blackbirdsbackyard

Pinto Bean, Purslane and Oregano Salad

I have a bumper crop of oregano this year. Homegrown fresh or dried oregano tastes so much better than anything you could ever buy in a store. Purslane also grows in my garden in great abundance. Highly invasive but also high in nutrients like Omega Fatty Acids and vitamins A, C, and E. Thankfully itContinue reading “Pinto Bean, Purslane and Oregano Salad”

Sleep Tea (White VERVAIN)

I am pretty much out of ideas for tinctures, salves and oils until I move some product. My apothecary cabinet is just bursting. I hate to see my plants go to waste. I set the goal of trying to harvest as much as I could from the backyard pharmacy over the this summer. That meansContinue reading “Sleep Tea (White VERVAIN)”

Lemon Balm Honey Butter

As herbalists we are very familiar with using the medicinal properties of herbs and fats in the forms of infused oils and salves. Plants have many fat soluble properties such as certain vitamins, pigments, steroids, alkaloids, lipids, waxes, triterpenoids, chlorophyll, saponin, carotenoids, phytoestrogens, and volatile oils just to name a few. Plants in the mintContinue reading “Lemon Balm Honey Butter”

Healing Oil (COMFREY)

When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, Comfrey was a plant to be feared. Do too much digging around it, and this plant will quickly take over a garden bed. This herb is never to be easily removed once happy and established. Comfrey is best added to a backyard pharmacy by ordering the rootstock fromContinue reading “Healing Oil (COMFREY)”

Gluten Free Black Currant Cake

I love the color and texture of this cake. I was not sure how our fresh black currants would taste in it as our berries are a bit spicy. But the sugar and almond extract provided the needed balance. There are not many recipes that I have found to use up all of our blackContinue reading “Gluten Free Black Currant Cake”