by Stalter, D
4 teaspoons Lavender
2 teaspoon Peppermint
Arthritis Relief
This is one that I either make a tincture or a tea
2 teaspoons rosemary
3 teaspoons lavender
1 teaspoon ginger
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I want to share a book I use that makes it easy to find the right essential oils or herbs for an ailment. This book works like an app. You simply find your ailment in the index and click it. I will take you to the list of oils/herbs that will help. The index is alphabetical. If you have muscle spasms, just scroll down and click on Muscle Spasms. Have blisters? Scroll the table of contents and click.
The book is on Amazon. It is “Essential Oils Guide Two: The aromatherapy guide that thinks it’s an app”.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QL0I9SS
It’s free with Kindle Unlimited.
Making Butter
Cow’s milk or goat’s milk. Animal milk will naturally separate after about 24 hours. Skim the cream off the top. Do not get any milk with it. This is your heavy cream.
Fill a mason jar halfway with the heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt if you want. (not necessary)
Tighten the lid on and start shaking. Shake for about ten minutes. It’s going to be harder than it looks at first. Go ahead and take some breaks… or invite a friend to take turns shaking with you. In about 8 – 10 minutes, you will see butter forming.
Place a cloth or a strainer over a bowl. Dump your jar into the strainer. The butter will stay in the strainer and the liquid that flows into the bowl is a bonus treat. You’ve made buttermilk! (I’ll try to remember to post a recipe for buttermilk bread below…)
Okay… move the strainer to sit on top of another bowl. Now, rinse the ball of butter with water. When you’re done rinsing, you have butter! You can shape it any way you want. I like to use a butter crock. I bought mine on Amazon. I simply pack soft butter into it and then leave it on the counter. It keeps the butter fresh (and soft). It sits inside a bowl with water in in (that creates a seal). I changed the water out in the bottom bowl about three times a week. I always have soft, spreadable butter.
Making Yeast
Here are several ways to make yeast. This is the easiest (in my opinion)
Making yeast using yeast
3 Packets of regular active yeast - not rapid rise
2 Cups of Corn Meal- Approx.
1/2 Cup of Sugar
1/2 Cup of Flour
1 Teaspoon of Ginger (either fresh or powdered)
1 cup of mashed potatoes (save your cooking liquid)
Add 3 packets of Active Dry Yeast to ½ cup potato liquid (cooled to about 105º). Set aside until it gets foamy (about 15 minutes)
In a large bowl, add your potato water/yeast to:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of cooled mashed potatoes
1 Tablespoon of ground Ginger
Cover this bowl loosely with a towel and set aside until the mixture has risen and is bubbly. It will probably take a couple hours – even longer if the room is not warm.
Start stirring in the cornmeal, a little at a time. When your mixture is thick enough to be rolled, place on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet. I put waxed paper over the top when I am rolling. Roll it until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
Then I remove the top sheet of waxed paper and cut yeast into packet sized pieces. You can use the warm oven with an open door to make the drying process go faster, but don’t cook this. If you cook it, you will kill the active yeast and it will be useless.
Store in an airtight container. When your yeast supply starts getting low, use 3 tablespoons of your homemade mix to start another batch.
When completely dry, use a food processor to grind yeast mixture until it is "crumbles."/ or wrap as "cakes” The yeast will store in an airtight container for up to a year in your freezer.
1 tablespoon of yeast to = one package of yeast.
When you use this yeast to bake, your bread will take longer to proof or rise, but it’ll be fine.
Easy Buttermilk Bread (no yeast)
4 c flour
1 t. Baking soda
1 t. Salt
14 oz. buttermilk
Mix and heat at 375º for 45-50 min
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I hope you enjoyed reading about Allison and her friends. I hope the added material has interested you enough to move ahead and learn more about what herbs and essential oils can do for you. If nothing else, I’d like to see more people learn about herbs and give growing them a try. One or two on a sunny windowsill is a great start. Make yourself a soothing, healthy tea. Add a little to your cooking. You’ll love it!
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