Applemint Tea May 3, 2013

Several people have asked for my recipe for applemint tea so I figured posting it here and sending the link would be easier than separately messaging everyone.  Without further ado, Applemint Tea.

Method One (Hot Steep)

Gather up a bowl full of applemint sprigs.

Fill a pan with about 2 quarts of water and bring it to a boil.  Bruise and rip the leaves and stems.  Turn off the heat and add the applemint.  Steep until the water turns a beautiful light greenish tan.

Before straining if you would like to sweeten the tea, add your desired sweetener.  Depending on who I am fixing it for, I usually use stevia or honey and just sweeten to taste.  You want to add the sweetener before it chills over ice because you want the sugar particles or honey or whatever to dissolve well.  While the tea is steeping, I prepare two quart mason jars by filling them with ice cubes and placing a filter over the mouth of the jar. I use cheese cloth or even cone coffee filters depending on what I have on hand.  Then I tighten the jar band to hold it in place and pour the tea through to strain out any leaves and stems.

Cap it, shake it up and enjoy!

Method Two (Cold Water Steeping)

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures for this one but I did find a you tube link to the video where I first learned about applemint tea and how to cold steep it.  This method is fun to do with children but I do think the hot steeping method provides a stronger flavor!  In this video, the recipe starts at 20 minutes and 3 seconds in so you can skip to that section if you like but the whole video is great fun!

I hope you grow to love the summer tradition of applemint tea as much as I do!

Homespun Holiday January 12, 2012

What a wonderful, blessed Christmas we had!  Here are some of the highlights:

I scored this beautiful tree on black friday- next best thing to a real one, most people couldn’t tell it was fake!

The REAL garland to give the home a piney smell.  Also scored on black friday!

Ara and James loved the tree this year.  The ornaments were never in the same place and we had quite a few bite the dust, unfortunately.

Our first fire in the fireplace 🙂

Ara and I strung cranberries to make garland and then juiced the rest.

This year we did quite a bit of holiday baking!

Peppermint Bark chilling in the fridge

Baking Maple Granola for gifts…

Along with 6 dozen cookies: 3 dozen chocolate chip and 3 dozen toffee crunch

Packaged and ready to go and one left for Paul and I to munch on…

We took the kids to see the Christmas train display

Made gifts for our family…

…started to knit the kids stockings… and then decided to let that go this year, maybe next.

What a sweet Christmas it was!  Quiet, no places to rush off to, celebrating with family and friends the birth of our Lord.

So grateful for the blessing of God’s Son sent to earth and the blessings He continues to send everyday.

I hope you and your family had a very blessed Christmas as well!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesdays January 11, 2012

Jen’s Coconut Muesli

Mix in a bowl a handful or two of oats, a handful of chopped raw walnuts, a handful of raisins or chopped dates, 1/3 banana torn into chunks, and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

You could toast these and drizzle with honey if you wanted more of a dessert but for breakfast, I just toss a handful of coconut flakes on top.

Serve with cold milk of choice. Great with nut milks and coconut milks as well!

Tales from the Home Keeper February 5, 2009

Ara playing in the most recent snow we received.

Last Saturday was my birthday and we spent it at my parent’s house doing all sorts of fun things including shopping for sewing patterns and material for some new dresses and skirts for Ara and I.  It was a blast but I had to share a story with you of something Ara said that still gives me the giggles when I think about it.  For clarity, Ara calls my Mom Mimi. Mimi and Ara are reading a book about horses and the conversation goes something like this:

Mimi: Ara look at these brown horses.  I like the Thoroughbreds.

Ara: I like cornbread. 🙂

Cornbread is a favorite in our house, can you tell? 🙂  Here is a gluten free recipe that we like:

Jen’s Gluten Free Cornbread

1 c. Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

1 c. Yellow Cornmeal

1/3 c. Sugar

1/3 c. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

3 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 Egg

1 c. Milk

1/3 c. Melted Butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Butter the sides of a round pie dish.  In a large bowl, soak cornmeal in the milk for 10-15 minutes.  Then add gf flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Stir in egg and butter until well combined.  Pour batter in pie dish.  Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!  Wonderful served with honey butter.

Mason Jar Monday January 19, 2009

Mason Jars as Biscuit Cutters

(Shown here for cutting pastry dough but can be used for biscuits also)

Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

2 cups of self rising flour

(I’ve heard from multiple sources that White Lily Flour is the best as it is winter soft wheat and tastes the best)

1/3 cup of shortening

2/3 cup of buttermilk

melted butter

1. Combine flour and shortening.

2. Add in buttermilk and mix for approx. 1 minute.

3. Roll out to about 3/4- 1 in thickness and cut with your mason jar.

4.  Bake at 450 for about 8 min.

5. Brush tops with melted butter.

6. Enjoy!

Note: New Recipe Tab November 20, 2008

In lieu of “What’s Cookin’ Wednesdays”, I have added a new recipe tab in the upper right corner of my blog.  I will do my best to rotate these recipes seasonally so check back often 🙂

-Jen

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday October 22, 2008

Good Morning!  Around noon I am throwing together some beef stew in the crock pot and then cooking up some sweet potatoes about 60 minutes before dinner.  Here is the recipe I pulled from Allrecipes.com:

Candied Sweet Potatoes

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice

1. In a frying pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together until bubbly. Add the orange juice and stir until smooth. Add the cut-up sweet potatoes and cook slowly, turning occasionally until the sweet potatoes are caramelized, about 20 minutes. If syrup is too thin, add a bit more brown sugar.

Serves 5

What’s cookin’ at your house?

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday October 8, 2008

picture courtesy of allposters.com

Harvest Pie with Apple, Pears and Cranberries

from The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, “Food to Live By”.

For the Pie-

Crust for a single crust pie (for those gluten free Mama’s like myself use a gluten free pie crust)

1 ripe Earthbound Farm organic pear, peeled and sliced (1/4 in. thick)

3 crisp Earthbound Farm organic apples, peeled and sliced (1/4 in. thick)

11/2 c. coarsely chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries

1 tsp. finely grated lemon or orange zest or combination

2 Tbs. flour (or gf substitute)

1Tbs. cornstarch

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping-

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/3 c. flour (or gf substitute)

1/3 c. (packed) brown sugar

1/3 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 c. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Roll pastry dough into an 11 in. circle and place in a 9 in. pie plate, patting to fit. Trim or flute the crust around the edge of the pie plate. Transfer the crust to the refrigerator for 30 min.

2. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 375 F. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack.

3. To make the filling: place the apples, pears, cranberries, lemon zest, and orange zest into a large bowl and stir to combine.

4. Place the flour, cornstarch, sugar and nutmeg into a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle this mix on the fruit and toss to combine.

5. To make the topping: place the oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, ginger and nutmeg in a medium size bowl. Using your fingers, blend the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

6. Place the fruit filling in the pie crust and cover the filling with the struesel topping. Do not pack down the toppin.

7. Place the pie on the baking sheet in the oven. Bake the pie until the juices start to seep and bubble along the edges and the topping is golden brown, 50-60 min. Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack before serving, at least 20 min.

Serves 8

Great with Ice Cream!

Mason Jar Monday October 6, 2008

I am going to combine today’s Mason Jar Monday with one of the suggestions given in the giveaway entries- Homemade All Natural Beauty Products.

Mason Jars are great for storage, especially of products that need to be kept air tight.

In Fact, Maureen Morlath, Origins’ packaging development manager, decided to use mason jars as packaging for their body scrubs because, “Origins was looking for innovative packaging, especially a sealed jar, and they found it in mason jars. While looking for a unique profile and a way for consumers to mix the product, the design team thought mason jars would be apropos to evoke a preserve and home spa-like feel.”

Today I am posting a recipe for Rose Petal Facial Scrub. Most of the Ingredients are found in your kitchen. The only thing you might need to run out and grab would be white or green clay. If your husband happens to get romantic and buys you some beautiful roses- Here is another great reason to dry the petals and save them. (Side note- dried petals stored in mason jars are also particularly beautiful.) These also make great Christmas gifts!

Rose Petal Facial Scrub

Equal Parts:

Rolled Oats

White or Green Clay

Oil (Almond or Coconut are my Favorites but Olive would work in a pinch)

Mix Oats, Clay and Oil well and add in crushed, dried Rose Petals as a natural exfoliant.

Let me know how you like it!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday September 24, 2008

picture courtesy of allposters.com

Tonight I am making chicken and wild rice with grilled squash.  I tried this recipe for grilled squash last Sunday for small group and it was fantastic.  I hesitate to even call this a recipe because it only has two ingredients: sliced squash and Italian dressing.  Soak the squash in the dressing for about 5 minutes and then toss into a large skillet to cook until tender.  Yum!