Colds and Flu and Autumnal Blues - Try a Little Fire

(This is an edited version of an article that appeared in our newsletter a few years ago. It seemed appropriate to run for Fire Cider Day)

Autumn is rolling through, and the chill of the changing season is creeping in more and more.  With the fluctuating weather, flu's, colds, and a general feeling of ennui become more prevalent . There's an age old remedy you may have heard about. It uses the many healthful benefits of apple cider vinegar, onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish and honey to kick start your immune system and fight off the nasties. It's an easy remedy to make at home, useful for your health and for cooking!  It's Fire Cider!

You can find my general recipe for fire cider here. There's also a link for a great video from Rosemary Gladstar, the first herbalist to publicly, freely, and openly share her fabulous recipe.

Fire Cider has a biting, tangy sweet flavor. And it's easily adaptable to your personal preferences. Once you make your fiery cider blend, what can you do with it beside fend off a cold? Oh so very much! It's unique flavor makes it a great addition in many recipes.

• Use it when making a vinaigrette dressing. It adds a nice warmth with just that little touch of sweetness.  
• Making some Bloody Mary's? Add a splash of this fiery blend.   
• When I'm making taco's or macaroni & pasta, I like to add a splash to the meat to boost the flavor.
• It is fabulous as part of a marinade!
• Use the fire cider as part of an amazing barbecue sauce.
• Add a splash with a little extra honey to some seltzer and you have a surprisingly refreshing and revitalizing soda.

Let your imagination go and you can find dozens of ways to make fire cider a healthy and tasty part of your cooking routine.  Fight off the flu and kick up the flavor with some home made Fire Cider.

Pumpkin Syrup to Round out the Season

I have finally finished roasting the last of my pumpkins. Luckily, they keep a good long while if kept cool and dry. And I got to the last one before we finally got freezing weather here in lovely central New Jersey.

My favorite type of pumpkin to prep for later jamming and pieing and such are cheese pumpkins. These are delightfully rich with a touch of natural sweetness. They almost smell like cantaloupe when you cut into them. My 4 rather large pumpkins from Giamarese Farm yielded about 40 ounces of roasted mashed pumpkin. That's quite a bit for future use! And it also gave me about 9 cups of sweet, earthy pumpkin juice.

What to do? Time to make some Pumpkin Syrup! It's a slow process - but soooo worth it. As Alton Brown says - Your patience will be rewarded.

First, I took the pumpkin juice and simmered in down a bit to enhance the flavor. I kept it on a very low simmer, so it wouldn't over cook. When it simmered down to about 8 cups, I added 2 sticks of cinnamon, a little ground nutmeg, and some allspice berries and let it continue to gently simmer for about an hour.


I took out the spices, then added 1 cup of chai infused honey, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 cup of turbinado sugar, and one cup of the mashed, roasted pumpkin. This then simmered for about another hour.

The trick to make this smooth is to blend it all together. I took my stick blender and gave it a good whir. I then brought the whole thing up to a boil, stirring frequently. Watch it carefully or it will bubble over. Once it comes to a good boil, turn it off and remove from the heat. Let it cool
completely.

One of the blessings and curses of being an herbal student is that I tend to have bottles and jars a plenty. I put the the syrup in 3 cute little bottles.

I've kept this in my fridge for up to 6 months and it's been fine. It's divine in chai tea, heavenly over waffles, and oh so marvelous over ice cream.

You can always play with this recipe a bit. I've made it before adding some maple syrup or some brown sugar.  For me, an extra dash of cinnamon never hurts either.

This is the perfect way to keep the Season of Everything Pumpkin going, so you'll want to make  sure to have some on hand.

Beeting the Summer Heat

I'm lucky enough to have a number of wonderful local farms not to far from where I live. One of my favorites, Giamarese Farm, has a CSA and we're happy to be members. The last couple of shares

have had a wonderful selection of rich, sweet, beets. I LOVE beets.

With this abundance, I decided to boil our last couple of batches. Then I freeze some, mash some, finish it up by roasting them, or pickling them. But there was all this lovely water that I thought, "There has to be something I can do with this."

Figured something out that's VERY yummy.

I took the water and strained it out well. I made a wonderfully fruity blend of ice tea with limes, pineapple, cherries, raspberries, and rooibos tea. (Sorry there's not more detail, this was very much a little of this and little of that recipe). I sweetened it with just a little honey and added the beet water. Delicious, refreshing - and healthy!

Beets are nutritious little jewels. They are rich in Vitamin B, C, magnesium, folate, lutien, copper, and more. And low in calories! Although the water isn't quite as powerful, it still carries some of those health benefits.

My suggestion - play with your food. Think about what else you can do with the juice or water. I may try it again by adding some beet water to rice, or maybe as part of a stock. So many options that I never thought of before.

Hey - I wonder if it would work making a sherbet. Hmmmm. Maybe next time!

In the Season of Everything Pumpkin ... It's all about the Spice

Although Halloween has past, the Season of Everything Pumpkin continues. After all, a staple of the Thanksgiving meal is the luscious rich finish with Pumpkin Pie. 

  Everywhere you turn you find Pumpkin Spice everything: Pumpkin Chai, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin spice muffins and breads and cookies, puddings, marshmallows, ice cream, yogurt, gum.... you name it and there's a pumpkin spice version of it. It makes you wonder though - is this frenzy really about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?

I love pumpkin, don't get me wrong. I have pumpkins all over my yard. Some turn into jack o'lanterns for Halloween. Others get roasted and then frozen. A few get chopped and added to stews or sauteed like other vegetables. Several of them get sliced and dried and ground to be used in some of our products as well as tossed into sauces and such.  Pumpkin is full of vitamins and nutrients, but on it's own it is not a strong flavored fruit. It needs a little something. These autumn gourds handle savory flavoring very well, like rosemary, garlic, and sage. But the biggest draw is for that sweet spicy zing.

 I really believe that most people aren't enamored of pumpkin so much as the spice blend typically associated with it. Most blends are a balance of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Maybe a dash of allspice or cardamom. Below is a basic recipe for Pumpkin Spice.

PUMPKIN SPICE BLEND
1/3 cup ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg (or a mix of nutmeg and mace)

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. Use the blend whenever pumpkin pie spice is called for. Or even apple pie spice.  Mix a teaspoon or two with some sugar or maple syrup and sprinkle over pancakes and waffles. Yum!

This blend is so warming on a chill autumn or winter night. These spices are part of so many things we associate with the warmth and coziness associated with the season. They help with digestion, ease pain, and improve circulation. All of those are important for the more insular, colder time of the year. Even the fragrance is a spirit lifter.

What do you think? Is the Season of Everything Pumpkin about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?

Beating the Steaminess with Lemons and Cucumbers

I might have said this before, but I'm a soda drinker. I know, it's bad for me. When they take blood it makes that pop top "pptt shshshsh" sound. I'm trying to be better. Especially in the steamy, humid, New Jersey summer. In weather like this, hydration is so important. And as much as I love my diet beverage, it doesn't cut it.

My favorite way to get refreshed in the summer is a cool as a cucumber infused water blend. So easy, so quick and so good for you.

There are lots of recipes for this spa style water out there. Below is my favorite.

Cucumber Water 
1 large lemon  
1 goodly sized cucumber
1 knuckle of ginger

Thinly slice the lemon. I like to use a mandolin so the slices are nice and thin.
Thinly slice the cucumber the same way.
Finely chop the ginger. If you like a more gingery kick, grate the the ginger.
Throw everything into a pitcher, about quart sized. Fill the pitcher with water.
This tastes best if you let in sit overnight.
I'll refill the pitcher 2 or 3 times before I'll ditch the lemon and such and make a new batch.

You can always make a few adjustments to suit your tastes. Every now and then I'll add some sliced strawberries, some mashed blueberries, some diced watermelon, or a dash of crushed mint leaves.

You'd be surprised how wonderful this tastes, and how cooling. Really makes you understand the phrase Cool as a Cucumber.

Have you ever made something like this? What's your favorite blend?

Put Out Cold Season with a litte Fire in Your Cider

Actually - it's a little fire in your apple cider vinegar.

For a number of years I've been studying about herbs and their power. About 15 years ago, I came across the well-known recipe from Rosemary Gladstar, a renown herbalist and healer, and in general a very cool lady. To tell you the truth, the recipe didn't sound very yummy, but it did sound mighty powerful to fight colds and sinus problems. So I gave it a shot. The original recipe for fire cider from Rosemary follows. 

• 1 part Garlic
  
• 1 part Horseradish
• 1 part Onions
• ½ part Fresh ginger
• Cayenne to taste (just a few grains will do)
• Honey to taste
• Apple Cider Vinegar.

Chop fresh garlic, onions, and grate the horseradish and fresh ginger. The amounts and proportions vary according to your particular taste. You can always adjust the flavors in future batches. Chop enough of the first four ingredients to fill a quart jar approximately half full. Put in wide mouth quart jar and cover with Apple Cider vinegar (keep vinegar about two to three inches above the herbs). Add cayenne to taste (just a small amount or will be too hot!). Let sit at least 4 weeks. Strain well, squishing out all the goodness, and discard spent herbs. Add honey to taste, 1/4 cup at a time (add the honey after you strain the rest of the herbs). Raw honey is best if you have it. Don't use store bought honey unless you are 100% sure it's real honey.

Fire cider should taste hot, spicy and sweet.

You can see Rosemary make her recipe here. Plus she explains the benefits of all the ingredients.

This is the way I first made my fire cider. There are lots of recipes available, and all have their own slight variation.

My recipe has changed over the course of time as well. I like to add a few cinnamon sticks, a handful of dried elderberries, a sliced orange &/or lemon, turmeric (I can never seem to find it fresh so I use a teaspoon of powdered), a dried thai dragon pepper or two, and extra ginger. Sometimes I'll add some astragalus root or licorice root.

Something else I do now - I store the infused fiery apple cider separately and add the honey as needed. One of the reasons I do that is to have the chance to use an assortment of infused honey's, depending on how I'm using my brew.

You'll find a number of ways to use fire cider in our newsletter. However, it's main use in our home is still to help battle those bugs of winter. I particularly use it when my sinuses are acting up.

This wonderful winter tonic is a remedy that was found in many kitchens in years past. With it's many uses, it's something that is easy, healthy and fun to make.

Playing With Pancakes

I can't help it. I'm a recipe diddler. I don't think I've ever just taken a recipe and followed it without any alteration. But there are some things I'm getting better about - I write down my changes. This way, I know if I've tried something and how it turned out.

Here is the original recipe, with the alterations I made. They were wonderful and fluffy and so very yummy. The second time I made them - still messing with the recipe - I added blueberries and drizzled them with vanilla honey.

Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients:

Yield: 8 pancakes Mine made about 17 medium size

1 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar (my alteration – 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon maple sugar)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (my alteration – add ½ teaspoon baking soda)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups milk (my alteration – 1 and almost 1/3 cups milk, finish up to 1/3 with vinegar – I used a pear cinnamon balsamic)
3 tablespoons oil (I used Grapeseed)
(add 1 tablespoon buttermilk powder)

Directions:

1 In a small bowl, whisk milk, egg, and oil together.
2 In a larger bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3 Slowly add liquid mixture to dry mixture and whisk well. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4 Spray large frying pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium heat.
5 Wait until pan gets nice and hot.
6 Make pancakes whatever size you wish-- allowing top to form bubbles before turning over.
7 Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup, or whatever you wish to put on your pancakes! These can be frozen and toasted in the toaster to be reheated.

Now if you were to ask me how I came up with these changes - well, I couldn't really tell you. We had wanted pancakes, so I looked up a few recipes on line and fond a few that sounded interesting. I probably blended two together. Then I looked around my kitchen. I love maple flavor, so that's where the maple sugar came in. We love buttermilk pancakes, so that's why the powdered buttermilk. One of the recipes I read added vinegar. But why add plain old vinegar if you have something interesting. That's how it fell together.

So play with those recipes. It may not always work - but you might find magic! Just remember to write it down.

The Bestest Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

For me, it's not the Holiday Season without lots and lots of Christmas cookies. I don't really eat that many ... well, maybe this time of year.... but I do love sharing them and finding new and interesting recipes. In fact, Cindy and I have a bakeathon the weekend after Thanksgiving when we get the first round of baking done.

Recipes come from all over. A real family favorite is your basic peanut butter cookie. And the best recipe I have is in an ancient tome - the 1957 Betty Crocker NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook. 




It's a well worn cookbook. I don't remember if it was mine or my husbands or where we got it, but it has lots of easy kid friendly recipes. It's also a bit of a time machine, showing how certain things have changed through the years. The kids comments crack me up.


 















I found this Peanut Butter Cookie recipe ages ago. It was always something the kids and I made together when they were young. It is so easy.

QUICK PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

Mix together 1/2 package of the cake mix, eggs, water and peanut butter. Beat until smooth.
Add the other 1/2 of the cake mix and beat until blended.

Heat over to 375°. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls unto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a fork dipped into flour, flatten rounds by pressing in a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, then continue to cool on cookie rack.

Perfectly yummy peanut butter cookies.

When I made these last night, I started thinking. What if I used chocolate cake mix instead of yellow? Or maybe Spice Cake Mix? Hmmmm. I think I see an experiment in my future.
 

Honey of a Time... With Infused Honey

It's been a hectic past few months. Between Super Storm Sandy clean up and the Holiday season, life has seemed to pass by in a blur. Now that we've welcomed in 2013, I've had a little time to catch up on some of my herbal chores. Of course these aren't really chores at all. They are the favored tasks that you reward yourself with when all the rest has been done. What have I been doing? Oh, how sweet a task it is. I've been decanting and setting up my herbal infused honeys.

The sweetness and health benefits of honey are well documented. Whether you're using honey in your skin care, food or for your health, you can give it a boost with some herbal input. And it is so very, very easy.

Ginger swimming in honey.

What You'll Need:

• Clean mason jar/s
• Honey (my favorite is Herberstville Honey. Try to use local honey to aid with allergy immunity building)
• Your favorite fresh or dried herbs. Personally, I prefer using dried, except for roses. Less chance of moisture getting into the honey and causing problems such as mold or fermentation. Of course, fermentation could lead to an interesting mead, but that's another story for another day.

Make sure your mason jar is clean. Run it through the dishwasher or submerge in water and boil for a few minutes. Make sure the jar is thoroughly dried before using.

Loosely fill the jar to about two thirds full with your favorite herb, spice or combination.

Vanilla beans soaking in honey.

Pour the honey into the jar to cover the herbs. Stir with a knife or something long to remove all the air pockets. Top off with some more honey.

Cover tightly and put in a sunny windowsill or on a shelf you check fairly often.

Every few days turn the jar over to circulate the honey and herbs. Let the jar sit for at least two weeks or longer. The longer it sits, the stronger the infusion will be.

I just decanted a cinnamon infused honey that had been steeping for almost a year. I will admit that I only flip or check the jars every month or so when I'm letting it set up for that long a time.  It's divine! So extraordinarily yummy on waffles.

Here are some herb or spice combinations to try:

Honey dripping from vanilla sooo yummy!

• Rose petals. You can use fresh or dried petals (untreated, naturally). If you use fresh petals you don't even have to strain - just use eat the petals like a jam.
• Lavender
• Cinnamon - use just the sticks. Powder is OK, but it can make it gritty.
• Vanilla
• Chai - use cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, a few black peppercorns, a vanilla bean, cloves, allspice, star anise, or other chai flavoring that you like
• Peppermint
• Thyme
• Lemon Herbs - I like to combine lemon thyme, lemon balm, and lemon verbena
• Orange or lemon - use the peels cleaned of pith
• Rosemary
• Hot peppers - this is great in barbecue sauce or as a glaze for ribs or ham
• Ginger
• Calendula petals
• Elderberries - dried make a wonderful cough syrup

Use your imagination! These honeys are great to use in cooking or in teas, or straight off the spoon!

Of course, honey's not just great for your insides - it's fabulous for your outsides. I like using Calendula honey straight on cuts and scraps. We use ginger infused honey in our Orange Ginger Sugar Scrub.  Rose infused is used in our Rose n' Dew Sugar Scrub and the Rose 'n' Dew Face Spritz.

And if you want to ease away the stress of the past few months, try some Lavender honey in your tea - or in your bath!

Have fun making infused honeys. Let me know what herbal combinations you're trying, and I'll keep you posted of mine.

Do You Strew?

I bet you do and don't even know it!

Me, I love herbs. I’m forever drying them or using them fresh. And when I’m working with them in the house, invariably some of them get on the floor. But I don’t clean them up right away. I let them get crunched and stepped on until I’m done with my work. That way I get the lovely scent wafting all over. And then it’s vacuum time and the herbal fragrance is let loose again.

Using strewing herbs to help freshen and protect the home dates back throughout medieval history. Since most homes then had earth floors, straw or threshes were placed around to absorb a variety of rather unpleasant liquids. That could get pretty stinky, so they added herbs to create a fresh aroma. The herbs also helped repel insects and rodents. Those who strewed provided some protection to the plague, since it was spread by rats and lice.

If you've used one of those carpet powders that you sprinkle on and then vacuum, you're a modern day strewer. You can make your own strewing powder, or add herbs to your home to release aromatheraputic scent as we close the windows and doors to the coming chill. 

To make your own strewing powder, take one small box of baking powder and pour into a dry, glass jar. Baking powder is wonderful for absorbing unpleasant odors. Grind any of the following herbs, or you can use their essential oil. Add two teaspoons of the ground dried herbs or 6 to 12 drops of essential oil to the powder. Shake well. Sprinkle over the carpet. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to a few hours, then vacuum it up (always test a corner of carpet or flooring first for possible staining). Your carpet and home will smell fabulous!

Great herb choices include:

Lavender, rosemary, mint, sage, roses, sweet fennel, lemon balm, chamomile, or bay leaf.

I also make a wonderful strewing powder to help get rid of fleas, mold, bacteria, bugs and such. Having lots of cats, and harboring kittens till they find homes, we have periodic flea battles in our home and this is always at the ready for battle… and for some lovely, brightening fragrance.

Battle Strew
2 cups of borax (20 Mule team version works well)
1 cup diatomaceous earth (you can get this in garden centers and on line)
¼ cup salt
1 tbsp ground lavender
2 tbsp ground penny royal
1 tbsp ground wormwood
2 tsp peppermint
(many of these herbs can be purchased through Mountain Rose Herbs)

Combine all of the ingredients into a quart mason jar. Shake well and sprinkle over carpet and/or furniture. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes and vacuum up.
Sometimes I like to add ground pine needles, or some ground dried orange rind for a little extra kick. You can use any herbs you might have in your cabinet! But be cautious with things like clove or cinnamon as they might stain.

It’s a wonderful and inexpensive way to protect and freshen your home. We may have improved hygiene since the Middle Ages, but we can always use a little herbal fragrance boost.

For more great strewing tips and ideas to add scent to every step, check out this article:  Ancient Aromatherapy Technique. Two other great articles are The Royal Herb Strewer and What are Strewing Herbs?

Play with Your Food - Herbal Sugars

I have an infusion fascination. I admit it. I love taking all those lovely herbs and flowers from my garden and infusing them into a multitude of other things to make intriguing new flavors.

If you saw my apothecarium right now, you'd see 8 or 9 different flavored sugars setting up. There's also about 12 honeys, 10 vinegars, a few salts and many herbal alcohol based extracts waiting for the herbal and fruity goodness to be fully released.

I've talked about herbal sugars before. The simplicity of it makes me wonder why everyone doesn't have some of these herbal sweets in their cabinets at home.

As a quick refresher:
You'll need:

• 1 large, extremely well cleaned dry glass jar with a lid. Quart size
• About 1 cup (loosely packed) of your herb of choice - see some suggestions below.
• Sugar to fill your jar.

1. I prefer to use dried herbs. They infuse their flavor and fragrance without making the sugar clumpy. You can use fresh, but make sure they are rinsed off and then thoroughly dried.
2. Lightly crush the herbs to help release some of the oils.
3. Put about 1/2 inch worth of sugar in the jar.
4. Place a layer of herbs on top of the sugar.
5. Continue layering until you reach within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.
6. Seal the jar tightly.
7. Let this sit on a shelf for at least two weeks, but the longer you let it sit, the stronger the flavor.

I have a jar of vanilla sugar that's been sitting on the shelf for a few years. Whenever I want to add a vanilla flavor to something, I sift out the measure of sugar that I need. Then I add more sugar to the jar and shake it up well. It smells fabulous when I open the jar!

The best herbs to use for infused sugars are once with a strong fragrance. Here are some of my favorites and how I use them.

Lemon Herb - dried lemon peels, lemon verbena, and lemon balm
Vanilla - just vanilla beans
Cinnamon - several crushed cinnamon sticks
Rose Geranium - Lots of lovely rose geranium leaves
Bee Balm (Monarda didyma, Bergamot, Oswego Tea) - flower heads as well as leaves
Chai Blend - Cinnamon sticks, cloves, a nutmeg, small piece of vanilla bean, a few pepper corns, some holy basil leaves and cardamom pods
Mint - mint leaves
Lime - dried lime peels and lime scented geranium
 
The uses for these delectable sugars are limitless. I like to use all of them when I'm baking. The vanilla or chai make great angel food cake. Blend the Rose Geranium with Strawberry lemonade for a truly refreshing summer treat. There are some wonderful Sorbet recipes at The Herb Companion site - use any of these sugars to bring a different twist to these frozen concoctions. Sprinkle a little Bee Balm sugar on a fruit salad and toss lightly to add some sweet pizazz. I LOVE using the Cinnamon sugar on French Toast, or when I make glazed carrots. I've used the Lime sugar when making a blueberry crumble.


If you have flavored sugars set up, whenever you're creating in the kitchen you can use them instead of regular sugar to add that little something extra to you dish. Have fun with a recipe and play with your food!


Of course, we use them all them time in our sugar scrubs, too.

Playing with Your Food

We all have little traits and habits that we've picked up during our life. Sometimes they are easy to track back and find, sometimes the lines are fuzzy.

My father is a fabulous amateur chef. He can create meals that would rival the finest restaurants. He's taken classes with Jacques Pepin as well as other renown chefs. He finds recipes that intrigue him and follows them at least once. Then he may doctor, adjust, or tweak to his liking. 99.9% of the time it is a wonderful and delectable improvement. I think that's where I got this habit of playing with my food.

It's a running joke in our house that if you like some thing I've made for dinner enjoy it, because it will never happen exactly that way again. My intent is to follow the recipe - but I just can't help myself. I wonder what will happen if I add a pinch of this, or some of that instead of this. Usually, it's a win. Sometimes, it's at least edible and won't kill anyone. Always - without question - it is fun and educational for everyone.

One of my recent forays into food play was with cupcakes. My lovely daughter has moved out to California. We had a very festive party to send her on her way. Somehow, we went from me making a traditional family cake to baking over 120 cupcakes. And on those cupcakes we wrote our well wishes. I couldn't, I just couldn't bake simple and plain cupcakes from a mix. Oh no, not I. The mix might be used - but only as a base for my baking madness. That's how we wound up with this interesting selection:

• Funfetti with Chocolate or Vanilla Frosting (OK, these were the one exception to the rule, but only because it was requested.)
• Chocolate Stout with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cappuccino Stout with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting
• Red Velvet (from scratch using mashed beets and beet juice)with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Aztec Fire Chocolate with Whipped & Zipped Frosting
• Apple Butter with Cinnamon Maple Frosting

What's particularly scary is I had about 6 other recipes waiting in the wings - but I ran out of time, and cupcake liners.

How did I play? Well, the Funfetti, as I said, was made as a special request for a guests birthday, so there was no playing there.

The Chocolate Stout Cupcake recipe I found here at the FoodNetwork site. I used Vanilla infused sugar and added a touch of chocolate extract. For the Cream Cheese Frosting, I took about 1/2 cup of Guinness and reduced it down to about 1/2 cup. Then I whipped that into the frosting.

The Cappuccino Stout Cupcakes use the same basic recipe, but I used Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout and blended some instant cappuccino mix into the heavy cream before making the frosting.

I have a recipe for Red Velvet cake from scratch. Admittedly, I don't know where I got it from, but most scratch recipes are similar. Instead of oil, I used boiled and mashed beets. I use powdered buttermilk - you add the powder to the dry components and the liquid to the wet components to make the buttermilk. So I used the beet juice instead of plain water.

The Azteca Fire Chocolate was interesting to create. It was simply a box of devil's food cake mix. But instead of just adding water, I made a strong tea using Teavana's Azteca Fire Tea, which uses chocolate and chili's (this is also a great tea to blend in with chai). I added an additional pinch of cayenne pepper (just a little pinch). For the frosting, I warmed the cream with some Azteca Fire Tea and added some powdered chocolate chai mix before whipping.

These were all BIG hits. But the surprising star of the evening was a last minute addition. I had thought I picked up a box of store brand yellow cake mix, but it was actually a butter flavor cake mix. Hmmm, what to do? Well, I chopped up some lovely dried apple slices I'd picked up at Target and tossed them with some cinnamon and sugar and added them to the packaged mix. Then I found a recipe for Maple Frosting and added a dash of cinnamon to that as well.

Next time you're baking or cooking, take a look at the recipe. Does it include water? What juice or tea can you use instead? Are there any dried fruits or even veggies you can add? Maybe some herbs or spices? Go ahead! It really is OK to play with your food!

The Pumpkin Aftermath

My archenemies, the evil squirrels, can now munch happily on the carved pumpkin carcasses lying around my front yard. I only managed to carve 8 of them, but I was pleased with the results. The squirrels can pick for another day, and then the pumpkin parts left over will be taken to a back neglected garden and dumped. They'll rise from the dead, I'm sure. Either by nourishing the soil for next season when I try to revive the garden - or a surprise pumpkin or two may appear from the wreckage.

I did have several pumpkin in a few varieties that were uncarved and will find life in a number of ways.

The cheese pumpkins, the beige ones that look like - well, a wheel of cheese, will be roasted and used in pies and cakes and pumpkin butter. They have a lovely, sweet pumpkin flavor and process to a smooth and creamy consistency.

The little grey one in the picture is a Jarrahdale. It's supposed to be a very sweet, stringless pumpkin. Hmmmmm, I'm thinking Pumpkin cheesecake for this little baby.

The white pumpkins seemed to be everywhere this year. I'm not sure if these are Lumina's or Cotton Candy's, but they will be roasted up for some edible goodness. I might trying cutting these into chunks and tossing them into stews or roasted along with the potatoes.

My orange pumpkins will serve in a number of ways. Some will be made into our Honey Pumpkin Face Mask. Some will be dried and ground for some new skin care product experiments ( ;-) ). And some will be roasted and mashed and added to the food of my multitudes of cats and my dog, Rudy. Pumpkin is a great digestive regulator for cats and dogs. Plus they think it's yummy!

I'll also be saving some of the seeds from this collection to roast - and to plant for next year. In fact, looking at this list of things to do with all these pumpkins, I may have to look for a few more.

The Colonial style Pumpkin Pudding Experiment

Well, it happened. The pumpkin fever has come over me and the experimentation has begun. I warned you.

The other day I had picked up a little sugar pumpkin, about 3.5 to 4 pounds, nicely shaped. It has been sitting on the table, reminding me that Halloween is fast approaching.

Last night was the first night of the full moon and there was a definite chill in the air. As I walked by the little pumpkin, I remembered my Colonial Pumpkin pudding recipe. Perfect! I thought, scooping up the little fellow and dashing to the kitchen.

Husband, cats and dog were wise enough to clear the way.

It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but check out the recipe and results below to see for yourself.

Colonial Whole Pumpkin Pudding

• One 4 to 6 pound sugar pumpkin
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 tbs butter

This is the basic recipe. Usually, when I find a new recipe I stick to it the first time around. Then, if I like it enough, I'll play with it the next time to make it a little more me. I like playing with my food, but more about that another day.

Prep the pumpkin as if making a jack-o'lantern.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix all of the ingredients except the butter.

Pour into the pumpkin, careful not to over fill (that's something I learned by overfilling last night).

Top with the butter in a few pats and put the pumpkin top on.

Place in a large baking dish and place in the oven.

Bake at 350F for about 1 1/2 hours until the mixture has set.

Let stand and cool for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Serve from the pumpkin, scraping up the pumpkin meat to go along with the pudding. Should serve about 6 people.

The project wasn't a complete success. It took longer for the pudding to set then indicated. I took the top off for the last 1/2 hour and that seemed to do the trick. I did overfill which made for some spillage.

And it really wasn't very pretty....
But it was pretty yummy! Especially with some ice cream!


More experimentation to come.

Next up - carving!

More Rosy Goodness

The roses continue to bloom brightly, encouraging the other flowers of the garden to wake up and blossom. The bees buzz happily, doing their little bee dance in the roses, then buzzing off to the hive to make honey. Summer, June, and National Rose Month, are carrying forward.

If you have made some rose honey, or are in the process of making it, I told you I'd give you a few suggestions for using those honey laden, still sweet smelling, rose petals that you might have strained from the infusing jar. These are two of my favorites.

Honey Candied Rose Petals

You can create these little treasures either in a dehydrator or in a low oven.

Oven method:
If you are using the oven, put a silicon mat or piece of parchment on a cookie sheet. Let the oven warm to no more than 200º, then turn it off. Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and, if you'd like, sprinkle the roses with sugar (white or colored sugar work best). Return to the oven for about 20 minutes. Test them to see if they are drying. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. You can put them in the refrigerator to help speed the process.

The dehydrator method is done much the same way, and it's the method I prefer. Spread the petal out on one of the fruit leather sheets. If you don't have one, put some wax paper or parchment on the regular rack. Set the dehydrator for the lowest setting. Let dehydrate for about 1 hour, then test for dryness.

Store these rosy treats in an air tight container, with layers separated by wax paper, and refrigerate. They'll keep for up to 3 months. You can also freeze them. Use them as a snack, or as decorations for cakes and cupcakes, or to float in tea or punch.

Honey Rose Face Toner

Put all of the honey macerated rose petals into a medium pot. Cover with filtered or distilled water so that there is at least 3 inches of water above the petals. Cover and simmer on the lowest setting for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes, making sure that the water doesn't get so low the petals burn. It should be a very low simmer, just warming the liquid. Turn the heat off and let it sit until completely cooled. Strain the liquid into a bottle, making sure to squeeze out every bit of liquid from the petals that you can. (I use a potato ricer lined with cheese cloth to squish everything out). Store in the refrigerator. This will keep for 6 months or longer.

I use this as a delightfully refreshing toner and moisturizer. It's wonderful in the summer - cool, fragrant, softening and soothing. It feels particularly nice on sunburned skin.


Roses give us so much - beauty, fragrance, health and with that a little happiness. Stop by again soon and I'll tell you about some of the other wonders roses have to offer.

June is the time of the Rose

It's easy to believe that June is National Rose Month. I don't know about you, but my roses have been prolific since the end of May. And the garden smells fabulous for it.

Roses come in all shapes and sizes, colors and strength of scent. My favorites are Rosa Rugosa, a carefree rugged grower that doesn't need much fussing to produce beautiful fragrant blossoms and huge, juicy rose hips. I have 4 in my yard, and every year or so have to give them a hearty pruning to tame them.

I was never a rose fan until I saw these growing along the sand dunes of Normandy

Beach and Island Beach State Park here in New Jersey. They captured my heart. 2 of my rose bushes are from rose hips I picked at the shore and just stuck in a few pots to see what would happen. They are VERY happy here.

Not only are these beauties spirit lifting treasures in the garden, they have bountiful uses in the kitchen and medicine cabinet. One of my favorite things to make is Rose Honey.

Twice Kissed Rose Honey

• Large clean dry Mason type jar with lid (pint or 8 oz)
• Rose petals - untreated by any pesticides. The more fragrant the better. Enough to loosely fill the jar the first time. You'll need fresh petals in a week or so for the second fill.
• Local light colored honey

Fill the jar with the rose petals. Make sure they are dry. I like to let them sit for an hour or so to wilt slightly, removing some of the water.

Now fill the jar with the honey to just below the lid threads. Give a stir to make sure all of the petals are coated. Cover tightly and let sit for at least one week. Every few days turn the jar over (that's why the lid needs to be tight fitting).

After a week or so you could use the honey as is, even with the petals. I like to strain through a regular wire strainer. Then I add another batch of petals to the jar and recover with the honey. Cap and let sit for another couple of weeks, repeating the turning process.

Again, once the few weeks have passed you can either strain out the petals or use the honey with the petals in it. The uses? You can add the honey to tea for some extra relaxing properties, pour on pancakes, pour on ice cream over toasted pound cake, add to salad dressing or use straight over fresh fruit, or you can add it to your favorite spritzer recipe - the possibilities are endless. You could also add some to your bath, or use a little to soothe bug bites, scrapes and burns.

The scent is luscious, relaxing and evocative. Check back in a few days and I'll give you some other ideas for your roses, as well as what you can do with the strained rose petals!

You can also check out our newsletter for additional rose stories this month. To subscribe, just fill out the subscribe box to the right or drop me an email.

May your month be rosy and bright!

Suddenly Spring

What a difference a week can make. Last weekend, the east coast (and here in New Jersey) was battered bitterly by wind and rain. Very "March like a lion" type of weather. But the last few days, and into this weekend, Mother Nature gave us the wonderful gift of sunny, warm, bright, soul lifting weather. Thoughts suddenly turn to spring, which officially arrives tomorrow, Saturday, March 20.

This gift puts us in mind of frolicking in the garden, pulling out the tank tops and tees, forgoing jackets and reveling in the spring time. My advice - don't do it! Well, a little but not to the extent that our winter weary spirits are telling us to.

Now is the season of the cold and flu. Our eagerness to banish the winter can make us let our defenses down to soon. Trust me on this one. Even as I write this I'm battling a cold (so far, it's a tie but I think I'll win). So though I may go out in the warmth of the day and do a little yard cleaning, I'll resist the urge to pull out the seeds and full on garden equipment and have at it. I'll still wear long sleeves, though they may be lighter than my winter wool sweaters. And I'll keep my neck covered up, since so many cough and cold seem to emanate from this area. Instead, I'll sip my elderberry syrup and start to bring the spring inside.

This is the perfect type of weather to help air out the house and chase away the trapped in staleness. It may not be the full on spring cleaning attack. Consider it the first foray of the battle.

Just opening the windows and letting the air circulate helps freshen things up. I also like to simmer some mint - either a handful of dried mint on a very low simmer on the stove, or a few drops of essential oil in a diffuser - to brighten the air and chase away any germs that might be looking for a new home. I also spray our Mint Ceo Brionglóid (Dream Mist) on the linens to open up our breathing while we sleep.

The carpets will get a good vacuum too. This is my favorite recipe for a fresh smelling carpet deodorizer (which the carpet really needs after last weekends soppy mess).

• Sprinkle plain baking soda on rugs or upholstery. Let sit for 10 to 30 minutes, then vacuum. To add some extra punch, take a large jar and fill with baking soda. Add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil, then cover and shake. Let sit for at least 24 hours before using. If you don't have essential oil, you can add dried lemon rind or dried orange rind and let sit for at least a week or grind it up and add it. The baking soda will then be infused with the citrus scent and add an extra uplifting note when sprinkled and vacuumed.

Do take some time to revel in natures glorious weather, but don't get carried away. That will be coming soon enough!

Giving Bay it's Just Desserts

We often think of Bay leaves as those dry leaves we drop into soups, stews and sauces. It's a main meal type of herb. However, this pungent little leaf is more. And to honor it's place as Herb of the Year, I give you a tempting dessert recipe.

The main recipe appears in the International Herb Associations book "Bay (Laurus nobils) Herb of the Year 2009". This is a fascination collection of information, tips and recipes about and for Bay. I took the recipes from the book and played with them a little, and came up with this yummy dessert that's perfect any time of year.

Gingered Fruit with Bay Syrup


Start by making the Bay Syrup. Make a lot and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. It can also be frozen. Bay syrup can be used to flavor drinks, over pancakes, let your imagination run wild. The fragrance and flavor is spicy and sweet.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups water
10 bay leaves (fresh works best but you can use dried)

Put the sugar, honey and water in a heavy sauce pan. Add the bay leaves (bruise fresh ones slightly with a spoon). Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Cover and remove from the heat. Let it sit for an hour, or until room temperature. Remove the bay leaves, squeezing lightly to get out all the goodness. Place in a container and refrigerate.

Gingered Fruit

1 pound of fruit (fresh summer fruit works best - nectarines, peaches, plums, cherries, pineapple. You can also add some dried fruit like, currants, raisins, etc.)
1/4 cup of Bay Syrup
2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice.
1 tablespoon agar agar or gelatin

Cut the fruit into pieces. In a sturdy medium saucepan, combine the fruit, syrup and ginger. Cover and simmer on medium for about 7 or 8 minutes, until the juices are flowing and the fruit is slightly tender.

Stir in the lemon juice and gelatin or agar agar (you can find this in some grocery stores, health food stores, and oriental markets). Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and remove from stove.

You can serve this warm or chilled. It thickens quite a bit when chilled. My favorite - take apiece of pound cake, put on a scoop of ice cream, add some of the gingered fruit and a little extra Bay Syrup. Wow, is that good.

Extra fruit can also be refrigerated and nibbled as needed.

The Tale of the Apocryphal Cookie

From the days before email, there was a wonderful chain letter with the story of the department store cookie. Typically, the store is Neiman Marcus. According to Snopes, it's not a true tale, thus the name of Apocryphal Cookie. Not a true story - but yummy non-the less.

Urban legend has it that a woman and her friends went to lunch at a posh restaurant in a very elegant department store. There the woman had a wonderful cookie for desert. She asked the waiter if the recipe was available. He said yes, but that it cost two fifty. She said that was fine and to put it on her tab. Off she went with the recipe.

When she received the bill the following month, she was stunned to discover that it wasn't $2.50 - it was $250! Despite her complaint, the store insisted that it was the correct price. To protest, she copied the recipe and distributed it to everyone she knew and asked them to do the same.

And so I came into the recipe. In fact, I still have the yellowed photo copy from so many moons ago. This recipe, with a few minor changes, has become a favorite of ours. If you haven't seen it, you'll find it below.


Apocryphal Cookies

* 1 cups butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 eggs
* 2 cups brown sugar
* 2 tsp vanilla
* 4 cups flour
* 5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and whir in a blender to a fine powder)
* 2 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 24 oz. raisinets or chocolate chips or cinnamon chips
* 8 oz grated milk chocolate
* 3 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients of flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend completely and fold in chocolate, raisinets and nuts. Drop teaspoon size balls into an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and place on racks to cool. Makes 124 cookies - but you can half the recipe.

Whether the story is true or not, this is a yummy cookie that deserves its place in legendary stature.

There's Something About The Holidays...

I don't know what it is about this time of year, but I do know it's an uncontrollable urge. And once I get started, I just can't seem to stop.

No, it's not shopping, or any thing else you might be thinking. It's baking. Specifically, baking cookies. I enjoy creating in the kitchen all year round - dinners, cakes, herbal creations and new ideas for products for Celtic Chairde. But there's just something about Christmas and this space between holidays that makes me want to fill it with the wonderful smells and tastes of sweet temptation.

I've gone into this baking frenzy for years, staying up till all hours rolling and mixing and baking. For the last 10 (good heavens has it been that long!), Cindy and I have gathered the Friday and weekend after Thanksgiving and baked cookies till we couldn't stand anymore. Our record, I believe, is 23 batches and 16 types of cookies. Now THAT's a marathon! We share our goodies with co-workers, friends, family, and people we just like to say thank you to. We've collected all types of recipes, from the sublimely easy Pudding Cookies (see below for this recipe treasure) to the exotic Rose Geranium Cookies. We have fun discovering new recipes, and laugh at our disasters!

Cookies, whether you're leaving them for Santa or enjoying them with coffee and conversation, are a sweet way to share with friends. Since I can't give you cookies, I want to share a great recipe with you - the amazing Pudding Cookie.


I discovered this recipe on the inside of a box of instant pudding. It's simple, and highly adaptable, giving you a vast variety of delectables with a simple recipe.

PUDDING COOKIE

2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package, 4 serving size of instant pudding - choose your flavor!
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz of your favorite addition (see combinations below)

Mix the flour and baking soda. Cream the butter, sugars, pudding mix and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and continue to beat. Gradually add in the flour and baking soda. Stir in you addition. Use a teaspoon size disher, ice cream scoop or regular teaspoons and drop batter onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen.

If you like your cookies crispier, add an additional 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.

More of a butter cookie fan, add an extra stick of butter.

Here are some suggestions for combinations: Vanilla pudding and dried cherries, banana pudding and chocolate chips (my favorite!), chocolate pudding and crushed peppermint pieces, lemon pudding and chopped dried strawberries, pistachio pudding and chopped pistachios, vanilla pudding and cinnamon chips, butterscotch pudding and toffee bits, and so on and so on.

Add some fun to your holiday craziness - have a cookie baking frenzy of your own!