Herbalism: Practical Crafting

Cough syrup: ginger, garlic, vinegar, honey, and cayenne.

I just love making things; I always have. But so much stuff I can make doesn't really contribute much to my quality of life. (My art journal and ATCs do not qualify – they are pure art for art's sake.) Herbalism, though, makes my life better in so many ways.

First, making things allows me to control some aspects of my environmental exposure to toxins. (Do you know what's in your Softsoap? Did you sign up for a formaldehyde releaser? It's not in my homemade soap!)

Second, it improves my health. An example: since I discovered fresh ginger tea with cayenne, honey, and lime, I've been able to ward off some of the colds my husband brings home! When my husband got food poisoning, I remembered reading about apple cider vinegar. It worked immediately, fortunately; Atlanta was practically shut down by snow and ice all week.

It saves me money, too; I made my own "hot cloth cleanser," AKA "waterless cleanser" for a fraction of the cost of equivalent store-bought products. And mine is perfectly balanced for my skin. And it contains frankincense essential oil, which is awesome for my rosacea-prone skin. (Seriously, I made about two ounces for less than five dollars, including the cost of the jar!) My friends and family love my homemade sugar scrubs, which are very inexpensive to make but high quality and effective.

Harvesting aloe from my houseplant.

I've also reduced my environmental impact. I buy the raw ingredients – oils, honey, beeswax, herbs and spices – and make it myself. Much of it I can buy from the bulk department, like the spices and olive oil I get from my local natural foods store. Honey and beeswax I buy from a local beekeeper; my honey comes in mason jars, which I reuse, and he puts the beeswax chunks in my cloth bag. Garlic and ginger come from the local international market, without packaging. Even the stuff that gets shipped is better; minimal packaging and minimal processing translate to less trash produced by the manufacturer. (Check out The Story of Stuff for an explanation of how that works.) I'm pretty sure I produce a lot less waste making a salve than Johnson & Johnson creates for a tube of Neosporin. Much of the packaging of my ingredients is reusable or recyclable. The containers I use (mostly mason jars and tins) are safely reusable long term.

I can choose ethical and sustainable sources. I've been able to make a lot of replacements. Local raw honey and sustainably-produced coconut sugar instead GMO beet sugar. Homemade vinegar made from fruit scraps replaces Windex. Small-producer, ethically sourced coconut oil has eliminated the need for Crisco shortening or a lotion like Jergens. If I choose to, I can grow many of the herbs in my yard.

Natural soap made with a friend.

Most of all, I have learned an important skill that is satisfying to practice. I can take care of my husband, my extended family, and my friends. I have options; I am not entirely dependent on the medical or beauty industries to take care of me. I can try simpler treatments first – an herbal steam, a neti pot, or an epsom salt soak. If I decide I really need to, I can head to the doctor then. As for rosacea, my all-homemade beauty regimen has worked far better than the Metro gel a dermatologist prescribed (once upon a time). Is there an ice storm? Is it a holiday? I have options, which are right in my house or yard.

How's that for an improved quality of life?

A Plethora of Apples

My husband and I spent last weekend in the mountains, near Clayton, Georgia. I love the Southern Appalachians, especially in the fall; it was one of the places my family always went when I was growing up. Now, we go with his siblings and his families.

We drove home with a full bushel of gala apples, purchased from Osage Farms, at their roadside "stand." I also had over ten pounds of mixed apples; I bought a few of every type of apple I had not tried before!

Now, this wasn't an impulse purchase. True, we had not planned to buy them when we went to the mountains. However, we were planning to buy a bushel at the State Farmer's Market anyway, so we saved ourselves a trip!

First on my list is slow cooker apple butter. Last year I made a double batch on Halloween weekend. Everyone loved it, and I ran out during the summer, necessitating another batch, so I'm going to be doing either a triple or quadruple batch this year.

But I'll also be indulging in a few wants I didn't get satisfied last year: apple pie filling and cinnamon apples.

I've made up my mind on the pie filling. I'm basing mine on the spiced apple recipe in Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Food, by Eugenia Bone, though I think I'll double the recipe. (Seriously, I don't think I can make it through a year with only four pints if I want to increase my dependence on local foods and home cooking!)

For the cinnamon apples, I would love something similar to Cracker Barrel's, but I don't know if it would work. I may try applesauce, or one of the apple jams from Food in Jars.

Anyway, I'm very excited about all the canning possibilities!

Home-Canned Goodness

So…I'm on a bit of a food kick. Not just food, but good food. Yummy stuff, made with good ingredients. Even whole grains, fresh local produce, that sort of thing.

My dad's mom used to make pickles; she also had a wonderful garden, so she froze home-grown veggies, too. I remember how wonderful her butter beans were; I never associated them with the overly-mealy, mostly nasty things called lima beans! It was years before I learned that butter beans are lima beans!

Her sister and mother used to make mayhaw jelly. Once a staple of special occasion meals, the mayhaw is so rare now that it's very hard to find the jelly…and very expensive when you do find it. (But so worth it: I bought two jars at a small store near Unicoi back in September. One is for my mom; I'm opening my jar for Christmas, when the family comes over!)

Anyway, Dorkelf and I have been wanting to try canning for the last two summers, but with two moves in just over a year–including buying a house–it just never happened.

I decided I had to can something. I joined the forums at I Dig My Garden, which is hosted by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Motivated by their suggestions and a post I found for crock pot apple butter, I bought a box of Ball canning jars (half pint, with the new platinum lids) and two three-pound bags of apples.

It went great, and smelled awesome. Three pounds of Granny Smith, cored, peeled, and sliced, one cup of water, half a cup of starthistle honey, half a cup of Splenda, and three cups of sugar. I added a spice bundle, which contained two sticks of cinnamon, 3/4 tsp whole allspice, and 1 1/4 tsp whole cloves.

Otherwise, I followed her directions. My stockpot only held seven half-pint jars, so I ended up with an extra half pint, plus a bit extra. The leftover went directly into the fridge; the extra half pint I filled like all the rest, then inverted on a kitchen towel on the counter while it was still hot. (This is called the inversion method, and it is not safe, so don't use it.) Once it was cool, I checked the seal (yay! It sealed!), but then I put it in the fridge. Bacteria can still grow in it, so I'll use it up as soon as I'm through with the leftovers. Really, I don't want botulism…

I also made a quart jar plus a half pint of pickled okra and a quart jar of sliced cucumber pickles. Both types were made as quick refrigerator pickles, so I have about three weeks to use them up. (Vinegar, a bit of sugar, pickling spice, dill seed, a dried pepper, and garlic. I made it up as I went along.)

All in all, I'm very happy with my experiment.