Astragalus tea
- 6 sticks astragalus
- 3 pieces liquorice root sticks
- 5 cm (2 in) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1.5litres (2 pints) cold water
I make enough astragalus tea for four cups at a time — enough for a whole day. This recipe can make a
sweet chilled drink but I prefer to reheat mine and drink it warm. Put the astragalus, liquorice root sticks and sliced ginger into a saucepan (not aluminium or nonstick). Pour the cold water over the herbs and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Take it off the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Strain and keep in the fridge.
Herb tonic soup
- 0.5 cup brown rice or pearl barley
- 25 g (1 oz) dried, sliced astragalus root
- 25 g (1 oz) dried, sliced burdock root
- ginger root, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 0.5red or green pepper, diced
- parsley, chopped
- garlic
Make 2 pints of vegetable stock from leftover vegetables or use Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder in a large pan. Add the rice or barley, astragalus, burdock, ginger (to taste) and salt and let the soup simmer for 1 hour. In a little olive oil quickly fry the diced onion, carrot and red or green pepper and add to the simmering stock mixture and simmer for another 30 minutes. Just before serving, remove the astragalus and add as good a handful of chopped crushed raw garlic as you can manage!
