Since starting my blog earlier this year I’ve put in a lot of hours learning about local, non-typical foods to harvest or forage. I love being able to go out and pick food items that many people don’t even know are edible. It’s expanded my pantry and has been a really fun hobby! While reading about all of the food items many herbal applications have popped up as well. Using wild plants and herbs is something that I don’t have a great depth of knowledge on but I’ve been reading books and blogs trying to learn more.
In one of the Facebook Groups I belong to someone asked for recommendations on books to read to learn more about “medicinal plants and forageables.” I jotted down everything that was listed, and one that came up was a newly published book from Henriette Kress. I then looked at her Facebook Page and saw that she asked if anyone would like to review her book, you bet I would!
Henriette send me a .pdf copy of her new book, Practical Herbs. I thought I would wait until after Thanksgiving to read it and give her a review when I had a bit more spare time but I downloaded it the day she sent it over and once I read the first few pages I couldn’t stop! Her book is full of wonderful tips, harvesting information, techniques on how to use the herbs and identification of 23 herbs found in Finland (13 of which I know off the top of my head are present here in Montana, I’ll have to look into the other 10).
This herbal book is very informative and approachable. I would say everyone from a beginner (like me) to an experienced herbalist would thoroughly enjoy her book. Besides all of the information there is a great selection of recipes & techniques… those are going to keep me busy for years to come! I’m not a big fan of winter so this book has made me even more anxious for the snow to melt and the plants to start growing. :)
Earlier this year I foraged a lot of stinging nettle so I was excited to read the section she had on nettle. All the information on using nettle seeds was totally new to me so I’m excited to experiment with nettle seeds next Fall. There was also a recipe for Nettle Chai that sounded delicious so I quickly whipped up a batch for my husband and I to enjoy. The tea chai was very mild with a slight herbal flavor, I’m a big fan of chai so I’m going to experiment more with this recipe and get some stronger spice flavors in there. A perfect way to get a little nettle into my daily routine!
Nettle Chai
{Recipe} Nettle Chai
(recipe from Practical Herbs, used with permission)
4–5 teaspoons dried nettle leaf
1–2 cardamom pods
half a stick of cinnamon (optional)
1–3 cloves (optional)
3 cups boiling water
Pour water over the herb and spices, steep for 10 minutes, and strain. Enjoy with milk.
Add mallows if you live in a dry climate. [I didn't have any mallow.]
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If you enjoy learning about herbal remedies I would highly recommend Henriette’s book. You can buy a print copy or a .pdf version on her website: http://www.henriettesherbal.com/articles/pract-herbs.html. There’s even a sample of the book so you can get a feel for it and see what is included. Henriette was very gracious to give me an additional .pdf copy of her book to giveaway! To enter please check out her site and leave one comment on this post saying what herb you’d be most interested in learning about. I will draw for the winner on December 4th.
*** Note: I was given a .pdf copy of Practical Herbs to review and giveaway but the views expressed in this post are solely my own. This contest will end December 4th at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be picked via random.org and be announced December 5th. I will pass the winner’s name and e-mail on to Henriette. This contest is open to readers anywhere in the world, good luck!
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Congrats to Cheryl! 
Oooh! This is just the sort of book I’ve been looking for! Thanks for the giveaway.
Great giveaway. At the moment I’m most interested in learning about the mint and other anti-inflammatories she has listed. I can’t take traditional pain reliever type anti-inflammatory drugs, so maybe something herbal is the way to go for me/
I would love a book like that! Rebekah
Many of the plants she describes grow wild here in Alaska. This book would be great for identifying and using them. I’m most interested, right now, in fireweed, as the early shoots will probably come first, after the snow melts.
I would love a copy of her book. I’ve been a fan of her blog and snarky comments for ages. I’ve been drinking artichoke tea lately, I wonder if she does anything similar with foraged thistles.
I’d like to learn more about Achillea. I like to read Civil War medical books when I get a chance and have read about its use on wounds to aid healing. One morning while exercising one of our racing pigeons was hit by a hawk and I stitched its breast back together and sprinkled Achillea on the wound and it healed right up, quicker than if I would have used Neosporin or something similar.
I would love to find out the other properties of marigolds … I love eeating them as well as other flowers in my salads… my mom used the plant lambs ears boiled to make a poultice to reduce swelling as well as making a tincture out of black walnuts in case of ringworm…
Looks like a lovely useful book. I’d like to see what she has on echinacea. It’s such a gorgeous plant with so many uses, like her book!
Had to share this re: Stinging Nettle…Long ago while my little family was on a hike in the Coastal Woods of Northern California, we were sliding down a hill and my son 5 years old, grabbed onto a plant to slow down his sliding and ended up with massive stickers in his hand…fortunately, I knew that Lambs Ear rubbed a certain direction across the wound could relieve the stickers and pain…Amazingly, just a few yards from the stinging nettle, was Lamb’s Ear. We took two leaves and rubbed over my little ones hands, and amazingly, it calmed him and the wounds. Mother Nature really knows what she is doing.
Sounds like a lovely book,
Enjoy your blog.
Looks like a great book. I’d love to read it and learn more about making herbal teas, salves, tinctures, etc. and all the fun herbs
Great! I want to know what I can do with my St John’s Wort.
I have always been fascinated with the healing power of herbs. I too would love to learn more about making salves and tinctures. I am especially interested in women’s issues as I have just entered peri-menopause.
I’m interested in all herbs and natural remedies but I would like to know if there are uses for american sweet gum…I love to smell the wood, it smells medicinal to me!
oh this would be a great book for me. thanks for sharing.
I’d like to learn about several but comfrey is at the top of my list since I bougth 2 plants at an Amish produce auction this spring and they grew beautifully! I’ve done a lil reading on them but with uses for leaves and roots and anything from garden to medicinal uses I definately have lots to figure out about this one!
Sounds like a very nice book! Thanks for the giveaway, will be looking for it on Amazon if I don’t win.
Mallow only grows where it’s dry, huh? That explains why I can’t get it out of my garden. XD