As the fall rolls in…a friend and I went out to harvest hawthorn berries. Hawthorn is one of my most beloved herbs. A wonderful heart tonic, it is both soothing and delicious. Here is a couple of recipes to inspire your herbal explorations this fall.

 

 

This is a recipe I have made for years, it is so very addictively delicious! This recipe is from Healing Tonics by Jeanine Pollak (a book I highly recommend) :

1/2 cup hawthorn berries (fresh if possible)

1 cup dried rose hips (cut and sifted)

3/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1+ Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon powder

Add hawthorn berries to 2 cups boiling water and simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour. Stir often. Once decocted, let sit for another 30 minutes to 1 hour. Strain and while still hot, pour over the rosehips and let sit for half hour or so. Place 1/2 of the hawthorn rose into a blender and add honey, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Add more hawthorn rose as needed to get the right consistency….it should be like a thick pudding or jam. Store in the refrigerator and this should last a couple of weeks.

*Notes- Eat daily for best results, this is not only great for the heart, but high in vitamin c and helpful during the cold and flu season.

If you want to amp up the heart love in this formula, you could add tinctures of hawthorn, linden, motherwort, etc.

Enjoy!