I almost missed the elderberries this year... we came home to the last of them. Today it finally rained buckets.... THANK YOU GOD.... so I took the opportunity to get it made. I don't do flu shots. Did you know a flu shot only fights the certain strains of flu they are expecting for the year.... I read somewhere that elderberries actually fight eight strains of influenza. I take a tablespoon a day during flu season or when my resistance is down just to keep my immune system going. If I'm sick I take a teaspoon every 3 - 4 hours. I know from experience that it really helps get rid of the flu if taken once you already have it.
I'm lucky enough to have elderberries growing wild in the creek behind my house so I used fresh today although dried or frozen work to. You just use twice as many elderberries if using fresh. One important point: if you're harvesting them yourself make sure you don't include any stems or leaves as they are very poisonous. I love mountainroseherbs recipe and you can also purchase your dried elderberries from them if you have a hard time finding them in your local health food store...
http://mountainroseblog.com/elder-berries/ or http://naturalfamilytoday.com/health/elder-berry-syrup/ can provide you with two different ways of making the syrup as well as instructions on how to make an echinacea tincture. It's so easy you can't afford not to.
Very... Very... Special Echinacea...
Several years ago we flew with my husband's family cross country to Maine visiting the town my husband was born in. Walking along a street I noticed the most beautiful echinacea I had ever seen, snapped a dozen seed pods that were beautifully dried and stuffed them in my pocket. They made the trip back to California in my suitcase.
The next spring I started them in my greenhouse and they actually came up. I transplanted them in several places in my yard. Echinacea from the town my husband was born in brought as seed pods in my suitcase clear across the USA. Well... I think it's pretty special and the butterflies and bees love it.
But no.... that's not where I get my echinacea for my tinctures.... I can't bear to dig them up for their roots. Thank you Mountain Rose Herbs for having a plentiful supply. If you ever bought a bottle of tincture at a health food store you'd probably get sick just paying the prices they ask. It's so easy to make at home and probably a much better tincture.... no different than making vanilla extract!
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