Keepers Coop

Last Thursday, we went to our very first day of Keepers Coop! The Keepers Coop was started by friends of ours several years ago as a Bible study using the Keepers of the Faith curriculum. Over the years, they have also branched out into studying practical skills such as cooking and baking. This year, they were studying medicinal herbs, and invited our family to join.

When we walked into their kitchen, this is what met our eyes! Forty containers of dried herbs and tablets!

A close up on some of the containers.

I’m sorry this picture isn’t great, but the camera didn’t want to focus because of the sunlight coming in the window. I bet you never knew you could fit 6 girls on a standard-sized couch at one time! J

We spent about an hour and a half in the living room talking about herbs. Our friend gave an introduction to medicinal herbs and how we use them and why. Then we broke up into three small groups. Each group was assigned a specific herb to study about, using several books and handouts on. The group I was in studied Plantain, while the other two groups studied Echinacea and Mullein. After we had done our research we had one spokesperson from each group (I was the spokesperson for my group) share some of the most valuable and interesting information on that particular herb with the entire group.

After that, we went outside to locate and identify some of the herbs we had just talked about. Here, everyone was to look around for two Mullein plants and raise their hand when they saw it.

Here is the large plant growing as a weed in the landscaping.

We also located Plantain in the yard. Then we went inside to have a snack during our short break.

While we were preparing the snack, the kids found a 7-legged spider. He must have lost one of his legs for some reason or another!

For snack, we enjoyed crackers and cheese sticks, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes with ranch dressing, and double chocolate torte. It was all very delicious!

After we finished our snack, we went inside to have another session. This time, we sat in the kitchen and discussed herbal teas and the different methods of brewing them. Out of a coffee-turned-tea-pot, a French press, and a tea spoon, the favored method for brewing loose leaf tea was the French press.

Some of the many pre-made teas we talked about.

While our friend brewed several different kinds of teas for us to try, we kids went outside to play kickball. It was a perfect day to be outdoors! When all was ready, we went back inside and tried three different kinds of tea. I believe one was Echinacea, the other a blend designed to boost your immune system, and the third was a cough tea. Probably my favorite was the Echinacea. I didn’t really enjoy the cough tea because it tasted like mushrooms for some reason! And yes, several others agreed, it wasn’t just me! J

While the Moms chatted a bit longer, we kids played tag in the woods. It was a lot of fun, but I haven’t felt that out of breath in awhile. Nothing like a good game of tag to get your exercise in for the day!

We look forward to the next Keeper’s meeting next month!