This is the first post in a series on simple kitchen remedies. No need to run to the pharmacy for every ache and pain. In fact, you can treat most common ailments at home with ingredients you probably have in your cupboards already!
Now let’s just be clear. Kitchen remedies don’t replace professional medical advice! But for hundreds of years our ancestors have been using kitchen remedies safely and effectively for common problems. And for me personally, it feels good to know I can help myself feel better with some simple, natural, inexpensive remedies.
Chamomile. That’s Grandma’s tea, right?
You’ve probably tasted chamomile tea before at your Grandmother’s house. It’s commonly used for relaxation and also calming an upset tummy. Why? Because it really works.
Chamomile is anti-inflammatory, relaxing, relieves spasms, soothes digestion and heals wounds. It’s used for:
- Digestive and inflammatory conditions - take internally as a tea for mouth ulcers, stomach ache, cramps, gastritis, colitis, and externally on sore & itchy skin.
- Skin soothing - Soak a cloth in chamomile tea and use as a compress on sore & itchy skin, irritated eyes etc.
- Menstrual pains and cramps - taken internally as a tea to relax and reduce cramping
- Nervous tension - taken internally as a tea it’s a mild sedative and relaxant to ease anxiety and stress (much moreso than another cup of coffee!!)
- Children’s remedy - extremely gentle, chamomile is a common remedy for children. Used as a tea for colic, teething, stress and anxiety.
- Hair rinse for blondes – If you’re blonde, try rinsing your hair in strong chamomile tea. I’m very NOT blonde so haven’t tried this myself, but it’s supposed to bring out lovely blonde highlights.
So how do I use Chamomile?
Continue reading Kitchen remedies: chamomile tea
I know I am supposed to posting more recipes from my big weekend extravaganza of homegrown produce. But I got distracted by cookie baking.
This happens a lot to me.
I just love baking. Especially baking cookies. Cookies are so quick & easy, there are so many varieties, they make the house smell amazing, and they’re one of my favorite comfort foods. So it doesn’t take much of an excuse to break out the mixing bowl and start making cookies. The ‘excuse’ this time was a good one – some very good friends have just moved down the road from us and needed a housewarming gift. One batch of cookies coming up!
Snickerdoodles are a classic American cookie. They are soft and chewy, with a buttery, vanilla-y cookie and a crisp outside where they’re rolled in cinnamon sugar. My UK friends were a bit disappointed to learn that despite the name, these cookies do not contain Snickers candy bars … but they managed to eat the entire batch within a day or two anyway!
Continue reading Vintage Cookies: Snickerdoodles
You know when you’re in a fancy food shop and you find the most precious, gorgeous little bottle of something which would add such a magical finishing touch to your recipes?
Then you turn the bottle over and have a little heart attack from the price tag. And you think “$15 for sugar?!? I could make that!”
One of the best things about learning to make stuff yourself is that most of the time – you CAN make that.
Continue reading Infused sugars for coffee, cocktails and baking
I have not left the kitchen for the past two weekends. Ok I understand that this is not everyone’s cup of tea – but for me, they were the perfect unscheduled weekends. Free time to create, play and use up all of the late summer produce.
I started off making plums in brandy and plum jam. I’ve also been making kimchi, chicken stock, zucchini bread, mango chutney, apple pear butter and some amazing face cleanser … recipes all to come soon!
While I love zucchini bread, there’s only so much room in our freezer to store extra loaves. [Note: if you are British, zucchini means courgette. And yes, zucchini bread is delicious. I even taste-tested it on some skeptical Brits and got a typically reserved British response that it was "quite nice", which in American means "that's awesome!"] So I started looking for zucchini recipes and came across this recipe for zucchini pickles.
Pickles. Yum. I would love to make big kosher dill pickles and delicate French cornichons. But I don’t have cucumbers, I have zucchini. So zucchini pickles I made.
I can’t improve on this recipe so I’ll just provide you with the link to Judy’s Zucchini Pickles so you can make them yourself. I started eating them after 1 week and the flavor keeps improving. If you’ve never made pickles before this is an easy starting recipe – just pour the finished pickles into a sterilized jar and store in the refrigerator. I think you’ll find them “quite nice.”
It feels like autumn here in London. But even if it doesn’t in your part of the world, you know it’s right around the corner. And you know what autumn means – dry skin, flyaway hair, cooler temperatures, and a craving for hearty soups and hot drinks.
There are ways you can help your body transition into this new season … and I wrote all about it in the latest issue of Joie magazine. Joie magazine is available online here - check out page 80 for my article.
You’ll learn:
- What’s the big deal about autumn?
- Skincare strategies
- Simple ways to adapt your diet
- And my recipe for DIY Elderberry Cordial to put away for the coming winter cold season
What’s your favorite way to adapt to the autumn weather?? Any other great tips I missed? Let us know in the comments.
 Sumac by damozeljane on flickr What do you think of when you hear ‘sumac’? I think: “Isn’t that similar to poison ivy?”
But clearly I’m mistaken.
Always on the lookout for great recipes for foraged food, I came across the website First Ways which is all about ”urban foraging and other wilderness adventures”. FirstWays’ creator Rebecca Lerner recently found her neighbor cutting down sumac plants and decided to save them for cooking. Apparently the berries can be dried and ground like black pepper – this I have to try!
With Rebecca’s permission I have reposted her article here. If you’d like more urban foraging, check out her experiments making Blackberry Mead.
Also, for more foraging, check out my nettle pesto, elderberry cordial, and daisy salve.
Continue reading How (and why) to eat Sumac – a guest post from FirstWays
Want to try making your own vanilla extract?
It’s super simple and the results are just as good as store-bought – maybe even better!
Earlier this year I tried turning an unwanted bottle of vodka into vanilla extract. As a baker, I go through a lot of vanilla extract, and it’s not cheap. I was skeptical about making my own though. Would it taste as good? Would it be as strong? Vanilla extract is so expensive, there must be some secret to it, right?
Oh, I just love when handmade projects turn out so much better than their store bought counterparts!
Continue reading Make your own vanilla extract – the results!
 Our first year of Vintage Summer Camp has come to a close. How many badges did you earn??
Don’t worry if you missed out this year – we’ll be back next year with more projects and summer fun.
In the meantime, here is a recap of Summer Camp projects – perfect for a lazy Labor day weekend!
Continue reading Summer camp closes it’s doors until next year
My recent weekend visit to Toulouse reminded me of how the French have got it right with food.
In my experience living in France, the French seem to eat better, and have a healthier relationship with food than we do in the US or the UK. There are lots of reasons for this, and most of it is cultural. In France, everyone cooks. It’s normal to cook. It’s not a fancy, specialist skill, or something you save for the weekends. I’ve written before about why you should learn to cook, and I really believe this is one of the biggest things you can do to improve your health. Continue reading How the French got it right.
Awwww. Homemade plum jam. Isn’t it pretty? If my mother lived closer I’m sure she’d proudly display a jar on her shelf for everyone to see.
I’ve been wanting to try canning & preserving for awhile now, but was always afraid I’d give myself botulism. (And if we’re being honest, I did try making sweet chili jam last year, but that didn’t go so well.)
But my projects in the past year have given me courage – leaving warm milk out for 8 hours to make yogurt? Using that bubbly jar of sourdough starter? And some other projects I haven’t written about yet (saurekraut! kombucha! Prepare yourselves.)
You may remember I recently received some fresh-picked plums from a coworker and made plums in brandy. The next week he was back in the office again, this time with an entire tote bag full of produce for me! I was in heaven.
Continue reading My first jam.
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Welcome! 
Hi, I'm Amanda, and I write about healthy and creative living by rediscovering vintage skills!
I focus on good food, handmade beauty products, kitchen remedies, and getting crafty & creative, all from my small kitchen in London.
First time visiting? Start here.
Don't forget that I'm just a regular person. I'm not a doctor, therapist, herbalist, aromatherapist, chef, expert or professional practitioner of anything I discuss here on Vintage Savoir Faire. I'm just really interested in vintage tips, detoxing my beauty routine and traditional remedies. So if you're unsure about anything, check with your doctor or a qualified professional before you try it! All the information on this site is provided on an as-is basis. Whew. Glad we cleared that up!
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