Author: info@stkittsherbery.store

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Make your own – Hair Shine Treatment

I don’t know about you but the miserable winter we’ve been having has left my hair in a complete mess. Luckily, this super easy to make hair shine treatment is great for split ends, brittle hair or even just a bit of a pick me up on a girly night in.

Ingredients:

10g rosemary leaves

10g dried chamomile flowers

100ml fractionated coconut oil

This makes enough for one treatment for very long hair or several if you’re rocking a pixie cut! You’ll have to make it up a bit in advance – just pop all of the ingredients into a jar or bottle and leave to infuse (I only left it overnight but if you can manage a week then even better). When you’re ready to use it, strain through a sieve to get rid of the herbs and work the oil into your scalp and hair. Wrap your hair in clingfilm (or a hot towel if you’re feeling fancy) and leave for a minimum of 30 minutes. If your hair is particularly dry then it can be left in overnight, but be warned – this is not a good idea if your hair leans toward being greasy! Wash the oil out with shampoo; you might need to do this a couple of times to get all of the oil out. Voila! Enjoy your soft, shiny, revived hair. If you’d like to know more about why this works, check out this article about the benefits of coconut oil for your hair.

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Make your own – Bath Bombs

A great gift idea for all occasions (and our most popular blog post ever!), our bath bombs dissolve in a hot bath for silky smooth, fragrant bath water. Bonus – they’re exceedingly easy to make!

Ingredients:

Witch Hazel Water

Bicarbonate of Soda

Citric Acid

Essential Oil (we like lavender for an extra soothing bath, but anything you like will work!)

Dried herbs, petals, flowers or food colouring  (again, lavender flowers are it for us)

 

Moulds:

We’ve got the kind of house that always has kids running around, and of course that means kids toys everywhere – so we used a plastic ball pit ball, cut in half (ingenious, we know) as our mould. But you can use anything that has the shape you like – ice cube trays, cupcake tins, whatever you’ve got lying around.

Bath.Bomb.how.to.image

Directions:

  1. Combine equal amounts of citric acid and bicarbonate of soda.
  2. Add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice, plus any flowers or colouring you’re using & mix thoroughly.
  3. Sparingly add Witch Hazel Water (a few drops at a time) until the mixture is just damp enough to hold its shape when compressed. Go easy on adding the liquid- if you add too much the mixture will do all its fizzing in your bowl instead of your bath!
  4. Pack the mixture firmly into both halves of your mould, then push together to join. (If using an ice cube tray or similar, just make sure to compress the mixture into the mould so it doesn’t all fall apart when you take it out).
  5. Allow to set for at least 2 hours before removing from the mould.
  6. If your bomb falls apart when you remove it from your mould, it’s probably too dry- put the mixture back in a bowl and add a few more drops of Witch Hazel water.
  7. Package in some cellophane with ribbon as a gorgeous home made gift – or spoil yourself and get that bath running!
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Sri Lankan Coconut and Dark Rum Snowball Truffles

We know everyone’s probably sick of it by now but nevertheless this week’s recipe is Christmas themed. (At least it’s only once a year!) These deliciously tempting truffles are great for the run up to Christmas, on the day or even as a special gift. Without further ado, Sri Lankan coconut and dark rum snowball truffles…

Ingredients:

200g Sri Lankan coconut chocolate

100g clotted cream (being from Cornwall, we always recommend Rodda’s!)

1 – 2 tbsp dark rum

50 – 100g desiccated coconut

 

Method:

The great thing about these truffles is that there’s no need for tempering or any of that fancy shmancy stuff. Just microwave your chocolate for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it’s all melted. Then add in your clotted cream and rum, and stir until it makes a beautiful creamy mixture. Refrigerate until it’s set hard enough to handle – usually around an hour. Scoop up a teaspoon at a time and roll into balls (you might want to wear some gloves for this – it can get messy!). Once you’ve formed your truffles, pop them into a bowl of desiccated coconut and roll until they’re covered.

Whether you choose to box them up as a gift or eat them straight away, these will knock your socks off! If you want to keep them for a later date, remember to keep them in the fridge – no one likes gone off cream… Enjoy!

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Make Your Own Christmas Compilation

I don’t know where the time keeps going, but it’s definitely happening a bit too fast for my liking! Christmas is just around the corner now and the money spent is already adding up – so here is our compilation of all things ‘make your own’ to keep Christmas cheap and still beautiful!

We’ll start with the all important gifts – some of these are our very own recipes and some come from some very clever people with more time on their hands than I have! Have a gander and give some a go yourself:

It’s a scarf, but with pockets!

This one takes a bit more time, but it’s so beautiful – a leather messenger bag.

Ministry of silly walks, in clock form.

Bath milk bags.

Soothing hand balm.

Bath salts – so easy and they can come in any smell you fancy!

Bath vinegars – a nice jar or bottle can really make a difference to this one.

Lightbulb terrarium, does it get much more creative?

Beautiful wood burned boxes. If you’ve got the tools and the time, these make the most gorgeous, unique gift.

This elegant, delicate votive candle holder is just so beautiful, I want a room full of them!

 

It’s all well and good having gifts sorted, but it never really feels like Christmas until the decorations are up! Here are our favourite DIY decorations:

Double lattice ornaments

Christmas tatting patterns

We used this video to make the decorations for our shop this year – they’re rather stunning!

Super intricate, ever so delicate, paper snowflakes

If you’re looking for more ideas, here’s 17 easy peasy decorations you could give a go

 

And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a drink or two! Have a go at some of these Chrimbo cocktails:

Still our favourite, the Chocolate Alexander

A classic with a twist, Appleberry Mulled Wine

We love a bit of cardamom, but we’d never have thought to put it in a martini! This bitter orange and cardamom martini is just to die for.

Cranberry mojito, tastes as good as it looks!

It’s Christmas, of course that means there has to be eggnog…

And in case you need something a bit more warming, hot chocolate and baileys – enough said.

 

There you go – everything you could possibly need to get you through another Christmas (or at least get you tipsy enough to not care!)

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Herb of the Month – Horseradish

So it’s been a while since we’ve written a blog (we’re slacking, I know!) and in the meantime winter has crept in properly. In our house that means stews, pies and roasts – as often as possible! There is a certain someone in our household, who shall remain unnamed (Paul), who can’t seem to eat any of these things without an appropriately large selection of condiments. Our herb of the month has been chosen in his honour – horseradish.

The best known, and possibly most delicious, use for horseradish is of course in condiment form as horseradish sauce (we personally like horseradish mustard). It’s a really simple sauce, made from grated horseradish root and vinegar – and it’s really easy to make at home. Not many people make it themselves though; in fact sales of horseradish in a bottle began in 1860 – making it one of the first convenience foods available. It remains popular throughout the world, with several varieties available, including with beetroot – yum…

Horseradish has other uses though, including medicinally. It can be used to treat urinary tract infections, kidney stones, bronchitis, rheumatism, sciatic nerve pain, gout and even colic. Though as always, consult your doctor before use!

Even better, horseradish is amazingly easy to grow at home. It will do best in a nice sunny spot, but this is the UK so it can also make do with some shade! It’s a perennial and best grown from a cutting. They can pretty much be planted and left alone, with possibly a little water if we (miraculously) have a dry spell, to be harvested the next year. When harvesting, you’ll want to make sure you remove the entire root and then replant only what you want – it can easily take over your garden if left to its own devices. It has to be said though, once you’ve got access to the fresh stuff, you won’t want it from a jar again!

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Make your own – Bath Milk Bag

So it seems summer is over (what little we had of it!) and autumn is swiftly taking over. My cure all for those end of summer blues has always been a good long soak in the bath! This fantastic recipe for easy peasy bath milk has been a godsend for me – perfect to help you unwind.

Ingredients:

100g milk powder

5 – 10g dried flowers (I used calendula, the colour seemed fitting for autumn!)

2-4 drops essential oil (orange for me, but you can use anything that will help you relax)

muslin bags or squares of muslin and a length of thin ribbon

bath-milk-step-1

Method:

 

In a bowl, add the essential oil to the milk powder and stir thoroughly. It’s important to make sure that the essential oil is completely mixed in, with no clumpy bits.

bath-milk-step-2

Then add your flowers and once again mix thoroughly.

bath-milk-step-3

That’s really all there is to it! Pop your bath milk into a muslin bag, or if using muslin squares then place a tablespoon of mixture in the middle, bring the four corners together to form a pouch and then seal with the thin ribbon. Leave a loop of ribbon to tie the bag below the tap while you run your bath, so that the water runs through the mixture.

bath-milk-bag

Enjoy your soak in milky, aromatic goodness!

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Recipe – Cherry and Lavender Tea Smoked Chicken

Making the same meals over and over again, no matter how delicious, can quickly turn cooking into a chore. I’m a big fan of keeping it interesting with something a little bit different, and our new tea range gave me the chance to do just that. This recipe is extremely easy and unbelievably delicious – with the added bonus of sounding impressive!

smoked.chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp black pepper (crushed or ground)

1 tbsp smoked paprika

3 tbsp Demerara sugar (any brown sugar will work just as well)

½ tbsp salt

4 tbsp brown rice

15 tsp cherry and lavender tea

 

Method:

– Start by mixing in a bowl the olive oil, thyme, black pepper, paprika, salt and 1 tbsp of sugar. Stir thoroughly and then coat the chicken breasts in the mixture and leave to one side. This can be done the day before and left in the fridge overnight, but will work just as well done just before cooking.

– Double line a wok or large saucepan with foil. Mix together the brown rice, cherry and lavender tea and the remaining brown sugar and add to the bottom of the foil. Cover with another piece of scrunched up foil.

– Put the wok on a high heat, until the pan starts to visibly smoke. Immediately turn the pan down to the lowest possible heat setting, place the chicken on top of the scrunched foil and tightly cover the top of the wok with a lid or more tin foil.

– Leave the covered chicken cooking on a low setting for 30 mins, then check with a thermometer that it is hot all the way through, If not, leave cooking and check again every 5 minutes until cooked. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

I served this chicken on a bed of green leaves with a cherry salad dressing and potato and chorizo gratin on the side. But be adventurous – it will also make for a great summer salad with cherries, a gourmet sandwich for lunches or even with a Thai noodle salad!

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Herbs for Health – California Poppy

It’s been a little while since we posted a blog – things have been a bit hectic for us busy bees! So, since it seemed appropriate for us, this week’s herb for health was chosen thanks to its calming properties – California Poppy, sometimes called ‘golden poppy’.

An annual flower, the California poppy is native to North America and is the state flower of California (there might have been a clue in the name!). Its beautifully colourful flowers brighten any garden and were first introduced to Europe as purely ornamental. However, as a member of the Papaveraceae family, this is a cousin to the better-known opium poppy and, though not as powerful, has some very similar effects. It was originally used by the Native Americans as a remedy for toothache and colicky pains, but in the last century its medicinal uses have been likened to a non-addictive alternative to the opium poppy. It can calm excitability, anxiety, restlessness, act as pain relief, aid insomnia and in some cases is used as a remedy for bed wetting and diseases of the bladder and liver. It has both sedative and anxiolytic properties, and recent research shows that when combined with magnesium and hawthorn it can treat a variety of anxiety disorders.

California poppy is most commonly taken internally, in the form of teas or tinctures. However, it can also be applied externally in lotions or liniments, to help ease tension headaches, sciatica, earache, back pain and arthritic pain. It is also antimicrobial and so can be applied to cuts and scrapes to ease pain and minimise risk of infection.

Though effects of long-term usage have yet to be determined, California poppy is safe to use for most people when taken orally for three months or less. As with many medicines, usage should be avoided during pregnancy or breast feeding. As one of the properties of California poppy is that of a sedative, it can cause the central nervous system to slow down. It should therefore not be mixed with anaesthesia or other medications used before or after surgery, or other sedative medications such as Benzodiazepines or CNS depressants.

*This article is intended for interest only – use of herbs given are traditional and do not reflect the herbs efficacy. It is not intended, nor should be taken as medical advice. If you have a medical condition please consult a qualified health professional prior to using any herbal preparation. Although the facts have been checked carefully, we cannot guarantee the reliability of information provided. Essential oils should not be used on children or vulnerable adults (elderly, breast feeding or ill) or during pregnancy. Some essential oils and herbs can be toxic, whether taken internally or used on the skin – your health care professional will advise.

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Herb of the Month – Vipers Bugloss

This time of year is all about those blooming flowers, when all your gardening seems to pay off. One of the most satisfyingly beautiful plants you can grow, our herb of the month is Vipers Bugloss.

 Echium vulgare, also known as Vipers Bugloss, Adderwort, or Blue Devil, is characterised by its cylindrical spikes of gorgeous bell shaped flowers. From the Boraginaceae family, Vipers Bugloss will take 1-2 years to reach its maximum height, up to 75cm tall – all of which will be covered in flowers when it blooms in early summer. Each flower on the column will itself be 1 to 2cm in length. It originates in Europe and grows best in dry grassland or dunes, preferring sand or chalk soils. Whilst it is slightly fussy about soil, Vipers Bugloss will grow in either exposed or sheltered areas and in varying amounts of sunlight.

This is a fantastic plant to have in your garden if you want to attract bees or butterflies – both of which love the colourful flowers come summer. In the language of flowers, Vipers Bugloss represents falsehood or untruthfulness, most likely due to its snakelike appearance (as described in its alternative name, Snake Flower). The name ‘Bugloss’ is also derived from the appearance of the plant – this time its leaves. The term comes from the Greek word bou, meaning cow or ox, and the Latin glosso, meaning tongue. The leaves of the Vipers Bugloss could be said to resemble an ox-tongue in shape. Though it was once used as an anti-venom for snake bites, it is best to avoid touching it as it can cause irritation to the skin and will cause stomach upset if ingested.

Whilst it’s not always possible to grow in your garden (if you don’t have chalky soil or have kids who might take a bite!), it’s always worth keeping an eye out when you walk along the dunes, as this really is a stunning plant.

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Recipe – Lavender Drizzle Cake

With summer finally looking like it might be on its way (fingers crossed!), it’s time to move away from the heavy, chocolate-based comfort foods and onto something a bit lighter. I’d like to say healthier but I have too much of a sweet tooth for that! This recipe is a basic Madeira cake base, always a summer favourite, but (as always) with our own special twist. The lavender glaze compliments the subtle lemon of the Madeira for a sweet, summery treat. Anyone who’s been following our recipe blog will have worked out by now that I adore Nigella Lawson, so of course it’s her Madeira cake recipe that I started with! I have adapted the cook times slightly so that I could make individual cakes, but if you want a traditional loaf cake then Nigella’s is the recipe to go with.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

240g butter or margarine

200g sugar (Nigella recommends caster sugar, but if you’re lazy like me then granulated works fine)

grated zest and juice of one lemon

3 eggs

300g flour

2 tsp baking powder

6 small ramekins or 1 loaf tin

For the glaze:

6 heaped tbsp. icing sugar

3 tbsp lavender syrup

cold water

 

Method:

– Line either your ramekins or loaf tin with baking parchment.

– Preheat the oven to gas mark 3/170C

– In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add in the lemon zest and mix well.

– Add the eggs one at a time. Adding a tablespoon of the flour with each egg will help it to mix in better without curdling.

– Mix in the rest of the flour, stirring gently so as not to lose the air from the mixture.

– Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

– Put into your preheated oven and bake for roughly 45 minutes if in ramekins or 1 hour if in a loaf tin. I start checking the cakes about 20 minutes before this, to avoid burning. You’ll know they’re done when a cake tester comes out clean.

– Put your cakes to one side to cool whilst you get on with the lavender glaze.

– In a bowl, mix together the icing sugar and lavender syrup. I use a fork for this to avoid any sugary lumps.

– Once the icing has formed a paste, add the cold water a teaspoon at a time. Stop when you have a relatively thin, runny icing.

– Before your cakes have completely cooled, turn them out onto a wire rack. Once they are cold, cover in the lavender glaze and leave to harden.

This really is a super easy recipe (like everything I make) and guaranteed to impress!