Distilling Chamomile from My Organic Gardens

It was an exciting day to receive the Distiller that we had ordered quite some time ago! I was growing concerned as I watched the heat begin in Arizona, and worried that I would miss the Chamomile harvest. I had already harvested massively for my Herbal Calming and Uplifting formula, and it was nearly ready to be strained. However, I harvested a trial batch of Chamomile for my first distilling experience!

It was amazing to see the amount of Hydrosol that came off the plant in comparison to the few drops of Chamomile! During the distilling process the Blue Azulene forms and the essential oil is very distinctive to see, floating on top of the Hydrosol. I AM EXCITED TO TEACH ABOUT HYDROSOL, AS IT HASN'T BEEN PART OF MY CURRICULUM UP TO THIS POINT! You can surely know why a pure, organic German Chamomile (Magtricaria recutita) is so costly - and you can be assured that if you have a bottle that was less than $60 for 10 ml that you DO NOT HAVE A PURE ESSENTIAL OIL!

HARVESTING MESQUITE BEANS FOR FLOUR AND NUTRITION

Lori Olsen and I enjoyed our morning outing with the Phoenix Permaculture Guild to harvest Mesquite beans. Usually the beans are harvested in early June, but when we got to the location we found that our Spring in the desert was actually about 5 weeks delayed! I had noticed how wonderful this spring has been - with our first 100-110 degrees just hitting last week - but didn't realize how many weeks we had been gifted!

I scheduled a class on the Mesquite Trees (several varieties to understand) and an opportunity to gather the beans to be made into Protein Shakes, Flour and other recipes on July 17,2010 7-9am (Saturday). It will be hot, so bring water, hats and a container to gather the pods in. Lori will help me with the class if her schedule will allow! Happy Summer! Email me at botanicaleducation@gmail.com to let me know if you will be attending. This class counts towards required Experiential Learning for the Herbal modules.

RECOMMENDING KARA'S COOKING CLASSES!

I TOTALLY recommend Kara Bagley's online cooking classes - as well as her scheduled classes! Please check out her blog - and learn to cook healthy for your family (NOURISH = NURTURE):

http://www.goodlookingcook.blogspot.com/

I have spend the past days canning BEETS from my garden - as well as eating tomatoes and watching the summer squash grow bigger! It has been a season for gathering seeds for next year's crop (peas, cilantro, beets, chamomile, poppy, nasturtium, calendula, etc).

The recipe for Harvard Pickled Beets is:

Cook beets - skin them and cut into cubes

Boil together: 1 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1 c sugar

1 T salt

Add cubed beets and bring to boil.

Put into sterilized jars and steam process. Enjoy! My husband's favorite!

CLASS TO HIKE ARIZONA'S BEAUTIFUL DESERT IN BLOOM!

April 9th was an amazing Intro to Desert Herbs Hike in the beautiful desert bloom after this perfect rain year! It was a beautiful environment to study the desert plants and to hike from Gold Canyon up to the Petroglyph Falls, studying the plants along the way. It's an easy hike that most people can do, and the Class manual was provided, but each student brought a lunch, water, comfortable shoes and clothes, writing materials and lots of excitement for a wonderful day! The waterfall was still running a little into the ponds, but was slow enough for tadpoles to grow into frogs. It is a sacred native american place where the skies, land and water meet, with petroglyphs all over the west side rocks of the canyon.
This is what one student said:
This class was great! The desert was in bloom, weather was perfect & it was nice to be able to try the sunscreen that you made. It was so exciting to learn all this that I went the next day to lead the same hike & tell the things I had just learned to solidify in my memory what the plants looked like and to make sure that I would remember all the plants/latin names/facts learned. I'm glald that this counts towards my teaching hour requirements! I also gathered some Creosote. I steeped it in boiling water and then used the tea to soak my hands in to help heal the eczema. It was soothing and helped a little bit but not a lot in one soaking so I still have the tea refrigerated and will continue experimenting with it . I need to try soaking with it more consistently.

BODY SYSTEMS CLASSES - 7 Weeks Until Level 2 Students Graduate!

We will take a week break before beginning classes again on March 24, 2010. The location will change to 1166 E Warner, Gilbert, AZ 85296 but the time will remain from 12 noon until 2 pm. You are welcome to bring a lunch if you are not able to eat prior to coming to class, although there will not be a break during class.

Classes remaining in this series are: Lymphatic System, Urinary System, Reproductive System, Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2, Safety Uses and Hazards of Essential Oils, Botanical Names (Latin names), Botany and Plant Families. Upon completion of this series, and having completed the Passport to the World of Aromatherapy, students can qualify for an Aromatherapist Level II Certification upon turning in all required tests, projects and personal case studies.

Individuals can begin at any point (class) and earn a Certification, as the classes are rotated throughout the year.

Thoughts From Teaching Body Systems Classes

Teaching about our amazing and divine bodies is both a great and humbling experience! Great because I get to see "ah ha" moments in peoples' eyes as they catch principles that are truths and that will make great changes in their lives - and humbling, because no matter how powerful any class feels, in the end, I am a mere messenger, who cannot ever truly find words that can describe the power, beauty, miracles, glory and divinity of the human body, spirit, soul and intelligence!

I didn't want to go to bed tonight without truly thanking all of those glorious women who come weekly to classes, and then who leave to go make a difference in the world - for giving me the opportunity to be an instructor. It is always the instructor who learns the most!

Also, I couldn't end a day without giving glory to a loving Father in Heaven for all that it has taken to become a God and a creator of worlds and universes, and of course His greatest creation, his children - us! I love this marvelous earthly experience and look forward to every new day!

The Body Systems class was my favorite! I had struggled understanding how to use essential oils because I had never taken Anatomy and Physiology classes. Thank you for the way you so clearly explained the body and how it worked in the 15 classes. I especially liked that you use Power Points in all your classes with visuals, because I am a very visual learner. I had been afraid of the Chemistry and also of the Botanical Names, but was pleasantly surprised when you reviewed the material and made sure that we understood and "owned" the information. Thanks for this great series of classes! I am so excited to continue on with Levels 3 and 4! When will your class schedule be completed for the Fall and Winter of 2010-2011? DP