Steven Horne's Newsletter Articles

December 29, 2020

The Medicinal Value of Vanilla

Many years ago, I read the book Indian Givers, which tells of the many gifts the Native Peoples of North and South America brought to the rest of the world. One of these gifts was the many food plants they had developed, including all varieties of potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, as well as many forms of squash and beans. There are many other foods that originated in the Americas; two very notable ones I'd like to talk about are chocolate and vanilla. Vanilla and chocolate are staples in many beloved…

December 22, 2020

Myrrh: A Bitter Perfume for the Darkest Time of the Year

The the winter solstice is December 21st and, in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the darkest time of the year. It is the day when the night is the longest and the day is the shortest. And the days only start to get noticeably longer and the nights shorter after the 24. The many cultural holidays that cluster around this time of year are all festive celebrations of this passage from darkness to light. Although Christians celebrate the birth of Christ at this time, it's unlikely this was actually…

December 15, 2020

The Healing and Purifying Gifts of Frankincense

In keeping with the season, I thought I’d talk about frankincense, one of the gifts that the wise men brought to the child Jesus. They also brought gold and myrrh. All very expensive gifts, out of the reach of ordinary people. Fortunately, while gold is still expensive, both of these herbs are relatively affordable and readily available in this modern age. Frankincense and myrrh are both resins, similar to the pine resin (gum) we discussed last week. These resins are produced to heal damaged bark…

December 12, 2020

Now is the Time to Be Prepared

Who would have thought one year ago that we'd all be wearing masks to go shopping, experiencing lockdowns and curfews in any areas, shortages of toilet paper and other necessities, and the widespread civil unrest this country has experienced? Do you think all of this is really over? I don't. While I'm not going to claim prophetic insight, take it from a person who has always thought in terms of emergency preparedness, if you've thought through some of the negative things that could happen…

December 7, 2020

Pine: The Winter Survival Supermarket

The sense of smell triggers memories like no other sense can because the nerves that detect odors are directly connected to the limbic system, which is involved in memory storage and acquisition. For me, the smells that most strongly trigger the memories of Christmas are pine and cinnamon. So, I’ve decided to write about the many uses for pine trees this week. Pine trees are most easily distinguished from other evergreens because their needles grow in bundles with a small brown or tan bract at…

November 30, 2020

Servicing the Vehicle You Drive Through Life

Last Monday, a yellow warning light appeared on my dashboard. It said "Service engine soon." But, the car seemed to be running fine and I was busy, so I decided to wait to have it checked out. However, as I was driving on the freeway Wednesday morning, a bright red warning flashed on the dashboard. This time it told me my engine was overheating and I needed to shut it off. Alarmed, I pulled over at the next exit. When I opened my hood, it didn’t look like my engine was overheating. Everything…

November 24, 2020

Unstuff Yourself After Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons. First, I love the idea of a holiday dedicated to being thankful for our many blessings. I've found being thankful is simply a good practice for a happy life. I also love the family aspect, how Thanksgiving brings family and friends together. And finally, I really like to cook, and Thanksgiving is a time when I have an excuse to cook to my heart’s content. Unfortunately, the eating part of Thanksgiving often leads people to stuff themselves…

November 20, 2020

Fantastic All Natural Cream Pies

I love Thanksgiving because I love to cook for people. Some years ago I decided to try making cream pies from scratch using healthier ingredients. I love the challenge of taking an ordinary recipe and converting it to healthier ingredients. My first tries were very successful and I've made these pies many times. They have both turned out fabulously well and have been enjoyed even by people who normally don't eat natural foods. So, I'm sharing them with you and I hope you'll enjoy them, too. The…

The Medicinal Value of Vanilla

Myrrh: A Bitter Perfume for the Darkest Time of the Year

The Healing and Purifying Gifts of Frankincense

Now is the Time to Be Prepared

Pine: The Winter Survival Supermarket

Servicing the Vehicle You Drive Through Life

Unstuff Yourself After Thanksgiving

Fantastic All Natural Cream Pies

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