Monday, June 14, 2010

Strong Women - Rosemary Gladstar


Since I have been sharing herbalist recently, there is one more strong woman I
wanted to introduce you to that is a herbalist.
Rosemary Gladstar has been sharing her knowledge, experience, and love of herbs since 1972.
She once had a herb shop in my hometown of Sebastopol, California.
She now is the director of Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center and Native Plant Preserve
in Vermont. This is where I had the opportunity to meet her in 2005.
I loved walking in her fairy garden with stone castles and tunnels built into the garden for the fairies that visited at night.  What a delight it was to imagine.  She said she sometimes heard them.
 She is also the founder of United Plant Savers and is the author of several books, including Herbal Healing for Women, Herbs for Natural Beauty, Herbs for the Home Medicine Chest, Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal and Planting the Future: Saving Our Medicinal Herbs.

When I was visiting the Retreat Center I bought the book, Herbs for Longevity and Well-Being.
In the book there is a recipe for Longevity Chai, which sounds like it would be worth trying.

6 slices fresh, grated gingerroot
4 whole cloves
2 teaspoons cardamom, crushed
3 tablespoons cinnamon chips (or one stick broken into small pieces)
6 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sliced ginseng root
1 tablespoon sliced licorice root
1 tablespoon sliced fo-ti  (I am not sure what this is)
5 tablespoons black tea leaves
6 cups water
honey to taste
frothy milk (can be soy or rice milk)
nutmeg or cinnamon

Gently warm herbs and water in a covered saucepan for 10-15 minutes.
Do not boil.  Strain the mixture into a warmed teapot and add honey to taste.
Pour chai into a large cup, add a generous heap of frothed milk, and sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon.

For more information visit the Sage Mountain website.
Rosemary Gladstar is truly another fascinating, strong woman.

4 comments:

parTea lady said...

She does sound like an interesting woman. I enjoy chai - thanks for the recipe.

Jeanne said...

Love and hugs and smiles across the miles
Love Jeanne♥

Sheila said...

I had to look up Fo`Ti as well, never heard of it before.
It has many properties and sounds very good for you.
Let us know if you are able to purchase it!
Fo~Ti

SE'LAH... said...

I have a few of her books...she's quite knowledgeable! Another great highlight. Thanks for sharing the chai recipe.

Thinking of you. one love.