Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Tulsi Wild Soda

Wild Sodas are a fun and easy way to make living, medicinal, naturally probiotic beverages. They can be made with 100% local ingredients, making them a wonderful example of “localvore medicine” that reflects the true terroir of the land while having a super small carbon footprint. I mostly make them in the warmer months, but they can be made year-round.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Wildcrafting, Wildtending, and Reciprocity

Herbalism is trending and it’s easy to understand why. Plants are beautiful. They are powerful healers. Interacting with them feeds us-body/mind/spirit. So it’s no wonder that more and more folks are turning towards herbal medicine and learning the art and science of herbalism. For any budding herbalist the most exciting thing is wildcrafting herbs.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Wild Rose Honey

I love making herbal honeys. They're easy, safe, effective, insanely delicious, and are the kind of medicine that can be made with a tiny carbon footprint since local raw honey is quite abundant here in our region! One of my favorite herbal honeys to make is with Wild Rose (Rosa multiflora).

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Nettles & Chive Rice Pilaf

The Nettles are in their prime right now and I've been eating them as often as I can, harvesting to dry for winter nourishing infusions, and experimenting with recipes my kids will like. This recipe was a win so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Nettles & Asparagus Kichari

Kichari is a classic Indian stew of white rice, mung beans, ghee, and loads and loads of spices. It's food as medicine at it's finest. It supports all the eliminatory pathways in the body (often done as a cleanse in Ayurveda), boosts metabolic fire, and provides a re-set to your digestive system, especially if it's feeling sluggish and overwhelmed.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Harmonizing With the Spring

The spring is an exciting, transformative, and expansive time. The plants and the earth are waking-up. And, since our bodies are a little microcosm of this larger macrocosm, a little spring awakening is happening within us too! Can you feel it?

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

White Pine Medicine

White Pine (Pinus strobus) is one of my first and dearest plant allies, and extremely abundant here in the Northeast. My hope is that the monograph on it below will encourage you all to get to know this fantastic bioregional herb and incorporate it into your herbal repertoire!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Roasted Dandelion Root-Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ok, so I know this post is a little whimsical….but I must admit that I am a huge fan of pumpkin spice, but having a sugar-y caffeinated drink is not always my cup of tea so to speak, so I invented my own!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Chopped Purslane Salad with Cilantro

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a super common weed that pops-up in almost any garden this time of year- don't weed it! Instead, harvest it for the amazing food and medicine that it is. This unassuming weed has been identified as the richest known plant source of alpha-linoleic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Beach Rose-Seaweed Mermaid Bath Salts

Summer in New England is fleeting and beautiful and- for me- is not complete without numerous visits to the ocean. Maybe it’s because I’m a life-long New Englander, or because I grew-up going to the ocean every summer, or because I’m a water sign, or because the ocean never fails to put it all into perspective, and feel like a beyond nourishing and calming presence…but for me connecting with that ocean energy for just a few months a year never feels like enough!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Wild Rose Elixir

Yesterday was filled with swim dates and harvesting Wild Rose.....it basically doesn't get any better than that! As my friend and I sat by the swimming hole, the smell of Wild Rose (Rosa multiflora), which is currently in full bloom throughout the Valley, kept wafting through the air.....it was truly intoxicating.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Spring Greens Frittata

Spring is all about the greens. It's absolutely true that many nutrient-dense wild greens are available all throughout the growing season, but for me the spring is when they especially shine. After I've spent the winter relying heavily on our winter farm share that's rich in tubers and roots, I can't wait to get outside and connect with the spring earth and fill my harvest basket with some liver-loving, chlorophyll-rich greens!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Ashwagandha-Spiced Ghee

I was inspired to share this recipe after sharing it with a client this morning. This is my favorite way to take Ashwagandha and great for folks who are weary of taking tinctures, tablets and capsules. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a such a wonderful herb.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Ways to Stay Healthy Through Seasonal Transitions

It's currently that weird in-between time when winter is turning to spring, and seasonal transitions are a time when we are especially vulnerable to colds and flus, as any of you who have had a dreaded spring cold can attest too! Here in New England, the weather famously goes back and forth much faster than our body's can keep-up with, and a week of warm weather in March can easily be follow-up by a blizzard.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Eastern Hemlock Medicine

Prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils. Often grows in pure stands in moist cool valleys and ravines. Also found in rocky outcrops and north-facing bluffs. Along with white pine, definitely the most common evergreen found in our local woods. Grows to about 2,400 ft elevation.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Bone Broth Gravy

Bone broth is a staple in our home, and I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my family's diet and get my clients excited about it! Hence the origination of this recipe. This stuff is nourishing, versatile, and makes everything taste better. And an added bonus is that this recipe is also gluten and dairy-free!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Pickled Evening Primrose Roots

If you have a garden in New England, you probably have Evening Primrose (Oneothera biennsis) volunteering itself as a weed! Since this plant loves recently disturbed soils, gardens are one of their primary habitats, although Evening Primrose is a plant I would say I "cultivate" only in the very loosest sense of the word!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Fall Kimchi

Fall is for kimchi-making in my house. The late summer/early fall abundance of vegetables available this time of year provides the perfect diversity to make an amazing fall ferment! A nice big batch made now will last well into winter, so it's also a way to extend the window of eating local.

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Late Summer Dandelion Greens

The Dandelion Greens are back! Late Summer and Fall are kind of like a "second spring" here in the northeast.....and often all the wonderful plants that thrive in the spring make a comeback in the fall!

Read More
Jade Alicandro Jade Alicandro

Elderberry Cordial

Late summer is elderberry season here in the northeast. This time of year herbalists and wild food enthusiasts alike take to the wet meadows and marshes where this wonderful shrub can most commonly be found.

Read More