Natural Plantain Anti-Itch Salve

I used the MB2E from Magical Butter * to make this salve really easily- but I'll include instructions for making it without using the machine too.

The Magical Butter machine is meant for making butters and oils using various botanicals. The way it works is just fantastic for salves made from wildcrafted ingredients.

Plantain- not the banana type fruit, is one of the most common weeds in the USA. It likes disturbed soil like driveways and stuff- or in my case, my deliberately weedy yard. The only thing that's been used on my yard in the 16 years I've lived here is a lawn mower.

It's fantastically soothing for itchy skin. I am not a medical professional or a scientist, this is my opinion and this works well for me.

So the first thing you'll need to do is find a fair amount of plantain.

Fortunately, I have a broad swathe of it in my yard.

Pick about 3 cups of healthy leaves.

Rinse them, put them in a salad spinner to dry, then spread them in a single layer in shallow pans to dry until quite crisp. 

When they are dry, it's time to collect your materials. 

You will need:

• 1 packed cup dry plantain leaves
• 4 cups pure olive oil- don't bother with extra virgin. I don't for salves!
• 3/4 cup grated beeswax OR beeswax pellets
• jars and tins for the finished salve
• strainer of some sort (the MB2 comes with a straining bag) 
• Pans, double boiler set up OR an MB2 
• measuring cup with a spout

If you're using a pan- 

Combine the oil and crushed leaves in a pan.  Simmer over a very low heat for 4 hours. 

Strain out leaves. The oil should be green.

Set aside. Set up double boiler with at least a 6 cup capacity. Mix the infused oil and the beeswax and melt together, stirring often. Pour into tins and jars. I find it's easier to pour from a spouted glass measuring cup and have a 4 cup one. 

If you're using the MB2-

You'll put in all the ingredients. Crushing the leaves is not necessary.

Then set it at 130 degrees and for 2 hours.

The MB2 has a blender in it and it stirs and blends as it works. The botanical matter is shredded into a fine paste. It will beep when it's done.

Set up the included Purify Filter, and put on the LoveGlove to squeeze all the oil out. 

Then you'll pour it into tins and jars.

Label the tins and jars with the date and type of salve you've made. Keep in a cool dark place, but also keep one in your car for bug bites and quick first aid, and keep one in your medicine cabinet. 

Clean up is a cinch. The Purify Filter can be hand washed, the MB2 has a self-cleaning cycle. Just follow the included instructions.

* The link will give you a 25 dollar discount on buying a machine of your own. It is an affiliate link. 

Another Swirly Mandala to print and color

Yay! It's June!

I'm still working on the Bill of Rights coloring page for this month, but have been playing with swirls again. I hope you enjoy this mandala to color!

Click the images below for blank versions to print and color.

Small jpg version:

Large transparent png version:

Wedding Ring Quilt Boxes

I've been going out walking with my husband every night and bringing my camera. Last night, I took this photo of chokecherry blossoms at the local park-

I loved the colors in it- so used it as the palette for this simple double wedding ring patterned set of boxes. I hope you enjoy them.

Click images for a larger version. print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold, glue.

Wedding ring printable box 2x2x2

Wedding ring printable box 3x1x1 

How to make spruce tip salt

This year the spruce tips are coming out a little later than normal. Spruce tips are an easy to forage wild edible that's widely available. They have a green, citrus-y flavor that's bright and my family is pretty wild for it.

Any time you're trying a new wild edible, pick a couple and taste them before harvesting, because you want to make sure you like the flavor! If they need some sort of process to eat- like some mushrooms need to be cooked (NEVER PICK MUSHROOMS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!) - pick a couple, bring them home, and cook them. Just make a note of where you found them.

Spruce tips can be eaten raw. You're looking for just the tips that come out in spring- they will be a light green and the needles are quite tender compared to the rest of the needles. You pick them like berries, just pinching them off the tree. As with any wild edible, harvest sustainably. There are enough tips that you can collect from different places on the trees, and leave most of them in place.

These are the picked tips. See that papery brown coating? It slips right off. Take that off, and discard it. Make sure there is no debris on the tips.

Chop up the tips. You could use a food processor- but I don't like even the mild heat that a motor can generate, or how much gets stuck or pasty because of the slight moisture. Chopping a bunch at a time by hand doesn't take very long.

Mix it with white sea salt. In this case, I got some sea salt from an artisan salt maker in Valdez. She gets sea water and evaporates it. I wanted my spruce tip salt to be made using Alaskan sea salt.

I like a 50/50 mix.

 This is just some of the tips added.

Spread it in a thin layer in a baking sheet and allow to dry overnight. The salt helps it dry quickly. Then put in jars.

What can you do with it?
Spruce tip salt is delicious on vegetables, fish and chicken- and probably good on pork. I'm not really a pork eater.

It makes a lovely, personal gift.