With the coming of fall comes the inevitable sniffles and coughs. Having become a (slow) student of the herbal world, I had some concoctions in mind to brew for this winter's medicine cabinet! In the end, I believe and have seen proof that we will be healthier and wealthier (though that term is used lightly!) because of it! So having scoured books and my favorite place for learning of herbs, I brewed up the first batch of remedies this week!
Using Immune Booster herbs, I filled a jar 1/3 full with the herbs, then poured in hot water just until the herbs were covered. I then filled the rest of the jar with the glycerin.
With my crockpot set on low, I placed my lidded jar in the water, making sure to have a cloth under the jar to prevent it from breaking! Different sources had different lengths of time to leave the herbs in the water, so I just planned on checking it often! I would come and turn the jar to mix things around a bit, and would add water to the crockpot as it slowly evaporated.
After 24 hours, the liquid was very dark and the smell was strongly herbal. These were the signs to look for! I decided it was good, so I used my straining funnel to pour the liquid out of the herbs (you could also use cheesecloth or something to do this!).
I threw the herbs away after squeezing all the liquid I could out of them!
Now it was time to bottle the goods!
Using the same straining funnel, I poured the liquid into the glass bottle...
...and tried to take a picture at the same time. Dumb idea!!
To use: a dropperful several times a day has been effective! And that, my friends, is how easy it is to brew a booster! Though the herbs can also be used in making a tea should you not have the ambition to brew! The kids enjoyed the tea (with sugar, of course!) until I got to brewin'!
Quite satisfying to care for my family in this way, and quite effective in helping them through these sniffles!
Do you brew anything (not talking about from the still out back!!)? I'd love to learn from you!