Four Thieves vinegar...

This brew has been used for centuries and is said, so the story goes, to have originated during an out break of bubonic plague in France...
Four thieves had been ransacking the homes of people who had died, or were ill with, the plague. Eventually the long arm of the law caught up with them and they were brought before judges in Marseilles, who wondered at their seeming immunity to the plague. the thieves answered that they washed and took internally this vinegar preparation....
Recipes vary but a basic one follows...

2 quarts apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lavendar
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons sage
2 tablespoons wormwood
2 tablespoons rue
2 tablespooons mint
2 tablespoons fresh garlic cloves

Combine the dry herbs and steep in the vinegar in the sun for 2 weeks. Strain and rebottle. Add the cloves of garlic, steep for several days, strain out. Melt paraffin wax around the lid to preserve the contents, or add 4 ounces of glycerine, for preservation.

This aromatic antibacterial vinegar is an goodly wash for rooms of healing, bathrooms and kitchens. It will offset a smell of dampness, and be a helpfull floor and wall wash in overcrowded situations.

Externally, this vinegar may be used in small amouts in a bath or diluted as a body wash. Some of the herbs in this brew are too strong for the skin, so the vinegar must be diluted.

Internally, the dose is a teaspoon at a time in water- no more than 3 times in an hour ( equivalent to a tablespoon). This acts as a preventative during an epidemic.

A modern addition would be to put the brew into a spray bottle....

Some say the brew was created by apothecary Richard Forthave and its eficacy led to the four thieves story..

Wild Greens and Brown Rice Salad...

Beneath our very noses are growing some fine foods, and medicines, that are easily overlooked until you get to know them, then it’s likely you’ll be inviting them to dinner more often.  Wild vegetables are packed full of nutrients that more cultivated vegetables have to a lesser degree. But just because they’re abundant please don’t be uprooting an entire patch, take some leaves and leave the rest to keep growing with twice the vigor for another harvest time.

Wild Greens Brown Rice salad

Ingredients

3 cups of brown rice + twice that in water.

2 cups diced wild greens, could be Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaf n flower , Chickweed ( Stellaria media), Shamans pouch (Capsella bursa-pastoris), Sow Thistle (Sonchus  oleraceus or arvensis ) or a mix, depending on what you know, and can find.

Additional diced or grated vegies, sultanas, nuts , cheese, boiled egg or tuna depending on your pantry and tastes.

Dressing

4 tablspoons of sesame oil, 4 of lemon or lime juice, 1 balsamic vinegar and soy sauce to taste. You could also add  2 tablspoons mayonnaise or a ½ teaspoon of mustard if you want a creamier dressing.

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First dry roast the brown rice. You do this by putting the brown rice in the pot you’re going to cook it in without water or oil, and then crank up the heat. You’ll see the rice gradually heat up and change colour, at the point where you hear the rice start to pop, stir continuously you’re nearly done so don’t burn it! When most of the grains are done, take the pot off the heat and add twice as much water as rice, watch for your face cos when you add the water hot steam will rise up. Put it back on the heat and if its boiling, then lower the heat to simmer. It should take about 20 minutes to cook simmering on low, try to resist the urge to stir it. If its past, or before that, and the rice is done but there’s still water, turn the heat off, put a lid on it and let it sit and absorb. Roasting makes the rice taste nutty and have a fluffy texture, its worth the time.

Let the rice cool some and then put it into a salad bowl. Add the greens, plus diced carrot, sultanas, almonds or walnuts, grated beetroot , boiled egg, cheese or tuna and parsleys good in the mix too. Stir the dressing through and you’re done. Tuck in and enjoy your wild harvested greens.