HOW I MAKE MY OWN CANCER TEA AND OTHER EXOTIC TEAS

HOW I MAKE MY OWN CANCER TEA

AND OTHER EXOTIC TEAS

Pineapple Mint and Chocolate Mint-Freshly Harvested

I love making my own teas because it gives me the versatility of creating exotic herbal blends, not found anywhere else. I’ve even gone so far as to create my own teas for particular ailments or diseases. I bought a book years ago that has been my guideline for creating teas to help with cancer, intestinal tract problems, nervous system difficulties and a variety of other health problems. The book is called “Healing Teas from around the world” by Syliva Schneider.

Of course, I use the book only as a guideline. I prefer to study effects of different teas and create my own elixir.

When my daughter, Kelli, found out she had multiple myeloma cancer 8 years ago, and after the initial shock, we decided to follow conventional therapy as well as look into alternative methods. Kelli is thriving today and I believe that the teas could have played a roll in her recovery.

You may want to check out an earlier post on how I prepare my herbs. The post is titled “Now is the Thyme” found here

Dried Herbs After Removed From Brown Bags

Basically, I dry my herbs in brown sandwich bags, place them in my car and wait a few days to remove. They dry quickly and impart a wonderful aroma at the same time.

Tea Being Placed Into Small Tea Bags

After the herbs have dried, I scrunch up the brown bags until the leaves are thoroughly pulverized. I remove larger stems and then add them to purchased tea bags that can be found online or specialty herb shops.

I used spearmint, pineapple mint and peppermint tea leaves for my pictures for the post.

The tea bags are then ironed closed and are ready for brewing.
I then place tea bags into zip lock bags with my logo and list ingredients.

The bags Are Sealed Closed by Ironing Them.

Below is a bit about the ingredients and the recipes I used for Kelli’s cancer teas.

Lapacho tea is made by using the bark found on the lapacho tree found in South America. It is reputed to have great results when used for asthma, stomach complaints and cancer and impede the growth of tumors.

Eassiac Tea or Original Indian Essence. This tea was reportedly used by the Indians in southeast Canada and many claims are made touting it as a cure for cancer. The ingredients are, roots of burdock and Turkish rhubarb, sheep sorrel and slippery elm bark. These are herbs that help strengthen the immune system.

Bark and Root Cancer Tea:

1. 1 t. each of the burdock, Turkish Rhubard, sheep sorrel and slippery elm bark or you could buy a box of Eassiac tea with these ingredients sometimes found in health food stores.
2. 2 t. crushed lapacho bark

Mix together and add to tea bag. I use several of these bags in a pot of hot water-let them steep for about 10 minutes or so. Tea is a bit bitter so honey can be added to your cup if preferred. Alternately, if you want a stronger tea, let herbs steep for about an hour and reheat the tea before drinking.

In a later post, if there is interest from my readers, I’ll give more information on methods we used to help Kelli keep cancer at bay. She is and has been in guarded remission for several years now but we, and I say we because I am her coach, continue a strict regimen to insure her continued remission and phenomenally good health. Her oncologist has told us that he thinks Kelli is a miracle case.

Mint Tea All Ready for the Market~

A SUMMER MEDLEY

A SUMMER MEDLEY

Goddess Planter

In the summer, I often reflect on quotes from Ray Bradbury’s book, “Dandelion Wine.” Bradbury writes, “Medicines of another time, the balm of sun and idle afternoons, the faintly heard sounds of ice wagons passing on brick avenues, the rush of silver skyrockets, all these in a glass.” It seems like a timeless quote to me because it echoes my past and yet places me squarely in the present summertime. In this post, I will attempt to have you enter my world this summer at Woodloft.

Side-View

I love when my plants get to the stage where they drape over the top of my Goddess planters and in some cases, they even begin to become integrated and look as though plant and planter are one.

Hidden Goddess Planter

Earth Mother Goddess Fountain

Goddess with Baby's Breath

My garden is doing great so far. Last year, the deer feasted on most of my vegetables and they seemed to especially like my impatiens.

Hydrageos and Petunias

Tomato and Bean Garden

The market has been hopping the last few weeks with one celebration after the other. We had a Chili cookoff, Strawberry festival, Local Colors festival, a dog festival, Festival in the Park Craft show, and last weekend was the Sidewalk Art Show.

Side-View of Booth at Farmer's Market Saturday

Picture of "yours truly" taken on the market by soap girl Rebecca

My Friend, Trish, Sitting on Back of B-dazzle With Her Flowered Dress

Rudy Saunders Drummed at the Park adjacent to the Market

Tim Belcher and Helper

Jerry and Brian-Who Call Themselves "Two Bitter Old Potters"

Chris and Friend Cook Up A Storm at 'Thelma's Chicken and Waffles' Restaurant

Pauline's Enticing Little Boutique on the Market

Since I acquired my Kindle, I read more books in a week than I used to in months. The reason: I am able to enlarge the font and have no need for reader glasses. Of the many I have read recently, one that I’d like to recommend for summer reading is 'The book of Lost Fragrances,'by M.J.Rose. I like it when authors names suit their titles~LOL. The book is very thought provoking and I’ve even started a new art series after reading it.’ Maybe you can guess what it is I’ll be creating.

Speaking of creating, I’m busy with my ‘face’ soaps for the market. They are major good sellers for me and I’m having a hard time keeping up with the demand!

My Face Soaps in Lavender and Rose Geranium

Even though it is not the season for eggplants, I have been craving them. Obsession is my name when it comes to finding the best recipe possible for any given dish. The last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with recipes for Eggplant Parmagiana. Coming from an ethnic background, I have always made my parmagiana from traditional methods of salting, draining and dipping the eggplant before frying and baking. Recently, I attended one of our “Little Supper Club” gatherings and was delighted with Christine’s pasta eggplant. In her recipe, spaghetti was actually added as an ingredient and it was very tasty. I decided that there must be many other recipes out there so I searched the web and experimented with several. Finally, I came up with the one that rivals my recipe and is much simpler and better for you. I’ll be posting the recipe soon.

Christine's Eggplant Parmagiana

I vow to try to slow down this summer and enjoy all the beauty that surrounds me. Hope everyone else gets a chance to slow down as well.

HERB STAMPS

HERB STAMPS

Herb stamp stationery-looks like a watercolor painting

I love the idea of using herbs and flowers as personal logos for my stationary. I am especially pleased that I can walk out into my garden here at Woodloft and collect my own herbs for this project. Now is a good time for harvesting special herbs, flowers or other patterned plants This idea comes from Laura Bethmann, author of Nature Printing with Herbs, Fruits and Flowers. Laura says, “The only materials required are a stamp pad and a leaf.”

Materials used for stamping

This is so very simple to do. This is a great project for the kids or grandkids to do. Lay a leaf with the underside down on a sponge stamp pad. You do this because the veins are more prevalent on the underside and will pick up the ink better. I used sage, parsley and geranium plants.

Leaf placed face up on sponge stamping pad

Next you use a piece of plastic wrap and press down with it till ink seems to be penetrating.

Ink filled leaf ready for stamping

Finally, you lift the leaf from the stamp pad and press onto the paper of your choice. You can use a newspaper for this. I think these are quite beautiful. They remind me of a lacy water color painting. It might be fun to try printing the leaves onto material. I’m not sure if the dye would take and I don’t think it would be washable.

Pressing the herbs onto stationery with newspaper

Looks just like a magical water color painting

I’ll be giving you more tips on what to do with your herbs now that it is early fall and they will soon be gone.

Addendum, December 2, 2009: Cory Trusty at Aquarian Bath (http://aquarianbath.blogspot.com/2009/12/herbal-aesthetics-decemeber-blog-party.html) is having a December "Blogparty" that included this post among the blog posts she wanted her readers to enjoy. Please click the preceding link to join in the party!

HERBS: NOW IS THE THYME!

HERBS: NOW IS THE THYME!

Parsley, basil majoram

The season is here. It’s herb gathering/harvesting time. September is the month to start drying all those herbs you have grown and used all summer. This is what I do: I harvest my bay leaves, oregano, thyme and majoram and other herbs. I place them in brown sandwich bags and put those bags in my car. The herbs dry inside the warmth of the car. The car smells wonderful during the drying and when I open the bags a day later, they are completely dry and have retained a lot of their color. Now I place the herbs in a sealed container for winter’s use. I appreciate the bay leaves the most in the dead of winter since they are so expensive when bought at that time. I use my bay leaves for soups and pasta sauces.

Herbs ready to be placed into brown bags

It is almost time to bring in the plants that I have placed outside for the summer. I’m talking about those big houseplants. This is what I do: I place a bulb of garlic inside the soil of each plant. The insects that might be abiding there will be repelled by the garlic and flee the plant. After two days, I then bring the plant inside, knowing the bugs have left.

Garlic being placed into plant's soil

I love my basil plants. I grow as much as the grounds at Woodloft, (my home) will allow. I harvest the leaves and place them alternately in a glass jar with parmesan cheese. I place it in the freezer for the winter. When opened in January, it is like summer in a jar. I use the combination in pastas and salads.They also make a great winter gift.

Layered basil and parmesan cheese

Now is also the time to plant garlic. If you plant garlic in the fall, it will be ready for an early spring harvest. All that you have to do is to plant several whole garlic bulbs about 2” underground and cover with soil. This year, I ended up with a huge number of small garlic bulbs. I was disappointed until I tasted them. Wow! They were strong and pungent. The smaller the bulb, the more flavor. I’d show you a picture, but we ate them all!

All these ideas are tried and true. (by me) More herb tips soon.




Hope you enjoyed these early fall garden tips.

HERBS

Ancient Herbalist planter

At one time, my home, Woodloft, boasted a huge herb garden. Great stands of aromatic culinary and medicinal herbs abounded there. Over the years, the magnificent trees surrounding the garden grew so large that the herbs were in shade throughout the growing season. Because I love the trees at Woodloft, I decided to move the herb garden instead of trimming the trees. I replaced the garden with my seven-circuit labyrinth and moved the herbs to sunnier ground. For a while, the herbs prevailed. After the passage of a few more years, however, the new spot, too, was shaded by trees.

Previous herb garden

Once again, I chose to move the herbs instead of cutting back the trees. This time, I moved the herbs into pots. Yes, I know – the word “pot” conjures up images of Aunt Emily’s plain, terra cotta clay potted garden. Not so here. You see, I sculpt my own pots (or planters, as I prefer to call them) or mosaic them. Some of them even match my shiny car, B-dazle.

B-dazle

Mosaiced planter

Another unusual planter titled "Madam Thyme"

I’ve painted signs on thin pieces of slate to mark the location of each herb. Some of my herb planters are nestled in crevices along Woodloft’s front walk. Others are lined up along the wall beside the driveway. Anywhere a patch of sun appears between the trees here, there’s a good chance you’ll find a planter growing herbs.

.Slate herb sign

Another herb garden slate sign

Herb planter nestled in a crevice along walkway

Shaw’s Garden in St. Louis inspired me to start growing my own herbs. The classes I took there were invaluable and my love of herbs was nurtured by the sweet, elderly teacher who seemed to know almost everything you could want to know about them. She conveyed an infectious enchantment with herbs that has remained with me to this day.

Since that time, I have read every book I could get my hands on that has anything to do with herbs. One book that made a major difference in my life was Wise Child by Monica Furlong. The story takes place in Wales, the land of my ancestors, and it inspired one of my sculptures, Moon Woman, which I embellished with a story of its own.

Moon Woman sculpture

Moon Woman

By the moon's light she plucks the herbs from the hidden dells and meadows surrounding her glen. Sometimes she gathers in the full moon and other times she waits for an eclipse. She knows the properties of the herbs are altered by the moon's different phases.

Being Celtically aware, she practices the earth rites as the old ones before. She accepts the earth as a living entity and believes in the magical order of the trees.

She has learned how to become a healer and knows that all illness begins in the mind, dwelled upon until it becomes a thought form. She teaches others to discipline their thoughts for they will take form and that if you change your thoughts, you can change your life.

Doran planter

I plan to include many posts about herbs and some of the ways I use them. Here is a picture of a typical planter I created and the story I wrote to accompany it.

The Doran

Some call her a witch because in her presence miraculous things sometimes occur. She is known to be able to cure many illnesses with the oointments, teas, tinctures and potions she makes with her herbs. She spends hours cutting, removing seeds, shredding roots, turning, drying, crushing, steeping, infusing and distilling. She uses eyebright, pennyroyal, primrose, lovage, borage and comfrey. She carefully watches the sesons: She dies with the winter and rises with the spring. She is totally in tune with the harmonics of nature because she is able to see on luminous levels. She believes we are all in some way linked together; the birds, trees, plants and flowers and we are somehow a part of something much greater than we are able to comprehend. She is majestic, serence and at peace with herelf and the universe that surrounds her. She is a doran..

One of the herbs I have used medicinally is thyme. In my study of herbs, I read that thyme helps alleviate respiratory problems.

Another large thyme planter titled "Thymekeeper"

I had a chance to test that use firsthand several years ago when a friend was using some rather noxious chemicals to clean my swimming pool. As he threw a scoop of cleaning agent into the pool, the wind shifted and he inhaled a large dose of the powder. He began to have trouble breathing, so he called the hospital. They told him to relax, to wait a while, and to come to the emergency room only if the breathing problem persisted. In the meantime, I grabbed a huge handful of thyme and made an infusion by placing it in a large glass canning jar. I poured scalding hot water over it and covered the jar with a piece of aluminum foil. After letting the thyme steep for about 5 minutes, I removed it and poured the resulting infusion through a sieve. I served it to my friend with a teaspoon of honey, telling him to drink it as hot as he could stand it. He sipped the concoction until it was gone, and within thirty minutes, he was breathing normally again with only a bit of discomfort in his chest. The active ingredient in thyme is thymol, a fairly effective antibiotic and antifungal. Wild thyme may have antispasmodic properties, this is usually observed in the context of an infection rather than chemical exposure. I have used this method time and again and I can tell you that it has always worked for me.

Infusion of thyme with mug created by Brian Seckinger

I have often encountered interesting uses of herbs for culinary purposes when I travel to other countries. I travel to Italy as often as time and money will allow. During one of my trips there, I noticed that some of the restaurants in remote rural villages displayed small glass jars with an unidentifiable solid mass immersed in pale green liquid. I eventually discovered that the solid portion of this concoction was cheese. At one of the restaurants, I convinced the elderly chef to tell me what else was in the liquid. He laughed and told me (this was actually a matter of him showing me by using hand gestures in a charade-like manner) that there really was nothing to it. He said that you take a round of goat cheese, brie or some other cheese, put it in a glass jar, and add plenty of juniper berries to “keep” the cheese. You then add whatever other herbs you like as well as several cloves of garlic. Finally, you pour the “nectar of the gods” (extra-virgin olive oil, of course) into the container to cover the cheese.

Cheese and herb jar

This cheese can sit on your counter indefinitely. Most Americans store cheese in the refrigerator, but I can tell you from experience, this method works just as well. Juniper and other herbs contain antimicrobial substances, so I suppose that is why the method works. The cheese can be served to guests by placing crackers on a plate and having your guests use a small cheese knife to scoop the cheese out of the jar. Some of the oil will follow. As you can imagine, this is a delicious appetizer.

I hope I have whetted your appetite for more herb stories – and for more herbs! If so, please “stay tuned.”