I adore the scent of Bergamot as well as the flavor! Indeed, you'll find her in many of our best-sellers, including these items:
Earl Grey Cordial Part OneQuart Sized Jar with tight sealing lid 6 oz loose-leaf Earl Grey tea [or contents of 5 tea-bags] Peel of one Orange [or 2 clementines] Vodka to cover [about 2 cups]
Earl Grey Cordial Part TwoSteeped Tea-Vodka Base 2 cups demerara sugar [or honey or xylitol] 2 cups filtered water
The tannins extracted from the black tea leaves give it that deep, brown color & are extremely bitter on their own. Begin adding your cooled Simple Syrup to the pitcher, stirring it in as you go. I usually start off by adding half my syrup, then tasting to get a baseline. Continue adding & tasting until you get a blend that is just the right balance for your tastes. Most people will find their ‘sweet-spot’ adding all of the simple syrup, while some will like it a bit less sweet. If you add all of your syrup & still feel it is too bitter, or you wish to lower the alcohol content even further, you can add more water. Play with it until you get the perfect balance. Once you mix it up to your taste, decant it into pretty bottles. If you are feeling generous, a bottle of this is a lovely gift to any Earl Grey fan. Set your cordial aside for 24 hours to let the flavors meld together before drinking. Enjoy a small glass of cordial on its own as the perfect Low alcohol [ABV] end-of-the-day treat. It is also quite lovely to add a splash to a nice cup of Chamomile tea! You can also get creative with it & mix up some fun cocktails! I find it plays well with champagne, gin, & bourbon. I love to include it in a French 75, but am particularly fond of it in the following little number: The Caterpillar’s Kimono2 oz Botanically-Forward Gin [such as Hendrick’s] .5 oz Earl Grey Cordial .75 oz Chamomile Bar Syrup Bar Spoon of Lemon Juice Egg White [optional, but gives phenomenal mouth feel!] Orange Twist for garnish
And there you have it! I hope you enjoy this cordial & the process of making it! Do let me know if you get creative & mix up something fun with it--I love to hear from you all! Until next time--
Take care & STAY SAFE! #StopAndEatTheFlowers
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Stacked Cookie Trees make wonderful gifts or centerpieces for your table. Short stacks or tall, they always get the “Ooohh!” reaction! I have made stacked cookie trees in the past with my star-shaped cutters, but I think the trees will be even more beautiful made with snowflake shaped cookies!
Cardamom Sugar Cookies2 ¼ cups all purpose baking flour 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs ½ tablespoon Buttercup baking extract [or vanilla] ½ teaspoon cardamom extract [or 1 tsp ground cardamom]
There you have it! I would love to see your pictures -- please share!
Wishing you a wonderful, SAFE Holiday season filled with joy & love. STAY SAFE! ABOUT: Tulsi [Ocimum tenuiflorum] is an aromatic member of the Lamiaceae or mint plant family, easily recognizable by its square ‘hairy’ stems & distinctive fragrance. Also known as Holy Basil & the Queen Of Herbs, tulsi is cultivated around the world for religious & medicinal purposes. It has been used for centuries in Chinese & Ayurvedic healing, as well as in religious ceremonies.
Indeed, recent medical studies have shown Tulsi to actually lower cortisol levels [“The beneficial metabolic effects of tulsi are multiple and include lowering cortisol levels” Gholap S, Kar A.Pharmazie. 2004;59:876–8] in the body, so it is not just promoting feelings of wellbeing, but actually increasing our resilience to stress & our ability to handle it. [hence my vote for the official herb of the pandemic]
SHOP THESE FABULOUS TULSI-CONTAINING PRODUCTS In addition to being used as tea, tulsi is also steam-distilled to create essential oil & hydrosols. These can be applied to the skin or diffused in the home to help promote harmony. I enjoy bringing large ‘bouquets’ of cut stems & flowers inside to help fragrance our home too. This has the added benefit of ensuring I easily have fresh leaves at hand to muddle into drinks too.
Well, that is about it for this week! I think you can see why I believe Tulsi to be such an important herb, & one that everyone should consider including in their lives!
Hopefully, I have piqued your curiosity about this amazing herb. As you sit down this Winter to plan your garden beds for next spring, give some though to adding her to your mix! I believe you will really enjoy it & all its benefits! Take care & STAY SAFE! #StopAndEat TheFlowers
Not surprisingly, my favorite ways to use QAL are for jelly, cordials, & syrups. The flowers are also lovely for drink garnishes. We have had an especially large bloom of them this year -- something I have definitely been taking advantage of, especially for the jelly! This is a typical wildflower jelly, made by steeping the flowers as a ‘tea’ overnight, but QAL jelly has two very unique characteristics. First, the flavor is unlike anything else, sort of a floral-peachy flavor--almost a natural Juicy-Fruit-Gum taste, but less sweet-- truly delicious. Secondly, most of the time the addition of the lemon juice causes the liquid to turn a gorgeous soft-pink color! It must be a pH thing [alkaline soil maybe?] & not every batch does it, but more-often-than-not, adding the acidic juice instantly turns the QAL tea from yellow-orange to pastel pink & every batch this year has done it. Let’s get started with a batch-- Queen Anne’s Lace Wildflower Jelly
Outrageously beautiful AND delicious, we find it pairs nicely with sharp cheeses on a cheese board [& looks so pretty there too!] or with grilled chicken-- but you seriously can’t go wrong just slathering it on toast! Let me know how you use yours--& did it turn pink? I am so curious about the science behind that… Until next time-- TAKE CARE & take time to #StopAndEatTheFlowers
often considered a grain. Both the seeds & leaves are edible, tasty & highly nutritious-- indeed, amaranth contains more protein than many grains!
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