5 Herbal Kitchen Practices for Spring

Plus, a nourishing spring tea recipe

With every change in season comes a natural shift in my rituals. As the days grow longer and warmer, I can’t help feeling called to lean into the lightness and brightness of springtime.

Everything feels alive right now—the verdant hills glowing under blue skies, the apple trees beginning to bud and blossom, the finches and woodpeckers chirping away at dawn—there is so much sweetness that it’s almost hard to take it all in.

This time of year, our redwood deck becomes an extended living room and dining room, perfect for spending most of the day outside. It’s really the best place to enjoy the sunshine and look out over the garden.

I’m in awe of how quickly last year’s garden beds are teaming with tender herbs like mint, feverfew, yarrow, and calendula. Our pastel colored sweet peas are already waist-high and spilling over into the walking path, while the magenta-stemmed angelica has shot up, full of umbel flowers that the bees can’t seem to get enough of.

Inside the house, especially in the kitchen, things are shifting as well. From the obvious desire to ‘spring clean’ to switching up my winter remedies to ones more fitting for this season.

Here are a few of the rituals I like to incorporate that can help you feel more aligned and in tune right now. These are helpful, especially during these disorienting times when you feel like the outside world is out of your control.

Working with your hands, getting into your senses, and slowing down just enough to notice the magic in the mundane can be quite the recipe to remind you of what really matters. Plus, I’ve included an Everyday Spring Brew tea recipe from The Kosmic Kitchen Cookbook to help bring some of those lovely spring herbs into your daily ritual.

You don’t need to do all of them by any means, but if there’s one that calls to you, go with it!

1. Clear space | While not directly herbal related, this one is important to help you reset into this season. Whether that looks like spring cleaning and going full on in the kitchen, tossing expired ingredients or things you haven’t used in months, or wiping down and making more space on your countertops, the feeling of doing any of these things will be palpable in your home. My goal lately is to try to streamline and organize different areas in the kitchen so I don’t need to spend as much time tidying up and cleaning. I’ve found putting some simple systems in place has made my day-to-day rituals much less stressful and far more enjoyable. I don’t know about you, but when my kitchen is messy or cluttered, it doesn’t inspire me to cook. So, making this space feel as inviting as possible is one way of helping to remove any blocks or barriers to making more meals at home than not.

1. Create a kitchen altar | This practice has been a foundational staple for setting up or updating a kosmic kitchen. While you likely have altars in your meditation space or other parts of the home, having one in the kitchen can remind you to set intentions for your kitchen practice. What are you calling in? What parts of yourself need deeper nourishment right now? How do you want to feel when you’re in the kitchen? The altar doesn’t have to be much—a simple bud vase with seasonal flowers, photos of loved ones or places you treasure, little trinkets you find special, or anything that helps you bring a sense of the sacred into your space. You can switch it up seasonally, bringing some of the elements outside into the kitchen.

2. Making your own spice blends | Now that your kitchen has gotten a little more love from clearing space and setting up your altar, making herbal remedies will feel so much more enjoyable. Some of my favorites to start with are simple herbal spice blends. These are a great way to bring your favorite medicinal herbs and digestive supportive spices into everyday meals with one simple step. From savory adaptogenic curry powders to spring greens salts or warming adaptogenic morning elixirs to chai spiced honey, there are so many ways to add flavor to your favorite drinks and dishes. Think about adding them to warming morning brews, comforting soups and stews for dinner, roasted vegetables, beans, and grains. Here are some of my favorites: CCF Digestive Tea, Coconut Red Lentil Soup, and Kosmic Curry Spice Blend.

3. Bringing in fresh herbs | This time of year, the markets start to fill with fresh herbs of all kinds. I usually pick up three bunches—dill, cilantro, parsley, oregano, and thyme tend to be my favorite—to use throughout the week. From a simple chop to blitzing up pesto, chimichurri, salsa verde, salad dressing, or yogurt dips, there’s always room for fresh herbs to be used in whatever I’m cooking. My fridge tends to dry things out pretty badly, so instead of tucking them in the crisper drawer, I cut off a bit of the stem and put them in a glass of water to display on the counter, like you would a bouquet. That way, I see them and remember to use them. Plus—they look so pretty when they’re out!

4. Daily infusions | It doesn’t matter if it’s sunny or overcast, it’s always tea weather. As soon as it starts to get warmer, I like to make chilled infusions to sip on throughout the day. There are so many wild weeds and tender green herbs popping up this time of year that lend themselves to not only nutritious, but tasty teas. To get extra support during this seasonal transition, I like to work with herbs that are high in vitamins and minerals, slightly bitter, and support digestive and lymphatic health. Luckily, those are the herbs in abundance and tend to be easy to find sold as tea bags in the store or market.

   

   Some of my favorites are nettle, cleavers, chickweed, dandelion, and horsetail. Even those culinary herbs like thyme, sage, and oregano can be wonderful to add to everyday meals and drinks for not only their flavor but their antimicrobial properties. Especially this time of year, when so many bugs are floating around! There’s one herb in particular that tends to get a lot of attention come springtime, and for good reason—stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, Urtica urens).

   If you’re not already familiar with this spring green, you’ll quickly see why the esteemed herbalist David Hoffman says, “When in doubt, use nettles.” Nettle, much like dandelion, has garnered a reputation for being a nuisance in the garden. If you don’t move mindfully around nettle growing, you’ll likely be surprised by its lively sting when brushing against its leaves. The Latin genus name for nettle, Urtica, comes from the term “urtication,” which means to purposefully sting the body with fresh nettles to increase blood flow, circulation, and to promote healing in the joints. While I do not suggest this ancient practice, as there are now much simpler ways to help with joint pain, it’s quite interesting to experience the medicine of plants even when it is a bit uncomfortable at first. 

   Nettle has been used as a folk medicine throughout Europe since ancient times and is still used as one of the top nourishing tonic herbs today. In springtime, they are one of the first greens to pop up, and the tender leaves are used in foods and teas of the season. Once the leaves are heated or blended, the formic acid “needles” on the leaf are broken, dispelling its sting. Its flavor is a bit green or grassy tasting, but it blends well with other herbs if you prefer a milder flavor. 

   It is known as a “pot herb” in Traditional European Medicine, meaning that it was a wild herb that could be thrown into the pot of soup for its nutritious benefits. While the whole plant is medicinal, you’ll mostly find people use the leaves fresh or dried. Nettle is rich in vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and chlorophyll, making it a wonderful nutritive to enjoy as a food or in an herbal tea. Energetically, nettle is cooling and astringent, lending to its anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties, helping to soothe irritation in the lower urinary tract.

   Because of nettle’s nutritive properties, it's also used as a tonic for the skin, hair and nails. One folk remedy involves using the juice of fresh nettle plants combed into the hair to keep it strong and healthy. An easier method is to make nettle tea to use as a hair rinse for this purpose. 

   Nettle is mostly known for being a food and medicine, but it was also grown as a fiber crop for cloth and cordage in 19th-century Europe. While it’s a laborious task to make cordage from the dried stalks, it’s fascinating to know how much nettle provides as a food, medicine, and fiber. For me, nettle is a mainstay in my kitchen, and when you can harvest fresh nettle, you’ll find me sneaking this nutritive powerhouse into a spring pesto, simmering in a soup, or brewing in our teapot for a vibrant cup of tea.

Everyday Spring Brew (from The Kosmic Kitchen Cookbook)

For many, an everyday herbal tea ritual sounds too simple to be effective. But these subtle herbal medicines accumulate over time. That's why making a big batch of a healing blend, so you have it handy throughout the season.

This tea features a nourishing blend of roots, leaves, and flowers. It's a restorative, with a heavy dose of nettle to promote kidney, liver, and digestive system health. Because nettle leaf supports the systems of elimination and the bitter dandelion root activates the digestive enzymes, this blend is perfect to enjoy after a sluggish winter season. The lightly demulcent calendula flowers support and hydrate the mucous membranes of the digestive system, and the astringency of the rose petals tones and tightens tissue, and adds some energetic heart healing to the blend.

FILLS 1 PINT-SIZED JAR

Note: All herbs and flowers should be cut and sifted.

⅔ cup nettle leaf, dried

⅓ cup calendula petals, dried

6 tablespoons rose petals, dried

2 tablespoons dandelion root, dried

2 teaspoons cinnamon bark or ginger, dried for flavor; optional

2 teaspoons licorice, dried; optional (see safety note)

Safety note: Please avoid licorice if you have high blood pressure. If you still desire some sweetness, add a bit of honey to taste.

1. Add herbs to a bowl or jar and mix well with a spoon. Store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid to keep the herbs fresh for use over the next couple of weeks.

2. Create a label for the jar with details on the date made and what herbs were used.

3. To make a daily quart of tea, add 2 to 3 tablespoons (about 1 teaspoon per cup) of the blend to a muslin bag or tea pouch of choice and then place inside a quart-sized mason jar, or add the herbs directly to the jar.

4. Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil, then pour it over the herbs to fill the jar about an inch or so below the lip with hot water for tea. Cover with the cap of the lid (do not tighten) and allow the mixture to infuse for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tea looks vibrant in color.

5. Carefully strain the herbs or remove the muslin bag or tea pouch, add honey or lemon to taste, if desired, and enjoy this spring tea hot or chilled throughout the day.

6. To get the most benefit, you’ll want to sip on about 2 to 4 cups throughout the day. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

*While working with medicinal herbs has been done throughout time, it’s best to consult your health care provider or work with a trusted herbalist to ensure the plants you’re taking are right for you, especially if you’re already taking pharmaceuticals.

Enjoy! xx - Sarah Kate

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The Magic of Herbal Foods: 1-Day Spa Retreat | Thursday, May 29th, 9-4pm

Looking for more ways to celebrate spring and enjoy the season? Join me for an intimate 1-day retreat: The Magic of Herbal Foods, to relax and rejuvenate at the beautiful Osmosis Day Spa, right here in beautiful West Sonoma County.

You’ll begin the day exploring key herbs of the springtime to support whole body health and learn how to infuse them into everyday meals while staying sensible and fun. With a hands-on herbal cooking class, we’ll create a nourishing lunch together while we enjoy the sounds of the creek nearby. 

Following the cooking class, you’ll enjoy an afternoon of relaxation, including a group cedar enzyme footbath, your choice of a 70-minute massage or a 65-minute custom facial, peaceful walking meditation through our bamboo forest, and guided meditation in our renowned Japanese garden. 

You’ll walk away from the day feeling inspired to connect with the herbs of the season, find fun and easy ways to bring them into your daily rituals, and feel restored from the relaxing treatments Osmosis Day Spa has to offer. 

When: Thursday, May 29th from 9 am - 4 pm

Where: Osmosis Day Spa in beautiful Freestone, CA