Blissful Blend: Basil Infusion Oil

Infusions have regained popularity as a way of getting as much of the herb into oil as possible, it is a method that brings the flavors of one food, in this case, fresh herbs, to another, such as oil. Basic Oil is unbelievably easy to make. You’ll need:

• 2 ounces fresh basil
• 3/4 cups virgin olive oil (you can use safflower oil or canola)

Ideally, you gather your fresh herbs in your own kitchen garden but any farmer's market or organic grocery will have green herbs. For the best and purest flavor, use fresh herbs at their peak. Rinse thoroughly in cold water. Gently pat dry with paper towels and give the basil a coarse chop. Place into a metal colander and dip into boiling water for 10 seconds. Rinse in an ice water bath and drain well. Gently pat dry and add the basil to the oil. After three to five days in a cool dark place, the flavor will have infused into the oil, adding the fresh bright green note of the herbs. Use liberally on roasts, salads, drizzling on top of cooked vegetables and soups. Basil not only confers much palatability but it also brings prosperity. Enjoy!

These herbs also make fantastic infused oils: rosemary. tarragon, parsley, chives, and cilantro.

Floral Floor Cleansing

I haven’t used store-bought cleansers since the year 2004, when a health challenge awakened me to the importance of ridding my environment of any toxins or potentially harmful chemicals. I think it is a very good idea for all of us to consider as our health is precious. I know this made a difference for me and my loved ones. And the smell of a home freshly cleaned with lemons and scentful natural oils feels wonderful.

Gather the following:

• 1 quart of white vinegar
• ⅓ cup of lemon juice
• 8 drops lavender oil
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 sage leaves
• 3 mint stems with leaves
• 1 cup hot water
• a new mop

In a medium glass mixing bowl, pour the cup of boiling hot water, then add the mint, eight drops of lavender oil, sage leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Stir once and let steep covered for a half hour. After it has finished steeping, stir in the one-third cup of lemon juice.

Take a clean bucket and fill with two gallons of warm water and a quart of white vinegar. Using a kitchen sieve, strain the herbal mix into the bucket and give it a stir with a wooden spoon. If your floor is a delicate or antique and rare wood, leave out the lemon, but otherwise, this is a suitable albeit magical floor wash for any purpose. Take your brand-new mop and dip it into the bucket, wring it out, and clean the floor very thoroughly.

Lemon Aid: Healthful Lemon Curd

We all know the adage that starts out, “when life gives you lemons,” but we would update this classic with the suggestion to make lemon curd! With only four ingredients, it is not a complex chore but a delightful way to take your bounty of citrus and create a sweet and creamy joy-filled treat for you and your loved ones to enjoy for many months to come. What you’ll need:

• 8 whole lemons (Meyer lemons are ideal, but any and all lemons will do)
• 2½ cups white sugar, granulated
• 2 cups fresh, unsalted butter
• 8 whole eggs, beaten

Have at the ready: eight clean glass jars previously sterilized in hot water; half-pint Mason jars preferred.

Grate the zest of the lemons into a medium-sized saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into a bowl, go for every drop!

You should have around 1½ cups of juice. Add the lemon juice to the saucepan along with the sugar. Cut butter into small pieces and add to the pan gradually.

Place your saucepan on a burner over low heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Strain the beaten eggs through a fine-mesh sieve into the pan with the lemon mixture. Cook on a medium heat for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring frequently. As it heats up, the mixture will begin to thicken and take on a creamy consistency. When it coats the back of a spoon, you are well on your way to lemon curd!

When the lemon sauce is thick, remove the pan from the heat. Fill hot sterilized jars with the lemon curd to within ⅛ inch of rims. Wipe the rims clean, then top the jars with hot lids. Screw down the bands securing the lids onto the jars until finger tight. Process jars in a hot water bath for ten minutes. Remove jars and stand them upright on a clean towel, away from drafts. Let jars sit undisturbed for twelve hours. Check for proper seals. Label the jars and store in a cool, dry place for up to a year.

Cures from Your Kitchen

Many remedies can be made from what you have in the kitchen, from spices as well as other plants. Here are a few simple tried and tested recipes:

Nutmeg Milk

Grated nutmeg soothes diarrhea and upset tummies. Use a nutmeg grater to grate a small amount (about ⅛ teaspoon) into warmed milk (cow, soy, rice, or oat milk).

Cayenne Infusion

Use this pepper as a remedy for colds, coughs, sore throats, heartburn, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins, or as a digestive stimulant and to improve circulation. Make an infusion by adding ½ teaspoon cayenne powder to one cup boiled water. Dilute with two cups of hot water to make a more pleasant and palatable infusion. Add lemon and honey to taste. (Be careful; it will be spicy! If you don’t enjoy hot spicy flavors, consider supplementing powdered cayenne in capsules.)

Easy Turmeric Detox

This spice is a natural antioxidant, antiseptic, and antibacterial. Turmeric is also detoxifying for the liver and curative for acne and common colds. It is a popular herb for decreasing inflammation at a system level in your body; this can soothe soreness in joints in a way that is deeper than mere symptomatic relief. Make a turmeric tea by adding a teaspoon of the powder to four cups of boiling water. Simmer over low heat until it dissolves, then add milk and honey to taste.

Cabbage Juice Curative

This commonplace vegetable is a fantastic antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Cabbage can be used for stomach ulcers, arthritis, and swollen joints, or as a liver tonic. To create a cabbage tonic, dilute one part cabbage juice with two parts water. For swollen joints and arthritic pain, lightly crush a few green outer cabbage leaves with a rolling pin, then lay them over the afflicted area with the inner side of the leaf on your skin, secured with a bandage. Some prefer to boil the leaves, let them cool, and then apply. Going to bed with a cabbage bandage on is also good, giving the leaf time to work its magic.

Lemon Water

Use this citrus fruit for colds and infections. Add the fresh-squeezed juice to hot water with honey to taste. For a fast sore-throat curative, use unsweetened lemon juice with warm water as an antiseptic gargle.

Farmer’s Favorite Nettle Soup: Medieval Superfood for Modern Times

Nettles are a farmer’s favorite due to all their usefulness as a healing plant bringing good cheer and for their usefulness in breaking hexes. They are also a green that can be used as you might use kale or watercress. They were regarded and used as a “superfood” by wise women for centuries and are so packed with vitamin A and iron, and they also have a high protein count. They are best harvested when they are young in the springtime. Nevertheless, they are an excellent element in cookery year ’round and have a surprisingly delicate flavor. They are another generous genus, since they sprout up and reseed themselves as true gifts from Mother Earth. Try this old-time recipe and you will be soon be out hunting nettles in the wild so you can enjoy this medieval meal at all times.

• 2 cups rinsed nettles
• 1 cup black-eyed peas, cleaned and soaked overnight
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon celery salt, salt and pepper to taste

Start cooking the presoaked black-eyed peas in a large pan with just enough water to cover them. Once they have boiled, keep them on a high simmer. Keep an eye on them while you sauté the onions and garlic to transparency in the olive oil in a skillet. Add water to the peas as needed and continue simmering them for thirty-five minutes or until the legumes have softened; then add the veggie stock or yeasty water.

Add the softened garlic and onions to the bean pot and simmer on low for twenty-five minutes. Add the nettles to the big pot and cook for a half hour. Season to taste and then share this nurturing soup. Make sure to give thanks to the guardian spirits of the earth for this gift of great greens.

Winter Is Coming Nut Roast

Nuts are some of the best food we humans can eat, packed as they are with positive proteins, beneficial oils, and delicious flavor. This nearly effortless nut roastie is a great snack either for movie night at home or party time, and it makes a savory appetizer for special meals. Here is what you need:

• 10 ounces mixed nuts
• 8 ounces day-old bread
• 1 medium-sized white onion, chopped
• 1½ cups vegetable stock
• Soy or tamari sauce
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon dried sage

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and start sautéing the onions in the butter until they soften. Mix the nuts together with the bread in a food processor or stir vigorously until blended well, then transfer to a large bowl. Heat the stock to a boil and pour into the mixture in the bowl. Stir in the onions. Season as you see fit with salt, pepper, and sage. Pour in a tablespoon of the soy or tamari sauce to add zing to your roast and give one last stir. Spoon the roastie mix into a greased baking dish and bake for a half hour. Notice as your kitchen fills with a fantastic aroma. Heating the nuts brings out more of their natural oils and intensifies the flavor. Like herbs and flowers, nuts have magical properties which are mainly to increase love and feelings of conviviality and peace. When you serve this roastie, you are quite literally sharing the love.

Sweetheart Tea

Here is a quick recipe to create exactly the right mood for a dreamy evening:

• Stir together in a clockwise motion

• 1 ounce dried and pulverized rosehips

• 1⁄2 ounce peppermint

• 1⁄2 ounce dried lemon balm

You can store this in a tin or colored jar for up to a year for those special evenings. When you are ready to brew the tea, pour boiling water over the herbs, two teaspoons for every cup of water. Say the following spell aloud during the five minute steeping and picture your heart’s desire:

Herbal brew of love’s emotion 
With my wish I fortify
When two people share this potion 
This love shall intensify
As in the Olde Garden of Love.

Sweeten to taste with honey and share this luscious libation with the one you love.

Gloom Away: Lunar Levity

I don’t know about you, but I occasionally wake up on the wrong side of the bed. The best way to avoid that is to brew up this lovely aromatic spray and use it to scent your bedroom before you retire. When your linens and personal space smell sweet, your dreams are guaranteed to be the same. This custom recipe works wonders on you or anyone in your environment who might need a lift. Combine the following essential oils:

• two drops peppermint 

• two drops bergamot 

• two drops lavender

• four drops rose

• four drops neroli
  

Add the mixture to a quart of distilled water, and spray the air while chanting:

Gloom and doom be gone.
Welcome, sweet spirits, into this house, 

With harm to none. So mote it be.

Hedgewitch Tinctures

Teas brewed from a single herb are commonly called “simples.” I love that phrase of olden times. Experience has taught me that these simples often have the most intensity, since the very singleness of the herb gives it potency. A simple made from one of the following herbs enhances mental clarity, even clairvoyance. This will jumpstart you on your path toward any creative pursuit. Here is a recipe for a very inspired tea:

Boil one pint of spring water. Place into your favorite crockery teapot a half-ounce of any ONE of the following herbs: rosemary, mugwort, yarrow or thyme.

Steep for ten minutes and strain with a nonmetallic strainer, like cheesecloth or an inexpensive bamboo strainer. Sweeten with a little honey; I recommend clover honey because you get the added benefits of clover’s lucky powers. Sip this brew while relaxing, and be inspired!