Thursday, November 11, 2010

Kami McBride's "The Herbal Kitchen"

Do you enjoy eating garlic bread? Does oregano always find its way into your spaghetti sauce? Do you garnish potato salad with paprika? Then you are participating in the ancient tradition of using herbs to enhance the health benefits and digestibility of your food.

THE HERBAL KITCHEN (Conari Press/October 2010/$16.95) by Kami McBride will help readers to recognize the extraordinary pharmacy that already exists in their own kitchen – one that will boost immunity, heal sickness, enhance energy, and ensure overall health and vitality, all without the need for fancy equipment or specialty products. In thirteen informative chapters, life-long herbalist and women’s health educator Kami McBride gives us a detailed guide to the most common herbs, their medicinal benefits and the tips and tricks to using them for a healthier life, including:

Stuffing your turkey with sage helps to keep away the colds that begin circulating around Thanksgiving;
Adding ginger to a fish meal kills pathogens found specifically in fish; and
Sprinkling fennel into your meat marinades helps you to more easily digest the fat in the meat.

Not only will readers find a full glossary of herbs complete with their hidden properties, but it also includes over 250 recipes for herbal oils, vinegars, pestos, dressings, salts, cordials, syrups, smoothies and more making it the most comprehensive guide of its kind.

"These pages discuss many herbs and spices that you already have in your kitchen," says McBride in her introduction. "My hope is that you will be inspired to think of your spice rack as more than a source of flavor. It is also a medicine chest, full of healing remedies that can help you to keep your family well."

THE HERBAL KITCHEN provides remedies most of us never dreamed possible using the ingredients in our spice racks and refrigerators and the information necessary to prepare, store, and use herbs, and create a long-term healthcare plan.

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