Apple Picking & Processing 2011

J.H. Stepp Orchards, by Modern Scribe Photography

I live in an incredibly beautiful and bountiful area.  Western North Carolina has so much to offer in the way of local, healthy food that I'm becoming quite happily spoiled by my diet.  There's hop farms for brewers, local bison ranches, and in Hendersonville, North Carolina, you can't throw a stone without hitting an apple tree.  The winding roads around Lake Lure and Chimney Rock are a verdant place where orchards and small farm markets thrive.

My love and I recently went winding down that road with our housemates, a friend, and his six-year old daughter to pick apples from J. H. Stepp Orchards, a beautiful old orchard we picked from last year.  We missed the really sweet apples of late August and September, but still delighted in the bushel of Golden Delicious, Fuji and Rose Cameo Fuji apples that came home with us.

Stepp Orchards also has a wonderful common room in their barn, with a fireplace going to keep icy fingers warm, hot cider on tap, fresh apple juice, apple cake, and accessories such as apple peelers and corers available for purchase.  I picked up a handy dandy apple-corer and gorged on butterscotch apple cake while we all got assembled and directed to the proper picking places.

Calliope, by MSP

By the by, if you have an enthusiastic and bright child to bring along apple picking with you, I highly encourage it.  Boy, can they pick like little devils! And run. And climb trees. And not carry heavy apple baskets, at all.

Once we were laden with big, gorgeous apples, we didn't linger long at the orchard, because we had plans...oh yes, we had plans.  The bushel of apples, the gallon of apple juice, and a bag of fresh, clean sweet potatoes made it home with us in no time.

The rest of the day involved relaxing, for the most part, but I just couldn't wait.  Within a couple of hours of being home, we were diving into a still-warm pan of German Apple Cake!

In the month since picking, we're down to about 5 apples after we made everything...but we still haven't made all that we wanted.  We might just have to go again so we can have apple pie filling!

The complete list of what my housemate Sarah and I made from a bushel of apples:

Dried Apple Rings:  Soft and chewy, melt in your mouth, super-yummy apple rings!  And then the dehydrator started making the most TERRIBLE sound...time for a new one? Any suggestions from you food-preservation people out there?

German Apple Cake:  Nuh-uh. No way.  Not this recipe...if I tell you, I'll have to kill you.

Apple Sauce: (which became Apple Butter)  Easy to do...chop apples, put in pot with small bit of water or apple juice.  Cook down with a lid until soft.  Strain if needed, and ta-da!  If you want to turn it into apple butter, transfer it to a crockpot and season the ever-loving sense out of it with brown sugar and cinnamon and cloves and such, and then let it cook on low until you like it.  SO EASY, and smells soooo goooooood.

A happy apple crew, by MSP

Apple Pectin:  (Check out this recipe on Mother Earth News for reference) We did not succeed completely at this task...but we used up all the peels, cores, and otherwise unwanted bits of apples on hand in the attempt.  Our pectin didn't clear or settle well, because our apples were too sweet. Apparently, this works better with sour or crab apples, which I would have know had I read the entire recipe. Whoops!

Apple Cordial:  This is so fun, and so easy.  I peel my apples by hand, and leave flesh clinging to the peel.  I put the peels in a jar.  I put spices in the jar sometimes...othertimes, just apple-y goodness.  Then I fill the jar with vodka (or rum. or brandy.) and remember to shake it occasionally.  Once I've forgotten about it for a while, I strain out the peels, add sugar or sugar syrup to the alcohol, and bam! Apple cordial.

Apple Mead (Or Cyser):  A grand experiment has begun!  The jug o' juice that we picked up from Stepp Orchards was wonderfully tasty, but we stopped drinking it when it was half-empty.

Next, I heated water and melted a large pour of honey into it to make a must (un-fermented mead) and poured it into the gallon jug, and added one single solitary allspice bud.

I popped an airlock on the jug, and pitched the yeast the next morning.  We've got a perfect spot to keep the jug warm (between 80-84 degrees) and it's been bubbling merrily for about a week.  It will soon be bottled (if we can save enough...we keep tasting it and it's already dwindling rapidly).

Check out your local farm offerings for a U-Pick near you.  I used the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) to find Stepp Orchards!

I am addicted to sugar, and so are you.

Sugars by DeathByBokeh via Flickr

Occasionally I have to just cut out the crap.

The crap being sugar.

My body just doesn't appreciate copious amount of it, which is a really funny joke for someone who slings honey, isn't it?

Sugar is in EVERYTHING in the standard American diet.  Soda, coffee, juice, beer, wine, ketchup, salad dressing, bread, fast food and processed food.

Sugar is called by many names: Corn syrup, molasses, fructose, lactose, honey, sucrose, barley malt, cane, sorghum, caramel, maltose, dextrose, sorbitol...

Sugar is an addictive substance. Our bodies crave it with a fervor similar to that of nicotine...in fact, cigarettes were easier for me to quit than sugar has been.

You see, I've been living with chronic candida for many years now.  Candida are happy little microorganisms that live in our body and do their job.  But candida are like gremlins...you can't overfeed them or they'll ruin everything and scare small children!  Or at least make you itchy and exhausted.

Candida feeds on sugar.  And when it has an overabundance of it's favorite food, it grows. And grows. And grows...and spreads throughout your body.  Candida overgrowth can cause a myriad of symptoms from headaches to yeast infections in any moist, warm body areas, to systemic exhaustion, stomach discomfort, and more.

I'm never one for strictly following doctor's orders, as I'm not fond of prescription drugs.  The last time I saw a doctor for candida overgrowth I was given a medicine that made me break out in hives.
So I keep the miserable moments at bay by being aware of my nutrition.

I support my health and candida balance by eating live culture yogurt daily, and also by taking acidophilis supplements. But when I get too alcohol-happy, or have to can a bushel of apples (which involves a lot of tasting!), or gorge on cupcakes, I tend to suffer for it afterwards for days with exhaustion, itchy, dry skin, and worse.  Then it becomes time to watch the sugars in my diet.

I'm not crazy about fasting, so I try to be reasonable about it.  I don't follow the exact candida diet guidelines set forth by traditional western medicine, as I disagree with some of the standard assumptions about healthy sugars and live cultures.

Raw Sugar Bowl by Ayelie via Flickr

I do my best to eliminate from my diet:

Breads and pasta
Fruits and juices
Wine, Beer, Liquor (so hard for a pixie to do!)
Sugar (duh)
Honey (whimper)
Soda (not that hard, kicked that crap long ago)
Boxed Foods (seriously, even Mac n Cheese is full of sugars. I had NO idea until I started reading boxes)
Fast Food (sugar in every sauce; ketchup, mustard, ranch, in the bread and rolls, and sometimes even in the meat product itself)

Sigh.

And I consume:

Salads:  protein-rich, chickpeas, beans, boiled egg, avocado, crab, deli meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and NO CROUTONS.  Also, cheese, but only a bit (lactose is a sugar).  I use herbal vinegars and oils to flavor the salads instead of bottled dressing.

Proteins:  Meat, beans, potatoes (sparingly), chickpeas, eggs, kale, broccoli, lots of heavy foods.  I love sushi fish at this point in my diet, but I avoid the wonderful sushi rice with it's sugared vinegar and keep it straight to sashimi.

Rice noodles/Rice:  Brown is better than white, but it is still a sugar food. Can't quit 'em all, and this is more easily processed by my system, I've noticed.

Live Foods:  vinegar with the "mother" - like Braggs, and if I do consume bread, it is sourdough!  The live enzymes help to balance the microcosm in my body. The same goes for homebrew drinks and fermented foods like kim-chi, kombucha, and especially wild-fermented food.

When I do this diet shift, I tend to feel that tomatoes and other "sweet" veggies are okay in moderation, because I am not trying to completely deny my body of it's needs, just eliminating the overwhelming sugars in the average American diet.

Coffee with My Sugar by sbluerock on Flickr

On day four of my most recent fast, I broke a mid-morning hunger with a salad topped with a handful of raisins.  The sugared, dried fruit was too much, and awoke my physical dependence on the sweet stuff.  That was a terrible mistake, as I spent the rest of the afternoon in a grumpy, antsy, anxious and snappy state that was unpleasant for myself and everyone else around me.

"MORE," my body cried, "MORE!"

In a couple of days, I will integrate more sugars slowly and gently into my diet, using honey vs. sugar whenever possible.  And I will do my best to remember moderation, so that I don't have to fast again anytime soon, but can find my balance and walk the line in health and well being.

How many sodas do you drink a day?  If you have chronic health problems with your stomach and gut, or fatigue and rotten moods, try scaling back the soda before you add a pill or diet onto your life to try to fix the bumpy patches.  I know it sounds crazy, and it'll get worse before it gets better, as with any withdrawal symptoms, but you might come out of the fire renewed and healthier with that one simple change.

How strong of an influence does sugar have on you?

Are you Ready to Die?

Boo! - by Modern Scribe Photography

October. Samhain. The Turn of the Wheel.

At a festival years ago, Eric and I were asked to hold a position in an autumnal ritual - to play the role of questioner, of taunter, of fae...in this case, some little devils known as the "Ooga Boogas."

Sunset had begun. A line of ritual attendees paraded themselves to the valley with the raised circle waiting for them, and they were all told to think of the goals we wanted to accomplish in the coming solitude of the winter months, and were also to contemplate the harvest of our mind and body's work of the previous year.

Everyone began to follow this focus and create those visualizations, until they reached the ritual circle. Then as we felt the tug, one by one, all of the Ooga Boogas peeled away silently from the line and began darting around, whispering doubts into the ears of those meditating. We asked them the sort of tough questions that are hard to ask yourself, and even harder to answer.

"Are you happy with your life?"

"What are you doing with your time here on Earth?"

"How much is life worth to you?"

And as the ritual progressed, we melted back into the lines of attendees, all of us riding the waves of magic as it rippled throughout the night. Confidence and reassurance was returned to those who listed to the questions and heard the doubts and fears prompted by our whispers, and the concerns were temporarily forgotten as people began to dance and celebrate around the huge fire ringed by drums.

Day of the Dead, by Modern Scribe Photo.

One of my fellow doubt-bringers was a Priest of the Serpent path and was quite an appropriately chosen Ooga Booga, in my opinion. Yet after the ritual, I found him quite distraught, seemingly wrapped in the doubts he'd been asked to spread. I asked him if he was well, and he explained that he couldn't whisper a single thing to anyone participating. He said that the only question that he could imagine was too harsh, and would terrify people.

The only question he has was "Are you ready to die?"

Most people know me as a creature of light, oh my gentle readers. And this is true. But I am more than that a creature of balance. I acknowledge the dark desires as well as the selfless and pure. And I informed this priest that his question was the more potent and precise of all that I heard asked.

Am I ready to die? Should it all end tomorrow, would I be satisfied with all that I have accomplished, or experienced? Most of my soul feels that it is so - I would not be a weeping and wandering ghost full of unrequited loves and unspoken words. (Were I to be a ghost, I would be one just for the fun of terrorizing and alternately amazing people with my shimmering nature. It's a kick! I suggest you try it sometime, when you are good and dead.)

Are you ready to die? And if not, then what is it you haven't done, and why haven't you done it? This is the season of mirror-staring; of ompaloskepsis, of scrying. Enter into winter prepared, my lovies. This season has some big ripples for us to ride.

Are you ready to live?

Pixie's Pocket: Herbal Bookshelf

Here are some of my favorite reference materials that I use regularly along my herbal path.  I hope you will enjoy and make good use of some of these.


(Most book titles link to a book search on Biblio.com, a great place to buy used, rare, and out of print books!  They work with independent booksellers all over the world, and have carbon-free shipping, as well as building free libraries in Bolivia!)

 The Herb Book, by John Lust

This paperback was the first herbal that I ever had.  My copy was printed in 1983, and while it is not perfect, it certainly has it's perks.  It is mostly based on North American plants, and each alphabetical plant entry has a line drawing to accompany it...but it's real wealth is in it's simplicity and honesty. Plants that are illegal for use in the US are still included in this book, and I value that.





Herbal Healing for Women, by Rosemary Gladstar

The tone in which Rosemary conveys her well-researched and solid information is a casual one, and easy to read.  I quite enjoy her recipes and techniques for working with womens' health issues from pre-menstruation up through menopause.  Soon I will be embarking on a journey with Vitex based on what I have read in this text, and will update you folks on that as I go.




Plant Healer Magazine, by many amazing herbalists!

Plant Healer Magainze is a great resource...it is only $57 per year, which gets you four pdf magazines, and access to audio and video recordings of Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference concerts, classes, and plant walks as well as many beautiful full color handouts, posters and ebooks by Plant Healer authors and artists!

Jude's Herbal Home Remedies, by Jude

This book is full of the old sort of remedies that you hear folks laugh about; kerosene packs for arthritic knees, onion skin bandages for wounds, and rubbing herbal pastes on your head to regrow hair!  But what works, works.  This is a great book for cross-referencing when you've run out of ideas, or need a new perspective on an herbal project.  Plus, the home-care section and pet-care sections are invaluable!

Healing Wise, by Susun Weed

I do love the strong intuitive nature that is encouraged by Susun Weed, and her herbal information is quite nice; however, I am not 100% a follower of the Wise Woman tenets set forth in her first book, Healing Wise.   Each plant is given a voice in which to communicate their energies, which makes it a fun read, and provides a great way to experience the plants in your yard and community.  Susun Weed encourages people to open up and listen to the voices of the plants, and to listen to your inner self and allow yourself to heal from the inside out...holistic healing. 

One thing that I do adore about the Susun Weed Wise Woman path is the community of amazing herbalists that I meet along that path.  Another great way to interact and learn about herbs is to visit the Susun Weed forums.  Simply search for the symptoms or herbs and you will find a wealth of information at your fingertips! I am "anchasta" on those forums, by the by.

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, by Scott Cunningham

If you are more interested in the spiritual or energetic associations of our plant friends, I encourage you to place a copy of this book on your shelf.  Scott Cunningham is a fond favorite among pagan authors, and in his lifetime, wrote many great reference books and "pagan 101" books.  This text in particular is a look at common plants and their astrological, mythical, folklore and other associations.  One of my FAVORITE things about this book is the "common name" cross-referencing.  Look up "Bramble" and find that it is likely referencing blackberries.  Quite handy!


I'd love to hear your book suggestions!  Please leave me a comment below.  What books do you reference to make medicines and research new plants and why?

Let's Talk About: Tinctures, Elixirs, and Cordials

Tincture corner of my herb shelf, A. Shehan

I love herbs, and I also enjoy alcohol. You dedicated readers know for sure that I adore honey...so I generally do my best to combine those three ingredients in as many forms as possible.

My cabinets are full of jars, and those jars are full of strange floating bits in colored liquid. It makes me feel my most witchy to open that cabinet and bring out strange brews to share with friends.  I have many jars that are medicine, and jars that are for fun, and jars that are a bit of both.

Tinctures are medicinal extracts of herbs in alcohol. Some folks use moonshine and other high-test likkers for their tinctures, but I tend to use a medium-brand, triple-distilled vodka so I don't have to dilute the tincture until it's ingested.  If you aren't into vodka, a nice brandy is a good alternative.

The process for making a tincture is simple:

Get an herb, fresh or dried.
Put said herb into a jar.
Pour alcohol to cover the herb.
Put a lid on it, and give it a good shake every now and again
Strain after 3-6 weeks and label clearly.

Now, tinctures are potent!  When you take tinctures, please do a lot of research if you are dosing yourself, or find a practiced herbalist to give you guidance.  Some tinctures, such as poke root or teasel, only need a couple of drops per day to be effective and more than that can cause you harm.

Elixirs are the sweetened version of those alcohol-expressed medicines.  I tend to make "sipping" elixirs out of the more tasty herb tinctures.  These can almost cross the line into cordials, which while they may have medicinal benefits, are mostly just for pleasure.  The sharp tang of elderberry cordial is lovely, but I try to save it for when I'm feeling sick.  To use an elixir, just pour a bit into your hot tea, or into a brandy snifter to sip on for a while.

Then there are the less-than-tasty herbal medicines...adding sweetener to the more bitter or astringent herb tinctures can make ingesting them a more palatable experience, especially with kids.  Valerian and Horehound are good examples of herbs that can use a splash of honey to cut their bitter strength!

Elixirs are easy to make:

You can start out with a tincture and add a simple syrup (recipe below).  Add the cooled syrup to tincture in small bits, then shake the mix to blend it, and then taste.  If it isn't right, add more and taste again!  Be careful, these are meant to be sipped as they are still potent medicine, and this sweetening and tasting process can get you loopy.

Simple Syrup:
Boil one cup of water.
Add two cups of sugar (or 1.5 cup of honey, or agave, or whatever you prefer!)
Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Allow to cool.

Otherwise, you can use the lazy method. Pour a dollop of honey into a strained tincture and give it a shake.  It works, but it ends up being super sticky and thick compared to the simple syrup process described above.

I hope that helps to demystify some of the process and allow you to play around with your Junior Alchemist kit in your kitchen, and have another way to use your herb harvest before the final frost takes it from you!

Cordials and Tinctures, 2011, Amber Shehan

Here are some cordials and tinctures that I have in the works.  All of these are in 40% vodka.

In the back, we have Cranberry cordial.  I buy cranberries when they go on sale every holiday season, and freeze them if I don't use them immediately.  This jar has been full for close to a year, and will remain there until the berries have lost a bit more color to the alcohol.  Then there will be a sugar syrup added (perhaps brown sugar this year) and it will sit and settle until Thanksgiving or Christmas.  

Clockwise, we next have goldenrod tincture.  Goldenrod will have his own post soon, so I'll move on to the next little jar.

Yarrow was a strong sister plant for me this year.  She sprang up tall and magnificent from the patch I prepared and transplanted her the first year I lived here.  The fronds on this plant were humongous, and her flowers plentiful! Yarrow tincture is good for keeping insects at bay when applied externally, and is an amazing wound cleaner as well.  She'll be handy to keep around for next spring.

Lemon Balm, Sweet Melissa, fills out the next jar with her flat, wide leaves.  I crushed them with my fingers as I put them in the jar, to release her lemony, sharp oils.  This plant is excellent for anxiety, depression, any emotional rollercoasters and overwhelming dizziness can be slowed down by a couple drops in water and a couple of deep breaths.

Lastly, we have valerian and mint.  Some folks can't stand the smell of Valerian, but I'm quite fond of it.  The mint is there to make it palatable, sure, but it also has it's own benefits in the realm of gas relief and relaxation.  In a couple of weeks, I'll strain that jar and add some honey to the tincture and shake it together for a tonic cordial.  My delicate-tummied love sometimes ends up unable to sleep at night with gut pains keeping him awake...but after one good slug of valerian and mint cordial, there's a couple of burps and then a symphony of snores!

This is my last fresh-harvest hurrah for the season.  This week, I'll be making tasty treats using the elixir method with rum instead of vodka, and leftover apple peels that would otherwise be discarded.  Winter is nigh, and I'm set on having plenty of tasty, warming medicines to get me and my loved ones through!

Picture Post: Drum Altar, Equinox 2011

The drum altar is one of my favorite parts of participating in events with my spiritual family. Made up of eclectic, ecstatic, and excited witches, we use this space as a focal point for the community at large weekend events.

The core structure of the drum altar uses the Yoruban Ifá sprits, the Orisha, and their archetypes to build from...but the altar is not limited to that tradition. We have many different paths at these events, and the common languages are love and drum...so there is a Ganesha, a Legolas doll on the Ochossi altar (hunter, archer, tree-dweller), many many different things used to symbolize the energies we are all bringing together to work with.

Along with symbols, the festival participants bring food, candy, fruit, bread, wine, rum, whisky, cigars, candles, and more...the offerings left on the higher tiers are left for the gods, and those on the blanket are for the hungry and thirsty drummers, dancers, and watchers as the night grows darker and the fire grown higher.

Here are some glimpses of the altar during the daytime...imagine it at night, lit by tealights and candles, the mirrors flashing with the firelight, the pounding drums at your back, and the blankets full of happy people feeding each other chocolate, honey, and grapes!

Oshun, Mary, Sweet Mother, the center and heart of the altar.

A larger view of the altar...Oshun, Yemaya, and Eleggua

Ganesha is chilling next to Ochossi, and under Ogun.

Ancestor, trickster, gate and crossroads

A view of the left side, Ogun near the top, Obatala at the top, Chango opposite Ogun.

2011 Autumn Herb Exchange

Pardon my lack of writing, but I've been recovering from my vacation.  I didn't overexert myself, but I was so happy and relaxed that a week floated by since my last update before I even realized it!

Last weekend's festival was a delight.  My love and I joined our friends in the woods of Georgia for some sweet time of drumming, yoga, healing, and deep communication...there was intensity and power for sure, tempered with the chill breeze of an evening, and the pending hibernation season for us all.

In my last post I mentioned an Autumnal Herb Exchange at the festival I was attending.  Well, it happened, and it was wonderful!

I brought extra herbs that I had to spare, things that I didn't think I could use before it began to lose potency.  I rid myself of:

• Yarrow flowers and leaves (native, grown in my yard, chemical free - see my listing on Poppyswap!)



Herb Exchange 2011 by Amber Shehan

• Hibiscus flowers
• Mugwort
• Valerian
• Hops
• Comfrey
• and a bit more...

And I gained some hand-harvested, organic seeds for next year's garden:

• Mammoth Sunflowers
• Cinnamon Basil
• Beefsteak 'Maters
• Cucumbers
• Garden Sage

As well as the hand balm I mentioned, I managed to also get a lovely Moontime Tea Blend (Yarrow, Spearmint, Lemon Balm, Chamomile) and a powdered medicine called People Paste (Myrrh, Oregon Grape Root, and Slippery Elm).  The People Paste is added to honey to be taken as an electuary, and I am surely loving this blend!

And tonight, I am sampling the many flavors of Pixie's Pocket honey at a customer's dinner party.  I'll be serving the honeys plain, as well as drizzled onto water crackers and local chèvre.  This will be my first of such events, so wish me luck!