Wildflowers of Northern Spain

We are currently travelling in our motorhome around Europe and I am loving checking out the wildflowers.  Here are some pics I took in Northern Spain ... mostly by the coast.  We are now in Portugal but not gotten around to taking many pics yet !  That's all for now!

Bowel Balls !

Sorry - just couldn't resist that title !

I'm being admitted for surgery tomorrow and I am ever-conscious of the effect that anaesthetics and pain medications can have on bowel habits !  I am also informed by my 'Enhanced Recovery Nurse' that I won't be allowed to go home until I have moved them (my bowels that is!).  She did tell me I would be allowed to bring in foodstuffs into the hospital with me, just not medications.  With all this in mind I have concocted some 'Bowel Balls' which I suppose could be more appropriately called 'Digestive Truffles'?!!

Anyway, whatever you would like to call them, we now understand their purpose and so is a pic of my finished product ...

... and here is my recipe ...

Ingredients:

½ cup ground flax  seeds 

½ cup ground goji berries, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

¼ cup oat bran
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ cup ground oats
½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp turmeric

1 tsp dandelion root powder

1/2 cup good quality peanut butter or tahini
Fruit Puree* (I used just prunes for my purpose, but you could use any dried fruit)
Honey

Little water to mix if needed

Mix up dry ingredients and then mix up the fruit puree, honey, peanut butter and a little water until it forms a reasonable 'dough' you can work with.

Roll this mixture in balls and roll in a coating of desiccated coconut.

*To make the dried fruit puree, if you fruit is not already 'hydrated' and ready to ear ...

Soak one cup of dried fruit in two cups of warm water overnight.

Strain the fruit but keep the liquid because this will contain a lot of nutrients and can be drunk on its own to help bowel health. 

Place re hydrated fruit in blender and blend until you get a creamy paste like consistency.

Enjoy !  See ya soon ... El x

Kitchen Medicine Cilantro / Coriander …

I love Coriander Y Y Y …  I think it is my most favourite (culinary) herb of all.  If I could, I would always have the leaf available and add it to everything!!   I think it is a bit of a ‘Marmite’ plant though because it seems that you either love it or hate it (ie, no inbetween!).  It seems to some that it tastes ‘soapy’ and I have seen it said that this may either be due to the presence of an enzyme in saliva or to one of the constituents that makes it taste so to some people!

Coriander’s botanical name is Coriandrum sativum and is related to the carrot and parsley family. 

We generally think of the leaf of the Coriander plant as ‘Coriander’ but there is some confusion as to whether it should be called Cilantro and it seems that this depends upon where you are in the world!  Coriander is often referred to as ‘Coriander leaves’ in the UK but it is also known as Arab, Chinese or Mexican parsley in France.  In the United States and other parts of the world, it is called Cilantro, which is the Spanish word for coriander leaves. What the?!!

What we can say for sure is that the flavours of the seeds and the leaves have quite different tastes!  The root can also be used, as it is in Thai cuisine.

Coriander is often used for ‘balancing’ the flavour of hot spicy dishes and is used for just this purpose in Thai, Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, Chinese, Indonesian, African and South American cooking.  

My Sister-in-Law, who was Thai, used to make up a simple ‘salad’ consisting of chopped carrots and cucumber, chopped sausage (could be veggie sausage), soy sauce (which she used to keep in a jar with chillies infusing in it … so it was chilli-soy sauce), lemon juice and lashings of coriander leaf.  It is delicious – and can be modified in all sorts of ways but the mixture of tastes was wonderful and the coriander leaf offsets the heat of the chilli-soy sauce.

Coriander is a little powerhouse of nutrients, containing Antioxidants, Vitamins, Minerals and Volatile Oils.

Therapeutic uses …

Coriander has a cooling effect in the body and is especially used in this regard in Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine to balance hot, inflammatory conditions, especially of the digestive tract. 

In India they tend to use a lot of coriander leaf in foods both to prevent and remedy symptoms such as heartburn, indigestion, wind, colic and diarrhoea.   It can also be used to enhance appetite and improve digestion and the absorption of nutrients.  Coriander seeds can be taken along side laxatives to prevent any griping that they may cause.

The cooling effects of coriander can also be used to help urinary disorders, particularly those with hot burning symptoms, like cystitis.  I have included some recipes below and you can find a tea recipe there which can be used for this purpose.

  

Coriander may also help to remedy hot flushes during menopause.  An infusion of coriander can be used for this purpose and you can read how to do this on the next page.

In China coriander seeds are used to promote sweating and break a fever and are also used to bring out the rash in infections like chicken pox and measles, plus to stimulate the appetite.

Coriander seeds can be used to help fight colds, flu, coughs and catarrh and also act as a decongestant.  When combined with turmeric and cumin in a hot tea, this is especially effective.  This tea also makes an effective gargle for sore throats and oral thrush.

As you can see, there are so many uses for Coriander apart from just its culinary purposes.  Following are a few formulas and recipes for using Coriander…

Recipes …

SALMON WITH LIME, CORIANDER AND CHILLI CRUST – taken from the Daily Mail

Enlarge

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Finely grated zest of 1 lime
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 fresh salmon fillets or steaks

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to the hottest setting.
Mix together the lime, chilli, coriander and olive oil to make a paste, and season with salt and pepper. 

Place the salmon fillets in a baking tray and press the paste onto the top of each piece of salmon, totally covering the fish.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is opaque and firm to the touch. Serve with basmati rice and steamed broccoli.

Coriander Pesto …

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup almonds, cashews or brazil nuts or a mix of them, chopped finely

1 cup fresh coriander leaves

2 tablespoon lemon juice

6 tablespoons cold-pressed: extra-virgin
olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

METHOD:

Blend the coriander and oil in a blender until the leaves are chopped. Add the garlic, nuts and seeds and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is blended into a paste. Add a pinch to sea salt to taste and blend again. Store in dark glass jars and in the fridge to extend shelf life.

Coriander Seed Tea ...

Coriander seeds can be made into a light yellow, aromatic tea that eases digestion and relaxes the mind and body. You can drink it on its own, but it works even better in blends.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

1 teaspoon ginger root

Use 1 tsp of herb mixture to each cup hot water.  Infuse for 10 minutes with the lid on the teapot or lid on the pan.  Add honey to taste.

Coriander and Fennel can help digestion while adding Cinnamon and Ginger to Coriander can help to cool fevers..

Another Coriander seed tea blend …

1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds

Add ½ to 1 tsp of the herb mixture to each cup of hot water and infuse for 10 minutes, with a lid on the teapot.  This tea will help soothe an irritated gut and cools the body.  Add honey to taste.

Coriander Essential Oil …

Coriander is also used as an essential oil … it is described as having a sweet, warm, herbaceous fragrance.

Coriander has soothing and calming properties which can help the digestive and the circulatory system.  Whilst being calming it can also refresh and uplift the mind and is useful for mental fatigue, migraine, tension and nervous weakness. 

Coriander essential oil is also helpful for rheumatism and arthritic pain, as well as muscle spasms and is also useful with colds and flu.  It also acts as a general cleanser of the body, to rid it of toxins and fluid wastes.

Ways to use Coriander oil …

In an oil burner – it can stimulate the mind and ease fatigue.  It can also help to improve the appetite.  Just add 2 – 3 drops to your oil burner.

Used in a bath – add 2–3 drops but note that essential oils are not water soluble so they will float on top of the bath and skin passing through the oil will be exposed to full strength essential oil.  You can either mix the essential oils into a carrier oil (eg Almond oil) first or you can even use full fat milk as a dispersant in the bath … but agitate it well before stepping in!

Add the essential oil to massage oil, cream or lotion, wherein it can help digestion and pains of arthritis or rheumatism.  Use only 4–6 drops of essential oil per treatment and always diluted in at least 10 – 15 mL oil / cream / lotion.

For babies (older than 2 months) use only 1 drop diluted first as above.  Do not use Coriander oil during pregnancy.

Enjoy using Coriander ... see you next time !

El x

'Raw Food' Chocolate Truffles

I've been looking at raw food recipes lately and came across this one somewhere for truffles ... so I had a go and they taste pretty good!!!

Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashew nuts

10 dates (no stones) (I also added in about half a cup of raisins that I had)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon of good quality peanut butter

1 pinch of sea salt

cocoa powder for dusting

1 tablespoon desiccated coconut

Method:

Place the cashew nuts into a food processor and pulse until ground into a powder.

Add the cocoa powder to the food processor and mix until combined and it resembles chocolate breadcrumbs.

Add the dates and a tablespoon of peanut butter and process until thoroughly combined. The mix should resemble a dough.

Sieve the cocoa powder for dusting onto a plate.

Take a piece of the dough and roll it into a ball in the palm of your hand. Then roll

it into the dusting powder. Repeat until you have used all of the mixture … then enjoy !!!

This mix should make about 20 truffles - here are a few that I made ...

I tested one on Paul and he said it was really nice ... he didn't even realise it had 'healthy' stuff in it ! Yay - a success !!!

St John's Wort ... and others at Hampton Court

 We are currently moored up just beside Hampton Court Place on the River Thames and just 100m from our boat today I spied all these delights ...

Purple Loosestrife ... so pretty !

Purple loosestrife

Purple loosestrife

Lovely Mugwort ... I will pick some another day and write more about it ...

Mugwort

Apples !

Apple tree!

Apples ... out of reach!

Burdock ... such a useful herb!  I will write about this one of these days too!

BURDOCK

BURDOCK

... and then the highlight of my walk ... loads and loads of St John's Wort ...

ST JOHN'S WORT

ST JOHN'S WORT

ST JOHN'S WORT

ST JOHN'S WORT AND BEES - LOADS OF THEM!

Zoomed in on my bee pic !


As there was soooo much of it, I picked some St John's Wort flower heads and also a few stems to put in a little vase!  I am sure the bees didn't mind me sharing it with them - they really do have so much to play with !

When I get some more I will make an infused oil with the flower heads (which will turn a wonderful red colour) but until then I just picked a few so that I could make up a flower essence.  Flower essences are easy to make - you can read more about St John's Wort and flower essences on this website (click here).  Basically flower essences contain the essence or the energy of the plant (as in homoeopathy) ... you will not find any physical constituents in the essence as the energy cannot be measured ... just felt !  Flower essences - as in Bach flower essences - are great for use with emotional issues.

St John's Wort's botanical name is Hypericum perforatum --- a really well known herb for treating depression but it is really so much more!  The herb and oil can be used for different purposes (I use the oil in Dorn spinal therapy ... but that is a whole other story!).  For the purposes of using the flower essence it can help allergies, stress, nightmares, bedwetting, sensitivity to light, seasonal affective disorder and can also be used for 'protection' - as in psychic protection - as Hypericum is great to help overly sensitive individuals who may be open to psychic attack.

I found this great website which gives a lot of info about this essence - saves me re-inventing the wheel!!!

To make the essence you fill a glass bowl with about a cupful of spring water, then cover the surface of the water with flowers.  (Note ... While I was picking the flowers I was giving thanks to the plant ... you should always be in a good frame of mind when picking flowers, especially for energetic work).  The flowers are then left there for an hour or two (I left mine surrounded by a crystal grid also, to add an extra 'charge').  When your time is up, the water will still look clear but the flowers will be wilted.  Lift the flowers carefully out of the water with a fork - thanking them as you go - then pour the water into a clean bottle that is half full of brandy.  This is then called your 'mother essence'.  If there is any water left over ... just drink it!

 

To use the essence put three drops of the mother essence into a 25mL dropper bottle filled with brandy.  This is then termed your 'stock bottle'. With this you can include it in any creams / salves / lotions / oils / soaps you may make, for added benefit (just add a few drops from your stock bottle) - or just add it directly to the skin, where needed.  You can also add 20 drops to a bath or footbath - and then soak your stresses away.

To take it internally you can just add a few drops into a glass or bottle of water and sip during the day or make a 'dosage bottle' ... by putting three drops of the stock essence into a dropper bottle containing a 50/50 mix of brandy and water.  Use several drops dirctly under the tongue as needed, or at least twice a day.

So easy and so useful!  I am so happy and so blessed to have found this herb today on my walk ... wonder what tomorrow till bring !!

Comfrey...

What a brilliant time of year - all the wonderful growth of wildflowers and herbs to spy along the towpath ... one thing that stops me in my tracks ever time is all the wonderful, wonderful Comfrey!  It is so pretty when it is in flower ... and it is so abundant too!  I am sure hardly anyone even notices this common plant but I am here to tell you that it is one of the most valuable herbs around!  Unfortunately it has got a fair bit of bad press in the past but a lot of herbs get themselves into bad books - especially when they are in the 'absolutely vital' category!!!  I won't go into conspiracy theories here - you can read all about it elsewhere ... this herb has been much documented ... you can read much of it here ...
http://www.comfreycentral.com/

I will tell you all the positives of Comfrey here and things that you CAN do with it!

Here is a pic of a big batch of it I found about a couple of months ago ...


I did a bit of foraging and put them into the life ring for a while to let any bugs escape before I used them...

... and this is the aforementioned batch ... part left to dry out and part included in an oil infusion, which I have recently used to make up some soap ...

 

... and here are some lovely plants we saw when we were passing through Braunston ... 

 

I thought there was a lot there but travelling down the Grand Union canal to London recently I saw masses of it everywhere !  Wonderful :)

Comfrey is marvellously healing - and it can be used in so many ways.

It is from the same family as Borage (aka Starflower) - or the Boraginaceae family.  The plant is native to Europe and some parts of Asia.  The name comfrey is said to come from Latin 'con firma' which means to make whole again.  I have also read that it comes from the Roman word 'conferre', meaning to join together.  The botanical name for comfrey is Symphytum officinale – which comes from the Greek 'symphyto' meaning 'to unite’.  It seems that the Saxons referred to the plant as “Yulluc” and utilised it in travel magic.  Comfrey was apparently also given to bards and minstrels to protect them during their travels. 

You can read much more on the history of Comfrey on this website ...
http://www.herballegacy.com/Ollman_History.html

Comfrey has a long history of use and has been documented as far back as 400 BCE when Greek physicians  used comfrey leaves to stop bleeding and treat respiratory illnesses.  In England in the Middle Ages, people used comfrey leaves to heal wounds and mend broken bones.

Nowadays Herbalists generally only use comfrey externally for their clients. these  There are restrictions on its use internally due to the ‘pyrollizidine alkaloids’ it contains, which are purported to have a cumulative effect on the liver – although it would take a vast (and ridiculous) consumption of the plant (roots and older leaves) to do any harm.  It is a shame it is no longer permitted to be used internally because the benefits of this amazing plant far outweigh any possible dis-benefits!

One of Comfrey’s common names is ‘knitbone’ – which gives us a leading clue as to one of its benefits!  It is also called knitback, bruisewort, boneset, ass ear(!) among many other names.  These common names of course relate to its astounding ability to heal broken bones but it also has the ability to knit flesh together*, speeding the healing of wounds.  It can also be used effectively to treat bruises, dislocations and sprains.

* I thought I might just add here one of my own experiences with using a Comfrey tincture.  I managed to bash my hand against the side of a wall while carrying a heavy basket of towels ... this caused me to slice my knuckles, which was bad enough, but the worst was that a whole flap of my index finger was hanging off !   Oops!  I went to the GP and they offered me a tetanus (plus Diphtheria plus something else!) shot - which I declined but also said they couldn't stitch it up but could only glue it together with their special glue.  They attempted to do this and then bandaged it up.  When I went to change the bandage a day or so later I found that the bandage had also adhered itself to the glue and as I took the bandage off, so my flap of skin opened up again!  At this point I took matters into my own hands .. I reached for my Calendula tincture to make sure the area was thoroughly clean and then dowsed the wound with Comfrey tincture and covered it lightly with a dressing.  Amazingly I noticed the whole wound repairing within a matter of hours.  I also covered any potential infection with taking doses of Garlic tincture.  I am happy to say my wounds healed remarkably and today you can hardly see any scarring on my finger at all.  It is truly wonderful :)

As mentioned, Comfrey is amazingly helpful in the treatment (externally) of cuts, bruises, sprains, eczema, varicose veins, broken bones.  Internally it was used in the past to help heal bone breaks, ligaments and even blood disorders … but, alas, no more (unless, of course, you choose to do so yourself)!

Comfrey contains mucilage, allantoin, tannins, resin, essential oils, pyrroliizidine alkaloids, gum, carotene, glycosides, sugars, beta-sitoserol and steroidal saponins, triterpenoids, Vits A, C and B12, protein and zinc … what a wonderful powerhouse of ingredients ! 

Nowadays, Comfrey is used quite commonly in remedies for skin treatments – because it has the ability to accelerate skin healing and help wounds close faster.  (It is known as a ‘cell-proliferant’ where it promotes the growth of connective tissue, bone and cartilage).  Comfrey has also been found to break down red blood cells, therefore supporting its use for bruising.  It is the allantoin content of the plant that is attributed these healing benefits but – as with all herbal remedies – the whole plant constituents should be acknowledged in its actions … it is always a mistake to consider only one of the constituents to be entirely responsible for its actions.   

Ways in which Comfrey can be used …

In your cooking ...

Comfrey can be used as a culinary plant where a little of the fresh leaves and shoots can be sliced and incorporated into a salad or used as a vegetable.   You should always wear gloves when harvesting comfrey as the leaves and stems can be very prickly !

When incorporating comfrey into cooking, you could harvest some young, fresh leaves, slice them and cook them until they are wilted and added into any pasta dish – or stir fries – or any dish where spinach is called for like the Indian dish ‘Saag Aloo’ – young Nettle leaves can also be used in this way.

A favourite dish for Comfrey is in Comfrey fritters – following is a recipe …

Make up some batter to start …

1.5 cups SR flour

1 cup milk

¼ pint milk

1 egg lightly whisked

Salt and pepper to taste

Coat one or two comfrey leaves with the batter.

Fry until crispy. Serve as a starter or with fish. 

You could also try adding in some Indian spices or curry mix to this batter to spice things up a bit!

- or for a variation on this theme you could make …

Comfrey Pancakes

Make a batter the same as for comfrey fritters or using your usual batter mix.

Chop two comfrey leaves finely and add to a pan of hot oil.  Pour in the mixture so that it just covers the bottom of the pan. Fry each side until golden.  Yummy !

If you choose to do so you can also make fresh Comfrey tea.  I, personally, chop up a fresh handful of young Comfrey leaves and pour about 1 litre of boiling water over it.  Keep this covered and let it sit for a few minutes before straining it and it is ready to drink … you could also add some mint or chamomile.   On a hot day, let it cool day, add some ice and mint and drink it for a refreshing brew!

Using Comfrey topically …

Well, the uses here are endless and if you need any suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me …

Sprains – Strains – Bruising …

• The easiest way to use Comfrey is to pick a whole leaf (using gloves), give it a rolling over with a rolling pin and then apply it to any strains, sprains, bruises – cover with a gauze bandage or similar and leave on overnight or for no more than 8 hours.  Reapply as needed.
  
• You could also chop leaves and mix with olive oil to create a poultice and apply that to sprains, strains and bruising.  You could also just chop the leaves and wrap them in a piece of cotton or similar and (when cooled!) apply it to the injured area for no more than 8 hours.
  
• The leaves can be made into an ointment or poultice and used externally as a poultice for rheumatic pain and bruises, for ulcers and soft swellings.
  

If I don't publish this post now it will still be in the drafts next year but come back soon when I update it with a nice salve recipe you can incorporate comfrey into!

More soap ... Cupcakes and Pumpkin !

On 22 March I made up a few more batches of soap - this time I thought I would experiment with my silicone cupcake moulds - they came out quite well since I have never ever iced a cupcake in my life !  I may have to perfect my icing technique though as they do look a bit 'wormy' !!  This is them the day after I made them when I unmoulded them ...


and this is them today - all wrapped up nice - with sparkles on top !

The recipe I used was my Shea butter recipe which contains Olive oil, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Castor oil, Shea butter and a tiny bit of colouring and fragrance !


The second batch I made was a Pumpkin soap recipe - to be honest I only added in pumpkin as I had some spare and then realised what a wonderful ingredient it actually is !  It is full of antioxidants and vitamins A & C, which may help to keep your skin youthful and refreshed !

This is the batch in my silicone loaf mould ...


This is the soap unmoulded a couple of days later ...


and this is it all chopped up, ready for the curing rack !


... and this is it today - we still have 10 days to go until it can be used but it is OK to be packaged up at this point.  I actually cut the slices in half as I realised they were a bit too chunky !
 

The recipe I used for this soap included saponified Olive oil, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Castor oil, Pumpkin puree, mixed with Calendula herb and some mixed herbs - plus a little orange and ginger fragrance and a little colouring. (Colouring wasn't too successful in this batch - I think I will give up trying to colour my soaps - never seems to work out !)

The third batch I made was this one ... which isn't too pretty but the recipe I used always makes a good soap.  As it is an inexpensive soap to make I am going to felt these pieces but I might wait a few more days before I do that - just to let it cure some more ...  

 

 This recipe is really easy and just uses saponified vegetable oil ... I used Tesco vegetable oil (which I found out is actually Rapeseed oil) plus Pumpkin puree and Calendula herb.

Happy days - I have a full basket of soap again !

If you have any need for any 'bespoke botanicals' I would be happy to discuss them with you (just send me an email following the link on the blog page) ... I recently made up some shampoo, a cream and a healing salve for a lady with psoriasis ...

Toodloo for now :)