Our Blog

It’s nettle harvest time! How humans came to figure out that nettles are a powerhouse of goodness is beyond me. They contain potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and a treasure trove of other vitamins and minerals. But as a kid growing up in the Coast Range of western Oregon, my entire relationship with nettles involved trying not to get stung by those wicked trichomes while romping through the woods. So, kudos to the first brave nettle-harvesting souls, because they figured out (as I now know) that harvesting nettles without getting stung is actually easy, and this puts urtica dioica on my list as a versatile and delicious herb.

In 400 B.C.E., in his On Regimen in Acute Diseases, Hippocrates wrote, “You will find the drink, called oxymel, often very useful…for it promotes expectoration and freedom of breathing.” It’s too bad I didn’t have that definition the first time I saw the word “oxymel,” because I came across the term right about the same time that I was reading the Harry Potter series to my daughter. This might explain why an oxymel sounds to me like something one would whip up in potions class.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that delights the comfort-foodie in me. Within my circle of friends, it’s been known to inspire Jameson-fueled quests to perfect the finer points of Irish soda bread. Although people often think of soda bread as being a product of Ireland, it’s actually an American invention that shows up in many cuisines around the world because of its simplicity, and the results are SO good! It’s a quick, one-bowl process and, because it relies on a chemical reaction between baking soda and a moist acid like buttermilk, the bread requires no resting or rising. In truth, soda bread is more or less a big biscuit. This five-seed, Himalayan-salted version retains the super-easy nature of traditional soda bread while seriously upping the nutritional content and flavor by adding whole wheat pastry flour and aromatic seeds. Whether you’re aiming for a perfect St. Patrick’s Day loaf, or you just want to try your hand at one of the world’s simplest bread-baking methods, this seeded soda bread may be just the answer!

Over the years, we’ve received questions about taking our DIY Four Thieves Oil Blend internally. The answer, in case you’re wondering, is no—we never recommend ingesting essential oils because they are highly concentrated. Those questions got us thinking though, and we’re excited to share a DIY Four Thieves vinegar formula that can be taken by the spoonful, added to water, or used in place of regular vinegars in a variety of recipes, including vinaigrettes, marinades, sauces, etc. Also, because it is a vinegar base, this delicious, versatile edible makes a very effective, fantastically-scented spray cleaner.

Brassicas—that genus of plants in the mustard family that includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts, among others—have not always been my vegetables of choice. I blame the fact that I was a child of the 70’s: bell bottoms, 8-track tapes, rotary phones…and seriously overcooked vegetables. My father was considered a “health nut” who insisted we eat whole grains and sprouted seeds, and that we take a daily dose of what he called mushroom tea, now commonly known as kombucha. However, outside of our home, it was a weird time for food, an era when a popular party and potluck dish called “Watergate Salad” was made from a horror list of ingredients that included marshmallows, instant pistachio pudding, and a whipped topping of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. But, in my opinion, it was the abused vegetables that were the worst. Bowls of once healthful veggies were commonly presented as limp, cooked-to-death wastelands. No wonder I spent years thinking I didn’t like brassicas.

A fantastic scrub butter like Neroli or Awapuhi leaves the skin feeling moisturized, exfoliated, and loved—these body scrubs are a wonderful way to practice self care! However, for some people (like me), salt- and sugar-based body scrubs aren’t as ideal. No matter how gentle I am, the intensity of salts and sugars rubbed into my skin always leaves me feeling like I lost some epidermis that I actually wanted to keep. This has become truer as I’ve aged. Exfoliation is important for happy skin, but I want a gentler touch these days… which explains my recent quest to perfect a DIY “microderm” body scrub that does a good job, but dials back some of the scrubbing fierceness of sugars and salts.

I just returned from a three-week vacation, and while the trip was fantastic, it's been a challenge getting my body back into a healthy balance since I've gotten home. I’m playing catch-up with work, running late on gardening must-dos, and haven’t taken the time to plan ahead on how I’m eating—all of which have impacted my appetite and digestive health.

Facial toners have come a long way since the 1990s, when the most common commercial varieties (often marketed to teenagers) used high concentrations of alcohol to help remove oil from the skin. Purported to reduce acne, they were purposely drying and too astringent for most skin types. Today’s facial toners with natural ingredients, on the other hand, provide benefits that can help to maintain the normal pH and hydration of our skin, both of which are essential to maintaining the moisture and elasticity that gives our complexions a smooth, healthy appearance. 

Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we understand that the modern commercialization of Mother’s Day sometimes makes it easy to forget that this holiday is rooted in age-old celebrations from around the world. One of the most ancient “mother holidays” was a festival held by the Greeks in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. At dawn, people made offerings of cakes, drinks, and flowers in her honor. Other celebrations, like the sixteenth century “Mothering Sunday,” evolved over the centuries to become a day in which grown children visited home and little ones picked flowers for their mothers. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

My family loves fruity vinegars. We use them multiple times a week in vinaigrettes, marinades, barbecue sauces, sipping vinegars, and shrub cocktails.