were as easy to pluck out as weeds from garden!” she wishes. In the kitchen, Rica’s grandmother hangs bouquets of herbs from the ceiling to dry them. Under this fragrant canopy, she bakes “cookies of joy” with flour, butter, sugar, and spices. She also makes an ointment for rashes from violet leaves and a plant-based tonic for liver complaints. She calls the tonic “elixir of centipede,” a name Rica finds funny. All of Grandmother’s recipes are from books written by Saint Hildegard of Bingen. “Mom says that Saint Hildegard is a Doctor of the Church,” said Rica to her grandmother one day. “Does that mean she treated many Catholics?” Grandmother laughed and said, “Being a Doctor of the Church has nothing to do with the practice of medicine. The pope gave Saint Hildegard this title not for her knowledge about medicinal plants but for her understanding of God’s love for his creation.” “But I thought Hildegard was a healer who loved botany and music,” said Rica. “She was!” Grandmother replied. “But she was much more than that. Saint Hildegard was a genius. She was one of the great writers of the Middle Ages and one of the best composers of the twelfth century. 12
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