herb-uses-msg - 5/24/08 Uses for various herbs. Recipes. NOTE: See also the files: herbs-msg, spices-msg, p-herbals-msg, garlic-msg, hemp-msg, lavender-msg, woad-msg, seeds-msg, rue-msg, saffron-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Subject: Fw: HERB - Resins Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 01:46:28 -0500 From: "Philippa Alderton" To: "Stefan" : So, has anyone tried to make incense or something similar (smudge pots, etc.)? : I haven't found a good description of how to do this yet, and I'd really like : to try it. : : Raisya The easiest way to make incense or smudge pots is to go to your local church supply store, and get a package or three of the little charcoal disks that the churches use to burn incense- just light them up, put your herbs on, and enjoy. They also have bundles of herbs that you can use- one is labelled frankincense, and they'll also have censors of various sorts- generally, fairly inexpensive. Phlip Caer Frig Barony of the Middle Marches Middle Kingdom [submitted by Philippa Alderton ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Jasmine's Herbal Sniffy Bags (long) Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:56 AM My husband saw me making these last October for Christmas presents (I have 7 siblings all in different countries; I start very early). Innocently, he asked when we were going to be able to keep some. I told him we could have whatever was left over when I was done packaging up the gifts. At one point during construction of the packages, I got up to go change laundry in the basement. Came back, didn't really think much of the rearrangement of my finished bags (I have cats), and continued. The next morning I spent 20 minutes in my walk-in closet trying to figure out why all the clothes smelled like the Christmas presents. I suspected it was the work shirt I had been wearing, but it turned out to be the bags my husband had snitched out of the pile because he was afraid I'd give them all away without sharing some with him. Goof. So, the reason these are called "sniffy bags." The herbs that are in them have been used traditionally throughout history as treatments for colds, to repel bugs, or in some other form as antiseptics. I actually keep one of these in my drawer at work and "sniff" it any time I'm feeling particularly stressed or just generally yucky. Any standard herbal book can probably detail the herbs' qualities pretty well, so I'll leave it up to you to look them up on your own. And I highly recommend you research anything on herbs I post! Don't trust me. I'm no expert!. Enjoy -- Jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com or g.walli at infoengine.com PS: If anyone needs supplier names for sources of equipment or herbs in general, I'll happily provide them privately. E-mail me. ***** Jasmine's Clothing & Sheet Herbal Sniffy Bags --------------------------------------------- Equipment for one sniffy bag: a 3x5 muslin drawstring bag a tablespoon measure a mixing bowl (optional) Common sense equipment suggestions: hospital gloves -- these are helpful if you feel you might be allergic to any of the herbs you work with. I nearly always use the hospital variety because they give me the best dexterity. Look for these gloves in bulk at you local drugstore or medical supply warehouse. breathing mask -- highly recommended if you're working with large quantities of herbs that you might be allergic to. Drywalling masks are cheap and easy to obtain at any local hardware store. safety glasses -- with cats in my house, I never know when a major race through the house will occur. Rather than be sorry later, I wear safety glasses to avoid any "upsets" if the "Kitten 500" comes racing past the kitchen table when I least expect it. Dried Herbs to fill one muslin bag: ~8 tablespoons of any dried herbs that suit your purposes I use the following combination for scent, antiseptic, and bug repellant properties (and cause my husband likes them)... 4 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves 2 tablespoons dried lemon balm leaves Hints & Tips: Increase the amount of herbs as necessary to make however many bags you need. Approximately 8 tablespoons of cut and dried leaves will fill a standard 3x5 muslin drawstring bag to the top, with only a little amount of compaction necessary. If desired, mix the herbs in a mixing bowl prior to placing them in the muslin bag. I sometimes just scoop the herbs right into the bags from their shipping containers, but some people like to mix the herbs up a little more. Remember to use dried herbs that have been stemmed and crushed, especially if they normally come in large pieces (for example, my home-grown lemen balm or wildcrafted catnip). Do not use herbs that are powdered or otherwise so finely cut that they would sift through the fabric of the bag. Tie the bag's drawstring tight, but not in a knot. I try to replace my herbs every 12 months. Instead of throwing away what's in the bags or composting the ingredients, I lock my cats up, strew the herbs on the carpeting, put on some old tennis shoes, and walk around on the herbs for a little while. Then I vaccuum. This keeps my vaccuum smelling fresh and my capret and house smelling wonderful. I can also reuse the bags. [submitted by Philippa Alderton ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: Re: HERB - adding oil to powder Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:04 AM Yvette Royd asked: >Please excuse my ignorance as I am very new to all this.... Does the powder >not clump when you add the oils? Sounds like a wonderful project I'd like >to try sometime! To fragrance powder like this you need not add large amounts of essential oil (or whatever liquid you add for fragrance). Last year when I made bath salts for the first time I was suprised at how little scent you actually need. When you add the oil, you're adding a matter of DROPS, not teaspoons or cups, in my experience. With this small amount, I've found it's not been too difficult to shake the clumps out and continue shaking until the scent is reasonably evenly distributed. Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm, g.walli at infoengine.com [submitted by Philippa Alderton ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Skin Softening Wash Bags Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:12 AM I forgot about these in the list of things I did. These are probably the easiest thing I make for holiday presents. You can use them a couple of times each. I've successfully taken these to weekend camping events. The recipe I usually make doesn't contain herbs, but they're easily added, especially to take advantage of some of the antiseptic or skin protection properties of certain plants. I plan to make a bunch of these for our Queen's bribe...ahem, war chest. If you come up with your own combination, I'd love to hear from you! I'm always interested in new twists on this recipe. -- Jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com or g.walli at infoengine.com SKIN SOFTENING WASH BAGS Equipment: something to grind with, preferably a food processor measuring cups and spoons a bowl 3x5 muslin drawstring bags Possible Ingredients: Nut or grain meal. Some good choices include: almonds, sunflower seeds, and oatmeal. Powdered milk. Some good choices include: powdered cow or goat milk and powdered buttermilk. Dried herbs, stemmed and sifted. Suggestions: lavender, sage, chamomile, peppermint, thyme, or lemon balm. Ingredient Notes: Ground meal and ground nuts have traditionally been used to treat a variety of skin ailments. In combination with herbs they can afford relief to many troublesome skin conditions, including sunburn, leprosy, and exczema. As with all kinds of home rememdies, it's common sense and a good idea to talk with a trained professional first before resorting to this kind of a treatment for a susepcted or known conditionor problem. However, as a nice treat to the body and senses, I highly recommend this as the perfect way to spend some time in the bathtub. Grinding Notes: Making ground meal and ground nuts requires a little planning. The raw measure does not equal the ground measure. That is, you can't measure out 1.5 cups oatmeal and expect to get 1.5 cups ground oatmeal. Here's a little guide for the ingredients I use most often: 1 cup whole oatmeal = 1/2 cup ground oatmeal 3/4 cup sunflower seeds = 1/2 cup ground sunflower meal 50 large, whole almonds = 1/2 cup ground almond meal I've found that you can sometime find these preground in bulk at bulk food service stores (in Michigan, I would buy them at Gordon's Food Service). Preparation Notes and Suggested Starting Recipe: Roughly 7-8 tablespoons of mixture will fit, depending on you ingredient choices, into a 3x5 drawstring muslin bag. Using this number, you can calculate the mixture you would like to use in your bags, in quantity. Here is the mixture for one bag, which I made up in the last batch I created: ~ 3 tablespoons ground oatmeal (groats, not the quick-cooking kind) ~ 3 tablespoons ground sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted, unroasted) ~ 1 scant Tablespoon buttermilk powder (look in the baking aisle) ~ 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers Play with the mixture a bit to see what you like best. The first mix of this I ever made contained simply 1/4 cup ground oatmeal and 1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds. For a simple, skin nurturing bath, this is still my favorite mixture. Store these in an airtight container until you're ready to use them (make sure it's waterproof or safely stored, too). Usage Notes: I wet these bags down and used them like a bar or soap when I'm in the bathtub. It's a great treat after a tough day. It's also quite convenient for a nice little pick-me-up at a camping event. The slight roughness of the muslin acts as a nice exfoliating agent and the rest of the ingredients soothe your skin quite nicely. The bags I usually buy measure 3"x5" and hold a considerable amount of mixture. You can use these bags several time before they lose their "oomph", but beware of a few things. First, milk powder will often start to fester in the heat of the day. If you plan to make these for camping events, don't add any milk powder and expect to be able to use the bag again. Second, if my cats are any indication, felines REALLY like these little bags. Keep them out of reach of kitty and you'll be thankful. They make an awful mess when one of your cats decides to either suck on one or tear it apart to get inside (yes this is the voice of experience). Selected Suggested Reading: Culpepper, Nicholas. _The English physitian: or an astrologo-physical discourse of the vulgar herbs of this nation_. London: Peter Cole, 1652. Facsimile copies and various editions of this reference abound. Check your local bargain bookstore for copies. Grieve, Maude. _A Modern Herbal: Vols. 1 & 2_. 1931. Both volumes have been bound into one copy that can easily be obtained at bargain book stores. This herbal, while out-of-period, is America's first modern, researched herbal, often containing recipes of neccessity from the time of the War. Tourles, Stephanie. _The Herbal Body Book_. Pownal, Vermont: Storey Books, 1994. ISBN: 0882668803 Although non-historical in nature, this is a good place to start when creating your own toiletries from scratch. Use this as a recipe reference in combination with your period sources. [submitted by Philippa Alderton ] From: RAISYA at aol.com To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: HERB - Re: Jasmine's recipes Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:59 AM Jasmine, Mmm, looks like I'm going to be trying several of your recipes . The bath bags sound like a lot of fun. I came up with a pretty similar filling for my herbal moth bags, 2 parts lavender to 2 parts rosemary to 1 part thyme. I'm not crazy about the scent of lavender, but I've noticed when it's mixed with rosemary, I like it much more. [submitted by Philippa Alderton ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Eye Compresses for My Mother Date: Thursday, November 05, 1998 5:52 PM Last year I made eye compresses for my mother because of her allergies because her eyes often get quite puffy. Up until very recently, she also had a stressful job and needed something that would help out with the stress to her eyes. This recipe is the result of my research and experimentation. I've taken these to Pennsic with me to combat the morning after effects of too much ground smoke and too little sleep. I cannot use them any more personally, however, because I've developed an allergy to chamomile; hence, the common sense cautions listed below. Enjoy! -- jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com HERBAL EYE COMPRESSES Equipment: measuring spoons a small mixing bowl heat-sealable tea bags (large) an iron Common sense equipment suggestions: hospital gloves -- these are helpful if you feel you might be allergic to any of the herbs you work with. I nearly always use the hospital variety because they give me the best dexterity. Look for these gloves in bulk at you local drugstore or medical supply warehouse. breathing mask -- highly recommended if you're working with large quantities of herbs that you might be allergic to. Drywalling masks are cheap and easy to obtain at any local hardware store. safety glasses -- with cats in my house, I never know when a major race through the house will occur. Rather than be sorry later, I wear safety glasses to avoid any "upsets" if the "Kitten 500" comes racing past the kitchen table when I least expect it. Ingredients: All ingredients are dried, not fresh. Chamomile flowers -- this herb is an excellent plant for all manner of things. Be aware, however, that it is a common allergin for many people. If you already have allergies to ragweed and similar plants, you should find a substitute for this ingredient. The volitile oil of chamomile is an anti-inflammatory. In ancient Egypt, chamomile was ised to treat malarial chills. The old herbalists Pliny and Dioscorides recommended it to relive headaches and calm the nerves. In medieval England, the plant was popular as a strewing herb, possibly because of its fresh apple smell. In Spain it was used to flavor very fine sherry. Before refrigeration, a tea of chamomile was used to soak away the smell of early spoilage on meat. Catnip leaves -- this herb is extremely old. An old Middle English herbal known as the "Agnus Castus" recommends catnip for "evils that a man has about the throat." This holds with common day use of catnip as a tea to sooth coughing and congestion. In more modern medicine, catnip is known to be a mild sedative due to its volatile oil, cis-trans-nepetalactone. This ingredient is one of the main sedatives in the Valerian plant as well. Catnip often calms mild stomach upset. Catnip is used in this mix because of its efficacy in treating congestion of the sinus passages that comes with allergies. Elder flowers -- the cross of Jesus of Nazareth was supposedly constructed from and elder tree. The goddess Freya supposedly made her home in an elder tree. In the 1600's, it was popular to gather elder on the last day of April and place it at windows and doors to ward off the evil of witches (presumably because of it's virtue in having been good enough to support the weight of Jesus's death). The roots, stems, and leaves should not be ingested. The ripe cooked berries, however, are a popular jam ingredient. The flowers, which I used for this recipe are a mild stimulant and diaphoretic. They have popular in bathing and home cosmetics for an extremely long time. Preparation notes: You'll notice I give no amounts in the ingredients section. I use equal parts of each dried herb and mix them well in a bowl. I've not settled on an amount best suited for the tea bags. The amounts will vary depending on the quality and condition of the herbs you get. I've not found a consistent amount that works with a wide variety of herb quality. Try using a smaller amount than you think you need. Fill the tea bag so that none of the herb mix falls out when you lay it down to iron it shut. Then remove about a teaspoon or two more. I suggest this because of the swelling that occurs when you wet down the tea bags for placing on the face. If the bags get too full from the swelling herbs, they will break open and herbs will potentially enter the eye. This is bad. :) If you have cats: KEEP THESE IN A WELL-SEALED METAL CONTAINER IN A CLOSET ON A HIGH SHELF OF A ROOM YOU NEVER OPEN. I've lost two batches of these eye compresses to cats. The first time the compresses were stored in a double layer of zippered plastic bags and wrapped in tin foil. The second time they were also placed inside a duct-taped box. Neither efforts hindered my cats' abilities to get at them and spread them throughout three rooms in my apartment. Using the compresses: Run the tea bags under very warm water. If necessary, use tongs to run them under hot water. Set the tea bags aside until they are cool enough to touch the most sensitive areas of your skin. If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to put on your eyes. When cool enough, lay down or tilt your head back comfortably and relax with the tea bags covering your eyes for at least 10 minutes. Lock up your cats so you don't have to fight them off your face. :) [Submitted by: "Philippa Alderton" ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG Subject: HERB - RECIPE: Juniper Berries in Oil Date: Friday, November 06, 1998 6:37 PM I have to admit, I don't fully understand why this works the way it does for the purpose I make it. You see, *blush* I need to use it every month or I can't run up stairs. Or wear lingere. Or have any pressure on my chest at all. I swell like a balloon. *blush* So I was over at a friends house last year and just turned pasty white when someone ran into my front at the wrong time. Ow ow ow ow. And when I explained to her what the problem was, she ran to her medicine chest and pulled this out, shoved me into the bathroom, and said "try this, you'll be completely amazed." So I did. And you know what? She was right. So I immediately set to work finding out the why's of swelling reduction and the use of juniper berries. Let me geek on you here for a minute the principal constituent of juniper berries is the volatile oil (the trade name of it is called Junol). Sometimes you'll here people call it Roob or Rob of Juniper. This is from the practice of mashing up the just ripe berries (they're bluish) in water and then extracting out the oil via distilation (actually, the oil is considered a by-product of the distillation if I understand the chemistry of the process correctly). So, about juniper oil itself. Well, it's kinda neat. In nearly all the cultures that I've found that use it, even back in history, the fruit has been used to treat symptoms requiring a diuretic. Most of the reading that I've found that even mentions this in period calls the condition "dropesie" or "ydropesie." Now both of these are the roots for the semi-modern word "dropsy" which you and I would probably call "edema." And all of them are just confusing substitutes for "an excess of fluid where it's not supposed to be" (that's really an oversimplification, but the technical details are mind-boggling for me, so that's the easiest way I can explain it without stumbling). Have I muddled the works too much or misinformed? Someone stop me if I have. In any event, the juniper oil that you get from ripened and ripened dry berries is strong enough to reduce swelling. You need to dilute it a bit (i.e. you can't use it neat, as far as I know), but in the end, the results are amazing if only for me. Here's what I make for my house, pretty much for me when I need to reduce my, ahem, "top-heavy load" (though we've been known to use it as a leg massage oil after a day of hiking around camp). -- Jasmine, jasmine at infoengine.com PS: Do I need to remind everybody about doing a patch test before you try out a new toiletry item you've never tried? That may be appropriate here too if you have a history of allergies. :) JASMINE'S (MONTHLY) JUNIPER MASSAGE OIL Equipment: a saucepan with a lid a non-reactive metal spoon (not wooden!) a food processor or spice grinder (preferred) or a mortar (adequate) a fine mesh strainer a bowl a small bottle with a sealable, non-reactive top (squeeze-type preferred) Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried juniper berries 1 cup light oil (good: canola or almond) Preparation: In a food processor or spice grinder, grind the juniper berries into very small pieces, larger than powder but smaller than cracked bits. Into your saucepan, add the oil and the ground berries. Cover and heat the berries and oil on low or medium-low until small bubbles form at the edges of the pan (don't boil this). Let it bubble for 10-20 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool for about 15 minutes. Repeat the heating and cooling process twice more, then turn off the heat and cool completely. Using your strainer, pour the oil from the juniper sludge through the strainer and into the bowl. Once filtered from the oil, place the juniper sludge in the strainer, hold it over the bowl, and press the sludge carefully with the back of the spoon to get the remaining oil that has soaked into the berries. Bottle and enjoy. This oil keeps for roughly one year, though that time may be shortened as you use more fragile oils (e.g. almond) for the base. While using cold oil on your skin is not a great idea, you may store the oil in the fridge to make it last longer. Before using, however, you should be sure to let it warm up to room temperature. Alternate prepartion: Place the oil and the ground berries in a slow cooker and heat on low for several hours until fragrant. Filter oil from berries as suggested above. Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 23:45:06 EST From: DianaFiona at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil tyrca at yahoo.com writes: << I came back one time, and found a small corked bottle with clear liquid. No one was there to offer explanation, so I opened it, smelled it (no real appreciable smell) and then tasted it. It was clove-infused oil. This is really a wonderful gift, but I have no clue what to do with it. Any suggestions? Tyrca >> How lovely! And I can imagine many different things to use this for/in......... The obvious one for a cook is of course as a flavoring oil--in cookies, cakes, even a bit in spiced drinks, you name it! But it would also be a good addition to a massage oil mixture--clove is a effecive topical painkiller (Clove oil was a standard treatment for a toothache for many years, after all.). I might well put a bit in a healing salve for similar reasons. Take a look in a good herbal under "Cloves" and you'll probably come up with a number of ideas of your own! :-) Ldy Diana Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:56:08 EST From: kathleen.hogan at juno.com (Kathleen M Hogan) Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil It is wonderful for toothaches! (just use a very little bit). Clove oil is also an anti-bacterial and can be used for small cuts, cold sores, etc. It can be used to flavour a candy for freshening breath. Caitlin NicFhionghuin House Oak & Thistle Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 22:29:03 EST From: Mordonna22 at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Clove oil First thought that I had was to warm it to blood temperature and put in in the ear of someone with earache. Mordonna Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 09:20:46 EDT From: Seton1355 at aol.com Subject: SC - grain storage & another topic: head lice I got a reply about rice and lentils from my Jewish list. I am passing this letter along becauce I think it has some very good advice about foodstuffs storage AND lice...read second half of letter. Phillipa On the same subject, while we are being gross, in Israel in the last years kids have a lot of head lice (and from what I know also in other countries). As a pharmacist it is my duty to inform you that all the products in the market are offensive (to the human being this time) and effective only for the very short term. HOWEVER the lice dislike the smell of rosemary - therefore the prudent parent will drop every now and then a few drops of rosemary oil behind the ears of his/her long haired daughter (with sons the suggestion is to make a marine-style haircut). If the lice do appear - do not run to your neighborhood pharmacist to buy those strong medications and shampoos. First - shampoo (prefer a shampoo that contains rosemary oil). Comb wet hair first with regular and then with a fine tooth comb. Now apply a very generous amount of a conditioner that contains rosemary oil (the purpose of the conditioner it to loosen the glue that sticks the eggs to the hair) and again comb with a fine tooth comb. Repeat frequently, first once a day, then twice a week and then for prevention at least once a month. My Grandmother Says Corner: at my grandmother's time - of course no such things as conditioners were available - so she used to put MAYO on the hair, again as a lubricant to loosen the glue of the eggs. And also margarine or oil can be used. But then you need to shampoo again to remove the margarine from the hair. All things in this letter have been checked by me personally. What can I say, I feel now like I am a descendant of the Adams family or a relative of Freddie Kruger. Raya From: "ariann" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] a herbal related question Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 09:27:55 -0600 1 - You can make kitchen herb wreath gifts from contrasting stalks of herbs. From your list I would use: sage rosemary parsley, and basil. You could also add lavender just for the color and fragrance. The stalks need to be 6-8 inches. Use rosemary as the base of your wreath, because it's strong, flexible and doesn't shrink when it dries. Tie 6-7 rosemary stalks (branches) in a circle, attaching them (on the bottom) at 3-4" intervals, so the final circle looks like a pinwheel with 3"-4" of each stalk/branch pointing out from the circle. Attach your other herbs to this pinwheel-like circle. When you stagger the placement of each type of herb around the circle, it makes a flat wreath. You break off what you want for cooking. I use different size cords and ribbons for effect, but nothing smaller than #10 cebelia crochet or it breaks the herb stalks after they have dried. About the second day of drying the herbs have shriveled and are loose. Wrap a thin, colorful ribbon around the wreath to hold down the loose herbs and hide the construction threads. You can finish it with a bow. These wreaths tend to get dusty, but you can remove the dust using the same compressed air used for cleaning PC keyboards. 2 - Another easy way is to make herb bags from small netting or muslin, pink the edges and tie off with white cotton cord. I crochet, so this is one way I use up all those little scraps of thread. Place them in a clean jelly/jam jar. Put a label on the lid, so you know what's in them. If it's a gift, glue a circle of wrapping paper to the lid and put the herb contents label over that. They're pretty decorative on the countertop and I find I actually use them more, than when I put them in the cupboard. They last 8 months to a year before they start to lose flavor. Aside, if you pick the lavender before it flowers, you can make lavender wands as fragrant non-edible gifts. They are non-period, but fun and easy to make. The instructions are in most newer herbal craft books. Ariann Edited by Mark S. Harris herb-uses-msg Page 11 of 12