back to the 5:2 step

Okay I admit it. I'm ravenously hungry! Day one of the return to fasting and it's been a struggle. The fact that I had a summer - and a very long one - it's the 1st of October tomorrow - of indulgence is something I only reluctantly admit. 
Today I have eaten half an apple and a spoonful of goats yoghurt, 1 bowl of vegetable soup (home-made from garden vegetables minestrone spiced up with lots of chilli powder), 1 orange and 1 rice cake. I salivate as I write because under the grill sizzles a small salmon steak which I'm going to devour with some boiled vegetables.  Then, before I remember I'm still hungry, I'm going to work to give an aromatherapy treatment to one of my lovely clients. After that I'm rushing to bed, via a hot cup of herbal tea and going straight to sleep because, in the morning, it's time for TOAST!! with butter and home-made blackcurrant jam - I promise to stop at two slices....promise....

My one consolation is that I haven't regained the weight I lost last time I did a consistent bout of 5:2 fasting.  One more stone to lose and I'm done, it'll just be maintenance.  There's a long uphill slope to Christmas, will I make it?

Autumn hawthorn harvest

It's time to pick hawthorns.  Not superabundant this year, compared to last but considering the awful winter we've had inbetween, perhaps this signifies a mild, short winter.  I wish!  But folklore says that if there are plentiful berries in the hedgerows you can expect a harsh winter.  We found that the hawthorn trees that grew in sunny spots still had plenty of berries last week here in south Wales.  Of course, as is the rule with these harvests, the best berries were out of reach of us humans and at bird level so we left plenty for them.  My old walking stick came in handy though!



Before adding the alcohol solution it's important to bash the berries with a rolling pin to release their chemical properties.
Hawthorn is an important herb in my pharmacy.  It helps a tired heart to pump more efficiently.  It is energising in nature and can help to lower blood pressure that is a bit high.  Full of vitamin C too, as you can tell from its glorious red colour.



Here is my friend Kate hooking down the branches so we could get the juiciest berries.  Kate is a qualified herbalist too and it was so lovely to have her company on our sunny walk.  We each ended up with about 3 lbs or 1.5 kilos of haws which we brought back and tinctured.

 

All that needs to be done now is to shake the solution every day for two weeks and then rack it off, filter out the haws and bottle in amber bottles.  Then, most importantly, label and date the tincture.