Herbal Household Remedies

Via: Salt Lake Tribune

Grow these herbs to create a soothing homemade tea
By Maria Noel Groves
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/11/2008 04:50:58 PM MDT

Creating your own herbal tea can be a cinch with the right herbs. Here are some options for your garden:

ANISE HYSSOP
Agastache foeniculum, Mint Family
Anise hyssop brightens many home gardens with its long-lasting purple spikes. The leaves and flowers taste like licorice and can be snipped into salad as easily as they can be turned into sweet tea. Also consider root beer-flavored sunset hyssop (A. rupestris) and bright pink bubble gum mint (A. cana), says Tammi Hartung, herbalist and author of “Growing 101 Herbs that Heal.” These beauties attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

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Via: Otago Daily Times Online

Herbs should pass fresh test

By Charmian Smith on Wed, 11 Jun 2008
Food & Wine

Sometimes I think the quest for convenience spoils our appreciation of fresh products.

Gourmet Garden, an Australian company that manufactures convenience herbs in tubes, sent some samples recently.

From the accompanying blurb and the website with recipes (www.gourmetgarden.com) and other information, they sounded good - just like fresh ones, they say (don’t they always!).

However, reading the (very) small print, I discovered they have only around 40-50% of the herb specified.

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basil, pumpkin / squash

• Basil tea is a multi-purpose healing tea. To reduce fever, inhale the steam from hot basil tea by placing your head over a bowl filled with the hot tea, and cover your head with a heavy towel while doing so. To make the tea, use fresh basil leaves and unground seed: Bring 2 pints of water to a boil, add 15 basil seeds. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer slowly for 45 minutes. Remove from head and add 1-1/2 handfuls of fresh or half-dried basil, steep for another 25 minutes.
• Tea made of pumpkin or squash leaves or equal parts for both reduce fever, too: Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, snip in a couple of double handfuls of pumpkin and/ or squash leaves with a pair of shears or scissors. Cover, remove from heat, let steep for 35 minutes, then drink a cup of the tea every couple of hours. The same tea also helps to fight diarrhea.