a number of things

peppermint for tea - part 2

Ok, so 3 or 4 days have passed and my mint is now dry and it is time to remove it from the stems. The easiest method I have found for doing this with mint (it will vary from herb to herb) is to pick off the top leaves first so that I have a bit of stem to hold onto, and then simply strip the leaves off by running your hand down the stem.

There always seems to be a few willing helpers for this little task. The smell is heavenly!  You can crunch / crush your leaves up a bit more if you like, but I don't usually bother. (The larger leaves do require a slightly longer steeping time, however.) We store all of our teas in labeled wide-mouth quart jars, but any airtight container will work just fine. Just make sure they are stored out of direct sunlight. A cupboard or pantry is just perfect.

You can of course brew your homegrown tea in the same manner that you would brew any loose leaf tea, but I personally love using a French press. These are meant for coffee, but work extremely well for loose leaf teas.  Simply put in a nice, big, heaping spoonful of peppermint (above I have added a bit of homegrown lemon balm for a yummy blend) per cup and add boiling water.  Steep for 15 - 20 minutes push down the plunger, pour and enjoy!

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According to The Green Pharmacy, these are just a few of the things that peppermint is helpful for:

• Breathing Difficulties
• Colitis
• Gastritis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Muscle Pain
• Sore throat
• Coughing
• Nausea
• Stomachache
• and even hiccups!

 

stickers for the tea notes

I thought I would give label / sticker making a try!  These are designed to go with the blue & white tea notes. Simply print them out on Avery mailing labels (Number 18160 and others) or any other brand of size 1" x 2 5/8" printable mailing labels (30 labels per sheet). The ones I used were Office Depot store brand and worked just great.

Use them to seal your note cards, or cut a strip of the stickers to fold and include with a stack of the notes as a gift.  Check them out!  And as always, I welcome your feedback. :)

  

peppermint for tea

We drink a lot of teas around here. Black, white, green or herb (a lot of herb) on a daily basis. This year and last, I decided to include more herbs for tea in the herb and salad garden (focusing on both herbs that we use for tea regularly and herbs for medicinal uses) in an effort to save a bit of money while enjoying the superior flavors of homegrown ingredients. (I know that technically speaking, herb "teas" are called "tisanes",  but for the sake of this post, we will call them teas.)

Above you see my humble peppermint patch, running wild at the base of an old rose bush.  Peppermint really needs it's own spot, as it will quickly take over the area in which it is planted. A few sprigs planted this year will give you all the tea you need by next.

Peppermint can be used fresh for tea, but we like to dry it for the sake of convenience. When picking peppermint to dry, we cut long stems and remove any yellowed or bug nibbled leaves.

Even though I grow everything organically, I still like to clean the dust off by soaking the mint for 10 - 15 minutes in a bowl of cool, clean water. This also works to drown any tiny buggly creatures that you may not want in your tea. 

After soaking and gently swishing the stems, shake off as much of the water as possible and spread them out on a clean towel (turning occasionally) until the leaves are dry from their washing.  Don't leave them there too long, about 30 minutes or so. The whole room will smell pleasantly minty.

There are several ways to dry your herbs (Using a dehydrator or low temp oven, for example.), but this is the way we do it because it is simple and can be done by the kiddos also. We just bundle the stems into small bundles and secure them with rubberbands. Be careful not to put too many stems in the bundles because you want the air to get to all the leaves so they won't stay moist and mold.

I like using rubberbands so that as the stems shrink, they will not fall. I make little hooks out of paperclips and hang the bundles from a clothes hanger out of direct sunlight for 3 - 4 days or until the leaves feel crispy and dry.

next: Storing and brewing!

a little shrine

I was cleaning off my cluttered chest of drawers yesterday, when I picked up my favorite statue to give him a good dusting and I suddenly remembered my (pre-baby) plan to somehow put him out where I could see him more.

Inspired once again by the wonderful Shrines book with all it's amazing photos of beautiful old statues behind their grates, I dug out an old sewing machine drawer I had stashed away and asked Anna if I might use one of the rusty mini gates in her wee garden (I traded her a newer one of the same).

After drilling two small holes for the bottom for the wire gate to stick into, and adding a plastic dove that had been flitting around in the craft supplies for years, the result was a lovely little shrine that just makes me smile every time I see it.

And I see it all the time... now. :)

 

 

egg painting

I know that Easter Sunday with all it's egg-coloring fun is past, but the Easter Season has just begun!

I fell in love with An Egg is Quiet some time ago, with all it's beautiful watercolors, and knew we needed an egg-y project to go with it come spring time. 

 

The lovely end papers of this book are positively inspiring!  So many beautiful eggs each with the name of the creature that it came from. So way back in the fall, I ordered some great wooden eggs in various sizes and tucked them away for later.

 

With the grass now green, flowers blooming everywhere and a few cousins over (wearing old t-shirts to keep clothes clean) for the day, we broke out the paints and created some beautiful egg creations. Such a fun spring time project.

 

Holy Week crosses

 

They are back!

Wishing you a blessed Holy Week and a happy & holy Easter!

 

wordless wednesday

 

 

four months old today

Same position. Same mirror. Same baby... just bigger. Three months after this pic, I thought I'd do a little update.  My goodness how time flies.  She does not sleep on my shoulder nearly as much as she used to... unfortunately.

  

blue & white tea notes

It's about time for another fun (and free!) downloadable / printable something around here, don't you think?  These are little foldable note cards like the ones I had when I was a kid.  Simply print and cut apart (Instructions are on page 3 of the PDF.) for instant stationery!  You can even print a whole bunch of them and tie up into small bundles for sweet little gifts.

Click here to check them out!

***Update***  Printable stickers for the note cards!

Enjoy!

P.S. ~ Please let me know of any glitches or problems you discover, as this is my first attempt at these and I would like to do more.  Thanks!!

 

when brothers babysit

I just love watching the different (but equally loving) ways that boys and girls take care of babies.  So much fun.