My Herbs Blog |
In this post, I will describing how I make smudge sticks with fresh plants, especially Goldenrod. I love this plant, and it is so plentiful right now in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Latin name of Goldenrod is Solidago spp. I am going to assume you already know how to identify this plant, and will not go into that lengthy description. If you do not know how to identify, I am going to lead you to this book to give you a hand at identifying all plants in the Eastern U.S., Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition (Peterson Field Guides) You may also want to inquire with a plant person. I am sure you know someone who knows plants, and is superb at identification. If you do not know such person, you can also head over to my YouTube page Sheep Hill Herbs and see my videos with Goldenrod. All that being said, you may also use Peppermint, or Mugwort, or Sage to make a smudge stick, and I daresay, just about any plant you want to choose! I really do not like how it is hard to share and talk about herbs, and their uses. I feel like there is not much out there that gives people new to plants a basic understanding, in easy to understand language about medicinal plants. There is definitely a "fear" surrounding plants and nature in general, that is perpetuated from many sources. I like to make herbs easy, and accessible, as the plants are themselves. They are right there, available, outside. I do not want to make them harder than need be. For me, I like to read how the Native American Indians, or Native people used herbs, because they really needed and used them and relied on them for everything. I feel like information sourced from Native people around the world, is reliable and can be more of a guide than scientific literature, that only a handful of people can understand. Below are some uses I found for Goldenrod by different Indian tribes: -The Meskwaki (a Minnesota Fox tribe) made a lotion from the blossoms for bee stings and other painful swellings. -Cherokee prepared a tea from one species to reduce fever and from another to treat bladder and kidney ailments. -Delaware tribes prepared a tea from early Goldenrod to combat diarrhea and chewed the fresh green leaves for fevers. (https://www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/goldenrod) -Chippewa used root decoction externally and internally for cramps; decoction of dried leaves for fevers. (http://www.nathanielwhitmore.com/goldenrod.html) Let's get started on the actual instructions for making smudge sticks. First you want to cut your fresh herbs. I do not let them wilt very long, but tie them pretty quickly after picking. What you need: String, or twine Bunches of fresh herb. (A good fistful of plants) Scissors You really do not need much and this is rather easy. I have made large smudge sticks - see my video below, and also small, rather thin ones from a few stalks of peppermint. The larger the smudge stick, the more smoke you will create. I make the smaller ones, to use as incense. I will light the small ones in a ceramic dish, and let sit on the stove, or some safe place. The larger smudge sticks I will move around an area that I wish to cleanse. Back to the instructions. What I do here ......This part is rather easy. You take the herb stalks and layer them into a stick or bundle, squeezing together as you work. Make this as long and as thick as you desire, but just make sure it is even thickness. For the Goldenrod the flower parts make an area thick, so you have to spread the flowers throughout. You can see this exactly in my video: YouTube When the bundle is finished you tie a knot in the middle of the wand and leave a short tail on one end, and a long tail attached to the twine at the other end of the know. Then begin to wrap the herbs going around the bundle and pulling tightly to one end of the stick, and then wrap back to the middle. When you reach the middle wrap towards the other end, and wrap back to the middle. When I finally get back to the middle, I tie off the string and trim the string. That portion is finished. I then take a scissors and trim both ends of the smudge stick so that they are even. To dry, I set my smudge sticks on a glass or ceramic plate place on a sunny counter. I will turn the sticks a few times a day, to get both sides dry. The outer portion will be dry in about 2 days. I then remove from the sun and keep on the plate and continue to turn daily. They dry fully in about 2 weeks. If you have the space, you can tie the sticks up and hang them to dry. This will remove the turning step and allow air to circulate all sides at once. The drying time is a little shorter. I think this works best if you make numerous smudge sticks. For burning. This is where you get to enjoy what you made. Do I need to say, please be careful. Be smart. Keep lighters, and matches away from children. I use a big ceramic dish. You can see in the picture here there is a ceramic bowl to place the smudge stick in. I light one end over the dish and you may have to lightly blow to get the smoke going. I will walk to each room I want to smudge with the smudge stick dish and then keep it right there as I move the smoke with my hands and try to waft it around the area I want to cleanse. With my smaller smudge sticks, I light and allow to burn slowly in a room. I only do this where I have a safe spot like my kitchen stove where I can set the bowl and the stick and know it won't be knocked over. This is not something I would leave burning and walk away. The whole process is the process. You want to be engaged with the activity of burning your smudge stick. Close your eyes, and allow the energy to change around you. The best time to do this is when you need to shift the energy of a room, or a whole house. There may have been an accident, a loud argument, or even just a funky smell. I am amazed at how quickly the whole home changes when you burn a smudge stick. As a person very sensitive to smells and energy; a wrong smell or negative energy bothers me greatly. This tool allows a quick and effective shift of into a positive flow pretty quickly and effectively. I am not really a mushroom fan, or person. I never liked mushrooms as a child. I should really prefaced all of this by saying that I am not a picky eater. I will try and enjoy many foods. Mushrooms though are a little 'yick' to my taste buds. I think it is rather the texture, because they flavors can be quite wonderful. I did enjoy a delicious mushroom soup in Burlington Vermont, about 15 years ago. I love forget the name of the restaurant, but it was the one really memorable mushroom occasion. I go in search of plants and herbs on almost a daily basis. Upon my seeking of fall plants for harvest, I past an OLD OAK tree, long lost of leaves, and color and life, but tall and high into the sky. Picture to come. I should have taken a picture of the tree, and will have to go back to take one. It was truly magnificent. There were numerous large clusters of orange mushrooms, and I felt from my experience with nature and wildlife that this was an edible mushroom. So I gathered a piece and took it back home to investigate. I soon discovered that this was Laetiporus sulphureus, or Chicken of the Woods. My mushroom collecting friends told me this was a great specimen, and that it tastes rather delicious like chicken. Well, I must say my curiosity got the better of me, but my stomach was thinking- no thanks! I looked up the tastiest looking recipe, and decided to make some of this supposed mushroom delicacy. I should tell you that this mushroom does have some nutritional benefits, and let me share that briefly. Nutritionally this mushroom is a source of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, calories, as well as Potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. There are some great websites with loads of information on this mushroom. I like this site. https://curativemushrooms.com/chicken-of-the-woods-mushroom For me, this is more of an exercise of experience, as an herbalist, rather than a mushroom hunter, which I do not intend to become. That all being said. We had quite a harvest of this mushroom, and I have subsequently froze some of it; a lot of it! I broke apart the pieces of the mushroom as they appear in layers. I brushed off all the pieces, and I wanted to rinse briefly, as I did read that soaking is not a good idea with this mushroom. (It can become water-logged). I put the pieces in cool water and swished really quickly and poured of the water, and repeated. That was it! Ingredients you need to cook this bad boy: 5 Cloves of Garlic 2 cups of sliced Chicken of the Woods 1/4 cup chopped Parsley Sea Salt 1/4 teaspoon Paprika 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder 1/2 cup white wine (dry) *I actually used an herbal infused wine I had made with Mimosa flowers, but that would be a whole new blog post. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Dice up your fresh garlic and put in the frying pan with a generous helping of Olive Oil and turn the heat on medium. Then add all the other ingredients, starting with the mushrooms. This cooks really quickly. Oh wait! Cook 5 minutes, then add the wine and cook 3 more minutes or until the wine is absorbed, and SERVE. That is it! Really quick. INGREDIENTS FOR APPLE mixture: 4 cups cut, tart apples with the skin 1/2 cup water 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg 1/2 cup Rapidura sugar or Raw Honey Maple Syrup (for topping) Raw Milk to serve We have been eating a gluten free diet for a number of years. It began because of some digestive difficulties associated with wheat, and gluten rich foods. Now the new way of cooking and grain choices sans wheat has made such an improvement on our health, that I stick with it. I actually prefer wheat free foods. My children even like my gluten free pizza better than regular pizza. For us, it is not an allergy of emergency, and if we wanted we could have wheat, but we do have better skin, and healthy bodies because of the change. I use to LOVE apple dumplings! I should rephrase that, "I love apple dumplings." I also love every regular food with wheat, such as bread, pizza, pasta, but I have found many alternatives that are delicious! This recipe is one of my creation and it is rather good. To get started. Choose an apple with a sour, or tart taste. I like JonaGold apples. What I do first is cut the apples into slices and put in a saucepan on the stove. I cut my apple pieces into smaller pieces than if I were using wheat flower, because the gluten free dough is not as flexible. Cut your apples into 1 inch pieces, and leave on the skin. YES! Skin is good for us. It provides fiber, and vitamins and minerals. After placing 4 cups of cut apples into a saucepan, add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup rapidura sugar or raw honey, and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Simmer the apples until soft. It works better to cook the apples first, because the dumplings do not need to cook as long in the oven. Set the apples aside, and you will begin working on the dough. Ingredients for Dough : 2 cups Buckwheat flour 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted) 2 eggs 1/2 cup Tapioca starch 1 cup coconut flour 1/2-1 cup cold water Pinch of Sea Salt 1/2 cup Slippery Elm powder *Preheat oven at 375 degrees To make the dough, you will need to be flexible. I say this because I have found that gluten free dough products are not consistent, because it really depends on the brands you buy for your ingredients. In a ceramic bowl whisk the eggs together, add the melted coconut oil. (If it is summer time you may not have to heat- it should already be liquid). If it is cold then melt on a low temperature on the stove. Whisk the eggs and oil together quickly. Next add the buckwheat flour and stir until the flour is wet. Just like regular dough, you do not want to over stir. Add the Tapioca starch, coconut flour and pinch of salt. For the water, you will need to watch and add carefully. You want a moist dough, that works like clay, very similar to regular dough but you can't overwork it. It may take some practice. Add the water a little at a time and work with your hands. When you think the consistency is correct, then sprinkle your hands with slippery elm powder and rub off the excess dough. You can let this bowl sit a few minutes, and prepare your pans for baking. You will probably need 2 baking dishes. I like to grease my pans with Olive Oil. (Extra Virgin). This is my favorite oil and I use it with everything. Then on a clean flat surface sprinkle with Slippery Elm powder, just like you would flour. Put your lump of dough on the powder and roll out your dough into a big squarish shape. I do not flip the dough like I would a gluten dough, because it may come apart. I do this quickly, because you do not want to really cement your dough into the table surface. After you have rolled out your dough, then cut into squares. I cut about 4 x 4 squares, with the intention of spreading them out a little bigger. To make the dumplings I took a spatula and moved the cut square to the greased pan. I had to do this delicately. Then I took a 1/2 cup of apple mixture and scooped it onto the dough square. Next carefully pull up the side of the dough and press into place. Continue to pat and smooth the dough until it makes a nice shaped dumpling. Keep repeating this process until all the dumplings are made. You should have about 8 from the ingredients provided. If you find the dough too sticky, just add more slippery elm powder to your hands. Drizzle extra juice onto the top of the dumplings before putting them into the oven. OPTIONAL* Add a pat of butter to the top of each dumpling. You are now ready for baking! hYou can now bake your dumplings. They will only need to cook about 20 minutes. Check on them and when the crust is slightly golden brown, remove from the oven. To serve: Let cool and then scoop into a bowl and drizzle with Maple Syrup and cold milk. Hmmmmmm... Delicious! |
AuthorJenel Schaffer Videos on YouTube Archives
April 2021
CategoriesAll Art & Healing Books Dried Herbs Fresh Herbs Gluten Free Herbal Beauty Herb Consultations Homeschool Positive Mind Recipes Root Herbs Self Care Spirit Tea Watercolor |