Violets

I think violets catch your eye because they want you to use them. They want to to stop, and gasp, and think "isn't that pretty." Then they want you to think "...what if I nibbled on one?" Honestly, violets are like those little candies in the store that appeal to children--tiny, bite-size, brightly colored, cute as hell, and just plain full of good cheer.

Unlike most children's candies, violets are packed with minerals and vitamins, like A and C. They are somewhat mucilaginous, and have been said to do wonders for breast health. Violets are alteratives (blood purifiers), and seem to stimulate the lymphatic system, getting stagnant systems going and clearing things out. It is a cooling herb, and said to have a reductive effect on some tumors and cancers. Also known as heartsease or viola, I should have put some in Clara's birthday tea blend to celebrate her love of stringed instruments! With it's heart-shaped leaves, maybe the "heartsease" moniker has to do with its attributes as a heart tonic--even more fitting for Clara, because she is often like a heart tonic to me as well.

Herbalist Jim McDonald has mentioned violets as bitters containing saponins, which are kind of like plant aspirin. It makes sense, then, that violets would reduce pain and headaches.

But what do I want to do with this wild violet bounty? One website suggested a violet syrup, so I found a few pages with instructions on this process. There appear to be two main approaches: one with sugar, and one using honey. The honey syrup seems to be particular useful for treating coughs. The site below lists both, and includes some good tips from experience.

http://eco-chick.com/2010/04/5667/herbs-of-spring-make-your-own-violet-syrup/


Resources:
http://www.susunweed.com/An_Article_wisewoman3e.htm
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Violets.html
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/violasoro.html

The Chicks are Sleeping

Herbalists are SUCH nerds. Case and point:

"Chickweed gets its common name because chickens love it. Raw, it tastes like corn silk. I demonstrate this to school kids with a chicken imitation, then I grab the herb from the teacher's hand with my teeth and swallow it—corny, but consistent with the plant's flavor!"
-Wild Man Steve Brill

But you know what? I love it. And I can tell that I'm on my way to becoming a big fat plant nerd too. The future, my friends, is very bright.

In addition the purple deadnettle, the other plant growing all over the garden rows is chickweed (stellaria media, which means "little star"). When I was harvesting the deadnettle (a little too early) this morning, I noticed that the chickweed blossoms all seemed to have disappeared. "Maybe it really is moss," I thought. But, it turns out, chickweed flowers go to "sleep" at night, closing their buds to re-open in the morning! If that's not neat, I don't know what is.

Gather chickweed when the buds appear--so harvest time is now, even though it's scheduled for May. They are nutritious, and can be added to salads, or cooked as a potherb and treated like spinach. Chickweed contains calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins C and A, and saponins--helping us to absorb nutrients! According to Susun Weed, the plant is good at breaking stuff up--fat, tumors, and cysts. She also says that chickweed "opens us up to cosmic energies and gives us the inner strength we need to handle those energies." Pretty rad. Chickweed can also be used externally to treat eczema and varicose veins, and if ingested is an alterative (blood purifier). It also has a reputation as a diuretic and as a poultice for eye problems, like pink eye or conjunctivitis.

In order to get some of these fabulous vitamins and minerals into my system, I picked a bunch of chickweed, clover, and deadnettle and boiled it up for about 20 minutes. I added it to my pasta, along with some lightly sauteed home-grown oyster mushrooms (thanks to Meg!), and voila--my first herbal dish!

Sources
http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Chickweed-A-Star.htm
http://www.altnature.com/gallery/chickweed.htm
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_chickweed.htm