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Growing up, the words “herbal medicine” sent shivers down my spine. They brought to mind the intensely bitter herbs my Chinese relatives cajoled me into taking, sick or not, when I wasn’t able to squirm away. I was as grossed out by them as I was convinced of their efficacy; anything that tasted that bad had to be good for you.
Christine Buckley’s Plant Magic: Herbalism in Real Life is helping me reset my relationship with good-for-you plants. Her recipe for medicinal tea calls for the reader to add honey, sugar, or milk if desired, because “medicine can be a treat, not a punishment.” Plant Magic is a crash course, a field guide, and a reference primer sure to delight those who are already curious about the healing properties of plants. Thankfully for those of us who don’t know nettle from linden, it’s also a cookbook—and one with street cred.
Before devoting herself to herbalism, Buckley cooked at New York favorites Prune and Torrisi, baked at Detroit’s Sister Pie, and worked as a food stylist for a decade. (Catch her clipping dandelion greens with a pair of Joyce Chen scissors on page 7—a staple in every food stylist’s arsenal.) I am lucky to count Buckley as a friend, and while she’s cooked me many healthful meals, it has never come at the expense of deliciousness. Even as she throws around terms like “demulcent” and “anticatarrhal,” you can tell that her herbalism practice is layered on top of a deep attention to food, flavor, and the pleasure that comes from eating things that taste good.
Buckley lays the groundwork for an at-home herbalism practice, explaining what it is (a system of healing supported by plants and food), what it is not (a new thing invented by white people with blogs), and how it can coexist with Western medicine (drink your red clover tea and get a flu shot). She provides instructions for making balms, ointments, and facial steams, but the real highlights are the recipes for things you can eat and drink. There’s garlicky chicken stock to bolster the immune system, a cinnamon latte to increase circulation and calm stomach cramps, and a rose petal toast spread so thickly with cultured butter that you leave “toothmarks after a bite.” These recipes, written by someone who speaks the language of food, wouldn’t be out of place in a cookbook that had nothing to do with herbalism. With plants that taste this delicious, you just might forget they’re also good for you.
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