Blog - Page 9 of 12 - Julia's Edible Weeds

Chickweed – abundant in winter

July 15, 2014

Chickweed with little star flowers and buds

Chickweed – stellaria media is a delightful plant and my favourite edible weed, growing lushly in the colder months. It is one of the most common weeds, growing all over the world in gardens, cultivated land and waste places. It is an annual preferring cooler, rich, moist conditions and doesn’t survive dry summers. It’s Latin name ‘Stellaria’ comes from it’s little white flowers that have five deeply divided petals that resemble a star. The leaves are light green, soft, in opposite pairs, oval with pointed tips. The lower leaves are stalked, the upper often larger and without stalks. The leaves are tender to eat, non bitter and good in salads. The stems are thin, weak, round, branched and easily broken. An easy way to identify chickweed is to break the stem and inside you’ll find an inner thread which if you pull it gently stretches – it has its own inner rubber band is what I tell people in workshops. Another peculiarity of chickweed is that the stems have a single row of hairs – have a close look it is quite special. The plant likes to sprawl and can form quite a thick mass making it easy to cut a big handful for putting in your smoothie or for making pesto or a wrap as in the recipe below.

Lush chickweed plants

Nutritional properties Chickweed contains mucilage and saponins which assist in the absorption of nutrients, especially minerals. It contains lots of minerals and is a rich source of calcium, as well as chlorophyll, carotenes needed by the liver to produce Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, essential fatty acids and protein. Chickweed is a nourishing, calming and strengthening food and is used to relieve fevers, infections e.g. bronchitis, sore throats and inflammations, and can help ease the pain of arthritic swollen joints. Growing in cool places gives us good clues as to how it can help us and sure enough it is used externally for abscesses, bites, cuts, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. All these wonderful qualities make it an excellent edible weed to include in your smoothie or salad or to eat.

Recipe for Chickweed in Wraps

Chickweed with unshelled chestnuts and ground chestnut flour

We had a power cut the other morning so I couldn’t make my usual smoothie. Instead I made two wraps using two nori sheets, chestnut flour, avocado, fenugreek sprouts, a little salt and a bunch of chickweed. Chestnuts Castanea sativa are from a large deciduous tree and fall in autumn. Unlike other nuts chestnuts (on the right in the photo) are low in calories, contain less fat, but are rich in minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients. They are made up of

Chickweed, fenugreek sprouts and avocado chestnut wrap

starch and are gluten free! To prepare the chestnuts boil them in water for ten minutes, drain them, let them cool a bit, then cut them in half and scoop out the flour. To get it fine put in a food processor. I had a heaped half cup of chestnut flour and added 1/2 an avocado, mashed the two together, added some salt, lay it on the nori seaweed sheet, added some fenugreek sprouts and the bunch of chickweed, rolled it up and had a quickly prepared, nutritious, yummee breakfast.

Chickweed wrap

Violet

June 11, 2014

Violet Flowers

Violet – Viola odorata
The delicate, sweet scent of violet flowers wafts in the air as I go near the heart shaped leaves of this plant.

The meaning of Violet is modesty, she calms tempers and has a cooling effect. This is because the leaves are mucilaginous (or a slippery/slimy sensation in your mouth if you chew a piece of leaf) which is soothing for our whole digestive system.

Blue Violet flowers mean: Watchfulness and Faithfulness; I’ll always be true. White Violet flowers mean: Let’s take a chance on happiness.

I gave my Mum a bunch of violet flowers for Mother’s day. She loves them. She took a deep breath drawing in the scent with her nose buried in the flowers and said “Ahhh as she relaxed”. The flowers are obviously soothing too.

Description

shiny green heart shaped leaves with the edges rolled in, especially on young leaves
flowers that look like a little orchid and are purple, pink, white or yellow
can make a dense ground-cover, becoming to some a ‘weed’, preferring cool, shady places
Nutritional qualities known for centuries right back to ancient Greece
one hundred grams of fresh spring leaves contains 264mg Vitamin C and 20,000 IU of Vitamin A
put another way; two leaves contain as much Vitamin C as an orange – amazing!
supports the liver, gall bladder, digestive and urinary systems

Uses for Violets

assists in the healing of cancer tumors*
apply the leaves raw, binding them over the tumour, boil, abscess, pimple or swollen glands**.
must have plant in the garden for their beauty and scent
add a handful of leaves to your smoothie
add a handful of leaves and lots of flowers to your salad
make a tea of two tsp of leaves and flowers in a large cup of water
Dip whole flowers in sugar, lemon juice and egg-white for a tasty, nutritional sweet

Recipe: Violet Smoothie

Ingredients in order from left to right in the photo

handful of chickweed
2 sprigs parsley (above chickweed)

Ingredients for Violet Smoothie

1 plantain leaves
2 dandelion leaves
petals of one late rose
6 dandelion flowers
6 violet flowers (keep two for decoration)
7 violet leaves (I added more chickweed than in the photo to make a handful)
1 apple (whole if organic otherwise peel and core the apple)
1 banana
1 tsp chia seed
1 tsp pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup organic coconut milk (bought from Trade Aid) or yoghurt if you prefer & can tolerate dairy.
1 cup water ( can substitute water kefir, kombucha, or rejuvelac for probiotics to enhance gut flora).

Blend the greens, flowers, and liquids until smooth. Add the fruit and seeds and blend again. Pour into glasses and decorate with flowers. Voila you have a delicious satisfying drink!
**Baïracli Levy, J., The Illustrated Herbal Handbook, 1974, Faber and Faber Limited, London. Weed,
*Susun, Healing Wise: The Wise Woman Herbal, 1989, Ash Tree Publishing, Woodstock, NY.

Violet Smoothie

Mass of Violet plants

Earthing – Getting Back to Nature

May 4, 2014

What is all this new talk about earthing?

Earthing or grounding is actually not new but newly revived. It is a reminder of how we were previously much more connected to the earth and of the calming, soothing effects of direct contact with the ground.

The reason it is soothing is because the earth is a vast store of natural frequencies called electrons. You would have experienced this just by going into nature or walking on the beach and feeling the calming, cooling effect of being amongst trees or walking on wet sand. Similarly, we used to go barefoot as children and some of us still do as adults. Walking and running around with bare feet keeps our bodies more in balance electrically.

What are the negative effects of modern technology?

We are electrical beings with negative and positive charges in our system which can get out of balance when we are around electronic equipment. Our modern world sees us surrounded by electrical devices everyday. This results in a build up of the positive charge called ions and we can feel it by not being able to sleep, experiencing aching joints and muscles (inflammation), perhaps headaches, tiredness and other symptoms you may not think are a result of sitting in front of the computer or TV for hours.

What’s the solution?

The solution is to make it a practice to spend at least 30 minutes a day with your bare feet directly touching the earth. There is a book called simply Earthing by Clinton Ober published in 2010, that describes the amazing results and healing from illnesses people are experiencing by reconnecting with the earth’s energies, walking on the earth, and also by using earthing mats and sheets that connect your body to the earth.
What are the health benefits of earthing?
Preliminary research shows that earthing can be beneficial for:

Improving sleep
Reducing the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
Relieving pain, inflammation, headaches and muscle tension
Improving blood flow and increasing energy
Speeding healing and recovery from injury
Protecting against EMFs

My Own Experience

I was so impressed with the results documented in Clinton Ober’s book that I had to try earthing for myself. I now sit at my computer with an earthing mat under my feet, and I sleep with an earthing sheet on my bed that is plugged into the earth socket in the wall. I also walk outside with bare feet as much as I can.

I tested the earthing mat with a volt meter which showed that with my feet on the mat I had only 0.5 of a volt going through my body as opposed to 6 volts not touching the mat. If I touch the power cord with my feet I have 12 volts going through me, which shows that power doesn’t stay in the cord!

Iʼm now passionate about making this information more available and known to people as something very simple that can make a huge difference in our lives.

Here are two short Youtube presentations about Earthing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDSzu9M9hw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XumPQLTzPWI

What can you do to benefit from earthing?

You can order earthing products from this link
(http://www.earthingoz.com.au/AP.aspx?ID=200&EID=8611950)

These products are what I personally use and I recommend them wholeheartedly.

I have a volt meter so that I can show you the difference in the volts going through you while
earthed and not earthed. If you would like a demonstration with an earthing mat email me at: info@juliasedibledweeds.com

References:

Earthing by Clinton Ober, 2010

The Biologic Effects of Grounding the Human Body During Sleep as Measured by Cortisol Levels and Subjective Reporting of Sleep, Pain, and Stress

by Maurice Ghaly, M.D. and Dale Teplitz, M.A.

Dandelion – including how to make Dandelion Coffee

April 23, 2014

Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

Description

Dandelion flower with hollow stem

Dandelions are one of the most health giving, nutritious and abundant wild edibles that I have come across. To identify a true dandelion from the three look a-like plants of Catsear, Hawkbit and Hawkesbeard (all of which are edible, yet non are as beneficial), dandelions have a single golden yellow flowerhead on a hollow stem (see below) containing white sap. The name ‘dandelion’ comes from french dent-de-lion, meaning ‘lion’s tooth’ – the leaves being deeply lobed with triangular teeth pointing towards the base of the leaf. Another distinguishing feature is to turn the leaf over and run your finger along the main vein of the leaf. If it is smooth with no hairs it is a true dandelion. Most other dandelion relatives have hairs on the veins and or on the leaves.

(The turned over leaf in the photo below shows the smooth vein).

Smooth stem on true dandelion

Nutritional qualities

Dandelions are perennials that grow in a rosette and are commonly found all over New Zealand in lawns, pastures, roadsides, and wasteland. They originate from Europe and are known for their deep tap roots which easily break when you try to dig them up. They don’t give up easily and will send up more leaves bringing up minerals from deep in the soil, benefiting the plants around them and us. They can be dug up in autumn when the plant is withdrawing it’s energy into the root, dry roasted and ground into a delicious coffee substitute, which was a practice during the rationing of the Second World War in England. (Find out how to make dandelion coffee below). The root is well known for being highly medicinal for the liver, gallbladder and kidneys. The root has laxative and diuretic qualities, which is the origin of the English folk name ‘piss-a-bed’ or in modern French ‘pissenlit’.

The leaves contain high amounts of Vitamins A, B and C, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorous, and other minerals. They also contain protein 19-32% in 100g which is an impressive amount just from green leaves. Dandelion leaves are bitter which stimulates the release of saliva, and improves digestion. They are also a tonic, help lower cholesterol levels, increase blood and lymph circulation and are blood purifiers. The leaves and flowers can be used in smoothies, salads, pestos and stir-fries. The flower-heads can be used to make wine.

‘Blowball’ dandelion seedhead

The perfectly round seed heads are known to children as dandelion clocks, used to ‘tell the time’ by counting the number of blows it takes to remove all the seeds (hence they are known as ‘blowballs’ in the USA).

Peach, Melon, Dandelion Smoothie

Dandelion Smoothie Recipe
1-2 cups water melon
2 peaches
1 banana
12 dandelion leaves
Handful clover leaves
Handful of violet leaves
2 kale leaves
2 cups water
1 T chia seeds
1 T pumpkin seeds
2 cardamon pods
Grind the chia & pumpkin seeds & cardamon pods.
Put the greens in the blender with the water and blend together.
Then add the fruit and the ground seeds and blend again. Enjoy a smooth, rich drink. Sip and savour!

How to make Dandelion coffee

Find the biggest dandelion plants that you can from somewhere unpolluted and dig them up. Use the leaves in

the above smoothie recipe. Wash the roots and cut them up into small pieces that once dried can be ground up in a coffee grinder. Let them dry naturally or in a dehydrator. However, if the weather is damp they may go mouldy, so short circuit the whole process and put them directly into a very low oven which will dry and then lightly roast them in 1 to 1½ hours. Once roasted and completely dry you can store them in a jar with a closed lid.

To make a cup of dandelion coffee take 2 heaped dessertspoons of the roots, grind them and then put in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Strain into a cup. You can drink it black or add milk and honey.

Dandelion Pesto
Leaves of dandelion, chickweed & parsley
2 cloves garlic
salt
2 T oil
1/2 cup macademia nuts/pinenuts
Process garlic, salt, add the nuts process again. Then add the leaves and oil. Process until the desired consistency, adding more oil if necessary. Decorate with dandelion flowers.

Purslane – hugely nutritious

February 16, 2014

Purslane – Portulaca oleracea

Purslane has to be the one of the least appreciated edible weeds in New Zealand with huge hidden benefits. The greatest benefit being high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids (known to help prevent heart disease and improve the immune system), a whopping 4mg per gram, compared to .89mg in spinach. Purslane has been used as a food and medicine for at least 2000 years and is still a food staple all over the Mediterranean. It is a wonderful healing plant used for high blood pressure, anaemia, rickets, diabetes, blood disorders (its red stem is a clue that purslane is good for the blood) and fevers. It is a good source of thiamin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate, and a very good source of Vitamin A in the form of carotenes, Vitamin C, riboflavin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese. Nutritious indeed!

Purslane tastes slightly sour, is crunchy and also mucilaginous or slippery to eat. This slipperiness is very soothing to our whole digestive system.
Read more

Magenta Spreen

January 26, 2014

Magenta Spreen – Chenopodium giganteum

This is a beautiful plant to grow with it’s soft green goosefoot shaped leaves that have a splash of magenta-pink on the newest leaves of each stem. It is an annual, meaning it grows for one season, and then dies down. Looking at the photo on the left one would never suspect this plant can reach over two metres, appearing like a small tree, and as such is also known as Tree spinach. It is much easier to grow than regular spinach though and more productive. Magenta spreen is also called lamb’s quarters. It is sown in the spring and quickly grows during summer producing side shoots that can be picked for your smoothies, for steaming like spinach or silver beet or turning into patties (recipe below). Just one plant can produce a huge amount of food. I heard a story of a farmer in America telling his son that if it wasn’t for magenta spreen they would have starved during the depression. So take advantage of the many tender young pink leaves which look very decorative in a salad. Once you have a plant of Magenta spreen and you let it go to seed, it will pop up in your garden in unexpected places.

Magenta spreen is a highly nutritious plant, rich in Vitamins C and E, essential fatty acids, iron, calcium, minerals and antioxidants which are good for dealing with free radicals. The underside of the leaves and top of the new leaves are covered in a fine pink dust. Resist the temptation to wash it off as it is full of calcium and protein. It contains even more protein than kale, which contains more than the recommended daily intake of protein. Just put the tender shoots and leaves (removed from the tough stems) in your blender and you’ll get all the benefits the plant has to offer. Magenta spreen does contain some oxalic acid like spinach and swiss chard or silver beet. These plants are so loaded with calcium however, that the amount of calcium not absorbed due to oxalic acid is minimized. Oxalic acid could build up if you had the same greens for weeks, so rotate your greens. If you would like to know about oxalic acid you can read more on the following page http://oxalicacidinfo.com/ Cooking the plants is said to reduce the content of oxalic acid.

Magenta Spreen Smoothie

3 stems of Magenta spreen (middle of the photo)
2 carrot stems & leaves (bottom left)
5 cavelo nero leaves (left in photo)
2 beetroot leaves (right in photo)
1 banana
1 cup blueberries
1 kiwifruit (scrub off hairs if organic or peel if not)
1 tangelo peeled
2 slices water melon
1 T chia & 1 T pumpkin seeds (grind in coffee grinder or leave whole and soak overnight)
3 cups water

Place greens in your blender with the water and blend on low until well broken down.
Turn on to high speed until smooth.
Add the fruit, ground or soaked chia and pumpkin seeds and blend again until smooth.
Place 6-10 whole blueberries (depending on your glass size) in a glass and pour over the smoothie. When you drink the smoothie you’ll meet a blueberry and have something nice to chew.This mixture yields 1.5 Litres enough for a family or keep some aside for the next day in the fridge.Enjoy!!

Magenta spreen Patties
(serves two)
1 cup chickpea or yellow pea flour
1½ tsp curry powder or cumin
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups finely chopped magenta spreen, loosely packed down
2 tablespoons grated onion
water, if needed
Oil (coconut or olive) for frying

Whisk dry ingredients together. Add greens and grated onion.
Mix to a very thick, dry batter. If necessary, add just enough water, a few drops, to moistenthe mixture and get it to hold together.
Heat 1 cm of oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat.
Mould the patties into small cakes and drop them into the hot oil.
When golden brown on the underside, turn each patty and fry on the other side.
Serve with relish or yoghurt.

References

Knox, J., A Forager’s Treasury: A New Zealand guide to finding and using wild plants, 2013, Allan and Unwin, Auckland.
Boutenko, V., Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health, 2009, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA.

Microgreens from your own saved seed

January 21, 2014

Microgreens from your own saved seed

It is a great idea to let your vegetable plants go to seed and then harvest the seed for the next crop. That way you are breeding your own vegetables that are adapted to your area, your soil and your growing conditions or climate. It also saves you money as seeds are becoming expensive to buy.

Kale stalks & seedheads from one plant

In this article I am describing how I harvest kale seed and then grow microgreens from the saved seeds.
In the photo to the left are the stalks I harvested from one curly kale plant. I left them on the plant until they were totally brown, brittle and dry. It is a trick to catch them before the seed-heads split open and release the seed as then you can’t collect them as they will have fallen to the soil. However, that way you’ll get self sown kale which makes for healthy plants (healthy because they are growing where they landed and if left undisturbed make strong roots) . However, you can move them if they are in the wrong place. It is good to have a large collecting container as the next step is to rub the stalks together in your hands to break open the seed-heads (two long cases either side of the stalk which contain two rows of seeds) and release the seeds which can jump out of a small container. Once you have rubbed all the seed-heads open and released the small, black, round seeds you can remove the hard wooden stalks.

Kale seeds released from their cases

Then you’re just left with seed cases and seeds as in the photo to the right. Next you tip up the container to gather all the material in one corner. The seeds are heavier than the light cases and will be on top. You just collect up the cases and remove. You’ll get quite a pile. You keep doing that until you’ve removed as much as you can that is not seed. I then put the cases along with the wooden stalks on the compost heap as they all being brown add good carbon to the compost.
I am always amazed how much seed just one plant produces. This plant yielded over half a cup full.
Now you can use the harvested seed to grow microgreens which provide fresh greens for your salads (photo below).

Curly kale microgreens

I use an old steamer pan with holes in the bottom as the container. The handle is great for moving it to different locations. I fill it with good potting mix, mix in some of our compost and sow the seed pretty thickly. The seeds are not touching but quite close. The seeds germinate in ten days or so depending on the season and temperature and if you leave them to grow several centimeters they can be harvested, snipped off with scissors and put straight into a fresh salad, providing vitamins, antioxidants, chlorophyll, enzymes, and a nice crunch.
A little known fact is that vitamins need to be eaten within half an hour for maximum benefit. So if you grow your own micro-greens and eating them straight away you get the highest possible nutrition. How cool is that!

Stalk to Food

All About Amaranth

January 5, 2014

Amaranth, Green Amaranthus viridis or Purple Amaranthus lividus

Description

Amaranth lividus

These are summer growing annuals found in disturbed, impoverished places and cultivated nutrient rich places like our vegetable gardens or animal pens. They have densely clustered small green flowers that grow at the terminal or tip of the stem or in the axils of the leaves as seen in the plant to the left which has gone to flower. You can put the whole flower head in your smoothie and get the nutritional benefit of flowers, leaves and seeds. The name Amaranth is Greek for unfading, referring to the flowers that last a long time. The latin names viridis and lividus refers to the stem colour either green or purple (plant to the left). There is another species called Amaranthus powellii which grows much taller up to 1 m high with red stems and longer flower heads. All three Amaranth species I’ve mentioned are also known as Redroot because they all have roots distinctly red roots. Although considered weeds peoples around the world value and use amaranth as leafy vegetables, cereals, ornamentals.

Nutritional properties

Compared to other grains amaranth seeds (below) have a much higher content of the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron and the amino acid lysine. Amaranth seeds are also high in potassium, zinc, Vitamin B and E and protein. Amaranth leaves are loaded with nutrition. For example amaranth leaves contain three times more calcium and three times more niacin (Vitamin B3) than spinach leaves. (Or twenty times more calcium and seven times more iron than lettuce). Amaranth leaves are an excellent source of Vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoids, iron, calcium, protein, Vitamin C Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc,copper and manganese. Adult purple amaranth plant(below), young plant (below right).

Amaranth plant

Young Amaranth lividus

Recipe

Blueberry Amaranth Smoothie

Clockwise from the top Dandelion, Amaranth, Galensoga

A bunch of Amaranth
Several stems of Galensoga
2 or more Dandelion leaves
2 Beetroot leaves
small bunch of lemon balm

1.5-2 cups of water
1 banana
1 kiwi fruit
1 peeled tangelo
1 cup blueberries

1 T chia and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds ground in coffee grinder with either 2 cardamon pods or 2 whole star anise

Blueberry Amaranth smoothie with whole blueberries and Nipplewort flowers

Blend the greens in the water until well broken down.
Add the fruit and ground chia/pumkin seed, spice mix and blend again.

Pour into a glass and add a few blueberries so that when you drink your smoothie you get some whole blueberries to chew.

Enjoy!

Christmas Recipes

December 8, 2013

Here is a recipe for Fudge Frosting and Strawberry Green Smoothie
from Raw Food Made Easy for One or Two People, by Jennifer Cornbleet.

Fudge Frosting

Fudge Frosting with Strawberry Green Smoothie

1/2 cup date paste (see note below)
1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 avocados, mashed (1 cup)
3/4 cup organic cocoa or carob
2 tsp coconut oil, warmed

Place the date paste, agave nectar, and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the mashed avocado and cocoa or carob powder and process until creamy. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times. Add the coconut oil and process until smooth. Use the frosting immediately if you are using it to spread as it will be difficult to spread once chilled. Use it as a fresh dessert with strawberries or raspberries or freeze it and use as ice cream.

Note: To made date paste, place 1/3 cup water and 1 cup soaked pitted dates in a food processor and process until smooth. Yield: 1 cup. Stored in a sealed container in the fridge it will keep for 2 weeks.

Strawberry Green Smoothie
1 large handful of wild edibles (I used dandelion, nipplewort, chickweed, herb robert, plantain & cleavers)
2 leaves of cavolo nero or other kale
Soaked chia and pumpkin seeds in 1/2 cup water
5 large strawberries (give a lovely strawberry flavour)
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1 kiwi fruit (scrub off the hairs)
1 banana
1 tangelo peeled
1 cup water

Blend up the greens and soaked seeds plus their water in the added water and juice. Add the fruit and blend again. If it is too thick for your liking add more water. Enjoy!!
I’ve decorated the smoothie in the photo above with herb robert flowers, forget-me-not flowers and a strawberry.

Fudge frosting and raspberries & Strawberry Green Smoothie

Homemade Laundry Detergent & Liquid Handwash

September 23, 2013

As well as harvesting wild edibles to enhance my nutrition, I love making my own products for use around the house – I know what ingredients I have put in and I save money. These two recipes come from Wendyl Nissen who has been collecting recipes for homemade cleaning products for years. www.wendylsgreengoddess.co.nz

I’ve now been using these two recipes below for several years, they work, they’re cheap and they’re very easy to make. How empowering is that!

Laundry Detergent
1.5 litres of hot water
1/2 bar sunlight soap grated
1/2 cup washing soda
50gms borax from chemist or Bin Inn
1 litre hot water

Mix grated soap in a saucepan with 1.5 ltres of water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in washing soda and borax. Stir until thickened and remove from heat. Add 1 litre of hot water to a bucket. Add soap mixture and mix well. Fill bucket with another 5 litres of hot water and mix well. Add about 20 drops lavender oil for a nice fragrance. The recipe says to set aside for 24 hours or until it thickens. We find it is best to pour it , using a funnel freshly stirred straight into milk bottle containers. If you leave it until it gets cold it goes gluggy and doesn’t pour easily. Use 1/2 – 1 cup per washing load. Either squeeze it out of the milk bottle container or put it into a container you can dip a cup into.

Liquid Handwash
250ml boiling water
2 tbsp grated Sunlight soap
3 tsp glycerol
2 tsp rosewater (optional) or 5 drops Lavender oil

Add the grated soap to the boiling water, stir, then let sit for about 10 minutes until it melts. Next, stir in the glycerol and rosewater or 5 drops lavender oil. When the mixture is smooth, pour into an empty soap dispenser bottle. Do this while it is still warm as it will set to a jelly when cold and be quite hard to pour.
Hot tip: when you get near the bottom of the liquid soap in the bottle and it stops coming out, pour in a small amount of hot water to make it more liquid for dispensing.