I don't call my plant by a human name. It's already taking over the rest of the plants, acknowledging it too much may give it some supernatural power, leading to a Frankenstein style reanimation nightmare, leaves suffocating me in my sleep, etc....
Lemon balm has a nice lemony flavor. You can eat a leaf while procrastinating from mowing the yard. It contains various volatile oils that help to calm your busy mind, reduce nightmares, calm nerves, reduce anxiety, soothe restless sleep, in general, the plant will keep you calm.
Tea is the easiest way to eat the plant. When making tea from fresh plants, always use double what you would use when making tea form dried plants. This is to compensate for the water content of the fresh leaf.
A standard cup of tea is made with 1 tsp dried plant matter per 1 cup of water. When making tea from fresh plants, use 2 tsp leaves per cup. These guidelines are general though, you can make it stronger or weaker if you like. p.s. lemon balm is great mixed with mint.
Recipe! Triple infused tincture of lemon balm.
Typically a tincture is made by combining plants and alcohol, then letting them sit for several weeks. The alcohol will slowly extract the constituents of the plant. After 6-8 weeks(or longer) the plant matter is strained off and you are left with a concentrated plant tincture that is taken by the dropper full.
In this recipe, freshly wilted lemon balm is combined with vodka.
1. Pick your lemon balm and let it wilt for a day. This allows some of the water to get out of the leaves. It's good to use plant matter with less water since it can water down your final product as well as potentially allowing room for bacteria to grow. Here's our drying setup, some old veggie bag drawstring nailed to the wall and binder clips stolen form Sasha's poster show stuff. so fancy.
2. Once the leaves are wilted, fill a jar about 1/2 full of lemon balm. Pour the vodka over the plant, up to the neck of the jar.
3. Put a lid on it, keep the jar in a cool place, labeled with the date and ingredients, and shake it whenever you remember to.
4. After four weeks, the plant matter is strained out. Then, a fresh batch of lemon balm is added. Infuse for four more weeks. Strain. Add a third and final batch of lemon balm, then infuse for a final four weeks. Strain. Label it and store in a cool, dark place.
Your triple infused lemon balm tincture is done! Time to get stressed so you can try it out!
The alcohol preserves the properties of the plant indefinitely. The four weeks between each batch gives your lemon balm plant plenty of time to regrow before you harvest again. (p.s. this is the same method used to make homemade infused vodka(or whatever drink you fancy) for your backyard bartender dreams. It doesn't have to sit for four weeks, just until the strength of flavor is achieved.)
This tincture is sure to soothe any type of meltdown.
See you in four weeks, lemon balm vodka!
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