Fig leaves and tea recipe

I have read that fig leaves made into a tea is a great health tonic and is known to lower glucose levels. I have also found out that fig leaves can be used in place of grape leaves for cooking, example; stuffed grape(fig leaves) and pickling. You can eat these raw. I have and they are pleasant. A mild exotic side under some cheese, with grapes and wine perhaps. Or with some fruit and sparkling cider.

I have made a lacto-fermentation (pickling) of cucumber with garlic, Jalapenos and 3-4 fig leaves. I am waiting until I finish another jar of home made pickles before I open the fig one.

My Turkey Fig bush is very young and will not produce fruit until it is at least 2 years old. As I have read. So, I have cut some of the leaves and dried them at 115F. You can dry them at 95F if you like. It will just take longer. Once dried, I crumbled them and placed them into a glass jar.

I took about 1 T. and put into my Chatsworth teapot strainer basket and added about a cup of some hot boiled water. I let it steep for 5 minutes and then poured into a cup. you can steep it for 10 minutes or more, if you prefer.

I drank it just as is and it is very good and soothing.

The left over steeped leaves were taken out and placed on a small dish to dry. My mother used to say, "You can always use a tea bag twice". Or tea leaves twice as I see it. This is fresh stuff and worth getting a second steep from. The second steeping the next day was more mild and still very good. Well worth saving for that second cup.

Update on Lacto-fermented cucumbers with garlic, Jalapenos and fresh fig leaves.

Very good. I like this better than dill with mustard seeds.

Swimmers Ear Solution and Ear Infection Recipe

I wanted to add this to my infection post and decided not to. My ear had felt better with essential oils and then a week later my ear started to hurt again. I new it was from swimming. Here in Central Texas the heat in July sky rockets and keeping  required chlorine levels in the pool is tough. Shocking your pool once a week is imperative.
plus putting in algicide/algae guard every week and when is rains, is important during the hot months to.

That being said: even with a clean pool, ears can become a breading ground for fungus and bacteria. I found a site online which I cannot remember, that gave great advice for ear problems caused by swimming.

You can buy swimmers ear drops at your local store in the pharmacy area. You can also go to a doctor for drops, but it is very expensive. Go to the doctor if your ear is causing you fever and is oozing to.

Here is the recipe for a solution I got online. It worked on me and you can use it on children to.
The solution stays good for only one week and I think that goes for the store bought stuff to, once it has been opened.

Mix: 1/3 White Vinegar and 2/3 Isopropyl Alcohol ( for the kids, the alcohol may sting so you can also use 2/3 Hydrogen Peroxide instead of the alcohol for sensitive ears) I used the Peroxide.

Put this in a small bottle and get a dropper. Droppers are sold in the pharmacy area to.

When ear is sore put in 3 drops with head tilted sideways, then rub it by gently pressing the side closest to face.  when you lift your head it is fine that the solution drips out after that. Do that for 10 days.

For preventive purposes, you can put 3 drops in each ear before and after swimming.

It works, it is cheap and try to find the info. online to confirm and or please tell and talk to your doctor about this if you need more info. And obviously, when in dought and do not know what to do. Go to the doctor.

(If this does not work, go to a doctor).

Update: My son got a bad ear infection and would not take all his medication. He did get better on his own. The drops did help with the pain. For a preventative measure, I now give him 2 Xylitol berry mints (they are not really mints) once after teeth brushing, in the morning and at night. The Xylitol is said to help with teeth health and prevent ear infections. Chronic ear infections run in my hubbies family and I do not want that to happen to my little guy. So far, so good.

Cantaloupe Drink Recipe (Agua de Melon)

I found this recipe at mexicanfoodandmore.com
Very refreshing on a hot day. It is like a snack and drink all in one.

I took a medium size melon and cut it into chunks and added it to a blender with one cup of water.

The recipe said you may use the seeds. Since only half my melon fit, I added half the seeds to taste before I made the whole batch.

I put this first half of blended melon in my 2 quart pitcher and added 1/4 cup of sugar and another cup of water. Filling the container to 1 quart. Taste tested and concluded not to continue adding the rest of the seeds. The shells of the seeds are not to my liking.

Now to the second blending of the other half melon without the seeds.

Again added one cup of water to blend.

Much smoother with a little foam at the top. Nice.

Poured that into the pitcher and added more water to make it a total of 2 quarts. Added another 1/4 cup sweetener. I added some Splenda. So it had half sugar and half Splenda in it. Mixed that up.

Poured some in a cup and I was very pleased. It tastes great. Very thick and I would recommend stirring the pitcher every time you pour a glass.

I know cantaloupes come in many sizes and a larger one may take more batches, more water and sugar besides more drink containers. If you have many people to serve, more drink is better. If you do not have the fridge space or more people to drink it A.S.A.P. Then You could dehydrate the extra or make Chicken Shish Kabobs with the melon being some of the ingredients. You can give your extra to a neighbor. Food for thought. Hope you enjoy this drink.

Updated note: You can strain the pulp and have a more liquid drink to serve over ice. Add sweetener to taste. It is very good to.