Belle Benfield

From mid-summer onwards our native superfood, the stinging nettle offers us their plump green seeds. They hang like jewels in strings beneath the leaves and if you’re very careful, you can just about pick the seeds without stinging yourself on the stems or leaves that surround them, but I recommend gloves for gathering nettle seeds.…

Infusing herbs in vegetable glycerine to make a glycerite is a great way to make medicine that is both alcohol-free and, despite its sweet flavour, sugar-free. I make the majority of my glycerites in midsummer as I love the way the odorless, slightly sweet qualities of glycerine brings out the delicate sweet flavours and fragrances…

It’s time to let the warm summer sun infuse oils on my window sill. Lavender, St John’s Wort, calendula, plantain, feverfew and lemon balm to name a few. The oils in this picture have been made by putting the fresh plant directly in the oil and leaving the sun to warm it each day.  If…

Stinging nettles really are a superfood – containing over 50 chemical constituents. Nettles are one of the highest sources of protein for a leafy green, nettle leaves also contain vitamins A, C, D, E, F, K, P, and b-complexes as well as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B-6! I could go on and on… get…

  10-12 elderflower heads ( remove as much stem as you can ) A chopped chunk of fresh ginger 2 unwaxed, organic lemons 250ml water 450g local honey*   Place the elderflowers in a bowl removing as much of the stem as you can. Add the chopped ginger. Add the zest of one lemon and…