When I got off work on Thursday afternoon, I kicked back on the sofa with a cup of tea and the most recent issue of The Essential Herbal Magazine.  My intention was to relax for a short while, unwind from a busy day in the shop, and then have dinner waiting for my husband when he came in after dark from deer hunting.  That’s not what happened.  Instead, I read an article written by my friend, Tina Sams, the editor of the magazine, entitled “Grocery Store Preparedness”.  The article was about how to stock your cupboards to be somewhat prepared for an unexpected cold or bout of the flu.  It also included some instructions for a few herbal concoctions meant for prevention and easing symptoms.  At this point I went off on a wild hare.  Pictured above is my kitchen counter within 10 minutes of reading the article, just before it exploded.

My herbal remedies arsenal has dwindled dangerously low, and I’ve procrastinated restocking for weeks. Tina’s article was just the motivation I needed, and dinner ended up being reheated leftovers, instead of the meatloaf I had originally planned.

First on my agenda was getting a few tinctures started. From left to right is Eleuthero root, Astragalus root, and Holy Basil (also known as Tulsi). Making tinctures is quick and easy.  I just fill a jar about 1/3 full of dried herb, and cover with vodka.  I let it sit about 6 weeks before using.  At that point it can be strained and bottled.  I store mine in the jars and strain off what I need into 2 ounce dropper bottles as I need it.

Eleuthero is an immune system booster, effective against colds and flu. Astragalus, one of my favorite preventives,  is effective against viral infections, helps boost the production of white blood cells, and promotes interferon production in the body. Interferon is a chemical that disrupts the life cycle of a virus. Holy Basil is most commonly used for stress and anxiety, but it’s also a powerful adaptogen, rich in phytochemicals, which exhibits both antiviral and antibiotic effects.  These three have a significant presence in my household, along with elderberry, which numerous studies have shown to be effective against multiple strains of influenza.

Next, I mixed up my favorite blend of herbal tea which I like to use when I feel a cold coming on, and also during a cold.  I need to give it a name.  I blend the following in a bowl and store it in and old bail lid canning jar.

2 parts Holy Basil
2 parts Dried Elderberries
1 part Dried Ginger
1 part Lemon Verbena
1 part Lemongrass
1 part Hibiscus

I like this blend because it meets the criteria for my personal preferences. It tastes good – some zip is provided by the lemon verbena, lemongrass, and hibiscus (which also gives the tea a rich rosy color).  The elderberry and Holy Basil help combat the virus, and the ginger provides a warming effect that can help break a sweat and fight off chills. Elderberry also helps promote sweating.

Next, I made a batch of garlic infused honey, recommended in Tina’s article. I’m not even going to go into the myriad benefits of garlic.  You can Google it.  When I eat garlic I seem to stink worse than most people.  When I eat it raw, I fart – a lot.  You want to stay far, far away from me when I’ve been eating raw garlic.

I also made the Ginger Elixir and the Fire Cider included in Tina’s article. A friend of Tina’s and mine calls the Ginger Elixir “ginger lemon honey throat yum yum stuff”.  That about sums it up. Since these are in the current issue of the magazine, I’m not going to give them here.  I bet if you visit The Essential Herbals Facebook page and ask about it, Tina might share … or you could just subscribe to the magazine, and she’ll start you off with the current issue.

Yes, I know I’m a delinquent blogger.  However, in defense of my delinquency, I’ve been all work and no play for the last several weeks. Also, the projects I’ve been working on can’t be posted here unless I want to announce all Christmas gifts to my family.  For the first time in weeks, I find myself with a little free time to play around with.  I was able to spend all day yesterday at my son’s wrestling invitational, where I watched him whup his opponent.  I shot team photos throughout the day, but I’ll only make you endure one shot (although you know I want to make you look at page after page of my baby).

Today snow is flying outside my window, and up to 8 inches of lake effect snow is expected over the next couple of days. I found myself in the mood to experiment with some herbal tea blending. When this type of cold snowy weather hits, I find myself wanting to guzzle hot tea but not the caffeine or sugar that usually accompanies hot beverages.  As the holidays loom on the horizon, it’s no surprise that I ended up with this cranberry apple herbal blend. Not only is it pretty and festive, but the sweetness and warmth of apple and cinnamon and the organic cranberries (slightly sweetened with organic cane juice) eliminated the need for further sweetening.

Cranberry Apple Herbal Tea
2 parts dried apple
2 parts dried cranberry
1 part cinnamon chips
1 part hibiscus flowers
1 part rose hips
1 part lemon grass
1 part orange peel
2 parts calendula petals

I use organic ingredients whenever possible, and my fruits are chopped into small uniform pieces. The blend brewed up a warm festive cranberry color that suited the flavor perfectly.

My second blend isn’t quite as pretty as the first, but it’s very warming and tasty with ginger and lemon flavored herbs.  This blend is very good sweetened with a little bit of honey.  I can’t take credit for this blend, as it was inspired by an herbie friend of mine.

Lemon GingerMint Tea
1 part dried ginger pieces
1 part peppermint
1 part lemon grass
1 part lemon verbena

I guess I will announce one Christmas gift.  I think I’ll make up some tea bags using empty heat seal tea bags, package a few in a tin tie bag with a label or hang tag, and give them as stocking stuffers.

Yesterday evening the sky over my house spit a little snow at me.  However, so early in November I expected it to melt on contact with the ground. It was a little shocking to wake up to a  thin layer of snow on the ground this morning. My morning walk around the property involved a wool coat, cold fingers, a red nose, and hot herbal tea afterward.  It’s pretty, but I’m not ready for this.

Split rail fence post at the edge of the meadow.

Grass at eye level. I started my walk with wet knees and elbows. There’s a visual for you.

I believe this is a type of foxtail grass.

Goldenrod.

I walked back to the house by way of the barns ……

…. past the woodpile …….

… and straight into my kitchen to warm up with an herbal blend I make. It consists of rosehips, hibiscus, mint, and lemongrass.

Now I’m bundled up in my favorite faux fur blanket, sipping hot tea, and the snow is already melting away. I think the weather is very appropriate for the soup recipe I’ll post later this weekend.

My mint beds have gone crazy.  In addition to drying some for winter use, I’ve been trying to find as many different ways to use it as possible.    I have a couple of other blogging friends who have been busy dealing with their overabundance of mint. Tina over at The Essential Herbal Blog recently wrote about how she dries her mints. Maggie gives several ideas for using mints over at  The Renegade Farmer.

My boys like  a cold pitcher of plain mint tea kept in the refrigerator, but I prefer something with a little more pizazz. This week’s little heat wave had me brewing up a batch of one of my favorite iced mint tea recipes.

Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea
2-3 cups loosely packed mint leaves (1/2 to 3/4 cup dried mint if you don’t have fresh)
1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers
Juice of 2 lemons
6 cups boiling water
Honey or agave nectar for sweetening

I brew my tea in a large Pyrex batter bowl, but it could also be done in a pan on the stove.

Place the mint leaves and dried hibiscus in your brewing container. Cover with boiling water and steep for an hour.  Place concentrated tea mixture into a pitcher and add lemon juice.  Next, top up pitcher with ice cubes and/or cold water. Sweeten to taste.

I try to use sweeteners in moderation and avoid sugar when at all possible. Honey and agave nectar are my sweeteners of choice.  If you choose to use sugar, a simple syrup of 1 part sugar to one part water is a good sweetener for cold beverages.