How-To: Make a Salve (Part 2)

Did I mention the word "salve" is actually pronounced "saaave"? Try saying it to someone, it'll drive them craaazy. It'll also drive them crazy when you apply salve to your hands and leave greasy fingerprints all over stuff. Love it.

Getting back to the matter at hand. If you've followed Part 1, you now the proud owner and maker of a herb-infused oil. Follow these simple steps to turn your precious oil into a salve, or even a lip balm. Note that the pictured salve is made with calendula-infused sunflower oil and beeswax.

Salve (or Lip Balm)

Ingredients and Tools:

Vegetable oil --- you'll get more therapeutic benefits if it's infused with herbs (see Part 1)
Beeswax --- available at health food stores
Extras: vitamin E capsules, cocoa butter, shea butter, essential oil(s) (optional)
Clean container(s) with lid(s)* --- can be plastic, glass, or even a non-reactive metal tin; for a lip balm, an empty Chapstick works too
Small saucepan or enamelled pot*
Wooden chopstick* --- those disposable ones work well
* I usually put aside my salve-making tools exclusively for this purpose, since beeswax can be difficult to wash out. If you need to wash it out, I find hot water does the trick.

Instructions:

Heat the oil very slowly in the saucepan/pot, on the lowest heat possible. Cut the beeswax into small pieces; it's easier to cut if the knife is very sharp and/or warm. Put a few pieces of beeswax into the oil, and stir with chopstick until melted.

Test the consistency of the salve by allowing 1 drop to drip from the chopstick, onto your fingertip. The salve will form a hardened drop-shape before it can fall off your finger, after about 10 seconds. Feel the consistency. Add more beeswax pieces if a harder salve is desired. This will take some practice and experience.

Remove from heat, and add the 'extras'. Keep in mind that adding cocoa or shea butter will also add hardness to your salve. Pour the salve into the containers, and leave in a spot undisturbed for a few hours. If you're not happy with the consistency of your salve even after you've poured it into containers, you can always re-warm and add more beeswax or oil.

Get greasy.

How-To: Make a Salve (Part 1)

Hey, it's 2010! For the first post of the year, I thought I would share what I learned about how to make a salve. Not really food-related, is it... but there's something that feels good about turning your back to mass-produced, over-branded and faceless store-bought products.

A salve is an oil-based therapeutic ointment. Using a herb-infused oil can offer additional therapeutic benefits.... so this Part 1 is about How To Make a Herb-Infused Oil. Since my good friend just popped out a wee babe, making a calendula oil seemed to make sense, since calendula ointments are used to soothe sensitive baby skin. But you can substitute the calendula for any other herb.

Calendula Infused Oil
For: wound healing, diaper rash, sun burns, etc.

Ingredients and Tools:

1/2 cup loosely packed dried calendula flowers --- choose vibrant, colourful flowers
1 cup vegetable oil --- I like to use olive or sunflower
Glass jar
Cheesecloth and elastic (to cover jar)

Instructions:

Heat the oil very slowly in a small saucepan, on the lowest heat possible. Place the flowers into the glass jar. Once the oil is very warm, pour into the glass jar. There should be enough old to cover the herbs, and then some. Cover the opening of the jar with the cheesecloth, and secure with an elastic. Place jar in a sunny spot in your home, and leave the oil for 2 weeks to infuse. Once the oil is ready, it should be a rich, golden yellow colour. Strain into a clean container.

To be continued....

Year One: What I Learned

My first year of balcony gardening was TOUGH. I feel like I invested a lot of time and energy into a garden that didn't give much in return. I feel much doubt on the suitability of my balcony and of my abilities to grow food. I feel like Apollo Creed after 1 round in the ring with The Russian. But I know I can't let one bad year kick my *ss just like that. Now that I'm armed with a year of knowledge and experience, this upcoming year is sure to be an improvement.

To help you avoid the same growing pains I went through, use these learnings and tips to get started on a healthy garden.

• Growing from seed and starting indoors is challenging, especially in low-light conditions. Start some of your plants from seedlings, and don't think of it as cheating.


• Be sure to FILL your containers with potting soil. Over time, the soil will pack down considerably.


• Container soil will run out of nutrients. Add nutrients every 2 weeks or so --- compost, manure, kelp powder and fertilizer teas are your friends.


• Be realistic, but experiment. Grow what is best suited for your conditions (e.g. sun, etc), but if there's a plant you really want to grow, give it a go.


• Talk to fellow gardeners, seed exchangers and farmers to collect tricks of the trade.
  
  
• Diversify! Choose plants that do well in different conditions, and plants that mature at different times in the season. That way, you'll always have food to eat.
  
  
• If the edible part of the plant is ready to eat, harvest it now. You could wait to see if it'll get bigger, but it'll probably also get more bitter and tougher.
  
  
• Don't get discouraged. Pests, weather and other destructive conditions are sure to arise and work against you, and get even the best gardeners.
  
  
• And most of all: Spend time enjoying your garden. Bring positive energy to your green space. We garden because we love.