Shaving soap - for my barber friend

I love the old fashioned look that this colour gives. The razor
and the leather strop came in a cabinet that I bought that
had a small sink and a mirror perfect for bachelors to shave.

This one had better be good.  I wrote about my encounter with the barber before last Christmas a few posts ago.  I guess that one of the reasons that I never went back to him with a shaving soap that he could try is because I wasn't really sure that it was any good.  But that would of course be the whole point of having him try it.  To tell me if it was any good.

So I decided to make another shaving soap and this time I thought a lot about the ingredients.  The first one I basically did a soap recipe and added some clay to it.  It was pretty early in my soap making days and I just thought it was cool that adding clay would make the soap into shaving soap.  And, don't get me wrong,  it was a fine shaving soap, but I always thought I could improve it.  So I sat down and thought long and hard and this is what I came up with:

I need good lather, not because that's so important for a good shave, but because most men think it is.  So this one will be with a good percentage of Coconut oil.  To make up for the rather drying qualities of the Coconut oil I have to have some Olive oil because that is really conditioning and and it makes the lather stable.  The same goes for lard, which I included because it's macho... well... and conditioning and makes a good stable lather as well.  And of course I also had to include Castor oil which has such nice lather and conditioning, but makes a soft soap.  So I added some Cocoa Butter for it's moisturizing and hardening.  So that was all my oils.  Except I thought that Njóli oil (Rumex) would be very good in a shaving soap since it is so good for skin disorder and some men experience a rash from shaving.   So that added a bit of Sunflower oil as I had infused the Rumex root in that.  And for the water I did a tea from Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris).  And then I added the clay.

I made the soap in the traditional way and I had intended to use 15 g. of Njóli oil, but as I was pouring it into the soap at trace I kind of lost control and ended up with a lot more than that.  Luckily I had placed the bowl on the scale so I just adjusted the recipe.  This means that I will be making another soap with 15 g of the oil because I need to see what the colour will look like.  I was a bit concerned that the soap would look too pink and that wouldn't be macho enough, but then I thought that maybe the green colour of the weed tea should make it a bit more brown.  I'll have to see what my barber friend says about the colour, but here is the recipe (always run it through a calculator, the oz. are approx.):

Coconut oil       33% 175 g / 6.2 oz
Olive oil            24% 125 g / 4.4 oz
Lard                   23% 120 g / 4.2 oz
Castor oil         9%      50 g / 1.8 oz
Sunflower oil    5%    26 g /  0.9 oz  (Rumex longifolius infused)
Cocoa butter      5%     5 g / 0.8 oz
Bentonite clay    1.5 tbs


Shepherds purse tea         38%  208g / 7.4 oz
Lye                                                     75g / 2.6 oz
6% SF.

I poured this into a tube and used silicone baking sheets to make sure I could get it out again.  That worked really well, except that I got a "seam" along the soap tube.  But I got it out really easily.

Now, I don't think I should be the judge of how this turned out.  I will simply take this to my barber friend along with my first shaving soap (which I have in a very macho brown coffee cup) and see what he has to say about them.  I'll be posting the result.

Rhubarb delicacy and liquor

I love rhubarb and I'm always looking for
new recipes to try out.  I just had to try this. 

I do like Rhubarb.  I guess the flavour reminds me of childhood when we ate the raw stalks, sometimes after dipping them in sugar.  Back in those days there weren't that many sweets available so we kids would eat all sorts of plants such as Njóli (Rumex longifolius), Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and Rhubarb.   I have to admit that my tastebuds can't bear the acid taste of raw Rhubarb anymore.  Nor am I a fan of Rhubarb jam.  I find it too heavy and almost gluey in concistency.  Although I have tasted very good jam that was 50/50 Rhubarb and Strawberries.

But before my youth, way back in the old days when fresh fruit was only seen in Iceland before Christmas and canned fruit was an expensive luxury, the heel of the Rhubarb was considered a special delicacy.  It was thought to taste similar to canned pears and those were expensive and difficult to get.  So when making Rhubarb jam, the heels would be cut away and canned separately.  This fact seems to be lost on many today as most people know that they are supposed to cut the bottom off the stalks, but instead of treating them with the reverence they deserve, people throw them away.  For some reason I mentioned this to a friend and a few days later she showed up with a bag of Rhubarb heels for me.  So this is what I did with them.

Rhubarb delicacy from way back when recession was the way of life

First I cleaned the heels and cut off the brown bits.  I then weighed them and I had about 200 g / 7oz.
I put them into a small pot and poured 180 g / 6.3 oz of sugar over them.  I heated this up and let it simmer gently until the heels were soft.  I then poured this into a sterile canning jar and let it cool before I closed the lid.  This is lovely warmed up slightly and served with ice cream.

I am still harvesting Rhubarb and have a few other recipes that I am going to make.  I'm making another batch of ice cream, this time I'm goining to siv the rhubarb bits out and see if my youngest likes it better.    I've made syrup before as well as saft, but I came across a recipe for a liquor that I thought was interesting.  I doubt that I'm going to try it, but even though I don't like to post recipes that I haven't tried and tested I thought I would write it down in case I change my mind.  It might make an interesting gift.

Rhubarb liquor

This recipe is for about 6 dl. and takes about 4 weeks to do.

5 dl / 2 cups Rhubarb pieces
4 dl / 1 3/4 cup vodka
1 vanilla pod
1,5 -2 dl (3/4 cup more or less) simple syrup

Put the Rhubarb into a jar. Pour the vodka into the jar, put a lid on and shake for a few minutes.
Let this stand for about 2 weeks.  Add the vanilla pod.
After about 4 week you siv the booze and add the simple syrup and stir well.  Taste and add more syrup as you like.
Let this stand for about a month to let the flavours mellow.
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Plants with purpose

I hang my kitchenalia from the upper cabinets. I tend to
favour hanging things up to any other method of storage.
I also dry small bunches of herbs that way. This is Comfrey.

When I was little my parents would take us out to the country for day tours.  Since they didn't own a car, we would go with the local equivalence of a rambler organization.  Once off the bus, the others would walk briskly and look up at the mountains.  We walked slowly and with our noses practically in the ground because we were looking for plants.  My parents were both biologists and both specialized in plants.  So they taught us their names and my father and I collected whole plants that we dried and labeled, just like real professionals.

I have ever since been able to name some plants without even thinking about it.  Their names would just pop into my head when I looked at them.  However I recently noticed that I wasn't been able to put a name to many plants anymore, so this summer I took out my books about local plants and started to read them.  My incentive was mostly from wanting to use the plants in creams and soaps.  Partly for their benefits and partly for their colour, but I have found that I have really enjoyed this refresher in botany.  I can now name practically all the plants that I encounter in the woods where I walk the dogs.  If I come accross one that I don't know I take home a sample and look it up.  It might just be a fantastic medicinal plant.  The result of this has been plant collection en masse.

It started innocently enough last year with drying a few sprigs of Mint and infusing some in oil.  I also made infused Rose hip oil.  And this summer I was given a Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) plant and gathered the leaves and of course then I started digging up the roots of Njóli (Rumex longifolius) for soap colour.  Soon after I picked rose petals to make rose oil.  Very soon thereafter I realized that Chickweed (Stellaria media) and Shepherds purse (Capsella bursa pastoris), both of which grew profusely in the allotment garden, were very good medicinal plants, so I collected a few to infuse in oil.  Then some more to dry.  And then there was the local Chamomile.  And by this time my mind had recollected most of the plant names and I just kept seeing these amazing plants everywhere around me.  And then I just went wild.

The plants that grow practically on my doorstep, most of which I have started to collect include:

• Achillea millefolium - Vallhumall / Yarrow:  One of the best medical plants.  Used to treat colds and fevers, skin disorders and to stop bleeding.  Arial parts; stems, leaves and flowers are collected.  I have this dried and in oil but need more of it so I am still collecting it on my walks.
• Alchemilla alpine - Ljónslappi / Alpine Lady's mantle:  Long history of using this herb for a variety of ailments, but all the Alchemillas have a reputation as women's herbs.  Can be used in skin creams for cuts and wounds and internally for menstrual problems and symptoms of menopause.  I have been collecting the leaves and flowers of this plant which grows profusely where I walk in the woods close to home.  
• Alchemilla mollis - Maríustakkur / Lady's mantle:  Same as above.  This one grows everywhere and I have bunches of it hanging in the shed.
• Arctostaphylos uva ursi - Sortulyng / Bearberry:  Great value in diseases of the urinary tract, it soothes, strengthens and tightens irritated and inflamed tissues.  However this should only be taken for a week at a time and not more than five times a year.  I have just started to collect small amounts of this.  
• Calluna vulgaris - Beitilyng / Heather: Used for urinary tract infections and to drive out kidney stones, it is diuretic as well as cough suppressant.  In ointment it is good to rub on  affected joints.  This has been used in dyeing cloth and yarn, but produces an uninteresting tan/grey.  The flowering stems are collected and dried.  This is in flower now and I am collecting and drying some. 
• Caltha palustris - Hófsóley / Marsh marigold:   It has been used locally as a painkiller and anti spasmodic as well as a expectorant cough medicine.  Young leaves are best used and either dried or boiled.  Older leaves may contain toxins.  It should always be either dried or boiled as otherwise it may irritate.  I have this growing by the pond in the garden, but haven't harvested it yet.  It will probably wait till next year.
• Capsella bursa-pastoris - Hjartaarfi / Shepherd purse:  Good for cystitis and is styptic.  Arial parts collected all year long.  I have some of this dried and used it in my latest shaving soap, but again I need some more.  The allotment is a good place to collect this one.
• Elymus repens - Húsapuntur / Couch grass:  This is excellent for the urinary system and kidneys.  It is good to treat cystitis, painful urination and is even good for an enlarged prostate.  It is the root that is collected, preferably in spring or autumn.  I have collected a fair amount of this invasive weed and plan to collect more later in the year when it should be even more potent.
• Epilobium (syn. Chamaenerion) angustifolium - Sigurskúfur / Rose bay:  Externally it is healing.  Internally it is good for stomach complaints.  The leaves and flowers are used.  I picked bouquets of these pretty flowers and leaves and have them drying in the shed.  
• Equisetum arvense - Klóelfting / Horsetail:  This strange and ancient plant is very diuretic.  It contains silica which helps to fix calcium so it strengthens bones and ligaments and is very good for hair, skin and nails.  There is some talk of it improving memory and concentration similar to Ginko biloba.  This is best harvested when young.  I haven't harvested this yet although it grows absolutely everywhere.  Next year.
• Fillipendula ulmaria - Mjaðurt / Meadowsweet:  Good for heartburn and arthritis.  Leaves and flowers are collected in summer.  I have a gallon jar of this herb dried.  
• Galium boreale - Krossmaðra / Northern bedstraw:  Apparently this was used to stuff mattresses, but it's main uses are similar to it's yellow cousin.  I have a fairly large jar of this herb dried.
• Galium verum - Gulmaðra / Lady's bedstraw:  Good for eczema and psoriasis and in an ointment for cramped ligaments.  The whole plant can be used, mostly leaves and flowers.  The chopped up plant can be used as a rennet in cheese making.  The plant is related to Madder and it's roots and stems can be used to get a red dye and the flower tops yield a yellow dye.  I haven't used it as such, but I would love to try that.  I have large jar of this dried.
• Matricaria maritima - Baldursbrá / Sea mayweed:  Anti inflammatory.  Flower heads are collected and dried, the good stuff is in the yellow part.  I have a gallon jar of it dried .
• Menyanthes trifoliata - Horblaðka / Bogbean:  This is an arthritis medicine, both for osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis and it grows in my pond.  The leaves and flowers are best dried and gathered in early summer.  It haven't used this one yet, so it may have to wait until next year.
• Rumex longifolius - Njóli / Northern dock:  This weed is great to make soap pink, but it is also very good for skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis and itchy skin.  I have it infused in oil and some dried, but plan to dig for more roots later, in autumn for more potency.
• Stellaria media - Haugarfi / Chickweed:  Good for cooling the skin and relieving itching, eczema, varicose veins.  Arial parts are collected in summer and dried.  It is excellent to pick fresh and toss in a salad as well.  I have it infused in oil and some dried.
• Symphytum officinale - Valurt / Comfrey:  The most fantastic plant.  It's a terrible weed, but it has been used for ages to heal broken bones, wounds and skin ailments.  There are some concerns about toxic alkaloids, but many people still take this as a tea.  I'll just use it in creams since it's quite safe that way.
• Trifolium pratense - Rauðsmári / Red clover:  Traditionally used to treat skin complaints and is considered good for symptoms of menopause.  It also has a folkloric reputation as a cancer cure, specifically breast cancer, but no conclusive research exists.  Mostly the flowers are used either internally or externally.  Apparently the flowers give a reasonable yellow dye colour.  I have two gallon jars of this pretty thing and will probably consume it myself as well as put it into creams.  
• Tussilago farfara - Hóffífill / Coltsfoot:  Tussilago means cough suppressant so it comes as no surprise that this the best cough medicine.  It has been used for asthma, emphysema and smoker's cough.  It flowers very early and the flowers appear before the leaves and they along with young leaves are used.  Some concerns about toxic alkaloids in this plant, so best taken in moderate quantities and for a short time.  I have made a tea from this but I need to collect more of it if I find yung leaves.  Otherwise it will have to wait until next year.
• Urtica dioeca - Brenninetla / Nettle:  This is one of those miracle plants and is often taken as a tonic.  It is also eaten in soups.  It's really good for asthma and allergies and as a hair tonic.  The leaves provide a good green colour.  I have a small plant, but haven't been able to collect it yet.  It should be collected in May and June, before flowering.  This one is definitely for next year.
• Valeriana officinalis - Garðabrúða / Valerian:  Natures valium, this one.  It is calming and aids in sleeping.  The root is used and it is most potent fresh apparently.  It should be collected in spring or autumn like all roots since they are most potent when the top growth is dormant.  I am waiting for autumn to dig this up in a garden were the owners want to get rid of it.
• Viburnum opulus - Úlfarunni / Cramp bark:  Long history of using the bark to treat period pain and even to prevent miscarriage since it is a smooth muscle antispasmodic.  I have two shrubs growing in my garden and they are getting a good pruning this autumn and I'm going to harvest the bark from the branches to dry it. 

My own private paradise. This woodland is a 2 minute walk
from my house. There I can find most of the plants I write
about here. The rest I find around the allotment garden.

Looking at this list I am amazed at the variety of beneficial plants I am able to harvest from my immediate neighborhood.  And I left out Dandelion, Viola, Calendula and a few more.  You'd think I was living way out in the country, but I live in a very urban area.  I guess it is just a question of opening ones eyes to the possibilities that are around.

I am still learning about all the plants so that I can use them with confidence to treat minor ailments in the family.  I bought a thingy (on a whim on the internet) to stuff capsules and some capsules to stuff.  It works pretty well although I think my vintage glass turkey baster works best for getting the herb powder into the bigger capsules.  I think it makes sense to ingest the herbs that way.  Even if I have read about making tinctures and decoctions, it just sounds as a bit of a bother, although quite a bit more romantic.

But in the end I'm really thrilled with this abundance of goodies from nature and will now officially stop envying inhabitants of warmer climates for their plants. 

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Alkanet and eggshell

I love that little dish. It's not silver, I don't even know if it's
silver plated, but the design is just lovely. It's another one
dollar find at the Good S...

I used Alkenet in a soap the other day.  I have used it before with no great results.  It has turned beautifully blue as I add the lye to the oils, but during curing it has all but disappeared.  I now know that I need to use more of it than I have been doing.  I think I have only been putting a tablespoon or two into a batch of 5-800 g. / 17-28 oz which is my usual batch size, but I am not quite sure.  So this time I was careful to measure everything.

This time I figured that if I used yoghurt I should get a nice colour, since it is acid.  But just to make sure I had some lemon on hand to add to the soap as well.  The experience was really strange and I thought I was losing it when the whole thing turned a greeny-yellow with a blue frame around it.  I didn't take photo's of that because:

1. I thought it looked really, really ugly  - and 
2. I  was convinced that the soap would stay that way and I would get a chance to snap a photo should I develop a desire to do so.  

But instead it changed colour and first turned gray and then it started to turn lavender.  Not a strong purply lavender, but a soft shadowy kind.  So I haven't cracked the Alkanet mystery yet althought I like this soap.

The colour isn't perfect, in fact it looks better in the photo than it really is.  The white flecks in it are egg shell.  I read about that and had to try it.  I amassed a large quality of egg shells when I was baking for the wedding.  As I used the eggs I washed the shells out and let them dry.  Then I put them into a mortal and pounded with a pestle.  It was quite hard work to get them to be very small, but I got there in the end.  Now the thing that I read said that the egg shells would sink to the bottom and make a layer on the bottom, which I thought was quite a good idea.  But in this soap it didn't do that but is dispersed throughout the soap.  I think I will try this again and add the egg shell to a very thin soap to see if I can get it to sink to the bottom.  I think that is quite cool.

The recipe is for 500 g. of oils / 17.6 oz (the oz are approximate):

Olive oil            30% 150g / 5.3 oz
Coconut oil       25% 125g / 4.4 oz
Lard                  25% 125g / 4.4 oz
Sunflower oil    15%  75g /  0.9 oz  (60 g of this was Alkanet infused oil - I didn't have any more)
Cocoa butter      5%   25g / 2.4 oz

Yoghurt            38%  190g / 6.7 oz
Lye                              71g / 2.5 oz
5% SF.

I used frozen yoghurt for the water.  I dissolved the lye VERY slowly since I didn't want to burn the milk proteins in the heat.  The liquid turned a pretty yellow once I had dissolved the lye.  When I had added the liquid to the oils the whole thing turned a gray colour with blue around the edges and as I stirred the thing it turned this greeny-yellow.  At that point I added 2 tbs. of crushed egg shells and some lavender and bergamot EO.  I also added 1 tbsp. corn starch to see if I can get the scent to stay a little longer than usual.  I have just tried out the off cuts, a bit early, but it produced a nice lather and the egg shells were great for exfoliation.  But then again I can never find bath brushes that are scratchy enough, but it may not be to everyones liking.
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Rhubarb soup with Rhubarb ice cream

Tivoli's rhubarb ice cream and rhubarb soup. Delicious.

Tivoli is a fun park in Copenhagen, Denmark.  It is a combination of fairground, shops and restaurants and every child's dream.  I was there for dinner in June and we got this amazing desert.  It was ice cold Rhubarb soup with some sort of dark chocolate/marzipan wafer and Rhubarb ice cream on top.  Not only did it taste good, but it looked really pretty so a snapped a photo of it.

When I came home I looked for recipes of Rhubarb soup and found a few.  This is the one I made and it is delicious.  Serve it ice cold (put it in the freezer for 10 minutes just before serving) with ice cream, either rhubarb or a good quality vanilla.  Any addition of dark chocolate in whatever form you can think of is a treat.  As is the mint leaves and berries.

Rhubarb soup (serves 4):
500 g rhubarb
200 g sugar
3 dl water
1 vanilla pod
Juice from one lemon if needed

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces.  Cut the vanilla pod into two and scrape off the vanilla corns into the sugar.  Put the water and sugar into a pot and bring to boil.  You can put the vanilla pod into the pot to simmer, but I put my pods in oil to use in creams and lotions.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust with more sugar or some lemon juice if needed.  Siv the rhubarb compot.  The liquid should be a pretty red soup.  Put the soup into the fridge.  It will keep well for a few days.   It can also be frozen for later use.  But serve it really, really cold with ice cream and decorate with a few mint leaves and redcurrants if you have them.  The left over rhubarb mush in the siv is lovely on toast for the next few days.

The view from our Paris apartment (ok, it's not ours, we rent
it, but we like to call it ours. With a view like that who can
blame us)

The best Rhubarb ice cream is sold in the ice cream shop on Île Saint-Louis in Paris.  It's on the corner opposite the rear end of Notre Dame, over the bridge.  And if you don't know it you'll recognize it by the long line.  But it's rare flavor to get in shops, so here is a recipe.  It is quite good and really easy to make.   I like the fact that it doesn't ask for all my egg yolks.  The trick is to use fairly small stalks and cut them into very small pieces.

Rhubarb ice cream:
300 g / 10.5 oz small cut rhubarb (that was about 5 stalks for me)
1 dl sugar / 3.4 oz
1/2 dl water / 1.9 oz water - if needed
3 dl / 10 oz whipping cream
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or essence)
1 tbs icing sugar

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and put into a pot with the sugar and a little bit of water if needed.  Cook for a few minutes at low heat until the rhubarb is soft and mushy.  Take off the heat and let cool.  It doesn't take long, I took the dogs for a walk.

Mix the egg yolks with the icing sugar and vanilla.  Whip the cream and fold the yolk mixture into the cream.  Fold in the cooled rhubarb.  Put into an ice cream maker and follow instructions for that (mostly that you turn the icecreammaker on before you pour the mix into it) OR put into a bowl and stick it in the freezer.  If the latter, take out every now and again to stir through until frozen.  Stirring will prevent large crystals from forming.

My version of rhubarb ice cream and rhubarb soup with the
tuile cookie. The spoon is a Christmas spoon - a gift from
my stepmother in law and father in law.

I don't have recipe for a marizipanychocholateythingy but I made these, cause they looked kinda cute.

Tuiles:
80 g soft butter
80 g sugar
50 g flour
50 g glucose sirup

Mix together.  Smear it out on a baking sheet (I did four circles) and bake for ... well the recipe said "about 5 minutes at 175C /350F or until golden in colour"  That took about 20 minutes for me.  Now the rest of the instructions said: "Take the baking sheet out and wait a few minutes until it is cold enough to handle.  You can then make it into interesting shapes.  Let it cool completely and store in an airtight container."  This apparently works if you have Marthaesque composure in the kitchen.  I do not, so my instructions would be more along the lines of:  "You can make TRULY unique shapes while handling this gooey mess in a blind panic furiously trying not to burn off your fingers."

Bon appétit!
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Shaving soap

I made shaving sope for the first time quite some time ago.  I was really excited by shaving soaps when I first read about them.   The way I understood it, shaving soap is basically soap with the addition of some clay.  The clay improves the slip.  Slip, apparently, has to do with the way the blade glides over the skin.  So I made shaving soap and started to use it.  It was nice enough, but I have to admit that I use all my soaps as shaving soaps and I don't really notice much of a difference between them.  Even the salt soap works really well!  So I've been thinking that I should reformulate my shaving soap and see if I can come up with something fantastic.

One of the reasons is that I went into a barber's shop just before last Christmas to buy an old fashioned razor for my son in law.  The barber specializes in quality shaves and sells all the paraphernalia.  He showed me his collection of old shaving things and we chatted quite a bit and I told him that I had made shaving soap.  After I had made my purchase, left the store and was about to step into the car, the barber came out of the shop and said that he would be interested in trying my shaving soap.  He warned me that he would be ruthlessly honest in telling me if it was any good.   And I told him that I would love that and he said he was interested in selling locally made shaving soap, provided it gave a good shave.  Since I'm no expert I was really happy about that and told him that I would get some shaving soap to him.  But I never got round to it.

The shaving soap that I made was pretty basic and there are many ways to make it more special.  I guess that is one of the reasons that I haven't seen my barber friend again.  I always intended to do another batch and add more clay and even some extra special oils.  So I think now is the right time to make some new shaving soaps.  Some time ago I did order more types of clay, admittedly in small quantities, but it doesn't take much.

I have been thinking that I could use some Jojoba or Castor oil and some infused oils like Calendula and even Shepherds purse, Capsella bursa-pastoralis.  It is one of the much overlooked weeds that have amazing qualities.  It is an astringent and antiseptic plant that is well known to treat urinary tract infections and stop bleeding, internally and externally.  It is the styptic qualities that I find interesting in a shaving soap.  I think it is best used as a tea for the water phase.  I might also include some yellow dock for it's skin benefits.

I had intended to post my original shaving soap recipe here, but I have looked everywhere for it and I just can't find it.  Another recipe that I thought I would remember for sure!
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Honeysuckle honey - For sore throats

Honeysuckle  has the most wonderful fragrance and it's such a shame that there is no way to make an essential oil from it.  I have 3 different varieties of it growing in my garden, Lonicera periclymenum Serotina, a yellow early flowering one, L. periclymenum Belgica, a pink and later flowering and Lonicaera caprifolium a yellow that flowers in between the others.  But I absolutely love all their scent and I frequently cut off branches with flowers to put into bouquets to bring the scent into the house.

Honeysuckle had been used as a medicinal plants, both in Europe and China for centuries as a remedy for fever, inflammation and infection.  The Chinese variety L. japonica is more likely to be used medicinally than the European varieties which are not as potent and apparently Honeysuckle isn't much used in modern Western herbalism.  But all the plants contains salicylic acid which is basically what is in aspirin so it can be used for pain and it has some benefits for irritated skin.

Different parts of the plant have a different effect.   The dried branches have been described as a remedy for arthritis, the bark is diuretic, the leaves are astringent and can be used as a gargle for sore throat and canker sores.  The flowers are antispasmodic and have been used to treat both cough and asthma.

Wonderful!  So I picked a jarful of honeysuckle flowers and poured honey over it to cover.  It is important to cover the flowers completely or they may go moldy.  This needs to be stirred every day especially at the beginning when the flowers will rise to the top because of air among them.  Or much simpler, the jar can simply be turned over every day.  After a few times the honey will have replaced the air.  If needed, add some more honey to cover.  The honey is infused for about 4 weeks and then the flowers are strained from the honey.  It may be better to warm the honey a bit to do that.  But when that is done the honey is a wonderful soothing remedy for sore throats this winter.
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Pink shampoo bar - Yellow dock for itchy and flaky scalp

I really like the colour that Yellow Dock - Rumex crispus gives to soaps and I liked the dark raspberry colour of the soap that I recently made.  However I knew that I would want to use a bit less in another soap to see what type of light pink I would get.  I don't really use Yellow Dock, it doesn't grow here, but rather a local plant that is closely related to it, commonly called Njóli here,  but Northern Dock in English.

The benefits of the root of this plant has been known for centuries and it just seemed logical to me to make a soap that might carry some of the benefits.  As Yellow Dock (and Njóli) are known to be very good for skin troubles like eczema, psoriasis and itchy skin I thought it could make a great shampoo bar for people with dry scalp AND it would look pretty as a pink bar.  Since I wanted to get as many of the benefits of the herb as possible, I decided to use the infused oil at trace.  There is always some discussion going on about weather the benefits of the ingredients survive the lye and some say that the stuff that is added at trace is more likely to be the oils that are left over as superfat in the soap.  Well I can't say for sure, but I figured it was worth the try.

I made a shampoo recipe that has less castor oil than my previous shampoo bars.  I didn't have any olive oil so I used Sunflower oil which I like.  It's rather neutral in my mind.  To give the shampoo bar hardness I added some Cocoa Butter.  The resulting soap seems to have an acceptable hardness and still be quite moisturizing.

The recipe is for 500 g. of oils / 17.6 oz (the oz are approximate):

Sunflower oil    50% 250g / 8.8 oz
Coconut oil       25% 210g / 4.4 oz
Castor oil          13%  65g / 2.3 oz
Cocoa butter     10%  50g / 1.8 oz

Water 38% 190g / 6.7 oz
Lye 70g / 2.5 oz

5% SF.

Rumex infused olive oil     2%  10g / 0.4 oz.  Added at trace

I added the infused oil at trace and the soap turned a beige colour, although it really looked like it desperately wanted to be pink.  I was rather disappointed, but since I had used half the amount that I used before I kind of wasn't surprised.  But the next morning I looked at this lovely soft pink colour!  It resembles the other Rumex soap in that the center is a bit more yellow in colour so I might put them in the freezer next to stop gelling.  But I am very happy with the colour.  Now I just need to make a third soap with 15 g. of the infused oil and see what that looks like.

I can't wait to try this shampoo in a few weeks.  It should be good for hair that isn't particularly dry and hopefully the nice qualities of Rumex will sooth a dry, flaky and itchy scalp.
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Rose jelly - Pure pink summer perfection

Roses are wonderful plants.  There are so many varieties that everyone can find somthing to like.  My favorites are primarily roses that smell nice.  I somehow find it incredulous that people actually grow roses that have no scent!  If I had to choose a colour I would probably go for pink, but I also love very pale, white and beige.  I intensely dislike the long stemmed red roses that are supposed to be so romantic.  Overbred and sterile.  But that's me.

Rugosa roses grow very well here up north.  They are tough as old boots and produce an abundance of flowers and smell very nice.  Hansa rose is a hybrid Rugosa that produces large fucshia pink flowers that have a strong scent.  The hips are bright orange and I did gather quite many last fall to make rose hip jelly and sirup.  This plant is very common and grows in many public spaces.  I have a favorite spot where I go to gather roses in full bloom, before the petals start to fall down.

I have infused olive oil by letting petals sit for 24 hours or more, then squeezing out the oil (with my hands to get all the oil) and put in more petals and repeat the whole process.  I've done this 3 times with fresh petal in the same oil and I have bit of lovely golden, nice smelling oil.  This is like liquid gold.  I have used it on my face, just straight from the bottle.  I might make a face cream out of it, but probably not, it is lovely as a serum.

But the thing I'm even more excited about is the rose jelly.  I have read recipes for this in Danish magazines for years, but never had enough roses from my own garden to do this.  Now, with foraging in my secret place, I have an abundance of roses to use and here is this lovely recipe.  And let me add that I never take so much that anyone would notice.  And I only take the blooms that are fully open, but just before they start to wilt.  It is just like deadheading the roses.

Rose jelly.

1 liter (about 1 quart) (hard packed) rose petals - using strong pink and red gives a lovely colour
I also threw in a handful of honeysuckle flowers because they were in flower - they soothe sore throats.
1 liter (1 quart) water
800 grams (slightly less than 2 pounds) sugar
20 g pectin (I used a commercial product called Melatin - yellow)
1 - 2 tbs lemon juice

The white pointy bit of the rose petals need to be cut off.  A bit fiddly, but they have a bitter taste so it's better to remove them and get a pure rose taste.
The petals are then put in a saucepan with the water and a lid on and this is brought to a gentle boil.  Push the rose petal into the water and simmer very gently under a lid for about 5 minutes.  Leave to steep over night.

Siv out the spent petals and squeeze out all the liquid.  Use your (just washed) hands to get all the lovely liquid.
Measure the liquid and add water to increase to 1 liter / 1 quart if necessary.
Add the lemon juice.

Now this next step depends on the type of gelling agent that is used.  I used a product called Melatin yellow which is made for low pectin fruit.  Pectin can also be used and then just follow the manufacturers instructions.  Generally one uses 2 tsp per pound of fruit.
My instructions for the Melatin were to stir the packet into the liquid and bring to boil.  Then stir in the sugar a little bit at a time.  And finally bring everything to a boil.  Let it boil for 1 minute counting from when everything starts to boil.  But follow the instructions from the manufacturer of the pectin product you use.  Now you can adjust the taste with some lemon juice if you like.  I didn't, I just used the recipe as it is.

This is poured into sterile jars (put them in the oven at 140C / 285 F for a few minutes and I boil the lids.) and let it cool.  There are special chemicals available to sterilize, but I never use them.  I find that heating them is sufficient and the sugar preserves.
Put the lids on when the jelly is cold.

That's it.  The result is a beautiful glowing pinky red jelly that tastes like the smell of roses.  I love it, but my husband commented that it tastes "weird".  I think this more for the girls than the guys.
It is perfect on a pieces of toasted baguette or other good bread, on waffles or even on ice cream.  It can also be used with lamb and veal dishes.
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Lilac drink - Syringa saft

I have been an avid gardener for many years.  Gardening in Iceland is a challenge and many plants that I read about in foreign gardening books have a hard time growing here.  I use Latin names a lot because I read mostly English and Scandinavian books about gardening and common names can be so different between countries.  Up here in the north we have a short summer and the result is that many plants that are known as spring flowering in other countries, flower during summer here.  I think Syringa is one of those.  It is in flower in my garden right now and I just love the scent of it.

As a gardener I love flowers and most of all flowers that have a scent. So when I got interested in vegetable I got really, really, really interested in edible flowers.  Isn't it wonderful that not only can you look at flowers and smell them,  you can eat a lot of them too.

So I have been surfing the internet and scouring bookshelves for information on edible flowers.  I eat a lot of my plants already,  Chives flowers have a mild onion taste and look pretty in a salad as do the peppery tasting flowers of Tropaeolum.  Violas are lovely in a salad also as well as roses - and Borage flowers are a classic in drinks in summer.

The other day I found something new that I've never even heard of before.  I found a recipe for a drink made of Lilac flowers. It is Swedish and doesn't seem to be well known any other place.  I tried to eat the flowers of my Lilac, but they didn't taste very good.  This recipe is very much like many other drink recipes using all sorts of fruit.  These drinks are called "saft" in most Nordic languages. They are drunk as is or diluted with water depending on taste. The original recipe is for double this amount, but that is too much for me. I managed to gather about 20 flowering clusters just before they were turning brown.

Lilac saft

20 flower clusters
1 liter (about a quart) water
1 kg (about 2 pounds) sugar
1 lemon
25 g (slightly less than 1 oz.) citric acid

It may be smart to let the flowers lie on a white tablecloth for a little bit to allow the creepy clawlies to get away. You can also wash them in cold water in a salad spinner. Pull the small flowers from the stalks, at least the large ones, you can leave the small clusters. Put the flowers into a jar or a pot.
Boil the water with the sugar and pour it over the flowers while hot.

Wash the lemons well and peel off some of the rind, cut the lemon in two and squeeze out the juice. Mix the lemon rind, lemon juice and citric acid into the flower solution.

Put a lid on the flower mixture and let it stand in a cool place in 2-4 days. Stir the solution twice a day. Pour it into clean bottles and store in the fridge. This freezes well, but put it into a plastic bottle first.

The saft looks very pretty.  My Lilac is pink, so the saft is quite red but as I understand it, the blue or lavender Lilacs produce a very cool colour.  The taste is dry and refreshing, reminiscent of rhubarb and maybe grapes. Very distinct and different.  I have poured about an inch so so into a glass and filled up with ice cold water.  It tastes very good that way.  I'm pretty sure that it would be good with carbonated water as well and even with a bit of vodka.

The photos: I was really happy to find these big jars in the Good S... I bought a number of them and they are all filled with dried herbs. The other photo: My shed is great. We built it at the side of the house and in there I can store all my gardening stuff. I also have a hanging chair that I hang in the doorway so I can read or, even better, sleep in the evening sun.

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Raspberry pink soap - Yellow Dock

We had a weed clearing day at the allotment the other day.  The target was "Njóli" a tall perennial weed that was growing in the periphery of the area in great quantities.  As I was pulling out the weeds which another woman had dug up with a shovel, I said to her:  "I just know I'm going to find a great use for this stuff as soon as we've hauled it all to the dump".  Well, guess what!

A few day later I was surfing the Internet and saw a chat thread that talked about colouring soap with the root of Yellow Dock.  Oh, another exotic plant, I thought, but I Googled it anyway, clicked "images" and... saw: Njóli!  I had to laugh.  See, this is why I hate to throw things out!  You just always find uses for stuff when you've given up on it.

Anyway, I put on my Wellies and headed down to the allotment armed with a shovel to find the few remaining plants.  I found quite a few and dug them up.  I cut the roots off and headed home.  Once there, I washed the roots, grated them in the food processor and chopped up the bits that had stubbornly refused the treatment.  Then I put the yellowish mush into a jar and poured Olive oil over it, careful to cover the whole lot in oil.  This is then shaken or stirred every day to make sure that it all stays covered and doesn't develop mold.

After a short time the oil takes on a lime green tinge.  I looked at that thought: Huh! pink, eh!  I had to try, so the other night I went ahead.  The recipe is a fairly regular one.  It is small only half a kilo, about a pound.  The oz. are approximate, I use metric measurements, so always check in a Soapcalculator:

Rumex soap:

30%  Coconut oil  -  150 g / 5.3 oz
20%  Olive oil  - 100 g / 3.5 oz
20%  Lard  -  100 g / 3.5 oz
10%   Sunflower oil  -  50 g / 1.8 oz
10%  Soybean oil   -  50 g / 1.8 oz
10%  Cocoa butter  - 10 g / 0.35 oz

72 g / 2.5 oz of lye.

175 g / 6.2 oz water

I measured 20 g / 0.7 oz of the Njóli oil.

When I added the lye water it turned orange-y, muddy kind of red or pink.  Quite a strong colour.  I was a bit disappointed because I had wanted a Raspberry colour that someone had talked about.  However I thought this was too good to be without a scent so I hastily added Orange and Clary Sage EO to it.  Smells nice and I hope it lasts.

But the colour was to surprise me.  After sitting for a few days it had turned this blue-ish Raspberry red.  The cut surfaces are a warmer tone which I suspect will turn the same as the surface.  I really, really like the colour, but next time I think I'll use half the amount of coloured oil to get a lighter pink colour, just to experiment a bit.  But what remains to be seen is how the colour holds up while curing.  I have witnessed many pretty soap colours turn to nothing while curing.  So I'll make sure that I post additional info.  I'm also waiting to hear about The Soap Sister's trial with Yellow Dock root and Jenora's Alkanet experiments.

The funny thing is that as it turns out, Yellow Dock isn't Njóli.  They look the same in photos, but this is where Latin names come in handy.  Yellow Dock is Rumex crispus, while my Njóli is Rumex longifolious or Dooryard Dock/Northern Dock.  These plants are closely related and Njóli has been used here as a medicinal plant for ages as has Yellow Dock where it grows.  But the roots of both are yellow and both work as a soap colourant.  I read somewhere that there is more colour in the roots of the plant if it is growing in poor soil.  So pick it where it is growing in sand and gravel rather than a grassy meadow if you have a choose.

The photo: This is the best colour I have gotten with the Rumex oil. And it lasts well. One of the cake dishes I picked up for the wedding. This one a bit retro with a 60's flower pattern. 

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