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i love quiche it’s one of those meals that’s good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. it’s something i make often and like having around for a quick meal. it’s also completely versatile and anything can be substituted for the protein or veggie. this is a cabin recipe and i did very little preplanning as far as meals go so i made do with what i had + a run to the store would be a cold wet 30 minute skiff ride if the tide and wind are in your favor ~ then pull the skiff out of the water with a 4 wheeler ~ then drive 10 miles to the store. so as you can see improvising is the name of the game and foraging is a huge part of being here. this recipe is for 1 pie crust but this recipe doubles well and you can always freeze half for future pies or another quiche. the crust 1 cup flour of choice ~ i like white and i ain’t afraid to admit it 😂 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil (cold) splash of white vinegar sprinkle of salt sprinkle of sugar 1/4-1/3 cup cold water i start with dry ingredients all mixed together in a bowl, then i grate the butter with a cheese grater, mix by hand into the flour, slowly pouring water into flour mixture, i continue to mix by hand to form a non-sticky ball. sometimes you need more flour, sometimes you need more water. i usually make the crust fist and set aside in a cold place. preparing the crab this is how to process dungeness crab. after the crab are cleaned ~ basically popped in half and guts removed. boil them in salt water for 12 minutes, then cool in cold water, crack as usual. preparing stinging nettles blanch in boiling water for around 1 minutes to get the “sting” out, rinse in cold water. quiche filling or as i call it “the guts” think of three parts ~ the cheese, the filling, the custard. 1 cup cheese of choice ~ i used cheddar because that was the only cheese i had. if i were in the land of convenience i would probably go with beecher’s flagship 1 cup cooked crab ~ any protein can be substituted 1 cup chopped blanched nettles ~ any green can be substituted 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 5 eggs 3/4 cup half + half ~ any milk or milk substitute can be used i roll out the crust and place in pie dish. i then put the cheese in the bottom, then garlic, crab, and nettles. in a separate bowl i whisk the eggs and add the half and half. sometimes i will add another splash of half and half or even another egg depending on the pie pan size. so be prepared to create a little more custard if need be. i then pour the custard over the filling, sometimes some of the filling is sticking out and that is fine. bake for around 35-45 minutes at 375. nettle are one of my favorite things to eat and i have other nettle recipes in the blog section of this website you can link to a cream of nettle soup recipe here https://www.simplyjosephine.com/post/cream-of-nettle-soup a post on nettles here https://www.simplyjosephine.com/post/stinging-nettles-some-of-my-favorite-herbal-preparations i also have a wildcrafted skin care business with all kinds of loveliness here https://www.simplyjosephine.com/shop thanks for stopping by my little corner of the interweb. happy foraging and happy cooking

when the food we eat has a story behind it ~ it is deeply nourishing. when legends + lore surround our food, we have more threads to weave into our own stories, more ways to reweave ourselves in wholeness ~ susun weed ~ abundantly well stinging nettles are a traditional food containing protein, chlorophyll, vitamins a, b complex, c, + d, minerals ~ iron, magnesium, manganase, potassium, zinc, copper, phosphorus, chromium, and calcium. plus, amino acids and carotenes. physical description ~ nettle can grow up to 7 ft tall at maturity but usually aren't quite that tall. they are best for consumption under 1 ft. in fact a lot of books say never to eat them after the go to seed. you wouldn't want to anyway they would be way to stringy and stalky. leaves are heart shaped to narrower lance shaped. stems and leaf undersides are covered in stinging hairs that omit formic acid. they have opposing leaves. nettles are a blood building alterative and one of the highest sources of digestible plant iron. nettle leaf builds energy and restores the adrenals by way of mineralization. when you are fully mineralized you feel very good, and energy improves. nettle is one of my closest and oldest plant friends. i can’t imagine life without her. i love to consume her in a variety of ways. i don’t take the tincture personally because i prefer other methods of consumption however, i will cover how to make a tincture in this post. lots of folks find the tincture useful. i really enjoy nettle vinegar and use it daily when i have it on hand. my preferred method is a nourishing herbal infusion or simply incorporating the fresh spring greens in food. i started drinking nourishing herbal infusions around seven years ago and they have remained a constant in my life ever since. i like to dry as much as possible since herbal infusions use a lot of plant material. i still end up purchasing around 3 pounds a year. so let’s dry some nettle and discuss how i make nettle infusions. the alter ~ dead things, meaningful things, and dried nettles. as you can see i simply just string them up. i start with three or four stalks, cut a strip of string, tie them together, tie another loop at the top, and there you have it. i hang by hooks and nails on the wall or ceiling. dry time will depend on your location and the humidity in the air. dry time at my home in montana is a lot shorter than dry time at the cabin in alaska. so just check as they dry and when the stalks “snap” they are dry usually one to two weeks or so. i cut the stalks as i jar them up. to create a smaller plant material for infusing. i have also used a food processor before to break the plant material up. i often will bust that thing out if i am processing a lot of dried nettles. my mum ties a string from wall to wall like a clothesline and spaces the nettles out one by one on the string by their leaves. this is a good method in a humid climate. nettle infusions are a good way to stay mineralized throughout the year. there is a lot of info on nourishing herbal infusions out there on the interwebs. susun weed has a youtube channel that goes into great detail on them. i highly recommended if this sounds like something you would like to incorporate in your life. but the basic gist is 1 oz of dried plant material in a 1-quart mason jar. pour boiling water over and cap for 4 hrs or overnight. strain and refrigerate. drink 1 quart a day and rotate through non aromatic nourishing herbs. some examples include: nettle, linden (1/2 oz for this one, and it can be rebrewed), oatstraw, red clover, hibiscus (1/2 oz for this one too) , burdock, and violet leaf. i personally make a half gallon every two days and drink the same infusion two days in a row. this works for me. i also have been making these so long i don’t weight them out either. but it’s good to weigh at first so you can get an idea of how much plant material to use. now let’s move onto infused vinegar……yum i start by chopping the nettles, you can of course where gloves if you like. i am a weirdo and like the sting 😂 so i don’t plus you can kinda wrap the leaves around the stalk as you chop and that cuts down on the sting. i fill a jar 3/4th full of chopped plant material, and top with apple cider vinegar. you can use any vinegar of choice. be sure and use a plastic lid or use some sorta wax paper in between the remedy and lid otherwise the acid in the vinegar will eat the lid and make a nasty mess. you can let this infuse for whatever amount of time works for you. i made this vinegar in april and i will strain and consume upon my return to the cabin in august. i would say a minimum of 2-3 weeks and a maximum of 1 year as far as vinegar infusion time goes. after the desired infusion time simply strain and bottle, you can store in the fridge or not. i consume a little vinegar everyday so i don’t refrigerate but you should do what you feel inclined to do. i strain through a metal strainer and sometimes i use a cheesecloth too. my favorite ways to consume vinegar are drinking it and topping a salad. my drink of choice starts with 2 tablespoons of infused vinegar, 1/4 cup tea or infusion, sparkling water, and a lemon or lime slice. i drink at least one of these most days ~ either while cooking dinner or having happy hour. i am not a boozer anymore but i absolutely love happy hour. it’s a great way to stop and connect with the ones you love. now let’s discuss tincture making. a tincture is an alcohol extraction think about vanilla extract that is basically a tincture. alcohol extracts plant compounds that water does not. i am not going to go into great detail about extraction because there is a lot of info already out there. at the end of this post i will link article and book references. some reasons to take nettle tincture would be if you are super busy and don’t want to invest in the herbal infusions. again, infusions are the way to go but i’m not here to tell you what to do. my partner does not drink infusions and he benefits greatly from nettle tincture and he consumes it regularly. alternating between nettle and devil’s club mainly for energy and the overal adaptagenic qualities. there are several ways to make a tincture. if i am making tinctures to sell i will use the ratio method mainly for the sake of consistency 😂 or the illusion of it anyway. plants are like people they are all different even if they are the same species. mostly i make tinctures for myself, friends, or family and in that case i find the folk method quite adequate. folk method is basically 3/4th full chopped fresh plant material in a jar, cover with alcohol, press down plant material with a chop stick or something similar, cap, label, and store out of direct sunlight. infusion time is kinda like the vinegar. make it work for you with at least six weeks infusion if you can do that. again i have had some tinctures sit on the shelf a year or more. that is totally fine because alcohol is a great preservative, right? even after it is strained and bottled tinctures will last several years. i also enjoy the simpler things too just plain ol blanched nettles with butter, salt, and pepper, in order to get the “sting” out i like to blanch the nettles for around a minute then cool with cold water in a colander. once the pot boils place the nettles in and submerge, wait a minute, then rinse in cold water. to prepare these ~ if the stalks are small i chop them up if they are larger sometimes i will pull the leaves off and compost the fatter stalks. i put chopped nettles in a pan with butter and sauté briefly. if you have a lemon, you can put fresh squeezed lemon on there along with salt and pepper…..yum. i have also used these sautéed nettles as a burger topping too. works better than lettuce. this makes a great side dish. you can also add to smoothies or hummus. i have several nettle recipes in the blog section. i also like to save the nettle cooking water from the blanching. it’s like a nettle broth sorta and it can be either used in cooking or just drink it. i usually just drink it. i use this blanch method to process a large number of nettles then i store in the fridge for future use. if you have a smaller amount, you can cook as usual ~ sauté for example. nettles offer so much they have inhanced my life in many ways. they once spoke to me and told me where they were. it wasn’t words exactly it was more of a strong feeling that was loud and clear. the message ~ stop stop stop the nettles are here. as i drove down an old dirt road. i didn’t listen at first i thought what is up with these crazy weird strong thoughts i told myself no no the nettles are up the road a little farther. when i arrived at my usual nettle harvest spot someone was living there, a trailer had set up shop. so i was like yeah that’s what that message was about. so down the road i went back to the spot of the strong message and hiked down a little bit and they were there dancing in the breeze and laughing at me. i harvested these nettles on ancestral homeland it was extremely connective. connective in the way berry picking with family members is. returning to the same places to wildcraft builds a relationship. then the story can begin ~ your story with nettle. resources discovering wild plants by janice schofield energetic herbalism by kat maier https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9253158/

2023 summer trip was wonderful of course. this place continues to blow me away every time i am there and i would imagine it will just continue to do so. it was mostly a solo trip for me although my family initially came out with me and stayed a few days. then my daughter came out with the neighbor for few days another time. i accomplished my goals and then some. the previous owner gayle also came out and we had so much fun and great conversations. wrangell being a small town i knew who gayle was but i didn't really know her personally until now. i was so glad she made it out for a visit. i was there for the month of june and flew back to montana on the 4th of july. first project up on the list as painting the outhouse. here is a before shot. that's my mom helping me prep the outhouse ~ isn't she cute? we have done many paint jobs over the years and she always out-preps me. this project was no exception. i worked on prepping the outside. we listened to some robin rose bennet podcasts while working on this. ta ~ da the outhouse is done. next up was painting the outside of the cabin. the cabin is small so i figured i could tackle this project in a few days and june's weather near wrangell usually has some nice weather breaks. late june was right on track we had four really nice days in a row and it happened. here is the cabin right before i dove into painting. the prep wasn't too bad. i borrowed some scrapers from my parents, they were really nice ones. heavy-duty scrapers. i also brushed the cabin really well with like a commercial fishing deck brush. and there she is..... at first i wasn't sure if i liked the color but i think that was because painting it was so much work. the thought of redoing it was making my head spin and it totally grew on me after only one day. i love the color ~ it matches the sky and the ocean it's what i was going for. it is nice also that the roof is brown, a lot of colors go well with a brown roof. i want to paint my house in montana as well but it has a red roof so the color options just aren't there. i painted most of this by myself however one of the days my daughter was out we painted together and it was really nice. we listened to several morbid podcast episodes and talked a lot about wrangell. i did some harvesting as far as my business is concerned. one thing i like to make while in alaska is plantain-infused avocado oil. the wild violet + alaska plantain whipped tallow body butter is such a nice offering. gentle and nourishing to the skin and an excellent choice for folks with sensitivities. so meet alaska plantain ~ plantago macrocarpa. i have several devil's club offerings in the shop ~ a salve, body oil, and tincture. i also decided to harvest some extra to sell just as dried herb. this went well and i sold out quickly. i am hoping to write up a blog post all about devil's club in the future. so for now i will just say this plant is amazing and very protective of itself. if there is a plant that can teach us about boundaries ~ this is it. devil's club botanical name is oplopanax horridus. the previous owners had left a chainsaw-milled spruce slab and i decided to make an island for the kitchen out of it. this only came together with the help from my neighbor frank, he helped me design it, plus i used his tools. this is right before i started sanding the top. gayle's visit at the end of my stay was really the cherry on top. we had so much fun and incredible conversations. i learned a ton about how things happened at the cabin, why things are a certain way, and different things that changed over the years. they bought the property in 83' so this really took a lifetime to create. i am humbled and honored to be the next to enjoy this place. i still don't think i can fully fathom the level of energy that harvey and gayle put into this place. we had fabulous meals on the porch, and zipped around in her skiff. she showed me several places nearby that are fabulous for exploring. we stopped off on islands of cedar groves, trout fished, and visited "old town" old town is the site of the native village referred to as "kaats'litaan" which roughly translates to willow town. i can see it across the strait from my cabin. not much remains today just barely a totem pole is left. it is only still there because a tree grew up in between it splitting the totem is half and keeping it upright. the natives left old town sometime in the 1800s it was probably a slow progression. the last baby born in old town was in 1800. the rainforest of southeast alaska reclaims in a hurry. so like i said not much of the village still remains but the land remembers and just being present on the land there was very special to me. there are rock piles where they rested their canoes still left and an insane nettle patch. many natives were forcibly removed from their land and to literally be across the strait from my ancestral lands is something i can't really explain. it is a rare thing and i feel privileged to be able to experience it. the view from old town. you can see some of the rock piles for resting the canoes against. these mountains are on etolin island and they are called the three sisters. the tree keeping the last totem upright. i didn't know this totem was there gayle pointed it out to me. my mom had told me when she first went to old town in 76' she could barely make out a totem pole and thanks to that tree it's still there. another canoe rock pile. this is looking south towards "thoms place" some folks say old town was a perfect location for a village because you could really see if someone was coming up or down the strait. it is also on the sunny side of the island. the gardens at old town were amazing and they would trade all the way down the california coast. the "tlingit potato" has a fascinating origin story these potatoes have been genetically tested and they are not related to european cultivars. tlingit oral histories indicate that the potatoes predate colonists. i worked on seine boats in high school so seeing them always makes me smile. this was taken while exploring a "village island" with gayle and her dog "hyder" i especially love the old wooden seiners. gayle also shared her beach asparagus spot with me. we steamed it for about 10 minutes and covered it in butter and pepper. beach asparagus does not need salt. and this happened too ~ trout fishing. saltwater trout fishing. after gayle left i had a few days to contemplate my time here, and focus on my goals for more time spent at the cabin. and finally closing the place up and preparing to return to montana. this is my skiff and it's how i get back and forth from the cabin to my parents' house. my parents' house is 10 miles away on a different island and a world away really. behind me is etolin island and this body of water i am in is called zimovia strait. so i was back in wrangell and so were several of my cousins what a trip.....i enjoyed every moment even the challenging parts. i am looking forward to more time there. happy summering to you all resources tlingit potatoes https://hakaimagazine.com/article-short/time-for-the-tlingit-potato/#:~:text=The%20Tlingits%20have%20slender%2C%20knobby,the%20potato%20often%20runs%20smaller.

ponderosa pine also known as yellow pine is local to the bioregion where i live so i decide to try a dye bath experiment with them. this post is about dyeing fabrics, not yarn although animal fibers do tend to pick up the dye better. animal fibers usually end up darker than cellulose fibers. top left is linen fabric just dyed not pre-treated. top right is a linen fabric also that was treated in a soy milk binding. bottom left is a spandex/cotton mix that was treated in the soy milk binding agent. the middle bottom is silk not treated just dyed. as you can see the animal fibers do really pick up the dye. the bottom left is a cotton/spandex blend that wasn't treated or mordanted in anything. just dyed. sometimes i use alum mordant and sometimes i use soymilk as a binding agent. the nice thing about using soy is it's non-toxic. alum acetate for cellulose fiber does work really good though. the book the modern natural dyer by kristine vejar goes over mordants for cellulose in depth. if botanical dyeing interests you i highly recommend this book. so first things fist let's collect some pine cones..... ponderosa pine trees are so pretty but boy watch for ticks if you are doing this project in the spring. botanical dyeing is a really slow process this whole experiment took about a week. but with that said botanical dyeing is something that is really easy to weave into your life. i filled my dye pots as full as i could i also have an aluminum pot and i like to use that too it often provides different shades. as many cones as i could fill in the pots with water is what i used. then i placed them on the wood stove which isn't going constantly this time of year. i build a fire at night and let it go out during the day. but when the fire was ripping these pots were simmering a little. as they cooked down i added more cones to the pots. i left them on the stove doing this simmer, cool completely, simmer cool completely thing for four days. then i strain the cones out and added the liquid back to the dye pot. with the fabrics and placed back on the wood stove. i continued on with the simmer, cool completely, simmer, cool completely. only because that is what i was doing with the wood stove. it required nothing of me. i might have done something different if i was relying on my cook stove alone. but this way the dye pots could just be. i repeated this for a few more days. i like to pull the fabrics from the dye pots and immediately hang them on the line to dry before washing. i do this because i feel like it helps to "set" the dye. after they dried i washed them twice and line dried as well because i don't have a dryer. i am happy with the outcome of this pine come dye. pine cones are everywhere so it was a nice experiment and i do plan on more pine cone dyeing in the future. anyway thanks for stopping by. if you are interested in subscribing to my emails or shopping my offerings you can find all of that over at https://www.simplyjosephine.com/

well, we pulled off another crazy spring trip and wow so much snow. i had big plans for all kinds of things but i didn't factor in all this snow so those things will have to wait for our summer trip. our cozy little cabin is located in southeast alaska not far from where i grew up in wrangell, alaska. this area of alaska is a temperate rainforest and is located in the tongass national forest. summers are mild and rainy winters are moderately cold though not very cold by "alaska standards" it felt amazing to be reunited with the tide. the tide quickly reminds me that i am not in control of anything and mother nature cares not if one lives or dies. the tide is such a powerful presence in one's life and i look forward to being with her again. most of the trip was spent shoveling snow ~ haha. there are several outbuildings that needed their roofs cleared. so my son riley and i did a lot of roof raking and he even climbed on a few roofs to just shovel. the snow was very heavy. we came down on my parents' troller "at ease" we set and picked a few crab pots on the way down. fresh crab at the cabin is pretty damn dreamy. we caught both tanner and dungeness crab. tanner crab are often marketed under the name "snow crab" in the lower 48. i was able to get a lot of stuff done inside this time around. the spare room has been a catch all since purchasing the cabin and i was very pleased to get that room cleared out, cleaned up, and ready for company. my dad also helped me with several little projects like hanging shelves and wiring lights. at the hardware store in wrangell there were only two pendant lights to choose from, so it was an easy choice. oh my ~ that view never gets old. of course, this witch had to bring a broom. my house isn't complete without one. this broom is perfect for the cabin there are little loons painted on it. it is always so hard to leave the cabin however montana in the spring time is pretty sweet and very convenient too after spending time here. i am full of inspiration for our return in june. i want to paint the outside of the cabin and the outhouse. we shall see if the weather will hold out that long. etolin island receives about 100 inches of rain a year. i did manage to harvest some devil's club to keep y'all in salve. as always, the best way to stay connected is to subscribe to my newsletters https://www.simplyjosephine.com/ i am wishing everyone a glorious spring full of inspiration and new growth.

tis the season for blood oranges and pomegranates. not much foraging going on in january but the grocery stores are full of fresh produce that can be turned into lovely nourishing recipes. the base for this beverage is a blood orange and pomegranate simple syrup. this syrup can be used any way you would typically use syrup. i like to use herbal syrups as a base for wild drink concoctions. the ingredients can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. i recently purchased a case of pomegranates and at costco they have little boxes of organic ginger. i couldn't pass them up. i seem to be drawn to ginger lately so i have just been rolling with it. ginger is anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant which means it fights free radicals in the body. something i feel we all need in our current state of affairs. we as humans haven't lived in such a chemical-filled society before and it's taking its toll on our health and well-being. i don't know where to begin with pomegranates......maybe just fruit of the goddess. i love seasonal eating. mingling and staying awhile with certain foods then moving on just to come back and revisit them a year later. i also feel like winter is a good time to eat lots of pomegranates they improve gut health and aid in digestion. fresh thyme also went into this syrup. thyme is such a happy little plant friend. thyme and humans have a long history together. thyme was mentioned as an antiseptic is our earliest records, some 3,000 years ago. thyme was also used during the embalming process in ancient egypt. so i guess we can call her an old friend. feel free to substitute any fresh herb or omit if you don't have any around. i've been into the citrus lately and blood oranges are my go-to. they are full of antioxidants and nutrients. super tasty too. after getting the pomegranate fruit out of the peel i blended the fruity seeds up in my nutribullet. syrup recipe 9 blood oranges juiced 3 oz fresh ginger ~ about three medium thumbs 3 or 4 pomegranates depending on the size few sprigs of fresh thyme 2-3 quarts water ~ depends on how thick or thin you like your syrup 1 1/2 cups sugar (a little less if using less water) place all ingredients except sugar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil and simmer a while. there aren't really any rules around this, the longer it cooks the less liquid there will be. i usually "cook down" for around an hour. after it has almost cooked down i add the sugar and lightly simmer for another 5-10 minutes. cover and let cool. after it has cooled completely strain and bottle. i store in the fridge. if you want a fancy garnish for this mocktail dried blood oranges are nice and they hold up well in the beverage. i place sliced oranges on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and cook in the oven on the lowest setting. that was 170 but i think some ovens only go down to 200. so somewhere in there and be sure to check them after a half hour to 45 minutes to make sure they aren't burning. i usually flip them over after an hour in the oven. total time in the oven is somewhere around two hours. then i do leave them out on a plate or dry rack for a few days just to make sure they are dry. or you can leave them in a jar with the lid off. i have had them mold if put in a bag too quickly. i start with around 1/4 cup of syrup in the bottom of the glass, then i added two dropperfuls of thyme oxymel. something i had in hand, if you don't have any oxymels lying around simply omit this step. what to learn more about oxymels? here is a link to another post about them simplyjosephine.com/post/plum-blossom-oxymel if you take any herbal extracts or tinctures this is a good time to add a dropperful or two. i have really been into elderflower lately so i added a dropper full of that. simplyjosephine.com/product-page/elderflower-extract-tincture next, i top with sparkling water. i have a soda stream and i love it. they are worth the investment if you like the sparkle. you also get to control the sparkle. sometimes canned sparkling water can be too carbonated for me. plus you can order the small co2 tanks and return the used ones. i ordered mine right from https://sodastream.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs-zYpvbn_AIVlAh9Ch0gbA9MEAAYASAAEgIB2_D_BwE then i give a little stir and garnish with fresh thyme and a dried orange. so good. this is a great way to celebrate during dry january or maybe you are rolling into february alcohol-free. no matter what you are doing the evidence is clear......we need more alcohol-free days. cheers ✨ thank you for stopping by my little corner of the interwebs. my name is dacia and i am the woman behind simply josephine. please share this herbal drink recipe with a friend.

we just celebrated the winter solstice here in the northern hemisphere and lots of folks are asking how to make the ice lanterns. so i thought i would take a moment to share how i made these. northwest montana has been in a deep freeze coming over from siberia and dropping down. our solstice was the longest and coldest night of the year with the temps reaching -30 the night of this celebration. these lanterns are such a fun and easy craft perfect to create with children or anyone during the cold snaps. the basic concept is a bucket inside a bucket weighted down. you can make them plain or dress them up. i recently made orange garlands so i had some dehydrated orange slices hanging around, plus i emptied the bag of cranberries (rosehips would be nice) from the fridge and clipped some conifer needles. it really is endless as to what you could put in these. if i were creating with a kid i might try food coloring. so the first step is to find some buckets, ice cream containers, or yogurt containers. anything like that and make sure one fits inside the other with some space. you also want to locate some small heavy things. i would have used rocks however it was -15 outside and all the rocks are under two feet of snow. so i rummaged around and found a tall skinny change jar and this old insulator with a bowl on top. place the smaller container inside the larger one and weigh it down. fill sides with desired gifts from nature. little pine cones would be nice i didn't think of that at the time. fill with water, you may have to locate more weight if the inner bucket keeps popping up. and put them outside, for several hours or overnight. i left mine overnight and in the morning i brought them inside for about 20 minutes or so. set them in the sink and they popped out fairly easily. i right away put them back outside because they were starting to melt. you can put candles or led lights inside. i used tea lights. so magical glowing on the longest night of the year. may you have a wonderful winter full of restorative fun. please share with a friend and follow along over at instagram.com/simply_josephine/ or tiktok.com/@simply.josephine?lang=en thank you all for being here on my corner of the interwebs, happy wintering.

winter foraging can be quite fun and rewarding. plus this is a great herbal craft for kids. they love to see the vinegar turn different colors as it infuses. if you don't live near a conifer forest you can use your christmas tree or other shrubberies. this is just a guide feel free to experiment and explore. this can also be a great herbal teaching moment, kids of all ages but especially those in the 6-11 range are so eager to do what we do and learn. cleaning vinegar can also be a wonderful gift. i had the privilege of playing grandma the other day and this is what we did. kids sure do love those brightly colored harvest baskets and clippers. we set off on foot to some conifers growing nearby. ponderosa pines are very prolific in my bioregion so we collected some of those. along with some fir needles. we also found some ripe juniper berries and rosehips. it was nice to walk around and see what presented itself. take everything home and loosely chop or cut the needles and place in a jar. there are no rules around this you can use as much or as little as you like. citrus peel is nice if you have it on hand and any fresh or dried herbs. we just used the items foraged on our walk. top with white vinegar and use a plastic cap or wax paper between the lid and vinegar. there aren't a lot of rules around infusion time either. it should infuse for at least two weeks but doesn't have to. i have had some cleaning vinegar infuse for over a year. when you are ready strain and give the plant material back to the earth. bottle in clear spray bottles, you can mix a little water with your vinegar in the spray bottle. i do this depending on how much vinegar i have on hand, if i have a lot i won't water it down. it is nice to see how the infusing bottles of vinegar evolve through the seasons. i always have a jar or two on the shelf. happy holidays and happy cleaning to you all. please share with a friend and stay in touch by subscribing to www.simplyjosephine.com here is a tiktok video on cleaning vinegar i made last year https://www.tiktok.com/@simply.josephine/video/7040076102311709998?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

we are having such a lovely cool spring and the nettles are thriving. i had the privilege of visiting a friend who literally has fields of nettles, so damn dreamy. i came home with three baskets full, oh what to do. i dried some right away and decided to make soup for dinner. this is just a recipe guideline, experiment! i improvise a lot while cooking, all of these ingredients could be swapped for another. 1 large sweet potato 3 cloves of garlic small chive bundle 2 tablespoons butter 1-quart stock or broth 5 cups nettles (blanched then ice bathed) 1 pint of whipping cream 1 teaspoon nutmeg salt and pepper i sautéed the garlic and chives in the butter……yum. added the broth, then chopped sweet potato. let simmer for about 40 minutes. i have processed the nettles accordingly. boil a pot, blanch for 1 or 2 minutes, put in a colander in the sink, and shock with cold water. this gets the “sting” out. after the simmering time, i put everything in the blender with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. ta ~ da the best soup ever. i had some fresh bread to go with it, wow. garnished with fresh chives and a lil dollop of sour cream. a little side note about nutmeg if you don’t buy the pods and grate yourself already, i highly recommend it. freshly grated nutmeg is absolutely no comparison to pre-ground mccormick types. the nutritional profile of nettle is astounding. this nutritive spring green contains calcium, chromium, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, vitamins c,d, and k, fatty acids, and antioxidants such as polyphenols, carotenoids, and sterols. thank you for stopping by my little corner of the interwebs 🌿 please feel free to ask any questions and share with friends. it’s the best feeling to share this plant with folks. i am active on both instagram and tiktok come say hello or shop my offerings at simplyjosephine.com

mullein is probably the most common plant in the bio region in which i reside. so naturally getting to know this plant friend was a good idea. mullein is in the figwort plant family and all parts of the plant are useful, except the seeds do contain a potentially toxic substance rotenone. mullein is a biennial plant, which means it lives for two years and then it’s done. the first year it makes a basal rosette along the ground, like the picture above. the second year it shoot up a stalk, like the picture below. energetically speaking the leaves and flowers are cooling and moistening while the roots are warming and drying. mullein is an inflammatory modulator…….what is that you say? this is a direct quote from pubmed.gov the anti-inflammatory cytokines are a family of peptides that modulate the pro-inflammatory cytokine response. cytokines act in concert with non-cytokine mediators, such as prostaglandin E2, glucocorticosteroids, lipocortins, and catecholamines. mullein is also a demulcent and lymphatic system nourisher. it’s extremely helpful for people suffering from dry coughs and asthma. there are so many herbal remedies to prepare with mullein. i am mainly going to focus on drying and tincture making in this post. although i have made the mullein flower ear oil when my children were younger. i highly recommend experimenting with that if you have children susceptible to earaches. drying the mullein leaves is fairly easy, but again drying also depends on the climate in which you live in. i do live in a dry climate, this process might not work if your climate is damp. you will just have to monitor closely for mold. i like to simply string up the leaves on a needle and thread, i pierce the thick rib down the middle and string them up. you will need to use a thicker thread, button cord or something like that. i am drying as much as i can, so i can make nourishing herbal infusions with them. susan weed has a lot of info on nourishing herbal infusion. she has a youtube channel and i can’t recommend her books enough especially healing wise. i go into great detail on the tincture making in my latest video on mullein. so if that interests you, please check it out. this tincture isn't ready for purchase yet, but i am considering adding it to the shop. anyway, i hope you all are getting out there and harvesting the last of autumn's goodness to be enjoyed all winter long. mullein has so much to offer and i hope i have inspired you to get to know her, it's not too late to harvest in most areas. mullein is an extremely hardy plant. however, make sure the area in which you are harvesting hasn't been sprayed or is a toxic site. mullein picks up heavy metals from the soil, so although this is important for all plants it's especially important for mullein. mullein is a cleanup plant so to speak and it often likes to grow on roadsides and old abandoned lots and fields that could have previously had a leaky car, heavy machinery, stuff like that contaminating the soil. thanks for being here and feel free to reach out with questions or comments. i do offer this tincture and many more over at simplyjosephine.com some resources: healing wise, by susun weed https://www.wisewomanbookshop.com/ wild remedies, by rosealee de la foret & emily han https://wildremediesbook.com/ mulling over mullein with yarrow willard https://yarrowwillard.com/videos/

you have probably come across a patch of goldenrod swaying back and forth in the wind….. and thought what is this showy delight. glorious goldenrod is in the asteraceae plant family also known as the daisy family. the goldenrod harvest is a gentle reminder that summer is over and we are emerging into autumn. the botanical name is solidago which means “to make whole” energetically speaking she is bitter, drying, aromatic, diuretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidepressant, and antiseptic. there are countless uses, and more are being added to the list daily. they include bladder infections, kidney stones, seasonal allergies, arthritis, antioxidant increasing, mood elevation, and edema. goldenrod is insect-pollinated, so she can be a little buggy when harvested. i lay the plants out on a towel to let the bugs vacate. this can take place overnight and can be done outside. i like to harvest the top third of the plant, leave lots for the bees and other insects. i like to make several remedies with goldenrod 🌾 including oxymels, tinctures, body oils, salves, and some dried on hand for teas or fevers. a few years back i created a youtube video all about goldenrod and if you are interested in creating your own remedies, you can check that out here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icuAjz_l1sQ&t=847s the infused oil and or salve is excellent for arthritis and acute injuries. I like to full body oil with a mixture of goldenrod and saint john’s wort oils during the grey days of january. this combination is a warm earthy reminder of summer‘s hot dry days. you can combine this body oiling with the tincture of one or both for help with seasonal affective disorder. I have also published a blog post all about body oiling here https://www.simplyjosephine.com/post/the-sacred-art-of-body-oiling goldenrod also has a significantly high amount of antioxidants, antioxidants reduce free radicals in the body thus reducing cell damage. goldenrod is a good source of rutin, a flavonoid beneficial for heart health and the cardiovascular system. goldenrod is excellent to have around during the cold and flu season. a strong tea will aid in a person’s healthy fever response and break up mucus. goldenrod is astringent which means it tightens and tones tissues. this is why it’s so helpful for seasonal allergies. i hope i have given you some ideas to research further, I include some resources at the end of this post. my shop has several goldenrod offerings including a goldenrod collection. you can link to these listings here: https://www.simplyjosephine.com/product-page/goldenrod-body-oil-herbal-oil-essential-oil-free https://www.simplyjosephine.com/product-page/goldenrod-collection https://www.simplyjosephine.com/product-page/goldenrod-flower-fresh-tincture-1 https://www.simplyjosephine.com/product-page/goldenrod-flower-oxymel thank you all for being in my little corner of the interwebs and supporting this small business. please feel free to contact me with questions or comment below. wishing you all a beautiful transition to fall. some resources: herbal roots zine ~ glorious goldenrod by kristine brown the book of herbal wisdom by matthew wood https://art19.com/shows/the-healthy-herb-podcast/episodes/3505b1e9-1fa3-4838-8d02-24b6ae31c140 https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/goldenrod-plant.html

what the heck is shrub anyway? simply put it’s a fruit and/or herb-infused vinegar with some sorta sweetness added. these are so fun to make and the combinational flavors are endless. we have been visiting family in southeast alaska, and the berries are just starting to bust out on the scene. salmonberries being such a sweet childhood summer memory, I decided to go with that berry. the wild roses are also everywhere and blooming at the same time, it was an easy choice.… some folks think the word “shrub” is derived from the arabic word sharab which means “to drink” makes sense to me. vinegar is an excellent health tonic and aids in digestion. I like to mix 1/5 of the glass with shrub of choice, fresh flowers or herbs, lemon or lime, and sparkling water. I will also add a dropperful of lemon balm or wild chamomile tincture. now let’s get to making this. the first thing I do in making shrubs is to muddle the berries with sugar. I fill a clean jar around 1/3 full with berries of choice. you of course can add more, I personally wanted this one to be heavy on the roses, so I went with a third for space reasons. I put two tablespoons of sugar over the salmonberries and mashed them up, then covered with a cloth and left on the counter overnight. this is just a slow process syrup basically. It can be on the counter for a day or two, I went with overnight for this batch. you can also just proceed with making the shrub if you want, sometimes the show must go on. I feel like I say this all the time, there are no rules. like all things herbalism, it’s all very individual. make do with what ingredients you have on hand, time available, and plants growing in your bioregion. the syrupy salmonberries had settled somewhat and I filled the jar 3/4th full with rose petals. i used maple syrup for the sweetener in this particular batch. i like 1:4 ratio of sweetener to vinegar. however a 1:3 ratio is fairly popular, and i often end up adding a little extra maple syrup to my drink when mixing it up. if using a metal canning lid line with wax paper or plastic lids works well too. shake often and infuse for up to 6 weeks. i usually dip into the shrubs after a few weeks and end up straining at that time. again it’s very individual, i have strained shrubs only one week after infusing and I have also left them infusing longer than six weeks. if you start making and drinking them, you will find your groove. when i decide to strain, i do so through a cheesecloth. then i put the shrub in a recycled or swing-top bottle. if you are drinking it up quickly you can leave it on the counter otherwise store in the fridge. i am leaving alaska soon, and i will take a little bit of this home with me. to remind me of the salt sea, cool wet forest floors, and a time well spent with people i love. sweet summer blessings to you all.