Fairy Godmother Ltd.

04/27/2021

Eat the opportunists!!!!

Eat the Weeds💚 I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I love this plant! Do you know it? It’s perhaps one of the most maligned plants I know of, Japanese Knotweed. If you live anywhere in the northeast chances are you’ve driven or walked by this plant sooooo many times. Originally native to Asia, its now made a home here in North America. The roots are powerful medicine- antimicrobial, antiviral, and resveratrol rich- often used for Lyme Disease, especially when it goes to the joints. And the shoots are a spring edible- also full of the potent antioxidant resveratrol- and are so versatile and can be eaten in a huge variety of ways. They can be eaten raw, pickled, stewed with strawberries or fruit as a rhubarb substitute, cooked like asparagus for a more savory take on their flavor, put into stir-fries, wild greens sautés, and they’re a traditional spring vegetable in Japan. My favorite way to cook them is lightly sautéed/steamed with garlic and olive oil for just a few minutes and then drizzled with salt, olive oil, and fresh-squeezed lemon.

The best description I’ve heard of their taste is that they “taste like rain” 💦 They’re mildy sour (more so when they’re raw) with a light asparagus-y taste. If you cook them for more than few minutes they get soft and mucilaginous, which can nice in certain dishes, but only cook them lightly if you want a more firm consistency. The best time to harvest is while they’re young (late April/early May here in MA) and be forewarned- they grow FAST! Like, inches a day. I tend to remove the older leaves for cooking but I leave the tender leaves at the tips of the shoots. They’ve started popping-up on menus at fancy restaurants which makes me happy bc it’s such a better option for wild food foodies instead of Ramps, which are a threatened woodland herb. I know many folks hate this plant, but I wish we could get past the binary thinking that the label of a plant as “invasive” equates with no value! I think this is a great plant to work with to start unraveling that limiting belief💚

04/17/2020

01/27/2020

St J and Lemon Balm for SAD.

Medicine for darker days 🌼 🌑❄️
Do you experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD)? What helps you get through?
Our mental and emotional health is foundational to our physical wellbeing, and the world needs YOU, so whatever healthy methods you have for helping your mental health, thank you for taking care of yourself 💚
A note here: therapies to treat mental illness are highly individualized, each person and situation are unique. People typically need therapeutic treatment beyond herbalism: this might include acupuncture, talk therapy, nutrition, supplements, or pharmaceuticals. Please do not judge yourself or anyone else for needing and seeking help, natural or otherwise!
If you're in a dark place or considering hurting yourself, please reach out right now ~ there are folks who want to talk to you. And we're in this together. You are not alone! This helpline is one option: (1-800-273-TALK).
If you're curious to try herbs, the sunshine-bright flowers of St. John's Wort are a traditional remedy for cheering the heart and mind as we slip into the season of snow—they ease sadness, depression, and winter-dark melancholy.
In combination with lemon balm, they are an uplifting medicine for those who experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
As we approach the darkest, coldest time of the year here in the northern hemisphere, we encourage you to keep all of your most heartwarming medicines close at hand—herbs, friends, firelight, warm cups of tea...
How do you stay bright in the dark?
We devote a whole module to herbs that nourish a joyful, peaceful, and open-hearted state of mind in our 1,000-hour Online Herbal Immersion. Come take a peek:
☀️ www.chestnutherbs.com/immersion ☀️
(Hypericum perforatum).
Artist unknown.
*Please research any new herb and consult your health care providers for possible drug/herb contraindications and precautions before ingesting. Be sure of your identification before ingesting any plant or mushroom.

01/19/2020

Here you go Justa!

New study explains how elderberries stop the flu virus dead in its tracks Scientists have identified a chemical compound in elderberries that immediately immobilizes the flu virus. Previous studies have already shown elderberry extract can ease flu symptoms and cut the duration of the illness in hal...

01/12/2020

If you haven't tried out Bear Grease, you really should!! Bear Grease has helped my family with pain relief tremendously over these past few years.It all start

01/11/2020

Calendula’s sunny blooms are an external remedy for practically every manner of skin complaint. Learn how to prepare calendula oil and salve for wound healing, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory herb.

01/09/2020

Each fall, all across North America, goldenrod lights up meadows and fields with a refreshing blend of ruggedness and jubilation. In addition to the sunshine it lends to the landscape, its flowers attract native pollinators and beneficial insects.

01/07/2020

Dandelion is a classic medicinal in our beloved food-herb tribe and can be used safely as a tonic remedy over a long period of time. 🌼🌟🌼
The root is a traditional tonic for the liver and the blood and can be used to relieve conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema. It’s also used to support the body in fasting and cleansing.
As a food, the root is rich in inulin—a prebiotic compound that nourishes healthy gut bacteria.
This dandy-fine illustration by botanical artist Wendy Hollender is straight from the pages of one of our favorite wild foods cookbooks and field guides, Foraging & Feasting.
The author and culinary queen, Dina Falconi, is also a recipe contributor in our Online Foraging Course: Edible + Medicinal Wild Herbs (O N // S A L E now through January 15th!!).
With over 50 videos and a 600-page full color manual, we'll teach you how to identify, gather, and use the most abundant healing herbs around!
>>> The course is enrolling for a limited time this winter! For details, and to join us:

12/27/2019

Spruce!!! Yum yum.

12/16/2019

Pine was also a very important tree to the herbalist culture of the Norse. The Swedes have been documented in harvesting the roots of the pine trees to bring them to a special burning site, so that the tar could be collected from the tree. This tar was used for coating and protecting tools like skis and boats, but additionally it could be added to sauna steam to help cleanse the body and spirit.

12/10/2019

Are you plagued by brain fog? Is that third cup of coffee just not cutting it? You’re in luck. As always, herbs are on your side. There are many herbs that can help us to think sharper, feel smarter, and overall improve our cognitive abilities. Herbs with nootropic properties are known to enhance ...

12/07/2019

https://www.milkandhoneyherbs.com/blog/2019/11/15/garlic-honey-and-the-medicine-of-garlic

The ground froze so early this year I didn’t get a chance to get my garlic in the ground! So, what to do with all that garlic? Make garlic honey of course! This is a super easy recipe and so useful to have around the house in the winter months. And it’s such a beautiful form of kitchen medicine,

12/05/2019

Milky oats are one of our most gentle restorative herbs, helping us to prevent and recover from frazzled nerves, nervous exhaustion and emotional meltdown. They are considered a rejuvenative tonic for the entire nervous system. 🌾😊
I recommend milky oats for people who are experiencing major transitions in their lives – changes in work, relationships, home, school, etc.
Milky oats imparts emotional resiliency, inspiring us to bend gracefully in the face of heavy winds. They can also be used to help leave addictive behaviors and patterns—milky oats is often combined with passionflower and skullcap as a formula for quitting smoking or drinking, etc.
Unlike many other herbs used for nervous system disorders, milky oats typically doesn’t induce sleepiness or fatigue.
Milky oats are the unripe seed heads from the same species of grass that produces the oats we eat as oatmeal.
Curious to learn more about growing and using milky oats? Take a peek at our Online Herbal Immersion, the most comprehensive online program in DIY herbalism there is!
🌿 www.chestnutherbs.com/immersion 🌿
(Avena sativa, Poaceae).
Photo © Juliet Blankespoor
*Please research any new herb and consult your health care providers for possible drug/herb contraindications and precautions before ingesting. Be sure of your identification before ingesting any plant or mushroom.

11/22/2019

Honeysuckle magic! ✨🌼✨
Japanese honeysuckle is one of the most important medicines worldwide - and is great to have on hand during the winter months.
The flower buds and opened flowers are antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. They can be taken as tea or tincture for colds, flu, urinary tract infections, ear infections, laryngitis, and mastitis.
We feature a full-bloom lesson on honeysuckle (plus an entire module on herbs for the immune system) in our Online Herbal Immersion. To take a peek:
🌼 www.chestnutherbs.com/immersion 🌼
(Lonicera japonica, Caprifoliaceae).
Photo © Juliet Blankespoor
*Please research any new herb and consult your health care providers for possible drug/herb contraindications and precautions before ingesting. Be sure of your identification before ingesting any plant or mushroom.

11/18/2019

Usnea, in watercolors on vellum by botanical artist Shevaun Doherty 💚
Usnea is a lichen (a symbiotic organism, consisting of a fungi and algae), and is fairly easy to recognize, with its thin sting-like branching pattern. It can be differentiated from similar lichens by pulling one of the "strings" slowly apart and looking for a thin white strand at the core.
Note: usnea is the more delicate, feathery-looking lichen in this illustration ~ there are lots of lichens on the planet and usnea often grows in mixed company; be sure of your i.d.!
Winter is a fine time to gather usnea, as heavy winds during storms often knock down branches covered with this versatile medicinal. Usnea is especially helpful in treating respiratory congestion, as it is drying and anti-inflammatory, in addition to being antimicrobial.
It is also one of my treasured remedies for urinary tract infections, along with corn silk, uva-ursi and marshmallow root. Most urinary tract infections can be successfully treated with this protocol, along with unsweetened cranberry juice.
(Usnea spp.)
You can become botanically starry-eyed by more of Shevaun's paintings via on Instagram. And if you're yearning to try your own hand at botanical drawing, you can check out her online classes via the link in her profile 💚🌿💚
*Please research any new herb and consult your health care providers for possible drug/herb contraindications and precautions before ingesting. Usnea should be used on a short-term basis, and can be very drying to the sinuses. Be sure of your identification before ingesting any plant or mushroom.

11/07/2019

(Post 5 of 31)
Hominy - An Original NATIVE American Dish:
Hominy, a dish attributed to classic Southern American cuisine, is actually an original food of the Native Americans, including Indigenous Peoples of the Woodlands region. The word hominy is derived from the Virginia Indian term "rockahominy” possibly referring to corn or parched corn meal. It was shortened to "hominy," creating the popular term we use today. Hominy, or hulled corn, is corn treated with alkali. Here in Eastern North America, that alkali solution was (is) traditionally made of hardwood ash. Indigenous Peoples used lye made of ash water to soften or "burn" the hulls of corn kernels. This treatment is known as nixtamalization. Today most large food producers use commercially prepared lye solutions (sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide) in place of traditional "handmade-from-raw" ash alkali (and lime/calcium oxide in Mexican-style hominy and tortilla cornmeal)... though some Eastern Native cooks and community food producers still make hulled corn/hominy the old way, with homemade lye processed from hardwood ashes. (This process highlighted in our post #6, soon to follow).

Indigenous Peoples treated their corn (predominantly that of Flint/Eastern 8-Row varieties by AD1200) with alkali for many reasons, most noticeably for taste and texture. The process imparts a pleasant flavor and softens Flint corns - a variety whose name conveys the hardness of this strain. Flint corn was a popular variety among many Eastern Nations... Northern Flint corns being quicker to mature, giving Native farmers the ability to cultivate corn in regions with shorter growing seasons such as the northern of the Great Lakes and New England (such corn was grown as far north as Ontario, Canada by AD800).

Making corn into hominy also boosts its nutritional value for humans - humans being unable to absorb much of maize's nutrients as is (though technically the process hurts the overall nutritional value of the corn). These Flint corns were in fact hard, as the name suggests... the pericarp being a very hard shell to break down. But treating the corn with lye and softening/slipping the hull made it easier for humans to consume this rather hard corn variety. And the alkali bath helped to release lysine and tryptophan amino acids and hemicellulose-bound niacin (B3) in the corn, presenting more nutrients that could be digested and more fully absorbed when consumed. Lack of niacin in a diet, such as one based mostly on (untreated) corn, can (and did) lead to diseases like pellagra - a disease caused by a dietary deficiency of niacin, causing complications like disorders of the central nervous system.

To be continued… (more on hominy in the next post)

(From http://woodlandindianedu.com/hominy.html - “Like” and follow us - https://www.facebook.com/WoodlandIndianEDU/ - to see more, read more, learn more as we continue to share Native Foods November posts. Photo: Hominy made by the writer from 8-Row Eastern White corn, 2017.)

11/03/2019

Nona Medicine

Whole Plant Medicine ~ Grandmother medicine~ Kitchen Witchery

This time of year we have the wood stove going and it is cold and flu season. When the air is dry and illnesses are floating around, I like steam plants. I do this by filling a large pot with water and covering the top of the water with dried, aromatic plants, I bring the pot to a boil and simmer for hours. You may add more water for longer steaming.

Here I have lavender flowers, rosemary leaves and bay leaves simmering.

Some of my other favorites are:

Evergreen needles and twigs- especially cedar, pine, for, spruce

Ginkgo leaves

Artemisias ~ whatever you have access to

Mints~ so many to choose from- hyssop, Sage, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, Rosemary

Other Asteraceae plants~ yarrow, calendula, terrapin, chamomile

Roses 🥀 Elderflowers

Clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla...

Citrus rinds ⭐️ apples and quince

Do you have more ideas?