Redland Evening Herb Society Online

Kristin Jayd-Jimenez gave a lovely presentation about how to share your garden with butterflies. She gave advice on how to attract both adults and caterpillars to your yard with plants that are useful to all stages of a butterflies’ life. Nectar plants are most important for adult butterflies, while
other plants provide cover and food for the caterpillars. If you are worried about destruction wrought by caterpillars, Kristin suggested planting enough for you AND the caterpillars.

Butterflies are both attractive and useful—they act as pollinators for some plants, and can be a source of food for birds and other useful insects.

Also, do not forget the most important rule of butterfly gardening— do not use pesticides on your garden (although that probably isn’t much of an issue with our membership).

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 11:26 AM | Permalink

Leila Werner, as everyone  who attends our meetings  knows, is a fabulous cook.  She is also a founding member of REHS, and was gracious enough to give a demonstration using fresh, seasonal fruits and herbs.

She began with a buttermilk  panna cotta topped with spiced mangoes. Her mango  and cantaloupe salsas went  together quickly and easily,  and provided a sweet and  spicy accompaniment to the  tasting table.

Another quick  and tasty recipe Leila provided was for mango vinaigrette, which she whipped  up in a flash and used to top  a lush salad.

Many thanks to Leila for  sharing her culinary secrets!

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 06:23 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are  invited (but not required) to  bring a contribution to the  monthly tasting table. For those not inclined toward  the culinary arts, paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.

The tasting table was filled  by: Manny Crump—Banana  bread; Jean Bonnen— Cabbage dish; Kristin Jayd-Jimenez—Rice & peas;  Cheri O’Neal—Banana  Chocolate Chip Bread; Eliat Schmalbach—Brownies;  Tracy Bossinger—Mint tea.  There were many other delicious items that were not  written down as well.



Donations are also encouraged for the raffle table.  Tickets are on sale at the raffle table during each meeting, and are fifty cents  each. Ticket proceeds benefit the Society.  In August, donations were  made by: Manny Crump— Raku flower for garden  decoration; Jean Bonnen— books. 

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 02:35 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are  invited (but not required) to  bring a contribution to the monthly tasting table. For  those not inclined toward  the culinary arts, paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.


June’s Tasting Table was  filled by: Leila Werner— Salsa & Chips, Tomato  Herb Bread; Astrid Zedler—Vegetarian Chili, Lemonade; Tenia Fleming— Mexican Edamame; Tracy  Bossinger—Sourdough Wheat Bread; Cristine  Worthley—Sprout Salad;  John & Marie Thorp—Blue Chips & Salsa; Kristin Jayd
Jimenez—Banana Cake;  Delphine O’Hare—German  Potato Salad; James  O’Hare—Smoked Wild  Salmon; Eliat Schmalbach— Fire Water.


Donations are also encouraged for the raffle table.  Tickets are on sale at the  raffle table during each meeting, and are fifty cents  each. Ticket proceeds benefit the Society.

June’s raffle prizes included: Cookbook—James O’Hare; Teddy Bears—Ogee Paint  Store; Soap & Lip Balm— American Apothecary; Eggfruit tree—John Thorp;  Baby Lettuces—Arturo Gonzalez.

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 04:41 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are invited (but not required) to bring a contribution to the monthly tasting table. The Tasting Table was filled by: Leila Werner—Calabasa Flan; Eliat Schmalbach— Peas; John & Marie Thorpe—Romaine Salad; Cheri O’Neal—Wheat-free Herb Bread; Cristine Worthley—Fruit Basket;
Kristin & Naja Jimenez— Balsamic Salad; Jean Bonnen— Polenta and Sorrel Salad; Penny Gordon— Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Thyme; Tracy Bossinger— Honey Wheat Sourdough Bread, Tarragon Tea. Tickets are on sale at the raffle table during each meeting, and are fifty cents each.

Raffle table donations were provided by: Penny Gordon—Bath Scrubbie; John & Marie Thorp—Holy Basil and Banjo Tobacco.

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 06:06 PM | Permalink

Karen Esty from the Fruit & Spice Park was our speaker for May. She gave a wonderful presentation on making ‘floral waters’ - an easy version of perfumes. These scents can be used in homemade lotions, cleaning potions, or alone as room or body fragrances.

Karen demonstrated her method of steeping the herbs in vodka to obtain the waters using lavender provided by Penny Gordon. She also brought other scents she had made previously, both to share her experiments and to demonstrate that the fragrance develops over time as the tinctures sit.

Some of the herbs Karen has used include bay rum, lavender, rose geranium, and patchouli.

Karen will be returning in November with more samples of her work, and to let us see the progression on the tinctures she has already made, so look for her to return!

Thank you to Karen for an enlightening presentation!

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 12:16 PM | Permalink

Christian Miller, a hydrologist (among other qualifications) with the IFAS extension, was our guest speaker  in April. He gave an informative and sometimes  shocking lecture on the water cycle, water use, and water conservation in Florida.

Christian teaches a class on how to create and use a water barrel in order to alleviate some of the pressures on  the ecosystem and to do our  part to use less treated water. Water caught in a water  barrel can be used for a variety of uses, but most notably for us, it is an excellent  source of
garden plant water. This can be especially valuable when we are under  water restrictions as is the  case presently.

Christian’s next class is June  9th at the Deering Estate,  but is booked. For information on upcoming workshops, try the IFAS extension website, www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu or call  305-248-3311 or email Christian at  millec4@ufl.edu.

Cost for the workshop is  $35 including the rainbarrel,  or $10 for the workshop  only (information as of this printing, subject to change).

For information from the  water management district,  visit their website:  www.sfwmd.gov

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 06:09 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are
invited (but not required) to  bring a contribution to the  monthly
tasting table. For  those not inclined toward  the culinary arts,
paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.

Dishes brought to the April table included: Thai Rice &
Vegetables—Tina Pavel;  Salsa & Chips—Leila Werner; Lentils & Brown  Rice—Val Mazon & Sue  Clark; Chopped Liver &
Spinach—Eliat Schmalbach;  Fruit Salad & Quiche— Leah Sherman;
Licorice Asparagus & Minted Pears— Gladys & Bruce Sutton;  After Dark
Herbal Tea— Tracy Bossinger.  

Donations are also encouraged for the
raffle table.  Tickets are on sale at the raffle table during each
meeting, and are fifty cents  each. Ticket proceeds benefit the
Society.  

Offerings on the Raffle Table included: Soap—Cheri  O’Neal;
Coleus Plant—Rick  Jacobson; White Amaryllis  Bulbs—Lisa Jacobson;
Butterfly Plant—Bruce &  Gladys Sutton; Many Baskets—David & Leah
Sherman. 

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 03:26 PM | Permalink

March's meeting kind of  snuck up on most of us,  following so close behind  the Asian culture Festival.  While our attendance was a little lower than usual, attendees were treated to some  sensory seduction with  Tatiana Arcila's line of all  natural body scrubs and bath salts!

During her first pregnancy,  she started to experience some skin problems and  facial inflammation which  turned out to be Rosacea.  On the advice of her midwife, Tatiana stopped using  all commercial and petroleum-based skin care products. Instead, she started  moisturizing after her bath  with
pure grapeseed oil,  which is very light, absorbed  well by the skin, and does  not clog pores. The results were great and she soon  began experimenting with  other ingredients, such as  sea salt, organic sugar, and  oats that she grinds herself. She also began playing with  unusual combinations of
herbal essential oils for exotic combinations to invigorate or calm, explaining that some scents are good for  energy in the morning shower, and others make for  a relaxing bath to wind  down your evening.

Tatiana starting giving her  creations to friends and family for birthday and holiday gifts and they loved  them! She recently decided to go public with her potions and is experiencing much success. In January,  she had her debut as a vendor at the Fruit and Spice  Park's Redland Festival,  where I
met her and asked  her to present to us. On the  first day of the event she  sold out of her scrubs completely and stayed up until  the wee hours of the morning making more with her husband and mother! They  returned for another sell-out  day on Sunday, and those of  us who tried her products  know
why!

If you were unable to attend  last month, look for Tatiana  at our upcoming meetings,  as she has become an enthusiastic member of REHS! -Kristin Jayd-Jimenez  

 

“Book: A garden  carried in the pocket.” -Arabian proverb 

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 06:26 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are  invited (but not required) to bring a contribution to the  monthly tasting table. For  those not inclined toward  the culinary arts, paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.

The March Tasting Table  was dessert central. Those  who enjoy sweets were in  heaven!

Yummies were provided by:  Kristin Jayd Jimenez— Quinoa Pilaf with Broccoli;  Cheri O’Neal—Basil Pesto  Pasta; Johne & Marie  Thorp—Cake & Cornbread;  Val Mazon & Sue Clark— Cake & Key Lime Pie; Leila Werner—Rosemary Cookies; Eliat Schmalbach— Brownie; Tracy Bossinger— ”After Dark” Tea.

Donations are also encouraged for the raffle table.      Tickets are on sale at the  raffle table during each  meeting, and are fifty cents  each. Ticket proceeds benefit the Society.

Kristin Jayd Jimenez provided Exotic Chocolate  Truffles, and David & Leah Sherman brought a large  assortment of goodies to  stock the raffle table.

The door prize was a Vick’s Salve Plant.  

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 11:54 AM | Permalink

John and Marie Thorp, long-time REHS members, did a  wonderful job as presenters  at last month’s meeting!

Their presentation on detoxification via Ion Generating Footbath was quite  enlightening and they followed it with some great  recipes for herbal detox,  too. While at a fair on an out-of-town trip, John tried the Body Balance System,  which assists your body to  re-balance its bio-energy fields,
and stimulates the  body for self-detoxification.

This machine is a selfcontained high-tech water  detoxification system which  uses surgical stainless steel electrodes to generate ions  and put the body into an  alkaline state. He was  amazed by his body's reaction and the immediate reduction in pain he had long  been experiencing.

After  several more sessions he  found that he relied less on  his cane and was able to walk longer distances. John  and Marie brought two units  with them to the meeting and had two members try  them out. The results were visible after just a few minutes, with sediment and "toxins" which looked
like  different colored dirt entering the water and accumulating through the session.


The participants noted  a feeling of general well being afterward as well as  more freedom of motion  and less pain in previously  achy joints. Drinking plenty  of fluids is recommended  after the footbath, as with  any detox method, to help  the body continue to flush  out toxins.

The couple's  genuine enthusiasm for this  system  has prompted them to become distributors of  the Body Balance System and John offers the first  session at no charge at his  barber shop. Just call him at 786-399-5047 to be sure he  is there.

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 07:44 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are  invited (but not required) to  bring a contribution to the  monthly tasting table. For  those not inclined toward  the culinary arts, paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.

Donations are also encouraged for the raffle table.  Tickets are on sale at the  raffle table during each meeting, and are fifty cents each. Ticket proceeds benefit the Society.

I missed the last meeting, so  only have highlights reported for the tasting table.  John & Marie Thorp  brought chili made with cocoa, several desserts were  brought using chocolate,  and other, unnamed yummies were also provided.  Apologies again for the lack of information.

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 01:33 PM | Permalink

All members and guests are  invited (but not required) to bring a contribution to the  monthly tasting table. For  those not inclined toward  the culinary arts, paper  plates, plasticware and beverages are also very welcome.

Donations are also encouraged for the raffle table.  Tickets are on sale at the  raffle table during each meeting, and are fifty cents each. Ticket proceeds benefit the Society.

Once again, I failed to put  out a sign in sheet, and so I cannot thank everyone personally for their contributions. There were delicious  things on the tasting table— if you weren’t there, you missed a yummy time. Leila  Werner brought her awesome rosemary shortbread,

John Thorp brought a delicious avocado salad, Leah  Sherman’s cream cheese and  peach dip with horseradish  & mustard was wonderful, and there were a lot of other  tasty savories as well.

The raffle table was very full  as well, and I regret not having a list of those contributions. 

Posted by REHS_Newsletter at 12:43 PM | Permalink