herblog

Natural Cream Base Recipe

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:18:38 +0100

As promised..a natural cream base recipe on the blog! There are lots more recipes to follow, but this is a great one to do, as there are so many varieties you can try to make it perfect for you and your skin type!...Who needs chemicals on their skin which can be harmful to health, when we have these gorgeous, natural ingredients..?!

What you need to make approx 250g:
25g (6tsp) raw cocoa butter
20g (5 tsp) beeswax
135ml (7.5 tbsp) of your favourite base oil/s (I used organic almond oil & avocado oil in these photos)
135ml (7.5 tbsp) water (spring, or infused with herbs of your choice)
13g (3 tsp) plant based emulsifying wax

You'll also need a jar to store it in, glass bowl/bain marie, 2 saucepans, spoons.

You can find all the ingredients on my online store at www.CaleysApothecary.co.uk .

How to:
Melt the cocoa butter in a bain marie (or in a glass bowl over a saucepan of water), with the beeswax and chosen base oils.
In the second saucepan, the spring water/infusion (strained, if herbs were used) should be heated up, with the emulsifying wax added. Heat until the emulsifying wax is fully dissolved.
Take the bowl with the melted cocoa butter, oils & beeswax off the heat and slowly add the water/emulsifying wax mixture; stirring the whole time.
Keep stirring until the mixture cools. It can take a while for the mix to cool, but do keep stirring, to achieve the correct consistency, as it can separate if you stop mixing too quickly!

This cream can be kept in the fridge, although I tend to add a little Vitamin C Powder to the water/emulsifying wax stage, OR add a few drops Vitamin E oil or Grapeseed Extract to act as a natural preservative, to keep the cream from going off quickly. With a natural antioxidant preservative added, this cream can keep for many months.

This cream has such a luxurious, moisturising feel to it. You can add a few drops of essential oil of your choice, or use different base oils/herb infused oils, depending on what properties you're after!..What are you waiting for..? Enjoy!

Christmas Fair at Chelsea Physic Garden

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:33:12 +0100

It's that time of year again, and The Chelsea Physic Garden in London are getting the marquee ready for their wonderful annual Christmas Fair on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th November 2014. The fair runs from 10am-4pm. The stalls sell a variety of products on their 80 stalls, ranging from garden objects to jewellery; clothing, chocolate, and plants included! Tickets are £5 per adult (under 16s free. Please see full details on the link below). Proceeds from the Christmas Fair contribute to projects at the garden (which was founded in 1673 as the Apothercaries' Garden, and is thought to be the oldest botanical garden in London, by the way!). Happy festive shopping!

http://chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/special-events/christmas-fair/

Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, London

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:14:03 +0100

Kew, the world famous Royal Botanic Garden, houses an impressive 30,000 plants in it's 300 acres. Here, you will be able to view botanical drawings, galleries, beautiful greenhouses, and walk amongst the treetops, on their canopy walkway! There are ponds, lakes & cafés; and there's a fantastic Herbarium that is home to specimens of 7 million plants!

Kew is sponsored by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and is a centre of research. One project currently being worked on is "Ethnomedica", which is tracing the uses of British herbs pre-1948's start of the National Health Service, and whether they are still in use, today. Kew has been receiving help from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, the Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, Chelsea Physic Garden in London, and National Botanic Garden of Wales. So far, they have obtained information on 250 species!

The work at Kew centres around science-based conservation, to improve quality of life. Many programmes & projects run at Kew; including work experience, short training courses, diplomas, CPD, and Masters partnerships, so if there's anything botanical to be learnt, this is the place!

A fascinating place to visit, Kew is open all year round, so you can see & experience nature changing through the seasons!

For more information, see their website at http://www.kew.org/

Medicinal Herb Project

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:58:53 +0100

In Peckham, south-east London, there is a lovely little herb garden at the back of a Baptist church. It has been run by Christina Borgenstierna, who has been developing the garden, adding in a great variety of medicinal herbs, for the space available, and who has organised many herb talks, relating to different systems of the body. I led a talk recently on the Cardiovascular System, Heart Health & Herbal Medicine. They have arranged for different medical herbalists to come in to give presentations on herbal medicine use in other body systems.

The course, named the Medicinal Herb Project, runs on Wednesdays 10-12am, up until the 29th of October 2014 at
121 Peckham Park Road Community Garden, London. SE15 6SX and is open to new participants,

These workshops are still to follow:

8th October 2014: Talk about The Digestive System

15th October 2014: Foraging Walk (weather permitting)

22nd October 2014: Making Calendula (marigold) Cream

29th October 2014: Talk about the Skin

The course will recommence on the 4th of March 2015 until the 6th of May 2015.

They also have Community Gardening Sessions where you can learn to grow vegetables, and look after the flower garden.

For more information, please contact Christina at chrisborgi@gmail.com

Giving a talk on Cardiovascular Health & Herbs at the Medicinal Herb Project

Elderberry Syrup

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 17:57:07 +0100

So, here's an Elderberry Syrup recipe that I promised in the first newsletter that went out! You'll find many variations of this recipe around! Some areas seem to have berries in abundance, and in other areas, they seem to have come and gone already! For this reason, I'm providing fresh berry, and dried berry proportions for the recipe (in case you wish to make your own syrup, but can't find any fresh, so need to purchase some dried!). Elderberries are so rich in vitamin C (amongst other vitamins!), making it perfect for this time of year, when colds and flu are doing the rounds; so happy making..!

Elder earlier in the year, when in flower!

Fresh Berry Elderberry Syrup Recipe:

Ingredients for fresh berry syrup:

Fresh Elderberries 1 part
Water 1 part
Unrefined Sugar or honey 0.5 part
Half a Fresh Lemon

Ingredients for dried berry syrup:

Dried Elderberries 1 part
Water 2 parts
Unrefined sugar or honey 0.5 part
Half a fresh lemon

How to Make:

Place the water and elderberries (removed from stems, if fresh berries are used) into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, and simmer, covered for approx. 20 minutes.

Check Elderberries are soft. If not, simmer for a little longer.

When soft enough, mash with a potato masher, to release as much juice as possible.

Sieve the mixture, to remove the pulp. This can be easier using a mouli, but can also be pressed through the sieve, with the back of a wooden spoon.

Once the mixture is fully strained, pour the liquid back into the saucepan, and add the sugar. Bring back to the boil, then simmer until the liquid has thickened, into a syrup consistency. If you prefer to use honey, add this instead of the sugar, mixing well.

Add the juice of half a lemon.

Bottle the liquid when cool enough, and refrigerate. Another option can include preparing with ginger, which, if required, can be added to the pot with Elderberries and water to bring to the boil & simmer.