Have you ever read Willow & Sage magazine? It’s a lovely publication that shares recipes, crafts, gardening, uses, and packaging ideas for handmade botanical bath, body, and natural home products. Many creatives contribute these recipes, articles, and photos which make up this unique magazine.
I am so excited to share that a photo I took is on the cover of Willow & Sage magazine’s latest issue, and two articles I wrote are inside! You can find this issue at, among other retailers, Barnes & Noble and Joann, both of which I did on August 1 to see it out in the wild with my own eyes. I am very excited and proud to be a part of this publication!
I wrote the cover article with the recipe for warming ginger lotion bars, as well as an article and recipe for coffee and rose aromatherapy oil. I loved crafting these cozy and creative botanical projects, and I can’t wait to follow the other recipes in this issue to make some amazing creations by all the other contributors.
Thank you to Willow & Sage for this opportunity! I am so thankful for this chance to flex my creative muscles and brew up recipes such as these.
Thank you so much to everyone who purchases a copy or subscription of Willow & Sage, too! I am so grateful for all the ways you support my work.
It may not be pumpkin spice time yet (Says who? It’s always pumpkin spice time to me!) but apples are ripening and it’s a great time to whip up some apple crisp. I am gathering with friends this evening, so I made a chai apple crisp that is gluten-free for one of my friends’ dietary needs.
You can’t fault me for rushing Autumn if I’m using chai spices! And anyway, there are so many benefits to chai spices. Medicinally they’re immunity boosting, digestion aiding, circulation stimulating, and so much more—check out THIS blog post for more on that. Chai spices also help soothe, relax, and even help with sleep. And symbolically / spiritually, many of these warming spices are said to bring prosperity, protection, joy, and divinatory insight. Plus, they’re just cozy and tasty! Perfect for a gathering with friends paired with tart Granny Smith apples.
Here is the recipe!
Gluten-Free Chai Apple Crisp—
Ingredients
For the filling—
8-10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced or chopped
2 Tbsp gluten-free flour blend
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) or ¼ tsp of each
1/4 – 1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the crumble—
1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 stick of butter of choice, cold, cubed
Method
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and set aside.
Prepare apples and put in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, flour, and spices and stir to coat; add vanilla extract and stir again. Scoop this mixture into your greased baking dish.
In the same mixing bowl if you’d like, mix the oats, flour, spices, and salt well. (If you’d like to ease back on the spices, omit them from the crumble.) Add the brown sugar and butter and cut in with a pastry blender or fork until pebbly consistency is reached. Sprinkle over the apple filling evenly.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes; cool before serving.
Notes
Serves 6-8
Substitute in your favorite chai spices and play around with the amounts to your preference!
Would also be amazing with walnuts in the crumble topping.
This recipe could easily be adapted to be non gluten free with conventional flour.
Are you a big fan of apple crisp? And do you think August is too soon for it? Let me know in the comments!
In these dog days of summer, your skin can easily become overheated and stressed out! That’s where raspberry leaf comes in. Raspberry leaf is well known for its tissue tightening and toning properties, and in a gentle face mist, this action can help to prevent moisture loss and provide soothing.
This recipe isn’t for a witch hazel or alcohol based toner—I didn’t want it to be that strongly astringent. So, instead, I’ve made a strong tea with the raspberry leaf and combined that with a cooling mint hydrosol—which you can easily make on your stovetop with some fresh mint, or you can purchase ready-made mint (or rose, lavender, or chamomile) hydrosol if you prefer.
Because this is an entirely water-based recipe, it has a shorter shelf life so you’ll want to make it in small batches and store it in the fridge. But it’s totally worth it for a very gentle, refreshing, soothing summer face mist that even the kids can use after a sweaty day of playing out in the hot sun! (It makes a great after-sun spray, too!)
This recipe comes in two parts: the mint hydrosol recipe and the raspberry tea / face mist recipe. Let’s start with the mint hydrosol!
Mint Hydrosol
Materials: Large stock pot with lid Small heat-safe bowl (ceramic or glass) Heat-safe glass measuring cup Distilled water Fresh mint leaves Ice
Method: Place the heat-safe bowl upside down in the stock pot and fill the bottom of the pot with enough water that it covers the bowl. Place the glass measuring cup right-side up on top of the bowl. Place a good amount of mint leaves in the water around the bowl—a couple big handfuls of plant material. Place the pot lid upside-down on the pot and place ice cubes on top. Simmer on medium heat until a sufficient amount of steam has condensed and dripped into the measuring cup—that’s your hydrosol! Store this in the fridge.
Raspberry Leaf Facial Mist
Materials: 3 tablespoons dried raspberry leaf Large tea mug Plate to cover the mug with Distilled water Tea kettle Strainer Glass bowl or measuring cup Small misting bottle (4-8 oz)
Method: Place raspberry leaf in the tea mug and cover with water freshly boiled in a tea kettle; cover with plate and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain into a glass bowl or measuring cup and allow to cool or refrigerate.
Fill the misting bottle half full with mint hydrosol and half with raspberry leaf tea. Cap tightly and shake well to mix. Store in the fridge to prolong its shelf life and so it’s nice and cool when you’re ready to mist your face!
This is an excerpt from the Summer edition of Botanical Anthology. A plant lover’s dream, it is a seasonal, plant centered quarterly publication bringing you over 45 articles from 46 contributors to incorporate herbs in your apothecary, kitchen, summer foraging and gardening, crafts, and celebrations.
This herbal magazine, featuring remedies and recipes with medicinal plants for budding herbalists, can be purchased as a digital version here and as a printed version here.
Photo by Kristine Clay
If you enjoy the classic herbal cocktail, the mint julep, then this fruity, floral rendition is sure to become a fast favorite.
Infused whiskey lends stunning color and bursts with fresh strawberry flavor, while lavender rounds out the beverage with pleasant herbaceous notes that hint of mint. Lavender can ease stress and anxiety, helping you to unwind as you sip.
Serve this boozy beverage at your next get together or enjoy with friends on a warm summer evening.
Strawberry Whiskey Materials
2 c strawberries, fresh, sliced
Whiskey
16 oz jar
Strawberry Whiskey Method
Place strawberries in a jar.
Pour whiskey over top, filling the jar.
Cap tightly with a lid and shake well. Let the strawberries steep in whiskey for at least 1-2 weeks, shaking daily or as often as you remember.
You can use the whiskey after about a week, but giving it a full 2 weeks to infuse will allow the flavor to really develop.
Note
If you won’t be using the whiskey right away, there’s no need to strain out the infusing strawberries after 2 weeks. Longer steep times allow the flavor to deepen, and can make for a very tasty liquor.
Photo by Kristine Clay
Lavender Simple Syrup Materials
¼ c lavender, dried
½ c sugar
¼ c lime juice
¼ c water
Lavender Simple Syrup Method
Add the ingredients to a small saucepan.
Bring the liquid to a rapid boil then reduce the heat and simmer lightly for about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let the syrup cool.
Strain out the lavender pieces and bottle the syrup.
Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator.
Photo by Kristine Clay
Strawberry Lavender Julep Materials
1 ½ f. oz strawberry whiskey
½ fl oz lavender simple syrup
Ice cubes
Fresh lavender sprigs
Club soda or sparkling water, optional
Strawberry Lavender Julep Method
Pour whiskey and simple syrup into a glass and stir.
Add ice.
If desired, top with a splash of club soda or sparkling water.
Garnish with a sprig or two of fresh lavender.
Note
This recipe makes one cocktail.
Article written by Kristine Clay. Kristine is a mother, herbalist, & writer who lives on an off-grid homestead in the Ecuadorian Andes. She enjoys crafting botanical concoctions, baking, and hiking with her partner in the eco-sanctuary they steward. You can read her musings about herbs, nourishing foods, & holistic mothering on her blog: mamalibelula.com and find out more about Andean plants, regenerative land management, & raising rabbits at: SierrayCielo.org.
I am so, so very excited to share with you about this labor of love, the Summer edition of Botanical Anthology, which is launching tomorrow, June 12!
I am personally more involved than ever in the production of this publication—aside from writing articles for it, I am now its copyeditor. I’ve worked closely with the magazine’s founder/editor, my friend Harmonie, on the design and content of this edition as well as editing all the articles. I can tell you that all 46 contributors are bringing amazing articles, recipes, and other content centering around summer and how to incorporate herbs in your apothecary, kitchen, spring foraging and gardening, crafts, and summer celebrations.
Here is a sampling of what’s inside:
* Whip up an itch soothing salve, steep a California poppy tincture + infuse an evening primrose oil
* Whisk a milky oats honey mustard, make watermint chocolate chip ice cream + bake a starflower cucumber cake
* Grow amaranth, make fertilizer with comfrey + learn why you should add herbs to your garden
* Create clay mushrooms, eco print with coreopsis + make sidewalk chalk
* Form summer rituals, build a Lion’s Gate altar + discover rose family folklore
* Celebrate Summer Solstice + Lammas with simple observances
* Meet Rebecca Desnos, Susan Leopold + Tiffany Jones
From June 12th – 21st, receive the Botanical Anthology Summer edition digital download, plus our lavender bonus booklet download, for just $18. Come next week, the lavender booklet will no longer be included, and the price will increase.
And now you can purchase a printed option via Amazon!! Plus we have gift card and digital subscription options on our website!
As a thank you for being here with me as a BLOG FOLLOWER, enjoy $3 off the publication with the code: BASummer23Take$3
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this message as I share my excitement about this magazine I am so lucky to be a part of. If you’d like to learn more about the publication and what’s inside, and consider buying your own copy, follow this link:
This blog post is a little something different: an excerpt from the spring edition of Botanical Anthology!
This plant centered digital publication is packed with seasonal crafts, recipes, foraging tips, articles, & more. Click here to learn more about the digital edition, or click here to check out the print edition.
Carrie Tuttle is an environmental educator, mom, and poet. She has been weaving magic into her home via kitchen and garden witchery for 30 years. She lives in Wyoming with her family, pets, and gardens.
Fires of Beltane Loose Floral Incense
By Carrie Tuttle
Beltane is a glorious celebration of fire. Translated roughly as bright fire, the day falls at the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Here we find a day associated with bonfires, feasting, and the fertility of the land beneath our feet. Beltane, or Mayday, is awash with flowers. In Gaelic lands, and in modern Paganism, it is celebrated with a flower wreathed Maypole, floral wreaths for the May Queen and celebrants, as well as decorating homes and sacred places and spaces with spring florals.
For many this is a time of year when spring begins its raucous state of growth; a riot of flowers, lengthening days, and getting our gardens underway. One practice to honor this day, and its connection to fire and growth, is through the crafting of ritual incense. The use of incense is common in ritual and dates back thousands of years to ancient Mesopotamia, where the burning of herbs and resins facilitated sacred communication with the gods. In addition, it is believed that the healing elements of herbs can be transferred through their burning as well, leading many to blend their own healing incense.
Using a loose incense allows the crafter to use dried flowers and herbs in their whole form, without having to pulverize, mix and add a binder; required in the blending of stick and cone incense. It is a simple and quick way to craft incense, and involves only the herbs and a source of heat, such as a charcoal disc or electric incense burner.
The Beltane incense below was crafted with following herbs for their corresponding symbolism:
Lavender: love, luck, grace, and connection to ones higher self
Apple or crabapple twigs: beauty, health, fertility, and harmony
Rose: romance, passion, rebirth, renewal
Jasmine : sensuality, positivity, connection to the divine
Mugwort: dreams, protection, self-love, magic
You may also add other herbs from your local environment, or from your gardens, as it enhances your connection to the land, and to your personal practice. Just be sure to look into their properties, as you don’t want to burn anything that could be toxic.
Blending these dried herbs together to burn is its own wild alchemy, because as you blend you put your intentions for this fiery holiday into work. You may imagine the correspondences as you blend each herb, or add your own magical intent.
Materials
3 tbsp jasmine flower
2 tbsp lavender
2 tbsp mugwort
1 tbsp roses
1 tbsp apple twigs, cut into ½ inch bits
Method
Mix well, place in a jar and label.
Burn over a charcoal disk or in your outdoor Beltane fire of choice.
Notes
The batch makes approximately ½ cup of the incense blend.
Increase the batch size to use in a bonfire or to give as gifts.
I’ll admit—this recipe was inspired entirely by rewatching old episodes of the Great British Bake Off. I keep seeing shortbread cookies, and hearing them talk of how their “biscuits” have a satisfying snap. My midwestern American palate is much more accustomed to gooey, soft cookies which are delicious but a bit simpler. So I thought I’d try my hand at some springy shortbread cookies—which, of course, had to incorporate herbs.
In addition to a classically sweet and crisp shortbread recipe, I’ve combined the flavors of rose, orange, cardamom, vanilla, and honey. These lend a distinctly layered complexity to the mild taste of the biscuits and help them pair even better with a lovely black tea. (Springtime tea party recipe, perhaps?) Also, all these botanicals are uplifting, bright, and fresh. It’s the perfect light sweet after a winter of heavy sweets and spices.
I don’t know why exactly, but spring makes me think of Earl Grey tea. Maybe it’s the citrusy bergamot, or the fact that I’m just more in the mood in spring than any other season to drink black tea…it’s more stimulating than caffeine-free herbs, but lighter than coffee. Maybe flowers and tea parties just make me think of spring? I don’t know, but let’s go with it!
In that spirit…I decided to make a lavender Earl Grey teacup candle to welcome Ostara. To me, Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, is the true start of the new year: the awakening. What better way to brighten the sweet first morning of spring than lighting this candle to add to the warmth of the sun, and enjoying a mug of Earl Grey tea?
The essential oils I chose to scent the candle with do have associations that fit quite well with the spirit of the occasion:
Lavender- love, protection, calm, peace, insight
Bergamot- happiness, harmony, love, courage
Benzoin- purification, prosperity
Cardamom- creativity, strength, focus, healing
Benzoin oil imparts a warm, creamy vanilla-like scent which reminds me of adding milk to tea, and cardamom adds a tea-like quality. I also topped the candle with amethyst, quartz, lavender buds, and a bit of actual lavender Earl Grey tea.
Here are the instructions, in case you’d like to make one of these sweet candles yourself!
This Ostara season I’m planning to enjoy this little candle with tea and shortbread cookies with the two of my three children that actually like tea. (Two out of three isn’t bad, and he will still eat the cookies!) —cookie recipe soon to come.
I am so proud to say that I’ve written a recipe ebook! It is available for purchase now in my Etsy shop, HERE.
The Spring Tea Booklet contains 20 tea recipes based on the season, nature, nature-based festivities, folklore, art, cozy aesthetics, and more! It also includes tips on tea-making and sourcing herbs and ingredients.
Lovingly created, written, photographed, and designed by folk herbalist Anna Reisz (me!!), this tea recipe booklet is a cozy and magical way to ground into the season. These recipes are approachable and perfect for anyone, from beginners to experienced tea blenders. Draw on the inspiration in these pages to create teas for self care, parties and special occasions, gifts, and more.
Recipes include:
Spring Full Moons (3 recipes) Persephone Ace of Wands Robin Cottagecore Anne Shirley Element: Air Spring Equinox Light Academia Spring Forest Intention: Creativity Spring Zodiac Signs (3 recipes) Beltane Brigid Beatrix Potter Spring Dreams
I am grateful to anyone who considers taking a peek at this creation that I am proud of and considers purchasing a copy. This cozy herb thing is something I do because I love it, and I am so happy when others think it is pretty cool, too. Your support helps me continue to be able to do this—learning, creating, and sharing.
Are you as ready as I am for spring? Late February seems to always be like that for me, with sneaky early warm days making me itch for the real thing. And the fact that the first crocuses are beginning to pop up doesn’t help!
Between that and reading books about Beatrix Potter lately, I am in a distinctly flowery-tea-party mood. Not the fancy or stuffy kind, however; the unfussy, cozy, enjoying the bounty of nature and the comforts of home with friends kind. The sort with lavender Earl Grey in mismatched cups and a fresh-picked garden bouquet in a jam jar on the table. The type of flowery tea party I think Miss Potter herself would have enjoyed.
Imagining this scenario brings me to the simple little perfume oil I recently made to capture that feeling. I combined lavender-infused almond oil that I made recently with a few essential oils: geranium, bergamot, cardamom, and benzoin. This combination of scents is dreamy and floral, with a hint of sweet vanilla and warm spice. It’s nourishing to the skin and has a lovely calming effect.
The particular botanicals I chose also relate to this tea party I dreamed up. Geranium figured prominently into Beatrix Potter’s gardens and especially window boxes, with their cheery flowers and lovely rose-like scent. Bergamot, of course, is the key ingredient in Earl Grey tea, which was a bit of a special-occasion luxury to those in the Lake District at Beatrix’s time. Cardamom is more of a personal addition, but it’s my favorite and is the spice that I think ties florals, fruits, and musky scents together just right. And benzoin resin oil is an affordable alternative to vanilla with a distinctly vanilla creaminess; it also is traditionally used in incense to lift the spirits.
If you are also interested in folk and spiritual associations of botanicals, here are a few of the many associations I found for these:
Lavender: love, protection, calm, peace, insight
Geranium: uplifting and protection, balance, joy, beauty
Bergamot: happiness, harmony, love, courage
Cardamom: creativity, strength, focus, healing
Benzoin: purification, prosperity
If you’d like to join me at this imaginary tea party, here is the recipe!
Materials
One 10 ml essential oil roller bottle
Lavender-infused almond oil, or your carrier oil of choice
3 drops geranium essential oil
2 drops bergamot essential oil
2 drops cardamom essential oil
1-2 drops benzoin resin essential oil
Method
Add lavender almond oil to the roller bottle until it is half full. Add the drops of essential oils. Top with more lavender almond oil, leaving about 1/4 inch head space. Securely place the roller top and lid on the bottle, then shake to mix. I like to let a perfume oil sit and infuse for a few days before using so the scents develop fully, but you wouldn’t have to.
Wear this perfume oil where you’d normally place perfume, and dream about springtime tea parties on sunny days! Just don’t forget to send me an invitation and let me know when teatime begins!
The Herbology Faerie 