the urban field guide

I left the strangely balmy SF Bay area this weekend to go camping in Yosemite, now before you think I’m super rugged, I have to admit that I was staying in a heated tent cabin that was maintained at 85 degrees. But while I was there I encountered that sensation called winter and it reminded me that the holiday season really is nipping at my heels. So commercialism and consumerism are on steroids and we’re all running around at a quicker pace but we can slow down and help out individuals, instead of corporations with wretched work ethics. Remember your local artisans, crafters and independent stores. Remember your own ability to make and create things for folks you love.

Last year the  I took the handmade pledge went around a lot of the blogs but I thought I’d bring it up again just in case you didn’t see it. They have a blog attached to the pledge page that is really up to date with all of the laws that affect small businesses, I’d encourage you to stop by and maybe add the pledge to your own blog!

Before I begin with digestive teas I want to acknowledge the beautiful artwork on the tea towel above by Skinny laMinx from Capetown, South Africa. I love her drawings and it’s no surprise, what with my predilection for vintage teacups, that this tea towel of her drawings of vintage teacups is a favorite of mine. Please go check out her etsy shop by hitting on the link above!

So you are most likely going to stuff yourself silly this year, just like last year, and the year before that. It happens to the best of us. It all just tastes so good. Let me offer some herbal advice to help ease those, um,  uncomfortable feelings. If you are near an acupuncturist or a good herb store you can go in and ask for the formula called Bao He Wan. It is the go to formula for such occasions as thanksgiving. If this is not available, then  making a tea of any combination of the following, or even any of these herbs alone, will help. Ginger, mint, fennel, citrus peel or chamomile work wonders. A generous pinch of each per cup will work. And if you are really prepared and want to make a medicinal dose, then the night before add a big handful of the herbs to a quart jar. Fill with not quite boiling water and let it sit over night. Strain in the morning and you can reheat it after the meal, just don’t let it come to boiling again. Simple & effective. Enjoy your day!

The Remedy Quarterly is the culminating result of four friend’s interests in recipes, remedies, design and medicine.  It’s a lovely printed out, hold in your hands, magazine that is printed in two tones like vintage cookbooks were, which is a look that I love. They are getting ready to send out their first issue which has the theme of ‘home’. You can get the first issue for $7 or subscribe for a year (4 issues) for $34. The first issue is 48 pages with no advertisements and 100% content. Their website is fun as well with readers writing in remedies that work for them for common household complaints. I’d encourage all of you to send one to them! The writer of one of my favorite blogs Eat Make Read is one of the key people involved so it promises to be great. Enjoy.

I have been cooking up a storm lately. Everyday I’m in the kitchen happily slicing and dicing away. It’s pretty much a win-win situation – it’s healthier, more economical and creative – what a triad. Right now I have some minestrone bubbling away on the stove steaming up the windows. So I had to share this article with you in the NY Times today. Mark Bittman has compiled a list of 101 recipes all of which are minimal, simple and quick. Go take a look, you’ll be so happy that you did!

I’m so happy to have a special guest post today from the ever-so-talented Karen K. Yes, this is the same Karen K who took the pictures of the swallows in Japan that are so beautiful. Hopefully you’ll be seeing her around here more often! This post is a result of her recent trip to Oakland Chinatown with her Tui Na class.

This warming herbal soak is from A Tooth from the Tiger’s Mouth, an excellent book on how to use Chinese medicine for external injuries like sprains, strains, bruises, contusions, etc. The photo, which shows multiple packets of the Warming Soak detailed below, was taken at Draline Tong in Oakland’s Chinatown (http://www.yelp.com/biz/draline-tong-herbs-oakland). For people who don’t have access to local herb shops, you can order all of these herbs online at places like this:

My partner started me along a dangerous road by getting me a pair of these earrings for my birthday. They feel amazingly light and they are just so special. Period. So I started looking into the designer and she’s based in SF and uses sustainable materials like bamboo to do her work, even more reason to support her! She has earrings, pendants and art prints in her shop. Check it out here!

I’ve written before about plastic on this blog, I’ve talked about cutting down the usage of plastic bags with reusable produce bags and about creating your own seedling pots out of paper. Small steps, but important steps. Two days ago the NY Times wrote about the culminating piles of trash collected in our oceans. One massive entanglement has grown to be roughly twice the size of Texas.  Let me repeat that: twice the size of Texas. Most of this trash is plastic. The avoidable, pervasive and oh so toxic material of modernity.

Please click here to view the whole article. Nurseries and growers use a tremendous amount of plastic. Perhaps starting with one simple target would be good, like putting pressure on the nurseries to put pressure on the growers, to stop using the plastic tags in each and every plant. Imagine how many of those tags are discarded a year. Now think of our oceans. Tragic. I would also encourage all of you who don’t already, to return your used black pots to growers and nurseries, most will gladly take them back for reuse.

I love the blog Design Sponge, and as I’ve written earlier I also love the artwork of Jill Bliss. This week there’s a lovely combination with Jill Bliss guest blogging over at D’s and she’s focusing on gardening, rain barrels and chicken coops. Almost a hand-tailored combination for me to enjoy over my morning cup of tea. I would encourage you to go over there and take a peek, I’m really liking her post on chicken coops. I love the one with the living roof! **All photos are from the Design Sponge site.

Thanks to this plant, well and to the incredibly temperate weather we’re having that allows me to sleep with the windows open in November, I woke up this morning to the sound of a hummingbird’s wings as it feasted on the crazy number of scarlet flowers on my pineapple sage (salvia elegans). I love this plant. The crushed leaves truly do smell very pineapple-y, and they even have a slight pineapple taste. This particular bush is taller then me and wider then it is tall. And the hummingbirds are plump and making good use of the clothesline right above it, a perfect perch. The sage hardly needs any water all summer and will even sporadically bloom during the summer, but fall is it’s glory. Hundreds upon hundreds of red flowers. And it transplants without a hitch. Dig up a chunk and now the hummingbirds love the front yard too. Highly recommended, a great plant for the beginning gardener to boost your confidence!