My herbal salts encapsulate a particular moment within each season. They carry more than just the flavors of the season, they capture the complexities and flavors of change and create a unique imprint of each ingredient, which melds into a one-of-a-kind essence that will never again exist in the same form.
My herbal salts carry the magic of a precise moment in time from the herb garden of which the herbs were plucked. I utilize the depth and complexity available from each phase of the plants: from the vibrant, green and bright character of first flush shoots,buds and leaves; to the peak flavors of succulent oil filled leaves and electrifying colorful blossoms; to the deep and earthy hints of warm spice from the last, seemingly dead, dried-up life.
I use both the obvious as well as various odds and ends parts of seasonal fruits and vegetables in both peak and stressed form to heighten the awareness of the season. The spice contribution in each salt brings an electricity and warmth and the energy of culture and history, which creates expansion of thought. I use condiments, milks, cheeses, pickled things, trees, fish and anything else that is edible to communicate the wonderful nature and flavor of a weird idea.
These little jars are the creative manifestation of everything I have ever experienced. They are an appreciation for and celebration of connectivity to places, people, culture, and back to self. Each jar embodies a type of energy absorption of my travels, thoughts, learnings, and sensations. They are an unraveling of my perceptions to a moment.
I’m currently crafting my herb salts from my Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb studio tucked away in a serene, forested valley in the hills outside Healdsburg, California. Living and working in seclusion has somehow made it easier to home in on the specificities of my perceptions to objects and moments; to savor them, and capture them in my herbal salts.
From the moment your fingertips first graze the herb and spice coated salt flakes to the last curious inflection of the season that lingers, you won’t fear the passing of time. You will be in full communion with it and yours.
Use generously and creatively.
