Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[calendula]

After a long period of wet, dreary days, we finally got some sun. Then the garden shot right up! I was so happy to get my first harvest out of the garden this weekend: lettuce, radishes, chamomile, and thyme.

We have lettuce coming out of our ears right now, so it will be salad, salad, salad this week. The kids aren't crazy about salad, so I'll need to think of ways to dress it up for them. I've got some old bread, so I thought I would find a recipe for croutons, and let them help make that and some salad dressing too.

The thyme and chamomile are tied in bunches and hanging up to dry right now on a rack in my bedroom. I love how chamomile smells! It makes it much nicer falling asleep at night with the smell of chamomile in the air. We are dehydrating the Spanish black radishes we grew as well, since we're going to try it as a cold remedy this winter.

I had a busy weekend in the kitchen. I sprouted some wheat for the first time, and it's drying out right now. I need to decide what I am going to make with it. Then I'll be able to use our grain mill for the first time. I also made some yogurt and more chicken stock this weekend. Couple that with all the gardening and running around we did this weekend, and I was in dream-land in no time last night.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[Lesa]

Glad the garden is doing well! Nice to see some sunshine for a change! At what point do you harvest the chamomile? I have two small plants that are just beginning to flower.
I also have a ton of calendula- you seem like the perfect person to ask, what can I do with it??

 

[calendula]

Glad the garden is doing well! Nice to see some sunshine for a change! At what point do you harvest the chamomile? I have two small plants that are just beginning to flower.
I also have a ton of calendula- you seem like the perfect person to ask, what can I do with it??

Once my chamomile flowers, I start to harvest it. I cut of the flowers, leaving a few inches of stem so that I can hang them to dry. You can keep clipping the flowers off, and the plant will keep making more, and usually flowers all summer long. At the end of the growing season, I like to make sure I have left some flowers on the chamomile plants so that they will self seed. I have been growing German chamomile for several years now, and I only actually planted seed the first year.

I love calendula, so you asked the right person. I mainly use it in skin balms and ointments by infusing olive oil with the flowers and then adding it to the ointment. I have some recipes for balms and ointments if you'd like any.

I also make calendula tincture. It is good for bug bites, cuts, and scrapes. Or, you can make a simple calendula infusion (tea) and use as a skin toner, mouth gargle, relief from rashes or sunburn (it feels so good on sunburned skin if you refrigerate it before applying). Or, just drink the tea if you have an upset stomach or diarrhea.

The petals are also edible and can be added to salads, soups, and rice dishes. They used to use calendula petals to color food back before artificial colorings. It think it was called "poor-man's saffron."

Hope that helps!

 

[Farmfresh]

We have lettuce coming out of our ears right now, so it will be salad, salad, salad this week. The kids aren't crazy about salad, so I'll need to think of ways to dress it up for them. I've got some old bread, so I thought I would find a recipe for croutons, and let them help make that and some salad dressing too.

Have you ever tried cooking with the lettuce? There are several recipes out there using lettuce as a hot ingredient. Soups, stir fries and sautes are all great with lettuce. I prefer my radishes cooked as well.

 

[calendula]

No, I've never tried cooking with lettuce before. Thanks for the suggestion. I found a recipe for cream of lettuce soup that I may try making.

 

[Lesa]

I would appreciate it, if you would share some of the recipes for calendula potions... Only the flowers are used? Thanks!

 

[calendula]

I would appreciate it, if you would share some of the recipes for calendula potions... Only the flowers are used? Thanks!

Your welcome! I will post some recipes tomorrow in the Roll Your Own section. All of the books and articles that I have referenced for uses of calendula have called only for using the flowers of the plant, though I have read of the sap from the stems being used for warts and calluses.

 

[Lesa]

Excellent! I'll keep an eye out for them! Thanks!

 

[calendula]

Okay, change of plans. I can't post in the Roll Your Own section right now. Instead, I have included a link to my blog, where I have a couple Calendula recipes. Once the forum is repaired, I'll post the recipes for those who don't check journals or like to read blogs.

Homemade Calendula Salve

 

[Marianne]

Thanks for posting this, Calendula! This just sounds so much easier than the balm of gilead that I have 'working'. For that, you have to gather buds from cottonwood trees to infuse with olive oil and they can get up there pretty high.