A very good friend of mine, who has similar interests, knew I was getting into medicinal herbs, homeopathy, etc. She gave me a bag of dried elderberries (I used them to make tea) & a book called “Alchemy of Herbs” by Rosalee De La Foret. The author has a podcast my friend listens to so she had an idea about what was in the book.
The book itself is organized well & has lots of nice pictures. If you are into herbs & especially medicinal, this IMO is a very nice resource/reference.
Calendula isn’t in this book, but is in my homeopathy handbook. Elderberries are not in the homeopathy book but are in the Alchemy if Herbs book. Between the two, I can usually find what I need.
Currently, I have a ‘fantabulous’ sage plant. I cut it back this spring which was obviously a good move because it bushed out & then started blooming like crazy! Looking in my Alchemy book, I am making Fried Sage Leaves today:
2-4 Tablespoons coconut oil
20 whole fresh Sage leaves
Heat enough oil (amount depends on size of pan) so leaves are barely submerged. Oil is ready when it sizzles if you drop in a leaf. Fry the leaves for about 20 to 30 seconds and then, using a fork or tongs, flip them over for another 15 seconds or so.
Once fried, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels or cloth to soak up excess oil. Eat when cool.
When I have Sage leaves that I have dried from my beautiful sage plant, I am going to make Sage-Lemon Tea.
1 tbsp crumbled dried Sage leaves
thin slice of lemon
honey, to taste (optional)
Bring 1-1/4 cups of water to a boil.
Place the lemon and Sage leaves in a tea mug or large infuser. Avoid cramming the herbs into a small tea infuser; it’s better for them to have room to expand and move around. Pour the just boiled water over the sage and lemon.
Steep, covered, for 5 minutes.
Strain and add honey to taste.
Yup, the herb garden is definitely going to be expanding! 🙂
That’s really cool, and now you’ve given me new ideas!
Hey, on the elderberries, are there certain varieties that are good or bad? Are any poisonous? My next door neighbor has elderberry bushes in her backyard that encroach into mine. She can’t see them at all from her vantage point, but I do. They have pretty lacy blossoms that should be here in a few weeks, then the berries come. I don’t know much about them, but I should learn.
She can’t really get to them from her yard. There’s a bunch of wild stuff growing on her side that makes it hard to get to. Since it has a pretty blossom, we put up with it. It does keep popping up in the bed that we have near the property line. Hard to control in there.
I love the idea of the sage & lemon tea. I’m going to put a jug of Sun Tea out to steep - it’s certainly hot enough out there.
I have lemons on hand and sage, so I might experiment a little, too!
Watering the fruit trees this morning, on tree #2, so 4 more to go, then off to the Grad Party for a neighbor farm-kid. ;)
I am ‘cultivating’ a bunch of local young men that can ‘do stuff’ for me as I age, LOL!