Infused water - easiest herbal summer drink!

Our new favourite drink, infused water!  So simple, so beautiful, so refreshing.  Perfect for summer drinks, to share at your next potluck dinner or outdoor summer feast.

Simple fill a clear bottle or mason jar with fresh cool filtered water.  Add some sliced fruit, a few fresh berries, or sliced cucumbers, top with a few sprigs of herbs and/or edible flowers.  Shake very gently.  Let infuse for at least 30 min.  Then enjoy.  Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Combinations we love (use what berries & herbs are in season in your garden):

• grapefruit-mint
• orange-cucumber-mint
• basil-strawberry
• lime-rosemary
• raspberry-rose petal
• blackberry-fennel
• lemon-blueberry
• strawberry-mint 
• peach-lavender

Lovely lavender

It's time for the first lavender harvest!  This is one of the herbs my daughter and I love most that we grow here in our gardens - it's such a pleasure to harvest as it's easy to snip off in large bunches and quick to tie up to dry.  We dry it in many different ways - laid out in wicker baskets, hanging in tied up bundles, woven into braids) and then there are the many wonderful uses it brings us later this fall and winter. 

We make this lavender oil to use for burns and scrapes, and when ready this medicinal oil is also added to many of our salves; we use dried lavender in calming bath blends; we put lavender bundles into drawers to protect our woolens from tiny wool moths; use lavender for cooking and baking (...lavender ice cream, lavender cookies); and of course give our lavender bunches away as sweet-smelling gifts.  Lavender is an effective and powerful herb, yet gentle for sensitive skin and babies, so it's one of the go-to-always-keep-in-the-herbal-medicine-chest herbs here at Little City Farm.

Thyme-honey infusion & cough syrup for sore throats and winter coughs

Winter time calls for easy recipes to help ward off coughs and sore throats.  Here are two recipes using the simple kitchen herb thyme - thyme may be common but it has long been a revered healer.  If you have not harvested enough thyme from your garden (or used it up like we had) you can still go to pick some - this hardy herb still looked beautifully green as it peeked out from under the blanket of newly fallen snow in our garden.  Here are two easy tried-and-true recipes to help fight coughs, bronchitis and sore throats.  The recipes are delicious and quick to prepare.  Enjoy and keep your household healthy this winter.  Please note that traditionally it has been recommended to use little or none of the herb thyme during pregnancy.

THYME-HONEY-LEMON INFUSION
Yields: 1 cup infusion
1 cup water
1 tsp fresh thyme (fresh tastes much better in a tea than dried)
1 slice lemon, or 1 tsp organic lemon juice
1 tsp raw honey, or to taste (or agave, or maple syrup as you prefer)

1) Bring water to a boil. 
2) Pour over thyme in a mug or bodum and let steep 5-10 minutes (or longer for stronger infusion).
3) Add slice of lemon/lemon juice, and honey to sweeten.
4) Enjoy sipping your hot tea and letting it soothe your throat!
Do not drink thyme infusion if you are pregnant.

THYME-HONEY COUGH SYRUP
Yields: approx. 3 cups syrup
2 cups water
3 Tbsp thyme (fresh) or 1 Tbsp dried
1 cup raw honey

1) Heat water in a mid-sized pot, add fresh or dried thyme thyme and steep for 10 minutes after water has boiled.
2) After thyme infusion has cooled, strain out the herbs.  Then add 1 cup raw honey and whisk to combine until all honey is completely melted.
3) Store in glass jars with tight lid in fridge, which will keep for about 2 months.
To use: Use 1 tsp at first sign of cough or sore throat.  Do not use if pregnant.

Practical Herbalist Series * Starts in June!

4-PART PRACTICAL HERBALIST SERIES
 
Cost: $200 ($140/workshops plus $60/materials)  - Pre-registration required

TO REGISTER go to our website here.

An exciting unique 4-part series, that includes 12 hours of instruction and hands-on learning, plus some "home" assignments between sessions.  Workshops will be held on 4 Saturday mornings, from June to September.  This series is led by Karin Kliewer (Master Herbalist) at Little City Farm in Kitchener.

AT THE END OF THIS SERIES YOU WILL HAVE GAINED:

• confidence and knowledge of growing and using basic medicinal herbs at home
• a well-stocked pantry of simple effective herbal home remedies you have made
• hands-on experience making 10+ herbal products (e.g. oils, salves, poultices, liniments, decoctions, tinctures, cough syrups, etc)
• familiarity with 20+ medicinal herbs (see list of “focus herbs” for each session below)
• guidelines for herbal dosages, basic herbal first aid for home use
• general understanding of plant identification and ethical wild harvesting
• hands-on experience harvesting, storing, drying and using medicinal herbs including leaves, blossoms, roots, berries, seeds and bark
• basic understanding of herbal gardening, herbal propagation, planting and seed saving
• simple outline for starting your own medicinal herb garden at home
• knowledge of where to source quality herbs and herbal product-making supplies
• a collection of herbal recipes, hand-outs and other useful resources
• a network of other community members interested in natural herbal healing

Please see below for more details on topics we will cover in each session

This Practical Herbalist Series is limited to 10 participants.  One goal of this series is to create a continuous small-group shared learning environment, so priority will be given to participants who can commit to taking all 4 sessions. For questions, or registration please contact Karin at: info@littlecityfarm.ca / or 519-575-9174.

PRACTICAL HERBALIST SERIES DATES & DETAILS:

 

Session 1: Spring Leaves - Sat, June 14 from 9-12 noon
In this session you will learn: how to properly identify and harvest herbs; ethical wild harvesting; basic herb gardening (planting and propagating herbs); 10 medicinal herb teas to grow at home; drying & storing herbs; general guidelines for using herbal leaves, flowers, roots, berries, seeds and bark; setting up your herbal home medicinal making space; and making herbal infusions.  Our focus herbs will be red raspberry leaf, lemon balm, peppermint and nettle.

Session 2: Summer Blossoms - Sat, July 12 from 9-12 noon

In this session you will learn: guidelines for using herbal remedies externally; making herbal medicinal oils, salves, poultices and liniments; basic herbal first aid.  Our focus herbs will be calendula, lavender, red clover, marsh mallow, comfrey and plantain.

Session 3: Fall Harvest - Sat, Aug 9 from 9-12 noon

In this session you will learn: herbs for radiant hair and skin care; herbal baths for children; making herbal shampoos, face creams, scrubs, and facial cleansers. Our focus herbs will be rosemary, chamomile, yarrow, witch hazel and rose.

              

Session 4: Winter Roots - Sat, Sept 13 from 9-12 noon

In this session you will learn: herb seed saving; guidelines for using herbal remedies internally; general herbal dosage information for children and adults; herbal winter remedies for colds and flu; making herbal decoctions, tinctures, cough syrups and lozenges.  Our focus herbs will be sage, elderberry, rosehip, slippery elm, fennel and echinacea.