It’s been a week of lurgy and on my quest to feel some sort of well again I’ve been working on some recipes I’ve been wanting to try for a couple of years. Herbalists are pretty strange creatures and have a tendency to use times of illness to experiment with their medicine making. I am clearly no exception. Actually, it’s the biggest burst of activity in the kitchen that I’ve had in quite a while.
So what are these recipes that have waited so long? And have they had any effect?
- Tulsi syrup
Beautiful Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum). You’re to be forgiven if you haven’t come across Tulsi before. It isn’t very easy to come by in the UK, but Organic Herbal Remedies stock the dried herb and I urge you to give it a try.
For a long time, this was my main “relax” herb but it has a multitude of uses, along with a long history of use and fascinating tradition which back up the many claims. It is particularly beneficial for the respiratory system and I’ve long wanted to create a syrup of Tulsi with this in mind.
The result, an intensely aromatic syrup (recipe to follow) that really hits the spot. A member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family, the taste is more reminiscent of thyme, particularly after decoction, and boy do you feel it in the chest.
As an added twist, I formed the syrup using vegetable glycerine rather than sugar or honey.
- Horseradish vinegar
After searching all winter I finally came across so much fresh horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) in the supermarkets this spring. I luuuuuuuuuuuuurve horseradish but am often too lazy for the faff of creating the more traditional Fire Cider (don’t get me wrong, Fire Cider is fantastic and there is so much room for experimenting but in the past I’ve put so much effort into making it and then rarely use it because it just doesn’t tickle my fancy – and we all know you really do have to take the medicine for it to work). Horseradish vinegar is just far more up my street and is really the foundation of any Fire Cider anyway.
I like that you can choose to strain the horseradish or not, making it a food or a tonic, as you prefer. And it’s so easy!
- Hibiscus jelly
This is the really exciting one for me. Ever since I read James Greens’ The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook (which is so informative but also bloody hilarious) I’ve wanted to try my hand at herbal jellies (or jelloes for any American readers out there). Green sells it pretty hard for children but I’m not going to lie, I wanted to make this all for me. Adults need a little motivation to make their medicine too now and then.
I see so much potential for herbal jellies and have new ideas every day, but dreaming of sunshiney days, hibiscus has been at the forefront of my mind.
Agar agar was my gelling agent of choice but there are several alternatives you might choose from.
The only warning required is to always add your agar agar to a cool liquid and then warm up. If you find you’ve used too little the first time round, it’s possible to mix this back down and adjust which is perfect for experimentation purposes.
Other things i’ve been whipping up
- Skin heal whipped body butter (no nasty smelling coconut oil in sight).
- Muscle pain butter (one day I shall write a whole post about Kombo butter).
- A rosey-sweet roll on perfume.
- The sweetest smelling dream pillow you ever did smell (hops care of Essentially Hops).
- A herby wreath (see photo).
I think what this post is all about really, is embracing the joy of making medicine again. Sometimes we get swept up in the grind and forget that it really can be the most fun to just follow our hearts and experiment. If something doesn’t work or neds tinkering to perfection, go with it.
Herbal She Wrote 
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