Time for Tea-Anise Hyssop, Mullein and Chamomile for a Cold

I created a new website! It has my blog and the herbal products that I'm creating from the home grown herbs and flowers that I grow. Please come on over and follow me at:

www.katiebirdsgarden.com

I've been foraging, growing and drying herbs and flowers all summer so I could have a nice variety of herbal tea blends. Well, now that its the third week of school, we all are a bit sniffly with a cold and its the perfect time to try some out!

Today I'm stuffy and sneezy, so I've blended up a cup of chamomile, mullein and anise hyssop. it tastes amazing! I love anise flavoring, or black licorice flavor as some people may reference, so this cup is quite enjoyable.

Mullein leaves are known to have respiratory-supporting and anti-inflammatory traits, so I've included them along with chamomile for its soothing effects, and some anise hyssop, which has cough suppressing properties, and as mentioned, great flavor!

I filled a paper teabag with the leaves and flowers and let it steep for 5 minutes. Mullein has fine hairs on its leaves, so its recommended to strain it or use a tea bag to keep the hairs from irritating your throat. I can't say that I've noticed any irritation from the couple cups of tea I've had that included it. It doesn't have much of a flavor either, which is nice.

I'm going to enjoy a couple cups of this tea as I work through this cold!

Photo of anise hyssop, jar of dried mullein leaves and a jar of dried chamomile flowers

Boozy Beets?

I'm reading up on lacto-fermenting vegetables, in preparation for my abundant harvest I'm hoping for this year. One random article said, "Just be careful not to cut beets too small as they contain a lot of sugar and can produce alcohol." Hmm...beet wine anyone? Does it exist? Further research is needed on this one! *** Oh good Lord...it does exist! http://jinman2871.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/beet-wine/ from randomly searching and found the Prairie Girl blog!

The Big 1000!

My little blog that could has hit over a 1000 views today! Thanks everybody, it makes it so much more fun to know that people are actually looking at it and reading :) There will be some more exciting things to talk about this summer, here's a short sneak peek list: Bedroom makeover Office makeover Gardens galore The story of a farm stand AND some other exciting things to come in the future :)

Summer Project!

Nothing to do with diabetes here, I just wanted to show the awesome cabinet I found on Craig's List and hope to be picking up tonight! It'll be my summer project, and Jeff has already said 'you'll never finish it' oh but I will. We desperately need the storage in our kitchen and there's a big, empty wall that needs something on it too. Here it is, not lookin' too hot. The red paint is actually glass in the cabinets. I'm very excited. It needs a good re-furbishing...not sure what finish I want it in, any ideas?

Katiebird's Garden & Wildcraft

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