Cooking with Herbs and Essential Oils:
Cooking with herbs and essential oils can bring your cooking to a whole new level. Herbs can do more than just give you a flavor boost they can be used as powerful tools for prevention and healing when it comes to establishing and maintaining good health. Many of the herbs we commonly find in the kitchen pack a punch, full of vitamins minerals and nutrients, and even have some medicinal actions. By adding these to our diets we can reap the benefits these have to offer.
Enjoy this excerpt from my newest ebook, Cooking with Herbs and Essential Oils:
ROSEMARY:
Growing Rosemary:
Rosemary can be planted directly outside in warmer areas but should be planted in a pot and brought inside during colder months in areas with a hard freeze to overwinter.
Harvesting Rosemary:
Snip off branches as needed and remove the needles to chop and add to yo
ur favorite dish. For stew, soups, and meals that will be simmering, you can toss in the whole stem and remove before serving. Herb bundles with rosemary can also be used to stuff inside whole roasting chickens.
To dry tie branches in a bundle and hang them upside down until completely dry. Remove the needles from the stems and store in a spice jar for use all winter long.
Uses:
One of the most common medicinal uses for rosemary is as a memory aid. Rosemary has a reputation based on studies to increase the blood flow to the brain. Researchers from Poland’s Department of Pharmaceuticals Botany and Plant Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences found that when rosemary is consumed as part of a regular diet and as a natural remedy, it could improve the long-term memory in animals.
Rosemary is calming to the digestive system making it a useful aid in digestion when added to culinary preparations.
“Priest and Priest” on rosemary:
” diffuse a stimulant and relaxing tonic with special influence upon the stomach and cerebrum. It soothes the nervous system and is a tonic to the vasco-motor function and peripheral circulation. It is a suitable tonic for the elderly.”
Another common use is its ability to increase hair growth. Rosemary has the ability to stimulate the hair follicle and help prevent hair thinning while improving growth. This can be achieved through a rosemary tea hair rinse or shampoo containing rosemary essential oil.
To make a hair rinse:
Brew a strong batch of tea by placing a few sprigs in a quart of boiling water and allow to steep 30 mins. This can be put in a squirt or spray bottle and applied to the scalp and hair after shampooing.
Try this recipe:
One of my favorite ways to enjoy rosemary in the summer is to make an infusion of rosemary, blackberries, and lemon.
In a quart jar place 1/4 cup of blackberries (or black raspberries), one organic lemon sliced, and 1-2 sprigs of rosemary. Allow to sit in the fridge overnight to infuse, and ENJOY!
For more about cooking with herbs and essential oils find the e-book here.