23rd New England Women's Herbal Conference - Part I: Overview

I had a wonderful time this past weekend at the 23rd New England Women's Herbal Conference.

This was my first time at the New England Women's Herbal Conference, but I wasn't alone. Attendees ranged from newcomers to old-timers, and women who had no previous experience in herbalism to herbalists who have been teaching and practicing herbalism for years. Over 500 women attended the conference.

This was the last year that the New England's Women's Herbal Conference was held at Sargent Center in Hancock, New Hampshire. The food at the conference was catered by Blue Heron Restaurant & Catering, which focuses on sourcing local, organic, and sustainable foods whenever possible.

The conference began on Friday with an opening circle, music, and greetings.

Rosemary Gladstar giving an opening speech

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were filled with workshops, and morning activities began as early as 7 am. Most workshops were 1.5 hours, although there were longer 3-4 hour intensive workshops as well, allowing participants to work more closely with individual teachers and to explore particular topics in more depth.

Workshop time

Numerous vendors were at the conference, selling herbal products, natural care products, books, jewelry, and handmade crafts and clothing. In addition, on Saturday, there was a Great Barter & Trade Faire, where participants could bring their own homemade items to barter, trade, and sell. I ended up purchasing a sari (fair trade and made from recycled silk) from EcoQuette and Rose Petal Elixir from Avena Botanicals. (I missed the roses this season, but I plan to make my own rose elixir next year!)

Outside vendors

Vendors under the tent

Friday and Saturday night, there were music and stories; and on Saturday, a fire circle with dancing.


The weather over the weekend was perfect for tenting, although it did begin to lightly rain Saturday night and into Sunday. However, my friend and I had the great opportunity to stay at our friend's beautiful home and practice, at Back to Life, Chiropractic and Alternative Services, run by Stephanie Clark in Hancock, NH.

The house and practice

Herb garden

Treehouse

Although the weekend was tiring, the conference was definitely well worth going to. Stay tuned for a recap of some of the workshops that I attended!

Welcome to http://www.herbalmedicinebox.com!

Hello readers,

As I mentioned before, I am really enjoying the Herbal Apprenticeship that I am taking with The Boston School of Herbal Studies. I like it so much in fact, that I am hoping to learn and write more about herbs. Thus, I am transitioning http://wholesomecuisine.blogspot.com to Herbal Medicine Box at http://www.herbalmedicinebox.com! Don't worry, all of the old links still work. And of course, I am still interested in food, foodie events, gardening, farms, and the like, so expect to continue reading posts on these subjects. The plan, however, is to focus more on herbalism!

I hope you will enjoy the journey with me, and keep on reading!

Taberna de Haro

It's been a busy summer with two part-time jobs and numerous classes and activities, but I am very glad to have gotten a job as a waitress at Taberna de Haro, a Spanish wine and tapas restaurant, in May. Although I have had no previous experience with the Spanish language or cuisine (I am now taking a beginner's Spanish class at the Boston Center of Adult Education), and a 200+ wine list is never easy for anyone to master, there are many things that I enjoy about working at the restaurant.

The outdoor patio seating is a definite plus during the warmer months.

In addition to working with a fabulous staff, as a foodie, I love all the locally sourced items on our menu. All of our beef comes from River Rock Farm, based in Brimfield, MA, and is grass-fed and raised without antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. The organic eggs are from Country Hen based in Hubbardston, MA, and our bread is from Iggy's, based in Cambridge. Occasional special menu items include local produce from Siena Farms and the owner, Deborah Hansen's, garden. Several other items on our menu are locally sourced as well.

Some of my favorite tapas include the Arroz negro (black paella with ali oli), Espinacas a la catalana (sauteed spinach w/ garlic, pine nuts, & golden raisins), Gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic and olive oil), Almejas con jamon (big local clams with ham, white wine, & EVOO), and of course any of our beef dishes (hey, you gotta love it if it's grass-fed!).

I love all things fermentation, so learning about Spanish wines is a blast, although it is still a somewhat overwhelming task. One of our wines, Les Sorts Jove from the Priorat country, is made by carbonic maceration, in which fermentation takes place within whole grapes in a carbon dioxide rich environment, as opposed to the normal winemaking process, in which grapes are crushed and fermented with yeast. Pretty cool! Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Taberna de Haro is located at 999 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02446. Check out their tapas menu and wine list. You can make a reservation online or by phone at (617) 277-8272, and say hello if you stop by!

Community Garden Plot at the Fenway Victory Gardens!

I had lost all hope of getting a community garden plot this year, until I recently received an e-mail that several plots at the Fenway Victory Gardens were available!!! Even though I have just a few summer activities, including taking biochemistry at Tufts, resuming volunteer work with CitySprouts, interning with Bountiful Brookline, and starting a second part-time job at Taberna de Haro (all their beef is from River Rock Farm!), of course I had to say yes. This weekend, I finally had a chance to view the available plots, and I even got to choose my own!:

Plot L-19. There were weeds everywhere, but that was nothing a few hours of weeding couldn't cure:

I am using the weeds as ground cover for the moment. They help to keep the moisture in the soil and help to prevent new weeds from growing.

The plot clearly needs a lot more work, but I am very lucky that there are already some raised beds installed. There are also some perennial plants left from the previous owner, including sage, chives, oregano, and some gorgeous blackberry bushes in the back. I plan to grow plenty of vegetables, including carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, and kale, and I also hope to put in some medicinal plants. Sending a soil sample to UMass Amherst's Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Lab is another task on my to-do list.

Because this is my first garden, I know I will have many successes and failures alike. But they will make my garden next year that much better! 

Stay tuned for updates about my garden plot, and please stop by L-19 and say hello. :) 

Medicinal Herbs: Black-Eyed Susan

I am very glad to be taking an Herbal Apprenticeship with The Boston School of Herbal Studies this year.

Each month, we study an herb, and for May I studied the Black-eyed Susan. While Black-eyed Susans are typically used for landscape beautification, this flower has numerous medicinal applications as well! Although there is limited information on Black-eyed Susan's medicinal properties, here are some interesting facts that I found:

Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta L.

Photo source

Parts used:

• Root (1-5)

Uses:

• Root tea for worms, colds (1-4)
• External wash for sores, snakebites, swelling (1-4)
• Root juice for earaches (1-4)

Actions:

• Antimicrobial
• Diuretic (4-6)

Notes:

• In the coneflower family (Rudbeckia)
• Like Echinacea, has been found to have immuno-stimulant activity (1)
• Recent studies report that coneflower (Rudbeckia) root extracts can be more effective at stimulating the immune system than extracts of Echinacea (which is not in the coneflower family, although it is also known as purple coneflower) (4)
• The seeds of most Black-Eyed Susans are poisonous, so avoid using the seed for any herbal uses (3)
• The roots but not the seedheads can be used much like Echinacea (5)
• Black-eyed Susan tea should be strained to remove the irritating hairs (4)
• Caution: contact sensitivity to the plant has been reported (1)

References

1. Foster, S. and Duke, J. The Peterson Field Guide Series – A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000, p. 142.
2. Nuffer, B. Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta. NY: New York Conservationist, 2007.
3. Black-Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia. Gardens Ablaze, 7 May 2010. http://www.gardensablaze.com/WildflowersBlackEyeSus.htm.
4. Q&A - Toxic Perennial Plants. Richters. 8 May 2010. http://www.richters.com/newdisplay.cgi?page=./QandA/Animals/20091230-1.html&cart_id=111.100.
5. Black Eyed Susan. Outdoor Edibles. 8 May 2010. http://outdooredibles.com/2009/black-eyed-susan.
6. Herbs. Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. 8 May 2010. http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/research/HerbIntro.htm.

Master Urban Gardener

I was very fortunate to be able to participate in the Boston Natural Areas Network's Master Urban Gardener (MUG) Program this winter!

MUG is an intensive "horticultural leadership training course for community garden volunteers."

In the class, we covered numerous topics related to community gardening, including garden operations, community garden design, plant growth, soil and soil health, pests, plant maintenance, the vegetable garden, and nutrition.

Because I have WWOOFed (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and interned with CitySprouts in the past, MUG was the perfect program for me to fill in some gaps in my gardening knowledge.

Although the classes were intense, every Saturday from 10 am - 3:30 pm with a half hour break for lunch, the classes were designed well and included a combination of lectures and interactive sessions, in which we did small group problem-solving activities with our fellow classmates. Many of the activities included scenarios that you would encounter in the community garden, such as determining which pests were attacking the cabbages (was it the flea beetles or the aphids??), and what the appropriate recommendation would be to deal with such pests.

In one class, we learned about seed starting, and we planted our own seeds to begin indoors.


Different topics were covered in the AM and PM sessions, and it was a lot of information to take in. Luckily, we were given a pretty thorough manual (which we also received a CD version of) that we used in class, that covered all the topics that we discussed in class, and that we can refer to for future reference. In addition, the 40 hours of community service required to validate the Master Urban Gardener Certificate is a great way to apply the concepts that we learned and to get more involved in community gardens and gardening related activities.

Yes, you will need to bring this manual to every class.

This program is free and open to the public! It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to take this class, and I enjoyed MUG not only for the concepts that I learned, but it was also great to meet fellow urban gardeners in the area.

Master Urban Gardener Class of 2010
*Photo courtesy of BNAN*

Thanks to Jo Ann who runs the program, the guest lecturers, and the other volunteers who help to make the class possible.

I highly recommend the Master Urban Gardener program if you are involved in community gardening. However, if you have a backyard, MUGatHOME may be perfect for you. MUG and MUGatHOME both cover various gardening topics. But while MUG focuses on community garden leadership and organization, MUGatHome focuses on landscape training and residential gardening techniques. Other programs that the Boston Natural Areas Network runs include SLUG for those involved in urban school-based vegetable gardening, and a Seed, Sow & Grow program.

If you are looking for a community garden plot, look at BNAN's community garden plot listing. Although unfortunately I don't believe I will be receiving a plot at the Fenway Victory Gardens this year, I look forward to applying the concepts that I learned with CitySprouts and BNAN's Learning Garden at City Natives this upcoming growing season.

BNAN is a non-profit organization, and they also host various events every year and offer many volunteer opportunities. To learn more about the Boston Natural Areas Network, visit their website.

Love Me Some No-Knead Bread

I love homemade bread, and I love making it. Ever since Slow Food BU did a Sourdough and No-Knead Bread Workshop with the Urban Homesteaders' League, I've been all about no-knead bread!

At the bread workshop, Lisa Gross of the Urban Homesteaders' League demonstrated her no-knead bread recipe.

The finished loaf

However, at home, I first tried Jim Lahey's no-knead bread introduced by Mark Bittman in the New York Times article The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work. This dough is so sticky and hard to handle, that it's basically impossible to knead. Making the bread simply requires mixing the ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water), letting the dough sit for 12-18 hours, shaping the dough and letting it rise for another 2 hours, and then popping the dough in the oven.


As if this method couldn't get any easier, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois later developed another no-knead bread method, Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. This recipe requires more yeast than the other method, resulting in a faster rising time. The ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water) are mixed to form a dough, let to sit for 2-5 hours, refrigerated at this point for storage or shaped and let to rise for another 40 minutes, and then put into the oven. One great thing about this bread is that the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, and every day, the flavor of the bread develops as more fermentation occurs. Whenever you want freshly baked bread, you can take a portion of the dough out of the refrigerator, shape it and let it rise for 90 minutes (instead of the 40 minutes required for room temperature dough), and then put it into the oven. Read this article for a recipe and more information on this no-knead bread method, read the New York Times Article Soon the Bread Will Be Making Itself, or check out the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.


These no-knead bread recipes don't require kneading because of the wetness of the dough- the high moisture content allows the gluten molecules to align faster and more easily than in drier bread doughs.

Making no-knead bread is extremely easy and results in delicious bread with great visual appeal, good structure, and a crunchy crust; and the variations and possibilities are endless!

I really enjoy making (and eating) homemade bread. Although I also enjoy kneading bread (or perhaps I enjoy this step because who knows if I'm doing it correctly), when I find myself very busy, the no-knead method is a happy medium. I also love what Satish Kumar said at last year's Future of Food Conference at BU: "If you don't have time to bake bread, you don't have time to live." (Read Satish Kumar's posts Reconnect with Tradition: Baking Bread as a Spiritual Act and Real Bread). So what are you waiting for? Go bake some bread!