Nourishing Tea

Tea blending is daily magic in its most basic form: creating a healing concoction of herbs to create well-being. 

The curanderas, or medicine women of New Mexico, have been doing it for years to promote health and prevent, or in some cases cure, illness.  Tea blending draws from the power of the earth to nourish ourselves with the gifts of nature.  I'm not saying that I'm above using Tylenol for headaches or a good antibiotic when I get sick,  but a strong ginger and echinacea tea does wonders to prevent a cold, and Valerian and hops chill me out better than any shot of whiskey.  Plus, taking the time to blend my own teas allows me to consciously imbue my tea drinking habit with self-care.  

I feel like an alchemist when I'm in my kitchen adding a pinch of this herb and a handful of those flowers, thinking about what tastes, colors, and healing properties best work together to create a nourishing brew.

All if which is my way of saying that I've been tinkering with a new tea recipe.  I've been marinating on this idea of nourishment--how do we feed ourselves, our souls, or minds, our bodies?  What we ingest both physically and psychically determines our sense of personal well-being.  So with this in mind, I went to work in my kitchen, playing with herbs that would both soothe and nourish for my latest blend.

This new tea has got chamomile in it, the ultimate all around comforting flower.  It is known for soothing restless minds and minor aches and pains in the body.  To boost the soothing properties of my tea, I also added the happy flower calendula aka marigold.  This flower brings a burst of golden color to my blend, along with skin soothing and heart healing properties. The key nourishing ingredient in my blend is alfalfa, which is chock-full of vitamins A, E, K, B, and D, and minerals like iron, magnesium, and potassium to name a few.  The final touch to this blend is fennel seed.  It helps balance the grassiness of the alfalfa with its subtle sweetness--and let's not forget that these little seeds aid digestion.

I made a cup of this tea for my mom when she was frazzled after a sleepless night.  What a change it caused! Twenty minutes after a cup of this nourishing blend, she was back to her tranquil self, restored and ready to tackle the day's adventures. 

I'm including the recipe here and hope that you will try it.  You can find these herbs at your local herb store (mine is actually called "The Herb Store") or online at Rose Mountain Herbs. I look forward to hearing about the results! 

Ingredients:

1 cup chamomile flowers

1/2 cup alfalfa leaves

1/2 cup calendula (marigold flowers)

1/4 cup fennel seeds

Blend all ingredients in a bowl and transfer to an airtight container.    Keep away from direct sunlight and heat.  To brew, use a heaping tablespoon per cup of hot water.  Makes 2 1/4 cups. Enjoy!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Lingering Effects of the Harvest Moon!

I'm sitting at my vintage secretary style desk from the late 1800s, sipping from a fall themed mug and writing. 

I was able to get off work a little early to enjoy the crisp air and the golden late-afternoon sunlight.  It is a sweet gift.  Earlier in the kitchen, I played with my herbs.  I think I'm on the brink of a new tea blend--a pinch of alfalfa, an even bigger pinch of chamomile, a smidge of fennel seeds, and two or three calendula buds.  I let these healing herbs mingle in hot water and savor the earthy sweetness of the blend. 

That's me. 

I love quiet moments in the kitchen, tinkering with a new soup recipe or tea blend or body butter.  I love snuggling in my jammies and reading a good fantasy novel at night (yes, with a cup of tea).  I love crafting and will literally coat just about anything in glitter if left unsupervised.  I love carving out time in my day to relish these simple pleasures of self-care and domestic bliss--not an easy feat considering that a teacher's job can easily go on and on and on....if I let it.

But I don't.  Why?  Because I believe in the power of self-care and enjoyment to make the workday smoother, the weeks bursting with the fullness of living a balanced life.  Yeah, it can be hard sometimes to carve out that time, but it's worth the effort.  

I'm turning these thoughts over in my head as I reflect on the bounty of this year's harvest moon or the full, golden moon that hovers in this sky every autumn equinox.  Legend has it that the harvest moon is a beacon of abundance for the coming year, symbolizing the plenty of both the literal farmer's harvest and the ephemeral harvest of spiritual well-being that comes from living a balanced life.  It is the moon of transitional energy, shifting away from the outward moving cycles of summer towards the inward, more contemplative activities of fall and the coming winter.

This year's harvest moon is especially important to me, as it was under this prophetic moon that I made an important transition myself.  Overworked, sick (first a cold, then allergies), I found myself completely spread thin between adjusting to my first full-time teaching job and attempting to keep my tutoring business afloat.  I loved both jobs dearly, but somewhere between a bowl of chicken noodle soup and struggling to grade my first round of student essays, I realized something: these wonderful opportunities were beginning to feel like horrible burdens as I attempted to give 110% to both things, which is saying nothing of my desire to have an actual personal life.  

It was clear something had to change.  When I first moved back to New Mexico, it was so I could teach and live a full life in the Land of Enchantment.  Yet here I was, living the frantic life of my graduate school years: too much work, too little self-care.  When I was in school, I didn't always have a choice about my workload, but now, I realized, I did.  So I made a change--I let my tutoring go.  It was hard at first to give up something I had spent so much time and energy bringing into the world, but as the weeks went by, I felt better, was happier teaching, and found myself with more delicious moments when I could stare out at the Sandia Mountains and just breath.  After all, so much of my philosophy as an educator is centered on helping students find that proper balance between school, life, and work...so I have to practice my creed if I want to continue being a nourishing educator and happy person. 

I am grateful for this harvest moon and the wisdom it offered me as I made my transition: it taught me that to find that joyful abundance of our lives, we have to let go of things that no longer serve our sense of personal well-being.  In doing so, we create space for healthier, more productive ways of going about our lives.

It isn't always easy to find balance in your life, but if you take the time to pause, even just to linger over the golden sunlight filtering through the slowly turning leaves, there is everyday wisdom and enjoyment to be found.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Welcome to Enchantment Learning and Living!

....soon to be a regular blog about the magic of everyday living! 

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!