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HERB
PRODUCTS
Herbs are
very versatile plants and can find their way into many areas of
everyday life. We try to demonstrate this idea in the preserved
products we create, the recipes we share, the conversations we
have at market. I think about and offer these products in two
ways: As culinary and as medicinal &
wellness products.
Our
culinary products include dried herb, herb seasonings, stevia,
hot peppers. Our medicinal and wellness products include a variety
of herbal teas, and dried herbs, berries and
roots.
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CULINARY
HERB PRODUCTS
DRIED
CULINARY HERBS
Herbs
offered dried, chopped, crumbled or ground fine
and in spice rack size jars.
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HERBS
SEASONINGS
These
blends come from years of travel and experimenting,
they are interesting blends to jazz up anything you're
cooking. Offered in spice rack size jars |
STEVIA
PRODUCTS
We
offer Stevia finely ground in shaker jars. You will
also find our stevia in our grilling rubs and some
of our teas.
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GRILLING
RUBS
Herb
combinations ground fine to add to oil for marinating
prior to grilling. Packaged in a resealable tin.
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FRESH
HANDMADE
Filè POWDER
It
is the powdered leaves of the sassafras tree. When
ground, they smell somewhat like eucalyptus. Filè
powder is used in authentic Creole or Cajun cuisine.
Long before the use of Filè powder for Creole
and Cajun cooking, American Indians pounded sassafras
leaves into a powder and added them to soups and stews.
Offered in spice rack size jars |
CATNIP
Leaves
and flowers for your feline friends! Packaged
in a resealable tin.
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FIRE
POWDER
Made
from a blend of 5 of our hottest peppers. Sun dried,
ground to a fine powder. Offered in spice rack size
jars.
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HOT
PEPPER SAUCES
We
started growing hot peppers to dry for our personal
use and for our market seasonings. Then we started
growing more fresh peppers to make hot sauces. We
make limited quantities of our hot pepper sauce in
the late Summer or early Autumn. |
DRIED
HOT PEPPERS
We
offer as available our hot peppers sun dried. We like
it hot and so our peppers are also hot, hot, hot!
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FRESH
CUT HERBS
Herbs
make any food taste better! Fresh herbs are the secret
to many with a "secret ingredient" recipes!
Starting as early as May and through out the summer
we sometimes bring fresh cut herb bunches to market.
Sold in
rubber banded bunches. |
PICKLED
HOT PEPPERS
We
offer as available pickled hot peppers for your cocktails,
charcuterie boards or any other culinary application
where some fire is needed.
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STAGHORN
SUMAC POWDER
The
country lemon. Used in African, Moroccan and Middle
Eastern cooking. Wild gathered, sun dried ground fine.
Offered in spice rack size jars. |
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SIMPLE
SYRUPS
(Herb,
fruit, flower, berry infused syrups)
Simple
Syrups we make:
HOT
PEPPER
LAVENDER
BASIL
LEMON
CHAMOMILE
LICORICE
&
OTHER HERB COMBINATIONS
We
make simple syrups from foraged ingredients as well.
Read about them here.
We
also make a variety of shrubs(drinking vinegars),
read about the foraged varieties here
and the cultivated fruit varieties here.
Find
a complete list of all mixers and cocktail recipes
here.
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THIRD
WAVE HERBAL TEAS |
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Tea
is echoing the “third wave” coffee movement where
ingredients and process are put in the forefront. You can think
of tea in three different stages as well. The first wave started
at the turn of the 20th Century with commercial products like
"Lipton" and "Luzianne". The
second wave though upscale, still involved commercial producers
like “Celestial” and “Tevanna”. The
third and current wave is being driven by small tea shops that
source ingredients directly from farmers. The emphasis is on
simple, great tasting blends of ingredients skipping imitation
flavorings that don’t belong with tea combined with the
process of the tea brewing.
The
first thing with brewing the perfect cup is to source good tea.
We've been growing herbs for 30 years and we know how to put
the perfect blend of flavors and herbs together to produce a
enjoyable yet purposeful cup of tea! While herbs generally are
caffeine free, there are some herbs that can be used to achieve
the same effect without the addictive qualities! Herbal tea
also has many health benefits the significant benefits are included
on the labels of our teas.
All
of our purposeful teas provide information about the combination
of herbs in the blend right on the label.
CREATE
YOUR OWN TEA BLEND
In 2019 we are offering the opportunity to create and
blend your own tea.
Purposeful
teas generally are a combination of 3 or more types of herbs.
A base herb, which sets the overall purpose
of the tea, medicinal herbs that contribute
to the overall purpose of the tea, flavors
to make the taste more enjoyable and often times, a sweetener.
When
blending herbs for teas, we think about what we'd like it to
do - if anything. Do we want it to help us go to sleep? Do we
want to enjoy something soothing and relaxing while reading
a book or cruising online? Are we having a tea party? Do we
need something that's like coffee in the morning but that doesn't
have the buzz caffeine provides? Will it be hot or iced when
you enjoy it? How about the flavor, do we want it sweet? Tangy?
Bitter?
In
mixing herbs together for purpose and taste, we want to balance
bitter herbs with something mild lemony or sweet - or all of
these. You can also hide bitter flavors with strong flavors.
Mild herbs can be boosted with a lemony or floral taste. Lemony
flavors are best alone or enhanced with something more floral
or sweet. The combinations are endless, but if you keep in mind
the purpose and keep it simple, you will have created a beautiful
custom blend all your own!
Below
is a list of the herbs we offer at markets. The descriptions
are more lengthy than what's on the labels to assist you in
blending your own custom blended tea:
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BASE
HERBS
LEMON
BALM - Reduces stress and
anxiety, promotes sleep, improves appetite, and eases
indigestion. A natural antihistimine. May help to make
the thyroid slow in people with hyperthyroidism. Predominately
lemon balm promotes relaxation. Has a lemony aroma, but
not too strong with lemony taste.
RASPBERRY
LEAF - Promotes good health,
calms anxiety and stress. High in vitamin C and antioxidents.
Commonly used by nurse midwives to ease delivery. In women,
can induce labor and can act like estrogen hormone treatment.
The taste is more like green tea than anything else.
CHAMOMILE
- Chamomile is known to
induce sleep and can strengthen the immune system. Can
reduce stress and anxiety by raising the levels of serotonin
and melatonin. Acts as a diuretic in some. May be helpful
in reducing colic in babies by improving digestive function.
The taste is floral and unique. Blends well with honey.
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MEDICINAL
HERBS
FEVERFEW
- Remedies for headaches, fevers &
arthritis. Mostly used for migraine headaches.
(bitter).
SKULLCAP
- Sedative & nerve tonic.
(mild to no taste)
GINKO
LEAF - Enhances memory.
(mild to no taste)
DANDELION
ROOT - A rich source of vitamins A, B complex,
C & D & minerals (iron, potassium, & zinc).
Has antioxidant properties. Diuretic. Appetite
stimulant. (mild, tastes somewhat
like green tea).
COLTSFOOT
- Soothe dry cough & throat irritation. Can
reduce fever & chest congestion. Natural antihistamine.
(bitter)
CHICKWEED
- A rich source of calcium, magnesium, potassium
and vitamin C. Diuretic. Appetite suppressant.
An expectorant & cooling to the lungs. Used for constipation
& stomach disorders. (mild, tastes
somewhat like green tea)
BORAGE
- Improves function of lungs. Reduces
fever. Reduces cough. Reduces pain & swelling.
Antidepressant. Can be used to increase lactation. Cures
hangover in some. (mild to mildly minty).
GOLDEN
SEAL - Natural antibiotic and immune system enhancer.
(VERY bitter)
LAVENDER
- Relaxes mind & body. Reduce stress.
Sleep aid. Relieves indigestion. Reduce muscle
stress. Antidepressant. Antiseptic. Antibiotic. (perfumey
& floral)
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FLAVORING
HERBS
SUMAC
BERRY - Tart, lemony.
LEMON
PEEL - Tart, lemony.
FENNEL
SEED - licorice like but without the sweetness.
HIBISCUS
- Tart, lemony, tastes somewhat like cranberry
ELDERFLOWER
- Antioxidant. Antiviral. A defense against cold
and flu. Boosts immune system. Flavoring is flowery.
GINGER
ROOT - Spicy, tangy
LICORICE
ROOT - Spicy, tangy, sweet. |
HERBS
THAT SWEETEN
STEVIA
LEAF -
sweetens with almost zero calories, does not encourage
cavities and is non-glycemic. In its raw leaf form stevia
is 10 to 15 times sweeter than cane sugar.
CRYSTALIZED
GINGER - pungent, spicy sweetness. Is
ginger root coated with cane sugar.
LICORCE
STICK - Long segments(sticks) of the
licorice plant root. You'll need a nutmeg grater
of some sort (find them in our market booth) to
unlock the sweetness.
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nutmeg or hard herb/spice grater |
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HOW
DO YOU BREW THE BEST CUP OF TEA?
Step
1: Pack it into your
own bag or mesh teaball.
Trade
the factory-produced dust stuffed tea bag
for whole leaf, unflavored tea. The first
thing with brewing the perfect cup is to
start with good tea. Good tea is tea that's
produced in small batches and that is unflavored.
Meaning no fruity or artifical flavorings
in the list of ingredients. Choosing a good
tea means ingredients need to be consistent
in size, shape, and color. And that consistency
is only possible when there's a human hand
involved in the process of picking and crumbling
the leaves, flowers and berries. No machine
can mass produce consistent herb tea ingredients.
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Step
2: Use fresh, filtered
if possible, boiling water.
Tea
is 90% water so think about the quality
and temperature of the water you're going
to use. The purity and freshness of the
water adds to the flavor of the tea. If
you can - Opt for filtered or bottle spring
water, and avoid distilled water, as this
is purified of its natural content of minerals
and will lead to a flat tasting beverage.
Filtered
water is ideal, tap water has a flavor that
changes the natural flavor of herb tea.
8 ounces boiling per 1 heaping teaspoon
of tea and steeping it for 3-5 minutes.
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Step
3: Make it personal.
Brew
it how you like it. Unless you're brewing
a whole pot for a crowd, tea is a personal
experience. When preparing tea, we’re
tempted to let it steep for longer for obtaining
a stronger taste, but the general rule says
you should add more leaves, not extend the
brewing time - this may lead to a bitter
taste. Tea leaves expand so it’s better
to let them move freely inside the brewing
pot, more flavor will be extracted and will
be visually pleasing.
Any
good tea brewed with these instructions
will have a complexity, meaning it has an
awesome aroma, it has a great taste, and
a pleasent after taste. Enjoy the entire
experience, from the visual of the tea in
the jar to the pleasant after taste!
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MOON
MILK POWDER
Beginning in 2019 we are offering one of the oldest
sleep remedies known to man.
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Moon
milk is one of the oldest natural remedies for sleeplessness.
Simply put, it’s a soothing glass of warm cow’s
milk consumed right before bed. When included as a part
of your nighttime routine, this bedtime beverage may help
you get more rest.
Milk
contains two substances that are related to sleep regulation:
the amino acid - tryptophan and the hormone - melatonin
which plays a role in our sleep-wake cycle. Typically
combined with finely ground soothing herbs and ashwagandha.
Ashwagandha is considered to be an adaptogen which is
said to enhance the body’s response to stress.
Moon
Milk powders:
PINK
MOON MILK - a blend of ground beetroot, hibiscus,
rose petal, ginger and ashwagandha.
GOLD
MOON MILK - a blend of ground tumeric, chamomile,
lemon peel, maitake mushroom, lions mane mushroom, ashwagandha.
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