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TEH Sept/Oct '17
by Marci Tsohonis

The bike turns in addition to autumn beckons.  The herbs of summertime are starting to lag a bit, in addition to the evenings are a chip chilly.   My Calendula flowers are going to seed almost faster than I tin get together them.  Calendula to a greater extent than ofttimes than non self-sows, but for reasons unknown, that physical care for has twice gone awry.   I freeze some seeds inwards a pocket-size canning jar; simply to hold upward certain I conduct hold them.  If this is the kickoff yr you lot conduct hold grown Calendula you lot may hold upward surprised yesteryear the appearance of the seeds.  The seeds are really difficult in addition to shaped similar footling crescent moons or worm larvae.   Be assured, they are alone seeds!
 If I could alone grow i herb, it would conduct hold to hold upward Calendula.  H5N1 to a greater extent than soothing, useful constitute is difficult to imagine.  Oil infusions of the sweet, spicy, resinous flowers lend a particular magic to lather in addition to other body-care formulas.   Herbalists in addition to grannies through the centuries used Calendula equally a healing remedy for wounds in addition to other peel conditions. I ofttimes utilisation Calendula tea, also.  It is anti-inflammatory, a injure wash, soothing to conjunctivitis equally an eye-wash, fights infection, hastens healing in addition to is soothing to nestling burns or scalds.  
Calendula stone oil softens the skin, soothes eczema in addition to helps to hold the peel nourished in addition to supple.  Calendula makes a beautiful, soothing relieve for chapped hands, nicks or scrapes.
You should conduct hold plenty of fourth dimension to brand infused Calendula stone oil for this lather recipe, using i of the next methods. 
SOLAR INFUSED CALENDULA OIL:
Fill whatsoever size jolt one-half total of dried or semi-dry Calendula petals or chopped blossom heads. Fill the jolt amongst olive stone oil to within 2 inches of the transcend of the jar.  The flowers tin expand i time they locomote saturated amongst the oil, in addition to then exit a footling headspace in addition to give it a proficient stir.  Cover the transcend of the jolt amongst a double layer foursquare of cheesecloth or a piece of an onetime t-shirt, in addition to apply the screw band (or a safe band) over that.  Place inwards a sunny, south-facing windowsill for at to the lowest degree half-dozen weeks.  Stir daily.  
MUCH FASTER CALENDULA OIL:
Place dried Calendula blossom heads or petals inwards a crock-pot in addition to embrace them amongst olive oil.  I propose you lot utilisation the lowest rut setting on your crock-pot in addition to hold a unopen oculus on it.  I prefer keeping the temperature inwards a make of 110-120 degrees for most 10 hours.  If the stone oil gets equally good hot the flowers volition larn crispy.  That seems to me to locomote against the persuasion of preserving their wonderful, fragile properties.
  
TO INTENSIFY COLOR
Annatto Seed (Achiote Seed) is a natural colorant that tin give your lather a gorgeous yellow-orange color, simply similar cheese or butter. You tin in all likelihood honor it inwards the Latino foods department of your supermarket.  For a calorie-free to medium yellowish soap, rut 2 TBSP. Annatto Seed inwards 1 ½ oz Olive stone oil on stove or inwards microwave.  Add to fats in addition to oils when melting them, or add together at trace.  For some reason, Annatto stone oil turns darker inwards lather that has gelled than inwards lather that hasn’t.   See attached photograph examples.   The lather cubes did non gel.  They are a actually pretty, clear yellow, but non equally nighttime or intense equally the log mold.  Keep inwards heed that using too much Annatto volition campaign the color of the lather to bleed out into the lather equally the lather is used.


TO FURTHER INTENSIFY COLOR:  Add 2 TBSP. Annatto seed to the lye solution simply afterward dissolving lye crystals to water.   (Do this inwards addition to adding Annatto infused stone oil ) Allow lye solution to cool equally usual, in addition to seek non to panic when you lot run across how murky in addition to chocolate-brown the solution looks.  It volition hold upward fine.  Strain the annatto seeds off equally you lot are adding the lye solution to the fats in addition to oils.  Using both the stone oil in addition to the lye H2O infusion volition brand your lather a rich orange-yellow. 
CALENDULA SOAP:
This mutual coldness physical care for lather recipe makes around 66 ounces of soap.
You should conduct hold a basic agreement of lather making security precautions in addition to procedures earlier attempting this or whatsoever other lather recipe.  If you lot exercise not, delight view The Essential Herbal Magazine page.  You volition honor a link to Basic Soap Making security yesteryear Alicia Grosso, posted on the bottom of the page.  Or Click HERE

FIRST, PREPARE THE MOLD:
If you lot are using a wooden apartment or log mold, job it amongst freezer newspaper in addition to cutting an extra sail of freezer newspaper to check the within dimensions of your apartment mold.  You’ll apply it shiny side downwards onto the surface of the poured lather before you lot house the wooden lid on it.  Locate an onetime towel or blanket you lot tin utilisation to insulate the mold. 
If using a silicone mold lightly spray it amongst Pam spray in addition to laid upward aside.  Place all tools in addition to ingredients inwards your lather making area.  Cut freezer newspaper to house on transcend of the filled, silicone mold to preclude the accumulation of white lather ash on transcend of the poured soaps. 
MIX THE LYE SOLUTION:
Wearing chemic proof gloves in addition to confront protection, weigh the Sodium Hydroxide granules.  Also weigh the distilled water.  Using a long handled stainless spoon, like shooting fish in a barrel add together the Sodium Hydroxide granules to the distilled water, in addition to give it a few quick stirs.  Vapors volition ascent briefly equally the H2O heats up.  (I exit the surface area for a few minutes to permit the vapors to clear) Carefully secure the lid to the pitcher.  Allow the Lye solution to stand upward an hr or 2 to cool downwards earlier using it. 
15.00 oz H2O
6.25 oz sodium hydroxide
2 TBS. Annatto seed (optional, added afterward lye dissolved inwards water)

OPTIONAL:  If using a silicone mold, stir 1 T. of Sodium Lactate into lye solution.

WEIGH FATS AND OILS:
24 oz Calendulated Olive stone oil (solar or crock pot method) Plus 1 oz oil, run across below!
15 oz Coconut oil
3 oz Mango butter
1 oz Palm Kernel oil

Place the fats in addition to oils into the lather kettle. 

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP. Annatto seed
1 oz olive oil

Heat inwards microwave inwards 25-second intervals. It volition larn quite dark.  Add to melting fats or at trace.

½ loving cup of semi-dry Calendula petals pulled off the blossom heads in addition to laid upward aside.   

THERE ARE NO ADDED ESSENTIAL OILS IN THIS RECIPE.

MAKE SOAP!
Wearing confront in addition to cervix protection, in addition to chemic proof safe gloves, carefully withdraw the lid of the lye solution pitcher.   I house the pitcher on a damp washcloth to stabilize the base of operations equally I pry off the lid to avoid lye spills.

You volition utilisation the stick mixer equally a manual-stirring tool, first, land adding the lye solution to the fats in addition to oils (Don’t plug it in, yet!).  Rest the transcend of the pitcher of lye solution lightly on the border of the crock-pot.  Add the lye solution inwards a steady, sparse stream, stirring manually inwards a constant, gentle, circular motion amongst your stick mixer until all the Lye solution has been added. 

Plug inwards the stick mixer in addition to plough it on, using the depression speed setting.  Keeping the stick mixer inwards contact amongst the bottom of the crock-pot, laid out to mix inwards a figure 8 or circular motion. 
After most 2 minutes, accept your finger off the ability push to halt the motor i time again on the stick mixer.  Lift the mixer blade higher upward the surface of the fats in addition to oils, in addition to moving ridge the stick mixer lightly over the surface, testing for “trace” yesteryear dragging a drip job through the air simply higher upward the surface of the soap.  If the drip trail falls dorsum inwards to the soap, plough the mixer on in addition to hold mixing some other minute.  Repeat until the drip trail is clearly visible on the surface of the lather batter. 
The trail will hold upward sparse in addition to apartment at calorie-free “trace,” in addition to volition speedily melt dorsum into the liquid soap.  Full trace is when the contents of the lather pot thicken to resemble pudding in addition to a really definite, raised glop or trail stays on the surface of the liquid soap, without falling dorsum in) Full describe volition locomote groovy for this recipe.

Stir the ½ loving cup of Calendula petals into the traced soap.
 
TUCK information technology IN:
Pour lather mixture into your mold.  
Apply a sail of freezer newspaper cutting to the exact measurements of the mold, shiny side down, on the surface of the poured soap. The easiest means to exercise it is to job upward i border of the freezer newspaper amongst a curt goal of the mold, in addition to lower it gradually across the surface of the poured soap, lengthwise, land pressing gently away from you lot amongst the direct border of a ruler or other tool.  The utilisation is to make total surface contact amongst the freezer paper, which helps to preclude air pockets or that powdery white lather ash from forming on the surface of your soap. 
Insulate the mold and/or house mold on electrical heating pad to hold lather warm in addition to strength gel if you lot desire maximum color inwards your soap.  Gel begins inwards the pump of the soap, in addition to moves outwards to the edges.  The physical care for tin accept most 40-60 minutes i time gel begins.  A lather that gels volition normally hold upward theatre plenty to piece i time it has cooled to room temperature.  
 


Happy autumn!  Marci

Now that you lot know how wonderful this lather is, if you'd similar some but don't desire to brand it, view our site in addition to pick some upward - CLICK HERE







Natural Calendula Lather

Excerpt (How About Hops) from the Sept/Oct 2016 number The Essential Herbal

Rebekah Bailey www.soapdish.com

I planted my firstly hops to a greater extent than than xx years ago.  At the time, I was a young, budding herb enthusiast, non exclusively aware of the plant’s house inwards the herb garden. I planted it for the ignominious argue of roofing an former rusty fuel tank sitting correct inwards the middle of the farmyard.  The simply affair I knew most it was that it was used inwards beer.  That was the start of a long human relationship alongside the bitter herb.
 
Hops (Humulus Lupulus), a hardy climbing perennial, produces annual bines (yes – bines non vines) reaching upward to 25 feet a season.  Each autumn the flora dies dorsum to a crown of rhizomes, from which the flora tin live on propagated.  Hops are dioecious, virile mortal in addition to female, the woman mortal flora producing the flowers, also referred to equally cones.
Hops is a relative newcomer to the basis of traditional medicine, Historic references to its medicinal role aren’t constitute until roughly the fifteenth century. After that time, nosotros laid out to encounter it referenced for role equally a digestive aid, diuretic, cleansing the blood, liver, in addition to spleen.  As history progresses into the nineteenth century, nosotros also encounter it used equally an antibacterial, a tonic for digestion, for inflammation, restlessness, equally a slumber aid, in addition to for a whole host of other small-scale fry complaints.   
 
From a personal standpoint, I’ve had adept results using hops equally a mild slumber aid, along alongside passionflower.  I prefer to role it inwards tincture form, but many herbalists brand dream pillows, stuffing small-scale pillows alongside hops.



Use a lite manus when cooking alongside hops flowers.  The flavor tin live on incredibly potent in addition to bitter, so intend of it equally a spice or a seasoning.  The indicate is to enhance, but non overpower. Also, the alpha acids inwards hops flowers are hydrophobic in addition to bond alongside fatty molecules, so the flavor is easier to manage inwards fats.



Hops Ice Cream

three cups one-half in addition to one-half (or 1 ½ loving cup cream in addition to 1 ½ loving cup milk)
1 loving cup sugar
ii eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Handful of fresh hop cones

Combine one-half in addition to half, sugar, eggs, in addition to vanilla inwards a heavy bottomed pan.  Gently estrus the mixture over medium, stirring constantly to preclude scorching. Heat until mixture thickens slightly, but don’t select to a total boil.  
The cream mixture pictured took most xxx seconds to \ grade an herbal hoppy flavor without whatever pregnant bitterness. The exact fourth dimension is going to depend on personal preference in addition to the diversity of hops beingness used.

Place hops into the hot mixture to infuse.  This side past times side measuring is important.  At most 15 or xx seconds, gustation the mixture.  Continue tasting until it reaches the desired flavor, in addition to so straight off take away the hops.  

Cool mixture inwards fridge until 40°F or below.  Churn according to H2O ice cream machine directions.  Ripen H2O ice cream inwards freezer overnight for best texture. 






Hops H2o Ice Cream

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