The Lovely Mimosa Syrup!

   Here lately, it has become a great interest of mine to find uses for whatever is on the place.  It is not of my nature to run to the store for things.  In fact, I do not go at all if what I need can be found, grown, repurposed or caught (fish, crabs and shrimp).  While most folks would consider this a "hard" way of doing things, it suits my needs perfectly so it has become a way of life.  The shelves are well stocked if not overstocked with jars of fruits, vegetables, nuts, juices and medicines.  Yep, I have turned to herbal remedies for a lot of ailments.  Doctors' visits still come into play if needed and for checkups but, if it is something I can fix with an elixir, tisane, balm or tincture, so be it.

  Now comes the surprising fact.  There are so many plants, shrubs and trees that fall into the category of healing plants that my "medicine cabinet", also known as a pantry shelf, seems to be filling quickly with the wondrous concoctions of days past.  Sometimes, folklore is more of a science than pure legend.  More than once, these "potions" saved me from illnesses that were brought to the Little Bayou House by unthinking people.  Just last month, after being exposed three different times, crape myrtle tisane mixed with sage and rosemary helped me to ward off a bad respiratory illness.  Both Mark and Son were ill and my sweet sister-in-law had the same virus.  My tisane came to the rescue!

  Now, a new "brew" has been added to the shelf!  Six half pints of the loveliest syrup was stirred up from an unlikely source.  Mimosa!  Albizia julibrissin!  Yep, that lovely, pink silk tree that grows so rampantly in the South has quite the healing properties.  I have been wanting to try this for ages but the trees bloom at the same time that the garden produces so my time was spent canning foodstuffs and the blooms did their happy thing of making the yard beautiful and delightfully aromatic.  Yesterday, however, Son was helping me pick plums when I mentioned how I wish I had time to pick the mimosa blooms.  He never questioned my motives but merely ambled down the hill and reached up to the high limbs.  "Are these good?"  Yay!  I picked and picked the fluffy blooms until I had a half of bucket full.  While he would hold down the limbs and I would pick, I started telling him about my plans.  He smiled and just nodded.  He knows his mom is weird but he also knows that the remedies work. 

  The blooms were "debugged" (think spiders...each carefully returned to their tree), washed and then put in a saucepan of water.  After simmering, the blooms were carefully removed and sugar (and a wee bit of lemon juice) added.  The simmering continued until a nice, syrupy blend was created.  This was canned and set to seal.  My beautiful syrup will be ready when needed!  (No, I do not store my canned goods in the window but it was the best way to capture the gorgeous color and clarity of the syrup!) 

  It feels good to be learning what Mother Nature has to offer even at this late in the game for me.  My kiddos keep telling me to learn new things but, in this case, I think I am learning old things...just new to me.