Herbalism experiments

Each year we come home from the Homestead Conference (re)energized about some aspect of our little farm life. Steve was inspired to expand our freeze drying repertoire. I have a cool small-batch sauerkraut device that I look forward to trying out.

But the biggest thing in my mind has been getting bit by the herbalism bug. Herbalism is a deep, slightly scary, highly woo-woo, cult-like cavern that Montana generally will not let me enter without supervision, for my own protection. This makes me laugh. But I looked around at all of the interesting herbs and botanicals that we have out here and felt inspired to investigate the possibilities. This, my Herbalism Experiment Project was born.

There are basically 12 different projects I will be trying, each on the tiniest scale. I started with a book called The Beekeepers Apothecary that I picked up at the Homestead Conference and then worked with ChatGPT to create a whole program. Each project has been thoughtfully considered as to where/when/how I will source and prepare each material, what supplies or equipment I will need, detailed instructions for processing, and of course what beautiful labels I will use for each. ChatGPT is amazing at labels. It’s no secret that I love fun visuals to go with ANYthing I might be doing. AI has also been pretty good with the instructional info, but you really have to be careful there - everything has to be closely tested for accuracy, which I’m doing as I go.

Honestly, I am having fun dipping my toe in this world just a little and developing my herbal nose and taste buds along the way. So here are the projects I will be working on this year and a few I have already started.

You’ve already seen my hydrosol setup. Both sage and lavender worked pretty great. I will grab some lavender types at the lavender farm next week to see if they distill any differently. I will also be trying tomato leaf, per Montana’s request. I love this idea, because this obscure scent has become one of our favorites since Meyers came out with it as a seasonal hand soap scent.

But first I have been trying to distill rose hydrosol, to zero success. I have refined my process, but our garden roses - as gorgeous as they are to look at - just don’t have enough (or any) scent. That’s the trade off with today’s super hardy, pest-resistant, ever-blooming hybrid roses. I will be adding a few heirlooms in the fall, but in the meantime, Montana and I are going to Spokane’s beautiful Manito Gardens later today, where I intend to enlist her help in guerilla cutting a few highly scented blooms to test at home.

I am also working on my herbal iced drinks. Two immediate winners are my hibiscus tea and borage lemonade.

Here’s my recipe card created with ChatGPT.

Our hibiscus plant (indoors) continuously blooms most of the the year, and this colorful tea is truly my favorite. I make it whenever I’ve gathered 4 fallen blooms (no stamens though!)

Borage is my very favorite plant in the garden. The entire plant is edible including those tiny blue star flowers. This tea uses both the leaves (for flavor) and the flowers (for looks).

My first batch of borage lemonade tasted terrific, but the green color was a no go. Instead of blending the leaves straight I am going to steep/strain next time, which should keep the flavor but tone down that herbal color!

En route to Mount Rainier last week we stopped at a highway-side fruit and antique store. Instead of the expected dumpy flea market, this place was wonderful. I bought this adorable holder of 6 tiny syrup bottles with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it. I don’t even use syrup when we have pancakes (Butter only! Maybe some jam).

So when I got to the car I worked through ideas with ChatGPT (of course), and we came up with a little flavored simple syrup bar for iced drinks. Love this idea! I started with the lavender flavor (Starbucks helped make this flavor popular in drinks a few years ago), and it tastes perfect. I just need to give it a little bit of color, which I will do by adding a few drops of steeped hibiscus petals next time. I tested it in some plain ice tea and it was a great little addition. Five more flavors to go!

My last herbal project of the week was my most ambitious in terms of being something truly new for me - an oxymel. Oxymels are basically syrups that combine herbs + honey + vinegar. It’s a popular herbal preparation taken by the spoonful or shot that can be made with different herbs for different reasons, some reacting to the signs of impending sickness, some preventative.

I created a lemon thyme/white wine vinegar wellness (preventative) version. Once the flavors are fully infused (2 weeks), I will strain it, pop on a pour spout, and start taking a spoonful a day. I am trying to do what I can so I don’t get quite so knocked down by the colds/flus every year. So this is a baby step! This was the first half batch, and tomorrow I will double it and let it sit for a few weeks. Go immune system!