Apothecary is the age-old practice of making remedies from plants.

If you know your way around the kitchen, you can make a plant-based concentrate. Most remedies are a matter of steeping, soaking, simmering, or cooking down an alcohol base - likened to a reduction, in culinary terms.

I always have something steeping in the cupboard, in the sun, on the stove; or brewing in one of my medicine-making-machines.

When practicing kitchen apothecary, a rice cooker becomes an alcohol reduction unit; a crock pot is just another way to steep the essential oils from a beneficial plant into a medicinal base.

Sharon's Favorite Cinnamon-Orange Tincture

Non-psychoactive, cold steep method, THCA

1 liter bottle sugar cane liquor

Strips of orange peel from one orange

1/4 c. ground cannabis (whole plant)

1 stick of cinnamon

NOTES: Can use orange liquor and omit orange peel; or can add a few strips of peel to orange liquor.

Cinnamon lowers blood sugar.

1 liter honey

1/4 cup ground cannabis (or chamomile, or half cannabis/half chamomile)

optional: 1 stick cinnamon (cinnamon lowers blood sugars)

Crock Pot Method:

Add all ingredients to crock pot;

Steep on low approximately 3-4 hours;

Stirring often, keeping mixture from burning, as crock pots heat levels vary. If it gets too hot, turn it off, let cool-down, and start again. If your crock pot has a warm setting, that's better, but stirring is still recommended. Option: Use a rice cooker on the warm setting.

Strain with a cheesecloth (or use a loose cheese cloth bundle to steep - shown in photo above)

Dosing: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to mug of tea. If using cannabis, start low, go slow.

Ganga Chai

Add the strained honey and plant material from infused honey recipe to six cups of water in a large pot.

Add:

2 whole cinnamon sticks

10-15 whole cloves

10-15 cardamom pods

1 T. vanilla

5 black or green tea bags

Cover and bring to boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes

Strain and enjoy on its own or add a little milk

Note: Since this is a secondary soak for the plant material, it will not be as strong, or as highly activated with THC. But it is a nice additional daily dose, and a good use of the leftovers, which still have beneficial material.

Mix the brown sugar, cream, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker.

Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further.

Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

Note: For a micro-dose version, half the butter to two tablespoons infused butter and two tablespoons plain butter.

Crock Pot Method:

1 c. ground cannabis flower, stems, leaf;

4 c. or more of coconut solid (equivalencies depends on desired strength).

Add all ingredients to crock pot

Simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring often to insure it won't burn.

OR… I use a Magical Butter Machine to infuse oil, butter, and numerous other infusions. For this recipe in the machine you use 1/2 oz. flower, 2-5 cups coconut oil (depending on strength),

Fresh Herb Dipping Sauce

Fill mason jar with chopped fresh herbs: oregano, basil, thyme, parsley;

One head of chopped garlic

Two parts cannabis infused olive oil; one part red wine vinegar.

Sea salt & group black pepper, to taste

Juice of one lemon, 2-3 strips of lemon zest

Steep in glass jar until ready to use. Keep refrigerated. Serve at room temperature

Note: There are many juicing machines to choose from. Be mindful of any machines that may heat up in the process, as this will cause the THC to be activated and the juice to be psychoactive.

Making Concentrated Oil from Plants

The following recipe is an alcohol reduction, which leaves only the essential oils of the plant in a strong concentrate.

Step-by-Step

1. Alcohol reduction begins with a high-alcohol content - otherwise, you will have water in the final product. Options are Everclean (150 proof), moonshine, or isopropyl alcohol. In Mexico an excellent 96 percent (not proof) alcohol is available.

2. Fill a glass container with plant material (whole chamomile flower, moringa leaf, ground cannabis - or a combination of plants for a desired effect). I use an eight cup pour-able glass measuring bowl with a handle, and typically fill with four cups of plant material. One liter of alcohol covers four cups.

3. Cover plant material with alcohol and let sit. I you only have one ounce of material, just cover with alcohol, and follow the same instructions. Four cups of plant material takes about 3.5 hours to cook down.

Note: I do a short steep, less than 15 minutes, as the essential terpenes come off quickly. Any longer and you'll get chlorophyll causing it will to be greener, lessening the strength of the beneficial compounds needed. This was shown to me from tests in a laboratory. Long steep, 47 percent activated THC; short steep, upwards of 90 percent activated THC - what's needed to kill cancer cells.

4. Strain and pour into rice cooker, set to WARM, keep lid open and cook by an open window (alcohol is flammable, follow these directions exactly. Be safe. Do not cook over a flame on the stove top. You can get a rice cooker at a thrift shop for about $10)

5. Keep an eye on it. If you must leave, unplug, then start it up again. When it gets to less than two cups, transfer into a silicon mold in the bottom of the rice cooker to finish. The product will be sticky, with less waste remaining with the silicon, and easy clean-up.

6. When all alcohol is reduced, add one of two tablespoons of coconut and scrape sides to mix. If you do not cook all the alcohol off, it will melt the caps.

7. Uptake oil with a syringe and fill capsules or suppositories, using molds.

8. Keep in refrigerator. Use while fresh, though they will keep for some weeks.

Notes: The amount of coconut added depends on the strength of remedy desired. I add approximately two tablespoons of coconut to final product, from initial four cups of plant material per one liter of alcohol.

Color will change as coconut solid solidifies. Color of oil should be golden brown.