I've been making floral infusions like I'm Persephone <3
sipping tiny meadows in glasses
Happy moon day Monday.
I’ve decided to finally get over myself and make the first post for this section called ‘from my kitchen,’ where I will write about my recipes, and a lot more about the thousands of tiny epiphanies about feminine healing, ancestral kitchen wisdom, downloads and reflections that my stovetop always, always gifts to me whenever I spend time crafting nourishment in the kitchen. I love being a woman who lives in a time where she can choose to enjoy being a woman in the kitchen, if she so desires, and I love healing all the injuries our collective feminine consciousness has sustained around that theme.
Lately, I’ve been having beautiful chats about cold tea in one of my most cherished women’s circles - a writer’s cocoon that I’d joined as a birthday gift to myself, led by Emmie of The Daily Rest. Herbal infusions are something I’ve been playing it for about a year now, under the influence of being in the TDR studio. I felt like sharing three of my favourite herbal infusion water recipes. These are for sipping on as you work, sipping while doing a practice on the mat maybe, or swapping for alcohol in the evenings if you’re trying to drink less like I am nowadays. There’s a big daily/casual drinking culture in my home, and although we keep it healthy, I like to have something cute to sip on that’s not inebriating, sometimes.
a sacral, sexy, goddess pink drink
I love, love, love rose. I’d learnt of something called an Aphrodite tea, which is made as an offering to the goddess and then sipped on to imbibe her blessings, and this rose infusion is inspired from that one.
All the floral petals that I’m about to mention are specifically purchased for consumption, I am linking my favourite brand later in this post. They are sun dried, organic and edible grade, and I use these for making infusions to consume or to apply on my skin. And, NOT from a bouquet at the florist haha.
Method: I use rose petals, a little bit of fennel seeds (saunf), a tiny amount of hibiscus petals, a cinnamon stick, a clove, and some healthy form of sugar like brown sugar or stevia leaves. I personally do not approve of stevia powder, and especially not of artificial sweeteners that claim to replace sugar, they’re just another version of poison tbh. Whole, dried, organic stevia leaves that look like leaves and don’t have anything else are the safest, for me.
The quantities can be added intuitively, according to the amount of water you are using. The rose is the dominant ingredient, and everything else is just a little bit for flavour. You can also add lavender, it matches beautifully. Lavender is very strong, so use sparingly.
Pour these into a vessel, add hot water that’s cooled for at least two minutes after reaching boiling point. I often add just a cup of hot water, let it steep, and then add more room temperature water until I reach my full quantity desired. Let steep for 10 minutes in hot water, at the least, and you can do more if you desire it to be more flavourful. Alternatively, you can add cold water right away and let it steep for 2-3 hours. Strain it later. Can be poured over ice cubes in a glass <3
a jasmine grove in a glass
There’s something about jasmine that feels like it makes water extra hydrating, and softens my skin, my aura, my mood and the very essence of my spirit. It feels like drinking a season of monsoon.
My favourite combination with jasmine is: Jasmine petals, green tea leaves, fennel seeds again, and some mint. Recently, I brewed a moroccan mint green tea bag with jasmine and fennel seeds, and then let it become chilled as an iced green tea. It was so beautiful. Even fresh mint, fresh lemongrass and a very tiny slice of lemon might match beautifully. Everything that tastes fresh and ‘green’ goes so beautifully with jasmine, for me.
good ol’ detox water
I was on vacation recently at this beautiful hotel in Goa, and I enjoyed the luxury of starting my mornings with detox water without actually having to infuse detox water the previous night ;) Why is water soaked with a little something so, so juicy and delicious? I love having these almost all the time, and they’re beautiful for the summer.
If you have one of those big mason jars with a tap, it’s the most cute and aesthetic way to drink infused water. However, any kind of bottle or vessel will do.
My yummiest, yummiest detox water combination is slices of orange, slices of lemon, sprigs of fresh mint, and slices of cucumber. It’s best to put these into the water the previous night, and finish the water by the next early evening, lest it become too strong (or, remove the ingredients in time).
I was once at this 12h+ long shoot that had potential to trigger a LOT of anxiety and nervousness for me. I knew chamomile would help, but drinking a hot chamomile brew puts me to sleep immediately and I simply cannot be productive after chamomile or lavender served hot. So I filled a bottle with water, room temperature, and threw just a few whole chamomile flowers in there, so that I’m consuming a very gentle infusion of chamomile that doesn’t go straight to my central nervous system in a sedative way. I was relaxed, calm and in a far less anxious space than my usual the whole day, and I cherished this little bit of herbal magic so much <3 Just leaving a few petals of rose, lavender or chamomile in your bottle of water can be wonderful to imbibe the goodness of these magical gifts of Earth in very gentle doses.
It’s looking like a summer of making my water as magical and fun as it can be. What do you like to do with herbal infusions?
Also: Read this beautiful piece as inspiration for making our health and wellness practices softer, easier and non-rigid. It also goes into hydrating with herbal infusions and has the loveliest ideas.
As soon as I finished writing this, a surprise summer rainstorm began outside and the mood is suddenly dark, lush, romantic and heady with petrichor. My room is bathed in pink light, and the sound of the rain and the strong, whooshing winds is majestic. I’m off to sip jasmine, and watch Nature’s glory from my window.
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Ooooh what a beautiful ritual! I want to try these!! 🌷