Dandelions are a common sight around here as I think they are in most places. Typically they are the bane of the suburban homeowner’s existence and viewed as a prolific weed. Those of us that use plants as medicine, however, know better. We scoop up those babies in early spring and use every single part. The leaves get sauteed for dinner. The flowers get fried, put into pancakes, or fermented into wine. And the roods become dandelion root tea….
We all have our thing. You know, the one thing that we do that just makes the world a better place for a few minutes. For me that thing is tea. The ritual of heating up the kettle, pouring out the tea leaves and/or herb pieces into a sieve and pouring the boiling water over the top is my thing.
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Last year was my first year really growing garlic on my own. I mean I had watched my family and numerous other people do it for years, but like so much in gardening there were a number of nuances that I just simply wasn’t aware of. One of those things was the actual use of those little curly-ques that come off of the main stalk, and will if left eventually bloom into a flower….
Wednesday of this week marked the 2017 summer solstice. Not only is it the longest day of the year, but it’s also one of the best benchmarks for the change of the seasons. It’s during these times that I try to reflect on the time that’s past and the time ahead. I like to check in with my goals for the year and make a plan for completing them, or in some cases re-write them completely.
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Spring is in the air, finally and I’m ready to break out of my soup and stew shell, for some lighter and brighter fare. I’m totally excited to fire up the grill, and toss together salads with fresh veggies! Unfortunately, we have moved from snowy, frost covered ground into the rainy season, which means we still have a few more weeks of this in between nonsense, where we don’t really have a ton of fresh veggies, and there is still a little stock left in the cabinets to get through….
