[Herbalist] Group reply on cough syurp

[foxryde]

At 12:03 PM 11/15/01 -0600, you wrote:
>Ms. Leonora, you are not crazy at all.  You show the oldest and wisest of
>hearing.  The hearing of Mother Earth.
>Aurore

I wish I had more time to just sit and listen, but it is so satisfying when
I can hear it speaking.  Our goal on our acreage is to let it heal as much
as we can.  We are in the foothills of the Rocky Mtns and our land is
pretty much straight up and down and very fragile.  It was way over grazed
for years so we are battling things like cheat (cheek?) grass and
brome.  But making some headway.  Certainly getting more wild flowers every
year.  The cutleaf primrose was really showy last spring.



>Might I inquire how much horehound, mallow root, thyme and mullien you use?
>I don't have any in the little garden I grew this year so I will have to
>purchase it at a health food store probably in Norman OK (the one really
>good herb store in OKC moved due to unsupportive surroundings (sighs))  How
>much of the cough syrup do you use at a time once made? (novice here - thank
>you for your patients)
>Uaine (Christina N. - finally joined the SCA and researched a name (CHEERS))

Welcome to officialdom and congrats!

I don't have a good recipe per se.  I just use the handfuls method.  :-)

I put about a handful per 2 cups of each of the herbs.  When I am done
adding herbs, it is pretty much a wet mush of herbs.  I squeeze it out real
well to get all the goodness when they are done infusing.

I use up to a couple of tablespoons every 4 hours or so.  I like it in hot
water as a tea.  It can be a bit bitter.  But I know that when I am sick,
it tastes really good.  There is really nothing in there that will cause
any problems by "overdose."   Generally, when every the cough and
congestion comes back, I dose again.


>I make cough syrup a little differently - mine contains alcohol.  I
>started making this years ago because it tastes good and works great.
>Also keeps for several years, if you don't use it up first.  The base is
>equal parts of honey, lemon juice and brandy (or rum or bourbon).  For
>each cup of liquid, I add about 1 - 2 Tablespoons of mixed herbs.  (see
>below)  Put everything in a jar, shake well, and let stand a couple of
>weeks.  Then strain and run through a coffee filter.  Dose is 1 - 3
>teaspoons as needed.  Alcohol content is about 14% by volume.  Use
>cautiously if taking antihistammines or OTC cold remedies - it may have
>slightly more intoxicating effect than you would expect from the amount
>of alcohol.
>Suzanna, herbalist, Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra (Dallas,
TX)

Yummy!  Sounds really good.  Kind like an herbal Niquil (sp?) to knock you
out.  My syrup has to be stored in the refrigerator, so this is an improvement.

>neat.   5-3 years ago, we had no mullein growing around.  2 years ago, and
>last year, there was one plant growing in my back yard.  This year, my
>parents back yard  (next door, on the other side of the llama pasture) has
>close to a dozen or more.   I have wondered if that wasn't for a purpose,
>and have been gathering the leaves on a semi-regular basis...So far I have
>2-3 gallon sized ziplocks of dried mullein, and another batch ready to be
>put in to the bags....
>
>Melandra


Mullien is great for congestion and asthma.  It does tend to take over,
left up to it's own devices.  I leave a couple to grow and harvest and take
out the rest from the garden.  I generally leave things alone out on the
hills, though.  The flower stock is very decorative all winter.  It also
looks nice crumbled into a potpourri all fuzzy and soft.

All the best,
Leonora


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