In praise of simple things.

A nettle story and some soup.

Is it just me or does life seem a bit hard these days. Maybe it’s menopause, adrenal fatigue or in my darker moments I suspect something more sinister, but I seem to feel increasingly like the muddle headed wombat. Bumbling about trying to do all the things which seem increasingly complicated to do.

I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time each day overcoming obstacles that involve password authentications, subscriptions and trying to talk to an actual human being in a company. Just completing a few simple tasks can sometimes spiral into a days long event.

So I the midst of all this muddle headedness and trying to wear all the hats in my life and business I can make mistakes. These mistakes come in all shapes and sizes from my daily spelling mistakes (a common theme in the life and times of a dyslexic writer and educator) to spectacular clusterfucks that defy logic and explanation.

Just last week I mentioned a Book giveaway for people to write reviews, turns out you can’t do this. Opps!! Logical now I think about it, and if you tried to write one it probably didn’t come up because they block reviews from people you know or interact with on social media. I honestly didn’t know. Just another example of me trying to wear a hat that doesn’t fit and to be honest, I don’t even like, my marketing hat is an ugly bonnet.

So I’m really sorry if you tried to write a review and it didn’t work. I’m going to run another book give away through my social media so maybe head over to Instagram to find it there in the next day or so.

Everyday Herbalism (4 week online course)

All this complexity has led Cat Green and I to create a Herbal Medicine course with simplicity at its heart and in its soul. Cat and I LOVE simplicity. We love things that are doable in the chaos of life, with children beside you and deadlines to complete and while your on hold for 3 hours trying to speak to a person in a company somewhere…

So we have created Eveyday Herbalism. Is only six herbs so you wont get overwhelmed. It comes with a kit that has everything you need in it so you don’t have to spend hours signing up to online shops or remembering or creating new passwords just to get your chamomile tea.

Best of all Cat and I will be on every call to guide you and hold your hand and gently and share what we know how to do. We love linage based learning where herbalist pass on their knowledge from one generation to the next. This course has been developed by doing what Cat and I do everyday. Use herbs in our everyday lives. Even when we are tired or muddle headed or making mistakes or surrounded by kids or in-laws, these are simple everyday techniques designed to fit in around life.

We take our case studies from participants in the group in order to make the course as real life and relevant as possible. This is your course and we want it to be informative and grow your knowledge but more than anything we want it to be simple, doable and fun.

This is exactly what you’ll get out of our Everyday Herbalism course!

Herbs covered are Calendula, chamomile, tulsi, lavender, thyme and licorice.

In our 4 week, online intro herbal medicine course, you’ll build a solid foundation in:

• learn to think like a herbalist so you can actually use herbs effectively with the core pillars of holistic herbalism

• hands-on practice with all herbs, materials you need included in course – ask us all the questions you want as you explore that clunky beginning, then just practice till you can do it in your sleep!

• build relationships with 6 multi-purpose herbs – we carefully chose these herbs FOR their versatility in your home. Work smarter not, harder, and learning your herbs in depth will see you save money, save shelf space and build mastery much faster than dabbling with many herbs.

Would you love it if making your own remedies is as automatic as boiling eggs or brushing your teeth, something that even a muddle headed wombat could do!

Live online course starts Tuesday October 8 (can use replays) and runs for 4 weeks 

Enrol by Oct 1 so your DIY Herbal Starter Kit arrives in the post ready for the course!

Super keen but don’t have time now? You can do self-paced study anytime that suits you but we only enrol this course once/year.

Nettle soup: A recipe to make things right

“Nettle” I said perched precariously upon a log, “sometimes I feel as if I’m not quite right”   

“What’s not quite right?” Nettle replied   

“I don’t know exactly, I wonder if I’m getting sick, I don’t feel quite right, I’m not sure if it’s a virus, or something manmade used against the virus, you know micro technology is a thing these days, or if its nothing to do with that and maybe I’m just low in iron, it’s been awhile since I checked my blood. Or maybe it’s the chemtrails?” I said looking up for the familiar white line of cloud, “maybe it’s the food? They say even the organic stuff can be contaminated, genetic engineering, monoculture, pesticides and all that. I’m really not sure but something’s not right.

Maybe its just stress? You know, there’s never enough money or hours in the day, and there’s the constant entering of passwords that you try to keep the same, but they keep forcing you to modify slightly so you can never quite remember which modification you used so you need to reset your password again and modify it even more. I’m exhausted. It doesn’t feel like the government is on our side, or like the structure of society is geared towards happiness. It makes me uneasy and very tired and then I wonder if I’m getting sick, which makes me wonder if I have a virus and we begin again where we started”    

“I see” said Nettle    

“What do you think it is?”    

“I think it’s the thinking” said nettle “there’s far too much of it”    

“Far too much thinking?”    

“yes”   

“but how do I stop thinking?”    

“when sitting on a log, just sit on a log”    

“But my mind wanders, I can’t stop it”    

“stop thinking and just feel everything around you.”    

I felt the log under my bottom, my feet in my shoes, the breeze on my face, a growl in my stomach.   

“I’m hungry” I said   

“So make soup” replied Nettle “make soup to quiet all the worry, if your worried about getting sick put things in to make you healthy, if your worried about your blood put things in for your blood, if your worried about stress put something in for that. A soup is like a potion, a soup can be magic you know”    

I thought for a minute.   

“I know just the thing”, I rummaged in my backpack and pulled out a bag of dried reishi mushrooms, some dried thyme and a bulb of garlic. “Reishi for the stress, garlic and thyme for my immune system and you my beautiful nettle for iron and protein, Oh and one more thing” I said plunging my hand back into my backpack “a potato for comfort and carbohydrate!”    

“Perfect” Nettle said pleased with my enthusiasm    

I busied myself with making a fire and cooking my soup and all my thoughts drifted away as I concentrated on the tasks at hand, chopping wood, carrying water like a Zen cliché, which made me laugh to myself when I noticed it. I picked a billy full of nettles from the large patch beside the log, gratitude so big my heart was bursting with it.    

“Thank you so much for this nettle”    

Nettle just smiled    

Mushroom, Thyme, Garlic & Nettle Soup 

A recipe from From the Wild by Heidi Merika (available in all good bookshops)

(30 minutes, serves 4-6) 

This soup can be modified to suit whatever you have on hand. The nettles are rich in protein and minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and vitamin K. You can use medicinal mushrooms like reishi, shitake or lion’s mane, or flavourful mushrooms like porcini. All of which have their own list of medicinal benefits for either the nervous system, the immune system or both. Thyme is used in traditional herbal medicine for all kinds of infections and to dry up mucus and secretions. You can be as light or as heavy handed with the garlic as you prefer. For a medicinal soup for a cold or as an anti-inflammatory meal you can use plenty of garlic, unless you avoid garlic as a general rule. The white potato can be substituted for sweet potato or omitted if you prefer more of a light broth than a thick soup or are sensitive to starch or Solanaceae vegetables. Play with your own variations until you find your perfect potion! 

Ingredients 

A large bowl of ice water 

Salt 

4 cups of lightly packed nettle leaves and stems 

2 sticks of shallots or 1 bulb (approx. 6 cloves) of chopped garlic 

½ a cup of chopped celery 

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil 

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped 

½ a cup of mushrooms (use a mix of medicinal - reishi, shitake or lion’s mane, and culinary -porcini, Swiss brown, oyster or chantarelle mushrooms (see note below this list) 

Note: If using dried mushrooms soak the mushroom in the two cups of water and ½ a teaspoon of salt for a minimum of 1 hour (or as long as overnight). Strain and discard the mushrooms and keep the mushroom stock. 

4 cups of vegetable stock 

2 cups of water 

1 teaspoon of dried thyme (or a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme) 

2 or 3 bay leaves 

Freshly ground black pepper 

1½ tablespoons of lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Prepare a large bowl of ice water. 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. 

Wearing protective gloves, transfer the nettle tops into the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. 

Use tongs to lift the wilted, blanched nettles out of the pot and transfer to the bowl of ice water to refresh them. 

Strain in a colander. 

Cut away and discard any large stems from the nettles. (This should be easier to do now that the nettle stingers have lost their sting due to the blanching.) 

You should have 3 to 4 cups of blanched tender nettle tops and leaves for this recipe. Any blanched nettles not used at this point can be frozen for future use. 

Sauté the shallots and celery. 

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and butter on medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. 

Add the chopped potatoes, the mushroom stock, bay leaf, and thyme. 

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Roughly chop the blanched nettles. 

Add 3 to 4 cups of the chopped blanched nettles to the pot. 

Add enough water to just cover the nettles and potatoes (1 to 2 cups). 

Return to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and the nettles tender. 

Remove the bay leaves (and thyme sprigs if using) from the pot. 

If you prefer it chunky serve as is or if you want a smooth soup, using an immersion blender, or working in batches with a standing blender, purée. 

Serve warm.

I would like to acknowledge the Kabbi Kabbi/Gubbi Gubbi peoples on who’s lands I live and work. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and pray this truth be acknowledged and respected by all who live, work and govern these lands.