Tag: peppermint

Categories
Botanical Anthology Recipes Tea

Jemima Puddleduck Tea

My love for Beatrix Potter knows no bounds. I wish so very much that I could sit down to tea with her and learn about her fascinating life! She was far more than just an author and artist: a studied naturalist, a conservationist, an entrepreneur, a generous benefactor to many causes, and an accomplished farmer and gardener.

One of my favorite tales by Beatrix Potter is that of Jemima Puddleduck. Poor Jemima—she just wants to be left alone to sit on her own nest of eggs. The farmer’s wife and children always seem to find her hiding spots, such as the rhubarb bush, and retrieve her eggs for the hen to warm instead. So, Jemima searches out a secluded spot in the woods to hide her nest, only to be offered a shed by an overly-polite foxy gentleman. More unforeseen events befall Jemima, but in the end she avoids catastrophe and hatches four ducklings on her own.

I created an herbal tea blend inspired by Jemima’s story, which includes the mint and thyme the fox requested for their dinner party, roses seen in an illustration of the garden, and rhubarb from the bush she attempted to hide her eggs in. (This tart tea is made with botanicals appropriate for a Beatrix Potter-themed baby shower, children’s birthday party, or Easter brunch!)

Materials

2 parts mint

½ part thyme

1 ½ parts rose petals

Rhubarb preserves or simple syrup

Method

To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco-friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups hot water over the tea and steep for 3-4 minutes. Sweeten to taste with a bit of fruit preserves or simple syrup, if desired. (Strawberry can easily be substituted for rhubarb!)

———

This recipe was originally published in the spring 2023 issue of Botanical Anthology! 

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism

Damiana + Herbs for Headache Relief

I am lucky to not have chronic headache issues, which I know so many people have! But I do still sometimes deal with clusters of headaches, especially stress-related and cycle-related ones. And I’ve recently been ill and have experienced some unpleasant headaches associated with that. (Such a bad cold and flu season this year!) When those problems arise, herbs can absolutely help.

I have several favorite herbal allies to lean on in this circumstance, usually brewing them in tea, and damiana is the star of the show. Though perhaps better known as an aphrodisiac herb, damiana is amazing to relieve tension headaches and that pressure and pounding sensation in the head. It is my headache secret weapon and always in my headache tea blends! I love its warm (but not too warm) soothing, tension-relieving, and pain modulation and easing.

Other herbs I rely on for headache teas:

Meadowsweet– cooling, astringent, eases stabbing pain, high in salicylic acid (aspirin!)

Mint– cooling, antispasmodic, nutritious, pain-relieving, uplifting and relaxing

Lavender– soothing, relaxing, gentle, pain-relieving and aromatic 

Cramp bark– gentle, pain-relieving, spasm easing, muscle tension relieving

Skullcap & Passionflower– sleep aiding, nerve & tension easing, soothing

If you use essential oils, an oil roller or balm using peppermint and lavender oils mixed with a carrier oil is a great remedy, too. Roll or rub this on your temples, the back of your neck, or wherever your headaches tend to be concentrated. (Can you tell mine is well-loved? I need to replace that oily label!)

What are your favorite natural headache remedies?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism Recipes

Orange & Herb Infused Sugar

I love making herbal sugars! They are so versatile, and can be used for so many things—like to sweeten tea and hot beverages, adorn a mocktail or cocktail glass rim, sprinkle on sugar cookies / shortbread cookies / other baked goods, add pizzazz to oatmeal, and even to make a batch of sugar scrub for botanical skincare purposes!

Orange is the star of this particular blend of herbal sugar. With its bright, tangy flavor, vitamin C punch, and complexity of bitter + sour + sweet, it adds depth and delight. 

Orange offers so many nutritional and medicinal benefits. It aids the immune system, the heart, addresses inflammation, offers antioxidant benefits, and a host of other perks!

Herbal sugars can be utilized for ritual and spiritual purposes, too, and orange shines in this role. Orange is associated with love, joy, prosperity, luck, and divination. You could certainly change up the ingredients to suit your intentions, but the following recipe would certainly boost intentions of sweetness, joy, and love!

Orange & Herb Infused Sugar

Ingredients

Method

Mix white sugar, fresh orange zest, peppermint, and one vanilla bean (split and scraped, then the whole bean tossed in) in a bowl. Then spread it out to dry awhile on a cookie sheet before transferring the mixture (including the vanilla bean) to a jar. The vanilla bean will continue to impart its sweet flavor in the sugar and it will only get better!

Let the jar sit tightly lidded for a few days to infuse with all the lovely orange oil and vanilla before using it in all the delicious and creative ways you can imagine!

It is ORANGE month at the Plant Wonder Collective Patreon Study Circle! If you’d like to support the work of PWC, please consider joining our Study Circle for exclusive recipes, articles, digital downloads and printables for the plant of the month.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
plant wonder collective Recipes Tea

Headache Helper Tea

I recently had a friend dealing with recurring tension headaches ask what herbs might be helpful in a tea to offer him some relief. (He is also being treated by his doctor, but needed some additional gentle diy to help relax his frazzled nerves and throbbing head & get him some sleep!) 

Oatstraw immediately came to mind. They’re a wonderfully gentle soother for frayed nerves, burnout, overwhelm, stress, tension—all things that lack of sleep and depletion from migraines and tension headaches can cause. 

In addition to the oatstraw, I added damiana (a headache-easing favorite of mine), calming linden, sleepy passionflower, and cooling peppermint to the batch of tea I made for my friend. He reported back that the tea was very helpful and he got a decent night’s sleep after drinking his first cup!

To make a big batch to keep on hand, choose a larger unit of measure such as a quarter cup or half cup for your parts. For a single mug of tea, choose a small unit of measure – I’d suggest half teaspoons (it will still make a very strong cuppa, or two cups). 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

4 parts oatstraw

4 parts damiana

3 parts linden

2 parts passionflower

2 parts peppermint 

Directions

To make a single cup of tea, add 1-2 tablespoons to a tea strainer, eco-friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 1⁄2 cups hot water over the tea and steep for 4-5 minutes. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired. 

What are your favorite herbal tea ingredients to help combat headaches?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
Hygge Recipes wheel of the year

Ostara: Orange Vanilla Soda Bread

There is, in my opinion, no better way to celebrate the turning of the season (or just anything!) than with warm, freshly baked bread. You just can’t help but be mindful for a moment as you stop and appreciate the ingredients that went into the bread, the hands that made it, and the warming and grounding experience of enjoying it. That is some simple but powerful alchemy, right there. 

This year for Ostara (the spring equinox) I decided to make an easy, rustic loaf of soda bread with some cheery, sweet, springy flavors. I incorporated orange zest and juice and vanilla, because the two together just put me in mind of sunshine and the sweet scent of early spring flowers. 

I also sweetened up this traditionally sugarless recipe with a generous helping of the vanilla-orange-mint infused sugar I made awhile back. You could easily use plain sugar, of course, but I had this on hand and it further drives that flavor home and adds a little something extra. 

My family loves snacking on this bread, and it is really nice at breakfast time, too. I like to think it’s a very hobbit-ish sort of treat to celebrate spring with!

The recipe for Orange Vanilla Soda Bread:

Ingredients

4 cups flour (all white flour, part whole wheat, or you could also try your preferred GF flour)

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

3 Tbsp sugar (vanilla orange mint sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

1-2 Tbsp orange juice

1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a deep mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar with a whisk. Whisk in orange zest.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to it. Mix together with a wooden spoon, folding and turning the bowl until a sticky dough forms. If the dough seems too dry, you can add additional buttermilk a spoonful at a time.

Scoop ball of dough out onto a large floured cutting board. Knead a few times lightly. It will still be quite sticky, but you can flour your hands and add a pinch or two of flour if it seems too wet. 

Form into a large round loaf. Place in a greased / oiled Dutch oven or on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cut an X into the top with a sharp knife. Top with a small pat of butter on each of the four quadrants if you’d like. 

Cover with the Dutch oven’s lid or tent with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean and/or the X in the center appears done (my X disappeared 😅 but that’s ok). It should also sound hollow if you tap it!

Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Then, enjoy!

I love making infused sugars! Here is the recipe for Orange Mint Vanilla Sugar:

Ingredients

1.5 cups of white sugar

Zest of one orange

1 Tbsp ground dried peppermint leaf

1 vanilla bean

Method

Mix the white sugar, the fresh zest of one orange, ground dried peppermint (pulsed to a powder in a coffee grinder reserved for herbs), and one vanilla bean (split and scraped, then the whole bean tossed in) in a bowl. Then spread it out to dry a while on a cookie sheet before transferring the mixture (including the vanilla bean) to a jar. The vanilla bean will continue to impart its sweet flavor in the sugar and it will only get better!

Let the jar sit tightly lidded for a few days to infuse with all the lovely orange oil and vanilla. Then you can use the sugar in teas, coffee (have you ever tried the combo of orange and coffee?), baked goods (imagine rolling sugar cookies in this!), fancy cocktail / mocktail rims, and more!

How do you plan on celebrating the start of spring, in your own way, big or small?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare plant wonder collective Recipes

Raspberry Leaf Face Refreshing Mist

In these dog days of summer, your skin can easily become overheated and stressed out! That’s where raspberry leaf comes in. Raspberry leaf is well known for its tissue tightening and toning properties, and in a gentle face mist, this action can help to prevent moisture loss and provide soothing.

This recipe isn’t for a witch hazel or alcohol based toner—I didn’t want it to be that strongly astringent. So, instead, I’ve made a strong tea with the raspberry leaf and combined that with a cooling mint hydrosol—which you can easily make on your stovetop with some fresh mint, or you can purchase ready-made mint (or rose, lavender, or chamomile) hydrosol if you prefer.

Because this is an entirely water-based recipe, it has a shorter shelf life so you’ll want to make it in small batches and store it in the fridge. But it’s totally worth it for a very gentle, refreshing, soothing summer face mist that even the kids can use after a sweaty day of playing out in the hot sun! (It makes a great after-sun spray, too!)

This recipe comes in two parts: the mint hydrosol recipe and the raspberry tea / face mist recipe. Let’s start with the mint hydrosol!

Mint Hydrosol

Materials:
Large stock pot with lid
Small heat-safe bowl (ceramic or glass)
Heat-safe glass measuring cup
Distilled water
Fresh mint leaves
Ice

Method:
Place the heat-safe bowl upside down in the stock pot and fill the bottom of the pot with enough water that it covers the bowl. Place the glass measuring cup right-side up on top of the bowl. Place a good amount of mint leaves in the water around the bowl—a couple big handfuls of plant material. Place the pot lid upside-down on the pot and place ice cubes on top. Simmer on medium heat until a sufficient amount of steam has condensed and dripped into the measuring cup—that’s your hydrosol! Store this in the fridge.

Raspberry Leaf Facial Mist

Materials:
3 tablespoons dried raspberry leaf
Large tea mug
Plate to cover the mug with
Distilled water
Tea kettle
Strainer
Glass bowl or measuring cup
Small misting bottle (4-8 oz)

Method:
Place raspberry leaf in the tea mug and cover with water freshly boiled in a tea kettle; cover with plate and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain into a glass bowl or measuring cup and allow to cool or refrigerate.

Fill the misting bottle half full with mint hydrosol and half with raspberry leaf tea. Cap tightly and shake well to mix. Store in the fridge to prolong its shelf life and so it’s nice and cool when you’re ready to mist your face!

Categories
herbal skincare Recipes

Lavender Peppermint Lip Balm

I don’t know about you, but for me, lavender is a scent that makes me think of spring. (I’m not sure why, because it’s not in-season where I live until the summer!) Since I am dreaming so, so much about spring, and since I had just strained some lavender-infused almond oil and mint-infused coconut oil recently, I decided to make some relaxing lip balm with a springy scent to carry me away in my daydreams of warmth and sunshine.

Lavender is such a relaxing scent, and it pairs really well with uplifting peppermint. Also, both herbs have antimicrobial and skin soothing and replenishing properties. Most people find both to be gentle for use on the skin, but if you’re sensitive (or making this recipe for young children), you might want to eliminate one or both essential oils in the recipe, or use less of both.

Lip balm is not too tricky if you’re new to making body care products. Here’s the recipe, if you want to give it a try!

Lavender Peppermint Lip Balm

(Makes 7 0.5-oz containers of lip balm)

Materials:

7 lip balm tins, 0.5 oz

Double boiler (optional)

28 g shea butter

20 g beeswax pellets

16 g almond oil infused with lavender flowers

8 g coconut oil infused with peppermint leaf

4 drops lavender essential oil 

3 drops peppermint essential oil (or leave out if you have sensitive skin)

Method:

Prepare your supplies and area; you might want to put down a layer of parchment or waxed paper in case of dribbles. I place mine on a baking sheet.

Melt the beeswax pellets, shea butter, and infused oils slowly over low heat in the double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, set a large glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan containing about 1 inch of water, put your ingredients in the mixing bowl, and it works the same way. 

Once the ingredients are melted, remove from heat and carefully add and stir in essential oil if you’re using it. 

Carefully pour the hot liquid into your lip balm tins. Allow to cool completely for a good long while before using—I like to have my tins on a baking sheet and transfer that to the fridge for quicker setting, but that’s optional.

Once the lip balms are finished setting up, they’re ready to use!

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism Hygge wheel of the year

The Winter Solstice: Yule Forest Candle

To celebrate the winter solstice and Yule, I have made some special candles to help mark the occasion as my family and I make (and eat!) cookies and read books about the solstice. Although it is the official beginning of winter, it is also the darkest night—and the light of our candles reminds us that the warmth of the sun shines through and will strengthen with each coming day. It is how people have long gathered their courage to face the winter’s cold: the returning of the light offers hope.

For my Yule Forest candles, I combined beeswax, a bit of coconut oil, and essential oils for a natural scent option. (Make sure you do your due diligence in choosing ethical essential oil companies to buy from 💚). Here are the scents I chose, along with their symbolic attributes:

Here are the directions for making the candles if you’d like to make some, too!

Making 6 candles:

We will enjoy the gentle light and wintry woods scent of one of these candles (I made 6 so I could gift the others to loved ones) while munching on chai snickerdoodles and reading. The pictured books (Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter and the winter story from Little Witch Hazel) are a couple of our favorites to welcome the solstice.

How will you mark the winter solstice / Yule?

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism plant wonder collective Recipes Tea

Vanilla Digestion Tea

It’s the time of year when digestion is key! Heavy, rich foods abound due to the holidays and the approach of winter, and many of us need some extra relief.

Often, digestion teas rely heavily on ginger, but I find it too spicy and irritating sometimes. I often need more of a cooling approach to indigestion instead. That’s where this tasty vanilla digestion tea comes in!

Vanilla is an aromatic stimulant and carminative botanical, with anti-inflammatory, digestive-soothing, calming, and fever easing benefits. These properties make it a great ingredient in a digestion tea!

In the interest of a more cooling approach to digestion, I’ve combined the vanilla with meadowsweet, mint, and fennel seed. If you add honey or your sweetener of choice, it’s a light and tasty dessert all on its own with a taste reminiscent of candy canes!

A bit of a breakdown of the other herbal ingredients I’ve combined with the vanilla here—

Mint can be both warming and cooling, depending on your constitution, but I find it affects me in a soothing and cooling manner. It is a mildly stimulating herb, so it aids in moving things along in the digestion process.

Meadowsweet is a top tier digestion reliever. Its cooling, drying, astringent, inflammation modulating, and even pain modulating properties make it an indispensable ally. However, if you’re sensitive to aspirin, you should avoid meadowsweet because it contains naturally-occurring salicylic acid. (If this is you, substitute chamomile or elderflower.)

Fennel is one of my very favorite herbs for digestion. It’s a pungent aromatic herb with antispasmodic and carminative properties, making it ideal for a digestion tea. Interestingly, I found a hand-written note in my great grandmother’s herbalism books suggesting to use fennel for calming. Though it isn’t technically considered a nervine or adaptogen, there is an inextricable link between gut health and mental health, so it does check out!

Here is the simple and sweet recipe for cooling vanilla digestion tea:

1 part vanilla (use chopped vanilla beans or powdered vanilla bean—my choice for economical purposes)

2 parts meadowsweet

2 parts mint

1 part fennel seed

——

Brew for about 5 minutes; longer can cause a bitter taste from the meadowsweet.

Do you suffer from digestive issues this time of year? Let me know if you try this tea! You might find that soothed digestion leads to a calmer state of mind this time of year!

Categories
Herbs and Herbalism Hygge Recipes

Hygge Hearth Tincture

Inspiration struck this morning and I decided to start a tincture that will be ready just in time for Yule! It has all the happy, cozy, hygge vibes with digestion support, stress relief, balancing, and immune boosting to boot.

Mint is the star of the show here, paired with “really good Ceylon cinnamon” (please tell me you read that in Ina Garten’s voice 😂). I adore the sweet combo of cooling mint and warming cinnamon! With these I combined fennel seed, rosemary, and ashwagandha root. 

Then I topped it off with not the usual vodka, but GIN for more cozy, botanical, wintry vibes.

Here is the full recipe! For once, I actually loosely measured instead of doing it in parts!

Add herbs to a 16 oz glass jar. Cap and shake the jar thoroughly to mix herbs. Top with gin, filling to near the brim. Cap with a plastic canning jar lid or parchment paper and canning lid. Store in a cool, dark place, shaking daily, and strain after 6-8 weeks. Store in dark glass jars or dropper bottles if you can. 

You can take this tincture in tea, coffee, still or sparkling water, ginger ale, juice, or even cocktails! Ginger ale is my favorite vehicle for tinctures—if you prefer, use your favorite homemade or natural ginger ale.