Journal
Oweynagat- The Cave of Cats
In County Roscommon in a town called Tulsk, there is a cave. A cave called Oweynagat (Uaimh na gCat in Irish- “The Cave of Cats”). Every time I’ve been to Ireland, I intended to get to Oweynagat and it just hasn’t worked out. This time, I was very intentional about making Oweynagat the centerpiece of…
The Corn Dolly – Origins and How-To
The festival of Samhain approaches and we are headed for the deep dive into winter. The harvest is in, and this is traditionally the time when livestock herds were culled to provide food for the next few months and have less animals to feed. This is a major threshold of the year and a time…
Learn How to Think Like an Herbalist!
Herbal Energetics + The Six Tissue States Just like people, plants have constitutions; these are their tendencies, personalities, and certain affinities. This concept is present in many traditions, and is foundational to how medicine is put into practice. The Greeks and Romans developed the concept of humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, blood) and temperaments…
Bottles and labels and jars, oh my!
The science and art of herbal medicine making has exploded over the last several years and that is a really beautiful thing. I’ve seen SO many new herbal product businesses sprout up which has only served to enrich the tapestry of herbal medicine. The beauty of having so many is that each one is infused…
Rose Chocolate Scottish Shortbread
Some of the best things to come out of my kitchen have been happy accidents or spur of the moment enhancements of recipes (they’re just “suggestions” anyway, right?). I was powdering some rose petals for a percolation, and an electuary, when I got a craving for shortbread. I tried to ignore it, but…SHORTBREAD. Fine. I threw the ingredients…