Explore the art and science of kitchen herbalism. Each episode delves into the fascinating world of botanical medicine - how it can enhance our lives and support our well-being. Build your own personal kitchen apothecary, a medicine cabinet stocked with all that is good for your families, friends and yourself.
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This episode of An Herbal Diary is a return to materia medica in the form of a full rosemary monograph. Herbal monographs are an immersive way to study and get to know an herb. Rosemary certainly deserves a complete herbal monograph. In this episode we delve into the virtues of rosemary, this queen of a plant, from the perspective of the kitchen, the spirit and the medicine cabinet. As always,…
In this episode we delve into herbal medicine from a culinary perspective by baking with the queen of baking spices.. cinnamon. It's no surprise that this spice has a pastry named for it. Cinnamon is prominent as a remedy in traditional Chinese medicine. Its warming quality stimulates circulation. We talk about the differences between ceylon and cassia cinnamon along with when to choose between…
This is a special episode of An Herbal Diary. I am organizing a virtual herbal bake club and this is the first companion podcast episode. Please consider joining me! I have also started a newsletter on Substack. Please subscribe for all the details, recipes and zoom link for the meeting. If you are not yet subscribed to my new Substack, please head to notesfrommykitchenapothecary.substack.com to…
This episode highlights Ashwagandha, a medicinal herb that originates from the Indian Ayurvedic tradition. I'm spending time with this nourishing plant today with an herbal monograph episode. An herbal monograph is also called materia medica. It is a collection of knowledge about one plant that helps to describe the plant as a material of medicine. In the last episode of an herbal diary, I spoke…
Plants labeled as adaptogens take the word literally. These herbs lend us a way to adapt, a way to adjust to what life throws at us. You can't go wrong taking adaptogens, but you can go wrong in how you take them. There are two paths to careful selection. Work with an herbalist who can guide you to adaptogens that fit you best or arm yourself with deep study. I hope this episode will help with the…
Sassafras is a richly nuanced medicinal tree that also has a distinctive place in the culinary world. Sassafras root bark is responsible for the flavor of root beer, but it is no longer used due to a Food and Drug Administration ban. The reasons for this fortunately do not transfer to sassafras leaves which have a long history of being essential to classical Southern gumbo. I think sassafras falls…
What makes a fruit or vegetable easy to find in grocery stores? While there are many answers to this question, a lot of edible medicinal herbs are not, herbs like nettles, burdock root and elderberries. To this list, I am adding sumac berries. Sumac may not give us delicious fruit, but there is good reason to get to know it better and I am doing this in my kitchen. And in case you are wondering,…
What makes a tree medicinal? The answer to this question depends on the medicine we are searching for. Especially in spring, trees can be medicine for our eyes. After the grayness of winter, glorious flowering trees like dogwood and magnolia are sweet visions. Aside from landscaping decoration, both dogwood and magnolia along with many other trees,have long been used for strong medicines derived…
Plant energetics is a way to understand how a plant can affect the body through our senses and how it feels in the body. Energetics is subtle, but so helpful when choosing herbs. The difference between warming and cooling plant energetics is like feeling the warmth of the sun versus a cool plunge into the ocean. In this episode, we delve deep into warming energetics and match these with a group of…
Pine trees are trees that are very familiar especially because of their long thin needles and pine cones. But they seem overlooked for their culinary and herbal remedy benefits. In this episode, I am back in my kitchen with elegant pine needles brewing a tea blended with warming spices and preparing a skin healing salve. I'll talk you through all the steps. Thank you for joining me! Pine Needle…
