Supernatural Botanicals

Are you using chives in your recipes?  Chives have been used throughout history for natural healing because they contain a substantial amount of vitamin C as well as essential minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, and folic acid.  Chives are a member of the garlic and onion family.  In Chinese medicine they are used to clear stuffy noses, prevent bad breath (ironically enough, even though it’s a member of the garlic and onion family), ease stomach aches, strengthen the lower back, and improve poor circulation that gives you cold hands and feet.  Some serving suggestions? Chop up chives and add them to stir-fries or mix in with ground poultry to stuff ravioli or dumplings.  Also great on baked potatoes and pasta dishes.  Chives are super easy to grow, so plant your own and save some money. 

Create a gorgeous mini-greenhouse indoors.  You’ll need mini glass vases, a glass dome (the shape above works really well), and fresh herbs or flowers.  This creates a greenhouse effect, allowing herbs and flowers to last for days and days.  How eco-chic!  Makes a great centerpiece, and allows you to change the look with your mood. 

Tiny vases filled with herbs or flowers adds an instant pop of color to your table or windowsill.  It costs pennies, and looks like a million bucks!  Not to mention, it smells delicious. 

Group different types of herbs together to create a more interesting display.

Keep mini vases of rinsed fresh herbs in the refrigerator for quick access to herbs for cooking. 

   If you’ve never tried the herb Dill, try it!  It’s so fresh and tart.  It’s great in dips or on seafood, fish, oven roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, cucumber sandwiches, etc.  The herb grows vigorously.  Keep it pruned back and in a nice shape as it grows.  (Dill is planted in the smaller container pictured here, shown with Italian Oregano in the larger container.)  This Dill is freshly planted, and still small.  I’m juicing it up on Miracle Grow. 

Hint:  Rub dill between your fingers after cutting garlic or onions to eliminate the harsh odor left on hands. 

This is the newest herb in my garden, Sweet Lemon Thyme.  I knew I had to have this the moment I brushed my fingers across the dainty little leaves.  My hands smelled like fresh lemons for hours afterwards.  This herb produces a strong lemon flavor.  I’ll be making perfume from this….it’s on my to-do list.  With cooking, it will be great with chicken or seafood….think shrimp scampi!  The next time you are at the garden center, look for Sweet Lemon Thyme.    You’ll be surprised how lemony it is.  Delish!

   Lemons!  I’m crazy about them.  There’s so much you can do with them, everything from decorating with them to cooking with them to sanitizing with them.  Purchase some clear glass containers, and your lemons will look great on your counters until they are ready for use. 

   I like keeping seasonal items in glass containers like this.  Previously, I had pine cones and cranberries in the jars.  Out with winter, in with spring!

   The sun-shinny yellow looks sensational next to other vibrant colored containers and planters. 

  The flavor combinations are endless when cooking with lemon and fresh herbs. 

   Lemons and herbs also look fantastic when grouped together; great as a centerpiece for your table or picnic.

   Parsley and lemon….I’m thinking Mediterranean food!

   Slicing lemon wheels for cool drinks. 

   Use lemon ends to sanitize your cutting board….not to mention, make it smell super fresh and clean.

   Ice cold water with freshly sliced lemon wheels…the ultimate summer cocktail!

  Clean up never smelled better.  You can grind up small lemon pieces in your garbage disposal to make your kitchen smell fresh and clean. 

   Sweet Basil

   Sweet Basil and Rosemary

  Tobasco Pepper and Italian Parsley

  Sweet Basil and Rosemary

Warm weather meals always taste better with a hint of fresh herbs. Luckily, the Cuisipro Herb Keeper helps to keep leaves and even veggies like asparagus and celery from drying out. Plus, this storage unit is easy to use. Just put the produce in the tray slots with an inch of water to keep them hydrated.   Enter To Win It!

You know those someday aspirations?  As in…someday, I’m going to accomplish __x__.  Someday, I’m going to have the career I love.  Someday, I’m going to backpack around Europe.  We all have someday aspirations.  One of my small, but significant, ones is having a greenhouse in my yard.  I’ve dreamed about it forever.  To be able to grow herbs, fresh veggies, and flowers in your yard without having to guard them like Fort Knox from the elements and animals is absolutely divine to me. What a sanctuary that would be!  I’d probably move my office in there just for the ultra zen appeal of it all.

Someday, I’m going to have a greenhouse in my yard.  And what a day that will be!

Here are some examples of unique and seriously beautiful greenhouses.

What exactly is aromatherapy?  Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being.  Essential oils, the pure essence of a plant, have been found to provide both psychological and physical benefits when used correctly and safely, from mood elevating to healing. 

   Lavender:  Lavender is used for stress or sleep.  The aroma of lavender has been known to calm and relax the mind.  Lavender has additionally been used for:  Acne, allergies, anxiety, asthma, athlete’s foot, bruises, burns, chicken pox, colic, cuts, cystitis, depression, headeache, earache, oily skin, and vertigo. 

   Grapefruit:  Grapefruit is thought to sharpen mental acuity, stimulate thought, and create a cheerful balance.   Grapefruit essential oil is also very beneficial to oily skin, improves complexion, and helps with cellulitis and water retention.  Not to mention, it smells delicious!

   Orange:  Similar to Grapefruit’s benefits, orange essential oil stimulates the mind, evokes a cheerful mood and happiness, and smells amazing.  Orange essential oils are also thought to aid in digestion and clear oily skin.

   Ylang Ylang has a beautiful sweet, slightly fruity fragrance.  It has also been used to treat anxiety, depression, frigidity, hypertension, palpatations, and stress. 

    Rose essential oil immediately takes you to that place of calm.  Beautiful floral scent.  Rose oil has been used therapeutically to treat depression, eczema, stress, frigidity, and menopause symptoms. 

Put some thought behind the scents you choose.  They do much more than make you smell amazing.  They create balance, and submurge you in a zen-like state. 

   For years, I’ve been buying whole spices and herbs to make recipes far more flavorful, and to also make skin care treatments.  I find buying herbs and spices whole, then grinding when you need them, brings much more flavor and freshness to the party.  I store them in airtight containers in a dark cuboard and/or the freezer.  You can toast them (in the oven) to bring out the oils, which increases the flavor, and grind them to make spice blends.  Use a mortar and pestle or a clean coffee grinder.  Discover the options, and there are many.  They are extremely beneficial to your health, and also highly aromatherapeutic.