Dandelion Fritters

While some folks fret over getting dandelions out of their yards, others eat them!

Why?

They're good for you!

And- - -you can eat the entire plant :)

Blissful, huh?

The greens can be eaten in a salad or cooked as you would other greens, the root can be dried and or/roasted and ground and used as you would coffee.

The flowers can be used to make jelly and syrup, stuffed in cakes, muffins, or pancakes- and as you see here, they can be fried.

 You can dip and fry each flower individually or stir them all in your batter and drop by spoonfuls into hot grease- uhm- lard :)

When cooked this way, they hardly have any taste, but my mind seems to trick me into almost thinking it's squash, except much milder. The texture? Sorta chewy, and good!

You can mix up a whole grain batter if you like but this is quick, frugal, and easy....and being from the south, frying cornmeal, especially in lard, is tops!

DANDELION FRITTERS

2 cups rinsed, drained dandelion flowers

1 cup self-rising cornmeal (or flour, or half and half, or whole grain with salt and soda)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup of milk

Mix flour/meal, egg, and milk. Dip individual dandelions in batter and drop them into hot oil.

You can also stir the flowers into the batter and drop by tablespoons into hot oil.

Fry on each side until golden.

Drain on paper towel.

Serve plain, salt and peppered, or with a dip, such as Ranch.

Song of Sol. 2:12  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land...

Homemade Elderberry (Plus!) Syrup

With winter almost over, I guess it's really a crazy time to post about this but you gals know I'm always running late, right? You'd think with all these people around here to help me, I would be more punctual... but no, that's not how it usually happens. It's more like: "We gotta leave in 5 minutes and you can't find your shoes? You don't know where your glasses are because you can't see without them?!?! And you think you left your coat where?"

:)

Seriously though, spring often brings it's last round of germies when you least expect them so it's good to have this little treasure on hand.

There are tons of recipes online but this is my personally concocted, favorite.

(Oh and- no- I'm not going to be using garlic in it, that's just another cold remedy that I'll explain below too.)

In a small sauce pot combine:

-4 cups water

-1/2 cup dried elderberries

-1/4 cup dried olive leaves

-1 dried echinacea flower (or 1/4 cup dried)

Simmer this mixture for 1 hour, covered. (Be sure your heat is low enough that your liquid doesn't all evaporate.) Strain into a jar and add;

-1 cup of sugar (or honey)

Mix well.

Store in refrigerator. I dose about 2 tablespoons every hour until the symptoms have eased.

I usually find that we are better by day's end with this syrup. It is my new favorite remedy since watching it work wonders through this last winter season.

Frugal tips: 

-Use half cup sweetener if your littles will go along with it. The berries are quite strong so many will not take it without the extra sweet.

-Buy your herbs in bulk.

-Also, I try to grow and dry my own echinacea flowers. (Notice the header? Those have long gone to their eternal resting (tea) pot.)

-Consider other anti -viral, -fungal, -bacterial, -septic, herbs that you could grow yourself.
-You can make this using only elderberries with excellent results!

About the garlic- I often give the children a teaspoon of minced garlic, covered in honey, to help them ward off germs. Don't chew! :)

You know you're gonna get a disclaimer right?

Mmm hmm- so here it is- 

Use herbs at your own risk and discretion. I am not a doctor. I am merely sharing my experiences and recipes. 

Whew! Now back to our regularly scheduled program!

Ezek 47:12  ..and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

This post is linked to The Shabby Nest,

Summer Herb Tea

I love to simmer this for 5 to 10 minutes, strain, add cane sugar (or honey), and pour it over ice in the summer. 

5- 2inch sprigs of rosemary

2- 2 inch cinnamon sticks

peel of 1 lemon

and about 3 1/2 quarts of water

 The rosemary is straight from my garden.

 

Lavender Jelly

 I used this recipe to make Lavender Jelly today.

What a neat treat! 

It perfumed the house very well but Abby hasn't stopped huffing and sneezing since. :-)

If you've never made jelly before, it really is so easy.  It's really not much more than mixing, boiling, and pouring and you can start with bottled juice if you like.

I find it a great alternative to store-bought jelly and I love to make unique jams and jellies.

Year before last I made Green Mint Jelly and Basil Jelly.

Last year it was Violet and Dandelion Jelly and Syrup.

This year, I'm starting with Lavender and who knows where I'll go from there!

But it doesn't have to be spring, summer, or fall to make jams and jellies. I like to make them in the winter too.

I've made Cherry Jam, Strawberry Jam, Pomegranate Jelly, and Apple Jelly through the winter.

(The cherries and strawberries were from the freezer.)

It's frugal, it's fun, and it keeps you a little further away from HFCS,... if you're trying to avoid that.

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I discovered this company about a year ago when I was looking for different vitamins and supplements. I'm always looking for a bargain on a great product and there they were! (I was super excited to find an affiliate link on their site and that's why you see my little green button on the side bar.)

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Homemade Toothpaste...

Easy toothpaste, from kitchen ingredients. I've dressed it up some, but you can use what you have on hand and certainly keep it more frugal!

2 T coconut oil

3 T baking soda

1/4 t (or to taste) peppermint extract or essential oil

Opt*1 to 2 drops tea tree oil (taste is a factor with this)

2 pks of stevia, xylitol, or other non-sugar sweetener

1t glycerin *opt (for texture)

Blend well.

Store in baby food jar or other lidded container.

Medicine from the Yard....

This is going in my tea cup!

There are other pretties in this little jungle.

Like these Balloon Flowers. See why they call them that? :-)

The Tiger Lilies are blooming out early.

But this is what I came after...I shall steep you my pretty!

Dandelion Jelly...

I have to say this jelly ROCKS!

I also made some Dandelion Syrup. Some people make and/or call it "Dandelion Honey" and I see why!
It really tastes like honey, both the jelly and the syrup!   If you Google it, you can see that people do all kinds of neat things with the dandelions to make things that are honey-like, including 'syrup' sweetened with honey and flavored with butter. ...That HAS to be good!

Here's the simple way to make the jelly:

Collect about 4 to 5 cups open dandelion flowers. Snip the green ends off where you just have the yellow petals. (Don't worry about a few green sprigs, but no stems!)

Pour 4 cups boiling hot water over yellow petals, cover, and allow to steep overnight.

Strain off 3 cups of 'juice' into large pot.

Add 2 T lemon juice.

Mix in one box of Sure-jell.

Bring to a rolling boil, boil one minute.

Stir in 5 cups sugar, return to boil.

Boil one more minute, ladle into jelly jars.

*can add yellow food coloring

To make the syrup- I used almost the same ingredients, but in different order!

For the syrup:

3 cups of steeped dandelion 'juice'  (Plus another 1/4 cup later.)

Bring juice to a rapid boil, add 5 cups sugars and 2 T lemon juice,

and 1 T butter.

Return to a boil, boil one minute.

Mix one box of Sure Jell with 1/4 cup  dandelion 'juice' (or water.).

Add to the boiling mixture.

Boil rapidly for 1 minute.

Ladle into jelly jars and process as you would jelly.

The syrup looks identical to honey!
Great for pancakes, biscuits, or on sandwiches with peanut butter!
****************************************************************************

How are dandelions good for you?
It is supposed to be a 'blood builder'.
Also rich in vitamins and minerals, especially calcium.
Helps open urinary tract.
Great for the liver.
And more...see the Bulk Herb Store!

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This post is linked to:

Tuesdays at the Table

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

One of my favorite things...

You girls know how much I love my tea, right?

DH brought this in some time back and it has become one of my faves! What makes it really special is that I was planning on asking him for one for my next b-day! He read my mind- or 'my favorites'!

See..I didn't WANT to microwave my tea water- and I especially didn't want to heat up water for 6 kids in the microwave, one right after the other, right after the other, right after the other,...

And can you imagine trying to get them all to make the choice of drinking the same tea so I could just boil a pot of water on the stove?!?!!? (Hey! Look kids, here's some peppermint tea, want some or not!?)

Well, my nice little pot stops ALL the fuss!

Here's you a cup, and you a cup, and you a cup, and ....you wanna cup?

And - you know what else is really super neat about my li'l' teapot??

It whistles so I CAN'T burn the water!!!

Woo hoo!

I'm glad my dh reads my mind- or 'my favorites'!

And more importantly- I'm thankful to share hot tea with my favorite peeps on the planet, my kids!

****

For more about Gratituesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers!

A link about preventing the flu- naturally!

I get emails from this site and find much of what they say to be very interesting and helpful.
This link is dealing with flue prevention, particularly H1N1.
Thought some of you might enjoy it as it takes a more natural approach to prevention and fighting the germies!
HERE'S the link!

I found a great site!

If you are interested in the Sassafras tea that I mentioned or other things of an Amish or Mennonite nature, here's a site where you can order lots of neat things if you don't live close to a community that has a general store. YODER'S COUNTRY MARKET

That link will take you to the page that has the Sassafras concentrated tea for $3.15!

Sassafras Tea....

I've been wanting to try some of this and I found this little bottle the other day for a little over $2. Sassafras was once used in root beer. (NT talks about this.) This is a concentrated form and you add just a spoon or two to a glass of water and you have tea! A tea that tastes like root beer! Yummy!

If you remember, many months ago, I bought some sassafras and tried my hand at making my own root beer. It was OK, not like bottled, and sorta medicinal tasting.

This stuff here, however, is very mild and tasty.

A nice treat!

A neat-tea treasure!

My DH came in the other day with a super neat little find, just for me! Whatever could it be?

Well, I'll say! What a lovely little piece! Its a silver-plated brass tea steeper and stir tea infuser!

You push the end and it opens! Neat! It just slides open and you can scoop and steep!

Ginseng and licorice root anyone?

Almost like Christmas today....

Not only did I cook one of those .49 lb turkeys today, I got my order from the Bulk Herb Store!

Would you like to know what I ordered? ..Well, if you ordered, I would love to know what you got! ;-)

Okay, here's what I ordered:
(some were refills for my tea cabinet and one was new to me)
-arrowroot powder
-bentonite clay powder
-butcher's broom root
-chamomile flowers
-fenugreek seed
-ginseng root, siberian
-hops flowers
-horsetail, shavegrass
-licorice root
-passion flower
-rose hips

WFMW...Tea Steeper!

My new tea steeper for my herbs is what WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY!

Dh brought this in just for me the other day and I couldn't have been more delighted!

I had been using a mesh tea-ball from Walmart for my bedtime tea and well....it was rusting a little and making my tea taste yucky!

But this neat little gadget is stainless steel!

It is like a cup that fits in your cup! (put loose tea in it and place it in your cup of hot water) It has tiny holes in it but they are small so that the tea stays put while steeping. It has a neat little tab on the top for a handle and ...can you see the little plate-like thing that it is sitting in? Well, it doubles as a scoop and also a cover while you are steeping, and then, as you see here, you can sit the steeper in it when you are done so you don't have a big, drippy tea mess all over the counter!

A fun product to try....

I've always liked black licorice...I'm just sort of weird that way.

But this licorice takes it to a whole new level!

Real licorice is good for you!

It is said to be an expectorant, helps the adrenals, and is antispasmodic in the bowels so its good for people with bowel disease!

*You can buy licorice root from Bulk Herb Store to make tea from!

Merry Christmas to me, Merry Christmas to me...

Ok, I know its not really Christmas but when I get these.....

Its like Christmas to me!!!

Its my herbs!! Yippeeee!

I've been out of several things for many months now and it was soooo exciting to find my box on the porch this morning!

I think I've showed you before how I take the labels from those thick plastic bags and place them on jars to store the ones that I will be using.
The jars are just easier to get in and out of than those bags!
Wanna know what I ordered?
:-)
I got more Passionflower-Oh, how I love this herb!!! It makes for really sweet dreams!
I also got Butcher's Broom, Ginkgo, Peppermint, Alfalfa, my beloved Rose Hips, and a new thing, Kelp! (I've got to figure out some places to smuggle that in!)


Here's some of the others that I already had;
Olive Leaves, Yarrow, Hops, Oatstraw, Horsetail, and some hidden Bilberry. (and a teeny bit of Ginseng)
**
Now, what's frugal about the herbs?
Well, they are cheaper than pop! And you can use your choice of sweeteners- like honey, cane sugar, etc. Which will add to your health (rather than take away :-).

AND, these are nourishing your health, which is very frugal in the long run! How frugal? Well, there is one herb that I know of that helps with irregular heart beat and you can get a 3 month supply for under ten dollars- one of the drugs prescribed for that is $100 a month and on top of that, it has some very unfavorable side effects!
(you will find a link at the bottom of my page for the Bulk Herb Store where I order from and there is also a large amount of information on their site about herbs and remedies)

FOR MORE FRUGAL FRIDAY TIPS, CLICK HERE!
And if any of you are feeling chatty, I would love to hear about herbs that you've found useful!
HAPPY EASTER!

Herbs 101: Peppermint

Ahh Peppermint!

I love to keep peppermint around mainly because it covers the bitter taste of some of the teas that I use. But peppermint tea alone, is a great treat!

One of my children who won't drink herb teas will always drink a cup of peppermint tea, anytime! And yes, he will even ask for it!

Peppermint has long been used to soothe tummy troubles. Old-timers used to make mild teas for colicky babies. It helps with indigestion and bloating. That's likely why lots of antacids use peppermint to flavor their medicines! It's also good for nausea.

It is said that it can also help to reduce fever.

And it is high in several nutrients according to The Bulk Herb Store's notes on it.

Some places say that it will even cure a headache!

And you thought peppermints after a meal were just to freshen your breath! ;-)

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**Some say it's a good sub for coffee because it is a stimulant.**

(I say it's stimulating, but it's not caffeine!;-)