The Comfort and Joy of Herbs

Herbs bring me such happiness. They bring healing to the sick. They're beautiful in their colors and texture. They even taste delicious! God has blessed me with my own little herb office -- half of a kitchen cupboard to call my very own! =)

Just above some coffee mugs, recipe books, and a few "cattle" is my little store of gladness. I keep my reference books (as many as will fit) to the left. The Green Pharmacy. The Herb Book. Probiotics: Nature's Internal Healers. Herbal Antibiotics. I love my books! Hiding behind my books are jars of salves and oils and cotton balls. In the plastic containers are small amounts of herbs which I am to use for projects assigned by my herbology course. In the sour cream container (ahem! I need to find something more suitable...) are bottles of essential oils. Taking up the greatest amount of space are my bulk herbs (from BulkHerbStore.com) -- echinacea, yarrow, oatstraw, chamomile, peppermint, rose hips, hibiscus, cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, black and green tea leaves, beeswax... and a few others I can't recall.

Here's something else that's filled with happiness. Mom graciously let me borrow one of her beautiful tin cans to store my teas.

Blending colors, flavors, and healing properties is so fun!

I use a standard tablespoon to measure herbs. Four parts this, one part that. It's really very simple!

Peppermint leaves, hibiscus, and lemongrass combine to create a tea bright and peaceful which I call Scarlet Morn. Available in the shop!

I use a meat mallet to crush cinnamon sticks. A mortar and pestle does a better job, so I hear. =D Oh, the heavenly smell of cinnamon! Did you know that just smelling cinnamon creates brain activity? So inhale daily and you'll get smart quick! (wink) Here is a simple yet delightful tea which we love: Place one cinnamon stick in a teacup, fill with boiling water, and cover with plastic wrap (this will prevent the volatile oils from escaping). Steep for 10-15 minutes or until the water is tinted. Place one teabag into the water and recover; steep five more minutes. Discard teabag and save cinnamon stick (it can be used up to three or four times; more flavor is released with each use). Sweeten with honey, stevia, or other desired sweetener.

The only thing more delicious than cinnamon tea is Heart at Home. It is a tea blend I created to resemble the flavor of Bigelow's scrumptious Constant Comment. It contains black tea leaves, cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, and orange peel. It warms you from the inside out!

I love the cheerful, tart flavor of Fruit Felicity. It's comprised of green tea leaves, orange peel, rose hips, hibiscus, peppermint, and lemongrass.

Perfect Peace is the tea I make the most -- fairly every evening, in fact. Dad requests it so often (to help him sleep) that making it has become a habit. It's so cozy drinking tea every evening with my family... (sigh)

Here is a picture (completely unrelated to this post =) of my beautiful recipe box!  I'm still working on laminated recipe cards. Maybe once I get some current projects (socks for my brother, mittens for my cousins, six aprons going to Australia) out of the way I can devote more time to that. You can see Mom's adorable little Christmas village behind the recipe box, and our Christmas tree in the background. I hope to share more pictures of our Christmas decorations this week.

I sell Scarlet Morn, Heart at Home, Fruit Felicity, and Perfect Peace by the ounce (yield: 15-20 servings) for $4.50 in my little shop. I would be delighted to share my teas with my readers!