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Garden Sage & Lavender Clearing Salt

Garden Sage & Lavender Clearing Salt… well yes this herb salt is incredibly delicious sprinkled on butter bread, its one of my favorites. But I call it a “Clearing Salt” because of the effects of Sage, Lavender & Salt. Let me illustrate with 2 true stories:
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First Lavender:..Years ago my Dad was in hospital ICU. He had been on life-support, he almost died but survived, & was trying to wake up from the fog of pain medicine & near death. He was very confused! I remembered that Lavender was “The Broom of the Brain” and so I filled a big cloth bag full of Lavender flowers & held them under my Dads nose to smell. He inhaled deeply & every time, his eyes would open wide & he would recognize me & the family for just a few seconds. I hung up the bags of Lavender in his hospital room. Later he said that he “followed the scent of the Lavender” until he was able to remember who he was and where he was. Afterwards, for the rest of his life he always carried a bag of Lavender in his truck and on his bedside table. My Dad was a big redneck hunter man, but Lavender was his plant ally & he knew it. 💜
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And now Sage: Years ago I went alone to the desert for my birthday. I walked thru the vast dry sunny desert looking at the colors, Rocks, Sage & Juniper. For 3 days I walked, and could not escape the relentless chatter in my head. My thoughts were always in the past & future. I was So Frustrated that I wasn’t able to be present. Eventually I gave up and sat down defeated in the shade of a large Sage bush. A breeze came in, I smelled the Sage filling the dry desert air all around me. Suddenly I felt a Clearing, a Cleansing of my mind, and my body felt very light. The scent of the Sage permeated me. I realized I was actually meeting the spirit of Sage for the first time. Clearing & Cleansing, bringing into the Present Moment.
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I’ve found garden Sage & grocery store Sage to also have a Clearing effect similar to Desert Sage. Especially when combined with Lavendar.
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Recipe is 1 part Sage, 1 part Lavender, 2 parts course Sea Salt. Fresh herbs have a fresher & stronger flavor. Blend in food processor, let dry on a tray for 3 days. Store in jar. Enjoy on butter bread (this really is my favorite snack!) or sprinkled on food. You can also put a pinch of this mixture on your tongue for a grounding, clearing effect on your mind and body. Enjoy 💜💚

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Pleasant Dreams Tea

Sweep, sweep, sweep away the mighty thoughts, giants who’ve taken residence in the mind, big strong thoughts pulling tension up the body, all that constant thinking & over-thinking. Sweep it away. With Lavender, the broom of the brain. Softly softened now with Chamomile & Linden. Mystical Hyssop & Heather. And settling down into the body with Wood Betony & Verbena.
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Pleasant Dreams is a tea I formulated to help bring energy down from the over-thinking head into the sensing body. I drink this tea in the daytime or evening if I feel nervous or anxious, and it helps take the edge off, helps my shoulders relax and helps me to breathe more deeply and slowly.
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This tea is not strongly sedating, but gently calming. A tea to help transition from Up in the Head, to Down in the Body, from hyperactive linear thoughts to pleasant dream space… Enjoy.

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Lavender Butterfly Peaflower Custard

Lavender Butterfly Peaflower Custard. Lavender & Butterfly Peaflower are both calming herbs that clear the mind. Lavendula angustifolia is “the broom of the brain” as she clears out mental clutter, and is a warming relaxing nervine. And Butterfly Peaflower, Clitoria ternata, also has many safe traditional uses as food & medicine in SE Asia. Also this flower turns food beautiful colors from blues to pinks & purples. I was gifted these flowers by a Vietnamese friend. But I noticed they also sell these flowers in Ruohonjuuri in Helsinki. The scent taste & effect of this custard is absolutely divine. Recipe adapted from one of my favorite herb books Alchemy of Herbs by Rosalee De Laforet. Recipe ingredients: 2 cups whole milk (I substituted 1 cup coconut milk with 1 cup heavy coconut cream.) 1 TBSP dried lavender flowers, 4 eggs, 1/3 cup honey, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla bean powder, 1 tsp organic orange extract. Plus I added 1/2 tsp butterfly pea flower powder. Directions: add lavender flowers to milk and simmer medium low heat for 10 minutes until milk starts to bubble. Turn off heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. Strain and add butterfly pea flower powder. Stir until dissolved. Let milk cool for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C). Mix all other ingredients together. Slowly add milk to ingredients, stirring constantly. Fill dish with custard, and place this dish inside of another dish filled with hot water. Make sure that there is enough hot water that the hot water reaches halfway up the side of the custard dish. Place both dishes together in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The custard is done when it has a slight jiggle and the top shows some hints of darkness. Remove from oven. Let cool and then store in refrigerator overnight. Serve cold. Enjoy!