Homesteader Depot

Tag: garlic

  • 5 Natural Medicines You Need to Know

    5 Natural Medicines You Need to Know

    More and more people are turning to natural remedies, especially for day-to-day injuries and ailments.  The concept of antibiotics goes back well before the discovery of penicillin.  In fact, some of the natural medications used most have good antibiotic properties.

    Whether you are suffering from a cut or scrape, or a classic cold, flu, earache, or UTI there are remedies that can assist your body in getting rid of it and getting you back on your feet.

    Natural Aspirin

    The most commonly talked about Salicylic Acid, or natural aspirin, is Willow Bark.  Used for thousands of years, modern-day aspirin was originally produced using the herbs Meadowsweet and Willow Bark, then synthesized later. The problem is, when natural ingredients are copied and created in a lab then sold as a drug, they often create side-effects that natural sources won’t.

    But, before you start a collection of Willow Bark or Meadowsweet to use during your next headache, check out this surprising list of foods and other sources that naturally contain this amazing compound:

    Apples

    Avocados

    Blueberries

    Broccoli

    Cauliflower

    Cherries

    Chili peppers

    Cucumbers

    Eggplant

    Grapefruit

    Grapes

    Kiwi

    Licorice, the herb (Not the Twizzler)

    Paprika

    Peaches

    Plums

    Radishes

    Raspberries

    Spinach

    Strawberries

    Turmeric

    Zucchini

    Can I just say, WOW!

    Honey

    Every version of pure honey has natural antibiotics as well as a number of other healing benefits. Honey has also been used for several millennia worldwide to fight infections. We now know it is effective against over 200 strains of bacteria. You can use it internally to fight off many of these or use it topically in the place of store-bought antiseptic for small wounds and skin infections.

    Also, Read This:  “Honey Vinegar Cough Medicine”

    The best source of honey is raw, local honey, like the kind sold at your local farmer’s market.  Local honey will also aid in building up a resistance to local hay fever allergens as well.

    Ginger

    Fresh ginger has antibiotic properties.  It’s especially good against foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria, used as a tea with lemon and honey, it’s great for fighting again a cold or even the flu. Ginger is also an excellent anti-inflammatory that can aid in the relief of inflammation issues like arthritis and asthma.

    Raw Garlic

    Also a good defender and fighter against colds and the flu, garlic has been used for ages to remedy fungal infections, UTI’s, and intestinal parasites. The Allicin in garlic even has the ability to kill viruses that are prone to becoming immune to prescription antibiotics.

    Unfortunately, cooking garlic will kill Allicin, negating these healing properties, so you’ll have to use it raw.  Whether you choose to peel it and cut it into small pieces to swallow pill style or mash it up with some honey, raw garlic is a great way to stay healthy during cold and flu season.  Just keep some breath mints, or fresh mint, on hand.

    Related Article: Home Remedies Only Mother Nature Could Come Up With

    Turmeric

    Turmeric is not only tasty but it is good medicine. It will strengthen your immune system and destroys bacteria that leads to disease.  This spice is also great for the stomach in a number of ways that will cleanse and balance our systems. Turmeric is another multi-talented herb that is a good antibiotic as well as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent.

    Buy it or Grow it

    Thanks to the rise of urban and suburban organic farms, these items are becoming more and more easily obtained.  If you’re into DIY, try growing some of these options your own in a garden or on your kitchen window sill in decorative pots.  You can even start your own Bee Colony for the “most local” honey possible.  This will almost guarantee you’ll have what you need when you need it.

  • The Simplest Way to Peel Garlic. Period. (Video)

    The Simplest Way to Peel Garlic. Period. (Video)

    Garlic is a homestead kitchen staple, but let’s face it; it’s more than a little tedious to fidget with the papery skin of each individual clove.

    Sure, you could smash your garlic with a knife or a mallet and make a big mess. If you have half an hour or more to spare, you could soften the skins in hot water. If you need to peel enough garlic to season food for an army, or make a hefty portion of a natural remedy like honey-infused garlic, you can shake them into oblivion between two bowls, but that’s more trouble than you really need to go through. And let’s not even get started with the weird, artificial flavor of pre-processed garlic available in the store.

    So what’s the homestead cook to do? I shared a video about the bowl method last year, but this video shows an even easier, ridiculously simple kitchen hack for the home chef in a hurry who won’t settle for less than fresh, pungent garlic. It’s as easy as tossing the head of garlic into a jar, closing it, and shaking the living daylights out of it for less than half a minute. After 20 seconds, tip the jar to pour out your fresh peeled garlic cloves.

    Wasn’t that easy?

     

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  • Easy Pickled Garlic

    Easy Pickled Garlic

    Pickling garlic is a great way to preserve it for the winter, or if you don’t grow garlic, to ensure that you always have it on hand. You may have seen minced garlic or even whole garlic cloves in the store, but those typically have lots of preservatives in them or take on the flavor of whatever they’re preserved in. This recipe isn’t like them.

    This method will keep your garlic tasting fresh, and just like garlic. Since it is preserved in vinegar, when you’re ready to use it, you can simply rinse off the vinegar and use as you would fresh cloves of garlic.

    Before we dive into the recipe, I wanted to share this awesome video for a super quick and easy way to peel an entire head of garlic that will make this recipe go a lot faster:

    Ingredients: 

    4 head of garlic, peeled using method from video above

    2 half-pint mason jar

    1-2 cups vinegar

    *Note: these are rough estimates, since heads of garlic can vary. The idea is to have enough garlic to fill your jar of choice, and enough vinegar to fully immerse the garlic once in the jar. 

    Directions: 

    1. Once your garlic is all peeled, trim any brown spots off and put in a large bowl with a little soap to get them clean.
    2. Rinse thoroughly in a strainer
    3. Bring your vinegar to a boil on the stove
    4. Dispense your garlic out into the jars
    5. Pour the hot vinegar over the jars, and screw the lid on tight
    6. Let the jars sit out on the counter overnight, until they are room temperature
    7. Once they have fully cooled, transfer to the refrigerator for long-term storage

    This garlic will keep in the fridge for up to a year. Use as you would regular garlic, simply rinsing off the vinegar with cold water if you want to avoid the taste of vinegar in the dish you are preparing. Enjoy!

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  • How to Grow Garlic

    How to Grow Garlic

    Depending on how cold it gets where you are located, now is a good time to start getting some room in your garden ready for planting garlic.  Garlic is a low-maintenance crop that isn’t cheap to buy at the store, at least not if you are buying organic.  It can be preserved easily so that you can benefit from your entire harvest, and you can plant again from your own stock further reducing costs.  Here’s how to get started.

     

    Get Your Garlic

    If you have the money and you are the nervous type, or if you have had problems with disease on your garlic before, then you should buy organic seed garlic that is certified disease free.  If not, you can save about $20 by just going to your local grocery store and buying a pound of organic garlic to plant.

    Soil Prep

    Garlic does best in full sun, so find some room in your garden that gets plenty of sun this time of year.  Garlic requires good drainage, so mounding a little soil up, especially if you are not planting in a raised bed well help.  If you have healthy soil you shouldn’t need to amend with anything but some compost.  If you are planting grocery store garlic it is especially important to select an area that you did not grow garlic in last season.  It would also help reduce the chance of disease to plant in several locations instead of one large plot.

    Plant

    Separate cloves from the bulb.  Leave the papery layer on them.  Plant them the same way they grew previously, root side down and pointy side up.  Put them about 3inches deep, with about 4inches between each.  Cover with soil and then add a thick layer of leaves for mulch and insulation.

     

    I’ll post another article about harvesting and some of the options for preserving and processing garlic well before it’s that time of year.

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  • Honey-Infused Garlic

    Honey-Infused Garlic

    There are so many great natural cold and flu remedies we’ve covered lately, but this is another great one that is very simple to make, and includes only two ingredients that you probably already have on hand: garlic and raw honey. And maybe I’m weird, but I think this combination is totally delicious!

    Both garlic and honey boast incredible health and immune-boosting benefits, and taken individually are great to add to your healthcare regimen.

    Garlic, especially when consumed raw, can help maintain healthy blood pressure and circulation, heart health, and kill fungus and bacteria.

    Raw honey is honey that has not been cooked, maintaining the original metabolic structure and nutrient content of the honey. It can help maintain balanced gut flora, has loads of healthy enzymes, nutrients, and pre-biotics, and also kills fungus and germs.

    So both these great natural remedies, when they combine forces, make for a powerful, germ-busting and immune-boosting cold and flu remedy! Not to mention, possibly the most appealing thing about this remedy, that while raw garlic is great for your health it is also very difficult to consume raw, so the honey adds sweetness to the flavor, making it far more bearable!

    Here’s how you make it:

    Ingredients: 

    raw honey

    1 head of garlic

    a small jar (about 4-5 oz)

    Recipe: 

    1. Break apart the individual cloves of garlic and crush each one with the flat side of a large knife. Completely peel each clove, then let sit for about 15 minutes.
    2. Place the cloves in your jar.
    3. Cover the garlic cloves with raw honey. As honey moves slowly, be patient and make sure every gap is filled between the cloves, you might have some air pockets, so just stir gently and pour more honey in until you have it full.
    4. Cover with the jar’s lid, and let sit on your counter for 3-5 days
    5. Refrigerate.

    And that’s it! Keep the jar in your refrigerator and, whenever you feel a cold or sickness coming on, simply eat one of the cloves. Enjoy!

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