Holiday Drinks and Spice - Guest Elyssa Glaus - The Green Lady’s Hermitage

In the inaugural episode of the Heartland Eats and Treats podcast, host Jonathan Fritzler sits down with Elyssa Glaus, the owner of the Green Lady's Hermitage in historic downtown Cape Girardeau. Elyssa shares her journey of starting a bulk tea and herb store and how her business has grown to include a wide range of products for do-it-yourself health enthusiasts. The episode dives into fall-inspired culinary delights, focusing on spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and explores traditional beverages such as the German "gluewein" and the festive "wassail." Throughout the discussion, Elyssa emphasizes the importance of using high-quality, fresh ingredients to elevate the taste of homemade dishes. She also touches on the sense of community and nostalgia that comes with these culinary traditions. Join the episode to uncover hidden gems, learn the stories behind your favorite flavors, and get inspired for the upcoming holiday season.

Jonathan Fritzler [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the Heartland Eats and Treats podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Fritzler, founder of Heartland Eats and Treats, where we celebrate the unique flavors and culinary traditions of the Heartland region. Join me as I sit down with talented chefs, passionate food artisans, and local culinary experts who are shaping the vibrant food scene around us. In each episode, we'll dive deep into the stories behind your favorite dishes, discover hidden gems in our communities, and explore dishes that might just become your new favorite. Together, we'll uncover the rich flavors that make our region so special. Whether you're a food lover, a culinary professional, or someone simply curious about the heartland's food culture, there's something here for you. So grab a seat at the table, and let's embark on this delicious journey together. Today on this episode, I'm joined with Alyssa Glauss of the Green Lady's Hermitage in historic downtown Cape Girardeau.

Jonathan Fritzler [00:01:00]:
She runs a bulk tea and herb store and covers all kinds of different things. So from skin care to herbs to herbal remedies, she's pretty much got it. So in this episode, she's discussing all the things that just might make your holiday complete.

Alyssa Glauss [00:01:25]:
Started like six and a half years ago just, making some clean organic skin care products and saw that the the need for things in that sphere was much larger than what I had originally thought. And as, you know, business built over the years, I added more products and then eventually, just opened an apothecary store. And so here we sell all the things that one needs, Not maybe not all, but a lot of the things that one needs in order to approach their health, from a do it yourself standpoint.

Speaker C [00:02:02]:
Perfect. Yeah. And our our focus this month is fall. This would include things like pumpkin, apple spice, you know, the typical kinds of things that when people think about the fall, get apples, they get pumpkin. Mhmm. And so we had a chance to discuss a few things that that you have here. And, would you mind sharing a little bit about

Alyssa Glauss [00:02:22]:
water? So, we of course, since we have the bulk herbs, we have the bulk spices. So all of the things that you would need if you're wanting to make your own pumpkin spice from home or your own apple spice from home, your cinnamon, your clove, your star anise, your nutmeg, all of those those bigger spices that you think of when you think of that, those are all here and available in bulk. You can buy, whatever amount you want, be it big or small. But then I also, for a lot of years, have been making, what's called a gluewein mix. So this is a German concoction, a mulled wine concoction that's basically meant to, use the things that are around you to bring good cheer on what would otherwise be a cheerless cold day. And so we put these warming spices into a nice rich, red wine and we allow it to brew, over the course of about an hour. And then at the very end, we're going to squeeze in the juice of an orange. And, oh my goodness.

Alyssa Glauss [00:03:24]:
Just delicious. So of course, if you're not a wine drinker, totally cool. You can use it the same way, with, apple cider, or even apple juice if that's what you've got. We're not gonna judge. And it just makes a really lovely, rich winter sustenance beverage.

Speaker C [00:03:45]:
Now because you have a lot of things that are in bulk, are you finding that more people are looking at items that can be used? People are doing it themselves. People are like are like for their pumpkin pie or for thing for fall dishes and things like that. We're starting to see more of that. What what's kind of been the response and are are people looking at those options?

Alyssa Glauss [00:04:05]:
Honestly, I think it, yeah, it's kind of split. Okay? So, yes, people are looking at those things. They are trying to do more things themselves, but I think a lot of people are starting with, okay. I'm just gonna make the apple pie. Right? Instead of buying the store bought one, I'm gonna make an apple pie. They may not necessarily blend their own spices for that. They might go ahead and just buy whatever's available at the store, but I think that's where, the breakdown happens. Is because when you're buying it at the store, you don't know how old those spices are when you're getting them, and you also really don't know what quality they are.

Alyssa Glauss [00:04:39]:
Sadly, a lot of these bigger companies, they're buying the low grade stuff and selling it to you at premium price. And so you're you're really not going to get the full richness of the flavor that you're looking for, And I think that really turns a lot of people off when they actually try to go and do it themselves is because they're like, well, that didn't turn out. You know? And that's because they weren't using the best. And I really wanna stress that using the best ingredients is the thing that makes your food better, makes the the beverages that you're making at home better. And so that's one of the other reasons that, to me, having a place where you can come to buy those ingredients in bulk. But and you can inspect them truly, like, with your senses before you purchase them. You know that they're fresh, you know that the essential oils are still intact, and you know that the flavors are going to be present in your food when you're done.

Speaker C [00:05:34]:
And we've we've kinda lost some of that in modern society and 100%. So as we're approaching fall and festivities, let's see. We covered some of the, you know, options that you would have in bulk for people looking at taking a deeper dive, a more a more, authentic

Alyssa Glauss [00:05:54]:
Yes.

Jonathan Fritzler [00:05:55]:
Richer approach

Alyssa Glauss [00:05:56]:
Yes.

Speaker C [00:05:56]:
To the spices that they can get. But then also you mentioned the, your your wine beverage, and Mhmm. You mentioned earlier there was kind of a a story of kinda how people would typically,

Jonathan Fritzler [00:06:10]:
utilize that. I thought I thought that was kind

Speaker C [00:06:12]:
of interesting. Discuss it for people that are gonna be, you know, looking at this, and they're gonna be planning for them. They got Thanksgiving coming up and winter months and things like that.

Alyssa Glauss [00:06:20]:
Yeah. Well, so one of the really rich traditions that, has recently started to come back into favor is the the creation of a beverage called Wassail, and that's w a s s a I l. So there's an old carol, that goes, here we go a wassailing among the leaves so green, and here we come a wandering so fair to be seen. Love and joy come to you, and to you your wassail too. And God bless you and send you a happy new year. And that's one that me and my sister sing all the time whenever we're just doing whatever it is that we're doing outside. But this song would have been sung as you went door to door going wassailing. So you would come to this this home, the lights would be blazing, there'd be people inside, and you would stand outside the door, and you would you would, sing whatever carol at the top of your lungs with your friends.

Alyssa Glauss [00:07:09]:
And you've been doing this for a while already, so you're pretty toasted. And you would not stop singing until the host came outside with a cup of wassail for each of you. You would drink your cup of wassail and then you would go on to the next house. And this wassail beverage that I'm describing is basically a combination of whatever's going on in the house. Right? It's it's probably got some wine. It's probably got some cider. There's probably some brandy in there. And all of this has been, stewed with all of these rich, warming spices.

Alyssa Glauss [00:07:39]:
You know, your cinnamon, your nutmeg, your clove, all of these, and then whatever else gets thrown in there. Probably some bay leaf, some black pepper, you never know. So it's all been stewed wonderfully together. They maybe even added in some extra honey or sugar, and it's this wonderful rich beverage that you just go door to door. Every single one that you get to taste that night is different because it's been made by a different set of hands with a different way of doing it and with a different set of ingredients to pull from. And it it really just evokes those wonderful holiday nostalgia memories that we would like to cling to, I think.

Speaker C [00:08:17]:
I like it. I like it. Yeah. We've, some of these things I can think about my my grandparents, they know about that. But a lot of this stuff is just not transitioned into No. A lot of people that every day we do we just we don't do it culturally. We don't No. We just kinda stay home, and that's It's a bummer.

Speaker C [00:08:34]:
Unfortunate.

Alyssa Glauss [00:08:34]:
It it's a really, it's and I think this is me going off on a a tangent, but I really think it speaks to how sad we are. We've been so isolated. You know, families used to live together. Used to have grandma, mom, your aunt, who never married, plus all the kids and the grandkids. Everybody was all in the same house. Right? Or at least on the same block, you know, maybe multiple houses, but they were in kind of a compound. And you you had this pool of people around you at all times. You were never alone for your sorrow or your joy.

Alyssa Glauss [00:09:07]:
There was always someone there to share it with you, and now we have to go somewhere to see our people. And, god, it's exhausting to you know, it's like you've already done all the cooking, and now you gotta load it all up in the car and you gotta take it somewhere. Boy, that just sucks. But I tell you what, once you actually get there and and you're with your people again, suddenly all of that exhaustion falls away, and you're laughing and you're singing and you're having a good time, and and you forget about all of those things that are just yapping in your ear that you've been letting drag you down, and I think that we really need to cling to that. Because if we don't cling to one another, then there's no point anyway. Because humans, we are a people of community. We are a tribal people. That's who we are.

Alyssa Glauss [00:10:02]:
That's how we've evolved. And to let that go for the sake of convenience or I'm too tired, boy, you let it go real fast. And then before you know it, it's just gone.

Speaker C [00:10:14]:
So come and get your drinks

Alyssa Glauss [00:10:16]:
That's right.

Jonathan Fritzler [00:10:26]:
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Heartland Eats and Treats podcast. I hope you've enjoyed our journey through the flavors and the stories that make our region so special. If you loved what you heard, be sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Your feedback helps us bring more delicious content your way. And stay connected with us on social media and visit our website at heartlandeatsandtreats.com for more recipes, stories, and updates. Until next time. Keep exploring, keep tasting, and keep celebrating the Heartland's culinary treasures.