Saturday, December 15, 2012

Big Bowls of Herbs...

There are lots of things I love about being an herbalist.  One of them is blending herbs for teas and cooking blends.  Big Bowls of Herbs!  The photo is of the batch of Herbalicious that I've just put together this afternoon.  A fabulous cooking blend - garlic, oregano, thyme, parsley and more.

And this morning, there was an even Bigger Bowl of Cool It Hot Mama tea, a delicious blend for keeping menopausal women cooler...

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Herbal Elixer for Love... just in time for sipping with your Valentine



Herbal Elixer for Love…
just in time for Valentine’s Day


With Sarah Preston, community herbalist
Saturday, January 19, 2013, 2-4 pm

Cordials, elixers and liqueurs are a delicious way to enjoy blending the rich flavors of fruits and herbs.  They can be healthful tonics, after-dinner sipping drinks, as well as sophisticated dessert toppings, even love potions.  Join Sarah for this delightful afternoon class, during which you will begin a delicious love elixir, timed for first sipping on Valentines Day.  We’ll taste several of Sarah’s cordials, and you’ll go home with lots of ideas and recipes, as well as a bottle of steeping cordial. 

Class will be held at Radiance, 9 W Grant St, Lancaster, PA
Stop in or call 717-290-1517 to register.

Cost for the class is $30, & includes a copy of the booklet, Making Liqueurs for Gifts. 

Bring a pint of 80 proof brandy to class.  All other materials will be supplied.

Must be 21 to take this class. 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Meads and Beers: Herbal Fermentations



A workshop at Herbs from the Labyrinth
with local home-brewer,
Benjamin Weiss.
Saturday, November 17th, 1-5PM


Only within the last few centuries did hops become the main herbal ingredient in beer. From very ancient times until nearly the present, cultures around the world have been making fermented beverages with an incredible variety of herbs, fruits, sugar sources and other ingredients. Fermented beverages can serve as much more than just an enjoyment. These drinks can preserve the nutritional and medicinal properties of their ingredients for up to several years, and can play a key role in ritual and spiritual practice.

Benjamin Weiss, a local organic farmer, permaculture teacher, and poet has been experimenting with herbal fermentations for the past 7 years. Inspired by Stephen Buhner’s book Sacred & Herbal Healing Beers, Ben has learned to craft medicinal fermentations of many kinds using mostly local, organic, and wild ingredients.

This class will be useful for those who have little or no experience with brewing, and as a source of new knowledge for experienced brewers. Students will participate in the creation of an herbal beer as well as a mead (honey wine), and will see fermentations in all of the different stages of the brewing process. Basic techniques and equipment will be explained, as well as medicinal, nutritive, and ritual functions of brews, choosing, harvesting and obtaining ingredients, and pairing appropriate flavors. And an array of Ben’s finished beverages will be available for sampling!

This class will be held in the Herbs from the Labyrinth kitchen, at 1053 Wheatland Avenue in Lancaster.  Buhner’s book and herbal mead-making kits will be available for purchase during the class.

To register, call Radiance, 717-290-1517, or stop in to 9 W Grant St, Lancaster.

Cost of the class:  $40

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Winterizing Your Beehives



Saturday, September 29, 2012, 10am til noon
at the gardens of Herbs from the Labyrinth, LLC
 
One of the most frequent questions new (and not so new) beekeepers often ask is how to keep their hives alive and thriving throughout Winter.  The cold-weather challenges for beekeepers are very different from the regular maintenance and inspection of hives, and vary from region to region.

In this class, taught by third generation organic beekeeper Zan Asha, we will see how to NATURALLY maneuver through the various challenges before wintertime woes arrive.  We will discuss methods for keeping the bees warm and dry, how much food they will need, and other Wintertime precautions. We will also be discussing  additional "advanced" techniques in this class, including swarm catching, splitting hives, and other more advanced beekeeping Fall/Winter beekeeping methods. 

This class will be held in the garden of Herbs from the Labyrinth, in Lancaster, PA.  Address will be provided upon registration.  Please wear protective clothing.  Recommended for more intermediate and advanced beekeepers, or more advanced beginners with some knowledge of bees. No age restrictions.  Cost is $45 per person.  Call 717-290-1517 to register, or stop in to Radiance, 9 W Grant St. Lancaster, across the cobblestones from Central Market.

Zan Asha is a third generation beekeeper, having learned from her Hungarian grandfather.  Zan is the Chief Beekeeper of Bronx Bees, in NYC, a project of the notable environmentalist, Majora Carter (
www.majoracarterllc.com). Her work is based on her European Grandfather's non-chemical and non-pesticide tradition of observing and reading the BEES's behavior to help determine how to care for them.

She has been featured in the bee movie "The Queen of the Sun," and newspapers such as "The New York Daily News," "The Bronx Free Press," and the new book "New York City Farmer and Feast." She has traveled extensively across the Midwest teaching new keepers how to raise bees ORGANICALLY in the midst of Genetically Modified corn and soy fields.  Zan works her own hives atop the roofs in the Bronx, delivering raw honey to NYC and
across the country.

Making Mozzarella!


Sunday, September 16, 2012, 2-4pm


Mild and milky, smooth and silky: any way you stretch it, we love fresh mozzarella! In this hands-on class you’ll learn how to make it at home. After a basic demonstration describing how fresh milk turns from fluid to firm curds, we'll then turn curds into the beautiful balls that we know as fresh mozzarella. We’ll taste delicious samples of fresh pulled curd-style mozzarella served with garden fresh tomato salad, crusty bread and beverages. It may sound daunting, but making your own fresh cheese is easy. Come see for yourself!

This class will be held in the home kitchen of Herbs from the Labyrinth, in Lancaster.  You will have a chance to explore the labyrinth garden during the cheese-tasting at the end of the class.

$ 50.00, in advance for the class.  The Lancaster address will be provided upon registration.  Cheese-making supplies and books will also be available for purchase after the class.

To register call Radiance, 290-1517, or stop by the shop at 9 W Grant St, in downtown Lancaster, right across the cobblestones from Central Market. 

Susan Hess is a therapeutic herbalist and native weed wrangler who resides in northern Chester County, PA. Since 1997 Susan has grown a fine line of handcrafted herbal products through her business “Farm at Coventry”. She enjoys sharing her experience and knowledge through community herbal education workshops and her twelve month “Homestead Herbalism” course and teaching gardens. Her website www.FarmatCoventry.com showcases Susan’s photography as well as her herbal product line and educational offerings. In her spare time, Susan enjoys researching traditional healing methods, photography, writing,  gardening, quilting and cheese-making.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Last Appointments for Tarot Readings with Beth Next Tuesday!


  
Beth, who does tarot readings at Radiance during the winter, is an organic farmer, and has her days filled with growing food when the warm weather arrives.  Her last day for taking appointments until probably November is this coming Tuesday, April 24.  So don't delay, call today to schedule a reading!  

Using the imagery of the Tarot, Beth helps you explore the issues of your life, looking for synchronicities and seeking clarity for how to make strong choices for your future.  Rather than looking at the Tarot as deterministic of a future set in stone, Beth sees the images as pointing to patterns that can be changed and rewoven.  Unpacking the meaning of a reading helps you to focus on the potential choices that you can make to change unhelpful patterns of behaving and thinking or to affirm positive patterns.

Beth has been studying and practicing various forms of divination for the past sixteen years, from Tarot to Runes, and African Bones to the I Ching.  She enjoys using divination as a tool for personal transformation and spiritual development, and as a way to become attuned to the cycles of the natural world.  Along with Sarah, she also teaches occasional courses in the Reclaiming Tradition: The Elements of Magic and Rites of Passage.

The cost for a 45-50-minute reading is $45.  Call 717-290-1517 to schedule an appointment.

Readings will be held at Radiance through the winter on the following Tuesdays and Saturdays:

                    November 9, 2011
                    December 10 and 20, 2011
                    January 14 and 24, 2012
                    February 11 and 21, 2012
                    March 10 and 20, 2012
                    April 14 and 24, 2012



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Herbal Fermentations: a Class with Ben Weiss



Herbal Fermentations
A workshop at Radiance with local home-brewer,
Benjamin Weiss.
Saturday, April 28th, 1-5PM


Only within the last few centuries did hops become the main herbal ingredient in beer. From very ancient times until nearly the present, cultures around the world have been making fermented beverages with an incredible variety of herbs, fruits, sugar sources and other ingredients. Fermented beverages can serve as much more than just an enjoyment. These drinks can preserve the nutritional and medicinal properties of their ingredients for up to several years, and can play a key role in ritual and spiritual practice.

Benjamin Weiss, a local organic farmer, permaculture teacher, and poet has been experimenting with herbal fermentations for the past 7 years. Inspired by Stephen Buhner’s book Sacred & Herbal Healing Beers, Ben has learned to craft medicinal fermentations of many kinds using mostly local, organic, and wild ingredients.

This class will be useful for those who have little or no experience with brewing, and as a source of new knowledge for experienced brewers. Students will participate in the creation of an herbal beer as well as a mead (honey wine), and will see fermentations in all of the different stages of the brewing process. Basic techniques and equipment will be explained, as well as medicinal, nutritive, and ritual functions of brews, choosing, harvesting and obtaining ingredients, and pairing appropriate flavors. And an array of Ben’s finished beverages will be available for sampling!

To register, call Radiance, 717-290-1517, or stop in to 9 W Grant St, Lancaster.
Cost of the class: sliding scale of $40-$20.