On Page 1 you will find 'Midsummer and Summer Solstice'
On Page 3 you will find 'Food and Drink'

Midsummer's Eve is the evening of herbs.
The herbs and flowers gathered this night are considered exceptionally potent, so it seemed fitting to make a page full of natural household and beauty products.

Rosemary Disinfectant

Simmer some rosemary leaves and small stems for 30 minutes in water; the less water, the more concentrated the disinfectant will be.
Strain and use to clean sinks and bathrooms or to give a fresh scent to other rooms.
Store any excess in the fridge for up to one week.

Sweet Marjoram Furniture Wax

4 oz (110g) beeswax
1 pint (570 ml) turpentine
12 fl oz (350 ml) strong infusion of sweet marjoram
1/2 oz (15 g) olive-oil based soap
Essential oil of sweet marjoram (optional)

1. Grate the beeswax into a bowl and set it over simmering water until the wax melts. Then add the turpentine and stir thoroughly.
2. In a seperate pan, bring the marjoram infusion to boiling point and stir in the grated soap until melted.
3. Allow both mixtures to cool then blend slowly, stirring until it resembles thick cream. Stir in a few drops of essential oil. Pour into a wide topped container and label.

Infusions of the leaves of mock orange, lemon balm, lemon verbena, rosemany or lavender flowers can be used instead of sweet marjoram.

Home-made Beeswax Polish

3 oz (75 g) beeswax
5 fl oz (150 ml) turpentine
Essential oil of lavender (optional)

Put the beeswax into a bowl and set it over simmering water until the wax melts. Then add the turpentine and stir thoroughly. Pour into a jar, add a few drops of essential oil of lavender if you wish, and allow to cool.

Scented Wood

Keep any prunings of herbs like lavender and rosemary in a jar by the hearth to sprinkle on the fire and scent the room. For special occasions burn scented wood such as apple, cedar, cherry, juniper, larch, lilac, pear or pine.

Pomanders

1 orange
Good quality cloves with the heads intact
Orris root (Iris germanica)
Ground cinnamon or allspice

1. Press cloves into the skin of the orange, pricking the skin with a darning needle first if necessary. Either cover the whole orange with cloves , allowing a clove space between each one for shrinkage ad the orang dries, or set them in patterns round the orange.
2. Roll the finished orange in a mixture of orris root and spices, rubbing it well in. Place in a warm airing cupboard or dry place for 2 weeks then tie with a ribbon and hang up.

Cottage Garden Potpourri

1. Gently combine the flowers and leaves, then mix the orris root in with your hands. Seal and store in a dark place for six weeks to 'cure'.
2. Place the mixture in open bowls to display.

Sweet Rinse Water

Make a strong infusion of aromatic leaves or flowers by simmering them for 15 minutes in a lidded pan.
Strain and use the liquid as the final rinse for hand washed articles or add it to the washing machine final rinse cycle.

Chamomile Cleansing Milk
for dry and sensitive skin

1/2 cup (125 ml) creamy milk
2 tbsp (30 ml) Chamomile flowers, fresh or dried

1. Heat together in a double boiler for 30 minutes. Do not let the milk boil or form a skin.
2. Leave to infuse for 2 hours then strain. Keep refrigerated and use within 1 week. Apply with cotton wool and remove excess with tissues.

Buttermilk and Fennel Cleansing Milk
for oily skin

1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk
2 tbsp (30 ml) crushed fennel seed

1. Gently heat the milk and crushed seed together in a double boiler for 30 minutes
2. Leave to stand and infuse for a further 2 hours. Strain, bottle, refrigerate and use within 1 week.

Rosewater Toner
for dry skin

Just over 1/2 pint (160 ml) rosewater
Just under 1/2 pint (140 ml) witch hazel
6 drops glycerine

Blend all the ingredients in a bottle and shake well before use.

Sage Astringent
for oily skin

4 tbsp (60 ml) dried sage
6 tbsp (90 ml) vodka
1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) borax
3 tbsp (45 ml) witch hazel
10 drops glycerine

1. Infuse the sage in the alcohole for 2 weeks and then strain
2. Dissolve the borax in the witch hazel. Stir into the alcohole. Mix in the glycerine and decant into a bottle with a tight fitting lid. Shake before use.

Rose (or Rose and Lavender) Moisture Cream

1 fl oz ( 30 ml) rosewater
1/2 oz (12 g) beeswax
2 fl oz (60 ml) almond oil
6 drops essential oil - rose or lavender

Heat the rosewater in a bowl by standing it over hot water. Melt the beeswax with the almond oil in a bowl over gently simmering water. Slowly trickle in the warmed rosewater stirring well. Off the heat, add the essential oil and stir until cool. Place in a pot with a lid.

Buttercup Lotion

8 oz (225g) petroleum jelly
4 large handfuls of buttercup flowers (not stems)

Melt the petroleum jelly over a gentle heat in a pan. Put in the buttercup flowers so that the jelly just covers them, and simmer very gently for 45 minutes. Strain and place in a pot with a lid.

Lady's Mantle Lotion
for spotty skin

2 tablespoons of lady's mantle leaves infused in 2.5 fl oz (75 ml) boiling water for 30 minutes
2.5 fl oz (75ml) buttermilk

Make an infusion of the leaves and water. Cool, then strain. Add the buttermilk and use as a lotion.

Lemon and Rosemary Soap

1. Place the grated soap, lemon juice and calendula infusion in a enamel saucepan and heat gently until the soap has melted, stirring with a wooden spoon
2. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to touch, and knead with your hands to make a smooth paste. Add the rosemary leaves, lemon peel and oils
Leave for 10 minutes until it has begun to dry and is malleable. Form into approximately 6 plum sized balls. Leave in a warm place for 2 hours covered with clingfilm so the outside does not crack. The remove the clingfilm, moisten your hands with the remaining calendula infusion and smooth the balls until shiny
3. Cover with clingfilm and return them to a warm place to dry completely (approximately 24 hours). Wrap in tissue paper and store in a warm, dry place for a month before using.

Lavender and Oatmeal Soap

5 oz (150 g) bar of pure white, unscented soap
12 fl oz (350 ml) lavender infusion
1 oz (25 g) ground oatmeal
a few drops of lavender oil

1. Put the grated soap flakes and the lavender infusion in an enamel saucepam and heat gently until the soap has melted. Stir occasionally
2. Remove from the heat and cool a little, then stir in the oatmeal and add the lavender oil
3. Pour into small oiled moulds and allow to set. This can take from a few hours to a week. When dry, unmould, wrap in tissue and leave for a month in a dry cupboard.

Substitute triple strength rosewater for the lavender infusion, and rose oil for the lavender oil to make rose scented soap.

Strawberry Body Scrub

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
8 strawberries

Take a fork and mash up the strawberries in a bowl. Add the salt and oilve oil and mix together. Massage into dry skin using circular strokes, then rinse in the shower.

Bath Milk

3 tbsp (45 ml) powdered milk (not skimmed)
2 oz (50 g) dried or 4oz (110 g) fresh elderflowers, chamomile or fresh lime blossom

Place in a fine gauze or muslin draw string bag and suspend from the hot tap so the water will run through the bag.

alternatively

Infuse fresh flowers in 1/2 pint (275 ml) cold milk for 2 hours, strain and add to the bath.

Soapwort Hair Shampoo

2 tbsp (30 ml) finely choped soapwort root or a handful of leaves and stems
1 large handful of herbs
1 pint (579 ml) boiling water

1. Pour the boiling water over the soapwort and herbs, infuse for at least 30 minutes
2. Strain and use when cool. About half a cup should be enough for average length hair

Floral Water

1 cup lavender flowers, scented rose petals or orange blossom
1/4 cup vodka

Steep for 6 days in a screw top jar shaking vigorously each day. Strain and decant into a dark glass bottle

Suitable for use as a skin toner, scent or perfume.

On Page 1 you will find 'Midsummer and Summer Solstice'
On Page 3 you will find 'Food and Drink'