Herbal Brews:Kombucha, Kefir, Sodas and More

Herbal Kombucha, Water Kefir, Lactofermented herbal infusions & herbal sodas

By Darcey Blue French, Blue Turtle Botanicals
www.gaiasgifts.blogspot.com
www.blueturtlebotanicals.com

Water extraction of herbs
Minerals
Vitamins
Contact with tissues
Volume of medicine
Easy, safe
Whole plant medicine

Fermentation of water extracts
-increases nutritional value and bioavailability of nutrients
- preserves infusion for longer period of time
-introduces friendly flora for the digestive tract
-increases and synergizes herbal constituents not available in infusion by water alone.

Kombucha
Ingredients:
Tea (camellia sinensis) 6 -8 bags or 4 tbsp loose leaf
1 cup Sugar or maple syrup
Herbs of choice
1 SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast)
1 gallon Water (non chlorinated)
how to:
boil water, then remove from heat. Add tea, non aromatic herbs and sugar. Steep until cool. Strain. Pour into a gallon sized jar. Add scoby to the cooled tea & sugar. Cover with a cheesecloth or towel. Ferment for 3-4 weeks. Healthy SCOBY will not grow mold. Remove SCOBY and 1 cup of kombucha, set aside. Add several handfuls of any herbs you wish to flavor the brew with, and cover again, let brew for an additional 4-7 days. Strain and drink! (Prepare a new batch of tea to add the SCOBY to.)


Herbs that work well in kombucha brewing are non aromatic:
Elderberry, st johns wort, nettles, oatstraw, rosehips, dandelion, burdock


Herbs to add after primary fermentation:
Rose, tulsi, elder blossom, cinnamon, ginger, lemongrass, hibiscus, birch, schizandra, lemon balm, lemon or orange peel, fruits or juices

Favorite combos:
Nettle & St John’s Wort
Rose and Tulsi
Elder blossom and orange peel
Ginger and birch
Vanilla bean
Elderberry & cinnamon
Hibiscus, ginger & lemongrass



Water Kefir
Fast and easy! Less than a week brewing time.
Ingredients:
1 qt Non chlorinated water or coconut water
¼- ½ c water kefir grains. (purchase fresh or dried from www.kefirlady.com)
¼ c sugar
10 drops trace minerals

How to:
Dissolve sugar in water. Add kefir grains and minerals. (Kefir grains use minerals to build structure- it helps them grow, but you can do this without minerals as well.)

Cover loosely and let ferment 3-6 days. This will depend on your ambient room temp and how sweet you like your kefir. In cold weather it takes a full week. In warm weather 2-3 days is sufficient.

When bubbly, strain kefir grains from the water. (Coffee filter works well). Add grains to a fresh batch of sugar water/coconut water.

Add handfuls of herbs, fruits to the strained kefir. Let brew for a day or two.
Favorite combos:

Coconut water with pinapple and ginger
Rosehips
Elderberries
Hibiscus and schizandra w cardamom
Lemongrass & Goji
Orange Ginger
Rose Tulsi
Vanilla bean
Frozen berries


Herbal/Fruit Soda

This brew harvests the power of wild yeasts in the environment. It is slightly more troublesome with regards to mold and temperature.

Start with a GINGER BUG:
2 tsp fresh grated ginger root
2 tsp sugar
1 c water

Mix all ingredients in a clean jar. Cover loosely with cheese cloth or paper towel and rubberband.
Each day for 3-4 days add 2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp grated or ground ginger to the brew. It should start to bubble and fizz after a few days. If it grows mold, toss it out and start fresh.

You may continue to feed this culture daily or every other day to keep it going indefinitely, but it is sensitive to cold. Keep in a warm spot!

Soda How To:
1 cup herbs of choice
½ gallon water
1 c sugar
1 c ginger bug starter

Make a strong decoction or infusion with the herbs and water. Add sugar to the brew and dissolve.
Once the brew has cooled, transfer to a ½ gallon jar and add ginger bug.
Cover loosely with jar lid. Set aside in a warm spot for 3-4 days.
Once the soda is bubbly, tighten the lid down to increase the fizziness.
After another 3-4 days, strain herbs, and serve or bottle for later.

Favorite combos:

Nettle ginger
Birch, vanilla, ginger
Elderberry
Burdock, dandelion, cinnamon, ginger
Rosehip
Berries
Lemongrass and cardamom
Lemon balm
Hibiscus
Green tea


Lacto-fermented tea
This is just like making yogurt or pickles! Full of friendly flora! Use whey from raw milk or yogurt to culture a sweetened tea. Keep in a warm spot for several days until it gets fizzy!

To obtain whey from yogurt, pour 2 c live yogurt into a coffee filter, in a strainer, and place over a dish in the fridge. Leave overnight. Collect the liquid whey from the bowl for your ferment. Save the yogurt for dips, cooking, or just eating. Thick like Greek yogurt!

Ingredients:
1 qt water
½ c herbs or fruits of choice
½ sugar, maple or honey
1 c whey strained from yogurt or raw milk

How to:
Brew a strong tea or juice with your herbs and fruit. Add sugar. Cool. When at room temp add whey. Cap and keep in a warm spot for a few days. (oven with the light on, top of the fridge, by the stove).
When the ferment is slightly sour, and bubbly, it is ready. Strain herbs. Serve! If you let this sit too long it will become very sour. FYI.


Favorite lacto fermented brews:
Elder flower
Chamomile orange
Elderberry
Berries
Hibiscus
Ginger
Yarrow (bitter but good)
Dandelion, burdock, ginger
Apple cinnamon (use apple juice)

Elderberry Shrub and Other Delights

Its elderberry season in New England.  Time to start checking your favorite stand of bushes for ripe fruits and getting there before the critters get them all!

Elderberry is my favorite antiviral ally- I use it frequently (almost always) during cold, flu, and have seen it work work wonders in cases of HSV1 & 2 and Shingles.  I use it all winter long as a tonic and the recipe I'm sharing below is a most delicious way of getting elderberry goodness on a daily basis.  If I feel like I'm coming down with something, I take elderberry every hour, or as often as I remember.  In addition, if you know you'll be in a place or period of time nearby others who are ill or are susceptible to getting the winter blarghs, take elderberries before, during and after exposures.

Most famous is Elderberry Syrup.  This is my recipe for elderberry syrup that is uncooked and made from dried berries.  I prefer not to boil my fruits to death when making syrups.  If you have fresh berries, you can modify the recipe to cook the berries slightly to get them to release their medicine.

Elderberry Elixir, is a favorite among herbalists all over, and is another delicious and easy way to get your elderberries everyday.

But my favorite, which I can never make enough of, is Elderberry Shrub!  What is elderberry shrub?  I mean, we know elder is a shrub...but huh?
A shrub is a mixture of fruit, vinegar and often honey. It can be made with any delicious summer fruits or berries you like. Rose hips, raspberries, black berries, blueberries, hawthorn etc. This is used as a concentrate to add to refreshing beverages all year round.  I like to mix my shrub concentrate with sparkling water for an almost soda like treat, with a medicinal punch.  But it is delicious added to juices, water, or even by the spoonful!  I use approximately a tablespoon or two of shrub per 8 oz cup of sparkling water.  Your milage may vary.

Elderberry Shrub
1/2 qt fresh or dried elderberries
1 qt (more or less) apple cider vinegar
1/3 c raw honey ( you may use more if you like it sweeter)

Place berries in a jar, add honey, and pour vinegar over the top of the fruits until the jar is full.  Cap well (keep in mind vinegar will eat away at metal lids, you may choose to use a plastic lid or line your metal lid with waxed paper) and shake vigourously.  Wait 4 weeks.  Shake frequently.
Strain, and reserve liquid in a pretty jar for gifting, or in another container for storage. I keep mine in the fridge right next to the sparkly water, but you don't need to keep it cold once it is made.  It should keep 3-6 months or possibly longer stored in a dark, cool area.

Drink frequently! Yum!

What are your favorite Elderberry preparations and how do you use them!?

Wild Things: Nettle Kraut

Gather nettles. A lot.  This recipe yielded one quart, and I had about 4 -6 cups of chopped nettle leaves.

Chop your nettles coarsely, and put into a large bowl with 1 tbsp salt.  Chop 1/2 cabbage head finely.  Add to the bowl of chopped nettles with another tbsp of salt.  Slice 1/2 red onion finely.  Add to the bowl.

Massage the nettles and cabbage and salt with your hands for 5-10 minutes, until they begin to release their juices.  If you are concerned about getting stung, you can beat the cabbage & nettles with a mallet, clean jar or other tool, but I used my hands, and didn't have any problems with getting stung.

Stuff into a jar, and press firmly until the juices flow over the top of the kraut.  Top with a grape leaf to keep it crunchy.  Cap firmly- after ensuring the liquid completely covers the kraut (if not, add brine (salt water) to cover.)  Set aside on a dish to catch any overflow, for a week, minimum.  Longer makes a more  sauer kraut

YUM!

Wild Things: Nettles for Breakfast!

Oooops. It was so delicious I forgot to take a picture before I ate it all up.
June is Nettles month for the Wild Things round-up.  

My favorite combination is nettles with preserved lemons.  Here's a handy, tasty breakfast recipe.  Switch the eggs up for chicken, or sausage for a lunch or supper.


Nettles with Preserved Lemon & Garlic

2 cups chopped fresh nettles (use frozen if you don't have fresh.)
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato
1 preserved lemon, chopped 
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs per person ( or more if you like)

add butter and garlic to a hot pan and sautee for 2 min.  Add nettles, tomatoes, and preserved lemon, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Sautee gently until the nettles and tomatoes are soft and the garlic is cooked to your liking.  ( I prefer mine a bit undercooked.)

When cooked plate out. 
In some extra butter, fry two eggs per person.  Or scramble them, or poach them.  Whatever old way you like your eggs.  Plate on top of the nettles.  Top with kim chi, sauerkraut, pickled carrots or beets or what have you.

Serve immediately!  YUM!
This serves one.  Pick more nettles if you are feeding a family.  A lot more. Bagfuls and bagfuls!  There are never enough nettles!

Whole Food Meals for Empty Pockets- Wilted Kale Nicoise Salad

Found myself in a time of little money, and a lot of transition.  But skimping on eating healthy food isn't my idea of a good time- broke or not.   So, to the co-op I went, and spent 70$ on food.  To last me until the end of the month.  Thats roughly 23 bucks a week for three weeks. 
So, what can you make that's healthy on a budget like that? 

My biggest concern was how to get adequate healthy protein for my high protein, high fat diet.  I try to stay away from too many grains, but have made an exception during this period to include well soaked and well cooked beans.

I stocked up on organic dry beans (pinto, chickpea and lentils), 4 dozen eggs, cans of wild salmon and tuna, a family pack organic meats on sale when I shopped (that was a family pack of some steaks, chicken thighs, bacon ends, and several soup bones.) 
I also invested in some butter, some kale (2 bunches, and high hopes of including wild foraged greens in my daily fare- including nettles, grape, dandelion, violet.)

I also gratefully accepted some donations from a friend, including some olive oil, vinegar, a chicken, onions, garlic and some other basics. 

So- here's some of the on the cheap meals I'm creating!
Wilted Kale Nicoise Salad
Serves 2

2 c chopped kale leaves
2 boiled eggs
1/2 - 1 can tuna
1-2  c slow cooked chickpeas
1 slice red onion, diced
1/2 c tomato slices (I admit, I splurged at the farm stand- but got a giant bunch of small org farm tomatoes for 2 bucks.)
pepper to taste
1 -2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic or herbal infused vinegar (ACV works too)
(capers, olives, or lactofermented pickles if you have them in the pantry already)

You'll want to start by soaking your chickpeas the night before.  I start cooking them in the morning in plenty of water, on the stove top for 4-6 hrs on low.  A crock pot works just as well.  Add some herbs and spices if you like (thyme, oregano, parsley,garlic etc).  If you're really prepared, you can cook your beans in bone broth!

20 min before your meal, boil two eggs and cool, peel and slice.
Chop your kale and place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and olive oil, and massage with your hands until well wilted and tender for 5 min. Let rest 10 min.

Dress the salad with the remaining ingredients, and toss well.
Yum!
Eat immediately.  This will save in the fridge for a day, but I like it best fresh, and a bit warm rather than cold.

If you feel extra splurgy, or aren't eating on a budget, a little feta and walnuts would be a nice touch too- but I don't have either right now.  You can use more or less tuna and beans depending on your appetite and how many you are feeding.

This meal is complete with healthy protein from both organic animal and vegetable sources, good quality fats (olive, omega fatty acids from tuna and eggs), and minerals from nutrient dense kale.  A little nettle vinegar will add to the mineral benefits of the salad.  Its filling, not too high in carbohydrates, and a sustaining meal for lunch or dinner.

If you do not like to eat kale raw, even wilted (and this is very common) just steam your kale and dress it with the salad ingredients after cooking.  No problem, it will taste just as delicious.  You could also try this with other seasonal greens available- arugula, dandelion, steamed chard, mustard, steamed nettles.  Hearty greens will respond well to wilting.  And by all means, add some lettuce if you have that around, just don't skimp on the mineral rich deep leafy greens like kale.

Wild Things:Dandelion Walnut Pesto

Dandelion Walnut Pesto
2 good handfuls of fresh dandelion greens (washed)
1 c olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 c toasted walnuts
salt and pepper to taste

blend in a food processor, serve! YUMMY!

Super Breakfast Soup with Poached eggs, Nettles and Seaweed

I would have taken a picture for you, but ate it all up before I could.

This is a incredibly nourishing shot of minerals, energy and probiotic foods for a morning meal. Or anytime really. I like poached egg soup for breakfast a lot though.

2 cups bone broth or water
1 pinch sea salt
1 tsp tamari (wheat free)
2 tbsp miso ( I use south river miso chickpea miso)
2 eggs
1 tbsp nettle leaves (dried, fresh is better if you have them)
1 tbsp seaweed flakes (kelp, wakame or otherwise)
1 tbsp medicinal mushroom powder (from Mushroom Harvest)
a few heaping spoons of sauerkraut or lacto fermented ginger carrots
1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

Mix broth,  salt and tamari in a sauce pan, and heat until just simmering.  Reduce heat to medium and crack two whole eggs into the hot water. Cover for 2-3 min to poach.  Add herbs to the pot, and cook until just tender.

Mix miso with 2 tbsp warm water in a bowl, top with kraut or carrots.  Pour hot soup and eggs over the mess in the bowl, top with a spoonful of ghee or coconut oil. 
Eat.

YUM!

Hey, and this even contains all the good foods Sean reccommends for keeping the thryoid healthy in the face of possible radioactive iodine from degrading nuclear plants.

Bacon mayonnaise with preserved lemon, rosemary and black pepper

Bacon Mayonnaise with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary and Black Pepper

• 1/2 c bacon grease, warmed to just liquid
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
• 3 slices preserved lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh or dried rosemary
• 1 tsp crack black peppercorns
• pinch of salt to taste

Blend in a blender on high, eggs, lemon and spices.  When fully blended, still on high, drizzle in liquid oils slowly.  Stop the blender when the mayonnaise has fully emulsified and turned creamy.  

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Sesame Ladhu

Sesame Ladhu


One of my favorite treats I learned about from an Ayurvedic practitioner are sesame ladhu, which are rich in minerals ( especially calcium) , healthy fats, warming spices, smooth ghee and fiber rich sesame seeds. I can whip up a batch of these in about 10 min, put them in the fridge for 15-30 min and then enjoy almost right away. It is suggested to eat one ladhu per day for menstrual problems, but I can't seem to keep them around long enough to eat just one a day.
Here's the recipe:

1/2 c whole Sesame seeds — * lightly roasted
1/4 c Jaggery sugar — (raw sugar works just fine too)
25/50g Coconut — grated from block,or use dessicated
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cardamom — powder or seeds ground
1/2 tsp Ginger — ground
2 tbsp Ghee - warm and runny (you could probably make lovely ladhu with coconut oil or melted butter, but ghee is especially good, Make your own or buy it at the indian grocery.)

Grind seeds in a blender to a coarse powder, then add other items and mix in a blender.
Roll into small balls. I find they fall apart easily so gently round them into a ball and place on plate gently. An ice cream scoop or melon baller would work well too to form these.

refrigerate for 20-30 min, and store covered. Eat one a day ( I bet you can't eat just one. I can't)

*Note: Roast sesame seeds at low heat (electric 2) until they are golden brown for richer toastier flavor; any darker gives a more bitter taste.

*Note: You may want to add other powdered herbs to this blend to make them more therapuetic.  I'd suggest ashwaganda, shatavari, maca, peony, licorice root, schisandra, eluthero, or others.  A twist might add a few cacao nibs in the mix as well.

These are delicious, and everyone in the household can take part in your treat, and enjoy it. They might complain if you eat them all to yourself though, they are that good.

10 reasons to love blessed Chamomile (matricaria recutita)

I've been feeling so uninspired to write these days- feeling like I have nothing new or interesting to say about herbs.  Its snowy here, so snowy, it requires utmost effort to even go for a walk - first bundling up appropriately- not too much, but not to little, then buckling on the snowshoes (which is an acrobatic sport in and of itself), and then trudging through the knee deep snow at a snails pace.  15 min to get to the woods, 45 min to the river.  It's not exactly easy these days.  And the plants are all but covered up.

There are the trees of course, sweetly dreaming in the winter dormancy, and I feel anxious for blossoms for making elixirs.  Evergreen needles beckon to be added to winter brews.  But I've got the winter blahs.    I thought maybe if I wrote about nothing fancy, nothing special, the most basic of herbal friends- without trying to be new or different or unique or stand out somehow with something   !WOW!  I'd find the joy in writing about plants again.

So I randomly picked an herb- well know, loved by all, used by herbalists and lay people and muggles alike.
The herb of grandmothers tea for upset tummies, and teething babies, and cranky pants adults and teens.  Humble and beautiful Chamomile.

Here are my 10 reasons to love chamomile right now.
1. Unsuspecting bitter digestive tonic.

 Yeah, chamomile is bitter. Did you know this?  Have you ever had a cup of chamomile tea that steeped a bit long?  It's truly bitter.  I think herbalists and folks forget this property of this humble herb.  The bitter taste is usually lacking in most American diets.  So they say take bitters- gentian, dandelion, oregon grape etc.  Yes, and drink chamomile tea before you eat.  Its gentle bitterness is paired with energetic warmth and aromatic carminative properties.  Not only will it fill the bitter need in our taste senses, and improve digestive secretions through this bitterness, it will, served warm, warm up the crockpot of the stomach to prepare it to digest food.  And those aromatics stimulate peristalsis and help to eliminate gas (especially if like many americans you don't chew your food well, and swallow air as you gulp down your meal.)

2. Unrecognized antiinflammatory
I use chamomile frequently in tea blends for inflammed digestive systems with much success.  Chamomile is often the perfect remedy for those folks who are generally stressed out, crabby-cranky, and have a digestive problem like IBS, food allergy related leaky gut, colitis etc.  It gently soothes their cranky nerves, and moderates inflammation on the digestive tract tissues.  Most folks think of chamomile as a good tea for nausea or upset stomach, but its effects reach much deeper, and I find it to be a supreme remedy for serious digestive complaints as well.  The nice thing about it is that everyone KNOWS chamomile.  Anyone will be willing to go to the store and buy some chamomile tea.   (though I do think quality of those tea bags is somewhat questionable).  But chamomile isn't scary.  Its easy, its familiar, its safe.   I also find that its gentle warmth is usually NOT too intense for folks with a warm constitution, but if concerned it can be combined with something cooling like marshmallow, or peppermint.

3. Ladies friend for PMS

  It's not always the strongest of remedies, but I've seen a strong chamomile infusion zap spasmodic, cold menstrual cramps in many women, at the same time pacifying their cranky baby irritability.  The classic indication for chamomile is for adults acting like children.  You know, when you feel like you are about 2.  and want to stamp your feet, have a tantrum, and whine till the cows come home.  Go make a cup of tea.  Or better yet, have your partner bring it to you. No complaining.

4. Be beautiful skin ally
  I love chamomile for the skin.  Just as it is an effective anti inflammatory for the digestive tissues, chamomile can be an excellent remedy for the skins many inflammations.  Itchy rashes- try a chamomile tea compress or bath.  You might want to put some oatmeal in the blend too, but even by itself, chamomile can clear up rashes and mild infections on the skin quite well.  Chamomile also contains a highly sought after plant chemical known as azulene.  You can find it in other herbs like yarrow as well, but azulene is this amazing BLUE oil that is used in skin care formulas as an antiiflammatory.  It also evens the skin tone, reduces dark circles and spots, and calms redness.  Azulene in chamomile can soothe burns- both from the sun and from the stove.  And it will turn your homemade cream blue.  Thats just too cool.    And don't forget the chamomile tea bag over the eyes trick.  Takes down the dark circles, addresses mild eye inflammation and infection- try it on styes, pink eye, allergy eyes, and plus, it feels great to lay there with cool sweet smelling chamomile on your eyes.  We should all do that more often.

5. Sweet Night cap
Instead of finishing off the night with a glass of wine or a hot toddy, try a hot infusion of chamomile.  I know, its simple, chamomile tea before bed.  But I love it.  Chamomile tea with a hint of lavender is one the best bedtime remedies I know, for adults and children alike.  It soothes any last remaining belly achin from the evening meal, calms and soothes the nervous system and eases the body gently to rest.    I told you I was getting simple and back to basics.  I'm tired of fancy specific indications all the time.  I bet your clients and skeptical family members are more likely to take a cup of tea than that bitter "to bed" tincture formula.  I agree, sometimes you need the big guns, but lets not forget the simplicity and beauty of simple, well known plants.  Chamomile tea- before bed, sweet dreams and sleep deeply.   Chamomile also happens to be a lovely remedy for those who get nightmares- I think it best in combination with flower essences, talking it out, and other specific herbs for the situation, but this can really soothe the frightened soul of a child or adult who has woken from a horrible dream with tears and sobs.

6. Pain easer
  Chamomile, a strong preparation, is a wonderful analgesic and pain reliever.  Another reason to use it on your burns or cuts and scrapes.  Chamomile tincture rubbed on teething gums soothes baby's complaints.  A cool tea bag as a poultice in the mouth for inflammed sore gums from erupting wisdom teeth, inflammed tissues, or post oral surgery.   Or try a cotton gauze soaked in the strong infusion or diluted tincture.

7. Bathing herb
I've mentioned this above, but I love chamomile in baths.  You can use blue chamomile essential oil if you like, or a strong tea of chamomile flowers. ( Make a gallon and pour it strained into the bath water).  Soothing, relaxing, pain relieving and antiinflammatory.  This makes a perfect bath before bedtime for young ones, or anyone, and is a wonderful way to treat yourself when feeling stressed and blue.

8. Easy to grow
I've managed to grow chamomile in a pot, in the desert, and beyond.  You can grow chamomile pretty much anywhere!  It spreads widely,  and can take a cutting.  Its fragrant blossoms and leaves gently waving in the wind, beckoning you to lay down in the field and take a nap.  Grow chamomile from seed, or seedling.  If you want a large bed, enough to harvest from, you will want several plants, and several feet of planting area.  But i've found I can harvest a decent amount for myself from just a few plants.  Harvest the flowers as they open fully, gently pulling the blossoms up and off between your fingers, or use a small collecting rake (used for blueberries as well).  The plants will continue to bloom even as you harvest daily.

9. Fermenting fun with chamomile.
I love to add chamomile to kombucha, but its also a lovely addition as a bittering agent with sweet aroma to homemade beers (herbal and standard alike) and is marvelous added to apple cider to ferment into a bubbly hard cider.

10. Yummy!
One of my favorite things about chamomile is it is YUMMY!  So many of our herbs are exceedingly bitter, nasty, unpleasant. Its nice to have a few reliable standby herbs that are so effective and multipurpose, but are also delicious.  I've not met too many people who object to a bit of chamomile tea with honey.  Healing medicines shouldn't always be unpleasant.  Effecting healing in a gentle and pleasant way is often just what the person needs.  I like to remind myself that often the most effective medicines are seemingly the most simple, and "unsexy."  Plain ol chamomile tea.  Its good.  Use it.

Delicious chamomile tea for all reasons

1 pt chamomile blossoms
1 pt lemon balm leaf
1 pt peppermint
1/4 pt lavender flowers
1/2 pt lemon verbena or lemongrass (optional)

Steep 1 tbsp of herbs in 8-12 oz hot water, covered, for no more than 5-7 min.  Serve with chamomile or lavender infused honey.  Yummy!

Want to buy blue chamomile essential oil?  Floracopeia!

Need to buy chamomile?  Mountain Rose Herbs!

The Incredible Edible Egg Yolk

  The incredible edible egg. Breakfast staple, bakers friend, chicken embryo.  If you are like me, following a whole foods, healthy protein and fat rich diet, while restricting your sugars, grains, and starches- you probably eat a lot of eggs.  Sometimes, even I get tired of eggs at breakfast.  Sure you can scramble, you can fry (in bacon grease even), you can poach, boil, or make an omelette or frittata.  But if that variety isn't cutting it anymore- here's a few more ways to incorporate the nutrient rich egg yolk into your daily life.

Egg yolks are the most nutrient dense part of the egg, weather it be chicken, duck, goose, quail or any other kind of egg you like to eat.  Egg yolks are rich in B vitamins, folate, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium, Phosphorus and Selenium plus loads of brain nutrients choline and lecithin. The yellower the better, so get your yolks from happy chickens that root around eating bugs, seeds and things, not soy feed.  Bonus, eggs from birds fed their natural diet (not soy or corn feed) are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

Not to worry about the cholesterol and saturated fats in egg yolks, modern science is telling us that sugar, refined carbohydrates and transfats are a more deadly culprit in causing heart disease.

Studies have shown that eating a breakfast high in protein, especially with eggs, can help with weight loss, and a high protein breakfast will set you up for a day without sugar & carb cravings and crashes, full of healthy energy, clear thinking mind and even blood sugar, but don't stop at breakfast.  Eat your yolks any time of day.

here's some ideas to get you started.  Have others? Please share!

1. Make Mushroom Gravy (or add it to any gravy you like)
2.  Make Craving Killer Hot Cocoa- whip up an egg yolk with your cocoa powder, add hot milk or water and a splash of coconut oil! Frothy chocolatey goodness- kills a sugar craving in a hurry.
3.Make Egg Nog- not just for the holidays anymore!
         And you don't need to add the alcohol if you just want a  nourishing delicious drink.  I prefer my nog warm, but I think I'm the only person who does.  But here's a quick and dirty and delicious dairy free nog.
                              Warm in a sauce pan:
                                2 c almond milk
                                1/2 c coconut milk or cream
                              Whisk in 4 egg yolks
                                Beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form, and fold those into the nog just before serving.
                                Top with generous and fresh ground nutmeg, clove and cinnamon to taste.
                                 You may sweeten this if you like with stevia, honey, cane sugar etc.
4. Stir into soup!
           Any soup is enhanced by dropping a fresh egg yolk into the steaming hot bowl of broth.  Stir it around, or leave it be.  It adds body, flavor and nutrients to any soup.  Here's a recipe for Avgolemono soup- Greek egg and lemon soup.
5.  Make hollandaise sauce.  Top veggies with this deliciate and delicious and nutritious sauce.
6. Make custard- pumpkin or coconut, or even herbal infused custard (lavender is delicious!)
7.  Stir into hot cereal.  If you still like a hot bowl of 7 grain cereal on cold winter mornings, one way to up the  nutrient content and protein content of your breakfast is to stir that yolk right into the hot steaming cereal in the bowl.  One or two yolks according to taste.  You can do this with whole beaten eggs as well.
8.  Make mayonnaise.  Bacon mayo is even better than regular, or lard.  Just don't use corn, soy or canola oil to make it.  If you like, you can be creative and add garlic, black pepper, basil or lemon and mint for delicious flavored aioli.

or you can put it in your hair.  Yup, thats right. Egg yolks in your hair.  It makes an amazingly conditioning hair treatment all on its own, but I like to add some honey, and a touch of coconut or jojoba oil to the egg, whip well, and apply generously to damp hair and leave on for an hour or so  (you can add a drop of lavender, rosemary or other essential oil if you desire.)  Rinse thoroughly, but don't shampoo it out, else you loose many of the conditioning benefits of the treatment.

Now, enjoy your eggs!

                                

Healing Foods : Medicinal Mushroom Gravy

Yes, gravy!
Several weeks ago I had dinner with Margi Flint in Marblehead, MA and she made a lovely roast chicken stuffed with herbs, and a most delicious medicinal mushroom gravy.  So she gets credit for the idea, but here's my version that I made to dress our pork roast the other night.

Mushroom teas and extracts take a lot of work to prepare, and aren't always very delicious, but lucky for us Mushroom Harvest has a wonderful ready made, pre-cooked blend of 14 deeply healing medicinal mushrooms as a powder, ready to use in various ways.  Not only is it tasty (much like shitake in flavor- which it contains in spades), but very versatile and easy to use.

Here's the gravy that can be used for roasted veggies, roasted meats, potatoes, rice, or what ever you like gravy on.  Bonus is- it's gluten and dairy free!!


1 c roasted meat drippings
(or sub 1 cup of warm bone broth or seaweed broth and a couple of spoonfuls of fat of choice- butter, ghee, coconut, olive, lard)
3 tbsp cold water or broth
1 heaping tbsp 14 mushroom blend powder
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp tapioca starch
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients except cold water, egg yolk, and tapioca.  Warm until bubbling gently.
Mix tapioca starch, egg yolk and cold water in a cup until dissolved.  Pour slowly while stirring briskly into the bubbling gravy.
Gravy will thicken quickly.  Remove from heat and serve!



Delicious medicine fit for everyday table use!

(edited to add the suggested egg yolk. it is MUCH BETTER with egg yolk!!)

Chicken Pot Pie- Gluten Free

I have fond memories of those individual sized frozen pot pies on cold winter nights as a child.  They way the smell baking in the oven, the fun of a pie all my own, the savory taste of chicken, buttery crust, and sweet carrots.  I started having a bit of a craving for this childhood favorite while visiting family over Thanksgiving. 

Here's the grown up version I came up with tonight- gluten free!  You can make it dairy free as well using coconut oil or lard in place of butter.  I used homemade chicken bone broth that I had cooked with healing herbs like astragalus and burdock, for extra deliciousness and health. 

Crust
2 cups Bobs Red Mill GF Biscuit and Baking Mix 
1 stick of butter or 1/2 c coconut oil or lard
8 tbsp cold water

Cut the butter into the mix until grainy, add water and just bring the dough together.  Roll out on a wax sheet dusted with tapioca flour.


Filling:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 large carrot
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup cubed butternut squash
1/2 c chopped mushrooms

10 oz chicken stock (prefer homemade bone broth infused with herbs)
3 tbsp tapioca starch (dissolved in 1/4 c cold stock)
1 tbsp butter or lard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp lovage leaf
1 tsp sage leaf

Mix tapioca starch with 1/4 c cold stock.  Warm remainder of stock in a sauce pan with herbs and fat.  Not to boiling, but just to hot.  Add the tapioca starch mixture to the stock to make a thick gravy.

Add chopped chicken and veggies to a large pie pan.  Drizzle the gravy over the veggies. Lay the crust over the chicken and veggies and pinch shut around the edges.  Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork.

Bake at 350 for 1 hr.
Let cool for 30 min before serving. 
Serves a family of 4 generously. 
YUM!

Holiday Goodies and Craving Killer Cocoa Recipe!!

I've got some new goodies available at my Etsy store for the holiday season!!  Chocolate Pomander Lip Balm, Chocolate Mint Lip Balm.  Soon we'll have Spicy Hot Cocoa and her new tasty side kick- Orange Energy Hot Cocoa- with Maca, Ashwaganda and Orange peel for a tasty holiday treat that treats you well on all levels.   These cocoas are made with fair trade organic cocoa, organic cane juice and spices. NO dairy, no gluten!  This is a low sugar blend- just a hint of sweetness to complement the spices and herbs in each blend!  Brew it with your favorite milk (dairy or non) whisk in an egg yolk for extra staying power and enjoy! If you prefer a sugar free version, please just send me a message I'll be happy to whip it up for you!

Try this simple recipe below for the kind of cocoa that kills your cravings and satisfies for hours!

Craving Killer Cocoa

Heat water in a tea kettle to boiling.

In a mug whip together:

• 2 tbsp Spicy Hot cocoa or Orange Energy Hot Cocoa mix,

• pinch of sea salt and/or 10 trace minerals drops

• two or three tbsp of piima cream or other non dairy milk (coconut works especially well)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee

Slowly pour hot water over the whipped cocoa,c ream, egg  and oil mix gently stirring as you do. Out comes a frothy, foamy, deeply chocolate, creamy delight.

If you want, you can add some stevia to the mix for a slightly sweeter drink, but remember those bitter flavors are there to help you with your sugar cravings!

Yum!

Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

Dress up your dish with this simple, gluten and dairy free delicious sauce.  Perfect on sauteed greens, scrambled eggs, on meats, as a dip for veggies, or a salad dressing!

1 - 12 oz jar or 3 roasted red peppers, drained
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp sweet paprika powder

Put it all in the blender!  Serve immediately or keep cool to use later.
Yum!

Elderberry Syrup

Here's a recipe for elderberry syrup, without cooking it to death!
Yum!!




My favorite elder syrup includes the berries and flowers, plus stimulating, warming spices to improve absorption and circulation.  I prefer not to overcook my elderberries by boiling for extended periods of time, and have found that excessive cooking weakens the potency of theelderberry medicine.  This syrup uses a strong 1:2 infusion of the herbs, which is preserved with honey and alcohol.  This syrup is delicious and strong medicine for the cold and flu season for the whole family!  I have also found elderberry preparations to be an excellent ally for shingles, chicken pox, and other herpes viruses.  Take 1-3 tsp per day all season long, or 1/2 tsp hourly in acute illness. 

1 cup dried elderberries

1/2 cup dried elderflowers

2 tbsp ginger chips

1 tbsp cinnamon chips

16 oz water

4oz vodka or brandy

1 lemon, juice

16 oz honey or sugar

1. Mix all the dried herbs together in a jar.  

2. Pour 16 oz boiling water over the herbs, and 4 oz of vodka or brandy

3. cap and let infuse 8 hours or overnight.

4. In a muslin, jelly bag, or cheesecloth strain the herbs from the liquid.  Squeeze gently to get as much fluid from the herbs as possible.

5. Add the juice of 1 lemon.

6. Measure out exactly how much liquid you have in a glass measuring cup.

7. Add an equal amount of raw honey or sugar to the liquid.  Mix well until sugar dissolves.

8. Bottle and store. It will keep best under refrigeration.  If you wish to keep this in the pantry, you will want to use more alcohol in step 2 (8 oz of 50% vodka) to preserve.

What an herbalist does on vacation...

I've decided that after a really frustrating week spending too much time on the computer, I had to spend some time on vacation. Yah.
So what did I do with my stay at home vacation day #1.

Yummy breakfast- scrambled eggs w/ CSA peppers, squash, onions, garlic and italian sausages.
A nice long walk outside. Seems like these days I don't get enough time outside to collect, forage and Identify new plants. So made a point of going out for a little foraging mission and relaxed walk. The air was cool, sun behind the clouds, and sweet breeze kept the mosquitos at bay (for a while anyway). I found a beloved friend whom I've never met in person, Lobelia Inflata. Of course I forgot to bring my field guide along, but I knelt down after she caught my eye, and mysteriously knew who she was. Who said plants don't talk! Maybe it was the little balloon-like seed pods, or the blue flowers, but I instinctively knew it was lobelia, and took a tiny taste of the leaf. Sure enough acrid and biting as hell...tastes like my good friend lobelia. (Later I positively ID'd a specimen I brought home with Newcomb's Wildflower Guide).

Then further up the trail I found the place where the sun breaks through the trees and the goldenrod is blooming a golden song all about the meadow, and set to picking some of the sweet scenting flowering fronds for tincture and oil. As she led me on, she took me to where the St John's Wort patch I've been waiting on all summer is FINALLY in full bloom. I spent a good while picking St John's Wort tops as well before heading home. Nothing like sweet golden plant friends to cheer a weary and gloomy herbalists heart.

Back at home, a quick lunch of cold chicken and cucumbers, smothered in homemade mayonnaise, and I went to town tincturing up my harvest.

Then, as I've signed up for the Preserving the Bounty Challenge from Nourished Kitchen, I set to work on making a batch of Apple Beet Relish! YUM!

It's so beautiful ruby colored sweetness...spiced with ginger, cinnamon stick, clove and cardamom...I Can't wait to try it! Plus its much fun to squish grated beets and apples and salt together into a pink luscious juicy mess!

I guess that might sound like a lot of work, but its a purely relaxing day for me. Now for a supper of baked stuffed zuchinni and homemade marinara!

The Sweet Taste of Life: A place for sweetness in the medicine cabinet and pantry

It's Blog Party time! Visit Kiva's blog for the rest of the contributions to this months blog party on sweet medicines!

Here's my exposition on the place for sweetness in our medicines and foods, and my "Sweet Melissa Divine" honey!

Who doesn’t enjoy the sweet taste of a special treat after supper, a little drizzle of honey in the evening cup of tea, or a morsel of sweet chocolate? It seems as if the sweet taste is irresistible to the human animal, and though will power and dedication can steer us away from indulging in sugary sweets daily that rot our teeth and lead us down the garden path of deteriorating health, there is still a craving for the sweet taste of fresh fruits and small indulgences that is natural to our taste buds.

Though I am the last person who will tell you that eating sugar is even remotely good for you, I want to explore how the sweet taste can mean so much more than “sugar” to our body, mind and spirit. Most traditional medical systems, including Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Unani Tibb reserve a place in the therapeutic toolbox for medicines and foods of a sweet nature. Yes, that is correct, the sweet taste DOES have a therapeutic value, and many traditional systems have recognized it and put it to work for thousands of years.

Both TCM and Ayurveda have a classification of the five or six primary tastes, which include sweet, sour, salty, acrid/pungent, bitter, and astringent. According to these systems the body must receive all the tastes on a daily basis to maintain balance. Too much of one or not enough of another can tip the scales in an unwanted direction. This is easily seen by the excess of sweet tastes in the modern SAD diet, and the resulting problems with obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes.

According to TCM, the sweet taste is warming, strengthening, harmonizing, relaxing and moistening. It builds up energy and strengthens spleen qi, nourishes body fluids and is associated with the energy of yang and earth. Too much of sweet flavor can produce dampness, obesity, and weakness in the kidneys, teeth and bones. In Ayurveda the sweet taste is used to pacify excess pitta and vata conditions (excess heat, dryness, or ungroundedness). It builds and restores the water element and ojas (life force/vitality). It represents the qualities of love nourishment and sustenance.

In a sense, the sweet flavor is the primary taste that provides nourishment and the building of energy both in the body and the mind. It is important to remember that the six tastes effect the spirit and mind just as much as they do the body, and the sweet taste will nourish the heart and spirit, build strength and energy of heart and spirit, and calm states of deranged pitta or vata (think bouts of anger, emotional upset, ungroundedness, bitterness, dryness or lack of luster and verve for living.) It’s not a surprise then that we crave sweet foods to console ourselves in times of emotional upset, or to soothe sensations of physical weakness, or deprivation. We must also remember that as much digestion as our stomach, spleen, liver and intestines do, our minds also digest myriad forms, thoughts, ideas, events and emotions on a daily basis. It is just as important to fill the mind with healthy, nourishing thoughts and emotions, and that our mind be able to digest well that which we provide it. The sweet taste is not to be reviled in our quest to shun refined white sugar which harms our health, but must be used with respect in appropriate fashion to nourish our minds with the sweetness of life, and nourish our bodies with strength and energy.

There are many foods which qualify as “sweet” that are completely unrelated to sugar, honey, syrup or candies. I generally recommend using the following foods as our main sources of “sweetness” on a daily basis.

Fruits (often of mixed flavor with sour, or astringent)

Nuts/seeds

Whole grains

Meats

Dairy products

Winter squashes and other starchy vegetables

But there is a time and a place for sweet medicines and you will often find traditional formulas from ayurveda or TCM with raw sugar, honey or syrup added as an important player, either as a corrigent or as an active component. For example, rose gulkand, a very cooling, soothing food to pacify pitta (especially in hot, dry summer months) is made primarily with rose petals and jaggery (raw cane sugar). Many herbal formulas are administered in honey and ghee, i.e. Chavawanprash- a complex rejuvenative formula.

All that said, let’s dive into the sweetest, loveliest of sweet medicines I’ve been creating lately, herbal honey!

Honey is one of my favorite methods of administering herbal medicines, and I often mixed powdered herbs into a jar of honey for a sweet easy to take honey herb paste. This is much like the Ayurvedic herbal jam Chavawanprash, which combines herbs, honey, and ghee. These can be spread on crackers, fruit, or eaten off the spoon. Honey itself is considering warming, moistening (demulcent/emollient), and rejuvenative/nutritive. It is full of nutrients, enzymes and other health promoting compounds aside from the sugar content. Honey is used to bring herbal medicines deeper into all the tissues of the body.

My favorite way to use honey medicinally is to steep fresh aromatic medicinal herbs in raw, local honey for a week or so and infuse it with all the properties of the herbs. These medicinal honeys can be used as a dressing for wounds and burns, as herbal syrup, stirred into hot or cool water for a refreshing drink, mixed in tea, or even used as a beauty treatment (there is something lovely and luscious about smearing honey all over your face as a hydrating, soothing face mask. Or anywhere else for that matter!)

The most recent herbal honey I’ve made is a fresh lemon balm in mesquite honey, and it is a lovely, divine elixir. I think I’m going to call it “Sweet Melissa Divine” in honor of the plant, the bees that made the honey, and the Bee Priestesses called Melissa in The Fifth Sacred Thing. This summer elixir will be put too good use as an antiviral wound dressing, a sweetener for fresh lemonade, as a mood brightening sweet treat to dress fruit, berries, or fresh yogurt. In light of the mood lifting and soothing properties of the sweet flavor, and the sweet uplifting spirit of Melissa officinalis, this honey will be a perfect remedy for a mild case of the winter blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), insomnia, stagnant depression and mild anxiety.

Sweet Melissa honey  has also found its way into a magical and delicious potion called Sweet Melissa Divine Elixir- a stunning and remarkably effective combination of the lemon balm infused honey and a full strength fresh plant lemon balm tincture.  This sweet medicine is delicious, easy to take, and excellent for soothing those grumpies in adults and children alike.  My partner Sean likes to use it at summer music festivals in cases of heat exhaustion.   No complaints with this tasty medicine!  It's a treat for everyone! I have a few of these available in my Etsy shop if you would like to get your hot little hands on one!

Sweet Melissa Elixir @ Etsy.com

Other favorite herbal honeys include rose, lavender, rosemary, bee balm monarda, and peppermint. I have a hankering to make St Johns Wort honey, but alas, I live in a land nearly devoid of fresh St Johns Wort, so will have to save it for another year.

Making herbal honeys is quite simple. Many times I’ve read to heat the honey, but heating raw honey too hot can destroy the properties, so I choose to cold process my herbal honeys.

1 pint jar

1 pint honey (raw and local if you can find it)

Enough herb of your choice to fill the jar full (do not pack it too tight, just loosely full)

Chop the herb finely and add to the jar. Pour honey over the herb until well covered, you may use a little less or a little more honey depending on the herb. Stir the concoction well with a spoon or chopstick to ensure all the herb bits are coated in honey. Put a lid on and set in a warm spot for 1-2 weeks. You may put it in the sun if it isn’t too hot.

After the allotted time (and several taste tests between putting it up and now), you may choose to strain the herbs from the honey using a wire mesh strainer. Hopefully your honey is relatively runny and warm from the summer climate and can be poured reasonably. If it isn’t, you may need to GENTLY warm it to thin it out. I recommend a hot water bath for just a few minutes. Reserve the honey in a special jar with a label. Eat the herbs! Or rub them on your body for an instant hydrating herbal scrub.

Use the honey generously and as often as you need to nourish the sweetness of life in your spirit and body.

Sources:

Chinese Nutrition Therapy, Joerg Kastner

Ayurveda: The Devine Science of Life, Todd Caldecott

Ayurveda: the Science of Self Healing, Vasant Lad

But I don't like the taste of water.....

I can't recall how many times I have heard that line from clients and friends when told they need to get more water in them.  Water doesn't taste like anything, right?  (Well I happen to disagree- good, fresh, clean water is sweet and delicious).   But I do agree that chlorinated, recycled city water often leaves a bad taste in the mouth.  There are a lot of fancy water filtering systems out there, you can take your pick.  I find a simple Britta pitcher or faucet attatchment is sufficient for me in the city.  If you have clean well water or rain water, you are blessed!

 So in an effort to hydrate people turn to those commercial fruit flavored waters sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup and full of artificial colors and flavors.

Ooops!

But there is a better way!  You can make your own hydrating, delicious and fun to drink flavored waters with fruits, vegetables and herbs at home!  

Cool water will graciously inherit the essence of aromatic flavors which you can provide to it.  What is your favorite flavor?  Melon?  Berry?  Mint?  Lemon?

Go beyond the simple squeeze of lemon or lime with a few interesting twists!  All you need is a few simple herbs, fresh water

Rose and Lemon Water

1 qt water

1 tbsp rose hydrosol

1 tsp rose infused honey

2 slices of lemon

Lime, Cucumber and Mint water

1 qt water

3 slices of cucumber

2 slices of lime

1 or 2 sprigs of fresh mint, crushed

Lemon Lover Water

1 qt water

2 slices of lemon

1 tsp lemon balm or lemon verbena infused honey

1-2 sprigs of  fresh lemon balm or lemon verbena, crushed

Lavender Melon Water

1 qt water

2-3 slices(thin) of honeydew, watermelon, or other melon

1 flowering sprig of lavender (you can use dried)

1 tsp lavender infused honey

Honey Water

1 qt of water

1 tsp honey (herbal infused honey is the most interesting)

Birch Water

1 qt of water

2 bruised or peeled twigs of black birch

Vanilla Cardamom Water

1 qt water

1 tsp homemade vanilla extract

1/4 tsp crushed cardamom seeds

1 tsp honey (vanilla infused if you have it)

Rosemary Lemon Water

1 qt water

1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, crushed

1-2 slices of lemon

Basil Water

1 qt water

1-2 leaves fresh basil, crushed (Tulsi basil is especially nice, but try lemon basil, or cinnamon basil too!)

1-2 slices lime

Lime and Cilantro Water

1 qt water

2 slices of lime

2 sprigs fresh cilantro, crushed

Orange Ginger Water

1 qt water

1 tbsp orange flower hydrosol

2 slices of fresh orange

1-2 thin slices fresh ginger

1 tsp ginger honey

Place all the ingredients in a quart jar.  Infuse for 2-8 hrs, either on the counter top or in the fridge. These will keep longer in the fridge. Serve cool!  I've found I can infuse water repeatedly with the same batch of ingredients 2-3 times, though you may want to add additional honey or hydrosol if using those in your recipe.

What other combinations can you dream up?  A splash of berry infused vinegar?  Frozen blueberries or strawberries used as ice cubes?  Other hydrosols?

Herbal Lemonade: A new way to enjoy your herbal infusions

Today I made lavender lemonade. It is a warm early summer sunday, and I was craving a refreshing and relaxing tonic, so out came the herbs and I concocted Lavender lemonade.
Everyone loves a glass of lemonade, and what better way to enjoy your herbal infusions in summer! This will work with almost any aromatic herb you may want to use. But even other non aromatic herbs make a lovely lemonade base.
I like to use such herbs as Lavender, Rose, Mint, Lemon Balm, Tulsi, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Birch, Hibiscus, Schisandra, Violet flowers, Elderberry or Elderflower, Hawthorn, St Johns Wort, Nettle and Marshmallow.

To start you will want to make sure you have plenty of fresh lemons, local raw honey, fresh water and herbs on hand. The following proportions make approximately 1 gal of lemonade. Adjust to taste and your needs.

1 qt strong herbal infusion - Boil 1 qt water, and pour over herbs in a glass jar. Make sure you make it strong enough for the flavors to come through in the lemonade. For lavender- 1 c dried lavender flowers for a 1 qt of infusion. Best to let these sit for 30 min or more, depending on your herb choice. 4-6 hrs is better for hardier herbs like fruits, roots or barks, or if you want to take advantage of mineral rich infusions of nettle or oatstraw. Always cover aromatic infusions to keep the flavors in the infusion!

4 lemons- Juice four fresh lemons. I like to use a citrus juice reamer, but other juice squeezers or your hands work well. Catch the seeds in a mesh strainer.

1/2- 1 cup raw honey- I like to use raw honey as a sweetener. Yes it will still have the effects of sugar on the body, and may not be appropriate for all people. You can use stevia if you wish, to sweeten and avoid sugar. Or use a little honey and little stevia. Experiment with how sweet you like it.

3 qts Clean cool water

In a gallon container, strain your herbal infusion, add your honey or stevia and mix well. Add juice of 4 lemons, and fill to the top with additional water. Cool, and serve with a garnish of sliced lemon!

Try this with limes too- mmmm minty limeade!