Savory is not only a description for foods that are on the salty with some spice or herbs. It is also the name of a wonderful herb that I’ve learned to love and use in my cooking.

I planted savory in my kitchen herb garden almost 20 years ago without really knowing much about it. It was just one of the choices at my local home and garden store. Only recently did I discover it’s a main ingredient in the classic herb blend Herbs de Provence. It’s got a bright lightly spicy herb flavor that works well on poultry, pork and fish – and even eggs.

I was drawn to savory because of its delicious flavor, yet I’ve been wondering whether it’s good for you. Some quick research revealed some surprising significant health benefits!

Digestive aid: Savory is good for your stomach and is often used to help with indigestion, cramps, gas, or nausea.

Cold fighter: Savory has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties that can help relieve coughs and inflammation of the throat.

The bottomline about this often overlooked herb – It’s good for your health and it’s yummy.

If you’d like to try it for yourself – I recommend the Rise and Shine seasoning salt – it’s paired with chives for a delicious everyday seasoning. Don’t be surprised if you see it on the ingredient list in many of my blends.

My daughter has taught me about amazing nutrition that comes from plants that we consider weeds. So over the last few years I’ve eaten dishes that include mallow, chickweed, dandelion, and perhaps most surprising one -nettle. That’s right, stinging nettle!

Nettle needs to be treated with respect and caution because the little fibers on their leaves do sting a lot! But once cooked or boiled in water the sting goes away and you’re left with an extremely nutritious leafy green or tea.

According to Healthline.com, Nettle is rich in vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, K, B, Calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. In addition to being downright healthy, Nettle leaf has been found to be beneficial for reducing joint pain and inflammation among other ailments.

And that’s why Nettle is the inspiration for the latest herbal tea blend concocted by Jennifer Dunn (my infusion mixologist and daughter). It’s called Three Green Leaves and contains Nettle, Mallow, and Rose of Sharon leaves. If you like green tea – this is an excellent and healthy alternative for you.

We have it at the Tehachapi Farmers Market this weekend in two sizes – A cup of green (2-3 servings) and a bag (12-15 servings). Come by and check it out.

After the blessing of a wet winter, my backyard herb farm has been flourishing with so many perennials that woke up after their long winter nap. Much to my delight, some newly planted herbs came back even better that last year. Echinacea plants have filled the raised bed joining the dandelions. I didn’t realize so many of the seedlings from last year took root! My French Tarragon is alive after struggling to survive last summer and the Bee Balm is bigger than ever.

It seems like every day there’s something new to discover. I enjoyed watching the first Echinacea flower of the season develop and bloom. The calendulas produce increasingly more bright yellow and orange flowers with each harvest. The lavenders are now blooming with vigor.

Through the season we’ll be sharing the different good gifts of the harvest through various herbal tea blends. Right now we’re featuring several that have calming and restoring qualities including:

Rose Petal/Rosebud: A delicious blend of rose petals or rosebuds, lemon balm and calendula

Lavender Lemon Balm: A refreshing blend of lemon balm, yarrow, rose petals, and lavender

Sleepy Mint: A blend of three calming herbs of the mint family- Peppermint, Lemon Balm, Catnip

Come check them out at our booth at the farmer market on Thursday – or at the Brite Creek Farm store Wednesday through Saturday.

Over the past few years lemon balm has sprung up all over my garden. I used to yank out this over achieving plant like it was a weed – until I started making herbal teas and realized lemon balm’s many benefits.

A member of the mint family, Lemon balm is known for relieving stress, reducing anxiety, boosting cognitive function and easing insomnia. Containing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it has been used to relieve indigestion, treat nausea, protect against heart problems and soothe menstrual cramps and cold sores.

I have been using lemon balm for many of our herbal tea blends including Lemon Thyme, Lavender Lemon Balm, and Rose Petal. This year I’m welcoming this powerful and prolific herb with a new determination to enjoy it in different ways. So far I’ve used lemon balm to add flavor in a delicious chicken stir fry and currently I’m developing a Lemony Herb Power Rub blend.

Citrus doesn’t grow where we live in Tehachapi mountain region so we’re thankful for how God has provided an enjoyable alternative with Lemon Balm.

We’re selling fresh bunches of lemon balm, dried lemon balm tea blends, and lemon balm infused sugars at the Tehachapi Farmers Market on Thursday. Come by and consider adding some lemon balm to your life.

Thursday, June 1 was the first farmer’s market for the season in Tehachapi … and the very first farmer’s market for All Good Gifts Farm! The market had a great turn out and we enjoyed meeting people and introducing them to our herb & flower creations. We loved hearing about their needs and interest in herbs. Here’s some highlights of our first farmer’s market adventure:

Fresh Herbs! In addition to our dried herb and flower blends, we’re now selling bunches of fresh herbs and flowers. They were a hit at the market. After all the rain, our backyard farm is happily growing plenty of oregano, lemon balm, garlic chives, sage and savory. We also have some thyme and peppermint available in limited amounts. The roses are blooming like crazy now as well as the yarrow and calendula.

New products! Inspired by our current harvest, we’re offering some new creations: Petal Power Sprinkles, Lilac infused sugar sprinkles, Savory Summer Thyme rub, Rosemary infused salt, and loose leaf Rose Petal tea. We sold out of many of these items at the market so we’ll be busy blending more for next Thursday.

Thankful for family! It takes a team to get prepared and set up for the Farmer’s Market and my whole family got behind my business venture that day. We’re learning as we go and by God’s grace everything came together … including my sign arriving literally minutes before we finished loading the car and were about to head out to the event. Whew!

If you didn’t make it this week, we hope to see you in downtown Tehachapi next Thursday. We plan on introducing some more products based on customer’s input. See you at the market!