Treating Influenza with Local Herbs

Posted on January 27, 2013 by garliq

A few weeks ago the seasonal influenza hit my family. And when I say ‘hit’ I mean that it felt like I’d been hit by a bus. It was awful!

After I got it, it made it’s way through my family and took out a few close friends too. Each of us, in turn, was in bed for about a week.

Have you had it?

The aches were the worst I’ve thing experienced since I actually was hit by a car. The fever lasted for days and with it came incredible chills.

For me, that stage lasted about three days. But for my partner and son, it was closer to a week.

When my nose started to run and some of my energy started to return, I though I was on the mend. I was up and around. I was starting to eat again. And then, wham, it knocked me back to bed for another whole day.

I got it first, so I was the first one to get better. That meant that I got to see this virus run through 7 people. And, for a few of them I got to treat them. (I say ‘got to treat’ because I love it. It’s such an honour to me to be of service in such an intimate way.)

So, let’s get to the juicy stuff about what I learned about treating this particular influenza.

First, notice that I call it influenza and not the flu. That’s because the flu tends to refer to a stomach flu – a virus that causes nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. In this case, I’m referring to a virus that largely affects the lungs and respiratory system.

With this influenza, I noticed 3 distinct stages.

First, is the one I mentioned above:

  • very low energy
  • fever that lasts for days
    • though tends not to run too hot (meaning scary high – above 40)
    • will occasionally spike, but responds well to treatment
  • incredible chills – sometimes oscillating between feeling really hot and really cold
  • strong aches throughout the body, but seems to affect the neck and the base of the skull
  • headache at the base of the skull, in the temples and in/behind the eyes
  • ear infection – not everyone got this

I’ll be honest, I didn’t do a great job of treating myself during this first stage. That would’ve required getting out of bed.

That is, until the ear infection started. That motivated me to find my garlic infused oil in a hurry. Three doses of 2 ml of oil in my ear for 5 minutes (each time) took care of it. My sleeping all day was hardly interrupted.

When I did get up, I went straight for the Yarrow. But sadly, it didn’t help much. While treating everyone else, I also noticed that it didn’t do much for them. (despite the chills being a specific indication for it).

I found Willow to be the most effective herb to soothing the fever and profoundly relieving the aches and pains. For my partner, a dose of 4-5 ml of tincture (almost a teaspoon) every couple of hours was a godsend. It had almost immediate effect and allowed her to sleep more peacefully.

I treated my son’s fever with Elder flower tincture. This almost always reduces his fever and this time it hit the spot again. I dose him – and other kids – at a rate of 1 drop per pound.

I also used Cottonwood bud to help with the chills. This was my replacement for Yarrow. Cottonwood warms the body quite well. You can feel a warmth in your chest shortly after taking a dose. With chills that come with fever, it points to a need to increase the body’s chi – warm the person from the inside.

This is a great segue to stage two:

  • runny nose
  • mounting congestion in both sinuses and lungs
  • cough often with post-nasal drip

Again, Cottonwood is a great herb for these symptoms. It’s a great expectorant – softens mucous and assists the body to expel it (ie. cough it up).

This worked great for me. I was taking 5 ml of tincture 5 times per day. After a day or two of this, I was starting to feel like myself again.

But this didn’t work for everyone. It was too warming for some. In these cases, I went to a favourite of mine… Elecampagne.

I gave 3-4 ml of tincture 4-5 times per day to relieve the congestion.

Again, this herb is a great herb to help with stage three:

  • lingering cough – can last for a week or two
    • in theory, this can lead to a hot, dry, sore throat from the persistent cough
    • I didn’t actually see this with this virus

As I said, Elecampagne continues to clear the lungs and sinuses of mucous. Now, this plant is not local to the northwest, but it is local to my medicinal garden.

One last thing that I’ll mention is that I needed to stop my son’s cough one night. I’m not a fan of suppressing symptoms, but when a cough is unproductive (no mucous) and sleep is being hampered by it, I turn to Cherry bark.

In this case, it was a cherry bark tea sweetened with raw honey. Honey, on its own, has been proven in studies to be more effective and relieving coughs than any pharmaceutical cough remedy. So together, they make a very drinkable tea that allows someone to get the sleep they need to recover.

Most of these herbs are found around Vancouver. They can be made into medicines that are easy to make and very effective.

If you’d like to learn how to do this, I invite you to join the Herbal Integration Course this year. Read more about it –> Herbal Integration Course.  If you have any questions at all, please ask.

Posted in Treating with Herbs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Elderberry Jelly

Posted on December 17, 2012 by garliq

The Holiday Season continues.  Some gifts have already been shared and many are still to come.  Here’s a recipe for one of my favourites.  I really love giving jams and jellies as gifts.  I think it’s because I feel like I’m covertly ‘sneaking’ herbs into friends – especially ones who won’t take the less tasty (or down right gross) concoctions I come up with sometimes.

I truly love Elderberries and this is a great way to get them into folks.  I use either the classic Black Elder (Sambucus nigra) or, from the interior, Blue Elder (S. cerulea)

Elderberry Jelly

2 stages to this process – Making the Juice & Jelling it Up

The Juice:

If you have fresh, frozen berries…

  • about 3 lbs of fresh elderberries
  • take good berries off stem  – compost stems and crushed/rotten berries
  • place in saucepan and bring to boil – you’ll see the juice starting to flow
  • reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes – stir occasionally
  • strain through a jelly bag, some muslin or 3-4 layers of cheesecloth into another pot or bowl
  • leave until it stops dripping – squeeze a bit more juice out *

*some folks like a clear looking jelly.  if that’s you, don’t squeeze too hard because it’ll get cloudy.  Personally, i squeeze as much liquid as i can because i’m wanting to get as much medicine as i can.

If you’re using dried berries…

  • Soak 1.5 lbs dry elderberries (already de-stemmed i’d imagine)
  • in 6 cups of water overnight (or at least a couple of hours)
  • put this mix in a saucepan, bring to boil and follow the other directions from above
  • simmer until it’s reduced by half

The Jelly:

3 cups juice
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
2 – 4 1⁄2 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin
1⁄2 teaspoon butter, optional

  • Measure 3 cups of juice into a saucepan – add up to 1⁄2 cup water to get exact amount of juice needed if berries don’t make enough juice)
  • Stir in lemon juice
  • In separate bowl, measure sugar**
  • Stir pectin into juice in saucepan – Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired
  • Bring mixture to full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
  • Ladle hot mixture quickly into prepared jars – filling to within 1⁄8 inch of the top
  • Wipe mouth jars are easiest – Makes about 5 cups
  • Optional – Cap and process for 5 minutes in boiling-water bath to seal and ‘can’ them – you can also do this as a ‘fridge jam’ and skip the canning step

** sugar is one of those things that folks tend to feel pretty uncomfortable with.  we have created some ‘enemy images’ for sugar.  personally, i vary on my sugar content.  sometimes i’m more indulgent and other times less so.  4.5 cups of sugar is enough to preserve this jelly.  it’ll be sweet, but will last.

For gifts…

If you can put these in pretty jars, it adds a lot to the presentation of the gift.  But you may not be able to ‘can’ fancier jars.

Make a Personalized Label, give the jam a cute name and, if you can, put the recipients’ name on the label – no kidding, this goes a long way.

I hope y’all enjoy playing this recipe.  Check out the links page to find my favourite herb sources.

 

Posted in Recipes | Leave a comment

Summer Sunshine Salad Dressing – “Get’s the Grey Out”

Posted on November 22, 2012 by garliq

Tomorrow is Black Friday or, perhaps better known to folks reading this blog,  Buy Nothing Day.  And to honour this gift-giving season, I thought I’d share a few recipes and ideas on herbal gifts that you can make yourself.

It’s part of a campaign that I’m hoping will become an annual practice called…

D.I.Y. instead of B.U.Y.

(and no, b.u.y. isn’t an acronym for anything, but without the dots, you won’t read it as “B”,”U”, “Y” and then it looses it’s puntastic zing entirely.  and just to be sure we’re on the same page DIY = do it yourself)

I’m going to dedicate this years recipes to the striking Walmart employees all over the place.  Did you know that there are 1000+ stores with striking employees right now?  Walmart’s the largest employer in the US with an average wage of $8ish.  Click the pic for an article…

Ok, let’s get onto the recipe.

Summer Sunshine Salad Dressing

I used to call this vinaigrette my Anti-depressant salad dressing, but I had to change it cause that’s a terrible gift idea.  “thanks for the gift.  what are you trying to say?”

2 parts…Infused Oil & Infused Vinegar

There are 2 ways to do these.  Use either method for either part.

Infused Vinegar…

  1. Put 1 cup of dry Lemonbalm – crushed or powdered – in a 1 L jar.
  2. Cover with Apple Cider Vinegar.  You can replace this with other vinegars, but don’t go too dark or you won’t taste the herb and never, ever, ever use bleached vinegar.
  3. Shake every day for a full minute
  4. After 2-4 weeks, strain through cheese cloth & squeeze as much liquid out as you can.

Infused Oil…

  1. Put 1/2 cup of Calendula Flowers + 1/2 cup of St. John’s Wort flowers in a double boiler.
  2. Add 1 L of your favourite cooking oil.  Olive/sunflower/grapeseed all work fine, but like the vinegar, lighter is better. (don’t use an oil that goes rancid with heat.  rancid oil is a terrible gift!)
  3. Cook 3-4 hrs.  The double boiler should be on a low heat so that the oil is warm, but not hot.
  4. The colour will turn a gorgeous deep red.
  5. Let it cool before straining so you don’t burn yourself.  Just because this oil also makes a great burn remedy doesn’t mean it won’t hurt if it’s hot.
  6. Strain through cheese cloth.

Serving Instructions…

If you’re just going to eat it, I’d suggest blend roughly equal parts of oil & vinegar with a pinch of salt (and i’d add a clove of garlic).

Or shake well, the bottle containing both, before serving. (because they separate)

Gift Presentation ideas…

This sort of gift is a great way to use old wine bottles.  Salad dressing from a wine bottle gives it a more authentic italian feel.

I’d mix it 50/50 in the bottle, again with a pinch of salt and 2-3 cloves of garlic – cut in half so they actually add some flavour.  If you’ve got some unused calendula flowers (fresh will look best), put them in the bottom of the bottle before adding liquid.  And don’t worry, the garlic’s not going to go bad sitting in a jar of oil and vinegar as long as it’s covered.

Last thought, tinted bottles and jars are ideal for preserving the qualities of both oils and herbs.  BUT this oil is so beautiful that it seems a waste to hide it.  A clear bottle will mean that it get’s used up quickly.  This also prevents spoilage.

Oh, and make a nice label with the titleSummer Sunshine Salad Dressing.

Why these herbs? you may be asking.  They’re all great to elevating your mood and have been used to treat S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).  In particular, the St. John’s Wort and Calendula hold a tremendous amount of sun energy.  St. John’s Wort has a reputation for being an anti-depressant largely because of it’s influence on serotonin levels in the brain.

This dressing isn’t going to give a medicinal dose, per se.  But the power of your attention and intention while making it (and the fresh flowers in the bottle help this A LOT) will definitely bring a smile every time it’s seen &/or used.

Bon appetite!

Posted in Recipes, Seasonal Updates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Immortality Soup

Posted on November 2, 2012 by garliq

Immortality Soup

this was a dish brought to the Foragers’ Feast.  Unfortunately, I’m not sure who brought it and I’m not sure how they made it.  I’m also sharing it cuz my herb geek-ness is so appreciative of the botanical names.

But with a title like that and so many wild edible ingredients, I thought I’d at least share those to inspire some experimentation.

Ingredients…

  • Reishi mushroom <Ganoderma lucidum>
  • Turkey Tail mushrooms <Trametes versicolor>
  • Nettles <Urtica dioica>
  • Burdock <Arctium lappa>
  • Crimini mushrooms
  • Collard greens
  • Potatoes
  • Winter Squash
  • Cow Parsnip seeds <Heracleum lanatum>
  • Coriander
  • S & P
  • Miso

If you’re going to try to make this, my only suggestion is that you start with the Reishi.  It needs to cook for many hours (4-6+) to extract it’s medicine.  It may be the same with the Turkey Tails.

good luck.

 

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Haruko’s Wild Su Gobo Recipe

Posted on November 2, 2012 by garliq

Haruko’s Wild Su Gobo Recipe

**special thanks to Haruko for sharing this.  this was the most asked for recipe at the Foragers’ Feast**

Enjoy…
Before you get started you need to harvest Burdock roots you will need 8-10 roots, each
root approximately 2.5ʼ – 3ʼ long.

You need to gather acorns from the White Oak family of trees (Those are the trees with
rounded lobed leaves) These need to be shelled and leached in the cold water or hot
water method to get the tannin out.

INGREDIENTS:

8-10 gobo (burdock roots)
processed acorns (Oak nuts)
cider vinegar
sea salt or Himalayan fine salt
maple syrup
water
organic sesame seeds (not hulled and can be white or black seeds)
organic Tamari, (Brags) or shoyu (soya sauce)

Variation: you can add steamed sweet potatoes, carrots or other squash to this

DIRECTIONS FOR GOBO:

Scrape the skin off the gobo and cut into 2½ inch lengths, Slice lengthwise and either
hand cut or use a vegetable slicer to shave into thin strips. Put gobo into a solution #1
for at least 30 minutes. I let them soak overnight.

SOLUTION #1
4 tbsp. cider vinegar
4 tbsp. salt
4 cups of water

I used 8 roots and found I needed to double this solution
Boil 2 quarts of water with 2 tbsp. vinegar and 2 tsp. salt. Add gobo. When gobo rises to the
top, drain well. While still hot put into a bowl and pour solution 2 over it. Mix well.

SOLUTION #2
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup

(You may want to double this solution if the gobo root you used is quite large and therefore
needing more. Taste and adjust to your own palate)

DIRECTIONS FOR ACORNS (OAK NUTS):

I leach the shelled acorns through several changes of cold water. You can save the first
water bath which is brown as a laundry detergent for coloured clothing (not white as it will
stain them tan). Taste test to make sure the bitterness is gone, if not keep leaching.

There are several different ways to marinate acorns so try some of your own
marinate recipes that will go with a sweet vegetable dish.
I roasted the acorns after cutting them in half.
Then slice each half into 4 slivers lengthwise

My Acorn Marinate:

1/4 cup of maple syrup
4 tbsp. Tamari
2 cups water

Marinate overnight.

In a pot add 1/4 cup of Tamara with 4 tbsps of maple syrup and add the roasted acorns to it
and cook for 4-5 minutes and drain.

DIRECTIONS FOR SWEET POTATOES:

Peel and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Steam until tender but firm
Mix the sweet potatoes and burdock root with the solution
Once thoroughly mixed spoon mixture into another dish and sprinkle with the acorns.
Just before serving hot, sprinkle on the gomasio (toasted sesame seed mix)

GOMASIO TOASTED SESAME SEED TOPPING:

In a caste iron frying pan gently toast unhulled sesame seeds with sea salt /Himalayan salt and a
tsp. of dulse until lightly browned.
Once cooled dump the mixture into a blender and blend only ontil the seeds look like the hulls
have been broken up. Too much and the mixture turns into a paste like texture. The mixture is
also good on steamed vegetables, tofu and salads.. Keep refrigerated as sesame oil may go
rancid in room temperature.

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Secret Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on October 20, 2012 by garliq

Secret Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies!

submitted by Marlene Morris
 
 
  • 1/2 cup real butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • *** 2 Tbsp. dried Sweet Lavender flowers (3-4 Tbsp. fresh flowers)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 1/2 cups white flour
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 generous cup good chocolate chips

Bowl 1: Blend butter, sugar & Lavender until smooth. Add egg, milk & vanilla in next.

Bowl 2: Blend oatmeal, flour, and baking powder together; add in your chocolate chips to this dry mix.

Blend both mixes together to form soft dough.
(If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour.)

Place by teaspoons onto baking tray.
Set oven @ 350° F
Bake 10 minutes for soft cookies, 15 mins for crisp ones.

OPTIONAL: Add 3 or 4 pieces of crystallized ginger finely chopped OR zest of one orange. OR: 1 cup nuts, raisins, coconut OR dried sweetened cranberries.
FOR A CHOCOLATE dough base: Add ½ cup of cocoa powder in with flour & sugar and decrease the chocolate chip amount slightly.

 

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on October 2, 2012 by garliq

submitted by Andrea Potter of Rooted Nutrition.ca ♦ rootednutrition@gmail.com

Cooking Classes ♦ Workshops ♦ Holistic Nutrition Counseling

Thanks Andrea!  Enjoy folks…

Wild Mushroom and Asian Pear Salad

This simple, warm salad lets earthy fall flavours shine, balanced with a tart pear and some crunchy hazelnuts. Get these fine ingredients at farmer’s markets starting in October or so.

Dressing: (Makes more than needed for one salad) Keeps until the date of the hazelnut oil in the

fridge.)

Creamy hazelnut dressing

  • 2 ripe pears or Asian pears, cored and cut into chunks,
  • 1 Tbsp mustard
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2/3 cup hazelnut oil
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

Put pears, vinegar and mustard in the blender. Puree until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil and then the hazelnut oil in a stream and blend to emulsify.

For the Salad – makes one appetizer salad

  • 1 cup large- chopped mixed mushrooms- chanterelles are lovely this time of year
  • 1/2 shallot, sliced thinly into rings
  • 1/4 of an Asian pear- or firm bartlet pear
  • parsley
  • lemon juice
  • salt to taste
  • 1 leaf radicchio lettuce- or some frizee lettuce
  • toasted hazelnuts, crushed- about 1 Tbsp

In a saute pan, cook the shallot in a bit of olive oil, once it it translucent, add the hazelnut mushrooms and brown slightly (should take about 2 minutes), tossing the pan from time to time.

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dandelion root recipes

Posted on October 1, 2012 by garliq

i’ve pulled together a few Dandelion root recipes from some other blogs.

Rather than re-print them, i thought i’d just link them for you.  just click the recipe title to get there…

Dandelion Coffee (I’ll be serving this at the Foragers’ Feast, so please don’t bring any.  thx)

Roasted Dandelion Root Ice cream

Root Beer

Spicy Root and Dandelion Crumble

 

 

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wood Sorrel Soup

Posted on October 1, 2012 by garliq

This is a re-print from my new favourite book about Wild Food Foraging.  It’s called Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate by John Kallas.  I’m hoping to post a review of it shortly. (anyone volunteers to do a book review?)

Wood sorrel is a delicate herb with a beautiful sour flavour.  It’s available from late Spring through to late Autumn.  Leaves can be gathered before, during or after flowering (as long as they’ve got good colour).  It’s a “weed” in many gardens and back alleys around town.

Ingredients…

2 cups Chicken or Vegetable stock or boullion
1/4 cup Thistle root, potato, celery or broccoli
1/4 Tbl Spn Olive Oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup packed wood sorrel (1 oz by weight)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions…

  1. Begin heating the broth and thistle root (or potato) in a pot
  2. Heat in a saucepan separately until hot; add olive oil and onion
  3. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent and then add then add it to the broth pot
  4. Keep at a mild boil for 10 minutes
  5. Add wood sorrel, regain boil, and then simmer 10 minutes
  6. Add salt & pepper as desired

Bon appetite!

Posted in Recipes, Wild Foods & Foraging | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Community Herbalism

Posted on September 27, 2012 by garliq

I like to imagine a world where our “medicines” are from the living world around us. These medicine are in balance with nature because they are nature and they teach (remind) our bodies to be that way too. They are imbued with wisdom and connected to the deeper secrets that tell us truths about life on Earth.

As you allow these seeds to germinate in your mind, let me ask a question… is it the past or the future you see?

For many people in the western world, this points only to the past – to a time when human life was dominated by “myths and superstitions,” before modern medicine, before penicillin and the antibiotic revolution.

But for me, this points to both the present and the future. Plant medicines are how I keep my family healthy and full of vitality. And yes, we have used pharmaceuticals, even antibiotics. This is not an article about dogma.

This article is an invitation to envision a world where our health care practices align with our personal, social and environmental values. It’s an invitation to dream with me about Community Herbalism.

Imagine for a moment that you fall off your bike and scrape your legs and arms with road rash. Maybe you get a few bruises and jam your wrist or knee as you fall. Your neck and shoulders hurt with tension and your muscles ache all over.

Imagine that your child is sick. It’s just a flu, but their temperature hits that point that starts to scare most parents. I’ve certainly been there. Or maybe they’re constipated or they have a red, swollen rash.

Now imagine that you’re able to go in your garden, your yard, a nearby green space or the woods and gather the medicines you need to treat these ailments. No pharmaceuticals. No steroid creams. Just gentle remedies that support your body’s innate ability to heal and integrate the experience.

Where would this knowledge come from? How could you find out which plants help with which types of healing?

Well, what if you could call your local herbalist – who’s already gathered and prepared the remedies – to drop them by, to talk to you and support you in making sense of the experience? And what if this sort of care didn’t need to come with a huge price tag because the herbalist’s work was supported by a whole community of people? What if people not only saw, but acted upon the awareness that we are connected to each other? Our personal health is actually connected to the health of all those in our communities.

This is just a small piece of what I see when I dream about Community Herbalism, when I dream about how our communities could be practicing health care.

But (and there’s so often a “but” with these sorts of dreams) this isn’t super easy. It requires that herbalist look at things differently. It requires the whole community looking at things differently. Things like our interconnectedness, like our understanding and even our approach to healing, like our connection to the lands where we live.

And it requires us creating business models that are unique, that are more community-based and collective. It requires a community taking responsibility for its own health and breaking free from reliance on the mainstream medical establishment. It means that along with freeing ourselves from oil-dependance and industrial agriculture, we need to free ourselves from pharmaceutical-dependance. Along with urban gardening, better public transit, more cycling and local foods, we must include herbal medicines.

[It also means breaking free from the ideas that healing is "fixing," or worse, suppressing symptoms. This stems from the same ideas we see in industrial agriculture: using petroleum to make it seem like the soil is rich and healthy. But this, I'll save for a future article.]

It requires that a (w)holistic approach starts with how the herbal business is run along with how healing is restored.

This vision that we’ve been sharing is more than just my vision, it’s my life’s work. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve heard some bit and pieces of this before. I believe it’s time (and I hope it’s supportive) to connect these pieces and articulate how this fits in with the greater movement toward Right Relationship with the Earth and all Its beings.

As a practical expression of this, the UHS has started a couple of Scholarships. This is a way for the community to offer financial support both to interested students and to the UHS.

Please support the Raffle campaign and help us take Community Herbalism to the next step. I’ve put together $1500 worth of prizes as a way to intice and show my support for the community with herbal medicine.

For a $10 donation, you get 5 chances to win these great prizes.  For a $40 donation, you get 25 chances.

 

Posted in Community Herbalism | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment