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Book Report Out and About Herb Snips

Book Report

Susan will be visiting five more great blogs this week: an herb farmer in Tennessee, a soap-maker in Alabama, a northern garden, and two writers' blogs. She'll be discussing a different topic on each blog. Check out the dates, places, and topics on our calendar. Be sure to bookmark it, so you can ride along with Susan. And of course, there are prizes. There's a drawing (for a first-edition copy of Nightshade) at every blog visit. Join the fun! Nightshade on the Shelf! Tomorrow's the big day. Look for Nightshade in your local bookstore. If you'd like to read the first chapter, learn more about the notorious nightshades, and bag a new recipe, go here. Hey! You can even order your very own signed copy. Book sales from Susan's website benefit the Story Circle Network.

Out and About
Susan will be touring Texas in April, talking about Nightshade. Check our Events listings to see whether she's scheduled to be in your area.

Herb Snips: Sassafras: A Spring Cleansing Herb

If your grandmother treated her family with a "spring tonic" of sassafras tea, she wasn't alone in the practice. When the colonists came to America, Native Americans shared with them their many uses of sassafras (Sassafras albidum), a handsome tree with a deeply-furrowed, oily bark that to our modern noses smells like root beer. The bark, leaves, and roots were used to treat such ailments as rheumatism, diarrhea, colds, worms, and listlessness. Modern herbalists recommend it as a mouthwash, to reduce fever, and to treat skin problems, although it is no longer used to flavor root beer. To make your grandmother's spring tonic, dig up a few roots of a small red sassafras tree, scrub them, and cut to fit your pot. Cover with a quart of water and simmer until the water turns red (10-20 minutes-the longer you brew, the stronger the tea). Strain, sweeten, and enjoy. Read more herb snips.

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