Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life.
All Things Empowering – Healing Ourselves & Earth, Self-Sufficiency, Food Forests, Gardening, Art, Road Trips, Preserving, Foraging, Permaculture, Homesteading and More!
Roses offer a bouquet of benefits for your skin, making them a delightful addition to your skincare routine. Here are some ways roses can work wonders for your skin: Antioxidant Powerhouse: Roses contain antioxidants that strengthen skin cells and promote tissue regeneration. These antioxidants also neutralize free radicals, providing anti-aging benefits. Healing Hydrator: When infused… Continue reading DIY Rose Petal Infused Oil for Amazing Skin Care Benefits
Sage is a versatile herb with many health benefits and remarkable properties. Rich in Nutrients: Sage contains vitamins (such as vitamin K), minerals (like iron and calcium), and other compounds. Sage's Super Antioxidant Power: Did you know that sage has over 160 polyphenols that work as antioxidants? These compounds may aid in combating inflammation, cancer,… Continue reading Sage Health Benefits and How to Make Sage Tea
Here’s a delightful recipe for Rose Simple Syrup made from rose petals. This syrup is perfect for adding a floral touch to coffee, desserts, sodas, sparkling water, cocktails, mocktails, tea, pancakes, French toast and more and it also has the health benefits of roses (Discover the Benefits of Rose Tea for Health and Wellness). Let’s get… Continue reading Rose Simple Syrup for Drinks and Desserts
Drying roses is a delightful way to preserve their beauty and use in dried flower arrangements or save them for medicinal or culinary use later when fresh roses are not available. Here is how to air-dry them: If you are drying roses with the intent to use them medicinally or in recipes, choose roses that… Continue reading How to Air-Dry Fragrant Roses for Culinary and Medicinal Use
Chamomile simple syrup has a sweet fruity flavor that can be added to water, sparkling water, cocktails or mocktails, tea or other beverages to enhance the flavor. It can also be used over fruit, on pancakes or French toast or any way that other syrups are used. Using this syrup will also give you the… Continue reading Chamomile Simple Syrup Recipe for Beverages and More
Making chamomile-infused oil provides a soothing and aromatic oil that can benefit your skin. It can be used as-is directly on the skin or as an ingredient in homemade lotions and salves. Chamomile is calming, comforting, and has anti-inflammatory properties that soothes dry, red and irritated skin. It can soothe mild pain and promote healing. Chamomile-infused oil… Continue reading How to Make Chamomile-Infused Oil for Skin: 2 Easy Methods
Chives are so pretty when in flower it's always hard for me to cut them to use in the kitchen. But the flowers are very tasty and make food pretty so I usually take a few flowers from each of my 5 plants whenever I harvest. That leaves some colorful beauty in the garden for… Continue reading Colorful Chive Butter: A Versatile Recipe for Savory Delights
Chamomile (Matricaria recutita or Chamaemelum nobile) is a delightful herb known for its daisy-like flowers and soothing properties. Both the flowers and foliage have a fruity aroma which makes for a delicious tea (definitely one of my favorites). Whether you’re interested in growing it for tea, herbal remedies, or simply to enjoy its beauty, here’s how to grow… Continue reading Chamomile: Uses, Benefits, and Planting Guide
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is more than just a favorite treat for our feline friends. This flowering perennial herb from the mint family has a rich history of medicinal use. Whenever I drink the tea, I get relaxed and sleepy, even if it's been a rough day. Here are its remarkable benefits and how to make… Continue reading Catnip (Nepeta cataria): Medicinal Uses and Tea Recipe
Pansies, with their vibrant colors and mild flavor, can be a unique addition to your homemade probiotic drinks. Here’s a simple recipe to get you started: Fermented Pansy Soda Recipe Ingredients: Fresh pansy petals (about 1 cup) 1/2 cup raw honey (look for unpasteurized or raw honey with natural yeast and bacteria) Filtered water A… Continue reading Fermented Pansy Soda Recipe
Dandelions are a super food and extremely healthy, growing right in our own backyard! Here is my harvest from yesterday: There is also some Purple Dead Nettle for drying (top left), a few Dandelion flowers and a couple Dandelion roots (to roast and make Dandelion coffee, which I'll post about later). Dandelion leaves can be… Continue reading Sauteed Dandelion Greens
A few days ago I woke up with pain in my neck and right shoulder. Evidently, I slept in a weird position. I'm one who avoids Acetominophen and Ibuprofin and only take it when the pain is bad enough to affect my day. I was getting ready to reach for Tylenol on this day, but… Continue reading Lavender Essential Oil for Muscle Pain, Tension and Headaches
As I was working in the garden this summer, I accidentally snipped a finger with my clippers which caused it to bleed. It was nothing serious but it didn't want to stop bleeding so I thought I was going to have to go inside to get a bandage until I remembered that Yarrow stops bleeding.… Continue reading Yarrow To Stop Bleeding Cuts & Heal
Chive blossom vinegar is very easy to make and takes your regular vinegar up a notch! Pick your chives on a dry morning after the dew has dried. I picked and used blossoms with stems attached since the stems are flavorful also. Stuff the chives into a sterilized glass jar and pour over your favorite… Continue reading Chive Blossom Vinegar
I am blessed to have a couple of old Lilac shrubs that have dark purple flowers growing in my yard. They will be flowering in May so I will be gathering a lot to dry for herbal preparations. The main way that I use dried Lilacs is to make a salve that is anti-aging and… Continue reading How to Dry Lilac for Use in Herbal Preparations or Dried Arrangements
The generous amounts of onion and sage I’ve added to this loaf make it perfect for Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing, and you’ll probably want to have an extra loaf on hand for leftover turkey sandwiches, too. Sourdough Onion & Sage Bread — Comfort du JourSourdough Onion & Sage Bread — Comfort du Jour Rosemary Garlic Artisan… Continue reading Sourdough Onion & Sage Bread — Comfort du Jour
Folks, it’s that time of year. Summer. Ew. When mosquitoes lurk around every corner, and poison ivy and thorns seem to meet you at every turn in the woods. In addition to these common skin irritants, I’ve noticed as I’ve aged that prickly plants – not just thorns like raspberries, but even summer squash and… Continue reading DIY Herbal Bite and Sting Salve
Guest post. A wonderful way to use peaches and rosemary from your garden.
Last weekend, Jim and I went to Long Row Lavender in Wright City, MO. It’s a cute little farm halfway between St. Louis and Columbia where you can pick your own lavender, take a stroll around the farm, and even get breakfast or lunch. We had a great time picking lavender. We got there early… Continue reading Lemon Lavender Scones
There’s a reason why bread is considered a comfort food…it warms your body like your mother’s warm hug. The humble loaf of bread starts it’s life with such simple instructions yet, cared for in such a way. You create this “spiritual-like” experience from the aroma, wafting in the air. To the emotinal love you put… Continue reading Rosemary Garlic Artisan Bread
I am a fan of Rain Country on Youtube. A few days ago my feed on Youtube came up with one of her older videos on making Calendula Soda. I have many Calendulas growing this year 🙂 So I watched the video, then excitedly went to my garden and picked a couple handfuls of Calendula,… Continue reading I Made Calendula Viola Soda!
Hey there! Thanks for visiting my blog. The garden is filled with lots of color, so I thought I’d take advantage of that and create a floral arrangement. Creating an arrangement is fun to do! It is great to be able to wander about the garden, gathering flowers and then being able to create something… Continue reading A summer floral arrangement with pizazz
I am always looking for new ways to use herbs. These summer mocktails or cocktails use herbs with other ingredients and there's also a recipe for mint syrup. Thank you for the wonderful ideas to the blogger that wrote this. I hope my readers enjoy it as much as I did. Combine herbs and juices… Continue reading Summer Mocktails or Cocktails
I had some blueberries I needed to use up so I made Blueberry Basil Jam. I did not can it because it only made around 4 cups and I plan on giving some to my dad. Plus, I'll eat toast with the jam for breakfast for a while. So it's more a refrigerator jam. 4… Continue reading Blueberry Basil Jam
This is the Nasturtium I'm growing this year. I don't remember the name of the variety, I just picked out a packet at the store that looked pretty. They mound rather than vine. They are so easy to grow. Just plant the seeds in the garden, keep the soil moist and watch them grow. I… Continue reading Nasturtium: Easy-to-Grow Edible Flowers with Benefits for Hair Growth
This is a flower arrangement I cut from my garden to attract abundance. If you didn't know, flowers and herbs have symbolic meaning that has been gathered through the ages. To find out what the symbolic meaning is of particular flowers and herbs, you can google it. By making an arrangement of flowers and herbs… Continue reading A Flower Arrangement To Attract Abundance
I wanted to make beer battered fried Sage leaves but didn't have beer so was trying to think of a substitute. Kombucha is fizzy, slightly sweet, but more sour, so I thought maybe it would work, so I gave it a try. I only used about a cup of all-purpose flour then whisked in enough… Continue reading Kombucha Battered Fried Sage Leaves
Last summer I had one Thyme plant. This season I have four - I started a new plant by dividing the Thyme I had and I bought 3 others. The new 3 are Lemon Thyme, English Thyme and Pizza Thyme. Here are some photos: These all make a tasty tea. Sometimes I drink it on… Continue reading Growing And Using Thyme for Health
Oregano tea you say? I thought that was to season Spaghetti! Seems I'm always referring back to when the pandemic was first taking hold in a lot of my posts. Yes, I am. That period of time and what we went through was a life changer for me. Being laid off for 2-1/2 months, experiencing… Continue reading How to Make Oregano Tea and It’s Health Benefits
I've recently adopted a practice of make a large batch of herbal iced tea that lasts about a week until gone (I live by myself). I started doing this because all herbs have SO many health benefits, vitamins and minerals. Each week I use different herbs so I'm getting some different health benefits, vitamins and… Continue reading Mixed Herbal Iced Tea for Health Benefits
Pin to Pinterest with this image so you can refer back to it later Last March, I was laid off from my job for 2.5 months due to the pandemic. During this time I began to get back in touch with my passion for gardening and using herbs and flowers. At first, the reason I… Continue reading Homemade Lilac Salve
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic I've been on a quest to grow as many fruits, vegetables and herbs as possible for my health, and in case anything happened to our food system. During this quest I found out that Dandelion is highly nutritious. Dandelions are full of antioxidants and boost the immune system… Continue reading Boost Your Immune System With Dandelion Tea
The other day I looked out my kitchen window and noticed the dandelions blooming. At first I thought "great, time to figure out how to get a mower". But for some reason a memory came to me of years ago frying dandelion flower buds in butter and them tasting like mushrooms. I had also made… Continue reading Dandelion Salad
Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life. 