Give your liver some love – with homemade root beer!

This one is for all the root beer lovers out there.

And besides, how often do you hear about beer as a liver tonic? 

When you combine aromatic sassafras root with the creamy vanilla sarsaparilla root, you not only get that familiar taste of root beer but you also benefit from the medicinal perks that come along with these earthy treasures.  Reduce that decocted tea with some sugar into a syrup and combine with your favorite sparkling natural mineral water, and bam: you have homemade root beer!  Pretty simple, right?

My friend Brian inspired this recipe.  He made a really delicious brew with devil’s club that he served at Bastyr’s Herb and Food Fair this past June.  This guy has a gift with herbal preparations and when he gets his hands on herbs, magical things happen.  His unique devil’s club recipe is below.  You may want to scale it down, but can generally follow the same steps as my recipe at the end of this post. 

I swoon over homemade root beer.  I’m not going to lie. The taste is nostalgic for me, especially if you combine it with vanilla bean ice cream, which is why I made my own root beer a little heavy in the sarsaparilla and added the fresh vanilla bean pod.  But, don’t let that stop you from adding a scoop (or three) of ice cream for a float. 

I am even more charmed by root beer knowing that this is a drink that has been made for centuries, for both flavor and its therapeutic power.  I certainly hope that when I have kids, they know the rich and perfect taste of these sweet roots before they know what the heck “A&W” is. 

Sassafras

Vanilla Bean

This is a “small beer” recipe with no alcohol content or caffeine; however, you can absolutely ferment this to make a batch of a "strong beer" with alcohol if you’d like.  Sassafras root is the key ingredient that attributes to that familiar root beer flavor.  Other than that, you really can tweak and play with the other ingredients to your heart’s content.  Other common ingredients include: birch bark, allspice, ginger, hops, dandelion root, juniper and wintergreen.  

Sadly, most root beer today has severely deviated from its true roots.  Yes, pun totally intended.  So just for kicks, here are the ingredients in A&W root beer you can buy off the shelf today: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), natural and artificial flavors.

No doubt it definitely takes more time to make root beer than to purchase it from the store, but you have to try it at least once and appreciate that these original flavors grow right outside in the woods around us.  


Sassafras in particular is a species of laurel that is native to North America and commonly grows in Virginia. You can bet I’ll have some of those trees in my yard.  And I’ll likely be the estranged neighbor that the town folks talk about… the one who makes beverages and such from the tree bark in her front yard.  “That smiley lady is sniffing the tree bark again…”  


My long time friends will likely shrug their shoulders and just love me anyway.  My in-laws already think I’m pretty weird.  Though if all else fails, I at least know some of my buddies in Seattle will come visit me and share a toast together on my front porch. 

Homemade root beer.  I forgot to strain out the vanilla 
bean in this batch, but the little bits on the brim of 
my glass ended up being my favorite part.

Where does the liver-loving come in?  Right here.

Sarsaparilla (Smilax spp.) not only offers this vanilla cream flavor but has a high mineral content along with antibiotic and anti-inflammatory actions.  The saponins in the bark also have a detoxifying function and help to cleanse the body of toxins. 

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) provides the traditional root beer flavor which you can quickly identify the moment you take a breath of the dried bark.  This plant is a nutritive and restorative one that loves all your organs, but has a special affinity for the liver. It cleanses the blood, flushes toxins from the system and is used medicinally for clearing skin conditions as well as arthritic and rheumatic conditions. 

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is added for its liver protective and potent fighting effects.   

Anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum) deliver a sweet, fennely flavor and the essential oils act to support digestion, relieving gas and bloating (a carminative).

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).  While not in large proportions, licorice no less contributes a subtle, natural sweetness to the mix; it also adds its soothing, anti-inflammatory qualities along with gentle support to the adrenal glands. 

Lemon peel.  I just like it in my root beer for a quiet lift in the backdrop. 

Here’s a quick list of ingredients for Brian’s Herbal Root Beer.

2 ½ cups sassafras 
1 cup devil's club
1/2 cup milk thistle seed
¼ cup anise seed
32 cups of water
6 pounds of sugar

Seltzer water

And here’s my homemade brew. 

Homemade Root Beer

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My friend Brian is a master herbalist and makes a fantastic root beer with devil’s club.  His home brew inspired me to remake my favorite soda with my own spin on it; a vanilla cream flare that reminds me of root beer floats.  This is a fairly simple decoction of dried herbs, seeds, roots and sugar that can be made on the stove top.  Combine this strong syrup with sparkling natural mineral water and it serves as a familiar treat as well as a liver tonic.  Enjoy!

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Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 2 hours to decoct the herbs

Yields 3 cups of syrup / ~16 8 ounce servings of root beer

8 cups filtered water

1 cup sassafras bark

½ cup sarsaparilla bark

2 tablespoons milk thistle seed

1 tablespoon licorice root

1 tablespoon anise seeds

1 tablespoon dried lemon peel

1 vanilla bean pod, sliced open lengthwise

3 1/2 cups organic unbleached sugar or sucanat (or a combination of the two)

Sparkling natural mineral water such as Gerolsteiner or San Pellegrino

Combine all ingredients except sugar and mineral water into a large pot.  Simmer over medium heat for 2 hours.  Strain the decoction reserving the liquid and composting the used herbs.  Pour the liquid back into the pot and bring it to a boil.  Add the sugar and continue to cook liquid over medium heat to reduce into a strongly concentrated syrup, about 3 cups.  Remove from stove and cool. 

Add 2-3 tablespoons of syrup to a glass with ice along with 8 ounces of sparkling natural mineral water and serve immediately.  If not serving all at once, syrup should be stored in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 week and prepared right before planning to drink.  


***Sugar can be adjusted to taste.  

Copyright 2011, S. Nester, Original recipe 

Cheers to a healthy liver while sipping on homemade beer!

Wildly Wonderful: Nettle Tea

Stinging Nettle, surrounded by 
Horsetail (photo via)

It's quite amazing to be able to walk outside your door and harvest food from a garden you planted and helped nurture to life, but it's a whole new level of amazing to walk in the woods and harvest food that grows in the wild.  It’s both mystical and most splendid.  I pause for a moment and close my eyes to wonder about those who have harvested here even hundreds of years before me.  There is history here and these plants know it. 

There is an even specialer (that's right) energetic quality about harvesting plants like this.  They are resilient; they thrive on their own and they fiercely endure the elements and the attempts of predators; they grow in harmony with the seasons.  These survivors have a naturally potent life force and are without question, nutritionally superior.

The Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica, is armed with hairy-looking prickles that carry formic acid, oxalic acid and histamine, to name a few.  This is a built-in chemical defense mechanism that causes a bit of burning if stung.  Anyone who has harvested them knows this oh so well!

Dried nettle leaf

When I harvest, I go armed with my garden gloves, grocery bags and scissors.  I always assess the area and make sure I am harvesting sustainably, that I am not taking more than I need and so that it looks as if I was never there.  Be sure to only harvest plants you can identify and only healthy, vibrant ones. 

I am so captivated by seeing my food grow in the wild.  It’s worthy of taking a moment to extend my gratitude.  People do this in many ways.  Some take a moment of silence before they harvest and simply whisper, “thank you.”  A former teacher of mine said she liked to sing to the plants while she harvested.  Lord knows if I did that, they would likely uproot themselves and run or bend over and cry.  No one has really ever heard me sing (not seriously at least) and for good reason.  I like having friends.  All that to say, do what you think would honor the plant the most.  I like to give thanks for its beauty, its nourishment, its strength and its life force.  I take a moment to see it.  I smile. 

Maybe years ago I would have thought this was crazy business, but after tucking seeds in the ground with my bare hands and after watching those very seeds spring to life, there is clearly far more going on with the food I eat than I have given credit to before.  After picking fresh, wild flowers from a field or helping to butcher ducks at Quillisascut Farm, I have experienced a spectrum of life that has caused me to arrive at the conclusion that I should be both thankful and responsible for knowing where this food came from.  Too many people know what food looks like neatly packaged on the grocery store shelf, and too few know what their foods look like fully alive and thriving.  We should know.  Without which, we must be so disconnected to the very land beneath out feet.   

Gratitude is due.  This food sustains us and we must never forget that.

9 lbs of dried nettles at Herb Pharm's Farm - I'd say hugs are in order

Nettles is hands down, one of my favorite wild edibles.  They grow abundantly here in WA, so it wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I had the opportunity to fall so in love.  The sun surprised us and popped out one day a few weeks ago while at school so a couple of my classmates and I went foraging on our break.  It is preferable to use fresh nettles, but they also dry so nicely in a paper bag in the trunk of my car.  That’s the lazy way to dry your nettles, but it works, so I’m game.  The "appropriate" way to dry nettle leaves is to spread them out on drying racks indoors with circulating air.

The paper bag-trunk drying method

By consuming nettles, they offer their energetic quality of strength to our bodies that I mentioned earlier; also, nettles is:

• a diuretic – in short, it moves stuff out, causing urination and cleansing of the kidneys, a fabulous detoxifier
• anti-allergenic - it may be used for asthma and other allergic conditions
• used in treating enlarged prostate
• impressive with a nutrient profile rich in calcium, protein, iron, magnesium and potassium
• highly beneficial (because of all the minerals) and often safe during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy and for nursing mothers, but of course, talk with your health care professional first

Here's what I'm talking about...we know how good kale and spinach is for us, right?  Although, they are all phytochemical-rich leafy greens, they pale in comparison to nettles.

Plant Nutrients	RDA	SPINACH	KALE	NETTLES
CALCIUM	800	102	206	2900
MAGNESIUM	300	96.8	37.4	860
IRON	18	2.96	1.8	41.8
POTASSIUM	1875-5225	518	244	1750
VITAMIN A (IU)	4,000IU	8,920IU	9,130IU	15,700IU
VITAMIN C	60	56	102	83
THIAMINE	1	0.116	0.11	0.54
RIBOFLAVIN	1.2	0.22	0.2	0.43
NIACIN	13	0.6	1.8	5.2
ZINC	15	0.618	0.78	4.7
MANGANESE	2.5-5.0	96.8	37.4	860
SODIUM	1100-3300	98	47	4.9
PROTEIN	3.60%	5%	10.20%	16.50%

*Numbers indicate milligrams per 100 grams, about 1 cup fresh or 3 1/2 ounces dried.

*Data based on USDA research “The Composition of Foods” in “Nutritional Herbology”

Here’s another reason why nettles ranks high on my list. It’s not only a tasty source of food and has fabulous medicinal properties, but its fibrous stems have been used for hundreds of years for making cords and nets.  This totally appeals to my pragmatic side.

Photo via

Ok, now for the delicious part.

With freshly harvested nettles, you can pretty much cook them in the same way you would use spinach in recipes. They are fantastic in soufflés, sautéed in pasta dishes, blanched and blended into smoothies as well as for pesto-making.  

When you harvest them fresh, you can either cook them up right away or let them dry (both of which will take the sting out). The dried leaves store best in an air tight jar in a cool, dark place.

For now, I wanted to post the most simple way to incorporate nettles into your home kitchen and medicine cabinet.  Since dried nettle leaf tends to be the most accessible to folks, let's make an infusion!  My husband (who was not exactly thrilled about the idea of drinking wild-foraged greens), loves nettles cold infusions sweetened with Florida crystals and iced up just like a good old southern iced tea.  My friend DeAnn loves to add fresh lemon juice to hers to make a Nettle Lemonade.  The recipe below is the bare bones and a canvas for you to sweeten, flavor and ice up how ever you desire. 

Have you tried nettles before, fresh or dried?  What's your favorite way to enjoy them? 

Nettles Cold Infusion
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 A powerhouse of medicinal and nutritional goodness, nettles are far superior to other leafy greens and are incredibly rich sources of protein, calcium and magnesium.  This simple cold infusion can be pepped up by adding a little peppermint tea, oat pods or your favorite citrus zest.  I find that using a French press is a convenient way to press out the nettles.

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Preparation time: 2 minutes, plus 6 hours hands-off infusion time

Yields: 1 liter

¾ - 1 cup dried nettle leaf

1 liter filtered, cold water

In a liter size glass jar or larger, combine nettles and water.  Stir, place a lid on it and let it rest on the counter for 6-8 hours.  Filter the nettle leaf out and compost.  You can sweeten to taste with honey, stevia, unrefined sugar or enjoy it by itself.

Copyright 2011, S. Nester, Original recipe

Ginger, you will always be my first love

CRYSTALLIZED  GINGER (Photo via)

You could say it started in Austria back in October of 2005 when I was standing in line to catch my flight back to the states from a trip to Romania.  My flight was boarding in less than 5 minutes and I had terrible nausea, the progressive kind where you are running out of time; you aren’t sure which "end" to worry about and the only thing that could comfort you is the nearest restroom. (You know what I'm talking about.)

The kind where you just want to be in the safety of your own home and definitely not in an airport in a foreign country! Which by the way, have you ever been to an airport in Austria? It is UNUSUALLY quiet. People whisper and if you don’t, you are definitely an American.

Thankfully, a friend came to my rescue and handed me a piece of crystallized ginger, which I choked down quickly and desperately, followed by a crinkled face and a “Yeeechk” sound. I wasn’t prepared for the hot spice and zing of raw ginger. Though, now I love it for just that taste.


Within a couple minutes, my stomach settled. The nausea passed. I boarded my flight and all was well.


While this was new to me, people have been using ginger for hundreds of years not only for its taste but for its superior health properties. This was my most memorable experience with “food as medicine” and I was most intrigued.  I have a little twinkle in my eye that hasn't left since that day.  

Now, I never travel or go camping without crystallized ginger in my carry-on, purse or hiking pack. I have a stash in my pantry and keep a small supply in my "first aid kit."


One of the extraordinary things about ginger (Zingiber officinale) is that you can use it in so many forms: fresh root, ground, dried, crystallized.  It is one of the world's best medicines and here are a few reasons why:

A Few of Ginger's Health Properties...

• warming, soothing, boosts circulation
• relieves motion sickness and nausea
• digestive stimulant
• good for cold and flu
• anti-inflammatory
• may help in the prevention of migraines

I'm in love with ginger's therapeutic benefits equally as much as I am with the delicious flavor it adds to dishes and drinks. How amazing is it that you can get both benefits in one shot? 

GINGER ROOT (Photo via)

As I write this to you, I just got back from a midnight walk in the snow (and they say it rarely snows in the Seattle area!).  I am sitting in front of my cozy fire place, but the one thing that would make this picture right is a satisfying, warm, fragrant cup of Ginger & Orange Spiced Cider.  

STAR ANISE (Photo via)

The recipe below is an apple juice-based cider with a generous amount of fresh ginger root; it's infused with fragrant essential oils from the orange zest as well as the whole spices that are added --- which by the way, aren't you just itching to use whole cinnamon sticks?  And to gaze upon the beauty that is star anise?  

NUTMEG (Photo via)

And don't you want to smell the perfect, deep, bittersweet, woody fragrance of fresh ground nutmeg?  It will ruin you forever for pre-purchased ground nutmeg.  I promise.  






There is a fabulous blend of warm, sweet, pungent and aromatic in this cider and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Take a little field trip to the bulk spice section in your natural foods store to find these rich and warming whole spices.  


If you give it a try, let me know what you think. 

What is your favorite way to use ginger?

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Ginger and Orange Spiced Cider

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Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves 8

1 gallon unsweetened juice

Juice from 1 orange

1 teaspoon orange zest

4 cinnamon sticks

5 stars of anise

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice berries

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger root

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Heat to establish a gentle simmer.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to allow time for spices to infuse.  Reduce heat if it begins to boil.  Strain cider and serve warm.

Copyright 2010, S. Nester, Original recipe

Raspberry Scones with Lemon Ginger Tea

Good Morning Sunshine!


I whipped up these yummy scones for breakfast this morning, er brunch rather and thought I'd share.  They are vegan-style scones so do not contain the usual milk, eggs and butter.  

Just to be clear, I am a big fan of organic pastured butter and usually rely on it for the texture and flavor it adds.  Butter does indeed bring out that comforting and satisfying flavor that we all linger for in a baked good.  I am all for quality, whole food fats, rich with CLA and omega 3s --- but more on that in a later post.  

Mmmm.... Butter (photo via)

Okay, okay - another post (stay tuned).  However, in this recipe I used melted organic coconut oil as the fat, which I am also fond of.  I like having the option of making a scone with whatever I have in my house, so if there is no butter on hand (which by the way is a crisis in our kitchen), and I want to make a batch of breakfast scones, or cake or cookies for that matter, well... no problem.  So I share this recipe with you to potentially add to your baking repertoire.


This recipe is made with a cup of fresh ginger and lemon tea that is blended into the dough.  Therefore, this recipe sort of comes with a cup of fresh ginger tea on the side.  There will be some left over and I certainly encourage you to enjoy it and sip away.  Although fresh ginger root is always my preference, if you do not have it on hand you can substitute with 3 ginger tea bags if you'd like, but be sure to brew a strong cup so the ginger comes across.


One of my favorite things to do when I get up in the morning is have a nice cup of warm water with a lemon wedge and fresh pieces of ginger (and sometimes a little honey).  It gets the digestion 'a going and primes the pumps if you will.  It's just a great habit to drink a glass of water upon awakening anyway to start the day off keeping our bodies nourished and well hydrated. 


The Raspberry Scones with Lemon Ginger Tea recipe is below.  A couple of quick notes:

• use whole wheat pastry flour and not whole wheat flour
• oil and water work better at room temperature

So, I hope you enjoy this delicious (lighter-style) scone, along with a warming cup of tea... and well the bicep work out you'll get from grating the apple and stirring the dough.  

Heh, you're welcome. 

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Raspberry Scones with Lemon Ginger Tea

These scones have a lovely blend of bright flavors happening.  They are a little on the lighter side because there are no eggs, butter or milk (dairy-free) in this recipe.  The freshly grated bits of ginger root help give this scone a kick, but if you want to go easy on the ginger, you can always slice the ginger into coins to make the tea and then discard the whole pieces before using the tea. 

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Tea:

2 tablespoons finely grated ginger root

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Dry:

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

Wet:

1 apple, cored and shredded (about 1 cup)

2/3 cup sucanat or rapadura

½ cup of melted coconut oil

2 teaspoons lemon extract

Zest of one lemon

¾ cup raspberries

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

To make tea, infuse the grated ginger in boiling hot water for 15 minutes.  Cover tea to trap the oils.  Add the lemon and allow to cool. 

Stir together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, stir together apple, sugar, oil, extract and zest.  Gently fold in the raspberries.  Slowly begin integrating the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

Begin adding ½ cup of the tea to the mixture until the right consistency is achieved. You want the dough to be firm and not sticky.  Feel free to drink the left over tea as it’s wonderful for digestion!

Shape the dough into a flattened disc about 1 inch thick.  Place it on a lightly greased baking sheet and cut into 8 slices.  Pull the slices apart so the heat can circulate while baking.  Bake for 12-18 minutes.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 18 minutes

Yield: 8 scones

Copyright 2011, S. Nester, original recipe

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