Rosehips

Everything is coming up roses and why not? It is the end of the season and time to harvest rosehips. The last of the flower petals have fallen and the base of the rose flower has expended to give us a pod with seeds in it.

Today I cut the hips off my rose bushes to dry and save them for January and February when I will have a wonderful rosehip tea, loaded with 16 different constituents according to Dr. James Duke's data base. Along with all the Vitamin A, D, E and C that they contain, I found them to be antialzheimer, antibacterial, anticataract, antiCrohn's, antidiabetic and antioxident. The data base also mentioned that rosehips were heavy into cancer prevention and also antiviral. As an added bonus, they contain iron for all of us, women who are always looking for a little extra from time to time.

Now what to do with these little round things, I slice the berry on one side so that it exposes the seeds. (By the way these seeds can be grown in your hot house to make new plants.) Next I put the pods on a cookie sheet and into my oven that is set on warm. I like to put a wooden spoon in the door of the oven to keep it opened a crack which allows the humidity to escape. I check them every so often to make sure that they are drying. The seeds will come out very easily as the pod dries with just a slight scraping. When they are dry, I place them in a glass jar and label it so that I have my vitamins ready for the winter.

In the winter, I can take a tablespoonful of these dried pods out putting them in a small kettle of water. I simmer them for about 10 minutes and relive my roses of the summer in the form of a wonderful tart tea. For those of you who like it sweeter, you might add a couple Stevia or Peppermint leaves to this tea.

These dried pods can be added to soups and stews in the wintertime for the whole family to benefit from. Think of all the colds and flu your family can avoid with all this natural stuff.

Roses are for any time of the year.