Category Archives: herb

herbal honey candy/coughdrops

November 22, 2009 – 8:09 pm

We made herbal candy (medicinal drops) for the first time last week. Little bit challenging I must admit, but fun and tasty! Our candy was basically a peppermint candy with a bit of beebalm, thyme, and sage added for a cold fighting punch.

What you need:
4 cups dried herb(s) of your choice
4 cups water
3-4 cups honey
cream of tartar
candy thermometer
large soup pot
jelly roll pan or candy molds
parchment paper or non-stick spray
confectioner’s sugar or arrow root powder

Directions:
1. Make a strong tea infusion by using 1 cup dried herbs to 1 cup water. Our herb combination was 3 1/2 cups dried peppermint, 1/4 cup sage, 1/4 cup beebalm and 4 tablespoons thyme. Put herbs directly into the water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for about an hour. Strain herbs from the tea. We were left with 2 1/2 cups of tea.

2. Put the tea back into a LARGE soup pot, add 1 1/2 cups honey for each cup of tea. I had 2 1/2 cups of tea so I added close to 4 cups of honey to the tea. Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar for each cup of tea.

3. Turn the stove on high and bring the mixture to a boil. You want the temperature of the honey/tea mixture to reach 300 degrees. This is where the challenge came for us. Once the mixture was boiling, the bubbles wanted to go over the edge of the pot; I would turn down the heat, then the temperature wouldn’t rise. So I would turn up the heat again, more boil over…..vicious cycle. I thought about quiting at one point, but all that honey down the drain would be wrong, so we persevered. We finally found a temperature where the temperature would climb and the bubbles wouldn’t reach the edge of the pan. It took us about 45 minutes to get to 300 degrees!

4. Finally, after reaching 300 degrees, pour the syrup onto a parchment lined jelly roll pan (or use a non-stick spray, you don’t want your candy to stick). There are special candy molds you can use as well, just make sure it can handle the 300 degree heat of the syrup! You could use a spoon and mix the bubble layer into the thicker bottom layer, but I preferred to keep the bubble on top to create a pretty layered look when the candy hardened.

5. The hardest part for the little ladies was waiting for the candy to cool and harden! I eventually put it in the freezer to quicken the process, and to keep the little ladies out of the syrup! Sticky fingers were all around!

6. Once the candy hardens, break it into pieces and coat in confectioner’s sugar or arrow root powder to keep the candies from sticking to each other. Our candy is soft and chewy when it reaches room temperature so I store it in the freezer. The candies should keep for at least 6 months stored in the freezer.

It turned out very tasty and we will make more in the future. I’ve always wanted to make horehound candy, but I don’t have any of the dried herb right now; I need to order some along with the elderberries! If you are a candy maker and have any advice in this process I would love to hear it! We did do some research on the science behind cooking candy and found this fantastic website- The Accidental Scientist- Science of Cooking. All kinds of good stuff there!

Tags handmade gifts, herbal remedy, herbs | Permalink | Comments (43)

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lavender/rosemary ink

November 14, 2009 – 2:14 pm

On our Williamsburg trip, my granny (that’s great granny to the little ladies), bought the girls each a white feather quill pen. The timing was great because I have been wanting to make a lavender/rosemary scented ink. This was a wonderful herbal activity leaving the house smelling great!

What you need:
sprigs of lavender (dry or fresh)
sprigs of rosemary (dry or fresh)
water
enamel pot

Directions:
1. Use enough herbs to cover the bottom of your pan. Use your nose to help get just the scent you want.

2. Add enough water to cover the tops of the herbs.
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the water has reduced to a generous tablespoon.
4. Strain and you’re left with a pretty light brown ink. You could always add a drop or two of black ink to darken the color.

The little ladies really enjoyed writing and drawing with wonderfully smelling ink and the gorgeous white feathers.

Thanks for the feathers Granny!

You could use any wonderful smelling herb for this activity. I think we will try a peppermint/lavender ink next time; it would be great for writing holiday cards. Who wouldn’t love a peppermint scented card for the holidays!?!?
Oooh, and a handmade gift of scented ink, a calligraphy pen, and homemade paper would be a lovely holiday gift idea! If you use the ink as a gift, you must add calligraphy ink to it or the herb solution will mold.

Tags herbs, nature activity | Permalink | Comments (32)

felt health herb lavender sewing sick sweaters tutorial

soothing gremlin softie (free pattern)

October 29, 2009 – 9:54 pm

The Get Well Gremlins are finished and I have 2 little ladies who are quite excited about them! They are kind of a twist on a dream pillow but you don’t use dry herbs as the stuffing. Each gremlin has a pocket to hold a cotton ball or piece of wool cloth with a few drops of your favorite essential oil(s) for calming or soothing. (Read this post to learn why I came up with the Get Well Gremlins).

I used thrift sweaters for these happy little guys. No knitting skills needed!

What I used to make the Get Well Gremlins:
thrift sweaters- wool and cotton
wool blend felt
embroidery floss
scissors
thick yarn
buttons
needle
pins
stuffing
FREE PATTERN DOWNLOAD
sewing machine (optional)

Directions:
1. Download pattern, lay out, and cut pieces leaving a 3/4 inch seam allowance if you are using a sewing machine to stitch up the gremlin. If you use a sweater with a very loose weave like the one shown here, leave a larger seam allowance. This weave likes to unravel if you’re not careful.

2. Hand-stitch pupils (buttons) onto the eyes, then stitch the eyes (running stitch) onto the gremlin.

3. Whipstitch the pocket onto the belly using a thick yarn. If using a sweater, this pocket will stretch as you stitch, keep this in mind when placing the pocket.

4. Put right sides together and pin, LOTS of pins are necessary to prevent rolling on the machine. Sew an overcast stitch 2 times (for reinforcement) if you are using a loose weave like this sweater, it will want to unravel if you don’t! Remember to leave an opening for the stuffing! *If you prefer to hand-stitch the pieces together, whip stitch the pieces on the very edge using very close stitches and overlapping. Use a thick yarn to do this. I whipstitched my frog together and didn’t use a machine; so it can be done.

5. Turn right-side out, stuff and whipstitch the opening closed. Hand-sew the mouth using a backstitch with the yarn. Hand-stitch the little tooth on; now the gremlin is ready to soothe and heal (or play and cuddle)!

Essential oils to add to cotton ball or small piece of cloth:

Calming oils- to induce sleep or relieve insomnia: lavender, roman camomile, mandarin, petitgrain
Flu/cold soothing essential oils (antiinfectious, antiviral, antibacterial, antiinflammatory): lavender,eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, tea tree, thyme, ravensara

To go with the get well theme, Karin, from Fleecenik Farm, suggested to make the gremlin big enough to go around a hot water bottle! Love this idea, but the girls were set on a softie this time. Renee suggested stuffing them with flaxseed or rice to warm them up, another great idea!

**Fantastic book recommendation to learn more about essential oils and aromatherapy- Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child by Valerie Ann Worwood

Tags felt, handmade gifts, herbal remedy, herbs, sewing | Permalink | Comments (38)

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get well gremlin and veggie chili

October 28, 2009 – 6:16 pm

Can you see Fauna amongst the pink glow of her bedroom?

She is still very congested and this congestion is tiring her out. She spent all day yesterday in bed reading, she is inhaling Gail Carson Levine books right now (no complaints here). Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday. Araina now has the congestion and sneezing too. Looks like we will be visiting the doctor tomorrow! I’m feeling back to my old self and so is Dave (after missing 2 days of work). So at least I am able to cater to their needs in a more cheerful way. Thank you all for the nice comments on the flu post. I LOVED reading the things everyone does to combat flu and colds in their households. If you haven’t had a chance to read all the comments I recommend you go back and read them, there are some GREAT tips there!

Vegetarian Chili

Yesterday Fauna was begging for my vegetarian chili. Usually we don’t have it until Halloween, but when a sick body craves something I feel we should listen! Besides, spicy chili is a great way to open up those nasal passages. I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart’s False Alarm Chili.

3 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, chopped in med. coins
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced or 1/4 c canned chopped green chiles
1 pound dried lentils, rinsed
1/3 C tomato paste
1 C or 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 C or 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 C or 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4 C stewed tomatoes or 28 oz. can
1/3 C chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Sweat the onion, garlic, carrot and peppers in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Stir in stewed tomatoes, lentils, tomato paste, beans and about 7 cups of water. Add chili powder, cumin and red-pepper flakes.
2. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. If the chili starts to dry out, add hot water as needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Get Well Gremlin (work in progress)

I forgot to mention one more flu comfort the little ladies enjoy. They love to take a cotton ball to bed that has 2 drops lavender, 1 drop peppermint, 1 drop eucalyptus and 1 drop tea tree essential oils on it. This makes their breathing better and opens up those stuffy nasal passages. Now the problem is where to put the cotton ball, it tends to get lost in the bed? Today I came up with this little Get Well Gremlin. He has a pocket to keep the cotton ball in. They are loving this idea! I will be sure to post them when they are finished and share the pattern. Now I just need to get off the computer and finish them!

Stay healthy everybody!

Tags handmade gifts, herbal remedy, recipe, sewing, work in progress | Permalink | Comments (30)

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natural dyes- walnuts and goldenrod

October 6, 2009 – 6:38 pm

Making natural dyes from backyard plants (or frontyard) is an activity we enjoy to do in the Autumn, when we can heat up the kitchen and still have a window or two open. Yesterday we gathered goldenrod, walnuts and pokeberry to dye a thrifted wool blanket and some wool roving.

What you need:

vinegar for plant dyes

salt for berry dyes

water

stainless steel pots- VERY IMPOTANT or a chemical reaction can occur with the color

cloth or fibers- light colored wool, cotton, silk or muslin works best for natural dyes

cheesecloth or coffee filter

strainer

plant material- flowers should be in full bloom, nuts mature, and berries ripe

Before dyeing the fibers you must soak them in a fixative in order for the dye to “stick”:

Berry dye fixative: 1/2 cup salt to 8 cups cold water

Plant dye fixative: 4 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar

Directions for fixative: Add the fabric to the fixative mixture and simmer for an hour; then rinse the fabric in cold water and ring out excess water.

Making the dye bath: While the fabric is soaking in the fixative prepare the dye bath. Chop up the plant material and place in a pan. Add the water by doubling the amount of water to plant material. I used a lot of water for the walnuts because they make such a strong dark dye. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for about a half hour to an hour, depending on how potent you want the dye.

Dyeing the fabric: Strain plant material from the water. I found out the hard way that you should use cheesecloth or a coffee filter to catch little bits of plant material that go through the strainer. Add the fabric (while still wet from the fixative soak) to the dye bath. Simmer the fabric in the bath until the desired color is obtained. Keep in mind that the fabric will be lighter once it is rinsed and dry. After obtaining preferred color, rinse in cold water until water is clear. Hang to dry (don’t ya love the 1970′s brick fireplace with brass guard?).

The results are so pretty! The goldenrod (left) stained the wool a light creamy yellow color; the walnut stained the wool a beautiful brown with a chestnut tint. I’m planning on staining more wool with the walnut bath so I can make wool trees for the little ladies’ holiday gifts. Araina wants to make a leaf garland and Fauna wants to make a gathering bag with both colors of the stained wools. ****Note- all dyed fabric should be laundered separately in cold water.

You can do this natural dyeing process with any plants you find in your yard. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different plants to get different colors. Plantain and grass would probably make a pretty green color. I was thinking about trying leaf litter too. Have fun experimenting and if you do this please let me know how it turned out!

Note on the pokeberries- last year we used pokeberries to dye some wool and it came out a beautiful pink color. This year I simmered the berries in a NON-stainless steel pot (I used a large pot for canning) and the beautiful magenta berry color turned pale yellow, which is disappointing when you wanted pink! So I didn’t post that one. But learn from my mistakes and use stainless steel! Hopefully our now green pokeberries that are growing in the backyard will ripen before more nights of frost occur.

For you science lovers out there- learn about the chemical bonding of dyeing fabric here and to learn more about the different types of bonds go here. Enjoy!