There’s no story or audio with this post, which I published Thanksgiving week 2022. I just wanted to say thank you for reading. I appreciate you and the energy you are bringing to this exchange. I’m including a few recipes for this feeling.

Actual recipes

Thyme tisane

When you have very little in your fridge or pantry or garden, you might still be able to find some fresh thyme and a bit of honey, and that and water are all you need for this recipe (a tisane is just herbs and hot water).

Serves 1, can be easily doubled or more

INGREDIENTS:
1 sprig thyme
1 spoonful honey
Boiled water to fill your favorite tea cup

Place the thyme and honey into a mug and pour boiling water on top. Steep for a few minutes and then it’s ready to sip.

The Thanks Giving (Reishi tea with thyme, maple, and cranberries)

If you have access to fresh or dried reishi mushroom, lucky you! If not, you can find sustainably sourced and crafted reishi essences at One Willow Apothecaries ($18), Hodgins Harvest ($27), and other vendors. In addition to supporting the lungs, heart, and immune systems, in traditional Chinese medicine reishi is thought to help nourish our souls.

“Reishi was cherished for its ability to nourish the heart and safeguard shen (the Chinese word for the concept of a person’s individual soul, the consciousness that is housed within the heart). A disconnection from, or disruption of, our shen can manifest as anxiety, moodiness, and poor memory. In Chinese medicine there are actually two shens. There is our wider spirit, our big Shen (with a capital S), and our little shen, the aspect of our light and the individual soul that animates our current selves. Reishi, as a medicine, can help nourish our small shen so effectively that we can begin to become aware of and interact with the larger, vastly invisible, Shen from which we come.” -Asia Suler, Herbs for the Otherworld

I like the balance of earthiness, herbaceousness, sweetness and tartness of this tea. It tastes like the forest floor and the trees and the fruit of bogs evolved from glacier deposits thousands of years ago, which is exactly what it is.

Serves 1, can be easily doubled or more

INGREDIENTS:
1 piece reishi mushroom, fresh or dried, or a few drops of reishi essence or tincture
1 splash maple syrup
1 sprig fresh thyme
A few fresh cranberries
Optional: A few drops of alpine bitters

Cover the reishi with water, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes or so (longer if you want a stronger flavor). Or if you’re using a tincture or essence, or don’t have any mushroom for this recipe, just boil plain water. In a mug, add the maple syrup, fresh thyme, and cranberries, and then pour the reishi water or plain water over top, listening to the pop and hiss of the cranberries. If you’re using tincture or bitters, add a few drops and enjoy!

The Winter Thyme (Rye cocktail with thyme, ginger, and pear syrup)

My husband Caleb happens to have a smoker he received as a birthday gift last year and he decided to add smoke to this cocktail, which gave it another dimension of flavor. It’s lovely smoke-free as well.

Serves 1, can be easily doubled or more. The syrup makes enough for at least four cocktails, and keeps well in a jar in the refrigerator.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pear, sliced and cored
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 knob ginger, peeled
1 ounce amaro
2 ounces rye whiskey

Bring the water and sugar to a simmer and place the thyme, ginger, and amaro in the mixture, along with the sliced pear. Simmer until the pear is just cooked. Remove the pear and eat it or reserve for another purpose. Let the syrup cool and steep with the thyme and ginger in it.

When it’s cool, combine a few ounces of the syrup with the rye and ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour over ice or up as you prefer, and garnish with fresh thyme.