GINGER RECIPES!!!

These are the corresponding recipe cards for the Ginger Plant Study…

A look at segregations in Herbalism.

Well, now that I have bombarded you with one recipe after another I am going to refresh you with another way to perceive the different factions in Herbalism. I do not cling to anyone of these because it is a recipe for a closed minded opinion. Each herbal faction no matter if it be Chinese Herbalism, Ayurveda, or Western Herbalism. They have been tested tried and true. But they all have gaps. But looking from an objective prospective they all fill each others holes so to speak. By not clinging to any one idea of herbal medicine, you have the opportunity to offer a wide variety of treatments that you wouldn’t if you had limited your self to a single ideology.

Really its simple, herbs do not limit themselves to being used only one way, why should think that they do? Think about it. Sincerely, Herbal Em.

Bee Balm Oxymel (for lung crud!)

~Fill a jar with chopped fresh bee balm

~Fill it 1/4 with local honey

~Fill the rest of the jar with apple cider vinegar

~Cover with a PLASTIC lid

Let sit for about 4 to 6 weeks shaking every day. Use as needed for coughs, congested lungs, and sore throats. It is especially good when there is a lot of congestion present.

Simple Violet Syrup

This recipe is quite simple (as the title implies). Pick roughly four cups of fresh Violets, and gentle rinse off any dust and dirt. Then put them in deep bowl and pour 2 cups of boiling water over the blooms. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place until the same time the next day. Strain off the liquid through a strainer lined with cheese-cloth (Considering it quarts-like properties I have thought of using Linen). In a sauce-pan or small pot boil 2 cups of plain water with six cups of sugar and the juice of one lemon until it makes a nice THICK syrup. Add the violet water and boil another ten minutes. And wa-la you have Violet Syrup!

Take a spoonful if this syrup whenever you need to. You can make a really refreshing drink with this also, by putting a few spoonfuls in a glass with ice cubes and sparkling water. But I would caution you about using to much. As in large quantities Sweet Violets can be emetic (makes you vomit)! But it does take a lot to cause this but I though I would let you know.

Herbal Pack for Moderate Injuries

4 Parts Comfrey
2 Parts Colloidal Silver
1 part St. Johns wart flowers
Blend in high powered blender until is a paste. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for multiple uses. For burns apply immediately after the burning feeling is gone. (in this case 24 hours after with their hand in a bucket of clean, cold water. Even while sleeping). Apply herbal pack and then wrap. Let herbs dry out. This brings the burn out of the skin and gives new skin cells what they need to heal properly. Change that pack twice a day, until all blisters are peeled off, naturally (do not manually peel the blisters). Then graduate to changing once a day when new skin is revealed.

 

A Traditional Western Herbal Cold/Flu Formula

An infusion of equal parts of Peppermint and Elderflowers (to which either Yarrow or Boneset may be added). Will banish a cold or a mild attack of the flu within 36 hours and there is no danger of an over-dose or harmful action on the heart.

Rose Family Tea for Women's Health

 

~One Part red Raspberry leaves

~One part Lady’s Mantle

~One part Rose petals

~Stevia or Honey to taste

This yummy tea is toning to the female reproductive system.

Belly Tea Sipper

Combine equal parts chamomile and mint and make a strong tea, then mix it half and half with ginger ale soda and sip on it until your belly feels better. (Try to get the ginger ale with ginger in it, try Verner’s.)

Country Woman’s Cough Syrup

Thinly slice on red onion. Layer the slices in a bowl, sprinkling each layer generously with brown sugar. Once you’ve finished cover the bowl and set it in the fridge overnight. The next day strain off the brown syrup and take 1 tablespoon as needed for coughs. 

Double-Infused Elder Bark Bruise Salve

Peel off the outer-most bark and allow to sit in a warm, dry place for three days to reduce the moisture content. After that divide it into two equal piles. Add one pile of bark into a preheated double boiler, cover with oil, and let it infuse for about two hours. After that strain off the oil and add the second pile of bark to the double boiler and add the infused oil back into the pot for another two hours. (You might need to top of the oil a bit the second time around.) After that strain off the oil dispose of the second batch of bark like the first, ADD IT TO THE COMPOST! Take the finished oil and again in the double boiler, add 1 ounce of bees wax to every 8 ounces of oil. Once melted together pour it into tins and allow it to cool (Do NOT forget to label.)

Rose Vinegar: Soothes Sunburns!!!

Rose vinegar is EASY to make, and has as many uses as there are stars in the sky... well maybe not quite that many. How to make it? Fill a jar half full with dried rose petals or leaves, or fill it full with fresh petals and/or leaves. Fill to the top with good, quality apple cider vinegar. Top with a PLASTIC lid so the vinegar dosen't eat through a metal one, it turns it black! (And its not to good to but disolved canning lid on your sunburn!) Then let it sit in a safe place for 2-6 weeks. It should turn a shade of reddish pink to bright red depending on the color of the petals.

Uses for Rose Vinegar:

Soak a cloth a solution of 1 part vinegar to 7-10 part water. It can be applied to the forehead for headaches (especially thouse caused by head), wrapped around a spranged ankle, or used to wash bug bites and heat rashes. It is excellent for pulling heat from an inflaimed area in a short amount of time. It is REALLY good for rapidly quenching the reddness and pain from sunburn! A medium if caught within the first 24 hours can literally be ERASED in three of four applications of vinegar. Even when there is the threat of sun poisoning  and blistering skin it can and lessen the pain and reduce the trauma to the body. While NOT a replacment for emergency car for HORRIBLY sunburns, it is always MASSIVELY helpfull!

Rose and Wild Cherry Liniment

This is a recipe from my recipe book that I thought I would share with you.Wild Cherry bark and Rose petals. They both come from the Rose family which are sometimes referred to as "yarfas". The Rose family is sedative, and anti-inflammatory. They promote healing, increase circulation, reduce the temperature of a localized area, and they stop spasms. Rose and Cherry are best used when there is pain, local irritation, and heat. They're soothing and cooling, great for more acute situations but less great for chronic issues that have gotten cold and stiff.

Wild Cherry and Rose Liniment:

1 part Chokecherry bark tincture
1 part Rose petal tincture (Wild or another fragrant species.)

Combine, and apply generously to the afflicted area. Easy? You could also macerate equal parts of both plants in rubbing-alcohol for a cheap but smelly solution. You could add whole rose hips for a stronger affect.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Thai Granite Mortar and Pestle

I recently acquired this and it is a DREAM!!! Its nice and heavy! (Don't drop it on your foot!) and it grinds leaves like a coffee grinder in 2 minute without the noise! I am in LOVE with mine and I hope you buy it and enjoy it for years to come. Here are some instructions on general mortar and pestle care:

1. Don't use a lot of soap. I mean sticking in in your dishwater isn't going to hurt it but don't smear it full because if you do it could absorb some of that soap and make your herbal tea taste of soap.

2. Lemon Juice! It kills bacteria, it adds to patina, and if your grinding something that doesn't smell real nice, it takes care of that pretty good.

3. To protect your counter be sure to either use this on a folded towel or glue a peace of something non-slip to the bottom. (You don't want to be chasing your pesto all over the counter.)

Well, that's about it for this review and I hope you enjoyed it. Happy Gardening!
P.S. You can get this particular Mortar and Pestle here.

Learning garden for the year...

I have finished my gardening plans for the year and I wanted to tell about my idea of a learning garden. Simply pick up to eight herbs and plant a healthy bunch of each one and focus your study on those eight herbs and that way you can gather experience using those herbs as well as learning from books. Below are my "learning garden" plans and I hope you enjoy them:

 

But a word of caution, if you plant any perennials in your learning garden, be sure that you put them where you want them because planting them somewhere they won't be happy, or somewhere that your not happy with, could result in either self-loathing, or the plant dying and you having to spend tons of money on replacements that keep dying. (I've been there it's NOT fun!) (For an easy way to get things to grow healthy and happy where-ever you live, no matter the soil go here: http://backtoedenfilm.com/ ) Happy Gardening!