Nettled again

I've had a bit of a persistent cough and recurring colds for a couple of months now. Today my cough got just a bit worse again, so I have decided to really really do something about it. Not getting any younger you know :) Anyway, it seems to be a low grade infection and the treatment is antibiotics - snag is that I am a nursing mother.

Valerie Worwood's Fragrant Pharmacy is always the first place I turn to for health help. She recommended several oils but was very keen on Eucalyptus peppermint. Hooray! I had that in my collection, so a nice steam and then a few drops on a hankie tucked into my top.

I also knew that nettles were likely to be my ally here, and so it proved. Susun Weed's excellent Healing Wise gave several ways to use this fantastic plant to aid my recovery. Nettle infusions used to be a daily staple, but I had got out of the way of making them, so out came the kilner jar and a brew was soon on the go. After my Tai-Chi class this morning, I popped into the wholefoods shop and bought a bottle of nettle tincture - 20 drops twice a day. Nettle honey was also recommended. The fresh juice of stinging nettles mixed with a little water (it is very very viscous) and added to a generous amount of honey. Venturing out into the garden in search of nettles, I was delighted to find a patch of young tender shoots under the blackcurrant bushes. Thank you! I have to say that autumn nettles have much more of a sting than the springtime ones. I can still feel the tingling in my fingers yet, and I had to put on a stout pair of gloves to finish the job. Once they were juiced, I added them to half a jar of local honey and the result was - well - very green, but very delicious! I have been taking a teaspoon every now and then and I can already feel it soothing and easing the soreness caused by the constant coughing. So, do I feel better because of the nettle treatments, or because I've decided to look after myself a bit - who knows?

Potions, lotions and emotions

It's all a bit quiet in blogland right now - and that is as it should be in this fine summer weather. Right now I am enjoying living life instead of writing about it - and so many things have been happening that to report it all would be too much of a task. So, a quick catch up here, and later on the gardening blog.
Anyway, i have been doing a bit of potion making! I have been inspired by The Holistic Beauty Book by Star Khechara - a fabulous book full of mouthwatering recipes for body lotions, face oils, scrubs, bath melts etc. The white stuff in the jar is vanilla body butter, made with coconut oil, cocoa butter and a vanilla pod - how bad can that be? I am sitting here smelling like a bounty bar - it is so delicious. The other small jar contains fragrant rose petals from the garden, macerating in organic almond oil, and is almost ready to be used as a base for more body cream and a face oil.
I have had a go with her Irish moss and soapwort shampoo, but, as it has to be made fresh, you really need to have plenty time to rub it through a sieve and rinse all the bits out your hair. Possibly not a good time is when your husband is heading out to work in 5 minutes and you have a 2 year old running around! It did leave my hair smelling and feeling gorgeous though, so i will pencil in a pampering session soon.

The jar at the back contains my staple nettle infusion. I make this up most days, sometimes I use borage, milk thistle or raspberry leaf for a change. Now, this is not your normal herbal tea bag type tisane. This is a full on brew - two handfuls of dried herb steeped in boiling water for four hours in a sealed jar. Just the stuff for the mother of a nursing toddler - especially one of advancing years (the mother, that is :))



Now this stuff is my new morning elixir - the green smoothie! After reading Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko I knew I neededto get more raw greens into our diet. I have to say I struggle a bit with salads - it takes so long to munch through even a modest portion of the stuff. Now I just add a large bunch of leaves - lettuce, chickweed, spinach - whatever I have that looks good - to a cocktail of fruity things and whizz it all up - delicious! We are already feeling some benefits from it - more energy and less likely to snack on sugary things. Also - well, I was going to include the word 'motions' in the post title, but lets just say things are moving along nicely;)
The recipe above was - 2 handfuls of an oaty seedy mix (I used the Food Doctor's porridge mix) " smaller handfuls of raisins, soaked overnight in 1 cup of water. In the morning I picked 2 spinach plants that looked as if they were going to go to seed and a wee handful of chickweed and added them with the oat mix to the blender along with 2 bananas and the remains of a punnet of blueberries - whizzed it up and enjoyed the thick creamy result.

And as for emotions - well, today my darling husband is going to hand in his notice at work - yes he is finally going to retire! It is a big thing for us, but more so for him. He has spent the last 38 years as a doctor, most of it in psychiatry, and has loved every minute. He took a long time to reach this decision, but now it has been made and by the end of September James will have 2 full time parents at home. Lots of exciting plans are being discussed - ideas floated and dreams dreamed right now. So many challenges, changes and good times ahead - will keep you posted. Who knows? this may mean I get the breakfast dishes washed before lunchtme!

Another prickly post.

Further to my nettle post the other day, I now have 2 gallons of nettle wine fermenting away. The recipe came from the blog of the inspiriational Mrs L.
Some picture of the process - started yesterday.

Half a gallon of freshly picked nettle tips.

Simmering away with lots of grated ginger

In the fermenting bin - lemons, tea bags and yeast added,

Frothing up nicely today.

I'll leave it in the bin until Sunday and then transfer to the demi- johns to finish fermenting out. Can't wait to try it, but I'll do my best to be patient.

I was very kindly asked for my nettle soup recipe. It is one of those things that doesn't really have a set format. Usually I collect some nettle tips - just over half one of those bag for life carriers, or about 2 litres. I sweat 2 onions and a couple of garlic cloves until they are nice and soft - add a large diced potato and cook a little bit more - then add the nettles and some good stock ( about one and a half litres - ish) salt and pepper and simmer until the potato is soft. Blitz it well with a hand blender or liquidiser. I add a glug of cream at the end and reheat. If you happen to have a couple of leeks about you, then feel free to add them in place of one of the onions. Some chopped chives sprinkled on top look nice too.
I love this soup. No-one ever believes it is made from nettles. I served this as the first course for Easter Sunday lunch and it went down a treat - seconds all round! Do try it.