In my late teens, I was bitten by a travel bug from which I’ve yet to fully recover. I spent my young adulthood on-the-move, visiting and living in a variety of settings both urban and rural, across the U.S. and abroad. Along the way, I learned, grew—and ate! I found that delving into different cuisines offered an accessible, informative, and visceral opening through which to explore new cultures in general. No place I’ve ever lived has provided more culinary cultural windows than the intensely diverse city of Chicago, where, after a long ride north on the CTA Red Line, I first encountered phở. After just a few noodly slurps of this fabulous dish, I found myself flushed, near tears, and tingling from head to toe—in short, I was in love.

While looking forward to a fresh new year, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on the past and the lessons learned along the way. We had a blast creating a variety of botanically inspired recipes for you, from natural body care formulations to herbal remedies that will keep you well all year long. Here are seven selections from 2018 that really stood out:

Ever since I laid eyes on the beautiful pink peppercorns we offer here at Mountain Rose Herbs, I knew they would make a perfect garnish for a sweet/savory treat like chocolate bark. Our pink peppercorns have a bright, sweet, and very peppery flavor—the perfect match for one of our gourmet salts. Little did I know that we also had the ingredients to make the homemade white chocolate to go with it! So this winter season, I revisited my my memories of this childhood treat and embarked on a journey to find a few preservative-free herbal variations to share with my friends and family.

The holidays are here, and that includes the beloved National Cookie Day (December 4th, for future reference)! Enjoy these sweet treats in celebration of this special day!

I fell in love with Pfeffernusse cookies at my first real job at a German Deli in Atlanta while in my freshman year of high school. We sold them only during the holiday season, but I would crave them year-round. I loved the warmth from the spices and the firm, chewy texture. I tried a few recipes that I found over the years and was never quite satisfied with the outcome, so I made some adjustments and tweaks in my little kitchen “workshop” and finally came up with a recipe that has all the right notes. I was also happy to find out that by adding a little extra ginger and chilling overnight, this dough is perfect for creating cut-out gingerbread cookies to decorate! 

Recently, my husband and I were taking a training class with our puppy, Gracie Cakes. The dog trainer suggested that we class attendees head to the grocery store and buy jars of baby food as training treats for the dogs — apparently, dogs love the common pureed ingredients used in commercial baby foods. I say this to explain how I found myself standing in a baby food aisle for the very first time in my life. I realized, as I stood there not knowing where to even begin, that I had raised three babies to healthy adulthood and, until Gracie Cakes the terrier, had done so without ever twisting the lid from a commercial baby food jar.

For adventurous cooks of all calibers, few sights inspire more joy than a well-stocked spice rack. A palette of inspiring flavors can turn the simplest meal into an exciting, nutrient-packed, delicious masterpiece. But when you need to bring out the best in a dish, one of the best tools for adding depth and contrast is an ingredient so basic, it is often taken for granted: salt! Whether you need to bring an orchestra of spices into harmony or let one exceptional ingredient shine solo, a well-chosen gourmet salt will make your meal sing.

I love chocolate. I read that Trisha Yearwood once remarked, “I’m not saying I don’t enjoy the days that I’m not eating chocolate cake. But I do particularly like those days when I am eating chocolate cake.” This quote stuck in my mind, because that’s it exactly — that’s my relationship with all things chocolate!

My first taste of green tea ice cream was after a feast at a Japanese restaurant. Although I was stuffed to the brim, the waiter convinced me to be adventurous and try a scoop. I thought there was no room left in my stomach, but then I tasted a bite, devoured that scoop, and thought about ordering another! The grassy, floral, and fruity notes paired perfectly with a creamy sweetness and a touch of vanilla. I skipped the second scoop and spent the drive home thinking about how to make my own.

As herbs begin to emerge from the garden boxes that we built last summer, and the lavender we started from seed two years ago sends out fragrant new leaves and flowers, our bees become visible once more, busying themselves among our homestead's first brilliant blooms. Reminders of life-renewed spring forth everywhere I look, from the returning plants and flowers, to the bees buzzing from blossom to blossom, to my own little "gardening companion", my cat Theo, who playfully rolls around near me as I carefully transplant vegetable starts into the freshly tilled soil. Our chickens seem to enjoy these brighter days as well, leisurely sunbathing and picking at fresh grass outside of their coop. I savor every beautiful sight, sound, and aroma that surrounds me at this most exciting time of the year — there truly is no greater time than summer in the Willamette Valley!