Herbal Infusions
A great way to get the maximum medicinal benefits from herbs is to prepare and drink herbal infusions. The basic instructions are:
- Weigh out 1 ounce of dried herb of your choice. Place it in a 1-quart canning jar.
- Fill the jar with boiling water. Cover.
- Allow to steep at least 4 hours or overnight, if that's more convenient.
- Strain the liquid into another container, pressing out as much liquid as possible.
- Dispose of the spent plant material outside in the garden or under shrubs where it can return to the soil. If you compost, this will be a great addition.
- Drink 1 to 2 cups of your infusion each day and watch your health improve.
Note: If your chosen herb is chamomile flowers, don't steep longer than 30 minutes.
For more information, check out Susun Weed's book, Healing Wise.
Garlic Mustard
When you see a patch of that most invasive garlic mustard in your lawn, what do you do with it? Perhaps you rip it out by the roots and toss it in a heap to dry out and blow away. Perhaps you put it in a plastic bag to let it rot. Here are a couple of other suggestions you may want to try.
- Strip off the leaves and add them to your tossed salad.
- Chop leaves and stems and add to soups or stews.
- Grate the roots and marinate them in vinegar to barely cover. Use as you would horseradish.
You may find yourself a bit happier to have garlic mustard taking over your wild spaces.
Dandelions
While others are poisoning their lawns trying to rid them of dandelions, you could do yourself a favor and harvest them instead.
- Harvest the leaves to add a bitter note to your tossed salad.
- Dry the roots to make a medicinal tincture that's great for "women's issues."
- Collect enough blossoms to make dandelion wine.
You can actually look forward to seeing those happy yellow blossoms appearing in the spring!
Chickweed
The good news about chickweed is that it tends to dissolve fat inside cells and allow it to be released for expulsion from the body.
- Dry your chickweed and make herbal infusions. See instructions elsewhere on this page.
- Stir-fry a plate of chickweed as a nice side dish.
- Add raw chickweed to your wild salad.
Enjoy nature's bounty.