Recipes, Remedies, and Reflections for August

August is always a bit wistful for me—still summer, but tugging toward fall with school returning to session and my mind turning toward harvest and the light fading more and more each day. It is a time of abundance for many of us, with the stone fruit season in full swing. Produce is filled with peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines, and more! The veggies are abundant as well—look for greens, corn, a wider variety of peppers, as well as the usual offerings. While summer is, at least for myself, not the biggest cooking season, there are those seasonal dishes that I just love: Moosewood’s Summer Vegetable Soup, peach and blackberry crumbles with fresh cream, or maybe just a dinner of watermelon with a pinch of salt enjoyed on the porch. Fresh herbal drinks are another treat this season as well:

Herbal waters such as lime and fresh mint from the garden
Sweet tea—it is a Southern tradition
Smoothies are my favorite breakfast in the heat, with added yum such as spirulina or greens blend, collagen, kefir, protein, etc.
Fizzy drinks! I love making herbal and fruit syrups for a nice “mocktail” on summer evenings

Recently, a friend let me harvest from his very abundant aronia bush, and I made a yummy and heart-soothing syrup to add to mineral water.

Summer Love Syrup

2 cups fresh (or 1 cup dried) aronia berries
1 cup hawthorn berries
¼ cup organic rose petals
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, cut and added to the pot

Add all ingredients to a heavy-bottomed pot and simmer on medium heat until reduced by half. Strain berries and herbs, and while hot, add an equal amount of honey. Stir well, and if using vanilla extract, add to syrup while stirring. Will keep in the fridge for about a month. You can also add a splash of brandy to help preserve. To serve, add a couple of tablespoons (to taste) of syrup, a squeeze of lemon juice, and fizzy water. You can add your favorite alcohol such as bourbon, tequila, or vodka, mint, cherries, or other favorite treats. This is a lovely cool drink and another way to include herbs in your day.

Moosewood’s Summer Soup
“Like a salad in soup form!”

2 medium potatoes, diced
4 cups water or broth
2–4 large garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
½ lb green beans, trimmed and cut
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 medium carrot, diced
½ lb sugar snap or snow peas
2 small zucchinis or yellow squash
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
Optional: 1 cup fresh corn, fresh spinach, 1 cup buttermilk, fresh herbs such as dill, parsley, mint, fennel, etc.

Cook potatoes in water until tender, adding whole garlic cloves toward the end of cooking time. Purée and set aside. Steam all remaining veggies—starting with the dense ones such as cauliflower and carrots, then adding the delicate peas toward the end. Add steamed veggies to the heated potato and garlic purée and warm together. If using buttermilk, add now. Finish the soup with fresh herbs and a hunk of cornbread. This is a nice light soup but also very filling—a great way to utilize the abundance of veggies at this time of year.

In health and body care news, we are still experiencing some out-of-stocks, especially in herbs. Some of the Chinese herbs have returned, but chamomile and calendula are out of stock until September. I expect this to continue for a while. Herbs have grown in popularity, and political and climate issues have taken their toll. We are continuing to look for local options as well. Sadly, we have lost some growers due to Hurricane Helene.

We do have a few new items on their way:

New Malama bulk mushrooms and functional beverages: Due to out-of-stock issues with our supplier, I am bringing in a new mushroom line for bulk. They are dual-extract fruiting bodies, so you can feel good about quality and potency. They also have a mushroom blend, which we have not had available for a few years.
Ten Thousand Villages baskets and kitchenware: Beautiful and Fair Trade. Look for more gift-type items as we move toward fall and winter.
Magnesium supplements continue to be popular, and we have brought in a few new products from Natural Factors, including the ever-popular magnesium glycinate.
Lip balm tubes are finally in stock, along with many canning and mason jars for your herbcrafting and food preservation needs.
New Anima Mundi treats: bug spray, Parasite Defense capsules, Dragonsblood sage wands, and many new teas available.
Wise Earth Ways has several new items including a parasite blend, a new facial serum, and a shatavari extract.

Last month, I shared a little on pet care. It’s a passion of mine, as I love animals and have had many throughout my life. As many of you know, a new puppy just found me, so I am deep-diving once again into the herbal world for dogs. I thought I would share a couple of tips and recipes that I hope you’ll find helpful.

To begin, you don’t need to formulate 28-herb blends in a variety of forms. Sometimes, sprinkling a bit of chamomile flowers into your pet’s dinner is enough to calm a stressed or reactive dog. I use broth often for my pets, and it’s a great place to add herbs on a daily basis. I often include astragalus, calendula, nettles, oatstraw, jujube dates, medicinal mushrooms, and seaweeds in my broths to support daily health. Broth can be added to kibble or used to make their homemade or raw diets.

As it is the season, here is a helpful dewormer recipe from Herbs for Pets by Greg Tilford:

Anti-Worm Food Supplement

2 parts unsalted raw pumpkin seeds, chopped or ground
1 part garlic powder
1 part fennel seed
1 part yucca root
½ part wormwood

Mix all dry ingredients together. Use 1 tsp per pound of food fed daily. Feed 5 days on, 2 days off for a couple of weeks, until worm populations are normal.

I also suggest having a pet first-aid kit. Just like our own kits, consider what your pet often needs:

Anxiety formulas such as Rescue Remedy, or a tincture of lemon balm, chamomile, passionflower, or oatstraw
A pain formula containing willow bark, wild lettuce, and/or meadowsweet. Some also like CBD chews made specifically for pets
Yarrow tincture for bleeding
A good all-purpose salve for wounds (plantain, comfrey, St. John’s wort, yarrow, calendula, etc.)
Note: Skip essential oils in your topicals when treating cats
A hot spot salve containing chickweed and plantain
Digestive support blend including chamomile and fennel
Wound care supplies—bandages, saline wash, a cone to keep them from chewing
Mullein ear drops or an ear wash
Colloidal silver or herbal anti-infection tincture for giardia and other infections
Immune support such as mushroom powders or extracts, echinacea, elder, etc.

Cats and some dogs don’t like the alcohol taste of tinctures. You can get glycerites of some herbs or add tinctures to a bit of honey. Many herbs can be mixed directly into food. And don’t forget daily additions to diet and water—probiotics, trace minerals, greens blends, and collagen to support older dogs and cats or pets with arthritis.

For my aging dogs, I’ve blended up a formula to add to food:

Joint Support

1 part turmeric (whole plant, not standardized)
1 part MSM
1 part Solomon’s seal powder
1 part glucosamine powder
½ part tart cherry powder

Sprinkle about 1 tsp per 50 lbs onto food once daily. This has helped my older dogs with hip dysplasia and arthritis. Don’t forget good fats as well. Feeding fish regularly or adding cod liver or fish oil as a daily supplement can support not only joints, but also coat, brain, and cardiovascular health.

I wanted to end by sharing some of our staff members’ favorite products in the HBC department. Jeri has fallen in love with Evan Healy’s Balm of Gilead Serum. I must agree—it is one of my favorite skin care products and feels luxurious on my face. It blends well with the sweetgrass hydrosoul. I must admit, the entire Evan Healy line is wonderful. Other favorites include the Blue Cactus Serum and Balm, the selection of body butters, and the Rose Cleansing Milk.

My pick this month is The Food Movement’s Trace Minerals. I add these to my water daily, alternating with WishGarden’s Chlorophyll & Friends. Another great water addition at this time of year is electrolytes. Superieur is a clean line without additives, and so far, I love all the flavors!

I hope all of you are well and enjoying the season. Thank you for reading and for supporting the Co-op.

Thank you,
Melissa