Hawthorn Tea for the Winter Heart
The trees are bare, the leaves are raked, and the gardens are tucked in for a long winter’s nap. But the pink rose in my front yard, with its deceptively delicate looking petals, still gives its sweet fragrance to the chilled air. Around the corner in my urban neighborhood, there are other bright gems —…
Buckwheat Pasta with Spinach Pesto
Take your fresh pesto (from this recipe) and make it into a tasty dish with buckwheat pasta, cooked greens and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese! This recipe is surprisingly simply and very good for you. See below!
Delicious Beet Greens and Spinach Pesto Recipe
This is one recipe we can’t help but visit time and time again! We introduced the Spinach Pesto recipe at one of our free cooking classes earlier this year, with much enthusiasm from the class. Now we are bringing the recipe to you so you can make anytime from your very own kitchen. It’s not…
Holiday Gift Guide: Natural Gifts for Kids
We are wrapping up our Holiday Gift Guide Marathon with natural gifts for kids, a whimsical selection of outdoor and play things for the little ones, infants to elementary. This year, forget the electronics and find a gift that challenges the imagination. From handcrafted masks and kitchen play sets to small herbal gardens and gardening…
Holiday Gift Guide: Hostess Gift Ideas
Looking for a creative gift to bring to your next holiday get together? We have a lovely display of hostess gift ideas for the party planner, from housewarming smudge sticks to vegan candles. See below for our Holiday Gift Guide: Hostess Gift Ideas for some of our favorite items that make excellent presents for the…
Holiday Gift Guide for Him: Herbalist Gifts
When it comes to finding gifts for men, isn’t that where everyone gets stuck? So this year, we’ve gathered some of the best gift ideas for the nature lover in your life. See below for some of our favorite manly herbalist gifts, ranging from cycling gear to organic shaving creams to local foodie items. …
Holiday Gift Guide for Her
For the all-natural woman on your holiday list this year, shop local, shop organic, but above all, shop smart. She’ll appreciate a thoughtful gift that is also functional–one that she may use out in the garden, for preparing meals, or on the go! See below for our favorite picks from vegetarian accessories to beautiful, handmade bags!…
Homemade Pumpkin Soup Recipe
This weekend, the students and staff cozied up at the Herbal Cottage with tea and soup as we talked through the nervous system, incense, flower essences, and so much more. Everyone enjoyed the soup so much that we thought we’d share Marlene’s very own Pumpkin Soup Recipe with you here, a delicious concoction that tastes…
Urban Moonshine on Finding Joy
This last week Jovial King, founder and CEO of Urban Moonshine, came to visit the Herbal Academy of New England to teach us about bitters and tonics. Learning about her journey was a delight, to say the least! While she shared with us a wealth of information, from history to benefits of bitters, perhaps the…
Falling Into Fall With Delightful Guest Speakers
The temps are dropping, the teapot is whistling, and our first course is off to a great start! What a wonderful time of the year to gather together to discuss and share our herbal journeys. Through our first weekend of certification, we’ve learned that many of our apprentices come from rich herbal backgrounds while others…
Eating Nutritiously
When we think about nutrition, it’s important to begin by accepting people’s preferences and acknowledging that dietary practices are often based in cultural and subcultural mores and may or may not be influenced by ethical, religious, and health concerns. It is possible to help people to improve their diet while respecting whatever cultural, ethical, or…
Plantain For Bee Stings
By Nina Katz – Herbalist After gathering oodles of wild amaranth, purslane, lamb’s quarters, and gallant weed (galinsoga), Barbara and I headed back to the parking lot with some of them, and her CSA share, before moving on to gather wild grape leaves. As we walked, we talked about the bees on the farm, and…
Brie Wrapped in Grape Leaf Appetizer
Brie wrapped in grape leaves is a delicious appetizer. We hope you’ll enjoy this simple recipe below!
Stinging Nettle
What plant has the highest amount of protein, by weight, of any plant? Hint: it’s not a bean, lentil, or pea, and you can gather it yourself in wild and not-so-wild places. The answer is stinging nettle. Stinging nettle is an amazing superfood vegetable that is not only high in protein but also in calcium, magnesium, iron,…
Yarrow: The Plant That Made Achilles Invincible
Yesterday, we harvested our first yarrow of the season. Yarrow is one of my favorite plants, and its uses are legion. It makes a nice cooking spice, effective bug spray, slows bleeding, brings down temperatures and activates the immune system, soothes sore throats, supports the digestive system, and promotes labor. Not only that, it’s a…
Borage – The “Heart Comforting” Herb
The topic of the day is borage! Botanical name: Borago officinalis. I have taken pictures of the borage plants growing in the garden here at the herbal cottage. The leaves are hardy and fuzzy, and the tops of the plants are flowering with beautiful blue, star-shaped flowers. Borage The aerial parts of this plant are…
Wild Edibles Have More Nutrients
Wild edibles have more nutrients, and particularly more minerals than the tamer stuff of supermarkets. They let us taste the seasons in the most literal, deepest way we can. They also help us minimize our reliance on large agro-business and on food brought from great distances at considerable cost to the environment. Wild Edibles Wildcrafted…
