General recipes

When you use herbs and plants for helping you to stay or become healthy, there are a few standard ways to use them. I will describe which way is the best for achieving what, but the general recipes stay the same so I write them all down together, in this document.

Tea
Herbal tea is one of the most frequent uses for herbs. Any herb or plant can be boiled as tea, the tea will have the same effects as the herb, as well as the same taste and scent. Generally, it takes two teaspoons of dried herb per cup and four teaspoons (cut up) fresh herb. For a pot it is two tablespoons dried and four tablespoons fresh. Unless described differently. It is also possible to mix herbs and combine their effects, or to mix herbs that have the same effect for a better taste. Than, the total should be the same as described above. The amount of each herb that goes in a mixture varies and it is best to try out several combinations.

Tincture
10 tablespoons of (cut up) fresh herbs or 5 dried.
1/2 liter of wodka or pure alcohol.
Let the herb draw in the alcohol for about two or three weeks. Close it up well and keep it in a cool place. Shake every day, after two or three weeks it is ready to use.
Often a few drops in a glass of warm water are enough, the amount of drops can differ but is specified with the described herb.

Sirup
2 tablespoons dried herbs
6 tbs sugar
1/2 liter water
Pour 1/2 liter of boiling water over the dried herbs. Then let it cool down. Put the sugar in a pan and add the water and herbs. Heat this slowly, the sugar has to dissolve in the water. Keep boiling until the mixture is less fluid, more sirup.
Sirup often tastes good, a sirup of violets has a nice purple color.

Oil
3 dl oil (herbal, like olive or other)
7 tbs fresh herbs (mixture)
Pour the oil over the fresh, cut herbs and put it in a bottle. Close it, so no air can reach the mixture. Keep this on a warm and light place for at least two weeks before using it. Shake daily and seave it afterwards.
Oil can be made both for healing purposes or for using in the kitchen (for its taste). The latter has more spices in it like pepper, thyme, rosemary or any you can think of. Again, the amount of herbs depends on taste and has to be tried out.

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