Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Wild Plant Menu #1.
Hello everyone and welcome to a new series here at Steve’s Country! I am actually reprinting this from an old post so I can add it to this new series and decided to make it the first one. There will likely just be one post each week for this new series and I hope you will enjoy it. Please let me know. So, let’s get started!
It’s time for tea…
Raspberry leaf tea, to be exact. I like herbal tea. Almost as much as coffee! But not quite. Except after supper, then it’s definitely tea time. Even afternoon is a great time for tea. Next to coffee, a hot cup of tea is great on a cold winter day. And it’s nice and healthy. Anyway, some of you wanted to know how I make this. Very simple really. I like simple. That way I can actually accomplish it.
First of all…
You need to pick some raspberry leaves. If you can get wild ones even better, they do have even more flavor. But any will do. I pick them off my landlord’s raspberry plants. Yes, I do have permission. And, you should use scissors to keep it nice a neat and that way you won’t hurt the plants. Also, don’t take the leaves off just one plant, just take 3 or 4 from each plant, that way it won’t be noticeable or hurt the plant. Best time to pick will vary a bit, depending on where you live, but generally I think July is best. The flavor is at it’s peak then. Make sure the leaves are nice and green and healthy looking. You can also dry some raspberries to go with it. Dry the same way, but keep them stored in a different container than the leaves.
And next…
Comes the drying part. Very important. Put a layer on a baking sheet, not too many, and put in the oven set at 150F, or up to 200F but no higher. This will dry them slowly enough to retain good flavor. Check on them about every 10 minutes, ‘fluff’ them up a bit and back in the oven. Make sure they are dry enough to crumble nicely, they must be DRY. Let them cool completely. After that store them in an air tight container, such as glass or metal, they just need a good tight fitting lid, not something loose. You could also use plastic containers.
The best part now is…
Making a cup of tea. I use a stainless steel tea ball.
Fill half full for a cup, stuff them in good. Use boiling water. Not hot. Boiling. And pour it in the cup, not on your foot.😲 It hurts when you pour it on your foot.😳 Trust me on that one.😬 Sigh. I think Muffin will have something to say about that soon.😹🙄
This tea…
Is soothing for an upset stomach. Also great if you have a cold or sore throat. You can also add just a little honey with it.
And so…
There you have it, nice and simple. You don’t even need to live in the country to enjoy this one. Just find some raspberry plants.🤔🙄
I hope you enjoy your day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Shh, Please Don’t Disturb Me.
Hello all! It’s another milder day for us, though not quite so nice as the last few days. But for us, any mild weather is nice this time of the year. Of course, mild for us is -2C (28F), which might be cold for some of you. We once again have a little snow on the ground, though only a couple inches (5cm). I think this mild weather and lack of snow is what’s keeping birds away from my feeder. Hopefully that will change when colder weather arrives to our area. Not that I want cold weather, but it’s inevitable, just slow in coming this year. We do get years like that. A nice break from the last 3 winters which were so terribly cold and snowy.
Well, it must be time for another break in story to share with you. This happened just a few years ago at a different apartment than where I presently live. I was sleeping peacefully one night, but woke up suddenly when I felt outside air blowing through my bedroom. Odd, I thought. Must have left a window open. Then I heard a noise in the kitchen, so decided I better get up and see what my cats were up to. Maybe helping themselves to a midnight snack.
I come out the bedroom door. It’s dark. And I’m half asleep still. But I spot someone in the kitchen. That woke me up rather quickly! Hey!, I yelled. He turned, spotted me and then ran out the door which he had left open. That’s why I felt the outside air blowing around. He obviously hadn’t been inside long and didn’t take anything. I went and closed the doors, which he forgot to do on his way out. No consideration at all. Then I looked around for my 2 cats. I was afraid they may have gone out the door and into the night air. They were indoor cats and not used to being outside. 
But I found them hiding in my bed. Under the blankets. Some guard cats you are, I said. But at least they kept the bed warm for me. So I guess they did a good job after all. Plus they didn’t run outside, which was very nice. That would have worried me. I couldn’t give any description at all to the police. After all, it was dark, and I was half asleep. And a bit shocked. Oh well, I slept good afterwards anyway with 2 furry heat cats beside me.
Strange things happen to me sometimes. And this isn’t the end yet. There’s more coming so stay tuned. I hope you have a terrific Tuesday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (Muffin says she would have bitten the guys feet! I believe it.)
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 