Practical herb lore

The age of antibiotics is over and the world of disease is again a terrifying place. Cancer-causing chemicals are impossible to avoid in modern life and trying to live sustainably on the earth feels like daily battle. Here I collect my experience in the struggle to take back our health. I've been through the wringer of the medical establishment and I am not opposed to doctors, but I have found that homegrown, homemade herbal medicine has rescued my family and me when doctors couldn't. I freely admit that I don't have all the answers and this isn't medical advice. It is practical herb lore that really works and bits and pieces that I share by my hearth.

Do you or your kids hanker for a sweet drink in the summer but you also want something healthy? Here is a healthy, herbal drink that you can make on your own that will please kids and last into the winter too.

We use elder primarily for elder flower tincture, which is an excellent decongestant when you have a heavy cold. Elder flower tea is quite pleasant, but not as dramatic in results. In the Czech Republic, many people use elder flowers to make a delicious lemonade concentrate. It is essentially a syrup that can be easily diluted in water or club soda to make a very light, very refreshing cool drink. It has a fantastic taste and is so much healthier than juice or pop!

After tinkering with several different recipes, here is what worked best for us. This recipe takes about twenty minutes to prepare one day and then another thirty minutes to complete on a subsequent day. It will result in a batch of five jars of delicious drink concentrate that will last months

Fearless protector of the realm. Protecting against the scourge of wasted food of any kind.

Pick a basket full of elder blossoms.
Pour 3 quarts (3 liters) of lukewarm water into a stainless steel pan and pack in as many elder flowers as can be reasonably submerged in the water. (Dry any remaining elderflowers for a tasty winter tea.)
Add 3 teaspoons of citric acid and stir. (You can do this without the citric acid but this acts as a good preservative. If you don't use it, add more lemons and can or freeze your syrup.)
Squeeze eight lemons and add their juice. (If you can get organic lemons, cut up the peels and toss them in too.)
Let sit for about 24 hours in a cool place, stir occasionally.
Strain. (The easiest way to do this is to take handfuls of the flowers and wring them out over the pan. Then, when all you have left are smaller bits and petals, pour it through a strainer or cheesecloth.)
Put the pan on the stove and heat carefully on medium, while stirring in 3 1/2 pounds of sugar (1.6 kilos). DO NOT allow the syrup to boil. Simply keep stirring until all the sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat. Test by putting a tablespoon or two of the syrup into a glass of water. Add sugar or lemons depending. (If you taste it right out of the pan, it will seem ridiculously sweet. It is more sour when diluted.)
Sterilize jars with boiling water or in the dishwasher. Pour the syrup into your jars and close with clean lids. You can freese or can the syrup to keep it longer but, if stored in a cool place, this syrup will last several months on its own.
To serve, mix about ten percent syrup to ninety percent water or club soda. You can adjust this to your own tastes. You may find that just a hint of of syrup is all it takes to make a very satisfying drink. As long as your syrup is never heated to boiling, it will also be good medicine for a cold.

Warning: I have not run across many reports of allergies or problems using elder flower, but just the other day I met a woman who said that this type of syrup gives her nausea. Remember that herbs with medicinal qualities can also have side effects or cause allergies.