Mother's Day Feasting

Yesterday was Mother's Day so my husband and I treated my parents to an all-out meat and veggies extravaganza. I had planned to take more pictures but we were all so excited to start eating, I forgot.

Here is the menu:

4lb ribeye roast

brined overnight, coated in a pepper dry rub and smoked for 4 hours

4lb brisket

brined overnight, dry spice rub and smoked for 8 hours

Roasted Vegetables

golden beets, celeriac, carrots, onions, japanese sweet potato

drizzled in grapeseed oil and sprinkled with sea salt and garlic powder

Spring Salad

arugula, baby spinich, fennel root, tomatoes, baby cucumbers

tossed in olive oil, ume plum vinegar and lemon juice

Strawberries and Cream

fresh whipped heavy cream with just a touch of vanilla (no sugar added)

fresh strawberries

My dad, who is 100x harder to feed then my five year old, loved the whole thing. He even ate all the roasted vegetables because he thought they were all varieties of potatoes. When I told him he had just eaten beets and celery root he seemed a bit surprised as he was sure that he didn't like those things.

After I digest all this meat, I will be sure to come back and delve in to the reasons I love using ume plum vinegar.

Herbs 101

In our house, there is a wall unit devoted entirely to loose herbs, about 50 different herbs all in all. I use them pretty much everyday. I can't possibly cover all that they do in one blog but I'll start with the basics.

If you want to get into using herbs for healing with your family I recommend buying just a couple basic herbs and launching off from there. I buy all my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great prices and amazing quality.

If you are just getting started here is what I recommend:

• chamomile: gas, colic, indigestion, anxiety, insomnia
• catnip: restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, stomach upset
• mint: any stomach issue
• elder flower: fever, colds, flu, excess heat
• lemon balm: anxiety, stomach issues, headaches
• hibiscus flowers: makes tea taste good and is red and pretty
• slippery elm or licorice root: sore throats, coughs

Making tea is one of my daughter's favorite "adult" things to do. Start saving all your glass jars (pickles, salsa, jelly, etc). You are going to need a lot! Get a big mixing bowl and a scoop. Scoop equal parts of different herbs into the bowl and mix them together. Pour the mix into a new jar and label it.

Why do I really love making my own tea?

1. My daughter practices measuring, stirring, pouring and labeling and she thinks its all great fun.
2. I am teaching her knowledge of medicinal plants.
3. When she doesn't "feel good" she asks to make a cup of tea and it always helps.
4. It's so much cheaper than buying prepackaged tea.
5. Hand blended tea makes great gifts.

Making tea blends:

Now you have all your herbs in the jars and ready to go. Here are some of my blends or experiments with your own. I added some extra herbs in green if you decide to go all out.

Nighty Night: Catnip, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, rose, lavender, passion flower

Tummy Soother: Mint, chamomile, lemon balm, catnip, fennel/anise for gas, blackberry leaves for diarrhea, cinnamon for diarrhea

Rise the Sun Tea: (as named by Zoe and I don't know why) 2 parts Hibiscus flower, 1 part mint-- drink iced instead of juice

Stuffy Head: mint, lemon balm, elder flower, thyme, eucalyptus, sage, rosemary, echinacea

Sore Throat: slippery elm, licorice, mint, sage, eucalyptus, thyme, echinacea

Having herbs readily available is such a relief to me when I know my child is suffering and I don't want to give her over the counter medicine. If you want to rely on herbs for most of your "I don't feel good" moments I recommend adding the following books to your library:

• Anything by Dr James Duke, especially The Green Pharmacy
• Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Jill Romm
• Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand

If you read the post on leftover smoothies and you are wondering the answer to what else I put in my popsicle tray, it's leftover tea. Trust me, when your child has a fever or sore throat, an ice cold licorice root and mint popsicle will REALLY help. Just be sure to sweeten it with raw honey.

RAW HONEY? Okay, we will tackle that another time.