.....ideas for using herbs!

[lil_dill]

I'm looking for tips n tricks and new ideas for using herbs, both in cooking and for medicinal purposes. What tricks do you know?

[Newtothis]

good thread!

[lil_dill]

Thanks hun. I LOVE learning new things, and I'm absolutely positive there's lots of knowledge in the minds of the members of this forum that I cannot learn via reading books!

lil_dill.

[Newtothis]

At this late hour the only thing I can think of is feverfew for headaches, and calendula petals for skin complaints. Not tried them myself though.

Looking forward to hearing some tips with herbs too from those more knowledgeable

[Ace]

Hmm ok where do we start with this?

I'm a big supporter of using natural herbs/plants for remedies as this is clearly what nature intended.

There are lot's of books you can buy of course, just search for herbal remedies on Amazon. The problem we have however is that the process of turning a herb or plant into a real medicine isn't always straightforward. It often needs processing to produce the right concentration and so on.

Nevertheless here are a few simple things we can do for ourselves.

Garlic is obviously hugely beneficial and has been used medicinally for 1000s years. It has over 300 active ingredients compared to our rather feeble conventional medicines like paracetamol which has only 1 or 2. Eat garlic as often as you can.

If you are surrounded by people at work with flu and colds, and you can feel you have a sore throat coming on then take action quickly. Whatever you're planning to eat, add plenty of ginger, garlic and chilli. All of these have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that will wipe out the nasty bugs in your throat provided they haven't been allowed to multiply too much.

Alternatively you can achieve the same result by whizzing a little chopped onion with a little bit of chilli aand water to make a throat gargle mixture. Not the most pleasant taste of course but the bugs won't know what hit them! Besides we all know medicine generally has to taste bad if it's good.

Parsley is an amazingly healthy herb. I never knew this until recently. How many times have we discarded that annoying little sprig that restaurants put on the top of every dish ?! Chewing real raw parsley is very beneficial. For women especially, it is very good for helping bring on your monthly cycle if it's late or you've become irregular.

This is a really big subject to be honest and I can't do justice to it here. I can however testify to the immense benefits of liquorice root (which I take in capsule form) which has amazing healing effects against tooth ache and dental abcess. Ginger is brilliant for stomach nausea and sea/motion sickness. In addition I can't praise enough something called Grapefruit Seed Extract, obviously made from graprefruits (not to be confused with Grape Seed Extract). It's more commonly known just by it's initials GSE or by it's active ingrediant Citricidal. Best bought in liquid form where the GSE is mixed with glycerine and water. GSE is THE strongest natural anti-biotic there is and is very powerful against infections (both internal and external) but it has 101 other uses both internal and external. Some hospitals use it to wipe down surfaces to disinfect them. It kills bacteria in seconds and is also anti-viral. There's one supplier of GSE in the UK whose website I will happily provide if you PM me (I presume it's not right to advertise directly here). To read about GSE's 100s of uses visit Grapefruit Seed Extract.

Herbs and plants are wonderful things. They are freely given to us by nature and don't need massive multi-million dollar conglomorates to package them up and sell them to us for big profits. We should always seek the advice of our GPs for our ailments but many can be prevented in the first place by keeping herbs and herbal remedies in our pantry.

[lil_dill]

Wow! Amazing respoinse Ace. Thankyou very much!

[fromthecrowsnest]

I planted up a Belfast sink in the Spring with four types of thyme and its gone mad. Looks really lush.

I use it in soups tied in a bunch.

There is a recipe in 'preserving fruit and veg' which uses up a glut of courgettes too, or anything else you can soup up and freeze.

[lisa4star]

I have masses of mint in the garden and I am having friends for dinner this weekend and thought it the perfect opportunity to use some up. I came across a recipe on bbcgoodfood.com - layered mint and coffee chocolate syllabub. It looks delicious and great way of using up some mint instead of wasting it all.

[bettie sage]

my fave culinary herb is lovage because it looks amazing when fully grown and in flower and also tastes great with salt as a do it yourself stock cube for soups

im trying to find sweet cicley seeds ( i did grow it in my last house and left it behind) i want it to confuse cabbage whites next to the broccoli and cabbage and also to use in cooking with rhubarb...twouses ,oh and its very pretty

[Shetty]

Originally Posted by bettie sage

my fave culinary herb is lovage because it looks amazing when fully grown and in flower and also tastes great with salt as a do it yourself stock cube for soups

im trying to find sweet cicley seeds ( i did grow it in my last house and left it behind) i want it to confuse cabbage whites next to the broccoli and cabbage and also to use in cooking with rhubarb...twouses ,oh and its very pretty

I saw some in the The Green Chronicle Shop on the web.

[craftsmaster]

Here's another herb that you can use both the seeds and the leaves. Both have a sharp, slightly bitter taste. (But then who among us doesn't know the taste of dill?) Whether you use it fresh or dried, you'll find it a tasty addition to fish, meat, and poultry dishes. Don't be afraid to add it to salads and soups as well. Many people use the leaves in potatoes and omelets. Another way to enjoy the unique taste of this herb is to sprinkle a little dill on sliced cucumbers for a sandwich filling.

[Bread Maker]

Chives are a great herb to plant and are perennial so will grow every year. They can be grown easily from seed or by division of established plants. They are good for the digestive system and can help with low blood pressure problems too.

Rosemary is also a very good and beneficial herb. It's said to cure or aid in ailments from digestive problems, to headaches, cuts and bruises and even depression and baldness. It's said to help with the memory too, and how can we forget using it with delicious foods like lamb?

Thyme is a great medicinal herb and fantastic in foods. It can help with coughs and sore throats plus used as an antisceptic it will sooth cuts along with bruises and burns.

[lisa4star]

My favourite way with thyme is to simply put it throughout some cooked carrots with a knob of butter. This is the best way to eat carrots in my opinion and it really brings out the full flavour of the carrots.

I'm making pickled shallots today which uses up two large handfuls of basil - bet they taste great but bet I stink after making them, lol.

Coriander - my partner fishes a lot and was getting bored of stuffing the insides of them with parsley and lemon and baking in the oven so now do them Asian style, stuffed with Ginger, garlic, lemongrass, lime and loads of coriander and we both prefer it this way.

Chives - amazing with new potatoes out the garden with butter and salt and pepper.

[grocer]

Fennel - the seeds can help digestion.

Dill - great for fighting flatulence and mild infections.

Basil - tincture can be used externally against various skin conditions, including acne

And we must not forget that it is possible to grow Chamomile and Lady's Mantle in a pot on the window. Both are wonder-herbs. Although you cannot use them in food preparation, their healing abilities are truly awesome!