One of the greatest satisfactions, beside working with herbs every day, is sharing the experience with others.
Thus, setting up Anamcara Healing Herbs Club is a way to share with members not only ways in which I use herbs for medicine, but also food recipes they can try at home.
Below is a sample monthly newsletter members receive when they register - 70 euro for a lifetime membership. This is one of the benefits of being a member, beside other advantages, such as:
a free one-hour consultation (valued at 50 euro);
10% discount on all follow up consultations (valued at 20 euro each);
10% discount on all herbal products you might decide to purchase in the future;
exclusivity in purchasing herbal products - they will only be available to members or following a consultation with me;
priority in receiving information about workshops about learning how to use herbs for making medicine and in food;
10% discount on participation to workshops.
February Flavors from Anamcara Healing Herbs Garden
Events
We had a wonderful workshop in January where we focused on Rosemary, Bay laurel and Pine and their properties when making herbal medicine.
I am thankful to everyone who joined and shared their amazing knowledge on herbs.
I am now traveling through Spain, Portugal and France learning more about local herbs here and will be back in Ireland in April when I will have more workshops on making herbal vinegars, herb infused oils, tincture and many more.
If you would like to be notified first about these events - I can only have a maximum of ten people per workshop - please send me your contact details as well as any interests you have.
Herb of the month
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) was one of the first herbs I planted in my garden in northwest Donegal and she is often the one I always feel, touch or smell… it brings me back home to myself.
She is known as the herb of bringing back memories, bringing us back to ourselves and being able to move the energies both downwards, thus grounding us, and upwards, thus clearing the clouds of the mind.
When I travel, I make sure to bring a few branches with me, not only that I use them in food but they are like a good friend who holds my hand when travel stress gets to me.
As a medicinal plant, Rosemary has a variety of actions such as antibacterial, antidepressant, antispasmodic, antiseptic, anti-fungal, analgesic, antioxidant, carminative, cholagogue, circulatory tonic, diffusive stimulant, diuretic, restorative, nervine.
I am a believer that herbal medicine is best administered in food especially as it is a gentle way to begin using herbs, it also gives us the chance to experiment and get to know the herb as an ally.
Thus, I use Rosemary often in food and these are some examples:
chopped fresh or dried and sprinkled on roasted potatoes;
finely chopped fresh herb mixed with butter and used either on toast or in mashed potatoes or when cooking meats and fish;
chopped fresh or dried and sprinkled when cooking a soup, stir fry or stew;
dried, powdered (in a coffee grinder) and sprinkled on soups or salads;
dried, powdered (in a coffee grinder) and sprinkled on ice cream or freshly whipped cream;
chopped fresh and added to coffee or hot chocolate when making your drink in the morning as it is a great tonic for the mental function;
added fresh or dried to marination sauces;
a herbal tea of rosemary leaves, fresh or dried, is a great digestive support as well as helping eliminate toxins.
I like to use Rosemary as one of the herbs in tonic honey syrups as well as herbal vinegars and tinctures. Also, Rosemary infused oil is a great anti-inflammatory for joints and muscle aches, eases nerve pain and is restorative for the skin as it improves the circulation. It is also good for hair health. I often use Rosemary infused oil as well as Rosemary essential oil in the face creams I make and the face serums. Not only that the scent is a deep, grounding and reassuring support for the mind, but it blends well with other essential oils. When you join one of my workshops you learn how to make your own herbal products such as the ones above.
Recipe
Poached sea trout with Rosemary
Wash and pat dry a file of sea trout (or salmon, organic if possible) and massage lightly with some virgin olive oil. Set it on a sheet of tinfoil, sprinkle fresh or dried chopped leaves of rosemary over it, place a slice or two (depending on how large is the piece of fish) on top, some sea salt and white or red pepper and wrap the tin foil to make a parcel. You can add a small piece of butter if you are ok with dairy foods.
You can also use other fish such as cod, haddock, hake and lemon sole.
Put it in the hot oven (150/170 C) and cook for 15 - 20 min.
You can serve with a side salad or mashed potatoes or on a slice of toasted sourdough bread. Make sure you use the lovely juice that has formed around the fish. And if you are making mashed potatoes, try using virgin olive oil instead of milk or/and butter when you blend them, it will surprise you how delicious and it comes out.
Bon appetite!
Resources
Rosemary is a delightful herb to have in your garden or in a pot and grows well in Donegal. These are some places where I buy herbs, if you have other suggestions, please let me know:
Note: Information offered in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and a specific herbal protocol can be provided only following a one-to-one consultation. Herbs might interact with medications and during pregnancy and breastfeeding women should use them with caution and only after a consultation with a professional.
Any links to external sites are for informational purposes only, we are in no way responsible for their content.
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