Herbs and Oils – Coffee Peace N' Homesteadin

Herb Of The Day: Rosemary

Rosemary is a beautiful herb with many benefits, including mental clarity and memory.

It is also one of my favorite oils to use in lip balms and salves. It not only has great hydrating properties but is anti-inflammatory. It adds a beautiful aromatherapy note that helps reduce stress.

What do you love about Rosemary?

Yesterday I spent some time harvesting some herbs from the greenhouse and foraging dandelion and wild radish leaves from the garden. Taking the time to connect with nature and to have the gift of nutrient dense food from my own yard is such a blessing. To be able to grow herbs not just for flavor but also as medicine to heal and strengthen our bodies is allowing us to enjoy this beautiful life we are creating to it’s fullest.

Taking time to make our health, both mental and physical, our priority is the best gift we can give ourselves. Turning to nature and plants nutures our bodies and helps us avoid illness and disease. Yes, the grocery store is quicker, but a quiet morning of cleaning, chopping and preserving food from my own garden is time and energy that is a joy to spend.

Bell Pepper Eggs with Fresh Queso Blanco

I made cheese last night, which I was super excited about. I used it on fajitas that also had cilantro from the garden and homemade salsa. So this morning it seemed fitting to use it again. I fried avocado with bagel seasoning mix. I cut a bell pepper into slices to cut cook eggs in. Diced the scraps and added onions, sweated those down. Air fryed some some hash browns. Assembly: hash browns, peppers and onions, egg in pepper slice. Toppings: fried avocado, fresh queso blanco, cilantro.

Basil Preservation

Last week I harvested Basil. We had it fresh, I made pesto, I made a basil simple syrup and I dried the rest. What is your favorite way to preserve basil?

Strawberries With Mint and Lime

Sunday’s I love to spend the morning trying new recipes and creating a delicious brunch.

We bought some beautiful duck eggs at our local farmers market to enjoy this morning.

If you have not had duck eggs, they are pretty amazing. They have thick, hard shells. Vibrant yellow yolks and are super creamy.

A couple weeks ago, we went strawberry picking with our grandson so we have a bunch of sliced strawberries in the freezer.

Perfect to top some waffles. I used a a gluten free box recipe, so use your favorite recipe.

This would also be delicious on some ice cream or I am going to use the leftovers on some bread pudding I am making for dessert tonight.

To wrap up this delicious brunch, I topped the duck eggs with fresh parsley from the garden and grabbed some fresh mint for the strawberries.

If you do not have a lot of space for growing, herbs are great for container gardening and are a great place to start. Having fresh herbs on hand just elevates all your dishes.

I thawed out some strawberries, mixed in fresh lime juice, powdered sugar and mint. Topped our waffles with our favorite bourbon aged syrup, then the strawberries.