Homemade Plantain Salve

                       

(old photo of picked plantain, but I used both broad leaf and narrow-leafed plantain for the salve)

 I completely forgot to share our newest addition to the medicine cabinet  - plantain salve.  It's a homemade drawing salve.  Plantain  (a weed that grows wild) is what saved me when I had a very nasty spider bite years ago.  I asked my husband to go outside and pick it, macerate it, and make a poultice.  I used it until I found a decent doctor (which was hard to do at the time).

I used 1/2 cup infused oil (used grapeseed oil to infuse it), and 2 Tbsp. of beeswax.  Heat together until the beeswax is melted, pour into jars and cool completely.  You can add essential oils too, but add them after you take the melted oil/beeswax off the heat.

By the way, before this was made, and I needed a drawing salve, I used a mix of homemade calendula oil, some store purchased chickweed salve (has plantain in it), and homemade yarrow salve.  It worked until I had my own salve made.  Not sure if one ingredient was better, but together it did the job.  

You can use dehydrated plantain for making tea (soothes an upset stomach), and infusing oils with dried plantain and chickweed to make a chickweed/plantain salve (great for mosquito bites, poison ivy, burns, rashes etc).

(from my experiences with plantain)

Has anyone eaten the young leaves in a salad? I also read the older leaves can be stewed or boiled for soups.  Anyone?  I am very interested in this, as I am learning about the nutrients in the leaves.

Homemade Plantain Salve © January 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

A day of making . . .face cream and yarrow salve

 

How each container looks before I mix the "water" solution into the oil mixture.  I use a hand held immersion blender (specifically for non-food mixing).

I use Rosemary Gladstar's recipe for this, using grapeseed oil/apricot oil and shea butter (vs. cocoa butter or coconut oil).  The recipe is now online (video with Mother Earth News, as whipped face cream) as well as in her book.

New to the medicine stash - yarrow salve.  I've already used it for a scraped up arm.  Works great to stop bleeding, but has other uses.  You can find free recipes online for different amounts, and you can add essential oils in the end if you'd like to.  It's a basic melt down and pour type making, and very easy to make (you'll need to infuse an oil with the yarrow first).

Both are very easy to make. I do have utensils that I only use for making homemade items such as these, and the face cream requires a blender or hand held immersion blender (which is what I use for an easier clean up).  I do need to visit a thrift store, for a spatula for the face cream however.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day of making . . . face cream and yarrow salve  © November 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Comfrey Salve (2nd Trial)

 I've narrowed down my draft blogposts.  I went from 80-some down to 38.  I have resurrected another draft.  The odd part, is that I made this salve years ago, and never posted this draft.  I have no idea why I didn't.  It was drafted up, but the date is not showing up. All I know is that this was the 2nd version of comfrey salve and I like it much better.

 You can make comfrey salve a few different ways.  You can check recipes in library books or on the worldwide web too.  Many vary, but I have been making salves for a while, so I  know how thick I want it.  

The first recipe I attempted created a very hard salve.  It was too hard to even use.  I was a beginner salve maker at that point.

You can also use an oil of your preference for making the infused comfrey oil prior to your salve making.  I, for the most part, use olive oil, but I have used grapeseed and jojoba oils, depending on what I am making them for. 

If you are new to salve making (or infusing oils with plants), I do suggest doing your research first.

How I made my comfrey salve:

I infused my oil with comfrey first (I used the sunny window method).

I then strained that oil and made the salve.

I bought my amber jars online for this salve.

Heat 2 cups of comfrey infused oil and 1 /4 c beeswax until they melt (I use a double boiler just for this purpose, and only used for salve or lip balm making).  I use a recycled can from cooking beans or what not, that has been washed and dried.  I place that can in the top pan with a bit of water.  It really helps with clean up.

Once the beeswax is melted, remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp. of vitamin E oil and about 15 drops of lavender essential oil (I have also used other essential oils).

(I store it in amber jars you can buy online or from local health stores)

I have used this salve for bruises, varicose veins, strains, fractures, and healing broken bones.  

Notes:  It came in handy when I sprained my ankle a few years back, but one thing I learned to do, other than apply poultices and salves (for a sprain), is to do a foot soak with comfrey itself.  I did soaks with Epson salts, but never even thought to do a comfrey water foot soak.  It is difficult to apply a poultice to a sprain, and I did do that, but every year I learn something new.  Do you have any tips with comfrey?

(photos of comfrey poultices from 2016)

(I have a disclaimer on the bottom of my blog.  I am not a doctor, and this is personal experience.)

Comfrey Salve (2nd Trial)  © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Roasted Rutabaga ~ Goldenrod Paradise

 I have attempted to try this vegetable more than once (back between 2012 and 2015, but could not find it here locally.  Finally, we have found it at one store recently.

I roasted it with olive oil and salt and pepper, to get an idea of the flavor we are working with.  I was told it would taste like a golden potato, by roasting it this way.  It did not, but it was delicious, and creamy in the center. I peeled it, diced it and tossed it in olive oil.  I sprinkled it with salt and pepper both.  I roasted it at 425°F for 40 minutes (stirring half way during roasting time).  

A rutabaga is a cross between cabbage and a turnip.  It is a root vegetable.  Do you grow rutabagas in your garden?  We are considering it, as we have a terrible time finding it in our stores (or any farm stand) in our area.

I have one more to experiment with, and I hope to return to the same store and get a few more.

I did not get any answers about the bee keeper's inquiry on keeping bees on our property.  It is a haven for bees already.  I harvested some goldenrod, and I can tell you we have no shortage of bees.  My husband said, "it sounds like you need to keep bees for honey."  Yeah, sounds grand and all, but I am not ready to add more work to my days around here.  

I do not know any local people, that have a bee keeper's bees on their private property.  I think we are going to refrain from this offer (see yesterday's post).  One we have a ton of bees already, and two I do not want someone we do not know coming to the property to check on the bees whenever they want either.  I don't think it's worth it, just for the exchange of honey (which I buy local already, and we do not use it in large quantities).