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| Dearest Visionary... 💫
Welcome back to our weekly edition of Friday Field Notes.
This week inside our Doctor of Botanical Medicine program, we're exploring one of the most practical and time-honored aspects of herbalism: preparing botanical remedies at home. 🌿
Last week, we touched on several of these botanical blends as part of our back-to-school wellness toolkit—so today, we're going a step further and exploring how to actually make them at home.
Rather than waiting until everyone is under the weather to reach for your natural remedies, late summer can be the perfect time to begin preparing your home apothecary.
Some botanical preparations can be made and used right away, while others benefit from time to simmer, infuse, or develop their flavors and medicinal properties.
Elderberry Syrup. Fire Cider. Honey + Garlic.
Each one demonstrates a different way of working with botanicals—and each offers an opportunity to bring the traditional art of herbal preparation into your own kitchen.
Sometimes, the best time to prepare a remedy is before you need it.
Read on as we uncover three botanical recipes to make before the school year begins. 🎒 |
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| 🫐 Make Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is one of the most recognizable herbal remedies—valued for its anthocyanins and their immune-supportive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Late summer is a wonderful time to prepare a batch for the months ahead.
A basic preparation may include:
- Elderberries — The foundation of the preparation.
- Ginger — Adds a spicy botanical element.
- Cinnamon — A traditional warming spice.
- Cloves — Adds aromatic depth.
- Water — Used to extract the botanicals through simmering.
- Raw Honey — Added after the preparation has cooled.
The berries are gently simmered with the herbs and spices before being strained and combined with honey.
Important: Raw or unripe elderberries, leaves, and stems can cause illness, so proper preparation is essential. Consider consulting an herbalist or ordering berries here. |
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| 🔥 Create Your Own Fire Cider
Fire cider is a classic home herbal preparation that can be customized with what's growing in your garden or available in your kitchen.
Unlike elderberry syrup, it uses apple cider vinegar as a base to extract the flavors and constituents of pungent herbs, roots, fruits, and warming spices:
- Garlic
- Onion
- Ginger
- Horseradish
- Hot Peppers
- Lemon or Orange
- Warming Spices
- Apple Cider Vinegar
The ingredients are combined in a jar and allowed to infuse before being strained.
The result is a spicy, aromatic herbal vinegar traditionally enjoyed during cold and flu season. Taken daily, fire cider is valued by herbalists for its immune-supportive properties and is used to help the body respond to seasonal illness and potentially shorten its duration. |
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| 🍯 Prepare Honey + Garlic
Honey (try Manuka!) and garlic make a classic combination that can be prepared ahead of the school year.
For a basic preparation, you'll need:
- Fresh Garlic — Peel and lightly crush or chop the cloves.
- Raw Honey — Pour enough honey over the garlic to fully cover it.
- Glass Jar — Use a clean jar with enough room for the ingredients.
- Time — Allow the garlic and honey to infuse together, checking the jar regularly.
For a variation, try:
- Ginger + Lemon — Thinly sliced ginger, sliced lemon or lemon zest, and raw honey.
Both preparations can be stirred into warm water or tea for a simple, flavorful addition to your seasonal routine, while providing warming, soothing, and immune-supportive benefits.
Important note: Honey should never be given to children under one year of age.
✨ Within our Doctor of Botanical Medicine program, students explore the world of plant medicine—from Materia Medica and herbal formulations to traditional preparations and clinical applications.
It's all about learning how to thoughtfully work with the plants themselves. And as the school year approaches, perhaps it's time to begin building your own botanical apothecary—one jar at a time. 🌿 |
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