Chickweed Salad - Weekend Recipe

In my Curative Propertiesof Tea Herbs program we discuss using chickweed in tea.  Chickweed is an invasive weed very common here in Illinois.  There were a few gardeners who had never seen it.  I only wish that was my circumstance, but alas.  I recently stumbled across a recipe for using chickweed to make a salad.  I love that this give us another reason to harvest this weed from our garden and enjoy its medicinal properties.

Chickweed medicinal characteristics: 

• Historically, chickweed has been used as an expectorant to help loosen mucus and relieve coughs and congestion.  
  
• It may help soothe inflammation in the respiratory tract.  
  
• Chickweed is known as a demulcent, meaning it can help soothe irritated mucous membranes, which could be beneficial for digestive issues. 
• It may have a mild laxative effect, potentially aiding in relieving constipation.  
• Chickweed is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce inflammation throughout the body. 
• It is also considered a good source of vitamins (including Vitamin C) and minerals, and also contains antioxidants. 
• It may have a mild diuretic effect, helping to eliminate excess fluid from the body.  
• Studies in mice have shown that chickweed may have a positive impact on body weight and food consumption. 
• It's also believed to potentially aid in weight loss by delaying intestinal absorption of dietary fat and carbohydrates. 
  

For this and other reasons it is great to enjoy chickweed in tea and in this case in a salad.

Chickweed Salad

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 handful of chickweed, chopped
• 14/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp fresh chives, chopped
• Dressing – I suggest a vinegar and oil dressing made with BYP Italian Dressing and Marinade, Greek Blend, or Curry Spice Dressing.

Combine all the items in a bowl, toss with dressing and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

                                       

 

 

Planting a Spa Garden - Designing Theme Gardens #2

January gave me great weather for herb garden designing.  It has been too cold or snowy to do anything else.  I have been repeatedly trapped in my apartment with nowhere to go and a book shelf full of books on landscaping, flowers and herbs.

Since this year we plan to get back into a house and I can actually have a pretty garden in addition to my production garden, I am pondering, scheming and planning.  I thought I would share some of the garden ideas I have pulled together.

Today I have for you a garden filled with herbs that can be used to craft personal Spa items. What could be better than a garden planned around plants that can be used to make luxurious, pampering potions for the bath and body? So many herbs make wonderful contributions to health and beauty, why not put them all in one place for easy access? Here are a few of my favorites that not only look great in the garden but will provide you with pure and effective spa treatments.

My first choice is calendula, Calendula officinalis. This sunny, easy to grow annual, also called pot marigold, can be used in lotions, balms, ointments, bath teas and facial steams. It prefers full sun, well drained soil and moderate watering. Calendula blooms all summer into fall and gives you lots of volunteer seedlings the next year. Harvest the yellow and orange blooms for a bevy of skin soothing treatments.

Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, is a must for the spa garden. Rich with allantom, a chemical that promotes cell regeneration, the whole plant is used in soaps, lotions, creams and salves. Very soothing to dry, irritated skin. Give it partial shade and a little extra water and it will return yearly.

Chickweed, Stellaria media, is another of my favorite plants. Considered a weed, it is a pretty little groundcover plant covered with white flowers. It is full of vitamins and minerals and is a tasty replacement for spinach in the kitchen. I harvest it throughout the winter where it hides under the snow. It likes to grow where it is cool, shady and wet. Very soothing for dry, irritated skin, I use it in salves, lotions, poultices and bath teas.

 

chickweed

Nettles, Urtica dioica, is a bristly plant full of trace minerals used for its anti-inflammatory effects on allergies, but it has been used for years as a hair tonic. A strong tea of the dried leaves used as a hair rinse will leave your hair soft and glossy. The seeds made into oil and rubbed into the scalp are reputed to prevent baldness. Nettles like to grow on the shady side with extra water. They can spread quickly if you provide the ideal conditions, so keep an eye on them and harvest with gloves.

Other herb rinses for hair health include rosemary (Rosmaria officinalis) for removing traces of accumulated hair products, sage (Salvia officinalis) to help darken and condition grey hair, and chamomile (Matricaria recutita) for blond highlights. Grow all three of these herbs in full sun, rosemary and sage like it on the dry side.

 

sage

Roses (Rosa) are a beautiful addition to your spa garden. The petals can be steeped to make rosewater, and combined with glycerin will provide a simple, effective lotion that will moisturize and tone dry, inflamed skin. Try dipping a washcloth into strained, cold, rose petal tea, wring it out and place over red, irritated eyes to relieve and refresh. Give roses full sun and rich soil to keep them happy.

Aloe is renowned for its healing properties. Squeeze the gel from the leaf onto burns, rashes, and irritated skin to provide immediate relief. Aloe likes full sun, little water and needs to be taken inside once it gets cold. They make great houseplants.

Catnip (Nepata cataria) is often discounted as an herb for people, but it is soothing, calming, a light sedative, purifies the blood, relieves colic, works as a digestive aid, and is mild enough for small children.

 

catnip

Lavender, Lavandula officinalis, is very soothing to skin and easy to grow, give it a hot, semi-dry area. I use the leaves and flowers in everything, from skin spritzers, creams and salves to hair rinses. Medicinally, lavender packs quite a punch.  It has antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, anti-depressant properties. Lavender benefits stress, anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, headaches, migraines, insomnia, depression, colds, digestion.

 

lavender

Use an elderberry bush for something tall in back of your garden. It will provide you with fragrant flowers to dry and use to tighten pores and clarify skin. Used in a bath it will soothe and moisturize irritated skin. And take internally to avoid illnesses and boost immunity.  Elderberry will grow in sun or part shade and appreciates regular watering.

Some other plants to include are witch hazel, lady's mantle, raspberry, peppermint and lemon balm.

And to get you thinking how to use these herbs.  Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Rose Water

Cover 2 cups of unsprayed, fresh rose petals with 2 cups of boiling water. Steep until cool or overnight, strain and use. Keep leftovers in refrigerator. To make a stronger brew, after straining the first batch, reheat, but don't boil, and pour the rose water over a fresh batch of petals to steep.

Herbal Hair Rinse

1 tablespoon each of dried nettles, rosemary, lavender, dried rose petals and chamomile. Pour 1 cup boiling water over herbs and steep until cooled. After shampooing and conditioning, pour tea over hair and wring out excess. Dry as usual.

Lavender Catnip Honey for Women

Honey can help shed water weight, clear lymph nodes and balance lymph fluid, dry out sinuses, increase circulation, aid in the healing of ulcers, sooth sore throats and coughs, and help reduce allergies (if using for this purpose, make sure you use local honey.

Combine 1 cup honey with 1 Tbls. fresh or dried catnip and 2 Tbls. fresh or dried lavender flowers.  Warm the honey in the microwave or saucepan and allow to steep for 1 to 2 weeks.  Rewarm and strain out the herbs.  Then use in tea, or as an ingredient in lozenges or take off a spoon for a sore throat. 

Lavender Hand Cream

3 tablespoons grated beeswax

½ cup dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons spring water

2 to 3 drops lavender essential oil

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a heat-resistant container or double boiler.  Gently heat (do not boil) the mixture in a microwave or on the stove top over medium heat, stirring often, until wax and oils melt completely.  Pour the mixture into a container or jar and allow it to cool.  After it has cooled completely, give it a final stir before capping.  To use, massage the cream into clean hands.

Always make this in small batches as it has no preservatives and you do not want it to go bad before you use it.  I think a 6 to 12 month shelf life is about all you can hope for.

Chickweed - Herb of the Week

Tomorrow is National Weed Day, so in celebration, I decided to make the

Herb of the Week Chickweed (Stellaria media)

common chickweed to be exact.

This cool-season annual herb started out as a weed in Europe and has been naturalized worldwide. It is so named because it is a favorite food of chickens. Chickweed is an annual, meaning that the plant's life span is over in one year, and the plants for the next year come from seeds, either self-seeded by the plant or sewn in by the gardener.

Chickweeds are an annual herb, widespread in temperate zones, arctic zones, and throughout their place of origin – Europe. Chickweeds have established themselves all over the world, possibly carried on the clothes and shoes of explorers. They are as numerous in species as they are in region. Most are succulent and have white flowers, and all with practically the same edible and medicinal values. They all exhibit a very interesting trait, (they sleep) termed the 'Sleep of Plants,' every night the leaves fold over the tender buds and the new shoots.

To Grow

Chickweed grows from 3 to 8 inches high, and the plants will mat together and grow to about 16 inches long. The leaves, which have smooth edges, are no more than 1 inch long and can be as short as ½ inch and always grow in pairs, directly opposite each other on the stem. The stem itself is not smooth, having fine hairs covering the entire length. The flowers themselves are petite, measuring just 1/8 inch across. They are white with five petals, giving them a star shape. Directly under the flower petals are five sepals, which look like leaves, and grow as long as the petals.

There are a few different types of chickweed, each one with its own modification on the general features, and all of them are edible. Common chickweed has leaves with stalks, star chickweed has leaves without stalks, and mouse-ear chickweed has coarse hairs.

To Use

The cultivation of this her (weed) is not really necessary as it can be found abundantly in the wild.  One can gather fresh edible plant between May and July, as soon as flowers appear, it can be used fresh or be dried for later herb use.

Common chickweed as well as star chickweed can be eaten raw in salads or cooked just like spinach, for about five minutes. Mouse hair chickweed is a bit tough to eat raw. It has to be cooked. Chickweed is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals including A, D, B complex, C, rutin. iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, and silica.

Chickweeds are Medicinal and edible, they are very nutritious, high in vitamins and minerals, can be added to salads or cooked as a pot herb, tasting somewhat like spinach. The major plant constituents in Chickweed are Ascorbic-acid, Beta-carotene, Calcium, Coumarins (blood thinners),  Flavonoids, Magnesium, Niacin, Oleic-acid, Potassium, Riboflavin, Selenium,  Thiamin, and Zinc.

The whole plant is used in alternative medicine as an astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, and laxative. A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum tonic.  It is also used to relieve constipation; an infusion of the dried herb is used in coughs and hoarseness, and is beneficial in the treatment of kidney complaints.  New research indicates its use as an effective antihistamine. The decoction is also used externally to treat rheumatic pains, wounds and ulcers. It can be applied as a medicinal poultice and will relieve any kind of roseola and is effective wherever there are fragile superficial veins or itching skin conditions.  I plan to make a salve with it this spring to see if it is effective on my rosacea.

Historically, Chickweed water is an old wives' remedy for obesity. The plant has medicinal purposes and is used in folk medicine. It has been used as a remedy to treat itchy skin conditions and pulmonary diseases. 17th century herbalist John Gerard recommended it as a remedy for mange. Modern herbalists mainly prescribe it for skin diseases, and also for bronchitis, rheumatic pains, arthritis and period pain. A poultice of chickweed can be applied to cuts, burns and bruises. Not all of these uses are supported by scientific evidence.

Problems

Be careful when picking chickweed. There are poisonous plants that grow the same way, but have different features. Spotted Spurge trails along the ground and has the same leaf characteristics, but has different flowers, and if you break the stem, you will get a milky sap. Matted doorweed, also known as oval-leaf knotweed, also trails along the ground, but the leaves are not opposite one another--they alternate up the stem one by one.

Recipes

Itch Relief Salve (Good for poison ivy, poison oak )
1 pint Sweet Olive Oil
2 ounces Beeswax
1 tablespoon Chickweed Powder
1 tablespoon Comfrey Powder

Put chickweed and comfrey powder into sweet olive oil and simmer 3 hours. Strain and add beeswax to warm oil. Stir until wax dissolves. Pour into salve jars or tins. If you want a thin consistency (such as a cream or Vaseline ) add only a little bit of Beeswax. Want it thicker like wax? Just add more Beeswax.

Allow the base to cool down to see what the consistency is like. If it's too thick, add more  oil and reheat, too thin, add more Beeswax.

Pain Relief Salve 1 tablespoon Chickweed powder
1 tablespoon Wormwood Powder
10 drops Tea Tree oil
2 pints Sweet Olive Oil
3 ounces Beeswax

Mix together chickweed, wormwood powder, add the mixed herbs to sweet olive oil and simmer 3 hours. Strain and add beeswax to warm oil. Stir until wax dissolves, then add Tea Tree Oil. Pour into salve jars or tins.

TRAVELER'S JOY SALAD

If you are out in the wild or have a large yard, it is possible to gather many of these salad ingredients from the landscape. (I think I originally found this recipe at Learning Herbs.com – but the citation is lost)

3 cups purslane, chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

1/2 cup amaranth leaves

1/4 cup cheddar cheese (or other cheese), diced into small bits

1/2 onion

1 cup chickweed

1 ripe avocado

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Chop the purslane, chickweed, amaranth, and onion into bite sized bits. Add the avocado, peeled and diced. Add one hard-boiled egg, sliced. Mix in approximately 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese which has been cut into small bits. Squeeze the lemon over the salad, add the garlic salt, and mix well. If you have them, you can add chia seeds and one tablespoon of mayonnaise.

Flashes Blend Tea

I got this recipe from a friend who swore by Chickweed’s menopausal and post partum treatment qualities.

1 part sage
1 part motherwort
1 part dandelion
1 part chickweed & violet leaves
1 part each elder flowers & oatstraw

Brew with 1 to 2 tsp. per cup of hot water. Brew up a pot and sip when needed.