Lavender Jelly

Lavender Jelly

3

1⁄2 cup dried edible lavender flowers

4 cups water

1 package fruit pectin

2 tbsp lemon juice

5 ½ cups sugar

1. Simmer the flowers in boiling water for 15 minutes.

2. Take off the heat, cool, and strain through a cheesecloth into a bowl.

3. The lavender water can be covered and stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator but has to be cooled.

4. Prepare jars, lids, and rings for canning.

5. Whisk lavender water, pectin and the lemon juice in a large saucepan.

6. Bring to a boil.

7. Add sugar and return to a full rolling boil.

8. Boil hard for 1 minute.

9. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

10. Put into jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for either half-pint or pint jars.

11. Makes about 3 pints or 6 half-pints of jelly. 

Wild Rose Jelly

Wild Rose Jelly

Again with my flower jellies.  Remember, use only petals that have not been sprayed with any chemicals.  

3

6 cups of rose petals

4 cups water

1 package fruit pectin

2 tbsp lemon juice

5 ½ cups sugar

1. Simmer the petals in boiling water for 15 minutes.

2. Take off the heat, cool, and strain through a cheesecloth into a bowl.

3. The rose water can be covered and stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator but has to be cooled.

4. Prepare jars, lids, and rings for canning.

5. Whisk rose water, pectin and the lemon juice in a large saucepan.

6. Bring to a boil.

7. Add sugar and return to a full rolling boil.

8. Boil hard for 1 minute.

9. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

10. Put into jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for either half-pint or pint jars.

11. Makes about 3 pints or 6 half-pints of jelly. 

Violet Jelly

Violet Jelly

As with any edible flowers use untreated flowers.  Flowers from florists or a lawn may be treated with pesticides that are harmful if ingested. 

7

8 cups fresh violet blossoms

3 1/2 cups boiling water

1 package powdered fruit pectin

1/2 cup lemon juice

4 cups sugar

1. Rinse and drain blossoms; place in a large heat-resistant glass bowl.

2. Pour boiling water over the blossoms and let stand for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

3. Strain and reserve violet liquid, pressing with a spatula to extract all possible color. Discard blossoms.

4. Measure violet liquid; add enough water to measure 3-1/2 cups (liquid will be blue-green).

5. Stir in pectin, lemon juice and sugar (the liquid will turn a violet color).

6. Pour into a large stainless steel saucepan; bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.

7. Boil 1 minute.

8. Remove from the heat; skim off foam.

9. Carefully ladle hot liquid into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace.

10. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids.

11. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

Spicy Sweet Curry Hummus

Spicy Sweet Curry Hummus

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1 clove garlic, chopped

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 cooked medium sweet potato

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of one lime

1 ½ teaspoons curry powder

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger or candied ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable broth

1. Add garlic and salt to food processor.

2. Pulse to chop the garlic into very small pieces.

3. Add the chickpeas, sweet potato, olive oil, and lime juice.

4. Process for 30 seconds, then add curry powder, ginger, and broth.

5. Process for 1 ½ minutes.

6. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

7. If you would like the hummus a bit thinner, you can add 1 or 2 additional tablespoons of broth.

Calendula Jelly

Calendula Jelly

Actually, any edible marigold can be used in this recipe like lemon gem, tangerine gem, red gem, etc.... Just use the petals the rest is not edible.

2

3 cups of edible marigold flower petals

5 cups of water

1 box of low sugar pectin

3 cups of sugar

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1. Put flower petals in a bowl.

2. Pour over enough boiling water to cover and allow to steep and cool for a couple of hours.

3. Strain well and add enough water to make 4 cups of liquid.

4. Mix the pectin with ½ cup sugar in a small bowl.

5. Whisk the sugar-pectin mix into the liquid, along with lemon juice, and bring to a hard boil in a large pot.

6. Whisk in the rest of the sugar.

7. Return to a hard boil.

8. Boil for 1-2 minutes.

9. Poor into sterilized jars and process in canner according to directions.

Warm Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad

Warm Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad

4

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

Juice of one lime

3 cups roughly chopped baby spinach

1 cup peas

1 medium red pepper, diced

1/3 cup minced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1. Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium pot.

2. Add quinoa, then reduce to a simmer and cover.

3. Cook for 10 to 11 minutes, until quinoa, is cooked through and tender, but not mushy, and water has evaporated. 

4. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

5. Let sit for five minutes.

6. Stir in lime juice, spinach, peas, red pepper, onion, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and peanuts.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Fresh Herb Dumplings

Fresh Herb Dumplings

These dumplings can go into a soup or add your favorite sauce.

3 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

3 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 tablespoons chopped celery leaves

1 teaspoon plus 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Whisk first 7 ingredients, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and pepper in large bowl until blended.

2. Whisk in flour (batter will be soft).

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil.

4. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt.

5. Working with half of batter at a time, quickly add dumpling batter to pot by teaspoonfuls, submerging teaspoon with batter into boiling water each time and shaking spoon to dislodge batter.

6. Cook dumplings at a gentle boil until just tender (do not overcook), about 8 minutes per batch.

7. Using large skimmer, transfer dumplings to a large rimmed baking sheet.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill.