January reflections

January is a time of reflection, as signified in this month’s header picture. Sunlight is low and when seen casts a golden glow across the land. The shortest day has passed along with the celebrations of light to ward off the darkness.

Now we face the beginning of a new year, the challenges of snow, frost and continuing cold. The need to stay indoors, to isolate ourselves from those we love and care for whilst worrying about our own health and wellbeing in the increasing web of concern for our wider communities.

How do we cope when the world is plagued by uncertainty and change? By concentrating on the shortest time, the simplest thing, each one building a jigsaw to take us forward into a more positive future.

What are we doing to help ourselves stay safe and well?

Every morning we take a shot glass of herbal tonic. We use tinctures/elixirs because it’s easy to administer.

Mine contains: Solomon seal, agrimony (joint pain) bugle (joint & digestive), St John’s wort and lemon balm (nervine plus SAD), hawthorn and motherwort (heart), dandelion bitter (liver) plus elderberry elixir. This may sound a lot, but when mixed together, it’s only a couple of tsps. topped up with water.

Chris has: dandelion (liver), hawthorn (heart) saw palmetto (prostate) plus elderberry elixir.

Chris spends most winters lurching from one cold to another. This year the elderberry has reduced most infections to one or two days of incessant sneezing and nose blowing with only the odd day feeling under the weather. Once he starts sneezing he takes fire cider vinegar and honey. If you have never made any, this is my version of the recipe.

Fire Cider Vinegar

Equal portions of horseradish and ginger root – grate or whizz in a coffee grinder. (It is your choice whether you peel the roots or not.)

1 head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 good handful of rosehips (fresh or dried)

6 cloves

2 tsps paprika

2 tsps turmeric

2 tsps cayenne pepper

(If you have access to fresh chilli peppers, you can add these as well, leaving the seeds in to give extra “fire”!)

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large glass jar so it is filled about half full, then add cider vinegar stirring well to remove air bubbles until the jar is full. Place cling film over the top of the jar before sealing with screw top lid. Label and date. Place jar in warm, dark place for 3 weeks. Strain and use.

The drink we make with fire cider is 2tsps infused vinegar with 2tsps runny honey in a mugful of boiling water, stir and sip. Usual dose is 3 mugs a day. If you want to add potency, then you can use an infused honey, such as sage, elecampane or horseradish but the drink is less pleasant using the latter.

When I don’t drink enough, my kidney complains and I end up with back pain. This is dealt with using fresh nettle seed and cramp bark tinctures (1tsp each 3x day) and extra fluids. Yesterday I resorted to a nettle chai which is an easy warm, comforting drink.

Nettle Chai

2 handfuls of dried nettle leaves

1 inch of chopped root ginger

Spices (cinnamon/nutmeg/1 clove)

Orange or lemon peel

Place all the ingredients in a 2mug/4cup cafatiere (French coffee press) and cover with just boiled water. Infuse for ten minutes, strain and drink.

Another warming drink which helps the immune system is made from astralagus root.

Immune support tea

1tblsp chopped dried astralagus root

1inch root ginger

Small handful of dried rosehips and haws

Warming spices (cinnamon/nutmeg/clove/cardamom)

Citrus juice and peel (orange/lemon/lime/grapefruit)

You could make this as a decoction in a covered saucepan (Cover with 1pint water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins, then strain and drink) but it works just as well as a tea made in a cafetière.

 We’re also spending a lot of time in front of computer screens which often means my eyes become either sore or puffy. Putting a square of material or kitchen towel soaked in an infusion of eyebright and goldenrod tea (1tsp of each of the dried herbs) over my eyes for ten minutes during my afternoon nap (yes I am that old!) works wonders.

 There is no escaping the fact that life is currently very stressful for most people.

 Here are some soothing teas to help

 IDGAS tea

1tsp each of dried chamomile, lemon balm and vervain in a single mug cafetière. Add just boiled water and steep for ten minutes strain and drink.

 Ashwagandha evening soother

2 tsps dried ashwagandha roots

1tsp dried rose petals

1/2 pint milk (dairy or nut)

Heat the roots and petals in the milk in a covered saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and drink. Add honey if required.

Keep a dropper bottle of rose elixir and skullcap tincture within easy reach throughout the day and night. Rose will lift your spirits when everything seems too much or when you’ve had bad news about something. Skullcap stops the mice running around in your head when you can’t sleep.

Skullcap is safe for older children and very young children can be sent to bed after a bath to which a strong tea of lavender, lemon balm and catnip has been added. (Bath, bed, story, sleep in strict order, no play fights or running around in between!).

We know these are difficult times. To experience difficult times in winter when energy levels are naturally low is even more challenging but the wheel of the year is always turning and things will change.

  

Creating your own tonic wines

Many thanks to Ali English from Eldrum Herbs who delivered a workshop at last year's Springfield Sanctuary Festival teaching us  how to make tonic wines.

Wine has been used as a medium for taking herbal medicines since classical times. It is best to use dried herbs when making a tonic wine rather than fresh to minimise the water content. The medicine can be produced in the wine bottle by removing a glassful from the bottle before adding the herbs, or in a jam jar or Kilner jar if that is easier.  The wine should be left to infuse for two weeks before straining and drinking. The daily dose is 20-40mls or the equivalent of a small sherry glass. It should be sipped slowly and savoured. Medicinal wines should be used within one month.

White wine is predominantly used for relaxing remedies and red wine works best with herbs for the digestive system. Remember that herbs can work on many different systems, so chamomile might be included in both a digestive and a stress mixture. Vervain can be used for adrenal support in a stress remedy but is also a bitter. Peppermint is best used in white wine although it is a digestive. It doesn’t blend well in red wine.

Herbal combinations 

Stress: skullcap, vervain, jasmine and wood betony

Sleep: passionflower (leaves and flowering tops), lemon balm

Digestive: crushed fennel seed, ground ivy, chamomile

Anaemia: young nettle tops, organic apricots, diced orange peel in red wine

Post surgery for broken bones: nettles, plantain, prunes or figs, dandelion or milk thistle seeds

Historical tonics tend to favour fortified wines as well as red wines and combine several herbs and spices within the mix.

Aromatic Wine
2-pints red wine
1/2 Tbsp. sage leaves
2 Tbsps. thyme leaves
2 Tbsps. hyssop leaves
2 Tbsps. spearmint leaves
2 Tbsps. wormwood leaves
2 Tbsps. marjoram herb
Use dried herbs
Chop the herbs into a coarse powder. Moisten the powders with some of the claret. Pack into a coffee machine, using parchment paper. Pour the claret over the herbs. It should yield about 1 pint of filtered liquid.

This French formula possesses strong tonic and aromatic properties. It is useful for invalids with feeble digestions and will also help with flatulence and other digestive disturbances. Use 1 tablespoon at a time. For ulcers, use heated as a fomentation.

Tonic Wine
1 pint Madeira
1 sprig wormwood
1 sprig rosemary
1 small bruised nutmeg
1 inch bruised ginger root
1 inch bruised cinnamon bark
12 large organic raisins
Pour off about an ounce of the wine. Place herbs in the wine. Cork the bottle tightly. Place the bottle in a dark, cool place for a week or two. Strain off the herbs.

Juliette de Bairacli’s medicated wine
Several sprigs of rosemary and wormwood
6 candied cherries
2 nutmegs
1 inch cinnamon
Candied angelica
Bruised ginger root
1 doz large raisins
Pour over wine and leave in warm place for 1-2 weeks

Sarah Head’s medicated wine
6-8 sprigs rosemary (fresh)
2 sprigs mugwort (dried, but can use fresh)
2 handfuls of organic apricots
2 grated nutmegs
1 inch grated ginger root
1 quill cinnamon bark broken into pieces
Place ingredients in a 2lb glass jar, cover with Madeira wine, seal with screw top lid, label and date. Leave in a warm, dark cupboard/airing cupboard for 2-4 weeks. Strain and bottle. Take one small shot glass full as required.

Tonic wines can be fun to make, like elixirs but use them in medicinal quantities rather than sharing with friends as part of an alcoholic night in! You may find the flavours take some getting used to. Do not use with children under twelve or frail elders or people with compromised livers or alcohol problems.

December blog party: Adaptogens - A tale of Ashwagandha

This post is part of the December UK Herbarium Blog Party, No time for stress, hosted by Brigitte at My Herb Corner.

If you had asked me two years ago to describe an adaptogen or name one of the plants which fell into that category, I would have looked at you blankly and shook my head. I may have heard the term, but it didn’t really mean anything to me. Then I ordered myself a copy of “Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief” by David Winston and Steven Maimes and spent several weeks reading during my ten minute commute to work every morning.

Adaptogens are such incredible plants. Winston and Maimes describe them as “remarkable natural substance that help the body adapt to stress, support normal metabolic functions and help restore balance.

In 1968, Bekhmann and Dardymov gave adaptogens a formal definition. They said firstly, an adaptogen is nontoxic to the recipient. Secondly, it provides a non-specific response in the body – an increase in the power of resistance against multiple stressors including physical, chemical and biological agents. Thirdly, an adaptogen has a normalising influence on physiology, irrespective of the direction of change from physiological norms caused by the stressor.

They almost sound too good to be true.

Winston and Maimes provide a list of 21 plants classified as true adaptogens. The frustrating part is that none of them are UK natives. I suppose this isn’t surprising since the cultures which have studied adaptogens most closely are Ayuvedic and Chinese medicines, with the Soviet Union getting in on the act following the Second World War when they were looking to support their scientists to win the space race. Modern Chinese research was also to do with winning – but sporting achievements rather than the struggle for off-planetary supremacy.

I wasn’t sure I could grow any of the listed plants, since most of them thrive in hotter climates. I’d already tried American gingseng (panax quinquefolius) but it disappeared from the herb bed shortly after planting and I didn’t know what I was really looking for to keep an eye on it. Liquorice (Glycorrhiza glabra) was another short lived purchase, but since it’s a herb I feel I should learn more about, it may be something I experiment with a little more seriously in the future.

Two plants really did call to me. One was Rhodiola (Rodiola rosea) because I was curious to smell its root when mature and the other was Ashwagandha or winter cherry (withania somnifera). Everyone seemed to wax lyrical about it and Kiva Rose Hardin wrote a beautiful article about the plants she grows in her canyon. Despite the differences in our climates, I decided to see if ashwagandha was something I could make friends with.

Luckily Debs Cook was growing some ashwaganda plants from seed in the spring of 2009. She gave me two seedlings and I carefully planted them on the patio and watched their progress. It was a joyful experience watching the two plants grow large green leaves, then flower and produce vibrant green fruits which eventually turned a vivid scarlet as they ripened. I was so excited.

I picked the fruits, carefully drying and storing them in the kitchen drawer. I hoped the mature plants might overwinter, given our previous incredibly mild winters. Obviously the severe frosts and snow during 2009/2010 destroyed that hope, but I still had my seeds.

During one of the spring workshops, we carefully pulverised the ashwagandha fruits to reveal white seeds. Soil taken from molehills filled two seed trays and around 30 seeds were planted. Workshop attendees also took seeds home and I know at least one plant germinated successfully and grew.

I have to confess I am not a green fingered gardener. I do not provide seeds with heated trays or self watering systems. They are placed on the patio and left to the vagaries of the weather. I may water them if I remember.

The ashwagandha seeds appeared happy. Over twenty of them germinated and I took six of the largest plants to the farm where they grew into mature specimens. Unfortunately the lack of water and the early frosts meant they didn’t set fruit that I could see. I dug them up and replanted them in my parents’ greenhouse, but I don’t hold out much hope for their survival in the current weather conditions.

I kept twelve plants in large pots on the patio where they would get the most warmth. Two plants in the same position as last year’s plants turned very sickly. I think the cause might be the sudden appeared of a rogue mullein interloper in the pot. Don’t ask me how it got there. I know I should have removed it immediately but I didn’t. I love mullein and to suddenly have it appear in my garden was a real joy. Of course, next year, I shall probably discover it’s not mullein at all but false alkenet and then I shall be really unhappy!

General advice is to harvest ashwagandha roots after the first frost. I had enough plants, but I couldn’t bring myself to harvest them. I kept hoping one of the plants would set fruit, but none of them did. Then I decided to try and over-winter them. There really wasn’t any room in the house and I don’t have a greenhouse, so I placed them all in the garden shed and hoped for the best. I saw them for the first time yesterday when Chris dragged me out from cooking frangipanes to frolic in the powder snow. The snow was beautiful, but my ashwagandha were all frosted so I suspect I have lost them all.

There is something about ashwaganda I really like. I shall try growing them again next year and maybe this time I will harvest some roots and make my own tincture. My aim is to develop an understanding of the plant’s medicine and I am sure that if I have patience this is something achievable. For the time being they have already brought me great delight and sense of accomplishment brought about by the surprised faces of several herbalists when I showed them my plants.

If you are looking for some stress busting recipes at this challenging point in the year try these.
Kiva Rose’s Winter Cherry Nourishing Electuary
2 parts Ashwagandha
1/2 part Nettle Seed
1 part Tulsi (Holy Basil)
2 parts Elm
This makes a lovely moistening adrenal tonic very helpful in times of stress or depletion, providing energy while relaxing the nervous system and body. It’s fairly temperature neutral, and generally gentle enough for anyone.

Ananda Wislon’s Longevity Electuary
In an 8 oz jar, add:
3 tsp Ashwagandha and or Shatawari powder
3 tsp Spirulina powder
3 tsp Slippery Elm or Mallow powder
2 tsp Siberian Ginseng (Eluthero) powder
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Cover almost full with good local, raw honey
Add 1 tsp of Rose hydrosol or Rose elixir. Dried Elderberry powder is optional as well!
Slowly, to avoid the infamous "cloud poof", stir with a spoon until all the powders are smoothed into the honey. Label and store. Refrigeration isn't necessary.

The longevity electuary is intended to be used daily, eaten by the spoonful, used on toast, stirred in warm milk with ghee, or in yogurt or smoothies. Ananda said, “These herbs will provide you with stamina, clarity, physical and mental energy, good digestion, and strong mucous membranes. It is also a notorious aphrodisiac.”