Nettle Infusion!

Just take one ounce of dried nettle and put it in a quart jar. Then put boiling water over the nettle until the jar is full. (I put a mettle butter knife in the jar so it didn't crack from the heat) Stir it up. Put the lid on and let it sit for about 4 hours or more. Then strain it and drink it, hot, cold, room temperature and you can mix it with other drinks (like milk).

According to an herbal basics course from learningherbs.com Nettle is high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and zinc as well as the B complex vitamins. It boosts our circulatory, immune, endocrine, nervous and urinary systems.

My mom will hit my dads ankle/foot with a nettle branch when his gout flairs up. 

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Sumac Lemonade!

My Mother, my sister and I hiked through the woods to a dirt road where we had seen Sumac growing before. Sure enough it was there and ripe. (late Summer early Fall is the best time for harvesting Sumac. They grow in clumps, and the berries should be bright red when you pick them,  if you rub the berries then lick your fingers you can taste the acidity ) I left it outside for a couple days so that the bugs could crawl out (that was a good idea on my mothers part). Then I took the Sumac clumps and squeezed them in my hands. I put them in a bowl of cold water, sloshed them around a bit, then took all the big pieces out. I then (with a little help) strained it through a towel and a strainer to get all the little hairs and things out.

 You could add Stevia to this stuff if you wanted to sweeten it, but I liked it just the way it was!

Sharing this post with Wildcrafting Wednesday #54

Garlic, Rosemary Vinegar

 Garlic, Rosemary Vinegar is super easy to make! You slice, or chunk the garlic up and put it in a quart jar (I would suggest a whole clump, if not more). Then put some fresh rosemary in the jar, however much you like. Then fill the jar up to the line (where the bottom of the lid will go) with vinegar. And that's it! Let it sit for 6 weeks (in the dark).
 According to Medicinal Herbal by Penelope Ody, Garlic is an antibiotic, expectorant, anti-parasitic and more. Rosemary is an astringent, digestive remedy, antiseptic, diuretic, anti-depressant and much more.

Lavender Honey

  I tried making Lavender Honey and it was delicious! Honey in and of itself is nourishing, and Lavender is good for calming the nerves and relieving depression. 
Lavender is a very strong smelling herb which is why it's very good for this project.
I used a pint jar and filled it 1/4 full of dried Lavender flowers.
Then I filled the jar with natural honey, up to about where the lid will come down to when you put it on.
Stir it up and put your lid on tight.
It sits for a total of three weeks, the first week stir it every day (but I wouldn't stress over that if I was you) then just let it sit for the next to weeks. And then Strain it at the end of the three weeks.

Don't forget to lable it! There are some unidentified creations at our house that we don't have the heart to get rid of but we can't use them because we don't know what they are.
Fun Fact: Lavenders Latin name- Lavendula Angustifolia

Share this with Wildcrafting Wednesday #43@ The Woodwife's Journal.

Making Chapstick/Lip gloss at Home

I have been taking an herbal basics course for school.  One of the lessons was on how to make chapstick. And it turned out quite well. If you wanted to try it, here's what you'd need.
 Containers (You could by them on line at Mountain Rose Herbs or somewhere else that you might find them).
 1 cup of oil. (Sweet Almond oil is less greasy than other oils.)
 Essential oil. 2 drops of essential oil to every 1/4 ounce of lip balm. Whatever flavor you like (I used grapefruit).
 2 ounces (by weight) of Beeswax.
 I used a double boiler, but you could probably use something else.
 A liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout.

 You put the 1 cup of oil and the beeswax in the double boiler, until the beeswax is all melted. Turn the heat off, then you put in your essential oil (and colouring, such as Alkanet, if you want it to be coloured).  Then pour the lip balm into your measuring cup (you might want to warm the measuring cup first, so that the lip balm doesn't harden when it hits the cold glass.) And then pour it into your containers and let them cool.
 That's how you make lip balm! I hope you have fun!

(My Mom, of course, already had all this stuff on hand. If you'd like to learn about herbal remedies you should really check out her blog. http://www.woodwifesjournal.com/)

I'm sharing this recipe with Wildcrafting Wednesday #42