Heidi

Heidi is a native Oregonian and an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize, and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food for winter, pruning the fruit trees, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll find her in her quilting room, or somewhere with her nose in a book, or up in the mountains alongside her husband and her terrier pup, Gracie Cakes.

Recent Posts

A Midwinter Cordial to Support Your Digestive System

In the United States, ‘cordial' and ‘liqueur’ are two words for the same thing; they are sweetened distilled spirits. Although many people know them as cocktail ingredients, cordials can also be potent digestifs. This digestive-aid version of cordials is generally more bitter and less sweet than its cocktail-focused brethren and is loaded with herbs, spices, and other natural flavorings that support the digestive tract. A cordial-digestif can be as simple and delicious as a 3-seed herbal cordial for digestion, or you can make them more complex with layers of herbal flavors and aromas to delight the nose and the palate. Either way, they are ridiculously easy to make. This festive midwinter version with its blend of aromatics and bitters is the perfect finish to a holiday meal, when you have a moment to sit down and enjoy the company of your favorite people.

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Posted by Heidi

Homemade Playdough: No-Cook Playdough Colored with Herbal Powders

Recently, I was barred from calling my grandbaby any endearment that includes the word “baby.”  Apparently, we are in “big kid” territory now. The term “big kid” doesn’t really lend itself to sweet endearments, but that aside, the no-longer-baby has had one consistent love since the moment those little hands and big brain were coordinated enough to squish clay—this kid loves playdough. However, Nana (me) is not fond of the typical store-bought versions, which can include chemical preservatives, binders, lubricants, surfactants, hardeners, anti-fungal additives, and artificial fragrances and colors. My favorite little dough-lover spends hours each week rolling, shaping, stamping, and building. I don’t want her hands in chemicals, preservatives, and additives day in and day out. In her world, a day without playdough is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, which means I had to figure out how to make an excellent, naturally colored playdough that is easy to whip up when the need arises. 

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Posted by Heidi

Guide to Brewing Tea

As you no doubt know, the Mountain Rose Herb team loves a good cup of tea. Our in-house artisan tea experts blend our teas with health and well-being in mind using superior botanicals to create nourishing, delicious teas with rich, organic flavors and nuanced tasting notes. But the quality of a tea is best showcased when it is brewed correctly. If you appreciate a fantastic cup of tea, here are some pointers on how to create your dream cuppa’.

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Posted by Heidi

How to Soothe a Bee Sting at Home & in the Wild

We’re getting to the time of year when some species of bees, wasps, and hornets get more aggressive, so we’re more likely to get stung. In late summer and fall, these stinging insects start to prepare for winter at the same time that their natural food sources are depleted. They’re hungry and their instinct to protect their hive and, particularly, their queen becomes more intense. I sometimes get “hangry” too, so at some level I get it, but being on the receiving end of a yellow jacket’s misplaced fury is a big drag. Fortunately—so long as you are not allergic to bees and wasps—there are a number of very effective natural and herbal remedies if you’ve been stung.

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Posted by Heidi

3 Healthy Chia Seed Pudding Recipes

Chia pudding is one of those foods that people often have very clear feelings about. They are either fully “Team Chia!” or are squicked out by the texture. The texture of chia pudding is all about proportions—a tiny change can make or break it. When you dial it in correctly, chia seed pudding gives you a delicious, high-fiber snack or topping that is beneficial for your gut, rich in Omega-3s, and provides protein and a number of essential minerals and antioxidants. Chia pudding is also a perfect vehicle for herbal powders which means you can easily customize the flavors and add herbal support!

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Posted by Heidi

Mountain Rose Herbs Awarded Gold Stevie® Award!

Longtime friends of Mountain Rose Herbs know we thrive on creating unique experiences. In 2021, it was no surprise to the people who know us best when we announced we were developing a first-of-its-kind essential oil marketplace. The Mountain Rose Aroma Bar is intended to engage the senses through high-quality, ethically sourced essential oils and personal aromatherapy products. So, we mindfully designed the Aroma Bar to provide shoppers with a sumptuous setting in which to experience some of the world’s most captivating pure essential oils. We are incredibly honored to announce that the branding and design of the Aroma Bar has just been awarded a Gold Stevie® Award and selected as the Marketing Campaign of the Year in the retail category of The 2022 American Business Awards®!

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Posted by Heidi

Bloodroot: How We Can Create a Bountiful Future for an At-Risk Herb

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is one of those herbal allies that has been with North Americans for as long as anyone can remember. For thousands of years, First Nations Peoples used different parts of the plant for a wide variety of issues ranging from skin problems to respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints, and also used it to make dyes. European immigrants, eclectic medicine practitioners, and others learned from the local indigenous peoples and by the early 19th century, bloodroot was officially listed in the United States Pharmacopeia. Today, literally tons of bloodroot are wildharvested every year. Lets talk about the challenges this herbal ally is facing and how we can support its bountiful future.

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Posted by Heidi

Garlic Aioli Recipe with Curry Powder

 

In my years as a foodie and cook, there are a couple of dishes that it took me forever to master. For instance, I have broken more aioli than I can shake a whisk at. Perhaps you have heard me say before that I dislike projects with finicky details. Needless to say, this trait doesn’t bode well for creating a perfect aioli. I even failed when using a blender. However, a few years ago I had one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-this-sooner lightbulb moments: I could ask for help! It turns out all kinds of people in my family and friend group are glad to help if the payoff is “homemade mayo.” If you, like me, lack the hand-eye coordination and patience to quickly, constantly whisk a vessel of eggs and lemon juice while simultaneously trying to pour oil very, very slowly, I invite you to grab a buddy to do either the whisking or the pouring. Add some good conversation and the time flies by; the process becomes wonderful instead of aggravating. Then split the resulting creamy wonder that is aioli. This is what true friendships are made of!

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Posted by Heidi

2 DIY Natural Deodorant Spray Recipes

Distilled from the twigs and bark of the witch hazel tree, high quality, organic witch hazel extract is a lovely, time-tested ingredient in DIY and natural deodorant sprays. Witch hazel lowers the skin’s pH, so odor-causing bacteria cannot thrive. It is gentle enough to be used alone, or can be combined with herbs and essential oils. It also does double-duty as a toner, which is why you see it show up so often in the finest facial toner recipes. These Mountain Rose Herbs deodorant spray recipes bring together the superpowers of witch hazel with balanced blends of aromatic essential oils—it’s no wonder they have been favorite go-to recipes for more than a decade! And, once you have the hang of these easy homemade sprays, you can customize the recipe to create a perfectly blended scent for yourself or your loved ones.

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Posted by Heidi

How to Harvest, Dry, & Store Herbs From the Garden

Whether you have acreage for a big herb garden or, like me, you’re trying to get as many herbs as you can in your small space—using patio pots, and windowsills, and waging war on every spot of lawn grass that you can eradicate—preserving our mid-summer herbal harvest is a deeply satisfying way to carry the magic of life-giving summer into the cold winter months. Drying our own herbs is remarkably simple and doesn’t require expensive special equipment—just some rubber bands and a piece of screen or a drying basket. If you’re ready to harvest your own herbs, here are a few pointers on drying and storing your bounty.

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Posted by Heidi

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

My family always has grand goals of getting out to the mountains once a month for a couple nights of tent camping from May through October. Camping in the shoulder months often means chilly temperatures and rain, which we’ve gotten good at dealing with. Mosquito season, however, can be a little more daunting. A few summers ago, we were camping at a Southern Oregon lake with friends who had school-age children. The mosquitos were SO vicious, particularly for the kiddos, and I spent the whole time kicking myself for not having made a batch of herbal mosquito repellent beforehand. Our friends had some over-the-counter natural spray, but it was passing-useless and none of us wanted to douse the children in a toxic DEET-based repellent. I vowed never to be caught by surprise again. Now this natural spray is a must-have for camping and any other activity that puts us close to water and mosquitos.

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Posted by Heidi

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We offer one of the most thorough selections of certified organic herbs, spices, and botanical products and are commited to responsible sourcing.

Heidi

Heidi is a native Oregonian and an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize, and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food for winter, pruning the fruit trees, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll find her in her quilting room, or somewhere with her nose in a book, or up in the mountains alongside her husband and her terrier pup, Gracie Cakes.

Recent Posts

A Midwinter Cordial to Support Your Digestive System

This festive midwinter cordial brings together bitter and aromatic herbs for a delicious digestion-supporting finish to a bountiful meal.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 10, 2022

Homemade Playdough: No-Cook Playdough Colored with Herbal Powders

It’s simple and fast to make awesome, homemade, no-cook playdough and you can easily color it with herbal powders rather than artificial food dyes!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 4, 2022

Guide to Brewing Tea

The finest qualities of teas are best showcased when brewed correctly. Learn about the factors that go into a perfect tea-sipping experience: tea quality, storage, quantity, water temperature, and steep time.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

September 16, 2022

How to Soothe a Bee Sting at Home & in the Wild

While we love our pollinator friends, getting stung is a total drag! These simple natural remedies will help soothe the burning and itching associated with a sting. Included are ways to address a bee sting at home or in the wild!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

September 6, 2022

3 Healthy Chia Seed Pudding Recipes

Chia seed pudding is a perfect vehicle for herbal powders, so you can customize the flavor and the herbal support in a delicious snack or breakfast bowl.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

August 28, 2022

Mountain Rose Herbs Awarded Gold Stevie® Award!

We are honored to announce that Mountain Rose Herbs has earned a Gold Stevie® Award for the Marketing Campaign of the Year in the retail category of The 2022 American Business Awards®!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

August 27, 2022

Bloodroot: How We Can Create a Bountiful Future for an At-Risk Herb

Bloodroot is an herbal ally that has been with us for as long as anyone can remember. Learn how you can help support its bountiful future.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

August 3, 2022

Garlic Aioli Recipe with Curry Powder

This Mountain Rose Herbs aioli recipe uses extra virgin organic olive oil and organic grapeseed oil and features a little spicy twist of curry powder.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

July 29, 2022

2 DIY Natural Deodorant Spray Recipes

These two homemade deodorant recipes bring together the superpowers of witch hazel and essential oils to provide a quick and easy solution to body odor. Try the uplifting sweet orange and vetiver blend or the grounding cedarwood and juniper recipe to match your aromatic preferences.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

July 25, 2022

How to Harvest, Dry, & Store Herbs From the Garden

Drying our own herbs is an easy, deeply satisfying way to carry our summer bounty through the year. Learn the best ways to dry and store fresh herbs.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

July 18, 2022

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

DIY mosquito repellent is easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator. Keep it on hand this summer for camping, hiking, and lazy days at the river.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

July 13, 2022