is also something that the kids can certainly help with. Rather than chopping fresh herbs with a sharp knife, get out the kitchen shears and let your young ones have a blast. Just think of the look on your child's face when his or her herb butter is served with that special dinner!
Herb butters are wonderful on a wide variety of foods. You can add pizzazz and flavor to everything from your traditional veggies (corn, green beans, broccoli) to a nice grilled steak. Serve your steak with a small pad or knob of a nice herbal butter melting on top and watch your guests eyes lite up in anticipation. Use a melon baller to make little round servings of butter and freeze them. Can you imagine the elegance of serving slices of a nice crusty, warm bread with tiny balls of herb butter slowly soaking green goodness into every bite? Herb butters add flair, and even a bit of fancy while they contribute fresh flavors straight from your garden to nearly any dish you chose. Not to mention, that the herbs give the butter a flavor boost so you use less, saving you a few calories and few pennies!

Herb Butter Recipes

Basic recipe:
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) of butter, softened to room temperature. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides often. This will take anywhere from 3-5 minutes. If you lose track of time and beat the butter longer (up to 10 minutes) you will end up with a very light, fluffy butter that may even be more desirable as it can be more spreadable. (If you want to lower the fat, beat in a small amount of skim milk at appx 1 TBSP per 1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter). Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of your fresh herb choice (basil, thyme, oregano, etc. or a combination of herbs), finely chopped and mix well.

You can refrigerate until hardened just enough to shape. A few freezing shape ideas might be:
A.Roll into wax paper, drop into a freezer bag/storage container and freeze.
B.Scoop into balls with a melon baller, freeze on a small cookie sheet covered in plastic wrap. When fully frozen place in a freezer bag/storage container for freezer storage.
C. Put in tiny molds or use small cookie cutters to form your shapes, and freeze as the ball shapes above.
Experiment with your own butter shape ideas!

If not freezing, refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Overnight is even better!

Here are some herb butter suggestions:

Basil Butter
Thyme Butter
Oregano Butter
Tuscan Sun Butter (Basil, Oregano and Lemon Zest or Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Lemon Zest combined)
Cilantro Butter
Mexicali Butter (Cilantro and Oregano, or Cilantro, Oregano and Parsley combined, add a little Lime Zest for extra zing!)
Elegant Fish Butter (Dill, Chives and Parsley combined)
Sage Butter
Steak Oo-La-La Butter (Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Lemon Zest, a pinch of paprika and a pinch of freshly, finely ground pepper)

Hungry yet?

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Green and flowers

Blueberries must have acidic soil, so I planted my 4 plants between my 2 juniper trees and then used branches to make my "wreaths" around the plants. (below)
Yarrow sprouts, I planted both white (native) and colored yarrows, last year and they did not make many plants, but a lot more seeds have sprouted this year, I hope I get both white and colors ! (side)



One of my 2nd year mulleins. These were started from seeds I picked up at the original Cherokee stomp grounds, which are no longer at that location, due to the land being privately owned, so these are sacred to me, as will be any offspringMy first peach blossoms, most of my fruit trees are only budded right now, due to me moving them 2 weeks ago, but that is a good thing, considering the freezing temps we had this last week


The 1st violet of spring




Echinacea poking their heads up.









These are red for hope (the hope of spring)


I planted these the way they are, petunias and dianthus.









I have green sprouts showing up everywhere, which makes me VERY happy, then there are the blooms, flowers have popped up and out everywhere in the last week ! First there is only 1 tree I truly do not like, but I can't help it, they stink and the trees do not have a purpose, other than landscaping "pretty", anyway, that tree would be the Bradberry pears, and they are thick everywhere locally ! And of course I am way allergic to them, so I spent 2 days, having great difficulty with breathing, cause of them. Oh well, one of the only downs of spring !









The best part of spring, is how happy all the new life makes me ! Here in OK, we only had about 3 months of true winter weather, but I was just so ready for the renewal of life and time to garden again.









Anyway, here are some picks I took this week, hope they bring you a little of the joy I receive from them ! And for even more pics, check out my facebook

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Grow where you are planted

I saw a church sign just the other day, with this old but true saying "Grow where you are planted". I have come to realize the truth in this, for me. 8 years ago, we bought this house, because of location, it was only 2 miles from the school our daughter was attending, in the school district we had chosen, if she was going to public school; right off the expressways, making it easy for my husband to go to work, and in a nice, quiet neighborhood oh and the house is huge, because our nucleus family at that time was large (my father in law and 2 teen age kids, along with our youngest daughter). The size of our close family has changed, father in law has passed, both teenagers are now grown (and I have grandchildren) and along the way, I fell in love with the idea of living more "out in the country". Hubby is ok with that idea, because his retirement job he has been working towards, would require us to live within the county and that county is further east than Tulsa is, so we would be looking at moving. But, I have come to realize the dream is just that at this point in my life, because 1)Daughter still has at least 2 years of high school, then college that will be done here in town 2) My health will not allow me to work a large acreage and 3) My only close family is my brother and family, who currently live only a few miles from me, which makes it easy to visit, and I am not willing to give that up.

So, I am attempting to grow where I have been planted. How do I choose to do this?

Well, the first thing is that my business is not location centered, I can do it anywhere, but would like to stay in OK, so that I can continue as a producer for the OK Food Coop. The second is I am making improvements in my home; at first, those improvements where more directed at selling appeal, but now I have changed my to making improvements that will work better for my family and are pleasing to us. Third, I continue to plant and grow my gardens, including putting in a full orchard. Fourth, I know all my close neighbors by site, and my close neighbors (sides and across the street) by talking with them, but later in the spring, or early summer, I am going to have a get together of some kind, and invite all of them, just so that we can speak more, and feel more security with knowing others will look out for us and each other.

As I said, I am busy planting, so I am going to go out and do a little today, even though it is cooler than the last week has been, but all the early garden plants need to be in NOW, so I must finish !
The winners of the last 2 weeks contest are Tumbleweed and Kathi. I will contact you later today for addresses.
One further note, because of the exposure to dirt, sun and wind, my hands and arms become extremely dry and cracked. I combat it with my Healing Salve. I spread it liberally on, right before bedtime and it heals and moisturizes at the same time
http://www.healingherbals.org/Ouch.htm