Tag: hygge

Categories
Botanical Anthology Recipes Tea

Jemima Puddleduck Tea

My love for Beatrix Potter knows no bounds. I wish so very much that I could sit down to tea with her and learn about her fascinating life! She was far more than just an author and artist: a studied naturalist, a conservationist, an entrepreneur, a generous benefactor to many causes, and an accomplished farmer and gardener.

One of my favorite tales by Beatrix Potter is that of Jemima Puddleduck. Poor Jemima—she just wants to be left alone to sit on her own nest of eggs. The farmer’s wife and children always seem to find her hiding spots, such as the rhubarb bush, and retrieve her eggs for the hen to warm instead. So, Jemima searches out a secluded spot in the woods to hide her nest, only to be offered a shed by an overly-polite foxy gentleman. More unforeseen events befall Jemima, but in the end she avoids catastrophe and hatches four ducklings on her own.

I created an herbal tea blend inspired by Jemima’s story, which includes the mint and thyme the fox requested for their dinner party, roses seen in an illustration of the garden, and rhubarb from the bush she attempted to hide her eggs in. (This tart tea is made with botanicals appropriate for a Beatrix Potter-themed baby shower, children’s birthday party, or Easter brunch!)

Materials

2 parts mint

½ part thyme

1 ½ parts rose petals

Rhubarb preserves or simple syrup

Method

To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco-friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups hot water over the tea and steep for 3-4 minutes. Sweeten to taste with a bit of fruit preserves or simple syrup, if desired. (Strawberry can easily be substituted for rhubarb!)

———

This recipe was originally published in the spring 2023 issue of Botanical Anthology! 

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare willow & sage

Spring Floral Perfume Oil

There are few better ways to celebrate the delicate blooms of springtime than with a lovely tea party. A tea party in a flower garden? Even better. Or perhaps you can conjure up the feeling of such an occasion with a natural perfume oil incorporating the scents of spring blossoms. 

This recipe combines lavender-infused almond oil with some lovely essential oils: geranium, lemon, ylang ylang, and ho wood. This combination of scents is dreamy and floral, with hints of tart citrus and sweet earthiness. It’s nourishing to the skin and has a lovely calming effect. 

These mini perfume oil rollers would make sweet gifts at a flower garden tea party of your own. 

You Will Need:

To Make:

To make the lavender-infused oil, fill a pint jar about three-quarters full with dried lavender buds. Pour sweet almond oil to cover flowers, leaving about 1 inch of headspace in the jar. Use a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to push the plant material into the oil so it is fully submerged. Cover with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Allow to infuse for four to six weeks, then strain out the lavender buds and put the remaining oil in a clean jar. Add 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil to extend the shelf life of this oil. 

To make a perfume roller, fill a 5 ml roller bottle about halfway with lavender-infused almond oil. Add a pinch of dried lavender buds if you’d like. Add 3 drops of geranium essential oil, 2 drops of lemon essential oil, 1 drop of ylang ylang essential oil, and 1 drop of ho wood essential oil. (If you have sensitive skin, you can adjust and use less of the essential oils. If you want a stronger scent for aromatherapy, you can add 1-2 more drops of each oil.) Fill the remaining space in the bottle with more of the lavender-almond oil, leaving a little headspace for the roller. Insert the roller and screw on the cap, giving the bottle a swirl to mix the oils in. 

Store any unused portion of the lavender-almond oil in a cool dark space. 

———

This recipe can be found in the spring 2024 issue of Willow & Sage magazine!

———

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Recipes Tea wheel of the year

Yule + Winter Solstice Tea Blends

Today I’m sharing two herbal tea blends to enjoy for Yule // the Winter Solstice!

The Yule Tea blend is a sweet and festive spiced sip, full of immune-boosting ingredients that taste lovely. The combo of orange and spices is traditional for the season, in part because of those properties and in part because of associations with protection, divination, prosperity, and luck derived from them.

Yule:
1 tsp rooibos
1 tsp cacao nibs
½ tsp orange peel
½ tsp cinnamon pieces
½ tsp rose hips
¼ tsp allspice berries
¼ tsp star anise
¼ tsp nutmeg

The Winter Solstice Tea tastes decadent like a holiday cake, but without the heartburn or feeling of overindulgence! With soothing herbs that promote digestion, relieve pain, and aid in circulation, it’s like a sweet, warm hug. And chamomile represents the sun that returns brighter each day after the solstice; juniper is a powerful talisman of winter protection, cleansing, and luck; and the other botanicals have ties to healing, love, and luck, too.

Winter Solstice:
1 tsp chamomile
1 tsp mint
½ tsp meadowsweet
½ tsp cinnamon pieces
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp vanilla bean powder or ¼ a vanilla bean
4-5 juniper berries
2-3 cardamom pods

To brew—

To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco- friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups hot water over the tea and steep for 3-5 minutes. Add honey or maple syrup to taste, if desired.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Craft Hygge

Pine Impression Clay Ornaments

I wanted to share a fun winter craft with you today: simple, sweet pine needle impression clay ornaments!

I know these are not a new idea, but I’ve been meaning to make some for a while, and I am excited with how they turned out. They are a lovely activity for kids to make, or perhaps a gathering of friends on a wine or tea night!  

And if you live in an apartment where you can’t have a live Christmas tree, or perhaps another reason prevents you, you can forage for pine branches at a local park to take home and make this craft and then apply some drops of pine essential oil to the backs to bring fresh pine scent to your home. (Orange, clove, and cinnamon essential oils would also be fitting and traditional midwinter scents to add!) It’s an accessible way to bring the goodness of pine indoors!

To make the ornaments, roll air-dry clay into 1-inch balls and then press flat into discs with a book or container lid. Or, if you’re fancier than me, you can roll out the clay and use cookie cutters for neater and more uniform ornaments. (Mine are “rustic,” ha!) Then press sprigs of pine needles into the clay to form an impression and poke a hole for ribbon or string. Make sure the ornaments aren’t stuck onto your work surface (waxed paper might help here). Leave them to dry overnight, then the next day paint with watercolor to emphasize the look of the pine sprigs. I used watercolor brush pens and water with a small paintbrush to thin and spread out the paint pigment. 

Once dry, string ribbon or twine through so they can be hung on a tree, drawer knobs, stocking hooks, or even used as gift tags. They can also be used as drawer or car fresheners! 

These simple little ornaments aren’t fancy, but they are cheery and fun to make, give you a chance to do some fun winter foraging with kids or friends, and bring a bit of natural pine into your holiday decorating. 

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Hygge Recipes Tea

Happy Hobbit Weekend & Tea!

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien have been my very favorite books since I first read them as a teenager, and I have always felt a very strong connection to hobbits: simple folk who prefer the comforts of home, well-stocked larders and bookshelves, and the joy of silly fun with family and friends, yet who can be prevailed upon to draw deeply from a well of courage and wit to save the world on occasion. If any fictional folk represents me, it’s the hobbit-folk. 

So the publication anniversary of The Hobbit (my birthday, 9/21) and the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins (9/22) alongside the beginning of fall are all something I like to mark wrapped up into one special span of a couple days. I might read bits of The Hobbit to my own halflings, or we might watch the 1970s Rankin Bass animated film of The Hobbit (wonderfully nostalgic and kid friendly).

We may enjoy a hobbit-y teatime, too, with fresh baked goods and hobbit-inspired tea from the recipe I created. It combines smoky lapsang souchong tea for that famous pipe-leaf all hobbits love, hops to represent the tankards of ale they heartily imbibe, reishi mushrooms foraged right from the woods surrounding the shire, and other flavorful herbs and spices.

Ingredients:

1 part loose leaf lapsang souchong (or other black tea)

1 part mint

1⁄2 part reishi, broken into small pieces (substitute with licorice root if you are unable to find reishi)

1⁄2 part hops

1⁄4 part fennel

1⁄4 part nutmeg

1⁄4 part powdered vanilla bean or 1 vanilla bean per 4 cups of tea, split

Directions:

To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco- friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 1⁄2 cups hot water over the tea and steep for 5 minutes. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Hygge Recipes wheel of the year

Ostara: Orange Vanilla Soda Bread

There is, in my opinion, no better way to celebrate the turning of the season (or just anything!) than with warm, freshly baked bread. You just can’t help but be mindful for a moment as you stop and appreciate the ingredients that went into the bread, the hands that made it, and the warming and grounding experience of enjoying it. That is some simple but powerful alchemy, right there. 

This year for Ostara (the spring equinox) I decided to make an easy, rustic loaf of soda bread with some cheery, sweet, springy flavors. I incorporated orange zest and juice and vanilla, because the two together just put me in mind of sunshine and the sweet scent of early spring flowers. 

I also sweetened up this traditionally sugarless recipe with a generous helping of the vanilla-orange-mint infused sugar I made awhile back. You could easily use plain sugar, of course, but I had this on hand and it further drives that flavor home and adds a little something extra. 

My family loves snacking on this bread, and it is really nice at breakfast time, too. I like to think it’s a very hobbit-ish sort of treat to celebrate spring with!

The recipe for Orange Vanilla Soda Bread:

Ingredients

4 cups flour (all white flour, part whole wheat, or you could also try your preferred GF flour)

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

3 Tbsp sugar (vanilla orange mint sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

1-2 Tbsp orange juice

1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a deep mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar with a whisk. Whisk in orange zest.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to it. Mix together with a wooden spoon, folding and turning the bowl until a sticky dough forms. If the dough seems too dry, you can add additional buttermilk a spoonful at a time.

Scoop ball of dough out onto a large floured cutting board. Knead a few times lightly. It will still be quite sticky, but you can flour your hands and add a pinch or two of flour if it seems too wet. 

Form into a large round loaf. Place in a greased / oiled Dutch oven or on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cut an X into the top with a sharp knife. Top with a small pat of butter on each of the four quadrants if you’d like. 

Cover with the Dutch oven’s lid or tent with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean and/or the X in the center appears done (my X disappeared 😅 but that’s ok). It should also sound hollow if you tap it!

Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Then, enjoy!

I love making infused sugars! Here is the recipe for Orange Mint Vanilla Sugar:

Ingredients

1.5 cups of white sugar

Zest of one orange

1 Tbsp ground dried peppermint leaf

1 vanilla bean

Method

Mix the white sugar, the fresh zest of one orange, ground dried peppermint (pulsed to a powder in a coffee grinder reserved for herbs), and one vanilla bean (split and scraped, then the whole bean tossed in) in a bowl. Then spread it out to dry a while on a cookie sheet before transferring the mixture (including the vanilla bean) to a jar. The vanilla bean will continue to impart its sweet flavor in the sugar and it will only get better!

Let the jar sit tightly lidded for a few days to infuse with all the lovely orange oil and vanilla. Then you can use the sugar in teas, coffee (have you ever tried the combo of orange and coffee?), baked goods (imagine rolling sugar cookies in this!), fancy cocktail / mocktail rims, and more!

How do you plan on celebrating the start of spring, in your own way, big or small?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism Recipes

Roasted Roots + Coffee Mix

When I first became interested in herbalism, my dad surprised me by gifting me all of my great grandmother’s herbalism and gardening books. By chance, or most likely not, I had wandered into a family legacy. My dad then regaled me with stories of some of her practices, like how she used to brew sassafras tea and root beer, made dandelion fritters, and added chicory and dandelion root to the coffee she brewed every day. 

It is actually a long-standing tradition to add roots like dandelion, chicory, and burdock to coffee to add nutritional benefits and cut some of the bitterness. Beyond those roots, you can get creative with sweet and aromatic spices if you’d like to add more complex flavors. It’s really a very hygge—simple and intentionally cozy—process to develop your own personal mix and roast the ingredients yourself. 

I love that I am carrying on my great grandma’s legacy. Many times when I make coffee, I also mix in roasted roots like she used to cut her coffee with. Herbs like dandelion, chicory, and burdock are nutritious and grounding, and help lessen the overall caffeine in your mug. They taste quite similar to coffee, though perhaps more complex and earthy, and you can put your own spin on your recipe with the addition of other flavorful botanicals. 

Here is a closer look at some of the ingredients you might add to your own roasted root blend:

Dandelion root

Strong liver, gallbladder, + kidney support 

Vitamin + mineral rich

Supports heart + balances blood pressure

Chicory root

Vitamin + mineral rich

Digestion support

Antioxidant rich

Supports liver + stomach

Burdock root

Kidney + liver support

Anti-inflammatory • Antioxidant • Detoxifying

Antibacterial + antifungal • Skin clearing

Blood sugar regulating

Cacao

Mildly stimulating

Synergizes other herbs

Heart + blood pressure support

Blood sugar regulating

Cinnamon

Digestive support • Circulation stimulating

Blood sugar regulating • Analgesic

Antimicrobial + antifungal

Antioxidants • Supports brain health

Warming + drying

Allspice, cardamom, cloves, fennel

Digestive support

Promotes circulation • Immune support

Soothing • warming • uplifting

Method

Roast equal parts of chosen roots on a baking sheet at 375° for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Allow to cool.

Mix in any spices or additional ingredients like cacao nibs and cinnamon chips, then grind in a coffee grinder and brew as you normally brew coffee. Opt for a coarser grind if brewing with a French press.

Adapted from my Roasted Roots article from the Autumn 2022 edition of Botanical Anthology.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare Hygge Recipes

Happy Vibes Perfume & Aromatherapy Oil

A few friends close in heart but far geographically exchanged holiday gifts recently. It was so much fun to send homemade gifts to each other! Some were gifts that we had made to give to friends and family for the holiday season, but I wanted to include something that made me think of them specifically.

So I created us each a Happy Vibes essential oil perfume / aromatherapy roller to convey the joy I get from our friendship!

The scent is very reminiscent of orange blossom: floral, sweet, creamy and citrusy, with a touch of green. Uplifting and happy! Just like our friendships. The intention infused in the making of these rollers conveys that joy each time I apply a bit to my wrists and experience the scent!

Would you like to make some of your own rollers for friends who make you feel happy vibes?

You Will Need:

To Make:

To make a perfume roller, fill a 5 ml roller bottle about halfway with jojoba oil. Add 4 drops of ylang ylang essential oil, 3 drops of benzoin essential oil, 2 drops of tangerine essential oil, and 2 drops of cypress essential oil. (If you have sensitive skin, you can adjust and use less of the essential oils. If you want a stronger scent for aromatherapy, you can add 1-2 more drops of each oil.) Fill the remaining space in the bottle with more of the jojoba oil, leaving a little headspace for the roller. Insert the roller and screw on the cap, giving the bottle a swirl to mix the oils in.

——

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism Hygge wheel of the year

Yule: Candles, Tea, and Books

Happy Yuletide! I can’t say that I am the most knowledgeable regarding the background and traditions of winter solstice celebrations and rituals, but I am learning more as I go and loving what I learn. I wanted to pop in today to share a few of my favorite cozy Yule traditions with you.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Yule, a combination, or simply mark the winter solstice, the astronomical beginning of winter and the shortest day and longest night are at the center of this occasion. It is a time of merriment as a way to bring light and cheer into the darkness, and to remind ourselves that the sun and its life-giving warmth will return. This is very much based in the agrarian lifestyle of our ancestors and the greater danger winter posed to their survival. Today we feel the hold-over of these traditions in more metaphorical ways but they’re still deeply ingrained. Other pagan and Christian elements and traditions of this holiday came in later, but all still revolve around the natural occurrence of the winter solstice.

Despite the jolly festivities, as I get older I feel the need more and more to snuggle in at home, slow down, eat cozy treats, and enjoy quiet times with my family just playing games and reading books. I think my connection to the natural world slowing down and going to its winter rest deepens the older I get! So I don’t feel the need for more gifts and parties, but rather candles, tea, and good books.

Candles

I absolutely love making my own candles this time of year. With a few simple, natural ingredients, candles that are healthier and more special than the store bought variety can easily be whipped up in your kitchen. Candles add a warming glow to Yuletide evenings and events, can be given as very special gifts, and you can add your own intention both when you’re stirring the wax to make them and when you take the time to light them each night.

Check out the recipe for these Yule Forest Candles I shared last year, these cozy Pumpkin Spice Coffee Candles from when I was just beginning to learn candlemaking, or purchase the Winter Candlemaking Guide from my Etsy shop to learn how to make candles at home.

Tea

Hot tea is a wonderful way to spend a winter evening during the Yuletide season! There is nothing better than brewing a big pot of tea tailored to the energies of the season, your health, or simply your mood. 

During this season of eating sweets and overindulging, a digestive-boosting tea like the Vanilla Digestion Tea I shared last year can be both helpful and tasty. An Immune Boosting Tea Blend can’t go amiss this time of year, either. Mushroom Coffee makes for a hearty and energizing, yet grounding, brew. Or check out the many other winter tea recipes in my Winter Tea Booklet in my Etsy shop.

Books

I am never at a loss for good books to read! Here I will keep the explanation short and simply share some links to books that are perfect for this season. 

Children’s books about Yule / the Winter Solstice / Wintertime (that are wonderful for adults, too):

The Shortest Day (Susan Cooper)

The Winter Solstice

Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter

The Tomten

Flower Fairies of the Winter

The Shortest Day (Wendy Pfeffer)

The Nutcracker Ballet

Adult fiction and nonfiction – my recent cozy or cozy-adjacent favorites

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries

Legends and Lattes

A Spell in the Wild

The Wake-Up Call

The Tale of Hilltop Farm (the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter)

The Hobbit

Kitchen Witch

A Morbid Taste for Bones (the Brother Cadfael mysteries)

Little Women

Slavic Kitchen Alchemy

Healing Herbal Teas

What cozy ways are you enjoying the Yuletide season?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare Herbs and Herbalism Hygge Recipes

Autumn Spice Botanical Hand Soap

DIY botanical hand soap is incredibly simple to make and can bring lovely, refreshing scent, moisturizing properties, and natural ingredients to the sinks in your home. It also makes a nice house-warming or holiday gift!

It is something extra special to concoct your own personalized soap from some of your favorite natural ingredients. You can capture the season, cozy vibes, and your favorite scents all in something you use many times a day! And the process of very easy and fun! My eight-year-old daughter especially enjoys creating this hand soap with me.

Simply combine castile soap, water, herb-infused oil (such as coconut, jojoba, sweet almond, or olive oil), and essential oils (these are optional but help add a stronger scent). You can also add ingredients like vegetable glycerine and/or aloe vera for extra moisturization, and vitamin E oil to extend the shelf life.

For this particular batch of hand soap, I invoked an autumnal energy by including rose-infused jojoba oil, orange essential oil, frankincense essential oil, cinnamon sticks, star anise, dried orange, and a few cloves. The dried botanicals and spices are added for accent and visual appeal, and they are hard enough so they won’t break down too much in the soap mixture to interfere with the soap. If you’d like, envision a warming and cozy intention while adding these to this soap your family and friends will use in your home.

Here is the recipe!

Autumn Spice Hand Soap

Materials:

Instructions:

Starting with a clean jar, add 1 cup water. Add 1/2 cup castille soap and all other ingredients. Replace lid and carefully swirl vigorously to mix. If the jar looks too empty, top up with a bit more water and castille soap.

The mixture will be a bit foamy at the top, and will be thin but luxuriously moisturizing for the skin.

Note: you may need to give it a swirl once in a while as the ingredients can separate while it sits and settles. Also, if very young children or anyone with skin sensitivities will be using the soap, you can omit the essential oils.

Would you make DIY hand soap? Which ingredients or scents would you use in yours?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.