Tag Archive | medicinal

Apple Cider Vinegar

Sep15

As we move towards autumn I notice the smell in the air, the light cast by the sun, and colour of leaves take on a distinct change. I can’t believe the Autumn Equinox is just a week away— a sure sign of deepening into the the fall, which will certainly draw me more internal. Since childhood, there is no sign more telltale that autumn is here then apples ripe on the tree. And apples ripe on the tree indicate it’s time to make apple cider vinegar, one of nature’s most powerful healing elixirs and one of my favourite autumnal home garden projects.

Apple cider vinegar is so easy to make, and each time I do, I think back to the thousands, possibly millions of generations of people who have been doing so, and I find myself drifting into a distant memory of how our ancestors first came to understand its countless health benefits. With a natural acidity, it proves to be an antibacterial, and due to the naturally containing “good” bacteria it assists in breaking down food and is perfect for sorting out upset stomaches and augmenting our infection-fighting medicinal vinegars (read more about those here). Apple cider vinegar makes an excellent hair rinse, especially in the treatment of dandruff or fungus on the scalp and  it makes a fabulous facial toner (for these two purposes, you must dilute with 50% water or else it’ll really sting!).
The National Arthritis Association lists it as a potential remedy for easing arthritis due to its Malic acid content; and it is also listed as a possible solution (some swear by it) for weight loss by breaking down undigested food, balancing blood sugar levels (thus minimizing food cravings), and improving overall efficiency of digestion. And there are plenty of ancedotal claims of people stating it has lowered their cholesterol (it’s natural pectin attaches to cholestrol globules) and even blood pressure. I’ve had many people in my practice try it for eliminating Gout — with success I’m happy to report. How much? Just 2 tablespoons taken a day is the general dose for gaining health benefits from apple cider vinegar. Yes, you can mix it with water and honey to make it more palatable. And you can also add it to salad dressings, veggies and more. Just do not cook it or heat it excessively or else you’ll kill all the good stuff.

Fresh fir needles soaked in home-made cider vinegar for coughs and colds

Apple cider vinegar is also known to relieve constipation, sore throats, coughs, sinus infections, headaches and more. For a more exhaustive list on what apple cider can do for your health, check out this book here, written by one of the “authorities” on the subject, the Bragg family. Personally, I am skeptical of any ONE thing being promoted as a cure-all, and I cannot atest for all of the health claims given to Apple Cider Vinegar. But, I do have personal and professional experience with it easing constipation, dandruff, scalp fungus, sore joints, a myriad of digestive complaints, a skin toner, gout, and decreasing food cravings. And, as mentioned on this blog under Herbal Vinegars in February’s post, I adore it most for serving as one of the best extracts for herbal medicines. It really brings home the concept of local medicine if you ask me!
So let’s get to it: HERE’S HOW YOU MAKE YOUR OWN APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

**If you cannot make your own apple cider vinegar, you can purchase some at your local health food store or natural grocer. However, read the fine print on the bottle and ensure that it is organic and unpasturized apple cider vinegar.

1. Start by either pressing your own apples for juice, or purchase some freshly pressed apple juice from a local farmer. Be sure no water has been added. It must be real, whole, unadulterated apple juice with nothing added or taken away. I have never used pasturized juice, only the fresh stuff right from the farm. Confirm these apples have not been sprayed! It’s important the apples have been drug free.

Apple juice pressed from our apples

2. Defrost your juice if it has been frozen. This is a great way to use last year’s batch if you still have some in the freezer. Next, find yourself  a large, wide mouth jar or earthenware crock. Clean it meticulously. Then dry it, and pour your juice into the vessel.

3. Next, you want to cover your vessel to prevent dust, bugs, or other unwanted particles from entering your cider. However, you also WANT some healthy air exchange for it to breathe. Keep in mind that this substance is alive. Anything that is alive, ferments. We want to assist in the fermentation process by allowing healthy exchange to occur, and for that, we do need some air circulation like anything alive does.

I like to cover my vessel with a tightly woven, very clean and dry cloth. I tie it with a string to fasten it, and as always, I date the cider so when it is done, I know how long it took to get the right taste and acidity to my liking.

That’s it! You do not need to add anything to it. The next step is just to let Nature do her magic.

How do you know it’s done? Taste it. It can take anywhere between 3 weeks or 3 months to get the acidity you like. I find that 3 or 4 weeks usually makes for a good cider vinegar. If you like, you can purchase pH strips from the health food store and test it for acidity. You’re looking for a pH reading below 4.5. However it is not necessary to test your vinegar with strips. Let your taste buds be your guide.

NOTES:

- Within a few days – depending on the temperature outside and in your home — a frothy foam may manifest. That’s ok, it means that the natural sugars are being digested by the good bacteria and fermentation is taking place. You can, with a clean spoon, scoop away the foam.

- If blue bacteria shows up on the foam, it doesn not mean the cider is bad. Again, just scoop it away.

- You will notice clumps of concentrated particles begin to form this is called the “Mother“, and is a positive sign. Do not scoop these away! This is the concentrated good bacteria. Some people prefer to filtre these out once their cider is done, and compost them. This is a personal preference. You can also save these, add add them to your next batch of juice to speed up the process of a fresh batch of cider–however in this case they’d need to be used immediately.

NOW WHAT?

Once you’ve reached the acidity you like (determined by taste or test strips), strain it through a mesh strainer and either compost the majority of the “Mother” or hold it back for a new batch (remember it must be used immediately). Bottle the cider vinegar in clean glass bottles. Mason jars will work, so will wine bottles, or anything else you like. It does not need to be refridgerated; but if you do, that’s okay too. It will naturally age, slowly, over time.

Now, use it in salad dressings, pour it over your food, take in water, tea, mixed with honey, or any other which way you like. As mentioned, my favourite is using it for even further health benefits by turning it into a medicinal herbal vinegar. I hope you find this home project as satisfying as I do.

Enjoy!
Jamie Capranos

California Poppies

Jul10

I’ve just returned home after spending nearly 2 months in California. Oh how I love that state! The people, the mountains, the sunshine, and of course the bright and bountiful flowers found everywhere.

Here I am standing in wildflowers along a sidewalk in Oakland, CA.

There are many things that impress me about California, and San Francisco in particular. One of those things is how at every street corner, at nearly every shop, or even alley way,  beauty, spirit and activism seems to be remarkably woven together.
Take the Women’s Centre building for instance:

To get an idea of the scale of these murals, notice the two people standing in front of the building. Not only are the paintings gorgeous in their bright colour, they are rich with meaning. The sign held by one of the characters reads, “More funds for women’s health research”.

What I love most about the murals on this building is the effort to illustrate diverse representation within women’s health. In the paintings we have a woman in what looks like a doctor or nurse uniform with her tools of technology behind her. Next, a woman with a placard fighting for more funding; then a woman performing energy healing.

When not awe-struck by all the art my eyes, as usual, settle on what weeds are bursting through the sidewalk cracks. Here it was loud and clear:

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) were abundant everywhere! This beautiful plant also grows wildy all over Salt Spring Island. It somehow made sense to see so much of this beautiful flower that is also a sedative and helpful for insomnia. San Francisco is so stimulating, it was easy to never sleep with all the great people, food, music, and creative city life.  Of course the flower would be plentiful on every corner generously offering itself to the human aid. Plants are amazing that way–they grow where they are most needed.

Unlike it’s cousin the Opium poppy, California poppy is not a narcotic nor addictive.  In fact, it normalizes the nervous system, making it a safe choice for sleeplessness, anxiety and nervousness, even in small children. I have mostly used it in cases of irritability, heat congestion in the liver coupled by insomnia or restless sleep. I have used it in a small handful of cases for sciatica and other sharp shooting pains and it has worked very well.
I’ve made a fresh tincture with it, and also brewed it as a tea. If you have it growing around you, harvest the entire plant (flower, stem, leaves and all), chop it, and dry it for tea. Beware, it is VERY bitter! I combine it with mint, or some other palate-pleasing herb to buffer the intense flavour.

Speaking of, it’s beautiful outside, and I’m eager to be back on the island. I’m off to walk the garden before night falls, and plan next weeks post.

Have you tried California poppy? Let me know if you do. Write comments & questions below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Green Blessings,
Jamie Capranos

Spring!

Mar25

I love the month of March. In particular,  I love the dramatic intensity of the weather this time of year brings:  the sudden rain followed by the sudden break of sunshine; the cleansing wild winds followed by stillness; the noticable lengthening of daylight past Equinox; the cheerful twittering of birds; lambs and calves peppering the newly green fields where I live, and of course the nettles!

Every part of the nettle plant is edible: root, leaf, stalk, and seed.

Spring nettles are nutritionally dense. All the vitality of the plant is pushing upwards

towards the sun, grasping for the rich nutrients of sunlight that are then metabolized in the plant offering those who eat it a broad spectrum of every mineral and vitamin one would ever need. In particular the plant is rich in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and trace minerals. Nettle is an herb that powerfully supports the kidney’s and adrenals, but really improves function for every organ and gland in the body. As it’s an effective (yet gentle) diuretic, be careful to not drink too much close to bedtime, or else you’ll be up several times to take a trip to the bathroom!
In addition to the phenomenal benefits to the kidney’s & adrenals, nettle promotes lactation for nursing women (and other animals), is used in the treatment of eczema, hives, allergies, hayfever, tonifies the gallbladder, liver, soothes intestinal ulcers, asthma, inflammatory conditions of any nature, and balances blood sugar levels (I use it for this).
For deep nourishment, drink 2 cups of fresh nettle tea (of leaf and stalk) every day. Many comment on a noticable improvment to the quality and shine of skin, hair, eyes and general energy level. This is a reflection of the rich treasure trove of minerals and vitamins. Next to my grandmother, I learned much of what I know about nettle from beloved herbalist Susun Weed and later Tammy Ryan, herbalist and beekeeper.

Fresh nettle can be used in cooking just about anywhere you’d otherwise use spinach. Yes, that means spanokopita, lasagna, stirfries, soup and steam like any other green vegetable! The little “stinging” hairs are eliminated once cooked. You can also make pesto with it – fresh not steamed or cooked!! – then freeze it to enjoy all winter! When its put into a blender, the stinging hairs vanish.

One of my all-time favourite ways to use nettle is as a gomasio (Japanese seasoning) of equal parts dried nettle leaf, dulse flakes, and sesame seeds. Here’s a photo of the one I have in my kitchen

 Just sprinkle on veggies, rice, etc. It’s really delicious!

You can also harvest some to dry thereby enjoy all year. Nettle infusion (that is make a strong tea and steep it covered for 20 minutes or more) is far more nutritive then ANY vitamin you’d ever purchase. Here’s how to harvest nettle to dry:  

1. With sharp kitchen scissors, snip several inches of nettle tops into a basket or brown paper bag. You may wish to wear gloves, as the nettles do sting! This is the formic acid (which by the way is a natural medicine unto itself and not exactly toxic).
Do not take the entire plant unless there are plenty left behind. This is out of respect to the natural world and plant communities.
When you snip portions of a plant, ensure you’ve left behind the remaining stalk with green leaves which will allow the plant to continue to be nourished by the sun, and continue to grow.

2.  When I bring home my nettle harvest, I lay out large sheets of newspaper, or large flat drying baskets, and snip the nettle (stalks and leaves) in small pieces on to the paper/baskets. I spread them out so there’s plenty of room for air to circulate. I do this in a dry room avoiding direct sunlight on the plant material. I shake them daily, and when they are nice and dry and crispy, they are ready to put into a jar, and are stored in my kitchen cupboard. This affords a delicious, mineral rich tea year round! Don’t forget to label your medicine with the full name, date, and where you harvested.

Simply boil some water in a kettle, and pour 2 cups of that water over a good handful of fresh or dried nettles. Cover. Steep for at least 20 minutes and enjoy!
P.S. your compost will love the exhausted nettles post-tea, and any left over liquid your house  plants will love to drink! Nettles have long since been used in organic gardening to re-mineralize soil just like they do to our bodies….