Somebody asked me how to make dandelion tea so I thought I would do a quick post on it. I can’t post pictures since our dandelions are not growing yet. You can make tea from the leaves , flowers or root. For fresh leaves use about a 1 to 2 ratio ½ cup leaves to 1 cup water. Put leaves in pan and cover with water let boil about 3 minutes then strain and add sweetener of your choice. You can drink it hot or iced. You can also dry the leaves for storage to have year round. If using dried leaves use 2 Tablespoon dried leaves per cup of water. You can add the blossoms to the leaves if you would like or you can make a tea with just the blossoms. I found this recipes over at http://wellnessmama.com/4505/iced-lime-dandelion-tea/
I haven’t tried it yet, but can’t wait to, it sounds so good Lime & Dandelion Tea 1 quart of dandelion flowers (or more)- Pick them fresh and use immediately so they don’t wilt! Get only the yellow parts, and pull off any leaves (use in salads) or stems
3 quarts of cold water
1 cup of hot (not quite boiling) water
The juice of 3-4 limes
2-3 tablespoons dried stevia leaf or sweetener or choice (honey, cane sugar, etc, to taste)
1/2 cup dried red raspberry leaf (optional)
In a jar or cup, pour the hot water over the stevia leaf and dried red raspberry leaf using) and stir well. If using another sweetener, put it in the warm water instead. Let steep 5-8 minutes and then strain off the herbs.
Pour the sweetened liquid from the stevia
Add the Dandelion flowers and mix gently. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or until completely chilled and serve. You can strain out the flowers or pour them into the cups. Bonus points if you freeze them into ice cubes for decoration! You can also make a tea with the roots most people dry the roots but you can use the fresh root if you like. If using fresh roots clean and chop add 2 tablespoons fresh root each cup of water.
To dry the roots start by washing the fresh roots make sure they are clean you may need to soak them in water for a little while to help get the dirt off.
Preheat your oven to 150. In the meantime chop you roots into about ½ inch pieces spread the roots on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven to dry about 2 hours when they are brittle turn the oven up to 375 degrees and cook them for another 10 minutes. Use 1 Tablespoon of root per cup of water. Put the root in the water and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to ten minutes until desired strength. Drain off the roots and add a sweetener of you choice, you could also add some cinnamon , Ginger or lemon if you would like.. You can also make a tea with the whole plant make sure it is clean chop in to smaller pieces then add 1 ½ cup dandelions to a pot and cover with 3 cups water then add a pinch of baking soda and boil for 3 to 4 minutes strain add sweetener of your choice you can add some lemon , cinnamon or ginger if you would like.
If you would prefer Dandelion coffee there is a real good recipe here .
Dandelions are such an amazing plant that has so many uses. They also grow just about anywhere so they are easy to find. Although most people just think of them as an annoying weed. In reality it is an herb that is beneficial from root to blossom. Do be careful where you gather your dandelion from, make sure they haven’t had pesticides or weed killers used on them. Medicinal Uses Dandelion has a great safety record it has no cautionary drug interactions, cumulative toxic effects, or contraindications for use. All parts a edible and they are in high nutritional Value. Dandelion root contains vitamins A, B-complex, C and D as well as the minerals Iron, Zinc and Potassium. This combination of vitamins and minerals also makes dandelion root a High Antioxidant Food.
Dandelions are regarded as one of the best herbs for building blood and curing anemia. It also acts a as diuretic and has ample potassium to replace what is lost from frequent urination. Aids in digestion. Stimulates liver activity. In Europe, it's used to treat Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes, It can help normalize blood sugar levels. Because of its blood-cleaning ability it helps eliminate toxins thus helping treat skin irritations such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis. Dandelion tea is good for relieving constipation, flatulence, and can help reduce high cholesterol. The white, milky sap is used as an effective wart remover. You can make a tea, capsules, tinctures, syrups, and salves, Eating and cooking Dandelion greens are more nutritious then spinach. Leaves taken in the spring will need to be blanched to reduce the bitterness. In the fall there is no need to blanch as the bitterness will have dissipated naturally, You can use the flowers to make wine, jelly (recipe here), add to butters and herb vinegars for color. The roots can be roasted and ground then used in place of coffee ( you want the fall roots for this).
8 Cans tuna If you don't care for tuna or afraid of the contaminates in it, just get some sort of canned meat.
Spices and Herbs get what you use. You might even want to try and grow your own. If you grow your own, just get what you can't grow. If you are going to grow your own you might want to get a little bit of them just to make sure you can grow enough for what you use. It may take a year or so to adjust how grow to how much you use.
Add more water to your water storage.If you are filling your own containers you might want to go ahead and get a couple cases of water bottles.
Put a little more into your money stash.
How is your alternative cooking coming along?
Are you finding canning supplies?
Have a great week.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Sorry I have been MIA for so long. I have been focusing on my health and getting my self back to where I need to be. I am finally getting some energy back and starting to feel like a person again. Still have a little ways to go but I am feeling better every day and starting to enjoy doing some of the things I haven’t done in a while because I was always so tired.
I will try to get my Food Storage Challenge caught up this week and get stated on the herbs again.
I have been getting a little done Almost finished with onions my family will be very glad when this is done they keep telling me how bad the house smalls like onions.(have to admit I am starting to get tired of the smell to.) I am also almost done with potatoes.
We are almost finished with the kitchen I have one more tile wall to grout then the biggest portion will be done, still a little finish up work but at least the biggest jobs are done. Hope to have pictures soon of it.
25 pounds sugar or a gallon of honey If you buy honey try to get local honey it is better for you. If you do get it from the store make sure it is 100 % honey with no added corn syrup or other things.
Bath and dish soap if you plan to make your own you will need to get lye and some extra lard , shortening, or some kind of fats.
First Aid supplies I have a list here of some things you should have in your first aid kits.
Add more to your money stash.
Get more water.
For march you need to try and figure out some alternative ways for cooking. If you have a wood stove you might practice cooking on it. A BBQ, rocket stove, solar oven, or a wonder oven. I am wanting to make a solar and wonder ovens to cook on this summer to try and save on propane.There are a lot of patterns for both on the Internet.
The skill for the month is Herbs, try to learn and collect information on medicinal herbs. Learn about what grows in your area , so you are not dependant on store bought herbs.
The item to get for the month is canning supplies. If you don't have canner try to get one. If you do have a canner, stock up on jars and lids you might want to think about tattler reusable lids.
Between the Anemia and watching what is going on in the Ukraine and Russia I haven’t got much else done. I went back to my doctor the other day. She said she had never seen numbers as low as mine ( when I do something I do it up right lol ). So I am on extra iron and as I had mentioned I had a iron infusion. She wants me to do another infusion, and keep taking the iron I have been taking it with vit C to help it absorb better but it is not setting well on my stomach so she changed it to apple cider vinegar, that really tore up my stomach so I had to take a couple days off from anything and get my stomach back to normal. So now I am still taking the iron 3 times a day but I am only taking it with 500 mg of C ( instead of 1000) when I eat lunch. In addition I made some capsules out of Nettles ( helps to absorb iron) Burdock, yellow dock and dandelion root which are all high in Iron. I am taking these 3 times a day when I taking the iron. I also added some nettles to my tea that I drink every day , and am trying to eat more high iron foods. I have taken several days off from blogging and just about everything else to get some extra rest, I promised the doctor that I would do that if she didn’t put me on complete bed rest, Although have to admit complete bed rest would be nice for a day or two, but I have way to much to do. ( I did spend a lot of time in bed this weekend though.) And when the kids are taking their naps I try to sit and rest. So hopefully this will all help to get my iron to where it needs to be. I am already starting to feel a little better, and trying to have patience with this, I just keep thinking of all the things that need to be done. With all the things going on in the world plus with what the droughts and floods are doing to our food supplies I feel as if I am running out of time to get things done. But I guess I wouldn’t be much help if I collapse, or end up in the hospital lol.
