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! 
