Monthly Archives: October 2015

It’s Hot Toddy Season!

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I love autumn! I love the abundant harvest, colors changing, brisk cool nights and my husband bringing home delicious fruit and freshly made apple cider, which is the perfect reason to start drinking one of my favorite drinks – the Hot Toddy. It is ideal after an invigorating fall hike, or when it is simply grey and raining out. This is my favorite drink that I start enjoying during autumn and throughout the winter. Grab a mug, next time you’re snuggling up next to the wood stove. hot toddy

Debbie’s Hot Toddy Recipe

(makes 1 serving)

  •  1 mug full of Red Jacket Apple Cider (if you cannot find it, ask your local grocer to stock it or use another local apple cider)
  • 2 oz. of rum (the darker the better)
  • 1/2 inch of fresh ginger root

Peel and chop ginger root, add all the ingredients to a saucepan, simmer for 5 minutes. If you are lazy, like I can be from time to time, put the mug full of ingredients into the microwave for 2 minutes.

I also find this drink wonderful and very soothing when I feel like my body is fighting some invading germs. It always seems to make me feel much better.

Enjoy!

 

When you just have to stop the bleeding

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The other day I was washing my herbal press. Unbeknownst to me at the time, it had very sharp edges. I found this out when all of a sudden there was blood flowing with the water in the sink. I had sliced my index and pinky finger. It was not bad enough for stitches, but neither was wrapping a cloth around it good enough. I actually became rather excited about the fact that I had two similar cuts at the same time. See, I love teachable moments and testing herbs. I had always wondered which herb was a better styptic (contracting tissue to seal injured blood vessels) ~ Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) or Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Both herbs have a long history of the being superstar first aid herbal remedies. Achilles kept Yarrow on hand during the Trojan Wars and the Ancient Germans always gathered Goldenrod before heading into battle.

Yarrow stopped the bleeding

Yarrow stopped the bleeding.

styptic goldenrod

Goldenrod stopped the bleeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I went outside, collected and bruised some Goldenrod and Yarrow leaves, before wrapping the Goldenrod around my index finger and Yarrow around my pinky. I left them on for five minutes. Both herbs stopped the bleeding completely. The only difference I noticed was that there was some dried blood on the index finger (Goldenrod) and the pinky was clean (Yarrow). From my little experiment, I can easily surmise that both herbs are excellent styptics but Yarrow leaves a cleaner wound. So folks, if you ever need to stop bleeding quickly, pick whichever herb is closer.

What herbs do you use to stop bleeding? Please share and I will continue to share.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.