Herbal Baby Salve

With our new granddaughters arrival, I have been looking through books for helpful & healthful items to provide for her. Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal is a great book for herbal recipes for your family. The first one I'm going to make is for diaper rash, cuts & scapes & irritated skin.

Bottoms- Up Salve
1 part calendula flower
1 part comfrey leaf
1 part comfrey root
1 part St. John's Wort flower
Olive oil
Grated beeswax
1. Combine the herbs & salve & store in an airtight container. Make a solar infusion by steeping 2 oz. of the herb mixture in a pint of olive oil for 2 weeks. This will create about 2 cups of herbal oil.
2. At the end of the 2 weeks, place the mixture in a double boiler (or I use a crock pot) and warm for one hour over low heat. Strain.
3. To each cup of warm herbal oil, add 1/4 cup of grated beeswax. You may need to warm the oil a little longer to melt the beeswax.
4. When the beeswax is melted, check for desired consistancy; place one tablespoon of the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes. If the salve is too hard, add a little more oil; if too soft, add a little more beeswax. Pour it into a glass jar. The salve does not have to be refrigerated and will last for months (or years) if stored in a cool area.

About making solar infusions...this should be a warm, sunny spot. After the two weeks of steeping time, strain the oil through muslin or cheesecloth. When the oil has been poured off, put the herbs in the cheesecloth or muslin & squeeze throroughly, getting every last drop if you can. To make a doubly strong medicinal oil, add a fresh batch of herbs to the oil & strain again after two weeks.

Now not everyone has a warm sunny spot (especially in the middle of a Midwest winter) so you can use a double boiler or crock pot to speed the process along.Place the herbs & oil in the double boiler or crock pot & bring to a low simmer. Slowly heat for 30-60 minures checking often to be sure the oil isn't overheating. The lower the heat, the longer the infusion, the better the oil.

This is not a new process for me. I have made solar infused oils many times for different salves & lip balms.  It all depends on the herbs you use.

Jaelyn's hospital photo

I think I will make baby oil next. Stay tuned for that recipe soon.

This weekend we are going to the farm so there will be more progress going on there to blog about soon :-)

New Year's Day at the Farm

Steve bringing in more wood for the fire.

This is one of my projects today. Removing the seed from dried cilantro that we grew this year in the garden. We only enjoyed a small harvest this year. Most of it had gone to seed by the time we made it back to the farm after the accident. But, I have LOTS of seed. It smells like summer, the smell of cilantro. Fresh like I'm in the garden. It's a great feeling considering there is lots of snow on the ground & it's in the teens. So I am harvesting the seed while a pot of vegetarian chili cooks on the stove.
I still have lettuce seeds to harvest & lemon balm & artemisia to put into jars. Artemisia (also known as wormwood) is used to help the digestive system. It improves digestion by stimulating the production of stomach acid and bile. Wormwood can be used to expel intestinal worms. It can also be used to relieve symptoms of PMS and as an insect repellant. Lemon balm is a great smelling herb, besides is antibacterial and anti viral in nature. It is also a slightly sedative herb, lowering fever, relaxing spasms and improving digestion. It is also used for depression. All that and it smells great! Make a tea with the leaves by tearing them & adding some honey. Yum!Steve is working on opening up the ceiling in our new living area for the stairs to the second floor. We are moving the stairs to the middle of the house. The existing stairs on the west side of the living area are just temporary. The new ones will allow access to the guest bedrooms & bath upstairs.
It is another big step in getting the new living area done. When the stairs are done, we can start putting up the wall that divides the future shop area & the new living area.
While we were at home for a few weeks, the weather really changed for the worse. Winter hit hard with lots of snow & sub-zero temperatures. We left the farm thinking that the plumbing would be fine until we made it back here. Well, a snowstorm hit the weekend we were supposed to come up here & we never made it. We were getting nervous about the new bathroom plumbing so we sent our neighbors, Jim & Nancy, the key to check on it. Well, it leaked. Water on the floor coming from the shower. Last night as soon as we got here we took it apart. The shower valve was where the leak was coming from. It looked fine though. This morning we looked at it some more & after it warmed up we tested it again & it worked. I guess I'll find out for sure when I take a shower in the morning. Cross your fingers. We did stop at Menards in Beliot on the way up & bought heat tape & more insulation. We'll probably drain the lines before we leave from now on in the winter. Lesson learned!
Eli & Lizzie (our Amish neighbors) stopped by today to visit. It was nice to see them again. Lizzie told me she is pregnant with number eleven & is due sometime in June. Wow. Can you even imagine?