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Archive for the News Category

Understanding the Roots of Oppression in Health Care

By JJ Bloomfield on May 2, 2019   /   Blog, News  

Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine has invited Olatokunboh Obasi, an African herbalist living in Puerto Rico, to teach in Asheville in early June. Olatokunboh offers a unique perspective often lacking in many herbal programs – an indigenous voice speaking to the parallels of colonialism of land

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Recent Posts

  • Circles of Care for Optimal Wellness
  • Herbs of the Coastal Plain
  • Herbal Remedies for Poison Ivy
  • Digestive Herbal Candy recipe
  • Wildcrafting Do’s and Don’ts – or How to be a Leaver, not a Taker

blueridgeschoolherbalmedicine

Blending Western herbalism and Chinese medicine with a focus on local plants
Check out our extracts @pinesherbals

Our in‑person herbal programs are starting soon — Our in‑person herbal programs are starting soon — have you applied yet?If you’ve been feeling the pull to learn herbal medicine in a deeper, more hands‑on way, this is your moment. Whether you’re brand‑new to herbalism or ready to step into community healing, our programs are still accepting applications.We have 3 programs to choose from:Holistic Herbalism
Essentials of Herbalism
Wild Medicine InternshipIf you want to learn how to identify plants, harvest ethically, make powerful preparations, and understand the body from a holistic perspective… this is where it begins.Apply now and join us for a season of learning, community, and transformation.Link in biowww.blueridgeschool.org
See Course Details Below🧚‍♂️April Fools!Probab See Course Details Below🧚‍♂️April Fools!Probably.Maybe.We’ll see what the fae decide..www.blueridgeschool.org
Herbalist Kitchen Series | Dandelion Coffee☕⠀ ⠀ Ha Herbalist Kitchen Series | Dandelion Coffee☕⠀
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Have you ever tried dandelion coffee?⠀
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It doesn’t have the caffeine kick of regular coffee, but the flavor is surprisingly similar. You can brew it on its own or mix it with coffee if you’re trying to cut back on jitters or stomach burn. And the best part — it’s incredibly easy to make. (“Creole coffee” is actually made the same way, using the roots of dandelion’s cousin, chicory.)⠀
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How to Make Dandelion Coffee:⠀
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1. Harvest & Prep⠀
Dig up dandelions from your yard or any unsprayed area.⠀
Wash the roots well, chop them small, and dry completely — either in a dehydrator or on a screen/newspaper until they’re hard and no longer dent with a fingernail.⠀
Stop here if you want dandelion root tea.⠀
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2. Roast⠀
Spread the dried roots on a baking sheet.⠀
Roast at 350°F for 30–45 minutes, until they smell like the roast you prefer.⠀
(Tiny pieces burn easily, so keep an eye on them.)⠀
If the flavor tastes too dark or burnt, try 250°F for 45–60 minutes instead.⠀
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3. Brew⠀
Grind the roasted roots.⠀
Use 1 tablespoon per cup of hot water in a French press.⠀
Steep 5 minutes, then press.⠀
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Flavor Notes: ⠀
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Dandelion coffee is lighter than regular coffee — gently bitter with a natural sweetness from the root’s starches. It’s lovely with a splash of milk and a little maple syrup to round out the flavor. Perfect for an after‑dinner cup when you still want to sleep on time.⠀
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If you make this, tell us how it turned out — or let us know if you’ve tried it before! 👇👇⠀
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Pulse jokes aside… Traditional Chinese Medicine pu Pulse jokes aside… Traditional Chinese Medicine pulse diagnosis is one of the most nuanced assessment tools in East Asian medicine. Practitioners spend years training their hands to feel subtle qualities—depth, strength, rhythm, texture—to understand what’s happening in the whole system.We love the humor and the mastery behind it. Although we are a Western Herbalism school, we teach the basics and principles of Chinese medicine which is another reasons our programs are so unique.If herbalism has been calling to you, there’s still room to join us before programs begin next month.Apply at blueridgeschool.org
We can tell you all day why these programs matter… We can tell you all day why these programs matter… but it always lands differently when you hear it from the people who’ve walked this path.The heart of BRSHM has always been our students — their stories, their growth, their way of seeing the world differently after a season of learning.If you’ve been thinking about joining us, there’s still time. Our in‑person programs begin next month, and we have just a few spots left. If you’ve been feeling the pull, now is a beautiful time to step in.
Taste of Spring🌷Chickweed Pesto⠀ ⠀ One of the most Taste of Spring🌷Chickweed Pesto⠀
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One of the most delicious wild food recipes I know, chickweed pesto is the taste of spring to me. I make it a little differently every time, so feel free to adjust this recipe to your own taste and what you have on hand.⠀
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First, be sure you’re harvesting the right plant (see last week’s post). Clean out any dead leaves, dirt, or debris, then give the chickweed a coarse chop so the stems don’t wrap around your blade. Drop it into your food processor — a blender works in a pinch too.⠀
Use about half as much extra‑virgin olive oil as chickweed, and don’t skimp on the oil — it’s what makes the pesto creamy. For two cups of chickweed, add roughly one cup of olive oil, drizzling it in slowly until you reach a smooth paste. Add ½ teaspoon salt, 3 cloves garlic, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice (which brightens the flavor and helps preserve the pesto). Blend again.⠀
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Next, add ½ cup finely chopped nuts of your choice. I use pecans because they’re native to my region, but walnuts, sunflower seeds, or whatever you prefer will work beautifully. Blend until everything becomes a fine, even paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.⠀
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Spoon the pesto into half‑pint jars, top with a thin layer of olive oil, and store in the refrigerator for 1–2 weeks, or freeze for several months. I don’t add cheese to mine, but white miso or nutritional yeast gives a lovely umami note if you want it.⠀
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Chickweed pesto makes a gorgeous pasta sauce, but I also love it on sandwiches, stirred into veggies or fish, or simply used as a dip. This recipe makes a thicker pesto, so if you’re using it for pasta, add a little more olive oil and salt to taste.⠀
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Enjoy and let us know how yours turns out. ⠀
Happy Spring (Vernal) Equinox Everyone🌷⠀ ⠀ Equal d Happy Spring (Vernal) Equinox Everyone🌷⠀
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Equal day and night, and the traditional marker for when spring tonics and early greens return. ⠀
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This moment reminds us that the land moves slowly, steadily, and in its own timing. It’s not an invitation to rush, but a cue to ground yourself before the season begins to rise.⠀
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How do you ease yourself out of winter and into spring? 👇👇⠀
I've seen a lot of gardening books, but this one i I've seen a lot of gardening books, but this one is special. Natalie and Chloe guide you towards becoming an expert on your own garden. With their combined 50 years of experience gardening and teaching with a holistic lens and permaculture-inspired approach, they don’t just tell you what to do, they also share the why behind different approaches and techniques.🛑Pre-order this book by TOMORROW MARCH 19, and get three live class sessions, access to a video library, printable worksheets, and resource lists.🛑Pre‑orders are powerful. They signal to booksellers that a book is important. important enough to stock, to display, to recommend. When you pre‑order, you’re not just reserving your copy. You’re helping this book reach more gardeners, more beginners, more people putting their hands in the soil and growing nourishing food.It’s a small action with a big ripple. And… yay for that.growingwise.net/bookhttps://bit.ly/41d1egk
Herbalist Kitchen: Chickweed Juice 💚🌿⠀Ever hear Herbalist Kitchen: Chickweed Juice 💚🌿⠀Ever hear of Wheatgrass Juice? Ever taste it? Trust me – Chickweed juice is much tastier and still has tons of health benefits. AND it’s probably already growing in your yard!You will need a wheatgrass style juicer for best results, the one here is hand crank but electric juicers aren’t any more expensive. And you can use it to make juice (or “succus” in herbal speak) of other plants like cleavers to drink and plantain and jewelweed for topical use. You can also just blend the chickweed in a kitchen blender with just enough water that it doesn’t glop up, then strain it before drinking.What does it do? It is the most green thing imaginable, and it will awaken your senses while nourishing your body with minerals, vitamin C, and lots of anti-inflammatory flavonoids. THIS is the green drink we should be drinking on St. Patrick’s Day!!So have you tried a chickweed juice? Let us know!! 👇
Michelle-Marie Nelson @feralfascination - graduate Michelle-Marie Nelson @feralfascination - graduate of @blueridgeschoolherbalmedicine 2022 Essentials of Herbalism Program joined me at a friend's land @redmoonherbsto harvest Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) with leaves shown in harvest basket, some Goldenrod (Solidago sp.), and Lemon Balm (Melisssa officinalis).The Herbs at our feet in the first photo are:Fresh Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) - in the middle, paper bag
Lemon Balm (Melisssa officinalis) - in the green bag and also in my hand
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) - in the African market basket
Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) - in Michelle-Marie's hands@pinesherbal uses wormwood as one of the primary herbs in our Parasite Flush Drops. Pine's Herbals also has a lemon balm tincture and uses lemon balm in our Feeling Groovy formula.If interested in one of our in person programs that teaches ethical harvesting and medicine making, follow link in bio or go to blueridgeschool.orgTo check out our wide selection of tinctures and formulas, check out www.pinesherbals.com
Wild Indigo Herb Fest Special Discount!I’m excit Wild Indigo Herb Fest Special Discount!I’m excited to share that I’ll be teaching at Wild Indigo Herb Fest, an educational gathering dedicated to celebrating wild food and plant medicine.If you’ve been wanting to deepen your connection to the plants around you, this is a beautiful place to begin.Go to wildindigoherbfest.com and use code Shane26 for $30 OFF registration when you sign up by 3/31.Hope to see you there!@wildindigoherbfest
@pinesherbals
⠀ Herbalist Kitchen Purple Cabbage Sauerkraut 💜🌿⠀ ⠀
Herbalist Kitchen Purple Cabbage Sauerkraut 💜🌿⠀
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In the herbalist kitchen, even the simplest foods become everyday medicine. Purple cabbage sauerkraut is one of my favorite ways to bring probiotics into a meal — no capsules, just real, living food.⠀
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As the cabbage ferments, its natural sugars feed wild beneficial bacteria, turning it into a tangy, vibrant, probiotic‑rich staple that supports:⠀
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✨ gut health⠀
✨ digestion⠀
✨ immune function⠀
✨ microbiome diversity⠀
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Fermented foods like this remind us that we don’t always need probiotics in a bottle. A spoonful of this adds both flavor and a whole community of beneficial microbes your body. ⠀
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How do you eat your probiotics? 👇⠀
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Teacher Feature!! 🍎📗🌿Meet Marc Williams.🌿 When Teacher Feature!! 🍎📗🌿Meet Marc Williams.🌿 When you join one of our programs at The Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, you don’t just learn from lectures—you step directly into the living classroom of the forest.
During Marc’s botany plant walks, students gain a wealth of botanical insight through true hands‑on experience. His deep knowledge of the plant world helps students see, touch, and understand the species growing all around us, turning every step on the trail into a moment of discovery.Ethnobiologist Marc Williams has studied the people, plant, mushroom and microbe interconnection intensively while learning to employ botanicals and other life forms for food, medicine, and beauty in a regenerative manner. His training includes a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies concentrating in Sustainable Agriculture with a minor in Business from Warren Wilson College and a Master’s degree in Appalachian Studies concentrating in Sustainable Development with a minor in Geography and Planning from Appalachian State University.He has spent over two decades working at a multitude of restaurants and various farms and has traveled throughout 30 countries in Central/North/South America and Europe as well as all 50 states of the USA. Marc has visited over 200 botanical gardens and research institutions during this process while taking tens of thousands of pictures of representative plants and other entities.He has taught hundreds of classes to thousands of students about the marvelous world of people and their interface with other organisms while working with over 100 organizations and particularly as a key contributor to the work of United Plant Savers, Plants and Healers International and online at the website www.botanyeveryday.com.Marc's greatest hope is that this effort may help improve our current challenging global ecological situation.You can learn directly from Mark in our programs beginning next month. We still have a few spots open.www.blueridgeschool.org
Here is some botany humor one of our students shar Here is some botany humor one of our students shared in our group chat 😆www.blueridgeschool.org
Herbalist Kitchen Coffee Station ☕🌿In our herbal Herbalist Kitchen Coffee Station ☕🌿In our herbalist kitchen, even the morning coffee becomes a ritual of nourishment. Today we’re adding two simple upgrades that bring both flavor and resilience to your daily cup:✨ Maple syrup for a touch of mineral‑rich sweetness
✨ Resilient by Anima Mundi @animamundiherbals  in collaboration with Rising Appalachia @risingappalachia — a grounding blend of reishi, chaga, maca, mucuna, cacao, and roasted dandelion root🟫Reishi is an adaptogen and immuno-modulator rich in antioxidants; it’s known to protect the brain, liver, cardiovascular and urinary systems🟫Chaga contains antioxidants and promotes antimicrobial activity, healthy blood sugar levels, and wound healing🟫Maca is an energizing adaptogen🟫Mucuna is a neuroprotective and rich in antioxidants; also known to elevate mood🟫Cacao is antioxidant rich and supports the cardiovascular system🟫Dandelion supports liver and gut healthA single spoonful stirred into warm coffee is such an easy way to weave adaptogens and tonic herbs into your everyday rhythm. I find this deeply supportive — it’s like giving your nervous system a little morning hug.What are you adding to your coffee these days? 🌿☕Share your ideas!👇
There’s still time 🌿If the Wild Medicine Confere There’s still time 🌿If the Wild Medicine Conference has been on your heart, we want you to know that the February discount ends tomorrow.Use code PINE to receive $50 off your registration — valid through February 28 only.This gathering is a beautiful opportunity to deepen your relationship with plant medicine, learn from inspiring teachers, and be in community.Code: PINE
Expires: February 28@wildmedicineconferencewww.wildmedicineconference.com
2026 Wild Medicine Internship → Now OpenThis 4 w 2026 Wild Medicine Internship → Now OpenThis 4 week internship is a live, hands-on version of CoreyPine’s book: Southeast Medicinal Plants - which now has over 25,000 sold.Early Bird Price: $320 through 2/28/26Only 12 spots to ensure an intimate, hands-on experience—these fill fastwww.blueridgeschool.org
I harvested wild persimmons in September. I presse I harvested wild persimmons in September. I pressed them through a colander to separate the pulp from the seeds and skins. The seeds and skins still had a lot of pulp on them, so I put them in a 2‑gallon crock and covered them with a sugar‑water solution.I harvested more fruit to bulk it up and mashed some whole persimmons into the crock. I heated about a gallon of water with roughly 4 cups of organic sugar until dissolved, then poured it over the mash. Once it cooled to body temperature, I added half a packet of wine yeast.I covered the crock with cheesecloth and let it sit on the counter for a week, stirring a couple of times a day. After a week, I strained it into a gallon jug, added an airlock, and let it ferment for six weeks. Then I decanted, bottled, and labeled it — and voilà, you have persimmon wine!
Wanna see what your classroom looks like under a b Wanna see what your classroom looks like under a blanket of snow? ❄️😀Even with snow on the ground, we are still preparing for next year's school year! Like a gardener preparing their seeds in the winter. ✨Our programs run from April through October, giving you the chance to experience the mountains in their full Spring, Summer, and early Fall beauty.Link in bio or visit www.blueridgeschool.org for more information.
Herbal Bone Broth — Part 2 🌿🍲The Herbalist Kitchen Herbal Bone Broth — Part 2 🌿🍲The Herbalist Kitchen Series.⠀
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This batch of bone broth is both flavorful and nourishing.⠀
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In this pot I used Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), a classic immune and qi tonic in Chinese medicine; Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae), a hemlock reishi I harvested locally, sliced thin and dried — used sparingly, as it can turn bitter; Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), grown in my garden and added as a gentle digestive and grounding tonic; and a generous handful of Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) for deep mineral nourishment.⠀
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I also added Chaga (Inonotus obliquus), one of the first fungi I gathered this season, along with a few Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) for gentle blood and immune support.⠀
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This broth isn’t just nourishing on a nutritional level — it’s designed to support the qi, nourish the blood, and strengthen the immune system over time. It’s something I’ll sip on and cook with over the next couple of weeks as part of my everyday food.⠀
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More from my herbalist kitchen coming next week.⠀
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