The journal

Written down as it is learned

Recipes, plants, the garden, the house, the turning of the year — and the stories that come with them. An archive that grows a little every week.

SeasonAutumn

The Week Before Pokrov

Bringing in the last of everything before the cold — and an old feast that marks the turn of the year.

Herbal CupboardAutumn

Spiced Rose Hip & Apple Cup

A warm, spiced cup in the spirit of mulled wine — with rose hips and apple, and no wine at all.

Garden journalAutumn

Garlic Before Pokrov

Planning the garlic bed: three varieties, forty cloves, and a promise to mulch properly this time.

Garden journalAutumn

The Last Calendula Before Frost

Frost forecast for Thursday night. Picked every open flower in the bed — two full screens.

KitchenAutumn

Candied Orange Peel

Slow-simmered peel for the winter jar — for baking, for chocolate, for eating straight from the rack.

StoriesAutumn

On Not Calling It Medicine

Why this notebook separates what tradition says, what I have seen, and what science knows — and why that matters more than ever.

KitchenAutumn

Rose Hip & Apple Pastila

Baked apples and rose hips cooked down and dried slowly into a chewy fruit paste — an old Russian sweet, made at home.

Garden journalAutumn

The Rose Hips Can Wait

The rugosa hips are fat and red, but I'm leaving them for the first frost.

ApothecaryAutumn

Elderberry Syrup

Dark, spiced, and kept in the fridge for winter — the most traditional jar in the cupboard.

HomeSummer

Drying Herbs in a Small Kitchen

No attic, no drying shed, no problem. How the harvest gets dried between the stove and the window.

Garden journalAutumn

The Drying Rack in September

Everything on the rack at once: lemon balm, calendula, orange peel, and a few bunches of thyme.

Garden journalSummer

Cutting Back the Lemon Balm

The third and final harvest. Cut it to a hand's height and it'll come back in spring.

StoriesSummer

Keeping the Failed Batches

Burnt syrup, mouldy oil, peel that turned to toffee. Why the mistakes go in the notebook too.

ApothecarySummer

Calendula Oil & Salve

Summer flowers steeped in oil on the windowsill, then set with beeswax into a simple salve for hands and skin.

PlantsSummer

Lipa: The Tea Tree

On the linden, the most ordinary and most beloved tree of the Eastern European kitchen.

Herbal CupboardSummer

Linden & Honey Lemonade

A cold, pale-gold lemonade made from linden blossom and lemon balm — the taste of an early summer evening.

Herbal CupboardWinter

Winter Forest Tea Blend

Linden, rose hip, lemon balm and orange peel — a jar of summer's flowers for the darkest evenings.

Herbal HomeWinter

Pine Needle Vinegar

A jar of forest for the kitchen counters — a simple household cleaning vinegar steeped with pine and citrus.