Everlasting Gardener’s
Improving Your Herb Know-How

Publisher: Joanie Lapic      Volume Number 2      Issue Number 15      Date: August 01, 2009


“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth
. . . And to . . . Everything that has the breath of life in it I give
every green plant for food.’”                    Gen.1: 29,30
 


If you have questions about any information in these articles, or if you
need any supplies or products, please contact
Joanie Lapic, Everlasting Gardener
Phone -- 724-846-4787
e-mail -- joanie@everlastinggardener.com
Following this link to my website may also help you find what you are looking for:
Herb Specialist Joanie Lapic Everlasting Gardener

 


IN THIS ISSUE:

~ Herbs are Cost Effective
(“Six Reasons” series)
~ Herbal Highlight
~ August Special
~ “Organic vs. Inorganic” by Dr. Edward Shook
~ Don’t Forget the Flowers
~ Upcoming Classes
~ A time to . . .

 


Herbs are Cost Effective
(“Six Reasons” series)
Why are so many people using Herbs to heal their health problems?
Containing thousands of naturally-occurring phytochemicals, including minerals and vitamins, Herbs bring the body back into its natural balance.
This is the third in the series, which began in my July 1, 2009 newsletter.

HERBS ARE COST EFFECTIVE
Herbs offer results similar to what you might get when you take high-priced pharmaceutical medicines, but without the side effects. When taken in a timely, proper and careful manner, Herb supplements could even prevent costly surgery. Other high-tech tools of modern medicine have high price tags as well.
When I get anxious, due to the SADs (Seasonal Affective Disorder syndrome) I get in the fall and winter, I take St. John’s wort. In supplement form, it costs about 50 cents a day, whereas Zanax and Paxil are about $2.60 or more per day. The other supplement I might take for this condition is Mood Elevator, a combination of Chinese Herbs which also increases circulation to the head and brain. It costs about $.65 a day.
For Hayfever or other seasonal allergies, you might get some relief by using Benadryl at close to $2.00 a day. An all-natural, NO SIDE EFFECTS, SAFE, effective substitute called Hista Block is about $1.00 to $1.50 per day.
Saw Palmetto can effect prostate enlargement for significantly less (about $.12 each capsule) than an often-prescribed drug which costs over $1.00 per pill.
Ginger, often used to reduce inflammation, costs about 38 cents a day, as opposed to an often-prescribed arthritis drug, priced at more than $4.00 a day.
Let’s explore other reasons why it is better to use Herbs, in the weeks to come.
If you have any question about any Herbs or their uses, please contact Joanie: http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm
To visit Joanie’s online Herb supplement store:
http://everlastinggardener.net/natures_sunshine_independent_dis.htm

 


Herbal Highlight

CILANTRO
Coriandrum sativum

This plant has two names: CILANTRO refers to the whole plant, especially the leaf, and it is mostly used to flavor food, popular in salsa and as a seasoning for Mexican dishes.
CORIANDER refers to the seed and is primarily medicinal in effect.
Both the seeds and the leaves of this aromatic plant have been used to improve health for thousands of years. In ancient China it was credited with bringing immortality, also with improving digestion and stimulating the appetite. The seeds add a warm, sweet flavor to Indian curry dishes.
CILANTRO
The leaves are used to add a pungent, some-what citrus taste to Asian and Southwestern foods. Fresh Cilantro is delicious with beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fish, salads and guacamole. They contain potassium and some vitamin C.
According to folklore, Cilantro leaves are applied to wounds to heal them.
In temperate climates, this is its best time of year. Cilantro grows from seed very quickly, to about a foot or so tall, and matures in 3 weeks to a month. It likes a sunny or semi-sunny position, and readily re-seeds.
CORIANDER
Coriander is prepared as a tea or decoction. Tea: Pour a cup of boiling water over 1 ½ tsp. crushed seeds, cover and steep 10 minutes or so, then strain, and add sweetener. Decoction: Crush about 2 ½ Tbsp. seeds, simmer in about 2 cups water for about 20 minutes, then strain, sweeten and drink. Coriander facilitates relief of gas and spasms, as well as improving digestion (by increasing the secretion of digestive juices). It is said to relieve migraine headaches, when drunk twice a day. Chewing the seeds freshens bad breath, by simply chewing on them, which is a remedy dating back to biblical Palestine. The oils from Coriander seeds are added to commercial breath fresheners because it helps kill bad breath odor. It also eases diarrhea, especially in children. Recipe for relieving digestive upset: into 1 cup water, put ½ tsp. Coriander with ½ tsp. of any of the following: Angelica, Anise, Fennel, Ginger or Rosemary. Add 1 tsp. Sweet Marjoram or Peppermint and a shot of vodka and steep in the refrigerator overnight. Coriander contains essential oils such as linalool and geraniol (giving the scent), along with tannins, vitamin C, protein and fatty acids.
For culinary purposes, Coriander seasons soup, eggs, salad dressing, potatoes, beets, onions, liqueurs, tomato dishes and chocolate. It is a good marinade for beef, poultry and fish, and makes aromatic bread and rolls.
(Some of the above information was obtained from “The Complete Guide to Natural Healing”, card 6:15,
and from “The Holistic Herbal“ by David Hoffmann)
You can get fresh Cilantro Herb leaves or plants at Joanie’s:
http://everlastinggardener.net/herb_plants_for_sale_at_everlast.htm

 


August SPECIAL

When you come to Joanie’s office for your Health Profile during August,
receive a FREE Foot Reflexology session (an added $20.00 value).
Please call for your appointment. You’ll be so glad you did.
http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm

 


“Organic vs. Inorganic” by Dr. Edward Shook

Dr. Shook was determined to spread the word about herbs, good health, nutrition and healing to the medical world as it was in the process of changing from plant-based medicine to chemical and surgical allopathy in the early and mid 1900s.
I have been very impressed with his wisdom and knowledge, as I study Dr. Shook’s lessons from the late 1940s, presented to us in his book Advanced Treatise in Herbology. Here is a small sampling from his many lessons in the book.
"... the reason the use of herbs in healing the sick has survived for countless thousands of years is because herbs are organic, and, therefore, are capable of becoming a part of the living organism; also because they, and they alone, are the source and origin of all life on earth.
It is not conceivable or possible that any animal or human cell, organ, or body can be built from inorganic or earthly mineral matter. Such inorganic matter is merely an accretion, it does not live or grow.
We cannot conceive of a grain of sand, an atom of gold, a molecule of iron, a drop of water, or anything that is inorganic manifesting life and growth from within. Not until we thoroughly understand this all-important basic fact shall we be able to appreciate the amazing and truly wonderful life-giving properties and virtues of herbs.
...The very breath of human life is, therefore, dependent upon the vegetable or herb kingdom. Holy Scripture says, "The fruit thereof is for meat and the leaves for the healing of the nations," and modern science verifies that fact.
We know that the herb can and does assimilate inorganic mineral matter, and that through some mysterious and unknown alchemy converts this inert and lifeless matter into living organic material, which, when presented to the animal or human cell, is hungrily absorbed, sustaining and renewing its life process."
... hundreds of instances could be cited as proof to convince the most skeptical individual the deleterious effect of the application of inorganic matter and the positive curative effect of the intelligent application of nature's great store of organic remedies - herbs - in the treatment of pathological conditions of the human organism."

from Advanced Treatise in Herbology, by Edward E. Shook, N.D., D.C., pages 1, 2 and 5.

 


Don’t Forget the Flowers

A friend of mine called me with a problem the other day. She needed Lavender flowers to decorate (and flavor) some cookies for a wedding shower of which she was hostess. I invited her to come out to my Gardens, and we picked all that she needed. She also bought a Lavender plant so that from now on, in season, she would have all the Lavender flowers she needed.
Other Herb flowers can be a wonderful addition to our meals.
Think about how delicious fresh, young Dill flowers would be in a sour cream dressing, on a freshly-picked garden greens salad. The salad itself could include Thyme, Mint, Calendula, or Nasturtium flowers.
Have you tried Nasturtium flowers stuffed with pineapple cream cheese?
How about a refreshing fruit salad garnished with pretty Pansies, Rose petals or Basil flowers?
If you are in need of Herbs or their flowers to dress up and flavor your dishes, please call Joanie for either the Herb plants, or whichever parts of them you need.
And enjoy some Herbed foods that are delightfully different.
http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm

 


UPCOMING CLASSES


Saturday, August 15, 2009
3:00 pm
Herb Harvesting

Help Joanie bring in the harvest – some medicinal and some culinary Herbs.
You’ll learn the best practices to
~ pick the Herbs
~ preserve them for wintertime uses
~ how to use them
We’ll go through the Gardens together, harvest selected Herbs, and learn the techniques to make them into tinctures, teas, jellies, vinegars, butters, etc.
Take some of the Herbs home with you.
$12.00 per person. Take $1.00 off each when attending with a friend.
Your deposit of $6.00 must be in Joanie’s mailbox by Aug. 13.
You may call for availability after that date.
See you then!
http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm



Saturday, August 22, 2009
3:00 pm
Pesto Party

Help gather the ingredients from Joanie’s Gardens (fresh Parsley, Basil, etc.)
Together we’ll process them into the famous ‘paste’.
We’ll sample some on Focaccia or multi grain crackers.
And you take some home with you.
We’ll also explore the art of cooking with other Herbs and their flowers.
$12.00 per person. Take $1.00 off each when attending with a friend.
Your deposit of $6.00 must be in Joanie’s mailbox by Aug. 20.
You may call for availability after that date.


http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm


Mmmm . . . Delish!
 


“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
(Ecclesiates 3:1-8 NIV)
What is God asking you to do in your time?