Naturally Simple Blog

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1  1/2 teaspoon minced gingerroot

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions for sauce: Combine all of the ingredients except garlic and ginger in saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved.   Add fresh garlic and ginger root to sauce.  This is good served over rice as a light meal.
Instructions for glaze:  Combine all of the ingredients except garlic and gingeroot in a pan and heat until sugar is dissolved.   Mix 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder with 1 tablespoon of water.  Stir this into sauce and cook until thickened.  Add garlic and ginger.  This is great as a dipping sauce or on wings.

1- 2 lb pie pumpkin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup maple syrup

Cut the pumpkin in half and dig out the seeds and pulp.  (Don’t forget to save the seeds for roasting!)
You can process the pumpkin any way you like. If you peel the pumpkin, dice the flesh and cook it in about 1 1/2 cups of water, you can put it in the food processor to finish off. Personally, I find peeling and dicing pumpkin quite tedious.   I steam the pumpkin in a roaster, scoop out the insides and process them through my chinois sieve.

Place pureed pumpkin in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients.  Cook over very low heat for an hour or until thick.  It will take less time to cook if you process the pumpkin the way I do.   This can be frozen or processed in jars.

2 cups of dried red lentils

2 large onions (finely chopped)

1 head garlic (peeled and mashed)

1/2 inch chunk of ginger root (peeled and chopped)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups of water

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Cover the lentils with water and allow to soak for 30 minutes.

In a soup pot, saute onion, garlic and ginger until golden.   Mix in remaining ingredients except for lentils and lemon juice.  When the water boils add lentils; simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils have softened.

Add lemon juice and serve with warm pita bread.

Recently I was invited to contribute to the  October herbal blog party.   I had no idea what I could possibly contribute.  I find it highly doubtful that I have much to offer that  could possibly add to the wealth of information others are contributing.   Furthermore, it is harvest time and I am extravagantly busy preserving the summer goodness for the winter months, ahead.

When I had almost decided to pass on the invitation, Darian asked me a question about the peppermint I was bringing in from the garden.  It occurred to me that perhaps I do have something to share.  I know that many people who read  my blog are utterly new to herbalism, and probably a bit taken aback by the idea of going out and wildcrafting weeds to combat a cold or flu.  (Don’t worry you will come around.)

I am hoping to offer those of you who are just beginning a comfortable place to start by talking about herbs you might be growing as food.  Somewhere in the beginning of the 20th Century, Americans lost touch with the idea that many culinary herbs contribute far more to our dishes than flavor.  Although these ingredients are thought of only as “seasonings” now, many can be powerful allies in the struggle against winter colds and flu.  Unfortunately,  even in herbal circles the  usefulness of these common kitchen herbs is overlooked in lieu of more exotic or “trendy” herbs.

In the interests of keeping with the bio-regional theme of this month’s blog party (and my philosophical beliefs)  I thought I would share a few ways I use some of the most common herbs I grow in my own garden.

Garlic: 

According to David Hoffman, ” Garlic is one of the most effective anti-microbial plants available, acting on bacteria, viruses, and alimentary parasites.

Garlic is most effective when it is taken fresh and raw.  It can be minced and added to hummus and other dips,  homemade salad dressings, or mixed into butter or olive oil to spread on warm bread.  One of our favorite dips is minced garlic, wasabi, and sea salt stirred into plain yoghurt.
It can also be infused in raw, local honey to be mixed with other herbal preparations.   One of my favorite remedies for a sore throat is to mix this 1/4 cup of this golden garlic honey with 1 tsp of sage tincture.   This “syrup” can be taken by the teaspoon to soothe a sore throat and makes heating the preparation unnecessary which protects volatile essential herbs.

When a virus does hit our household, we avoid cold foods and use fresh garlic in simple broths.  I have a vegetable broth recipe and a garlic broth recipe which we use as base for many soups.  Chives and onions are in the same plant family as garlic and adding these to your foods will also be beneficial.

Mint

Peppermint would be a “must grow” herb if for no other reason than it is an excellent remedy for upset stomach and flatulence.  Peppermint tea is what we fed baby Trapolin for his horrible colic and peppermint tea is what I drink now when my migraines make me nauseous.

The essential oil is another ingredient in my chest rub while the dried herb is a steam inhalation ingredient.  I include peppermint because the volatile oils help to clear the sinuses but also settles a queasy stomach which is a nice combination when one has the flu.

Rosemary

I have  found that a strong infusion of peppermint and rosemary is very useful in addressing flu symptoms.   I would argue that the combination might be as effective as boneset.  The rosemary is anti-microbial, and addresses the achy feelings while the peppermint addresses the fever and queasy stomach.   It is definitely an infusion you would want to add some lemon and honey to as well.

Rosemary combines well with peppermint  in a steam  inhalation for nasal congestion.  Rosemary also has analgesic properties as well and can help ease a headache which might accompany the flu.
Rosemary can also be infused in vinegar and used in salad dressings as a digestive stimulant and nutritional herb due to it’s high level of anti-oxidants and flavonoids.

Sage

Sage’s culinary use seems to be reduced to making stuffing these day, which is unfortunate.  Sage is an excellent digestive aid.   As with rosemary, vinegar infused with sage can be used to make excellent homemade salad dressings.

Medicinally, sage tea is traditionally a sore throat remedy.   Make an infusion of  1/2 oz dried sage leaves,  1 oz of honey,  the juice from one freshly squeezed lemon, a pinch of salt.  Put all these ingredients in a thermos, cover with boiling water and cap tightly.  Infuse for four hours or overnight.  Serve the beverage warm.  It will help to replenish electrolytes and may be used as a gargle for sore throats.

This is a fun little recipe.  I have been playing around with it a great deal this week.  It works as a great base for so many different kinds of jelly, it is truly amazing.

To Begin: Put the following ingredients into a six quart (non-reactive) saucepan.

4 pounds tart apples cut into quarters

3 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon peel

Now this is the fun part!  Add any of the following combination of ingredients or make up your own.

Jalapeno Jelly  -   8 chopped jalapenos,  1 chopped  sweet green pepper

or
Habanero  Jelly -  4 chopped habanero  peppers,  1 large chopped sweet red pepper

or
Mint Jelly -          1 1/2 cup freshly chopped mint leaves

Bring this mixture to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher until it looks like lumpy applesauce.

Strain mash through a mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth.  I like to do this in the evening and let it sit overnight.  If the mixture is thick add a little water.  You will want at least four cups of liquid but I usually end up with more.   The key is to really mash the apples
In the morning, measure the juice and put into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. For every cup of liquid add  7/8 cup of raw or turbinado sugar.   (Yes,  I know that is a lot of sugar but it is jelly, after all.)

Bring this mixture to a boil while stirring to dissolve sugar.  Now simmer the mixture until it reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer.   You should see a bit of foam forming as the mixture reaches 225 degrees.  Don’t worry that is just the natural pectin of the fruit.    Test the thickness of the mixture and when it is ready process the jelly.

This is not a precise recipe.  A lot depends on how thick your homemade  buttermilk turns out.  I get to label it as a frugal recipe because I grow the herbs needed for the recipe

2 cups buttermilk

sour cream

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives

2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil

1 tsp sea salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the sour cream and then whisk in just enough  sour cream to bring the dressing to the desired consistency.

This is a recipe which has been handed down in my husband’s family.

1 peck of tomatoes

2 cups ground onions

1 cup bell peppers

2 cups brown sugar

3 cups apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup salt

1 teaspoon cayenne flakes ( I use a bit of freshly chopped)

3 teaspoons ground ginger ( I use fresh)

3 teaspoons  cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Make a small herb bag out of cheese cloth in which to place the herbs. This will be tossed in with the other ingredients and removed before processing.  Stem and quarter the tomatoes.   Combine all of the ingredients and boil in a heavy stainless steel pan until the mixture has reduced by half.   Remove herb bag and  ladle sauce into sterilized pint jars.  Process with hot water bath method for 10 minutes.

Today I experienced one of those amazingly reaffirming moments when I came to the happy realization that my studying is in fact worthwhile.
As I was chopping garlic for my chicken stock, our dog Jake darted underneath my feet to snatch up a bit I had dropped on the floor.  He tripped me up and I managed to slice two of my fingers quite badly. I examined the wounds and was almost sure they were going to require stiches.  I resigned myself to spending the afternoon in the emergency room and called my husband to come home from work.  I wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to get home and I was fairly concerned by the amount of bleeding I had going on. I tried to  recall something that might help when an idea struck me.   I called to my daughter to grab some yarrow leaves from the garden.  She brought them to me and I crushed them with my mortal and pestle until they were juicy.  I dropped some of the juice on the cut and covered it with the crushed leaves.  Within a few moments, the cut began to seal in on itself and stopped bleeding.   By the time my husband got home, both cuts had stopped bleeding and were sealed to the point that I was able to bend my fingers without popping them open.  We decided to just use some butterfly bandages to dress the cuts and so far I’ve not had any problems.  It doesn’t seem like a earth-shattering event but it was definitely a time for me to “walk the walk”.  My daughters who watched the whole thing seemed pretty impressed and I admit to being more smug than I should have been about the outcome when  I wasn’t at all sure it would really work, myself. It is definitely one of those times when instinct took over and I listened to my plants.  I will do a little calendula/chamomile wash before I go to bed tonight…not because I looked it up on line but just because it seems like the thing to do based on what  I know.  So while it might not seem like much, it is a turning point for me because I am starting to rely more on my own knowledge base and less on what I can look up in the index of an herbal.

This is my attempt to replicate a bottle of hot sauce my brother brought back from New Orleans.  It is a weak imitation as I have no wooden barrels in which to age the stuff but it is fairly good.

1 pound cayenne peppers (I used mix of cayenne and jalepeno), chopped

1 head  of garlic, minced

2 cups of vinegar

2 teaspoons sea salt

Mix the ingredients together and simmer in a stainless steel sauce pan for 5 minutes.  Put this mixture in a blender or through a chinois sieve. I really prefer using the sieve; it seems to do a better job of grinding the garlic and peppers together.

Bottle this in clean bottles and store in fridge.  I make a lot so I process it in jelly jars in a hot water bath.  You can always pour it into a hot sauce bottle for serving later.  Let the sauce sit for at least two weeks (bare minimum) before using.

I have a lot of basil lately so I have been experimenting with ways to use it.  This is a recipe I made up by substituting basil for spinach so if you don’t have pounds of basil going to waste,  feel free to use spinach.

3/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or spinach)

2 cloves of fresh garlic (optional)
1 egg

1 tsp oive oil

2 tablespoons water

Process the basil,  garlic, oil and egg in a food processor until finely chopped.   Add 1 and 1/2 cups flour.  Add water by the teaspoon full until the dough forms a ball.  Put the dough in the fridge for an hour and then roll with a pasta roller or rolling pin.  Cut noodles into long thin strips.   Storage tip:  This recipe can be dried for storage but freezing the noodles after you dry them a bit will probably ensure a fresher basil taste.