Recipes
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On this page, you will find recipes and
instructions for making various herbal items. If there is something
you would like to see here, let me
know! Here is a listing of what you will find now, with links to the position on the page. How to brew an herbal infusion How to brew an herbal decoction Lavender Honey Mustard Dressing
How to brew an herbal infusion
Start with good spring water, or filtered water. Pure well water is a good choice, too. Please don’t use city tap water that’s been treated with chemicals. Heat the water to boiling. Place ½ cup of packed dried herbs or 2 cups of chopped in a quart jar with a tight fitting lid. Fill to the top with the hot water and cover the jar with the lid, to prevent the precious oils and nutrients from evaporating into the air. When cooled slightly, tighten the lid. I recommend against using plastic containers, because unhealthful chemicals would leach into your infusion from the plastic. Allow the herbs to infuse for at least half an hour and up to 8 hours. If it works better for your schedule, infuse them overnight! Strain the liquid through a tea strainer or sieve into another glass container with a lid. Compost the herbs. If you don’t have a compost pile, spread the wet herbs on the ground in your garden, yard, park, even under a tree along the street. Returning these herbs to the earth enriches the soil and helps to feed the plants living nearby. Depending on the herbs, & your reason for drinking the infusion, you might have a few sips or a quart per day. Do your research or consult your health practitioner! Copyright 2005 Sarah Campbell & Jen Frey
How to brew an herbal decoction Start with good spring water, or filtered water. Pure well water is a good choice, too. Please don’t use city tap water that’s been treated with chemicals. Place ¼ cup of dried roots, barks and/or seeds in a stainless steel or glass saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add a quart of water. Bring water to a boil, cover & turn heat to low, simmering for twenty minutes or so. Roots, bark & seeds need more than just steeping to draw out their goodness into your tea, so this is why we simmer them. Even with the lid on, the liquid will be reduced by about half, both by evaporation & because the herbs will absorb some. Strain the liquid through a tea strainer or sieve into a beautiful mug and drink. Compost the herbs. If you don’t have a compost pile, spread the wet herbs on the ground in your garden, yard, park, even under a tree along the street. Returning these herbs to the earth enriches the soil and helps to feed the plants living nearby. Drink 1 to 2 cups day. Copyright 2006 Sarah Campbell Dream PillowsA dream pillow is a small pouch filled with herbs, which have been selected to stimulate dreaming. It is a simple magical spell, or prayer, for vivid dreams. Let’s start with the fabric. I like to use cotton, flax, hemp or silk. Flannel would probably make a nice dream pillow, too. Please don’t use any synthetic fabrics! You’ll need two pieces of fabric – 5”x5” is about as small as I’d recommend using. I usually make mine 5”x8”. With the right sides facing together, sew up three of the four sides, leaving one end open for filling with herbs. Before filling with your herb mixture, turn the little pillow case right side out. You can add any decorative trims, embroidery, beads and ribbons that you like, or leave the pillow plain & simple. Now you need to make a mixture of the herbs you want to use to fill the pillow. Think a bit about what properties you want your dream pillow to have as you select the herbs. Here is a list of herbs you might want to use and a little about the energetic properties of each one. If other herbs are calling to you, follow your intuition!
Bay leaves Protection, psychic awareness Calendula Prophetic dreams, protection Cinquefoil Prophetic dreams, money & riches Heather Luck, memory Hibiscus Love & lust, divination Hops Relaxing, healing, lulls you to sleep Jasmine Astral projection, love & sex, spirituality Lavender Protection, purification, calm, peace, happiness Lemon balm Very relaxing, purification, health Meadowsweet Happiness, peace, love Mugwort Vivid dreams, psychic awareness, astral projection Poppy psychic dreams (remember Dorothy?) Rose Love, prophetic dreams, beauty, opening heart Sandalwood Astral projection, divination, sex, healing, protection Thyme Courage, health, love Vetiver Protective seal Yarrow Psychic awareness, protective shield, courage Fill your pillow, sew up the open end, and SWEET DREAMS! Sarah C Campbell, Copyright 2004 I LOVE this pesto! It stays a
beautiful, bright green color even when you put a bowl of it out for dip!
You certainly can't say that about basil! I
got the idea several years ago from Susan Hess, at the Farm at Coventry. In the food processor chop between 1 and 6 cloves of garlic, depending on Sarah Campbell, Copyright 2005 One of my favorite easy to make skin care items is an oatmeal scrub. It
always a big hit when I do skin care classes where everyone gives themselves a
facial. In your blender, put: Apply the paste to your face, using a
gentle circular motion with your middle and ring fingers. Start at your chin &
work up and out from the center of your face. Your index finger is too strong,
and will apply too much pressure. The up and out direction of application helps
to avoid downward stretching of your skin ( and thus fewer wrinkles in the long
run). Don't apply to your eyelids because you don't want to get any of this in
your eyes by accident! And if you don't have the time to make the facial scrub yourself, you can order it here! Sarah Campbell, Copyright 2004
This super-nutritious smoothie is part of breakfast at our house every day. It’s important to me to have enough protein to get the day off to a good start, and this recipe certainly fills that need. The yogurt gives us the digestive enzyme support we need, and the super foods help to maintain our energy levels all day! As with all foods, organic is a better choice, if you can afford it. You can find the bee pollen, Sarah’s Super Green powder, and many tinctures for sale on this website. Just go to the Products page with your shopping list! In your blender put: 1 ripe banana 1 cup frozen blueberries
2 heaping teaspoons bee pollen 1 or 2 heaping teaspoons Sarah’s’ Super Green powder 2 teaspoons Flax Seed Oil or Cod Liver Oil (or one of each!) 1-1/2 cups cranberry juice or blueberry juice 2 cups whole milk yogurt with no thickeners
Blend on the Puree setting for 2 minutes, to fully dissolve the Green powder and the bee pollen. You can also add tinctures to this smoothie, as long as everyone drinking the smoothie is taking the same tinctures. In the Fall & Winter, we all take Astragalus tincture to strengthen our immune systems, so we are better able to fight off the colds & flu that make the rounds. My husband & I both take Hawthorn berry tincture to give us strong hearts, so that goes in most days, year-round. Serves 2 to 4, depending on the size of the glass. It's not always easy to find plain yogurt with no thickeners in this country. I am fortunate enough to have a nearby dairy farmer make yogurt for me from raw milk! Check with your local farmers, or consider making your own from local organic milk. White Mountain and Seven Stars both make very nice yogurts that you should be able to get your local health food store to order. Stonyfield and Dannon are widely available, but both contain thickeners & will re-set if you don't drink the smoothie immediately. copyright Sarah Campbell, 2005
A friend of mine sent me a version of this recipe from the West Country of England, & I think it's fabulous! This should be made with young, tender nettles, early in Spring. To avoid being "stung" by the nettles, you might want to wear clean gardening gloves for harvesting, washing & chopping. If there is any sting, it will be gone by the time the nettles are wilted. It is quite possible to handle nettles without being stung, but it takes a brave heart and unwavering attention! Olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 3 Cups young nettles (use only the top few inches), washed & chopped 2 pounds potatoes 2 Tablespoons butter 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 cup Dulse flakes or sea salt to taste Black pepper to taste 1 cup plain yogurt Wash the nettles and chop coarsely. In soup pot, saute chopped onion in olive oil until clear. Add nettles and simmer for about 10 minutes, until limp. Meanwhile, cut potatoes into thick slices. Add stock to the nettles, heat & add potatoes, Dulse flakes & pepper. Simmer on low until potatoes are soft. Cool slightly & puree with a stick-blender. Stir in yogurt & serve. Copyright 2005&2006, Sarah Campbell
adapted from recipe from Lesley Ann in England
another (adapted) recipe from Lesley Ann in
England!
Sarah's Elderberry
Cordial
 This recipe is so simple it's almost unbelievable, and it's incredibly delicious! Double or quadruple the recipe for a batch that is large enough to give you a nightcap all winter long, and perhaps a few gifts for your favorite people! Elderberries are wonderful anti-oxidants, high in Vitamin C, and seem to actually prevent viruses from being able to adhere to our insides!
1pint fresh elderberries OR 1 cup
dried berries
1 pint 80 proof brandy (I use E&J)
1 pint Maple syrup - use only the pure maple syrup
3-5
cinnamon sticks
Put elderberries in a quart jar & muddle well. Add
cinnamon sticks. Then add equal parts brandy & maple syrup until the jar is
full. Cover tightly. Macerate for 6 to 8 weeks, shaking gently
every few days. Strain & bottle.
Copyright 2005, Sarah Campbell
Sarah's Chocolate Raspberry Cordial I was inspired to make this cordial using my favorite dessert flavour combination - chocolate and raspberries. It came out even better than I dreamed of! This would make wonderful gifts for your favorite friends! 2 pints raspberries Copyright 2006, Sarah Campbell Lavender Honey Mustard Dressing Years ago, when I started eliminating any source of hydrogenated oils from my diet, I found that there were no commercial salad dressings which fit this criteria! Not even in health food stores. What a shock. Anyway, I had to start making my own dressings. This one has become a favorite at our house. 1/8 Cup dried lavender flowers 1/4 Cup red or Vadalia onion, chopped fine 1/4 Cup prepared dijon-style mustard 1/4 Cup honey 1/2 Cup white wine vinegar 1-1/2 Cups extra virgin Olive oil Place all ingredients in a jar and shake well. Let sit for at least a few hours to allow the flavors to meld & the lavender to hydrate. You could probably do this in a food processor or blender if you didn't want to have to shake it. To make a honey poppy seed dressing, just replace the lavender flowers with poppy seeds, and the white wine vinegar with apple cider vinegar. Copyright 2005, Sarah Campbell
So, here is Rosemary Gladstar's recipe first, and then I will put my
recipe & additional thoughts. Have fun!
1 Cup sesame butter
1/2 Cup or more honey
2 vials royal jelly
Coconut, carob chips and or powder, ground nuts, chopped fruit, etc. to
taste
1 tablespoon Spirulina
3 tablespoons Bee Pollen
3 tablespoons Dong Quai powder
2 tablespoons Ginseng powder
Mix honey & sesame butter into a paste. Stir in the remaining
ingredients and mix well. Adjust flavors to taste. Roll into balls.
Eat & Enjoy!
And here's my version of the recipe we both call Crone Candy. Mine's
for a larger batch, since I sell them locally.
3 Cups sesame tahini
2 Cups dried apricots
1 1/2 cups dried, unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 Cups honey
1/2 Cup Sarah's Super Green powder
1/4 Cup Dong Quai powder
1/4 Cup Ginseng powder
1/4 Cup Motherwort powder
4 Tbsp Bee Pollen
1 heaping teaspoon Royal Jelly
Put the dried apricots in the bowl of a food processor & chop until
fine. Add all other ingredients & process until thoroughly mixed. If
the mixture is too dry, add more honey. Roll into 1 inch balls. I
often recommend eating one mid-morning and 1 mid-afternoon. They keep
my energy levels even all day; no dips! After a few weeks your body
will be more nourished and you might begin to sense that you don't want
to eat as many of them. Listen to your body!
Almost any herbs could be powdered and added to the mixture. I think
I'll try Ashwaganda powder next time! And licorice powder would be nice
for women who are hypothyroid, but not if they have high blood
pressure. Slippery elm powder might be nice for women who tend toward
chronic constipation, or women who struggle with anorexia, or women who
are weak from an illness & recovering.
Copyright 2005, Sarah Campbell This next recipe comes from my friend Shekhinah, and was given to her by her long-time herbalist in Santa Cruz, Christy Hawley, at Inner Ecology. Thanks to Christy for agreeing to share it here! This is a healing recipe for help with upset or injured stomach, colon, or any other station on the g.i. tract: In one quart of good filtered water stir 1/4 cup of slippery elm bark. Cap and let sit out on counter overnight or 8 to 12 hours. Next day squeeze through a cheesecloth into another container. I use a big gallon jar because it has a nice wide mouth. I rubber band my cheesecloth to the top of the jar, and push the cloth down into it as far as it will go without being disengaged anywhere from the rubber band. Pour water/slippery elm mixture through cheesecloth and into big jar. With the back of a large spoon you can push a lot more of the mixture through. Finally I gather up the cloth by its edges as I remove the rubber band and squeeze what remains of that egg-whitish liquid into the jar. Keep the mixture capped and refrigerated. Stir and pour yourself a portion now and then and sip throughout the day to keep your g.i. tract soothed, healed, and comforted. If you have a prolonged condition, my healer Christy recommends ingesting this concoction for two or three days, then taking one day break, then starting again as needed. Slippery elm can also be cooked with other herbs or alone as a hot brew. It does get thick after sitting a while in the pot though, which makes it hard to strain. For my hot brews I usually strain earlier before that happens. Other wonderful herbs to add for digestion help are chamomile, calendula flowers, lavender flowers, lemon balm, marshmallow root, and licorice root. FIG & RASPBERRY CRISP WITH LAVENDER HONEY CREME This recipe comes from Donna on the Lavender Recipes list that I'm on. She got it years ago from her friend, Wendy in Millcreek, CA, who has it in an old handwritten cookbook. Prep & Cook Time: about 1 hour Notes: You can bake the crisp up to 8 hours ahead, then let it cool; cover and let stand at room temperature. As a topping, thick and creamy Greek yogurt makes a nice alternative to sour cream. 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 Cups firmly packed brown sugar 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch 2 Quarts very ripe figs (2-1/2 pounds) stems trimmed, rinsed & cut in half lengthwise 1 Cup red or black raspberries, rinsed 1/2 Cup cream cheese (4 oz) at room temperature 1/4 Cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Cup Maple or Vanilla flavored granola 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts 1 Cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt 3 Tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon chopped fresh lavender buds Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Convection oven is not recommended. In a large bowl mix 1/4 C brown sugar and the cornstarch. Gently mix in the figs and raspberries. Taste, and if needed, stir in up to 4 more Tbsp brown sugar. Pour into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. In another bowl, with a wooden spoon, mix 1 C brown sugar, cream cheese, butter & salt until well blended. Stir in granola and walnuts just to blend. Distribute this topping over fig mixture, allowing some fruit to remain bare. Bake until top is browned and juices are bubbling near center, 40 to 45 minutes. If topping is brown before juices bubble, cover crisp lightly with foil. Let cool on a rack at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix sour cream, honey, lavender buds and vanilla. Cover and chill. Spoon warm or cool crisp into bowls and top each serving with a generous dollop of lavender-honey sour cream. Makes about 6 servings
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