From humble beginnings…
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Soothing ourselves with Marshmallow
Autumn is the time of year where we shift our focus to what is growing below the ground and for herb harvesters, this means digging up some roots. It’s also the time of year when the shift in seasons can bring us all down with irritating colds. Thankfully, there are a number of herbs at their prime right now and we can rely upon these to provide an antidote to the sorest of throats.
Common marshmallow – Althaea officinalis – is one of these herbs and is the key ingredient in our herbal cough syrup. The root contains high quantities of mucilage, a gelatinous substance that helps to sooth inflammation – and also the substance that they first made marshmallow sweets out of. To extract this we make a decoction from the freshly harvested roots by boiling and simmering them in water for about 30 minutes.
Herbal Cough Syrup Recipe
- 25g of sage herb leaves (fresh or dry)
- 25g of marshmallow root
- 1 tbsp of ground ginger
- 1 litre of water
- about a 1kg sugar
- Place the herb roots into a saucepan and cover with water and bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes – this is a decoction
- Turn off the heat and add the herb leaves and ginger powder to the pan and infuse for 15 minutes
- Strain the mixture into a measuring jug
- Add the same amount of sugar as their is liquid (tip: if you have 850ml of water, add 850 g of sugar)
- Heat the mixture continually until the sugar has dissolved
- Allow to cool and then pour into sterilised bottles
Dosage: 1 tablespoon up to 6 times a day. Take on its own or dissolve a spoonful in a cup of hot water.
New London Herb Group
We have recently been talking with the lovely folks at the Herb Society about the idea of getting a London Herb Group going again. Since we began our herbaling journey we have crossed paths with lots of other herb enthusiasts and it would be nice to come together to share our experience and ideas. We are at the concept stage of what this London group could look like and want to invite others to help brainstorm and discuss the shape it could take.
So we plan to meet up on Tuesday 22nd November at The Culpeper, 40 Commercial St, London E1 6LP from 6.30pm – 8pm.
Let us know if you would like to come along by dropping a line to hackneyherbal@gmail.com
A Lemony Love Affair
We’re probably not allowed to have favourites but lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is a kind of crowd pleaser herb, which doesn’t sound like a compliment. What we mean is that its lemon sherbet fragrance is so pungent yet natural that it excites even the biggest gardening sceptics. Who could resist a plant that smells so strongly of dessert and sweets?Lemon verbena is known as a nervine, which means that it has a calming effect on the nervous system. This property makes that makes the herb a good ‘night tea’ before bed. Lemon verbena is also very easy to dry, the leaves not holding much water, we have been able to dry them overnight in the summer. You could also freeze them or store them in ice cubes for a lemony, icy kick in you summer drinks!
Lemon verbena originates from Chile and Argentina where it enjoys relatively mild weather and tolerates low rainfall. This has given the herb a reputation for fragility in our winter climes however, we have found it to grow and winter very well both in the ground and in pots – though temperatures stay slightly higher in London. As long as you keep lemon verbena in a sunny sheltered spot, it will surely do well! We expect this wonderful herb to continue gaining popularity.
One easy recipe to keep in mind with many herbs, including lemon verbena, is a simple syrup. It involves warming equal volumes of sugar and water, allowing the sugar to dissolve and then adding your fresh herbs to steep in the hot and cooling syrup mix. The more herbs you add, the stronger the flavour. The syrup can be used for flavouring and sweetening many things from soft drinks and cocktails to whipped creams and ice creams. The following recipe for lemon verbena cream that you can pair with cooked plums is from http://www.thekitchn.com:
Lemon Verbena Cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed fresh lemon verbena leaves
1 cup whipping cream
Chop and bruise the lemon verbena. Put sugar in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup water and stir to dissolve as it comes to a simmer over low heat. Let it simmer for just a couple minutes. Stir in the lemon verbena and take off the heat. Let steep for fifteen minutes, then put in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Whip the cream in a food processor, then add a few tablespoons of the lemon verbena syrup. Add as much syrup as you can without deflating the cream.
Serve sorbet and cream layered together in glasses or small bowls.
7 herbs / 7 fields
Influenced by one of our collected herbal stories we have decided to celebrate Midsummer in a big way this year. In Sweden, the story goes that during Midsummer girls and young women are meant to pick seven different flowers from seven different fields and place them under their pillows. Things all being well, they will then dream of their future husbands. Apparently the night before Midsummer’s day is a “magical time for love”.
We have decided that it might also be a magical time for herb harvesting. So we are setting out to collect 7 different herbs from 7 different fields (or more!) in Hackney to create our very own Midsummer tea blend.
So we are looking for individuals, groups or community gardens who would like to take part and donate some herbs into our Midsummer pot. We’ll celebrate the harvest at our summer social on 25th June 6 – 9pm at the Bee Garden in Dalston where we will be sampling the magical blend.
If you would like to take part please get in touch with us via email hackneyherbal@gmail.com and we can give you some more information.
You can also join our next Midummer-themed herbal tea workshop on 6th July. Book your tickets here
Top 3 herbs to forage in spring
Now the sun has returned it’s a great time to get outdoors and find some free herbal treats in the wild. Here are a few of our favourite spring time herbs.
- JUICE
Cleavers (sticky weed, sticky willy, goose grass) Galium aparine
Abundant at this time of year and recognisable by its sticky character cleavers are best enjoyed in their fresh state. Add them to your water bottle to cold infuse or even better wiz them up in a blender for a juice that will help your lymphatic system, aiding your body with the removal of toxins.
2. EAT
Wild garlic (ramsons) Allium ursinum
We like picking the leaves of these and adding them to salads or sandwiches for a nice hearty garlic kick. It’s packed with allicin which is antibacterial and antimicrobial, perfect for beating off those pre-spring colds.
3. BREW or STEW
Stinging nettle Urtica dioica
Sometimes a bit tricky to pick if you haven’t come prepared with gloves but well worth the stings. Bursting with vitamins A & C, iron, potassium, manganese and calcium nettle makes for an excellent brew. Try it as a herbal infusion or add it into soups and stews (which takes away the sting) for an iron rich boost.
Remember to always carefully identify wild plants before consumption using a foraging guide if you are a beginner. Also be mindful of foraging regulations in your area and never dig up a plant from its local habitat without permission. More useful tips here.
Join our team!
We are looking for 2 herbal trainees to join our team at Hackney Herbal. The role involves assisting us with the growing and harvesting of herbs, running of herbal workshops and general admin of the project. You will work alongside our team and assist with different parts of the project when it’s needed. As part of the traineeship you will receive training in horticulture – both theory and hands on practice. This is a great experience for someone who wants to gain experience of working in the community / urban food growing sector and gain skills relating to setting up and running a social enterprise.
Key responsibilities
- Helping to maintain our herb growing sites
- Harvesting herbs for our herbal tea blends
- Assisting with planning and developing herbal workshops
- Opportunity to deliver community workshops
Key benefits
- Experience working on a community project
- Hands-on horticultural training
- Access to training and networking events
- Support, mentoring and guidance
- The chance to be part of a young, dynamic and exciting social enterprise
Requirements
- Some experience of horticulture / community work is desirable but not essential
- A passion to learn and be part of a community growing project
- Commit to 1-2 days a week (flexible working schedule) from April – October 2016
Deadline to apply is 6pm on 4th April and we hope to have the new trainees starting by end of April 2016.
If you are interested in applying please email us to request a full application pack. nat@cordwainersgrow.org.uk
Treat yo’ self: herbal soap making
Valentine’s day is all about giving love to others. We also think it’s important to give love to oneself and it was this thought that inspired our Treat Yo’ Self herbal soap making workshop. And so for the afternoon of Feb 14th we transformed the classroom at Hackney City Farm into our soap-making laboratory. Here’s what we got up to!
Hackney Herbal are available for private workshops and events so do get in touch if you would like to work with us!
A special thank you to Glenn Jeffery for taking all these lovely photos.
Urban Food Fortnight 2015
Way back in mid-summer sometime, we attended a ‘Get Ready for Urban Food Fortnight’ event hosted by organisers Sustain. During the evening, we received tips about how best to tackle the 2-week event, which included the advice: “Don’t take on too many events”. I think we may have ignored that one. Here is a round-up of what has happened so far!
Gosnells London Mead & Hackney Herbal Collaboration [UFF Day Two: 12th September]
We were lucky enough to meet Gosnells, London’s first mead brewery (a.k.a. meadery), through yet another one of Sustain’s pre-UFF events. This resulted in the creation of meads infused with herbs grown by our partner sites across Hackney!
We celebrated our minty meads with an event at the Gosnells Peckham site. Don’t worry though, you can still try their awesome Orginial and if you’re lucky, Mint Mead at their site at: Unit 2, Print Village, Chadwick Road, London, SE15 4PU. Check their Facebook or website for more details.
A collaborative workshop between Hackney Herbal and The Bread Companion – the nomadic micro-bakery. Hosted at Julia’s (The Bread Companion) studio near London Fields, attendees learned the essentials of how to make their own bread from learning about ingredients to the ‘baker’s percentage’, from enriched dough to baking in a brick oven.
Herbs and bread are natural companions so we made lavender dough and rosemary focaccia.
Lavender: Used to soothe, sedate and suppress. A drop of oil on the temple can relieve headaches and can also soothe skin complaints, inflammation and rheumatic aches.
Rosemary: Oil contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Makes a good mouthwash and stimulates the smooth muscle of the digestive tract.
After lunch and whilst dough was proving, we launched into an introduction to herbs, focusing on the constituents of our ‘Reflection‘ blend: fennel, rosemary, lemon verbena and peppermint. Designed to aid both mental (rosemary and lemon verbena) and physical (fennel and peppermint) digestion. The session culminated in the design and creation of personalised herbal tea bags.
It had been raining all day. We were all damp but we had an event to organise! We weren’t going to let a little bit of British weather ruin our vision for a herbal haven in a working polytunnel of Hackney City Farm.
Our lovely attendees fought through the grim weather and made it to the farm. We warmed them up with steamy cups of the herbal ‘Reflection’ blend and they tucked into nibbles including sourdough provided by social enterprise Better Health Bakery. Thankfully, the rain eased in time to start the workshop and we were able to hear Nat without the pitter-patter of rain on plastic sheet.
Through facts, myths and legends, we told the story of herbs and their importance to humans throughout history. Memorable anecdotes and surprising revelations punctuated the evening, hopefully adding substance, wonder and a little magic to people’s understanding of herbs.
As the evening’s light faded, we were plunged into darkness. With only candlelight and the hum of traffic from Hackney Road getting ever more distant, we learned of the methods employed to best dry and store herbs. Herbs strung up to the metal skeleton of the polytunnel demonstrated a common and simple drying method. Jars on the table featured an attractive way to store (and display) dried herbs.
We moved indoors for the final instalment of the evening and where attendees received their herbal tea starter kits (including muslin, string, tags, feverfew and calendula seeds). Now they have no excuse! Here’s to home grown herbal tea!
Sunday the 27th September 2015 | Herbal Tea Party – A free event held on Gillett Square celebrating the successful launch of Hackney Herbal and mark the end of Urban Food Fortnight 2015. Click here for more info.
Photo credits:
Thank you to Eleanor Howarth for recording Bake and Blend 2.0 in such beautiful photographic fashion. You can follow her on Instagram: @ehowarth
Thank you to Kat for photographing An Evening of Herbs and both her and Fran’s help on the day.
Thank you to Steve for your hard work at Bake and Blend 2.0.
Experimenting with herbal remedies
Last week we had a busy Thursday evening at Cordwainers Garden cooking up recipes for our homegrown herbal first aid kit. We picked mucilage-rich herbs (comfrey root, marshmallow and plantain) from which we made a decoction, the base for our cough syrup and lozenges. These herbs act to soothe inflamed membranes and so make a perfect base to create throat soothing concoctions. We also had a go at making poultices with comfrey and yarrow and tried these out on some willing volunteers who had some (slightly) injured limbs.
For those of you who missed it, here are the recipes:
Cough syrup
- 50g of herb leaves eg. hyssop, sage, thyme
- 50g of mucilage* herb roots
- 1 litre of water
- about a 1kg sugar
- Place the herb roots into a saucepan and cover with water and bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes – this is a decoction
- Turn off the heat and add the herb leaves to the pan and infuse for 15 minutes
- Strain the mixture into a measuring jug
- Add the same amount of sugar as their is liquid (tip: if you have 850ml of water, add 850 g of sugar)
- Heat the mixture continually until the sugar has dissolved
- Allow to cool and then pour into sterilised bottles
Dosage: 1 tablespoon up to 6 times a day
Herbal poultice
You can make a poultice with either fresh or dried herbs. Cut up the herbs and mix them with a little hot water to make a paste. Spread the herb mix onto gauze and apply to the skin. Cover with a cotton cloth and leave on until it goes cool. Repeat as necessary.
Herbal lozenges
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of water (herb decoction of mucilage* herbs)
- 1tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Make a herb decoction by boiling up a mucilage rich herbs, strain out the herbs and measure out 1/2 cup of water
- Add all the other ingredients to the strained liquid
- Return to the heat, boil and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool
- Spoon out drops of the mixture onto a tray lined with baking parchment
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar to stop them from sticking and then store in an airtight tin
*Mucilage rich herbs eg. Althea officinalis (Marshmallow), Verbascum thapsus (Mullein), Ulmus fulvus (Slippery elm), Plantago lanceolata (plantain), Symphytum officinalis (Comfrey)
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