Did you know that diet and nutrition may be responsible for 56% of the total cancer incidence for women and greater than 44% for men?

Comparing with abundant publications analysing the link between fat intake and different kinds of cancer there is a very few looking into connection between cancer and carbohydrate intake. To clarify the question, researchers at University of Leeds, UK, collected data of forty clinical trials dealing with both dietary carbohydrates and cancer incidence.

Their results showed that 2 out of 8 trials investigating gastric cancer and 7 out of 21 studies of colorectal cancers have found that sugar was a substantial risk factor. One study reported that increased carbohydrate intake was associated with increased incidence of intestinal cancer.

A year later, in the same University of Leeds, researchers analysed the data on international per capita sugar intakes and reported that the higher it was the higher were breast cancer mortality rates.

In Uruguay, to examine whether dietary sugar increases lung cancer risk, a case-control study involving 463 cases with lung cancer . A 1.5-fold increase in risk of lung cancer correlated with increase in consumption of sugar-rich, high-glycemic index foods was reported.

In National Institute of Public Health, researchers conducted a case-control study of 111 biliary tract cancers and found the increased risk associated with increased intake of sugars.
Statistical analysis of eating habits of patients with large bowel cancer showed that they consumed 16% more calories than controls, mainly in the form of carbohydrate. The extra carbohydrate was largely in the form of sugars depleted in fiber and combinations of fat and such sugars.

The female reproductive system determines our sexuality, offers the opportunity for us to conceive, and defines our sense of womanhood. Any cancer diagnosis will leave you feeling like you’ve been run over, but the knowledge that “the beast” is growing within your most private and sacred parts is a burden that can push the strongest woman to despair.

What is the vulva? Many women don’t know. The vulva consists of the external portion of the female genital organs. Included are:

* The clitoris. A small skin protrusion that is sensitive to touch.
* The labia majora. The two large, fleshy folds of skin that resemble “lips”.
* The labia minora. The small folds of skin that are inside the labia majora. This surrounds the openings to the vagina, and the urethra.
* The fourchette. This is the area where the labia minora (small lips) meet.
* The vestible. The space where the vagina opens.
* The prepuce. A fold of skin that is formed by the labia minora.
* The urethra. The tube that connects to the bladder, and allows urination.
* The anus. The opening to the anal canal, which goes to the intestines.

Vulvar cancer can manifest itself on any part of the external female genital organs, but it’s most often found on the labia majora or the labia minora.

Cancer of the vulva accounts for 4% of the gynecological cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that 3,600 cancers of the vulva will be diagnosed in the United States, and about 800 deaths due to vulvar cancer are expected during the year 2001.
Mary’s Story

Mary* was a vivacious, forty year old woman who had battled infertility and won. Chelsea* came into the world eleven weeks early, but she was thriving, and Mary realized her family had been blessed. When the baby was approaching her first birthday, Mary felt a pain in her vulva. Distracted by the planning of the upcoming celebration, she ignored it for a week. Later, at a family gathering, the pain became so intense that she rushed into the bathroom to find the source, and was horrified to discover a very small lump inside her clitoris.

She went to her doctor, who thought it was a cyst. Relieved, but still in agony, Mary decided to go ahead with her family’s vacation plans. She spent the next three weeks in misery.

Upon returning home, she immediately phoned her doctor and scheduled a follow-up appointment. During the exam, the horrified physician exclaimed “Oh my God!” The growth had taken over Mary’s clitoris, and the two were indistinguishable from each other. A ring of tumors surrounded the opening to her vagina, making it almost impossible to insert even a pinky finger. Her cervix looked diseased as well, and Mary was referred to a gynecologic-oncologist, a doctor who specializes in cancer of the female reproductive tract.

She was diagnosed with vulvar cancer, stage IV, which has a very poor prognosis. A Computed Tomography Scan (CT scan) brought more bad news; there were over 200 nodules that had metastasized to Mary’s lungs. Hers was a very rare, aggressive type of vulvar cancer, and at the rate it was progressing she would soon be dead. Mary’s cancer was too advanced for surgery, so her doctor tried chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from spreading more.

Mary had six doses of chemotherapy. She also drank Essiac Tea, an herbal preparation known to boost the immune system. By the second dose of chemotherapy, amazing changes were noticed. The tumors on her genitals were “melting away.” By the fourth dose, her cervix was healthy looking, and the tumor ring around her vaginal opening was gone. After the sixth treatment, Mary had surgery to remove some scar tissue from her clitoris. A CT scan revealed one tiny pin dot on her lungs, thought to be scar tissue.

The full recovery was truly a miracle. Mary’s doctors still can’t explain why the chemotherapy cured her tumors; it wasn’t “supposed” to do that. The oncologist nearly danced a jig as he told Mary she was in remission. Though she is healthy and ecstatic to be alive, she has developed a chronic vulvar pain as a result of the cancer and its treatment. It took her a year to recover from the effects of the chemotherapy, and though it has been two years since her diagnosis, Mary muses “In some respects, it is like it was yesterday.”

Her husband was her rock through the ordeal, and they are all too aware of the fleetingness of life and never part without saying, “I love you.” Mary is grateful she was spared the ordeal of surgery. “The surgical aspects of vulvar cancer are the most difficult to overcome,” she says.

Kathleen Mazzella began having irregular menstrual cycles when she was thirty-nine years old. Upon consulting her gynecologist, she was informed that her Papanicolaou (Pap) smear had been abnormal, and she needed to have a procedure performed to laser the abnormal cells from her cervix.

A year later, Kath discovered a lump on her vulva. Concerned, she consulted two General Practioners and two gynecologists. All of them told her it was normal and there was nothing to be alarmed about. The lump persisted, and Kath asked one of the doctors to remove it. She was notified by telephone that the “normal” lump she had been living with for eighteen months was cancer.

Kath could never have been prepared for what came next. The oncologist told her she would need to have a radical vulvectomy, a surgery to remove the cancer from her external genitalia. This involved removing her clitoris, vulva and lymph glands. The surgery was followed by six weeks of radiation to the genital area. Physically, it took eighteen months for the numbness in the surgical area to subside; mentally she was numb for five years.

A sense of isolation, betrayal and insecurity in her role as a woman washed over her as she slowly came to terms with her loss. Kath was on a private roller-coaster through hell, and no-one, not even her supportive and loving husband, knew how to stop the ride.

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is listed as a causative factor in some genital tract carcinomas, including vulvar cancer. Vulvar cancer may be preceded by abnormal cells (dysplasia) or warty growths on the genitals (condyloma). Physicians are seeing an increasing number of women with pre-cancer and cancer of the vulva in all age groups. Infectious diseases of the vulva, including HPV, are also on the rise.

HPV is the same virus that causes genital warts. But having genital warts does not mean you will get cancer, and having HPV doesn’t necessarily mean you will have genital warts. There are certain strains of HPV (strains 16 and 18 in particular) that are considered risky, and are thought to be part of the equation that can help trigger cancer.

No one knows the true statistics for HPV, but some estimate that up to 85% of the total population is infected. Over 40 million people in the United States have HPV, and there are 4 million new cases each year. It is sexually transmitted, but it can also be passed congenitally, on fingers, and even on inanimate objects.

Other risk factors for vulvar cancer include:

* Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
* Melanoma or “risky” moles on non-vulvar skin
* A family history of Melanoma
* Lichen sclerosis, a condition that causes itching skin and may slightly increase the odds of getting vulvar cancer.
* Vulvar intraepithalial neoplasia (VIN)which increases the risk for vulvar cancer, but usually does not progress to cancer.
* Having other genital cancers
* Smoking: Some doctors believe that the risk isn’t just from inhaling cigarette smoke, but also from the tar people get on their fingers from cigarettes. When a woman who smokes touches her vulva, or it is touched by her partner who smokes, the tar (a carcinogen) is transferred, and can potentially invite cancer. A male who smokes harbors nicotine and tar in his semen. When he has intercourse with his partner, her cervix and genitalia are bathed in this mixture.
* Age: older women are more at risk, but the numbers of younger women being diagnosed are on the rise.

Treatment for vulvar cancer can include:

* Surgery —1. Excision. The cancer cells, plus a margin of normal appearing skin around the cancer is removed. 2. Laser surgery. A powerful beam of light is used to destroy abnormal cells without making an incision
* Vulvectomy. The surgical removal of part, or all of the external female organs.
* Chemotherapy.
* Radiation Therapy.

After her own cancer diagnosis, Kathleen Mazzella felt the need to seek out other women who had been living with the same disease. “I thought I was the only woman in the world with vulvar cancer. I eventually found two other women with the same diagnosis, so I placed an ad in a magazine searching for others, and had thirty women reply.”

It spurred her to create the Gynaecological Awareness Information Network (GAIN), an outreach program serving women who have been diagnosed with gynecologic cancer. Kathy wants women who have been thrown the gyn cancer curveball in life, especially women who have been diagnosed with vulvar cancer, to know that they are not playing the game alone.

A visit to St. Petersburg without a visit to this museum, (a converted marine warehouse purchased and rehabilitated in 1982 for the sole purpose of housing the permanent Dali collection of Mr. and Mrs. A. Reynolds Morse), is like a day in Florida without sunshine! A must see, whether art enthusiast or novice, be prepared to have your imagination stretched to its limits.

Daily tours will enlighten and entertain you about this intriguing man and his art. One of the greatest and most fascinating artists of the 20th century, the permanent collection spans his work from 1917 to 1970 and includes 95 oil paintings, more than 100 watercolors and drawings, photographs, graphics, sculptures and object d’arts. The collection is an excellent overview of Dali’s Early, Transitional, Surreal and Classic periods and provides canvasses depicting his Impressionist and Cubist period, abstract work depicting his transition to Surrealism and the Classic period with examples of his interest in religion and science.

The museum also hosts and features work by other leading artists along with guest lectures and workshops. The Dali collection is rotated periodically throughout the year allowing museum visitors a fresh view of new work along with special exhibitions.

The museum has a fine gift shop where you can select a memento of your surreal experience.

Now that I actually needed skates, instead of simply wanting them, I realized that I’d better do some research before dropping the money to buy a pair. I found some helpful background information on the Internet. I came away knowing that I would be spending roughly $150-$200 for a decent pair. The rest of the information, I have to admit, overwhelmed me a bit. Terms like “durometer,” “rockering” and “ABEC ratings” reminded me of how I felt when I first starting rock climbing – utterly clueless. “Just give me the skates!” I thought to myself.

One thing that had always held me back from delving into the inline world was my persistent and lifelong fear of speed, or rather, my fear of uncontrollable speed. Skate brakes just seemed so totally ineffective from what I’d seen, not to mention scary to learn how to use. So when I found a pair of Rollerblades (Ketalphas) with Active Braking Technology (ABT) – meaning no tipping my foot back to brake – I was sold. To activate the brake, I would simply slide my braking foot forward while bending my non-braking leg. And they fit nicely, too!

After outfitting myself for battle – pads and a helmet were necessities, as far as I was concerned – I headed out for a 10-minute road test, which quickly turned into an hour-long adventure in discovering the freedom of inline skates. This proved amazingly fun, despite my utter inadequacy at going downhill. Luckily, I’m no dare devil –I gladly hand-over-handed my way down the guardrails of the steep paved bridges near my home.

I spent the next few weeks getting adjusted to my new toys, skating around on the flattest, smoothest surfaces I could find and loving almost every minute of it. Fairly quickly, I developed that strange, anxious desire to test the limits of my ability. With that in mind, one day I decided to explore a new path that I hadn’t tried before. I skated out against the wind, not really noticing the subtle uphill tilt of the entire path – until I turned around.

Oops! Too late, I realized my mistake. Faced with heading downhill on a curvy path, I gritted my teeth and gave it a whirl. As I started rolling down the pavement with the wind at my back, picking up speed, I quickly recognized that I had absolutely no ability to stop. Brakes – forget about ’em! Somehow I knew they’d send me flying if I tried to engage them. Looking ahead, I saw a sharp curve that led to an underpass. I saw the cement banking of the wall. So I did what any sensible person would do. Continuing to pick up speed, I chose my landing area with care, headed for the edge of the pavement and dove headfirst into the grass.

Amazingly, it didn’t hurt at all – soft as a mattress, the lush green grass cushioned my fall. Chagrined, I picked myself up and started to roll down the rest of the hill, this time applying the brake the whole way down. Not much fun, but at least I wasn’t speeding out of control. I made it home uneventfully, but with an important lesson learned – I must learn how to stop without the brakes! ABT brakes or no, inline skate brakes, in my humble opinion, are a sorry excuse for a fast way to stop. My brother, an inline skating maniac, confirmed my suspicion that learning to stop without brakes is absolutely necessary for safe skating. In fact, he recently emailed me extensive directions on learning the T-stop.

A year later, I have to admit that I learned to T-stop shortly after this incident and subsequently removed the ABT brakes from my skates. And that hill that once seemed so terrifying? To me now, it’s a fun, easy and slow downhill cruise – it’s amazing what a difference a year can make!

An estimated 4 million people in the United States have the chronic form of a virus that is transmitted through contact with blood. When the virus is first contracted, the person infected may have no symptoms, or those of a mild flu, and be completely unaware that they have it.

Later, the majority will become chronic carriers, but without symptoms, and first discover that they are infected during a routine blood test. This virus is hepatitis C, and has been called the “silent disease” because it can escape detection so easily.

The hepatitis C Virus normally incubates for between 6 to 9 weeks, but it can take up to 6 months before symptoms appear.

Symptoms

During the acute phase of hepatitis C, if symptoms occur, they may be similar to a case of the flu, with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, sore throat, sore joints, and malaise present. Sometimes pain may develop on the right side of the abdomen over the liver. Dark brown urine, pale feces, and jaundice with yellowing of the skin and the eyes may occur with a severe acute infection.

It is important to realize that over 50% of those who are infected with hepatitis C never have symptoms, or do not recognize it as hepatitis when it occurs. Of those infected with acute hepatitis C, 75% will go on to have the chronic form of the disease. Symptoms will vary with chronic hepatitis, but can include muscle aches, malaise, and fatigue, as well as any of the symptoms of acute hepatitis.

Complications

NIDDK statistics show that up to 20% of those with chronic hepatitis C will eventually develop cirrhosis of the liver, but this progression is often slow, with the disease lying dormant for 10 or more years. Cirrhosis may not occur until 10 to 20 years or more have passed. Liver failure may occur in some of those with cirrhosis (5%), and liver cancer can also occur, especially in cases where cirrhosis is present.

Immune system complications that are related to the immune system dealing with the hepatitis C virus can include disorders such as cryoglobulinemia , membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and porphyria cutanea tarda.

Transmission/Prevention

There is no vaccine for the hepatitis C virus. This is due to the fact that the virus is constantly mutating, and creating new genotypes and quasispecies, making it difficult to create a vaccine that would be effective against all of them. This is believed to be one reason for the high rate of the chronic form of hepatitis C, since viral mutations make it hard for the immune system to fight it off completely.

Identifying risk factors, and taking measures to decrease them, or to have active screening if you are at risk, is an important part of hepatitis C prevention. Because hepatitis C is transmitted by direct contact with blood, the risk factors all involve some contact with blood or blood products. They include:

* Blood transfusions before 1992. After 1992, effective screening tests for the hepatitis C virus were developed, and now the risk is almost nonexistent.

* Injecting illegal drugs

* Accidental needle sticks with infected blood (health care workers)

* Donor organs from infected individual (again, screening tests have improved and the risk has dropped greatly in more recent years)

* Chronic exposure to blood or blood products (hemodialysis or hemophilia)

* Tattoos or body piercing with improper sterilization of equipment

* Sharing personal items contaminated with blood (razors, toothbrushes, tweezers, nail clippers)

* High-risk sexual behavior: multiple sexual partners without using condoms, especially if open wounds are present where contamination with blood is possible.

Sex between monogamous partners is not considered a high-risk factor, and less than 5 % of spouses of those infected with hepatitis C become infected. It is also rare for a mother to transmit it to her unborn infant (5%), and breast-feeding does not transmit the virus according to studies done.

There is also a significant group who develops chronic hepatitis C in which there is NO identifiable risk factor, and no identifiable cause for the infection. This rate is as high as 30% in chronic hepatitis C cases (my sister is one from this group). Some have suggested that the cause could be an accidental exposure to the virus through a cut, wound, or medical injection at some point with contaminated equipment.

Be Impulsive
Do something wacky completely out of left field. Have some fun. Chase your husband or your children. Go through all of your old music, crank it up and sing at the top of your lungs!

Throw out the trash
Most of us know people that are negative. These human vampires suck the life out of you by feeding you all of their negative energy. They ask you for advice but never take it and constantly create drama for themselves. Try spending a little less time with people who don’t want to take care of themselves. If you can’t, try telling them how you feel about their energy depleting ways.

Try something different
If you always order the same thing when you go out to a restaurant or watch the same television program, try a different menu item or program. Enlightenment is good for the soul.

Break the Rules
Sometimes you just have to do what your not supposed to do. If you’re on a diet, give yourself a break. Pick one meal or one day to indulge yourself. Life’s too short.

Focus on one thing at a time
I know women are famous for multi-tasking but you’ll get a lot out of what your doing if you can focus on just what your doing.

Stop beating yourself up
Do you criticize your appearance or what you say? Do you review everything you do? Stop it. Chances are nobody noticed and if they do so what. Don’t waste time and energy worrying about what people think about you.

Give yourself a pat on the back.
Find something good about yourself instead of dwelling on your supposed flaws. Nobody is perfect we are way to critical of ourselves. Look at yourself and notice your smooth skin or your lustrous hair. Remember that you’re a fantastic seamstress, highly efficient or make a mean martini. You’ll be all right.

Cherish the Love
Love the one your with. Take a good look at the person your involved with and remember why your fell in love with that person to begin with. Take something with you that reminds of that person, a knick-knack from a vacation or a picture. Remembering what it’s like to be in love will stay with you when you have a little souvenir.

Researchers say maintaining a healthy BMI throughout adolescence is likely to improve the adolescent’s future cardiovascular health.

Pads are actually more expensive and less effective than footbaths, according to my research. The end result will be an increased energy whatever style you make use of.

Toxins, radiation, chemicals, synthetics, pollution and other foreign matter will be cleaned by going through a detox.

Whether a foot patch cleanse your body and solve skin problems and headaches, give yourself a nice foot detox.

With a detox diet that will not include sugar, processed food, and unhealthy fats, you can get even better results if the detoxification is done at the same time.

In the process of having foot detoxification, it would also be for the best if you made sure not to over-eat. Relaxation is important for your digestive system. Your entire body needs to work on cleansing and this will allow it to do so.

A feeling of lethargy may be experienced by people with a lot of toxin buildup in their bodies and they may become unfocused. This can easily get in the way of every day life and it also makes it hard for a sick person to heal quickly.

Sickness, mood swings, allergies, weight gain, and decreased energy can also be caused by toxins. All of this can be changed with a foot detox. The immune system that may have been compromised will be enhanced by the restorative powers of the body.

While footbaths are done much like the foot spa, foot detox patches are best applied when going to bed. Pills, fasting, teas, and detox drinks can be used for detox procedures.

Side effects such as nausea or headaches come around when you cleanse your body too quickly. When following a detox cleanse for your body, you should therefore be careful with the regimen you will follow.

For seed or spice vinegars, crush several tablespoons of the seeds or whole spice for every quart of vinegar, and then follow the same heat procedure as for herb vinegars. The infusion period for seeds or spices is 6 weeks, or longer.

For herbs, using either sun or heat method, after the infusion period, strain the vinegar through a fine mesh or cheesecloth several times, and pour into a clean, decorative glass bottle. Label and store away from the sunlight.

Most common (and available) in the United States, apple cider vinegar is regarded as a tonic because of its rich potassium content. The golden color and subtle apple scent makes it an excellent base for a summer fruit vinegar. But before making your herb, flower or fruit vinegar combinations, decide what you want to use it for. Oriental dishes blend well with rice-wine vinegar, using herbs such as lemongrass or gingerroot. Italian foods blend well with red wine vinegar, using herbs such as basil, hot peppers and oregano. Try these combinations:

* Rosemary, thyme, marjoram, lavender, savory in white wine vinegar, adds zest to tomato and garden salad dishes.
* Basil, dandelion, sage and dill - in red wine vinegar, for stir-fries and salads.
* Dill, lime, clove, and corriander in white wine vinegar, blends well in an hollandaise sauce.
* Nasturtium, in red wine vinegar, adds a peppery tang to pasta and cold meats.
* Violets, rose, carnation and citrus scented marigolds in rice vinegar, for tossed flower salads.
* Blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg in white wine vinegar, can be used to zest up a tuna or fruit salad.
* Mint in white wine vinegar for cold meats, and fruit salads.
* Fennel in rice vinegar, to add an anise taste to fish or dipping bread.
* Borage flowers in white wine vinegar for salads. The flowers give the vinegar a subtle blue tint.

Medicinally, macerating fresh herbs or vegetables in raw vinegar instead of alcohol is primarily used for making treatments for young children. Always use unpasteurized, ‘live’ apple cider vinegar as this contributes to the healing properties of the formula. Macerated garlic, onions, horseradish and ginger make an excellent, sinus-opening medicine for flu and cold symptoms. Tinctures can also be made using vinegar as it contains acetic acid acting as a solvent and preservative. Always use apple cider vinegar for medicinal tinctures as it has in itself, excellent health-augmenting properties. Oxymel is another medicinal preparation that uses vinegar. Five parts honey to one part vinegar disguises the unpleasant taste of some bitter or acrid herbs which can by taken in the form of a syrup, gargle or made into lozenges.

Herbs suspended in vinegar are enchantingly colorful, aromatic to the senses, and another excellent way of preserving both cosmetic and medicinal herbs. Rosemary and thyme are great hair conditioning herbs. Rose, chamomile and violets are excellent skin toning herbs, so when in season, my favorite way to make cosmetic vinegars is to put the fresh herbs into a jar and cover with white wine vinegar. After labeling and dating, I place the glass jars high up in the kitchen windowsill, where the sun beams in nine hours of the day and leave for three weeks. After a deep sniff, I strain the vinegar through cheesecloth, add a few fresh leaves, then rebottle and place in my bathroom cabinet. Use daily after shampooing your hair or twice weekly after cleansing your skin.

For your delicate laundry, especially table linen, napkins and lace dollies use lavender and rose infused white wine vinegar as a diluted rinse water. For a tough, laundry bleach, add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar to your wash cycle, it really lifts heavy dirt and pungent odors (especially smelly socks!) too. For insect bites, use thyme leaves infused in apple cider vinegar. Thymol, a potent acid found in thyme is a powerful antiseptic. This infused vinegar also acts as a powerful insect repellent, so spray away. For gift ideas, strain the infused vinegar and funnel into decorative bottles adding a few sprigs of fresh leaves or a small bouquet of flowers. Old, tinted wine and spice bottles with corks are excellent for this purpose. So start experimenting. Line your herbal pantry with culinary, cosmetic and medicinal vinegars, today.

Versatile Vinegars

The indispensable kitchen and first aid standby, herb vinegar can be pleasant tasting, aromatic and eye-catching. Floral, or root vegetable, spice or fruit vinegar is a fat-free delicious dressing, sweet condiment, or a natural cosmetic, a laundry aid, and an honored medicine. Resourceful and simple to make, its versatility makes it a bonus to busy chefs, who transform simple recipes into sophisticated menus, from fresh produce and other wild and garden edibles. In France, vinegar means ‘sour wine’ and whether grain, cider, beer, wine or rice, by nature, vinegar is a potent preservative.

Not just for windows, or seasoning fries (like the famous British potato chips), vinegar is as versatile as baking flour, so stock your herbal home with special flavored or scented vinegars for dressing, marinating, tenderizing, or basting foods. Stock your medicine chest with healing vinegar’s for combating illness, preventing disease, and eliminating pesky insects. Stock your bathrooms with herbal vinegars to strengthen and condition your hair, tone your skin, and treat sunburn. Stock your cleaning cupboard, with herbal vinegar to get rid of doggy odors, make your windows shine and bleach laundry.

Cosmetic herb vinegars

Mouthwash – chamomile, sage, lavender, tea tree and rosemary, vinegar

After-shave – thyme, sage, basil, dill and lavender, vinegar

Color-stay hair rinse

Blonde – Chamomile in rice vinegar

Brunette – Rosemary in cider vinegar

Redheads – Safflower in red wine vinegar

Darkest brown – Walnut hulls in balsamic vinegar

Black – Indigo leaves in cider vinegar

Dandruff treatment – stinging nettle, horsetail, southernwood and mint in cider vinegar

Deodorant – sage and thyme in rice vinegar

Lustrous hair – rose and lavender in cider vinegar

Herbs and their edible flowers can add a distinctive taste variety to homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise and salad dressings. The best carrier for preserving these floral scents and flavors is rice and white wine vinegar since both are mild, colorless and slightly sweet. Natural white vinegars allow the living essence of the flowers to come out, without the taste of the vinegar overpowering them. Do not be tempted to use white distilled vinegar as it is both too acidic and too harsh. Neither, malt (made from beer) or balsamic vinegar (aged for ten years in oak casks) are good base choices as they are either too dark in color or too strongly flavored, and will hide the subtle combinations of the infused flowers.

The best time of year for making herb vinegar is late summer, especially in the month of august and almost all-fragrant herbs are fair game. If you have a large garden, revive the old custom of making aromatic vinegars for salad dressing, iced drinks, a spring tonic or an infused compress to soothe a raging migraine. To obtain the best flavor, use fresh leaves, seeds and flowers.

Indispensable household staples, all culinary herbal vinegars add tang and richness to the foods your serve. Infusing herb flowers is quite simple. There are two methods and I prefer the energy-saving sunlight method.

* Half fill a sterilized canning jar with the chosen fresh herb flowers.
* Pour in the rice or white wine vinegar, leaving 1/2 inch space, then seal.
* Place the jar in a sunny spot in a windowsill or greenhouse.
* Leave to infuse for at least three weeks.

I am lucky to live in a warm climate, but if you live in a cold climate, there’s another faster, heat method.

* Heat the vinegar in a steel pan until hot, but do not boil.
* Half fill the jar with the fresh herb flowers, then pour over the hot vinegar.
* Leave 1/2 inch space, then seal.
* Place the jar in a warm, dark place for two weeks.

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