Category Archives: body

the double life of a hot toddy {a cold spell}

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I don’t know about you, but I have a winter cold that’s taken hold. I’m not much for anti-histamines or cough suppressants ’cause I like to let the body do it’s healing thing, but I hate it when a runny nose or cough keeps me from falling asleep.

Rest is key to recovery and there is one old-fashioned medicine I love to take: a hot toddy.

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Any bartender knows the drink, but I do think it’s fallen out of fashion with the general public. When I mention a hot toddy, usually people know the phrase but not the recipe. So here goes:

1 shot of whiskey
A mug of hot water
1 tsp honey
1 wedge of lemon

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Heat up the water for warmth and some semblance of hydration, pour in the whiskey to relax you to sleep, stir in the honey to coat a sore throat, squeeze the lemon for taste and a little vitamin c.

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I like to have mine shortly before bed. Don’t have more than 2 or you’ll do more harm than good. Take extra time to rest and I promise, you’ll practically look forward to next year’s winter cold.

Kitchen Apothecary: 3 Humble Spices

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The spice rack is a wonderful place to explore the world of plant medicine. Each has a story – some have made it into ancient mythology, other causing wars, yet more promoting travels to far away lands and cross-cultural trading.

Keep in mind that spices are medicinal herbs that have made it into the culinary pursuits of humans because of flavors, smells, and medicinal actions that improve digestion or stop food from rotting. Spices are simply plants that have captivated our taste buds and liven our diets.

Most, but not all spices are carminatives. Carminatives could be generalized as herbs that act on easing uncomfortable digestion, especially gas and bloating. How do they do this? David Hoffmann describes:

“…the mode of action of carminative herbs appears to be related to the complex of volatile oils they contain. These terpene oils have local anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effects upon the mucous lining and the muscle coats of the the alimentary canal.” (502).

 

When we think of spices and medicines, dried herbs like oregano, cumin, basil, dill and chili powder come to mind. They are indeed very medicinal in their own regards, and popular in with just about anyone who cooks. Spices are usually seeds, tubers or roots, like ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, allspice. Here are two  spices, asafoetida and epazote, that aren’t as familiar in our flavor vocabulary that deserve a chance in the spice cabinet. Black pepper was added in because it is a great herb to use liberally during the cold winter months.

Asafoetida Ferula asafoetida

Actions: Digestant, aromatic, carminative, expectorant

Ferula is Latin for carrier or rod, as a related plant was mentioned in Greek mythology as a plant that helped Prometheus carry stolen fire to the earth from the sun. It has been suggested that stone-age nomad tribes might have indeed used the hollow stems to transport fire between their camps. Assa means resin, foetidus smelling, fetid.

It looks a bit like fennel, dill, and cows parsnip to me. The powder that we use as a spice is the powdered resin from the root. Resins are quite antiseptic, which is why they make such good mouthwashes. Simon Mills says they “provoke a local release in white blood cell counts (leucocytosis). It is likely that a similar affect occurs further down the digestive tract at least as far as the stomach and duodenum”(305). Other oleo-gum resins include myrrh (Commiphora molmol) and frankincense (Boswellia spp.).

As a new employee in the Co-op kitchen, the other staff “initiated” me by making me smell and then taste the asafoetida. I had to prove myself so I tasted it; it was pretty rank. It was a mystery to me that it dishes it was cooked were actually edible, in fact they were good. Upon research, I read that asafoetida tastes much better when it is cooked, and smells much better when sautéed with ghee. It is used as an onion and garlic replacer among Brahmins who abstain from eating onions and garlic, which are considered too grounding for those of a spiritual disposition (among other reasons).

Asafoetida is of course, a digestive aid which reduces flatulence. It has been used as a folk remedy for childhood colds as it has antiseptic qualities. Other sources say it is useful for asthma and bronchitis and calming hysteria. Michael Tierra says it is “very helpful for damp cold spleen conditions associated with Candida albicans overgrowth”(216).

I do not use this spice often, only when making dal or cooking a big batch of beans. Here is a yummy recipe with asafoetida on Happy Burp. While you’re there, check some good info on her entry about asafoetida.

Lamb's quarters - epazote's cousin
Lamb’s quarters – Epazote’s cousin

Epazote Dysphania ambroioides

Actions: Antibacterial, antimalarial, vermifuge, insecticidal, antihelminthic, antispasmodic, abortifacient

Epazote is a a member of the Chenopodiacea family (beet, spinach, quinoa). I think it looks a lot like it’s relative that likes to grow in my garden, lamb’s quarters (or pig’s weed; are these the same thing?). A friend turned me on to chilled epazote tea; it was so delicious on a very hot June evening. I commented that it tasted “culinary”, with hints of sage, oregano, tarragon, and licorice.

Epazote is native to the Americas, and used throughout Mexico and Central America. It is well known to be prepared with black and other beans, as it is carminative and reduces gas. Traditional usage also includes: amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea and lessen the symptoms of malaria . Try this recipe for Epazote Vegetable Pancakes with Black bean Tropical Fruit Sauce; all sounds delicious to me.

Black Pepper Piper nigrum


Actions: Stimulant, digestive

Pepper is native to the west coast of southern India but is now produced around the tropics in the old and new world alike. This common table spice was once more expensive than gold and the reason for expansive European sea exploration in the 1400′s. Pepper sure was one hot commodity, hehe. It looks like the word pepper is quite literal, simply coming from the word piper, latin for pepper. Again being quite literal, it represents the Piperaceae, or pepper family.

The use of peppercorns are vast; everyone uses it. What it does for food it does for the body, it warms it up! Yes, pepper is a wonderful stimulant for warming up cold, weak, sluggish digestion, coldness in general due to poor circulation, and it dries up mucus. It is part of a classic Ayurvedic formula Trikatu: pepper, pippli pepper and ginger ground then mixed with a bit of honey to form a paste. Three-fourths to 1 tablespoon of the mixture is taken with a bit of hot water three times a day to counteract cold, damp symptoms and to stimulate digestion and warmth. Tierra adds that it is said to “recirculate” nutrients, and is used when fasting to boost energy. It is a stimulant to gastric mucosa, use when a less irritating then cayenne is desired (242).

This is an interseting account of the history, production and stories about pepper. Also check out the Spice Pages photos of pepper.

take a hike

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Lula

Rudy

These are the faces we wake up to every morning. And this is our ritual. We don’t let the dogs sleep on the bed with us (anymore) and so either Pete or I opens the door and then we jump back into bed. Within two seconds, both dogs are on the bed – Lula usually goes for Pete (literally) and sits on his head or licks his face off. Rudy gets super excited and he does this sort of talking thing. He just started doing this within the last few months. He’ll come over to me and make these sounds like “Grrrumphhhh.. .owwwwwww…. wooowwoww… grrrrrumph.” I think he’s trying to tell me Timmy is in the well.

We usually have only ingested about a half a cup of coffee before they want to go out. So we suit up and we head outside to do “the loop.” We live on a loop that is almost two miles (okay, 1.6 miles, I was trying to make my exercising seem harder) and we walk the entire loop. While this may seem like a small feat, consider this: the first half of the walk is both up and downhill to get to the bottom, but the second half is entirely uphill. I’m not talking little hills. I’m talking that we live in the middle of Coldwater Canyon. So, yeah. It’s like hiking a canyon. But we do this every day. So in a week we have walked 11.2 miles. In a month that is 44.8 miles. In a year – 537.6. It’s 430 miles to San Francisco taking the scenic route. So you get the idea.

But it has been with this walking that I was able to shed 15 pounds for my wedding and it is still (slowly, but surely) coming off. So it’s been good for my body. It’s been good for my soul. And it’s been great for my relationship with my husband. It is 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how fast we walk) of uninterrupted time with him – except when we stop to say hello to a neighbor. Today we walked the loop hand-in-hand talking about how fresh the air is after a good rain, the Korean street tacos we had for dinner the night before, the new TV show “American Horror Story,” and a crazy dream Pete had about an Atari video game. So we talked about a lot. And every day it’s different. Sometimes we talk work or sometimes I tell him about some psychological theory I have just studied. Sometimes we talk about family. Our dogs. Our plans to put on a new roof. The possibility of a house swap! Names we like for our future children. Sometimes I take a little plastic bag with me and I fill it with trash from the ground. Sometimes we just walk silently.

This ritual has become my favorite part of the day and those two not-so-little pups in the pictures are what has inspired it all. To think about how much these two little once-homeless dogs have added to our lives is stunning. They are happy dogs, but they are even happier (and better behaved) when they get a big walk. Just like we are too. It is our time to bond with them and them with us. They – and we – have become masters of the walk. They do not pull us around the loop nor do we pull them. They walk by our sides, leashes slack, two big tongues hanging out of their mouths.

Love Your Liver with Spicy Milk Thistle Condiment

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Milk thistle seeds, Silybum marianum, are known as a supreme herbal tonic for the liver. This daisy/aster family member is native to the Mediterranean regions, but has been cultivated through much of the Western world. Milk thistle’s purple flowers sitting atop a crown of spiky thorns look very similar to just about any other thistle’s, so it can be easy to think you came across a cache of this useful plant when it was, in fact, just a run-of-the-mill (albeit lovely in its own right, I am sure!) local thistle. Make sure you spot the white veins in the leaves – milky white, wouldn’t you say?

It is traditionally used for supporting the liver and gallbladder as it increases the production of bile, and has hepatic, demulcent, choloagogue, antihepatoxic, and galactagogue actions. From David Winston, “It is indicated for cirrhosis of the liver as well as nephrotoxity, psoriasis and Hepatitis A, B, and C. It combines well with Burdock seed for dry, scaly skin conditions” (87).

Silymarin was isolated by German researchers as the most important active ingredient of milk thistle seeds. Later on it was discovered that silymarin is actually a group of chemicals, flavanolignans, not just one single chemical constituent (Wikipedia). From Matthew Wood, “laboratory and clinical research has demonstrated that silymarin prevented the destruction of liver cells, increased the production of new liver cells, and increased the level of glutathione, an amino acid which helps to detoxify poisons and process hormones” (448). This is yet another reason to use whole plants instead of isolated constituents. Besides, it’s a heckuva lot easier and sustainable to harvest some seeds (or purchase from a reputable source), grind and consume than to chemically manipulate in a laboratory.

Wood states that “milk thistle is an excellent liver and abdominal medicine in serious cases” (449), like death cap mushroom poising. It is not perhaps the first herb to reach for in everyday liver support, like burdock, dandelion or yellow dock. But for those who are in need of more specific and stronger liver support in cases of liver complications or to counteract hepatotoxic pharmacueticals, David Hoffmann states that the therapeutic dose from Commission E is 12 to 15 grams of the seeds or 200 to 400 milligrams per day of standardized silymarin.

Milk thistle condiment - This tasty and easy-to-make condiment is a wonderful way to get the liver rejuvenating effects of milk thistle in your daily diet. Sprinkle on eggs, rice dishes, soups and stews,  practically any kinds of ethnic foods, and stir into mayo and mustard to eat on sandwiches and dips. I particularly love it with seafood, like on Spanish paella.

• 1/2 cup milk thistle seeds

• 1 T ginger powder

• 1 T garlic powder

• 1 t paprika

• Grind seeds well in a coffee grinder. Mix with the other herbs, put in a shaker and use daily.

Forget Razors: make your own sugar wax

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I heard of sugar waxing from a friend, an ultra-DIY friend, that is. She made just about everything herself, from kimchi to clothes, so it didn’t surprise me that she made her own hair removal too.

Yes, ‘sugar wax’ is a misnomer. It is not really wax, but used like wax anywhere you would normally wax or shave (or Nair, for those of you stuck in 1995).

Sugar wax is incredibly simple and cheap to make. It only requires sugar, water, lemon juice and strips of cloth. It keeps plastic razors out of landfills and, unlike home or salon waxes which are made from various industrial chemical products, sugar wax is made from food and can be rinsed down the sink without guilt.

I decided to try it out myself and was pleasantly surprised with the results. It was really effective at removing the hair, and hurt less than I anticipated. At first I thought the sugar wax I had made was too thick because it was a difficult to evenly spread on, and decided to add a little more water into the mix. Bad idea – it should be thick. The more watery mixture didn’t adhere to the hair, and I spend the another 30 minuets simmering more sugar to my mixture to get it back to where it was.

Before trying this, I had never experienced waxing of any kind. What I heard about it was true: your legs stay smooth for 3-4 times longer than shaving.

Flour sack towels work really well, but I bet old T-shirts or sheets would as well. Just make sure that you have a variety of sizes, from 2 -6 inches, about 1 – 1 1/2 inches wide.

I found a few recipes online, and decided this one was the best:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • Add ingredients to a sauce pan and stir continuously on medium-low heat to dissolve the sugar and thicken the mixture until it is ooey-gooey and rich brown.

  • It took about 5 minuets to get it to the candy-like consistency needed for good results.

  • Turn the heat off and let the mixture cool significantly to warm, not hot, for at least 10-15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a small container with a lid (for easy storage later).
  • Lay a towel under your work area. Spread the sugar wax in the same direction as hair growth with a butter knife. I found it worked best in 1 inch wide by 3-4 inch long sections. It should be laid on fairly thick, because if it is too thin or thick the cloth will not adhere. Place the cloth strips over the sugar-slathered area and press firmly. After 30 seconds to 2 minuets, quickly pull the bottom of the strip to remove the wax and the hair. Use your other hand to anchor and stabilize the skin while you peel the wax off.
  • When you are done, soak the used strips of cloth in warm water so they will be easy to wash and reuse next time. Wash the area with soap and water to remove any sugar wax residue.
  • Store any leftover sugar wax in the fridge, tightly covered. Reheat it in a hot water bath or microwave to use again.

Oxymels: Honey and Vinegar at Their Best

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What is it about vinegar that we like? The tartness? The pungency? The fact that it is almost alcoholic? I would like to postulate that we like vinegar because our body needs it. Our biology tates it and thinks, “Mmmm … electrolytes, alkalizing, digestive stimulant ….” If your body (or your tastebuds) isn’t a huge vinegar fan, then oxymels are for you. And if you already love vinegar, oxymels will give you an excuse to integrate it into your day.

Before I talk about oxymels, check out the varieties of vinegar in the photo above. This is from the Nashmarkt in Vienna, which is a daily marketplace for edibles, flowers, soaps — and loaded with amazing restaurants. This vinegar shop featured handcrafted, artisan varieties of vinegar. Some sweet and fruity, some spicy, some very dark and strong, like the balsamics in the bottom right. I tried a few, and swear I had a little buzz, not unlike an effervescent kombucha feeling. Even though most medicinal recipes will call for good old apple cider vinegar, why not branch out to other varieties?

Although I have tried oxymels, I figured it was high time to make one for my household. Oxymels are a mixture of vinegar and honey, combining sweet and sour to create an invigorating and balanced blend. The simplest type of oxymels is by stirring a tablespoon of vinegar in a tablespoon of honey, then diluted in a cup of warm water. This simple remedy is known to balance the acid-alkaline balance in the body and is employed as a daily tonic. Here is the oxymel that I made from a recipe I wrote down from a 2006 lecture:

oxymel-herbs

Teresa Broadwine’s Onion Thyme Oxymel (with my own addition of anise)

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 16 0z apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T thyme
  • 2 T fennel seeds
  • 2 T anise seeds
  • 2 T oregano
  • 2 cups honey

Bring all but the honey to a light boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, strain and press herbs, and add honey while it is still warm.

When would one take this oxymel? You guessed it: cold and flu season, especially for chest colds of all kinds. I added the anise to assist the herbs in expectoration; it’s one of my favorites for thinning and bringing up congesting phlegm.

There are endless varieties of oxymels, so add in herbs that suit your individual needs. The above recipe could replace onions with garlic for extra anti-microbial action, or an addition of black peppercorns and mustard seeds for more warming actions (as vinegar is cooling, see). James Green says that the basic ratio of vinegar to honey is roughly 1:3, or 1 cup vinegar to 3/4 pounds honey, although I have had some with equal parts honey to vinegar and they seemed to work just fine. Perhaps the larger amount of honey serves for added preservation.

Lobelia oxymel – from Dr. William Cook  for dry, irritable coughs, lung congestion

  • dried lobelia herb
  • apple cider vinegar
  • honey

Place lobelia (preferably dried) in a jar and cover with apple cider vinegar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain, mix with honey in the proportion of ¾ pound honey to 1 cup vinegar. Place in a water bath, until the mixture is like thin molasses, bottle and refrigerate (246). As you can see, there are no set measurements for materials, so adjust quantities to your needs. Dose as needed for coughs.

Jam’s Green’s Poison Oak Lotion

  • 1 part mugwort
  • 1 part horsetail
  • apple cider vinegar
  • salt

Make a strong decoction of 1 part mugwort and 1 part horsetail. To 2 parts of this liquid, add 1 part apple cider vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon salt per cup, bottle, label, and store in the fridge. Apply externally often (184).

For more info on oxymels, visit The Medicine Woman’s Roots, this site, and the Art of Drink, which give a recipe for switchel.

Sources:

Green, James. The Medicine Makers Handbook.

Broadwine, Teresa. Lecture notes, Medicines from the Earth 2006.

Vinegar: Pantry Medicine

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Even herbalists can get into a rut. We don’t see little bottles of vinegar extractions lining shelves at health food/herb stores, so we generally don’t make them at home, either. Vinegar, being made from and still containing plant matter, naturally decomposes over time. Vinegar tinctures last about 2 years, while alcohol preparations last almost indefinitely. As James Green reiterates, when we are making herbs at home, we generally do so in small batches so there is no particular reason we should not employ vinegar tinctures on a more regular basis.

For years, vinegar was the official menstrum in mainstream pharmacy. Then in the early 1900′s it was replaced by ethyl alcohol. At that time, medicine was quite heroic, and using the strongest, biggest and baddest (because they were sometimes toxic) medicines and treatments was the norm. It was all but goodbye to food-based menstrums like vinegar, alcohol, honey and sugar, and oils as medical knowledge was becoming possessed by the “official” medical community.

Green reminds us that when herbal medicine experienced a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s, budding herbalists took on where the 1920s pharmacopoeia left off; that is, using strong alcohol extractions rather than using food-based menstrums. Not to say that alcoholic tinctures are a bad thing; just that herbalists may have overlooked viable options.

More non-alcoholic medicine-making appeals to me on many levels, not  least for the fact that grain alcohol is not widely available (I have to drive to Wisconsin to get it, as it is not sold in Minnesota) and is more costly than even the most expensive bottle of apple cider vinegar. Many households have vinegar on hand anyways, so it’s truly medicine from the pantry.

Back to vinegar. Look on the bottle of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and you will find a paragraph of vinegar’s health benefits and history of use. It has been along for, well, as long as anyone can remember. It was used by Hippocrates, Galen and steeped in uses by common people though the ages.  Green sums up vinegar’s benefits (179):

  • Pure vinegar is non-toxic and can be tolerated by everyone, young and old
  • It is a digestive tonic, helps regulates the acid/alkaline balance
  • High in minerals (dilute or add honey to make it go down smoother for daily use)
  • Non-alcoholic, for those who want/need a break from traditional tinctures

Medicinally, vinegar is warming but still has an refrigerant effect as it evaporates off the skin, quells thirst and promotes saliva. Green says it has a quality that “alleviates restlessness,” as well as “promotes secretions of the kidneys and respiratory mucous membranes” (181). Topically, vinegar is antiseptic and astringent so use for deodorant, to relieve inflammation, itching, allergic rashes and sunburn. Rosemary Gladstar once joked that her grandfather said her grandmother smelled like a salad dressing from slathering olive oil on her skin and using vinegar hair rinses. Indeed, it is cleansing, toning and conditioning to the skin and hair.

Vinegar combines with other herbs that augment the medicinal attributes it already has. Add to it expectorant herbs, or astringents for internal or external use. A bit of cayenne makes vinegar a wonderful liniment for aches and pains. Where vinegar really shines as a menstrum is for extracting alkaloids, which water and alcohol do not do as well. When alkaloid-containing herbs (lobelia, goldenseal, bloodroot, black walnut are a few) are macerated in vinegar, the acetic acid from the vinegar causes an alkaloid salt to be formed, making it readily available (179).

Sources:

Green, James. The Medicine Makers Handbook.

Gladstar, Rosemary. Rosemary Gladstar’s Home Herbal.

Essential Oils {101}

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Essential oils are the volatile essences of plants extracted using steam distillation. They are known for their pronounced scents, but retain other properties of the plant in concentrated form as well. Essential oils are powerful. Except in rare and specified cases, do not apply them directly to the skin or household surfaces. Dilute them in water, oil or baking soda (depending on what you’re using them for). You’ll probably only need to use a few drops at a time.

Basil: repels insects.

Cinnamon: antiseptic, repels insects.

Citronella: repels insects

Clove: antiseptic

Eucalyptus: disinfects and clears stuffy sinuses.

Grapefruit: antiseptic

Lavender: anti-bacterial and generally calming. Used in easing depression, anxiety and tension. Repels insects. To treat insect bite or sting (or plant sting), apply 1 drop of lavender oil directly on the bite or sting every 5 minutes. Stop after 10 drops.

Lemon: degreaser with refreshing scent. Long used for that “clean” smell.

Lemongrass: repels insects

Lime: degreaser and general cleanser.

Orange: degreaser, can alleviate depression and fatigue.

Peppermint: degreaser, refreshing, also used to alleviate depression and fatigue. Repels insects.

Pine: degreaser, disinfectant, also used for signature “clean” smell.

Rue: repels insects

Tea Tree: anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and effective against some viruses.

Thyme: antiseptic and repels insects

White Cedar: disinfectant, uplifting scent.