I saw J on Saturday, after not having seen her for a month! We got brunch at the Egg Slut Truck, which is pricey but delicious, and definitely worth trying at least once. I got a 5 oz. 'espresso & milk' from Handsome Coffee Roasters afterward, which I sipped as J and I walked over the 4th Street bridge and all around the adjacent neighborhood - which, even with the presence of newly developed lofts and apartments and hip/up-and-coming restaurants and businesses, the industrial presence of warehouses, barbed wire-topped fences, and railroad tracks still heavily drives the mood of the area. Excellent. As we walked, I noticed lush sproutings of this wild chamomile (
Matricaria discoidea), also known as pineapple weed, and plucked handfuls of it, shoving it all into my empty to-go cup as we continued talking and avoiding strange characters wandering around the alleyways.
The cone-shaped flower heads lack any white petals that you see on German chamomile, but upon crushing it, that distinct smell of chamomile as well as a strong pineapple scent arise, and then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what it is you've stumbled across! I simply plucked off the cushy heads, plopped them into a jar, and steeped them in boiling water until it turned greeny-gold. It tastes exactly like regular chamomile tea, if not better, because it is wild/foraged.
With all these thoughts of wild chamomile buzzing through my head, I noticed that Trader Joe's has their grower's bunches of chamomile in stock, which I unfortunately missed out on last year. So there was zero hesitation on my end today to grab a couple of bunches - the traditional-looking flowers as well as one of the double-flowered variety. The effect of all this chamomile was twofold - uplifting my spirits dampened by a monthly visitor, and soothing a headache and fatigue by either the same visitor or the cursed Daylight Savings Time switcheroo that just happened last night. Thanks chamomile, for helping me make it through the day!
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