This simple, but amazingly effective traditional remedy is easily made from common household ingredients and will reduce bruising, inflammation, boils, abscesses, sprains and tension headaches.

Cut brown paper up into fat strips. The size will depend on what area needs the poultice. An ingrown nail, for example will only need very small strips, and a sprained ankle will need longer strips. Bruise whole fresh sage leaves (use around 5-10 large leaves) by pounding them lightly in a mortar and pestle or using a rolling pin to flatten them. Do your best not to break or tear the leaves.

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Although my partner grumbles and complains to high heaven about the smell while I am making kimchi, he usually eats it up and wants more. I have taken out the chilis for this recipe of kimchi and added in burdock root, so it isn’t by any means an authentic Korean kimchi, but we like it. It also makes a quick salad when added to steamed broccoli and sunflower seeds, then tossed in olive oil.

Makes about 2 quart jars (depending on size of cabbage)

Brine:

• 1 litre filtered water
• 4 T himalayan or sea salt

Vegetables:

• 1 medium napa cabbage, shredded
• 6 medium organic carrots, grated
• 1 large daikon radish, julienned
• 3 medium burdock roots, julienned

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Looking through a little book by Phillip C.S. Fong written in Pidgin English, Papua New Guinea Igat Gutpela Marasin Tu, I discovered a hiccup cure. Papua New Guinea’s Pidgin is an official language, although simple and based on English, you may find you can understand it if you look at it long enough! Or just read it out loud and suddenly it will start to make sense! One tip is that you generally pronounce ‘e’ as ‘eh’. ‘Save’ for example means to know and the last e is pronounced as ‘eh’. ‘Me no save’ for example means ‘I don’t know’.

Em is save wokim nek bilong you krai olsem HUK, HUK, HUK, na i wok long mikim yu olsem tasol. Na sapos em ino malolo long mikim yu olsem long tu o tri wik, em iken kilim yu. (If your throat won’t stop hiccuping for two or three weeks you can die). Side note! My pidgin isn’t that great, so there is probably a better translation possible, but you can get the gist…

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Rose hips can easily be made into a vitamin C rich tasty spread. I make this recipe with dates and apples to sweeten the rose hips. It is best to cook rose hips even though heat breaks down vitamin C. There is also an enzyme in rose hips that also breaks down vitamin C very quickly which is neutralized by heat. Therefore it is important to cook the rosehips long enough but not too long!

I like this method because it can take a really long time to clean rose hips individually and remove the hairs and seeds from them. Simmering them and then straining them through a moulie or sieve helps this process to go faster.

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With the rise of environmental toxins, many women are having increased problems during their period. I have been drinking this tea, with slight variations for a few years now and it really helps to balance and even out a wide variety of menstrual symptoms. There are a lot of other herbs that can be used and are especially useful for women, so please get to know which herbs work best for you by experimenting a little.

I use a large, plain white Chinese tea pot that holds about 6 cups of water. I have a tendency to use a lot of the various herbs and it varies depending on how much of the herb I have and how I am feeling that day. These amounts are therefore not set in stone.

• 2 T nettles
• 1 T sage
• 1 t fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 t camomile
• 1 pinch yarrow blossoms
• 6 c water, boiled

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This recipe is developed from Nina’s Basic Medical Marijuana Recipe and can be used by people on the GAPs, SCD or other low-carb, no-grain diets. This method creates a marijuana flour which can be substituted for regular wheat flour in any of your favorite recipes.

1. Using a coffee or spice grinder, process the medical marijuana until very fine, like flour. Sift the ground marijuana through a fine sieve and grind any larger particles again. Grind up as much as you need for your recipe.
2. Melt 1/4 c butter in an iron skillet or other thick-bottomed pan.
3. Add in the marijuana flour and saute on the absolutely lowest heat for at least 40 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture and do not let it burn. If necessary add more butter or add in some water to keep it from sticking. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it burn. Keep the mixture dry but don’t let it stick or it will burn.

After it is cooked allow it to cool and then use it as flour for any recipe.

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I have my email posted on the www.kombu.de letting folks know I have kombucha babies who want to be adopted. As a result I meet some really cool and interesting people from all walks of life coming to get a kombucha starter. They often like to give me something in exchange. One of my latest kombucha visitors passed on to me this old-fashioned home-made root beer recipe. I haven’t tried it yet myself so let me know how it goes if you do!

The following is from Scott, he also told me of a Finish honey-beer that originally set him down the road of fermentation:

My home brewed root beer turned out delicious. I highly recommend it if you can come by the ingredients. It does have a taste reminiscent of root beer soda, but you wouldn’t confuse the two. Earthier, stronger tasting but less sweet, and the fermentation adds its own flavor in there.

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I am about to make another batch of this delicious mustard. I was surprised to find that I haven’t posted this recipe yet as it is one of my favorites. The cream cheese helps to preserve the pungency of the mustard, making a delicious condiment which is also a probiotic if made with home-made cream cheese as shown in this quick video.

Amounts are variable and according to personal taste. Warning! I like my mustard so pungent it clears out my sinuses with every taste, so you may want to start with less ground mustard and add more tasting it to decide how you like it as you go.

• 1T – 2T ground mustard (I like to use Colemans)
• 1/2 c (or more) home-made cream cheese
• 1 small handful dates (soaked in hot water and mashed)
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1t ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1t ground fenugreek seeds
• 1t apple cider vinegar
• salt

Method: Put the mustard powder in little water and mix it around, let it sit about 5 minutes. Boil some water and pour over dates, cover and let sit about 5 minutes, then mash them up to a puree.

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There are a variety of methods for making this oil and various lengths of time suggested for the infusion process. My favourite is using a crock pot on low for around 24 hours. Many people only infuse the oil for 40 minutes to 3 hours and are happy with the results, but I like the longer process for maximum extraction.

Various fats or oils can be used. Do not use highly processed refined vegetable oils such as canola, soy or corn as these oils damage the body and are not helpful when your health is compromised. Do not use cold-pressed oils such as sunflower or flax-seed because heating causes them to oxidize.

Extra virgin olive oil is a good option. Coconut or palm oil are excellent as they are easy to digest, full of immune boosters and anti-oxidants among other things–they are very healing oils in general. Organic sesame, peanut and hemp oils are also good alternatives, but be aware that they have their own flavours which can be incorporated into your dishes very nicely as well. Oils can also be mixed–a peanut-coconut combination might be nice for brownies, for example.

Amounts are not precise and the strength will vary depending on the quality of your ingredients. Here is a general guideline:

• 1 litre or quart of oil or fat
• 1 oz of medical marijuana leaf

Method: Grind up the medical marijuana in a spice or coffee grinder until very fine. Put into a crock pot. Pour over oil until covered and heat on low for about 24 hours. The oil will smell up the house, so you may want to put it in a back room.

Strain the oil through a cheesecloth and wring out as much of the oil as you can. You can also cook up oatmeal raisin cookies with the leftover mass.

The oil will keep quite well and can be used in cooking either for meat dishes such as curry or pasta or for baked items such as cakes and brownies. It can also be mixed into a salad dressing.

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This is an amazingly simple recipe and results in a delicious, high-quality white vinegar with the flavors of the honey you have chosen to use. Try basswood or buckwheat honey for a darker, richer vinegar. Use raspberry honey for a lighter fruitier vinegar.

• 8:1 Water : Honey
• Eight parts water to one part honey
• Wild yeast

Method: Place in a crock. Cover the crock with cheesecloth and leave to sit in a warm place for about one month or until the fermentation has died down. Pour off the liquid and leave the yeasty residue behind. Bottle and seal. Will keep indefinitely.

Uses: Vinegar has been used medicinally for years. Apple cider vinegar is a famous home remedy for digestive complaints. Vinegar was traditionaly used as face and hair washes for glowing faces and glistening hair. Raw honey vinegar can be used medicinally in the same ways that apple cider vinegar is used.

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