3 cups herbal infusion: using 3 cups of apple juice or spring water, several handfuls of your favorite herbs (mint, rose petals which are unsprayed, parsley, thyme, etc), bring to a simmering boil and turn off heat, cover and infuse for 20 minutes. Strain and reserve 3 cups for jelly recipe.
Bring the 3 cups of herbal infused juice to a boil. Add 4 cups white granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon butter, 1 teaspoon vinegar or fresh lemon juice and 1 box of powdered pectin. Stirring constantly bring all ingredients to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir for one minute, skim off foam and remove from heat. Pour into sterile jars and cap. Place in a warm water bath for 20 minutes and let stand. Makes 40 oz.

Herbal Sun Tea

Using 3 tea bags of your choice or loose tea in a muslin bag and several sprigs of your favorite unsprayed herbs along with plenty of fresh water to fill a large gallon glass container. Place a pieces of plastic wrap over the opening and put in the sun for no more than 4 hours. Strain and serve over ice. Herbs that we enjoy making sun tea with are pineapple sage, golden lemon thyme, mints of all kinds, anise hyssop and rose petals (unsprayed, of course).

#1 Chamomile for the Kidlet. 
Courtesy of Tina Sams

When my daughter was very young she tended to be fragile.  Easily frightened, she was a "shaker". 

I had discovered years before she was born how well chamomile helped me when I was anxious, overwhelmed, or overtired - so there was always a box of chamomile tea in the cupboard. But a child of 1-1/2  or 2 years is difficult to convince that she should drink a cup of tea.  We tried tea parties, but it really wasn't easy to get her to drink it.  So I purchased a bottle of chamomile tincture, and waited.  It didn't take long.  There was a violent thunderstorm and we lost power.  As the evening darkened, she pleaded with me to "turn just one light on".  No amount of soothing convinced her that all was well, and she got more and more agitated.  The moment had arrived!  I got a small amount of apple juice from the fridge and added 10 drops of the chamomile tincture.  She drank it willingly, and within minutes she began to calm down.  We were both very happy to find something that helped.

As her early years passed, she would sometimes tell me that she needed a little chamomile to settle down.  The night before a new school year was a given!  We started making it ourselves because its so easy and much less expensive.

Here's how:
Fill a wide mouthed jar with chamomile (freshly dried is my choice).  Cover with 2/3 high proof vodka and 1/3 purified water.  Be sure that all botanical material is submerged.  Cover the jar with a tight lid and allow the mixture to steep for at least 2 weeks, shaking occasionally. After that time - or longer if possible - strain the liquid and its ready to use. 

Caution:  Chamomile can cause problems for people with allergies to flowers.  

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