Cranberry, Chocolate, Orange Bars

Chicken Lentil Soup

Made for a friend who has a sore throat.  A medicinal soup.

In 

1/4 cup bacon drippings

Saute briefly:

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 Tablespoons mashed, rested garlic

1 Tablespoon mashed ginger root

Add

5 cups water

1 cup green lentils

6 Tablespoons chicken broth

1 teaspoon Jacobsen Sea Salt

Gently boil 30 to 40 minutes until lentils are softened.

Add and warm

3 cups roasted chopped carrots

2 cups roasted, chunked chicken

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

Serve hot.  About 6 or 8 servings.  May need to add salt.

Delicata Squash, Roasted

Delicata squash is ready for harvest so I decided to experiment with one.

I separated the seeds and coated them in the same oil and spices used to coat the squash.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and then cut squash in 3/4 inch slices.

Coat squash slices in about 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/8 cup pure maple syrup, salt, pepper and cinnamon to taste.

Roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, gently roast the coated seeds.

Once the squash and seeds are ready, toss together and garnish with French thyme.

On a rare occasion I have currant tomatoes.  Today is one of those days.

Basil Lemon Parmesan Pasta Salad

Zest of 2 lemons

6 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 tablespoon coconut aminos

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt, pepper

2/3 cup toasted pine nuts

2 lbs bow tie pasta, cooled

2 cups fresh basil snipped small

5 ounces grated parmesan cheese

Mix the dressing together in large bowl while cooking pasta.

Combine cooled pasta with dressing.

Snip and add basil and parmesan and stir to combine.

Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.  Add pine nuts and serve cold.

Rose Lemonade With Maple Syrup

Someone important to me wanted rose lemonade today but the usual source did not deliver.

Since the heirloom rose Ebb Tide is abundantly producing roses it seemed like a good idea to experiment.

I ended up with 3 cups washed rose petals.  In the next photo you see them soaking in alkaline water weighted with a cereal bowl.

 

Next up was 6 cups of water set to boil.  Once the water boiled the 3 cups of petals went in.

And very soon it looked like this:

Which is not attractive.

But leaving it to cool slightly then straining...

...then adding 3 tablespoons lemon juice, it turned to this....

This took two times because the 4 cup measuring dish was too small.

But in total, it took 6 tablespoons lemon juice.

In each of the fancy bottles left over from previous purchases, I combined 

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup rose water

2 tablespoons lemon juice from concentrate

1 tablespoon maple syrup

They are in the fridge for later.

Today she wanted some as she went out in the heat to work.

Since the two bottles are still warm, I made another batch in a glass, added ice and sent her on her way.

Well she poured it all into a travel cup to be more accurate.

It is a bit watered down with the ice, but now that the rosewater is cooling in the fridge the next batch should be great.

I prefer less sweetness and maybe one tablespoon maple syrup per bottle is too little for some.  Easily remedied by adding to your taste.

This turned out more peach colored than the original product.  But in reviewing the ingredients there is beet juice and no rose water,  just rose oil.

And beet juice is a great color even when diluted.

rose apron

Rose Petal Jelly using Ebb Tide David Austin Heirloom Roses

Two years ago I made rose petal jelly. Using a slightly different recipe.   I like the other recipe better as it uses less sugar. There is a post about it (June 18, 2019) but I want to do another one anyway because it is such a special thing to make and eat.

And oh the scent and flavor.  Lovely!

Rinse 7 roses and pull off the petals.  This should add up to one cup.  I made it a heaping cup.

Add the petals to 3 cups cold water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

 Very shortly they will lose their color.

 Set the pan off the heat and rest 10 minutes.

Strain the juice.  Press the juice from the petals.

Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and immediately the color looks better.

The three cups of juice goes back in the pan.  Bring back to a rolling boil that stays boiling while stirring.

Add one pouch of liquid pectin. Stir in well.

Add 4 cups sugar slowly while stirring in one cup at a time.

Boil rapidly for one minute.

Pour into sterilized jars/lids and do the step of preserving in a canner if you need to store it more than a month.

I don't do this step because I give it to friends with instructions to use up within one month.