herbs from the garden.

Being home this week has meant plenty of time in the garden and kitchen. Many herbs are nice and new right now (not woody or thick), perfect for using in herbal recipes. I love growing things that are not only tasty but also have other properties and uses. For me, I like building and experimenting a little more every year so that I can build up my recipes and experience, as well as find what things really work well for us and that we use often. It feels good to see bottles of hand crafted goodness from the garden. There are a bunch of things we have made this week - here are a few::

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::mint apple cider vinegar hair rinse::


1 quart freshly picked mint leaves (you can use any type of mint you like/have)
2 cups of hot distilled water (not boiling, but very hot)
2 cups apple cider vinegar


Place your freshly picked leaves in a quart jar. Pour over the hot water and loosely cover. Let steep overnight.

Strain into a bottle, squeezing the mint to get all the liquid out. Add 2 cups of apple cider vinegar to the bottle.


To use, simply pour some over your hair in the shower, and massage into your scalp (don't get in your eyes). Let it sit a minute and rinse if you like. You can also leave it in, if you don't mind the slight vinegar aroma for awhile.

Together with the mint, the apple cider vinegar cleanses your scalp and removes residue buildup on your hair from styling products, soaps, shampoos and hard water. The mint also adds shine and balances out the strong smell of the cider.

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::lemon balm astringent::


1 quart of freshly picked lemon balm leaves
3/4 cup good quality witch hazel
1/4 cups of hot distilled water (not boiling, but hot)**

**(I noticed this morning I put the wrong amount of water in the recipe - this is now correct. It is 1/4 cup water, not 2 cups. I suppose that is a risk when blogging late night!)


Add the freshly picked leaves to a quart jar. Add the hot water. Let it steep with the herbs and come down to room temp. Add the witch hazel. Cover and let steep overnight (or a few days). Strain into a bottle, squeezing the herbs to get all the liquid out. Keep in the fridge for a hot summer treat for your skin - use with a cotton ball as you would any facial astringent.

The leaves of lemon balm contain potent astringent and antibacterial properties. Witch Hazel extract has astringent, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and anesthetic properties. This astringent can be used on your face and is nice stored in the refrigerator to cool and soothe a sunburn. It can also be used as a compress for eczema flare ups, sore muscles and plant rashes (poison ivy, nettles stings, etc.).

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And in progress? Rose Water - to be made into linen/room freshening spray. It needs to steep a few weeks before ready.



Can't wait!

How are you using herbs from your garden?

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rhubarb syrup :: rhubarb soda

It is that time of year...rhubarb time! I try to make a bit of everything with it so that it can last us through the year. Frozen, jam, compote, chutney, syrup...combined with some of the decadent freshness that is the seasonal treat like rhubarb ice cream or granita or baked honey glazed rhubarb. The house has the constant rhubarb and honey smell this time of year and it is a good thing.


We have a lot of cold and now wet this week (frost tomorrow night?) so it is perfect for home and kitchen puttering. Yesterday I made one of my favorite things. Rhubarb syrup - this year with ginger and cardamom. SO GOOD.


::Rhubarb Ginger Syrup::

8 C chopped rhubarb
1.5 cups honey
sliced fresh ginger (2" knob)
2 cardamom pods, cracked - seeds only into pan (optional, but it is good!)
1/2 vanilla pod scraped (or 1 tsp good vanilla extract)
2 cups water
(If you want it to look pink, add a slice of fresh beet)

Combine everything in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the liquid has thickened slightly, about 30-40 minutes.

Run the mixture through a fine strainer (or cheesecloth) that has been placed over a large bowl. Strain until most of the liquid is in the bowl. Give a little press on the solids with a spoon to extract more syrup.

Pour the syrup into a clean bottle, cap or cork the bottle and refrigerate. It will store for quite a long time in the fridge.

The solids make a nice rough jam or are fantastic added to baked goodies (just remove ginger slices), so if you want you can put what is left in the strainer in a clean jar and keep them in your refrigerator and use as needed! I'm making muffins this morning with it.

What to do with it? I love using it to make rhubarb soda. Or, add a little to lemonade (my boys love this) or iced tea. Drizzle over vanilla ice cream. Or perhaps ... vodka and a sprig of basil!

Of course the first thing we did with the syrup was make rhubarb soda. We don't drink store bought carbonated beverages/sodas, but having a rhubarb ginger soda is a real treat - and sweetened with only honey!

::Rhubarb Soda::

Ice
Rhubarb Syrup (for a pint canning jar glass I fill to about 1/4)
Club Soda
Sprig of Fresh Basil (optional, but so good!)

Put the syrup in over the ice and then gently pour the club soda over. Lightly crush the basil and stir in. It is so so so so so so good!

More rain and cold this week, and more rhubarb in my kitchen! Today we are freezing some so that we have it when the strawberries are ripe. Yum.

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strawberry season!

It is time! After a break, I am back. I am blogging again over at my food blog: cook.eat.think.

My first recipe of the season is strawberry-rhubarb bread pudding. Yum.

Applesauce revisited...

I have had a dozen or so requests for the applesauce recipe from our last batch (see here). Here it is!

Applesauce:

1/2 case apples
1/2 cup orange juice (you can use lemons too...I like flavor from oranges)
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Core & cut apples into quarters and fill pot. We peeled 80% of ours, leaving only some for color. Pour orange juice over the top, add about 1.5 cups of water to pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for several hours until the apples are soft and mushy. During the simmering, push down the apples with a potato masher or stir well with spoon. Make sure nothing is burning on bottom...Allow to cool. Stir in syrup & spices. If you like chunky applesauce, leave as is. For smoother applesauce, pass in batches through food mill. Store in fridge or freeze.

Pickles, Garlic, and Tomatoes.

I have been trying out a few new things in the kitchen. For the past several months we have been making our own yogurt, ice cream, bbq sauces, jam, dry rub mixtures, and so on, and freezing or storing extra as we go. I have moved into new territory in trying out some fermentation and pickling. I don't have time for the whole big canning process at this point, but I have found several recipes for quick pickling, which requires clean jars but no canning.

From left to right is fridge pickles, pickled garlic, and dried tomatoes in olive oil with rosemary.

1. Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil. The tomatoes from my garden have been dried in the dehydrator, and then put in a clean jar with olive oil to cover, and a few sprigs of dried rosemary. This is stored in the fridge and can be used for salads, stews, and pasta. They taste SO good coming from fresh ripe tomatoes it is amazing.

2. Pickled Garlic. The pickled garlic was easy too. I basically used the recipe from Nourishing Traditions. Take up to about 12 heads of garlic, remove the outer skin and then bake the cloves in an oven until the rest of the skin can easily be removed. The garlic is not mushy soft, but slightly soft and aromatic and beginning to look less opaque. Put the cloves in a clean jar. Mix together a few teaspoons of dried herbs (I used dried oregano and rosemary from my garden), 4 teaspoons of GOOD sea salt, and about 1/2 cup of water. Pour the liquid over the garlic, and add more water if the garlic isn't covered. Screw lid on tightly, keep at room temp for about 2-3 days, then put in the fridge.

3. Refrigerator Pickles. The fridge pickles I adapted from several books I have out from the library. Each one has a different recipe, but I used what I had at home. I took the 5 cucumbers I have from our CSA and cleaned and sliced them into 1/4" slices. Pack them in the canning jars (or clean glass container). On the stove combine 2 cups of water, 3/4 cup of high quality apple cider vinegar, and 1/3 cup of good quality sea salt.

To the cukes I added amongst the jars a total of 4 dill heads and a handful of dill sprigs from my garden, as well as the seeds from 2 large dried dill heads (I dried in the sun over this week). You could use a few store bought sprigs of dill or 2 or so tablespoons of dill seed. I added 1 clove of my pickled garlic per container. If you like stronger dill flavor, you can add more. If you like heat, add hot peppers or pepper flakes as well.

Bring the liquid on the stove to a boil, then add it to the cukes in the jar - make sure they are covered. Let it come to room temp and then refrigerate it and eat all within a few weeks! They taste SO great.

A key point with using the raw apple cider vinegar and good sea salt for the recipes is to increase the nutritional value of the foods...so it is an important part!

Strawberries #2: Home Made Strawberry Ice Cream

Our second recipe for this week is for the homemade strawberry ice cream we made with our fresh sweet strawberries. Use the freshest, organic milk you can find, which makes it super creamy and rich. We started with a Vanilla Ice Cream base, and then divided it and kept 1/2 vanilla for the boys, and then made 1/2 strawberry for us.

Vanilla Ice Cream Base:
1 c whole milk, chilled
3/4 c sugar (I have heard you can use honey, sweeten to taste)
2 c heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
(fresh strawberries, pureed or chopped finely - we used about 1 cup...)

We use a cuisinart electric ice cream maker since it does it quickly and prevents ice crystals from forming. You could use the rolling ball maker too.

Whisk the ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Pour into ice cream maker and let it mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Fold in your strawberries, and let it go another 5 minutes or so (to get strawberries up to temp). Put your container/bowl in the freezer to harden a bit. EAT!!!


Kids can help with most of the steps - it is really easy. G helped measure, mix and pour. Both boys cut strawberries (cutting boards and butter knives). I just smushed the berries a little more with a fork to get smaller bits after they were done.


We still have some strawberries from our CSA box left - and I am making fresh Strawberry Jam as I type~!

Strawberries #1: Mixed Berry Scones

Here is our first delicious strawberry endeavor this week.

Mixed Berry Scones with Orange Glaze
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F)

2 cups unbleached flour (plus a little more for rolling fruit in)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c unsalted butter chilled/cold and cut into chunks
3/4 c buttermilk (or you can use cream)
1 egg

Fresh berries: I used 1 c frozen blueberries, and 1 c fresh cut up strawberries

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a big bowl. Mix. Cut in butter using 2 forks or a pastry blender. The butter bits should be coated with flour and look like crumbs.

In a second bowl mix together the buttermilk and egg, and then add the flour mixture. Mix just to incorporate - don't overmix or you will have rock scones.

Roll berries in flour to coat. Fold the berries into batter, being careful not to bruise the fruit. Drop large tablespoons of batter on an ungreased cookie sheet, or use a scone pan.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes until brown. Cool before putting on the glaze.

Orange Glaze:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 orange, juiced and zested (no oranges, you can substitute 1/4 cup or so of fresh OJ) Using lemons instead also makes a yummy glaze.

Glaze: Stir the butter, sugar, orange zest, and juice together. Microwave in 30 second spurts (stirring in between) until butter and sugar are melted and the glaze has thickened. Remove from microwave and beat a little bit to incorporate and thicken. Drizzle or brush on top of scones and let it dry.

Just a note: If you use frozen blueberries, they will bleed some color into the dough - fresh won't.

Summer is coming...iced tea for warm days.

Warmer weather and sunny days make me think of iced tea. We made a pitcher today, and it was so good I had to post about it.

Here is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to make it. A actually makes it for me (of course I pour the hot water).Pick 3-5 tea bags. I usually use 3 green tea, and then 1-2 herbal bags (peppermint, peach, jasmine, etc.). If you want the tea to have more of a tea color (green tea is pale), add a bag of black tea. You can of course use loose teas. A likes to open the packets and then twist all the strings together so they are easier to pull out at the end.

Put the tea bags into a pitcher. I use a 2-liter size since it fits into the fridge. Heat water just to a boil. Pour it over the tea, filling pitcher 3/4 full. I like to use raw honey to sweeten. Sweeten to taste when still warm so honey dissolves --- stir. Depending upon what is growing in the garden the boys also collect lemon balm or mint leaves - we add 4-8 leaves per pitcher for added flavor. Let cool. Squeeze out tea bags, remove bags & herbs, and discard.


A nice way to make it even more delicious - Grind up a few tablespoons of some crystallized ginger with a mortar & pestle (kids LOVE to grind). Lightly rim a glass with some honey. Dip it into ginger powder. It gives it an extra flavor and is quite amazing. I have seen people licking all the way around the rim of the glass! :)


In general, the boys help with about everything that we make in the kitchen. They love helping, the focus and attention to detail are great, and they are so proud when they remember the process, the ingredient and the quantities!

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

My favorite scone recipe. Great for adults but my little guys love them too - and not too much sugar. You can leave the glaze off one or two for little people. Use only fresh blueberreies as frozen will bleed into the dough.

Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut it into chunks
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar (sifted)
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar). Use 2 forks or a pastry blender and cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; don't overmix. Fold in the blueberries. Try not to mash or bruise the blueberries or the color will bleed into dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 inches and and inch and a quarter thick. Cut the rectangle in half then cut the pieces in half again, which gives you 4 squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops of them with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until brown. Let the scones cool a while before you glaze them.

Lemon glaze:
Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk the glaze to get rid of any lumps, and then drizzle it over the top of the scones. Let it sit to harden a tad before serving.