NorthEast Seacoast Unit - Herb Society of America

05/25/2021

So ready for herbal popsicles and adventures to water holes. Hydrosols make great additions to popsicles and help get that glassy look (distillation removes oxygen which is what gives popsicles and ice-cubes that cloudy appearance). I usually add around 1 tablespoon per 4-8oz depending on the herb. Also, I don’t recommend hydrosols made in copper still be ingested as there is debate around lead contaminates from solder and fittings, but glass and stainless steal are good food grade options. I’m a distillation freak and over the last decade have acquired many varieties and believe they each have their own place.
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Herbal tea and a little fruit juice is another yummy option and an easy way to get kids (and adults) to incorporate herbs. I tend to keep popsicle or ice-cubes stocked for kiddos, lemonbalm when over excited and I’m overwhelmed, catnip when they’re overwhelmed, chamomile when there are meltdowns happening... you can get creative with blends.
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My personal favorites: tulsi and rose, anise hyssop and sage, lemon verbena and rosemary, Monarda and lemongrass. What combos do you have for me!?!

05/10/2021

The smaller blades on Egyptian Walking Onions can be used like chives. The bulblets taste like shallots and can be eaten raw or sliced and added to salads. The bulb of the parent plant is tough-skinned and pungent. https://bit.ly/HSAWorkshop

05/02/2021

Lilacs are edible and I like to preserve their flavor to enjoy throughout the year. This lilac mead recipe is a delicious way to do that!

05/02/2021

04/26/2021

Great to see gyms opening up again!

04/20/2021

Here are some interesting facts about the dandelion flower:

The dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars. ☀️ 🌙 ⭐️. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars.

The dandelion flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep. 😴

Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring.

Up until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile.

The name dandelion is taken from the French word “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves. 🦁

Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant.

Dandelion seeds are often transported away by a gust of wind and they travel like tiny parachutes. Seeds are often carried as many as 5 miles from their origin!

Animals such as birds, insects and butterflies consume nectar or seed of dandelion.🐦 🐛 🐜 🦋 🐝.

Dandelion flowers do not need to be pollinated to form seed.

Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring.

Dandelion can be used in the production of wine and root beer. Root of dandelion can be used as a substitute for coffee. 🍷 🍺

Dandelions have sunk their roots deep into history. They were well known to ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years.

Dandelion is used in folk medicine to treat infections and liver disorders. Tea made of dandelion act as diuretic.

If you mow dandelions, they’ll grow shorter stalks to spite you.

Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide. 💪

A not so fun fact: Every year countries spend millions on lawn pesticides to have uniform lawns of non-native grasses, and we use 30% of the country’s water supply to keep them green.

Bee Happy Gardens 🐝

04/17/2021

Salted Greens Bouillon is such an easy way to capture each seasons flavor for years to come! Bouillon is wonderful for flavoring soups, using as a rub, brine, blending in hummus, even mixing in sour cream for flavor and color! In this combination I used garlic mustard and wood nettle, but you can use any greens combination you have access to. I’m already looking forward to making some with Monarda (wild oregano) this summer.

This is one of dozens of recipes I share with my Eating the Ozarks Foraging Students ❤️

04/14/2021

Beautiful festive butter by Garden Designer Helle Troelsen, Denmark at Troensehaven

Perfect for bread and biscuits, this flavoursome butter is made with chives, chervil and seasonal horn violets to give colours of pink and purple and marigold for touches of yellow. Other suitable edible flowers include aniseed, sagebrush, bellflowers, evening primrose, lavender, roses, cloves, katost and orange blossom.

Recipe (translated from Danish)

To make two kinds of spice butter, a strong and powerful as well as a mild and sour variant. They are shaped like rolls and are decorated with the most beautiful herbs used as an ingredient.

Ingredients for the mild spice butter.

250 g salted butter
March violets or other edible flowers
Lemon verbena
Common wood sorrel/oxalic acid (check before use as can aggravates certain medical conditions)
Chives
Chervil
Basil
Broad-leaved parsley
Slightly fresh thyme stalks as decoration
Shredded peel of 1 organic lime
Salt

Ingredients for the strong spice butter
250 g salted butter
Chives or garlic
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Vietnamese Coriander or Japanese Water Pepper (Is very strong)
Salt

Here's how you do it:

Day 1: Soften the butter. Harvest herbs and flowers in abundance. It's a matter of taste how much is put into the butter. Set aside the finest leaves, twigs and flowers for pressing. Chop the other herbs and flowers or put them in a glass and cut them into pieces. Grate the lime peel and stir it all into the butter, season with salt. Put the butter mixture in cling film and shape it into a roll that is refrigerated until the next day.

The fine flowers, twigs and leaves are arranged on a sheet of baking paper. On top lay another sheet of baking paper and on top a large heavy book, cutting board or other heavy that can be used as a press.

Day 2: Take the rolls out of the fridge and let them stand for a quarter of an hour until the surface becomes soft. Iron your fingers over the rollers while still having cling film on, so that they are smooth and fine. Take off the cling film and decorate the rolls with the pressed flowers, twigs and leaves. Now it's just a matter of decorating loose with the ingredients that are in the rolls. The mild one has flowers from March violet and acid, some leaves from lemon verbena and acid as well as soft twigs from thyme. The strong one is garnished with rosemary sprigs, small leaves from chives, sage, thyme sprigs and a little acid.

Refrigerate the rolls until they are served cold.

Source: https://troensehaven.dk/2021/04/05/festligt-smoer/

04/13/2021

Looking for a fun outdoor activity to do with the kids this spring? See what masterpieces you can create with a whole set of paint brushes made from different leaves and flowers you find out in nature. Follow these step-by-step instructions from Proven Winners’ Club Sprout: https://rollinggreennursery.com/paint-brushes/