Some Serious Concerns and Some Fun With Storage Foods

I have heard so many Preppers say that they are buying food to store for long term that they don't intend to use until they need to. Many people are choosing "a year's supply" of food processed, packaged foods and calling their food storage a done deed. It is understandable to want to make sure there is a good supply of food on hand and having it all picked out for you, packaged up and send to your door, no muss no fuss, is tempting. But as with most convenience foods, they are not very good for you, they lack some very important nutrients and really don't taste very good. The portions are small and the calories, sugar and salt are high for what nutritional value there is. But they do serve a purpose, so I am not saying don't have some of them on hand. For the first few weeks of a crisis, they can be very useful since there are so many aspects of life in flux and no time for food preps. The family will be grateful for them. They are just not a good candidate for a long term situation due to their limited contribution to the nutritional needs of a body in a stressful situation.

When I realized how many people are doing their emergency food storage this way, I started designing an educational presentation on storage foods for our local PrepperNet city group. The presentation sheds light on nutritional concerns that are not being talked about in most Prepper circles, it also shares information on how to store foods for long term storage and some ideas on how to use the foods that are stored and with some tasty samples of the recipes I present. To reach a broader audience and to multiply my efforts, I am also fleshing out this presentation to be a series of tutorials on our website, which will be up and running in the next few months as well as in a book I am writing on storage foods.

Since I have been working on recipes for this presentation and also for the cookbook, I thought I would share one of the recipes with you. This particular recipe targets some very important nutritional needs and is lots of fun to do. Best of all it really tastes good!

 Jiaozi *

(aka Pot-Stickers)

Who doesn't like finger foods? They are fun, comforting and almost always come with some kind of delicious dipping sauce.

This recipe can be done more than one way, as fresh ingredients made up and immediately turned into a meal, made up from fresh ingredients and frozen for future meals or as I am illustrating today made into dehydrated ingredient and stored for long term to be used at a much later date.There is really very little difference in taste and texture between the different preparations. They are all good, so choose one way or try them all, I think in any form you are gonna love them!

The first step in making Jiaozi from long term stored food is to have prepared the ingredients and stored them. So we will start there.

There are many possibilities for the filling of Jiaozi. In this recipe I chose ingredients that are easy to dehydrate and store and have specific nutritional assets that are important to a body under stress. The main ingredient is fresh shiitake mushrooms (I get mine at an Asian supermarket that carries an astounding variety of fresh and dried mushrooms), but if you can't get fresh you can use dried shiitake (there are lots of online sources for dried shiitake if you don't have aa Asian market nearby).Be sure to coarsely chop in a food processor before beginning the recipe; in the dried state they are too tough to cut with a knife. There is also Napa cabbage, green onions, red bell peppers, water chestnuts, wakame seaweed, garlic, ginger and tree ears (a tree lichen that gives a wonderful tooth to the Jiaozi but can be omitted if you can't find them).


Chop the ingredients individually into small uniform pieces, and keep them separated from other ingredients.  Do not cut them so small that when they are dried they fall through the drying screens. Each ingredient should be placed on a different screen because they all dry at different rates. Check each ingredient to make sure it is completely dry before removing from the dehydrator. It may take a little practice to get good at knowing when things are dry so when in doubt leave them longer, it won't hurt them.

I use what I call the "Rice  Krispie" test. Some will snap easily in half when dry others are crispy, crackly and crush easily and some will pop apart and turn to dust when pressed between the fingers. In the case of the ingredients in this recipe, the shiitake snap in half cleanly when dry, the Napa cabbage is crispy and falls to fine crumbs if rubbed between thumb and forefinger, the water chestnuts dry very hard and can't be snapped, crackled or popped, but cannot be dented with a fingernail and are not pliable when dry. Ginger and garlic fall into the same category as water chestnut only not as hard when dry. The bell pepper took the longest time to dry because the skins curl around the soft flesh as they dry; keeping the air from reaching the insides.They probably took twice as long as everything else. They felt tough but not crackly. To be sure they were dry I took one of the largest pieces and tried turned it inside out to feel for moisture. if it was easy to turn inside out then it was pliable and there was still too must moisture inside. If it felt tough and was difficult to turn then I touched the inside to feel for moisture just to be sure. I purchased the wakame and the tree ears already dehydrated from the Asian market so all I had to do was add them to the mix when everything else was dry. This all seems complicated and time consuming but it isn't really, I just want anyone who doesn't have a lot of experience with a dehydrator to be able to tell what dry looks like.

This is what all the ingredients look like when dry.

At this point, the ingredients can be mixed and packaged for storage.  If the food is going to be rotated into your family's diet in eight months to a year, then using a Food Saver to vacuum seal them in a bag is fine, using a Food Saver to vacuum seal them in a Mason Jar will give you 2-3 years, both packaging methods should kept in total darkness . If you think it will be stored longer than that, it would be advisable to use small mylar bags and oxygen absorbers. This will give you possibly 3-5 years. Since packaging is just part of the food storage equation; your individual storage environment is a factor in the actual shelf life of your storage foods, so times may vary. We rotate our food storage routinely, so most things go on the table within a year or so. I still use mylar for most things because the bags are impermeable. They are air, light and moisture proof. My second choice is to use a Food Saver to vacuum seal Mason jars for items that I know will get used within the year, I just keep those jars in the dark since light rapidly deteriorates food.

When ready to put the Jiaozi vegetables to use,  put 2 cups of the mixed dried ingredients (for 36 dumplings or 1 cup for half that many) in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let soak while you assemble the Jiaozi dough.

For a batch of Jiaozi dough that makes 36 dumplings (cut recipe in half if you don't want to make that many) you will need:

2 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour (more for dusting rolling surface as needed)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup ice water
A couple tbsp. sesame oil in a small bowl

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and give a good swirl or two with a metal whisk to blend. Pour in the boiling water and whisk rapidly until crumbly in texture.

The add cold water and mix with hands to work in the water. Once cold water is incorporated, knead in the bowl with the palm of the hand until it forms a soft ball.

At this point, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minute or so until the ball is smooth and elastic. It will not rise since there is no leavening agent, but the kneading will stimulate the gluten and cause it to be stretchy and easy to roll. To further make a pliable dough, let rest covered with a damp towel to relax the gluten fibers. If you don't let it rest then rolling the dough out will prove challenging. You roll it out and it shrinks back by half, roll repeat... it is maddening. But if you allow the dough to rest you should not have this issue.

Once the dough has rested, decide how many Jiaozi you want to make. The recipe will make 36 dumplings, if you don't need that many then you can cut all the ingredients by half or make it all and freeze half of the dough for later if that is an option. To freeze the dough, form a ball and flatten into a slightly round topped disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and them put in a zip seam quart sized freezer bag. Label with date and freeze for up to 3 months.

To make dumpling wrappers, form half of the dough into a domed disk, cover the remaining half with the damp cloth or follow the freezing directions.

 Put the thumb into the center of the disk and gently pull, stretch and turn until the hole in the center widens, much like forming bagels.

Keep stretching and turning, careful to keep the dough the same thickness all the way around, until the ring is about 10-12 inches in diameter.

 Cut the circle into equal parts, lay them side by side and cut in half again, then repeat twice more, until you have 16 equally sized pieces. Cover pieces with a damp cloth.

At this point drain the soaking veggies well and gently squeeze out any excess liquid. Set aside while you roll out the dumplings.

Next take two of the cut pieces and give each a gentle squash on the counter with the palm of a hand. Then dip one side of one of the two pieces in the sesame oil and lightly draw across the edge of the bowl to remove extra oil. Stack the 2 pieces together with the oiled side in the middle and using a small thin rolling pin or an piece of 1 1/2-2" diameter by 8" long dowel to roll the dough out. roll from the edge to the center, turn and repeat until the circle is 2 1/2 -3" round.

Then gently pull apart by finding an edge and working the pieces apart. The individual pieces will need to be rolled again just to return them to a circle, but you will have 2 pieces of very thin dough this way. I have found it much easier to get them the right thickness this way, but you can roll them out individually if it works better for you!

Once the dough piece is rolled out, cup your hand and place the dough circle in it so that it forms a little pocket.

 Put a tsp. of filling in the pocket (do not over fill!!) and pull the top of the circle over the filling to create an envelope pinch one corner closed.

With your free hand draw up a pleat in the top half of the dough and then press the pleat to the bottom half of the dough.

 Repeat to have 4 or 5 pleats and then pinch the other corner. Pinch pleats to bottom of dumpling again if it looks like the edges didn't seal. Gently shape into a half moon and repeat with the rest of the dumplings.

It takes practice to get the uniform pleats so don't stress if your pleats are willy nilly as long as they hold together while being cooked. I guarantee they will taste good no matter what they look like!

To cook: in a well seasoned cast iron skillet, or a non stick skillet, place a small amount of coconut oil (1/2 tsp. or so) and heat on medium. Swirl melted oil around to coat the pan and then place as many  dumplings as will fit comfortably with no crowding, pocket end down in the skillet with pleats pointing up.

 Lower heat to medium low and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes. Peek under a dumpling to see if it is it is golden and just beginning to show tiny brown in spots, then pour in 1/4 cup of water and cover immediately.

Cook 3-5 minutes more, swirling the pan occasionally to keep the dumplings from sticking. When most of the water has cooked away, uncover the skillet and watch for all the water to disappear. Once all the water is gone the dumplings are done. Turn one up to make sure that the bottom is beautifully browned, then place them in a covered dish in a 180 degree oven to keep them warm while you cook the rest.

When all are done, place on a plate with a bowl of dipping sauce in the center and serve. Dipping sauce recipe below.

Steam fried Jiaozi served with dipping sauce and Oi Sobagi.
Oi Sobagi is a fermented Cucumber Kimchi. To learn how to make Oi Sobagi
go to my blog post here for a step by step tutorial.

                                                                  
Dipping Sauce                                                                           

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or black vinegar if a richer sauce is desired (1/2 balsamic and 1/2 rice wine vinegar is a good sub for the black vinegar)
1/4 cup soy sauce or Nama Shoyu (wheat free fermented soy sauce)
1 tsp. sesame oil (or if spicy sauce is desired, hot chili sesame oil)
1 heaping tsp. honey or 1 tsp. agave
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp. minced ginger (I use ginger slices that I ferment myself and mince them)
Healthy pinch of sesame seed and sprinkle of green onions or garlic chives (this is optional but it looks really pretty and tastes nice.)
 Blend all together and leave to meld flavors for awhile before using. I keep a jar premade in the fridge. 

Why on earth would I include a recipe like this in a Prepper's Cookbook? Well, that is a good question! Most importantly it is because the filling ingredients target some very important nutrients: the shiitake have over a dozen minerals and vitamins including some hard to get trace minerals like copper and zinc, plus selenium and folate as well as some important b vitamins. The cookbook will have a breakout of nutrients and an explanation for why each is important for survival, but this post is getting long already so I won't go into all that here. The cabbage has vitamins A and C as well as folate, manganese, copper and more. The wakame contains the vital fat soluble vitamin A and K, also some other important nutrients. It is also source of iodine, which may be in short supply from other sources. The other ingredients will be broken out in the book but not here; I will say that each contributes something important to the diet.

Another reason Jiaozi will appear in a prepping book is because once the ingredients are dehydrated, the entire process can be done outside; cooked over coals on an open fire, or on a camp stove. It is a one pot deal and with a little practice can be accomplished in short order (it took me less than 1/2 hour from dry ingredients to steam fried dumplings. While this post has taken almost a whole day...) 

Finally, it is a morale boosting food, a special treat to take the edge off trying times. **Note the dumpling part is not necessary, it is just appealing and fun. If pressed for time, the filling can be served over rice or included in a salad or eaten out of hand. The important part is to get the nutritional value from the ingredients.

So why don't you try your hand at them with fresh ingredients and cook them immediately to see how the family loves them. If they are a winner, why don't you consider trying the storage food version.  If you try them please tell me what you think!

*How to pronounce Jiaozi: Jow (said like ow in how) tzah (Like in matzah) jow-tzah 

It's Inventory and Rotation Season!

Here at Heart's Ease Cottage we revolve around "Seasons" for many of our routines. Seed Starting Season,  Planting Season, Harvest Season, Food Preserving Season, Medicine Making Season, Inventory Season, Rotation Season... There are probably more but you get the idea!

The beginning of the year is our Inventory Season, for our business and our homestead. The business, because we have to pay taxes on our business assets and merchandise and since we are already in inventory mode we do our pantry and prep inventory as well. It is a slow and tedious process if we have gotten busy and not kept up with what we have acquired or used through the year. Unfortunately the last few years have been very hectic, so I have not kept up with record keeping like I should. So inventory and rotation is eating into time that I am supposed to use for Seed Starting season. It's all good though, I am used to keeping lots of balls in the air and multi tasking!

 We have several categories of preps to inventory, food stocks ( Current Use pantry, Three Month pantry and Long Term Storage), medical supplies, seasonal clothing and weather gear stockpile, camping and backpacking equipment (including Get Home bags and BOB), gardening supplies (seeds, seed starting medium ingredients, organic treatments and sprays, tools), construction and auto mechanic tools and supplies (stock pile of wood, selection of screws, nails and other hardware sharpening equipment, oils, gasoline, hand and power tools). As we inventory each category, we make note about what we need to rotate, repair, replace or update.

Right now I am working on the Current Use and Three Month pantry. There are a bunch of things in there that are in need of rotation, and some of the items that we usually keep a heavy supply of are running alarmingly low while I have been waiting for them to go on sale.

The pantry is in disarray as I rummage through to count things and
pull out items to be rotated. Eventually, the shelves will be refilled and in order.
This photo only shows 1/3 of the pantry so there is still much to do!

 In order to facilitate the rotation of things that need to be used, I had a 3 day cooking marathon last week. I made 2 gallons of potato soup, 3 gallons of Marinara Abbiatti (spicy marinara with capers, artichokes and oil cured Kalamata olives), 3 gallons of Vegan Gumbo and a huge batch of Vegetable Biryani. I rotated out of the pantry, aseptic containers of almond milk and used them in potato soup as well as a 10 lb. bag of red potatoes that needed to be used.

For the potato soup I roasted fresh garlic
and reserved half of the potatoes to be used in cubes
the rest are mashed to make it thick and creamy.

I season the soup with fresh dill, garlic, celery seed and white miso
 and add a tiny bit of almond milk to give it a creamy consistency.

I made marinara and gumbo using bottled organic pasta sauce and fire roasted tomatoes that were past expiration, but still in good condition.

I add fresh okra, bell peppers, garlic, onions and chayote
to the tomato sauce and fire roasted tomatoes that need to be rotated and
lots of spices to make a thick spicy vegan gumbo.

 The Biryani was made with long grain rice and canned mixed vegetables that were in need of rotation, with an array of distinctively Indian spices that I grind myself. It is not for the faint of heart, it has enough fire to give you a real endorphin rush!

The fiery Vegetable Biryani was divided into 3 categories
eat now, freeze and dehydrate.

The Biryani is ready to go in the dehydrator. It will take 12 hours or so to
get the vegetables dry all the way through. 

Dried Vegetable Biryani 

 A closer view of the dehydrated Biryani. It is important
 to make sure the vegetables get dry all the way through.
when completely dry they will crush to powder between
 thumb and forefinger.

To reconstitute rice pour in enough boiling water to just barely cover
 the dehydrated rice. Then cover with a lid or plate and let sit 15 minutes.

The reconstituted rice's taste and texture is very close to fresh made.
It is great to keep on hand for busy days when you are short on time.
It is also very useful for camping and backpacking or for the BOB.

For in house use I seal up the rice in FoodSaver bags or vacuum seal them in mason jars.
 For backpacking I reuse mylar bags from past long term storage packaging.
 I don't use oxygen absorbers in the pouches since it is not intended
to be kept for more than 6 months. The mylar bags are great
since you can pour the hot water right into the bag to
 reconstitute, this saves on cleanup when out in the woods.

I kept enough of each out for eating on this week and the rest went into 2 serving freezer containers. Some of the freezer containers went into the fridge freezer so I can access them for use without having to go outside.

I use the refrigerator's freezer for storing meals I intend for us to eat in the
 next week or so. The rest of the containers go
in the chest freezer in the outside pantry.

 The rest went in the chest freezer in the outdoor pantry to keep the chili and Coconut Sweet Potato soup from my last cooking marathon company. So now that I have used up the "going out of date" items from the 3 Month Pantry, I have big holes in my pantry stock that I need to fill. There is still much more to do, but I won't have to worry about what we are going to eat while I am buried neck deep in pantry inventory!

I would love to hear from you... It helps me feel less like I am talking to myself  <smiles> So please feel free to leave a comment. I promise to respond to your comments! Until next time! Elle

.

Weeds that are Actually Medicine, Sumac

Winged sumac I found
 on a recent foraging trip

I have always found the sumac to be beautiful in its structure and enjoy the interest it brings to a landscape, but it wasn't until I started gaining knowledge of the healing properties of plants, that I found out how valuable sumac is to health. Sumac grows wild throughout the Sub-tropical regions of  the world, like Greece, Turkey and the Middle East and in the United States in the Southeast and Southwest. You will see it growing wild here in North Carolina in hedgerows, at the edges of pastures and along the road slightly under the canopy of trees. But you will also see it grown as an element of landscaping in the yards of older homes and in old abandoned country "home places".

Much like Goldenrod, Sumac has gotten a bad rap... I can't tell you how many times people have told me to look out for the "Poison Sumac" when I tell them I am going out to forage for sumac. So to start with I am going to say this... unless you are wading into a marsh to forage for Cattails, you will never be in danger of running into poison sumac, more on this later in the post. Sumac, from the genus of Rhus, is a large woody shrub raging from 3ft to as high as 30 ft, depending on species. They have pinnate leaves, feather-like leaf divisions arising on either side of a center axis, like a palm frond or a fern. The leave "fronds" are arranged in a spiral formation around the branches. The flowers form in dense pannicles of tiny greenish to creamy white flowers. The fruit drupes that form in a cluster known as a"bob", are reddish purple and borne above the leaves The Sumac bobs ripen in August to September in our area, but if weather is dry in the fall you can still find some sumac that is fit to pick as late as October.

There are many varieties of sumac in the U.S.A. Here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, the most common species are the Winged Sumac and the Smooth Sumac, but I have seen the Staghorn sumac, that is usually found in the mountains of western N.C., growing here in the here in the Piedmont as well. Usually the Staghorn sumac found wild in the Piedmont has been planted as a landscape feature by human hands and the birds have scattered the seed in the wild places. On my most recent sumac search I found all three varieties in a hours drive through the country. You can do an online search for the varieties that grow in your locale, there are usually even some good photos of what the species look like.

Winged sumac air drying 

Sumac is both edible and medicinal. It has strong anti-oxidant properties due to the amount of vitamin C it contains, but it is also, an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, an anti-fungal, particularly for  aspergillus fungus which causes lung infections and infections other organs. It reduces blood sugar levels, which makes it a useful herb for diabetics, and has anti-cancer properties. An infusion of sumac bark or roots taken over a period of time can make positive alterations to the state of ones health. It is an antiseptic, astringent, diuretic, it increases the production of breast milk, can stop bleeding but also stimulates the circulatory system dilating the capillaries for better blood flow.Sumac berry's tangy flavor is the result of a high content of malic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid and ascorbic acid. For purposes of preparedness, sumac is a valuable source of foragible Vit C. Since in many scenarios, getting enough vitamin C could be very difficult. The barks and roots of sumac can be used  in an infusion as an antiseptic, as an astringent, a diuretic. It is used in alternative medicine for the treatment of colds, fever, diarrhea. It is used to treat mouth sores, sore throat and other inflammation of the mucous membranes. It helps with rectal bleeding, inflammation of the urinary tract and painful urination. An infusion of  the leaves is used for asthma and diarrhea. Chewing the leaves will give relief to sore gums and rubbing the chewed leaves on lips will soothe cracked dry lips.

The leaves can be harvested and used fresh or collected while they are still green and dried for later use, the bark can be collected at any time and dried or peeled and used fresh when needed. For medicinal purposes, use one tsp. of either bark or leaves steeped 1/2 hour hot water. When cool consume 2-4 cups a day. Use as a gargle or mouthwash for oral issues. In tincture, a dose is 10-20 drops in some water 2 times a day.

Now for a few words about poison sumac before I go on to talk about harvesting, storing and using sumac. Sumac, Rhus coriaria  and Poison Sumac,  Toxicodendron vernix, are members of the same family as poison ivy  and cashews. Poison sumac grows in boggy areas and wetlands. In North Carolina it is only found in Coastal areas and swampy areas of the Sandhills. It is also found in the swamps of the deep south and marshy areas throughout the New England and Great Lake states. The plant grows directly in the water or in the boggy areas very close to the water. It is a shrub or small tree. The leaves can look similar to poison ivy and the stem that connect the leaflets to the branches are red and some of the leaves, particularly the newest leaves have a reddish tinge. The woody parts of the plant are grey and smooth, and the mature berries which are borne underneath the leaves in loose clusters, are greenish white. To get into poison sumac is unlikely unless you are wading in a marsh, foraging cattail or wapato in areas where it is common. But if you are likely to do that, it would be advisable to know what it looks like and to steer clear of it, because it is extremely irritating to the skin, like poison ivy on steroids... The blisters go very deep and can persist for weeks on end. 

Although there are a few similarities, Poison Sumac's white berries and the fact that grows in marshy situations, 
where edible sumac has red berries and prefers a dry environment, makes it pretty easy to tell Poison Sumac
 from  the edible, medicinal sumac.

Start watching for the ripening sumac in August. It is possible to still find viable bobs well into October but they earlier ones will be more likely to have the highest content of malic and ascorbic acid. To harvest Sumac, look for plants that are in open places, away from traffic and road runoff. Also it is important to look at the ground and make sure that there is no swaths of dead brown vegetation that would indicate that an herbicide has been sprayed in the area. Choose fresh bobs that have no mold or insect infestations and cut the bob stems an inch or so below the last berries in the cluster. Some varieties are fuzzy and thickly clustered together, (Staghorn sumac), other are loosely clustered with shiny berries sticky with malic acid, (Winged sumac). All varieties are useful.

Staghorn sumac in the fall.

To dry the sumac bobs, spread them out in an area that gets good air circulation, but is out of the weather. Turn the bobs every couple days to make sure they are drying uniformly. They should be dry enough to grind in a week or so. A dehydrator on fan, no heat, can be used as well. I have a mesh hanging dryer made by Stack!t that I use to dry my sumac and I am very happy with the results. 

In dry weather the Stack!t hangs under the cover of our veranda. If it is rainy,
 I hang it in the house and point a box fan at it.

One hint, the berries that are sticky do not ever seem dry due to the amount of sticky residue on the berries but after a week or so the skin on the berry will be dry enough for grinding. Once dry, the berries can be stored as bobs in an airtight container for use later or they can separated from the stems and picked through for undesirable berries and then the remaining berries can be ground in a spice mill just long enough to loosen the dried fruit from the seeds.Then sift through a flour sifter or strainer with mesh large enough to let the fruit flakes go through but small enough to keep the seeds in the strainer. If all the fruit fibers didn't come off the first time through, return to the spice mill and sift again until all the fruit fibers have been removed. The red flakes that come off the seeds are what can be made into za'atar or other seasonings.

Here is a simple recipe for Za'atar:

1/4 cup dried and ground sumac fruit
2 Tblsp. dried thyme
1 Tblsp. white sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp. sea salt or dulse

Combine and mix well. Store in an airtight jar and use within a year, since ground sumac loses its potency over time. The Za'atar can be used to season chicken or fish,sprinkled on soft cheese or hummus, but my favorite thing to do with it is to brush pita bread with extra virgin olive oil and freshly pressed garlic, then sprinkle a nice thick coat on of the za'atar on top and broil until the top of the spice is lightly toasted. I cut it like a pizza and serve with a Mediterranean meal or as an appetizer with hummus. Yum!

Sumac bobs may be soaked for several hours or overnight in room temperature water, then strained and sweetened with honey for sumac-ade, a natural look alike for pink lemonade. Since hot water draws out the tannins, making the water bitter, only use room temperature water for making sumac beverages. 

Sumac is also a very effective agent for tanning hides for leather since it is high in tannins. The tannins also make sumac a desirable plant for those who dye yarn or fabric, since they do not need a mordant. The tannins also make for color fast dyes in colors ranging from beige and yellow to pinkish red and black, depending on what part of the plant is used.

So, this sadly misunderstood plant is actually of great value to the forager, healer, tanner and dyer. As a Prepper, knowing where to find the medicinal herbs and forage foods in your area is a good idea. I hope you will keep your eyes peeled for stand of sumac to forage from and maybe add them to your herbal pharmacy and forage pantry!   

The above information is for educational purposes and is not intended to treat or diagnose illness. It is the responsibility of the individual to research and educate themselves before making health choices for themselves and their families.

Weeds that are Actually Medicine, Goldenrod

Starting in late August/early September the fields in our area are covered in swaths of tall spires of golden yellow flowers waving in the breeze. It is a lovely sight. These flowers are Solidago, commonly known as Goldenrod,  a member of the Asteraceae family. Goldenrod has many positive attributes, not only is it pretty in masses in the fields, it is a favorite forage plant for bees in the autumn. The flowers are used to produce a warm yellow dye to color fabrics and yarn, but most importantly, the golden rod plant has medicinal properties.

Goldenrod has many medicinal uses. It is an antiseptic, astringent, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, a carmative, ( reduces gastro-intestinal gas), and promotes sweating and urination for detoxification. It it reduces excess mucous and irritation caused by allergies, is helpful in treating urinary tract issues, can be used as a gargle for congestion in the larynx, and can be applied topically to wounds to promote healing.

It is easy to identify Goldenrod when in bloom, due to it's crown of golden flowers. The fields and hedgerows are thick with them from late August through October. They can range in height from knee high to head high, depending on the age and location of the plant.  Goldenrod has a woody stem and thin, ovate leaves that are in opposing pairs along the stem.

A head of goldenrod flowers.

The stem is woody and the leaves are long, oval and arranged in
opposing pairs along them stem.

Goldenrod is often blamed for fall allergies, but it is not Goldenrod that is the culprit, it is Common Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Ragweed really looks nothing like Goldenrod, it has unremarkable flowers of light yellow borne atop stems that have ferny deeply cut leaves. It produces volumes of air borne pollen that torment fall allergy sufferers, Unfortunately, it visually fades into the background, letting Goldenrod's tall spires of bright golden flowers take the blame for all the itchy, watery eyes and runny noses. In truth, Goldenrod has no air borne pollen at all, instead it has sticky resin-like pollen that clings to the feet and bodies of insects that visit its flowers. You literally can't inhale Goldenrod pollen. One of Goldenrod's medicinal uses is to alleviate the allergy symptoms caused by ragweed.

Deeply cut ferny leaves of Ragweed

Ragweed flowers

To harvest Goldenrod, cut the top 1/3 of the plant when the flowers are in full bloom, strip the large leaves off on the woody part of the stem. Leave the woody stem so that hanging the herbs to dry is easier, but if just using in tincture trim off the woody part and tincture only the flowers, small leaves and soft parts of the stem.

A closeup of the Goldenrod flowers
will help make sure identification is easy.

This is what Goldenrod looks like in situation.

 There are many ways to preserve Goldenrod. It can be made into a tincture or it may be infused in a crockpot with honey, strained and bottled for use with those who can't tolerate alcohol or for children. It can be made into lozenges by infusing in honey or heavy sugar syrup and boiling to"hard crack" on a candy thermometer and then pouring into molds. It can be dried and used as an infusion for tea or ground and made into capsules or used as an ingredient in a poultice. With all the different ways it can be used, it is good to preserve some as tincture and some in dried form to allow for flexibility in use as needs arise.

To prepare the Goldenrod for tincture, pick through and remove anything that was cut in the field that was not Goldenrod, grass, other plants, dead pieces of flotsome. Today Skittles decided to "help" with this part of the process...

Cut the Goldenrod into small pieces, removing the thick woody pieces, but leaving the soft stem and leaves.

I tincture my medicinal herbs in 190 proof grain alcohol that I have previously tinctured with organic lemon peel. Lemon peel is full of essential oils that are anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-viral... with that many "anti" properties lemon essential oil will boost the healing properties of the any herbs being tinctured.

Fill the container tightly, half way with plant matter and then fill to where the neck of the jar narrows with your alcohol of choice. I use 190 proof grain alcohol, but I live close to South Carolina where it is legal to sell 190 proof. Here in North Carolina the strongest you can get is 100 proof. You can use either grain alcohol or vodka of the highest proof you can purchase.

I then put a Ziploc type sandwich bag in the mouth of the jar and lightly press into the surface of the liquid. Once I am sure the plastic covers the surface of the liquid I slowly fill the bag with water to 3/4 from the top of the jar. Then I push out the remaining air and zip the bag closed, fold the top of the bag into the 3/4 in head space and cover tightly with a lid. I do this step to make sure that all the plant mater is well below the alcohol, to prevent molding.  Invert the bottle of tincture every day for the first week and then once or twice a week for another 5 weeks. After the six weeks has passed, strain the tincture through cheesecloth, squeeze out all the liquid, bottle and tightly cap then label with the date it was poured off and store.

The herb can be dried for use later or for making teas and poultices by tying 2 or 3 stems together and hanging in an area with good air circulation that is protected from the weather.  I hang mine from the rafters of the vaulted ceiling in my sitting room, but I also have a Stack!t air drying gadget that works for small quantities. It hangs outside under the cover of our veranda to catch the breeze.

I have lots of room in the rafters of our sitting room to hang herbs to dry.

The stack!t works great indoors or outside,
 but I prefer to hang it in the breeze if it is nice outside.

The Stack!t is great for drying small quantities of herbs and
since it has sections, it is easy to dry more
than one kind of herb at a time.

The dried plant material can be roughly ground up and infused into tea or finely ground and loaded into capsules, (I use 00 capsules and a Capsule Machine, both can be purchased at www.mountainroseherbs.com). Dried plant material should be stored in a cool place, in a tightly capped jar stored out of the light.  Goldenrod tincture should be stored at full strength in tightly capped amber bottles and kept in a cool, dark place. Tinctures of 100% alcohol or 100% honey infused with herbs will keep indefinitely. Once diluted the tincture's clock begins ticking... it will store for several years, but will eventually lose it's potency).

For use as a tincture or honey infusion, dilute 1:5 with water and take 1/2 -1 tsp. 3 times a day, (it will go down better with a little honey).  If making a tea, infuse 3 tsp. in an 8 oz. cup of hot water and allow to steep 15-20 minutes, then strain and drink with a little honey. This also should be consumed 3 times daily.

So now is the time to go out and harvest some goldenrod while it is in full bloom and get some tincture and dried herb ready at hand. It is best to harvest Goldenrod deep in a field or along a woods edge away from traffic exhaust fumes and road run off. If you have a park nearby that is a good place to harvest away from traffic and spraying. If you can't get it anywhere else look for low traffic country roads and get back at least 50 feet off the road to harvest. Be sure to wear long pants and boots and watch for snakes and fire ant hills. Of course, you should never go on fenced private land without asking permission, so if you find a prime crop of Goldenrod behind a fence, tempting as it may be, leave it if you can't find the owner to ask permission.

 I have posted a step by step tutorial on how to make a tincture on another blog post. Here is the link: https://aprepperspantryjournal.blogspot.com/2016/11/its-tincture-time-again.html

                                                                                                        Happy Wildcrafting!
                                                                 


The above information is for educational purposes and is not intended to treat or diagnose illness. It is the responsibility of the individual to research and educate themselves before making health choices for themselves and their families.