Mosquito
by Catherine Haug, August 16, 2014 (Image, right, form Wikimedia Commons)
Those dreaded bugs of summer – mosquitos – can drive you crazy and almost make you long for winter. Not only do their bites itch incessantly, but they can also spread disease like encephalitis, yellow fever, malaria, West Nile virus, and dengue. What can you do? (more…)
Ripening Hawthorn Berries (C. Haug photo)
by Catherine Haug, June 6, 2014 (Photo, right, by C. Haug)
Tom Tracey presented his spring herb walk at Wayfarer’s Park in Bigfork, on May 23, 2014. Tom is an herbalist, dietitian and nutritionist who is very knowledgeable about native edible plants and healing herbs.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but the Bigfork Eagle had an article about the walk, that included interviews of Tom Tracey, and of Ronny Honthaas who was in attendance. Yesterday the article was posted on the Eagle’s website:
On a related topic, Ronny Honthaas gave an excellent presentation to a July 2010 ESP Gathering, on Herbs & Their Traditional Uses. Read on for link to a printable pdf version, and links to other presentations by Ronny. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, February 9, 2014; updated Feb 27,2014 regarding monarch butterflies
Our pollinators, especially bees, are in trouble, dying in great numbers. The situation is getting so severe that growers are concerned their crops will soon lose the ability to to produce seed for future crops, because of the decline in healthy pollinators. This affects almost all vegetables – including squash, tomatoes, greens, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, beets, beans, peas, etc.; and many fruits – including huckleberries and other berries, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, melons and more.
Update: We are also losing another valuable pollinator to the effects of GMO crops: the Monarch Butterfly. This beautiful animal feeds only upon milkweed in its youth, but the spraying of GMO crops with Roundup and other herbicides is killing off all the milkweed. You can help by growing this flowering plant in your yard or garden. See Monarch Watch: Growing Milkweed.
But there is something you can do – every one of you – to help not only the plight of pollinators and our food supply, but also for the health of your family. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, Jan 22 2014
See also Kitchen Hints for others on this site, including Uses for vinegar from 2012. The EssentiaList: Homemade Apple Cider provides instructions for making your own raw apple cider vinegar.
The following uses for apple cider vinegar are from TakePart.com (1), or other sources as noted. You don’t need to use raw apple cider vinegar unless you ingest it (as in items 1, 3 and 9). Save money and use regular apple cider vinegar if it is not to be ingested. For household uses, you can use white vinegar. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, December 30, 2013
I’ve been eating liver since I was a kid – as liverwurst, sautéed chicken livers, liver paté, and calves’ liver. I love the heart from a chicken but have not tried heart from other animals. And I’ve yet to try kidney or brain. But I know most people gag at the thought of eating these foods. Certainly there is cause to dislike liver that has not been properly cooked, or liver from an older animal. Or kidney that has not been deodorized by removing the urine before cooking.
The most important consideration in eating these foods is that they are rich in vital nutrients that are very bioavailable (much more so than taking those minerals supplementally. Another important consideration is the importance of using these foods ONLY if they come from pastured animals, which means that you need to get them from the rancher/farmer or from an Organic source, as commercially raised livestock are highly contaminated with toxins that tend to collect in the organ meats, especially in the liver. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, December 26, 2012 (also added to catsfork.com/CatsKitchen, 6/19/21)
Last year I wrote His & Hers: Matters of the Heart (5) about my Christmas 2010 heart attack. I had all the classic heart attack symptoms (chest pain, neck pain and numbness of my left arm), and the emergency room said I had elevated heart enzymes that indicated a heart attack.
But I later learned that mine was a ‘false’ attack because it was not caused by any obstruction or clot in my arteries, as my arteries were clear and there was no muscle damage. Mine was caused by cardiac spasms – spasms of the muscles in my arteries due to lack of magnesium that normally keeps them relaxed and humming.
While this explains why I was not laid up by my attack, nor suffered debilitating damage, it was still serious and could lead to more damaging problems if I didn’t take action to restore my magnesium levels.
It’s also important to note that false heart attacks are not the only consequence of low magnesium levels. (more…)
