Tonight, as I write this, I am making two condition oils. The first is Commanding oil, a la Brother Ash's 5 Black Saturdays post #4 (whose posts I am really enjoying; great stuff, Brother Ash!), except I'm also macerating the ingredients in the oil on the stovetop to start it all out.
I also decided to make some High John oil with the two roots I have of the same name. Unfortunately this meant taking them out to the sidewalk in a ziploc bag and pounding the shit out of them with a hammer.
I can't wait till it's all finished! :)
If High John is as difficult to grind as licorice, I don't envy you. Once I finally conceded that my mortar would never be able to handle licorice, I switched to a small electric grinder that I had lying around. The flying bits of root actually blasted off enough of the plastic interior of the grinder that the whole thing turned opaque. I'm convinced it's in Bend-Over oil just for its sheer frustration power.
ReplyDeleteDamn! Sounds like it was one tough mother to grind! I still remember throwing some calamus root chips and pieces into my electric grinder and the poor thing getting even more damaged. For that reason I want to invest in a hand-crank coffee grinder specifically for use in grinding botanicals.
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