Take two fresh ginger roots, and scrub thoroughly. Sharpen your favorite knife and dice the roots as fine as you can. Add these, and about three cups water to a pan, and bring to a boil. Turn down to low, cover with a lid and let simmer for about 40 minutes. After that, remove the pan from the heat. Pour out about a half cup through a strainer into bowl, and let the rest sit covered until cooled.  Add about one half cup organic sugar or agave syrup to the hot liquid and stir.  You can make it sweeter than  this if you prefer. After the rest of the ginger liquid has cooled, strain it and add the sweetened part to it, and stir to mix. And, that’s it. You are done, and the proud maker of a fine batch of ginger syrup! Let the fun begin!

This syrup is good for you as while as pretty darn tasty, as ginger has many health proprieties. Just Google it ,and you will be amazed! Here’s a link I found interesting: http://www.boost-immune-system-naturally.com/health-benefits-of-ginger.html

So far, I’ve made soda by adding about three tablespoons to a glass, then topping with club soda.   Also, my daughter Janessa Philemon-Kerp and I created a drink we call The Collette. This is made by mixing a couple of tablespoons with a glass of champagne. Delicious!

My latest creation with ginger syrup is a hot drink. Put your tea kettle on to boil. Add about a quarter cup of your ginger syrup to the bottom of your cup, squeeze in about half a lemon, and add your favorite sweetener, such as honey or agave syrup. Top with hot water. A shot of whiskey in it is quite good, too. This warms you up nicely on a cold autumn day.

Here’s some photos of the process:

ENJOY!

Here’s my recipe:                                                                                  Pear Infusion:

In a quart jar add two ripe diced pears, one-half of a peeled, chopped orange, one-quarter (more or less) whole nutmeg, five whole cloves, five or six white peppercorns, and one small piece diced crystallized ginger. Fill jar to the top with good quality vodka. Cap, shake vigorously and let sit in a dark spot until Christmas season (or about two months). It would be interesting to make a fruit cake with the vodka soaked fruit.

This is easy and fast to put together. It makes for nice gifts when you strain it and pour into small, pretty labeled jars. This recipe can be doubled or tripled, just add more of everything. I’m going to make a larger batch as soon as I get some more vodka!

Enjoy!

MILLET:

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup millet
• 1 teaspoon veggie bouillon
• 1 bay leaf and a pinch of thyme, oregano, and rosemary

Add millet, bouillon and bay leaf to water in sauce pan. Bring to almost a boil, then turn burner down and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add the seasonings about 5-10 minutes before the millet is done.

Uncooked Millet

Millet cooking merrily away

It is done!

BURGERS:

Let the millet cool off.  Put some oil into a frying pan and turn the  burner on medium. Mix in about a quarter cup of flour and mix well.  Sprinkle four over a cutting board or plate. Flour your hands. Take a handful of the mix and shape into burger. Repeat until you have enough to fill the pan. Place carefully into pan. I like to use a spatula to flatten and round them. Fry until golden brown, then flip over.  Add cheese, if desired. This recipe makes about 8 millet burgers.

Just Cooking Away

Dinner Time!

All the usual burger fixings and sides are good on these.  I usually serve them with baked sweet potato fries.  This mix is very versatile. For instance, this can also be used to stuff bell peppers. You would not meed to add the flour to the millet mix.  It make  a nice side dish, too.  This can be prepared in less than an hour. Enjoy!

I had planted violets in my yard and let them go wild several years ago. Now I’m ready to take advantage of my unintentional planning ahead. First I picked about 6 cups of blossoms. I found out that the bees had woken and and also discovered the flowers, so I picked -and stepped-very carefully.

My cat was also a great help.  Every time I bend over, (she thinking, of course, that I’m bending over to pet her-why else? ) rushed over and thoughtfully put her purring furry cat body right under my hand to make it easy for me. So, it took a while longer than I had anticipated, but it was a beautiful. sunny day and both my cat and I had a nice afternoon. Once I managed to fill my container I placed them in a colander and carefully rinsed them.

I then placed them in a large glass pot and added about two quarts of water. I heated it up very slowly. This is the most important step. Do NOT boil the flowers. They will be ruined. Stand over the pan and heat them up slowly, until steam forms, but before it boils, and turn off the burner, put on the lid and leave it until cool.

Then put it in the fridge for 2-3 days. After that, pour through a strainer into a glass jar. You should have about two quarts.  The flowers will be pale , and the liquid will be an amazing dark blue.

In the meantime, make some simple sugar syrup. Place two thirds cup of sugar in a glass bowl. Add one half cup boiling water and stir.  I use a very small amount of sugar because the flowers are already sweet, and because I want to taste them, not the sugar. Let cool completely.  Add to violet extract water. Add two cups of vodka. My daughter , who has bartended, recommended Monopolowa Vodka, which is made from potatoes and imported from Vienna, Austria.   Mix this all together. It’s now done.  Store in a cool, dark place.This will get better with age, but it may not be around very long. This does need to be refrigerated.

All eatable flowers have their own unique medical proprieties. While I don’t know what violets contain, I do know that they are a wonderful spring tonic for us.

Violets only bloom a few weeks of the year, so now is the time to make it!  Now, I think I’ll go have a  medicinal glass of violet cordial!

My paternal Grandma in North Carolina used to make it for me.  We would go for a walk in the woods behind the farm, and get a big bowl of snow.  The only important thing is t be sure that it’s clean snow. (Avoid yellow snow!) You also want snow as opposed to ice.

There are two ways to make it.  I’m going to tell you the easy way. This recipe has two ingredients.  Snow and sweetened condensed milk. All you do is open the can and pour it into the clean snow. Stir it up, then dig in! My youngest son has been known to eat this until his lips turned blue.

Here’s some photos:

If you get snow where you live, turn it into a celebration and eat it!

I have developed the following recipe.

First chop several cloves of fresh garlic (or less if you don;t like garlic as much as I do), about 1/2 onion (I like red onions the best) and 2-5 peppers, depending on how hot you want it. Sometimes I roast the peppers first, but I didn’t this time. Saute the garlic and onions in a bit of olive oil  till transparent. In the meantime finely chop, or put through food processor  8-10 tomatoes. Stir into the pot when garlic and onions are ready. Bring to  a low boil then let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the peppers, black pepper, cumin, oregano and cilantro to taste. Stir in either about 1/4 of lemon juice or vinegar. This is necessary to keep the salsa safe.

Have your hot water bather, and your jars and lids ready to go. Fill pint jars, put in the bather and bring to a full boil, Process for 15 minutes. Remove and retighten the lids. Let cool. Put in your pantry. Admire:)

Here are some photos of the process:

I love to have canned tomatoes on hand during the long winter months. You can turn them into a multitude of recipes-such as marinara sauce, salsa, enchilada sauce and tomato soup.

First thing is to fill your hot water bather about 2/3 full and set on the back burner on medium. It takes a while for that much water to heat.  Then get your wide mouth canning jars and lids ready. I heat mine in the oven on 275degrees, inverted in a casserole dish half filled with water. You will need 7  jars.  I also keep my tea kettle about half full of hot water  in case I don’t have enough tomato liquid to fill the jars. I have learned that it’s good to put in a bit of boiling water before adding the tomatoes. It seems to keep the jars from cracking-an occasional occurrence.

First step in preparing the tomatoes is to rinse the them thoroughly. Next you need to remove the tomato skins, which is done by blanching them. This is the process of putting the tomatoes in boiling water until their skins start loosening and cracking. They are then immediately removed and placed in your sink, which is filled with ice water. So, start a smaller pot going on high, and fill your clean sink with cold water, then add ice cubes. These cubes will need to be added to during the process.

It’s very important to be very clean and sanitary while canning. Every tool used needs to be sanitized, and be sure to wash your hands often.

When the pot of water is boiling, put in 4 or 5 tomatoes. They will take approximately 1 to 3 minutes to blanch. When the skins start to peel, carefully pull them out with tongs and put in ice water. This is where another person comes in handy. They slip off the skins, take out the core and put then into a clean bowel, reserving the liquid. Working quickly while the tomatoes are still hot, remove a jar from the oven. Be sure to use a potholder, as the jars will be hot. Gently slip it into the jar. They have cracked when I plop them in. Pack the tomatoes in tightly. I use a chopstick to fit them in. If the liquid does not come up to 1/4 inch of the top add either tomato juice or hot water. Remove ring and lid from oven, seal and put in hot water bather. The hot water bather water needs to be on the point of boiling when you add the hot jars.

Continue until you have 7 quarts. Bring bather to a full rolling boil and process for 20 minutes. Be sure to close windows and doors before removing the jars when the time is up. Carefully pull out the rack and remove from bather. Set on towel and tighten lids. Wait until completely cool. Make really cool labels if you intend to give any as gifts. Then line them up in your pantry or shelf and admire!

Aren’t they a beautiful sight? Almost makes me look forward to winter:)

I have a few more tomatoes left. I am trying to decide what to make next -  Marinara sauce or salsa?

I’ve been baking for so long that I no longer need or use a recipe for most things. A few years ago, it occurred to me that I use the same basic recipe for cookies, muffins, cupcakes, cakes, crackers, and pizza crust. If you keep a few basic ingredients on hand, you can whip up something tasty in a few minutes.

The basic recipe is

2 cups flour. This can be a mix of unbleached white, whole wheat and other types, depending on what you are making, and your mood.

!/4 to 1/2 cup oil. The type depends on what you are making. For instance last night when I made pizza crust, I used olive oil. However I found out the hard way that olive oil completely ruins chocolate chip cookies!

1 Tablespoon Baking power

1teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt.

Sugar. Again-the amount depends on the use. I put about a tablespoon in any kind of bread, such as pizza crust, but about 1 cup when I make cookies. If you use a liquid sweetener, add a bit less liquid.

Liquid.  Add enough to desired constancy. I like to use vanilla soy milk in cookies. In pizza crust or muffins I’ll usually use water. I have used half vegetable broth and water with good results.

As an example, last night my son and I made home made pizza’s.We used this recipe for the crust. We make 2 different ones as we have very different taste in toppings. My son had the traditional sauce and cheese version. I didn’t use sauce on mine. Instead I brushed the crust with olive oil and sprinkled red chili flakes on it. I sliced a tomato thinly and laid it on first. This almost turns into a sauce while it bakes. Then I topped it with lots of veggies and some feta.

The possible combinations are endless.

Here’s the photos:

Turn on oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add the oil and water.

Mix until it forms a ball.

Knead a few moments.

Until it comes together.

Roll out as thick or thin as you like. If you

don’t have a rolling pin, you can use a smooth

sided jar.

Transfer the pizza crust to an oiled pan.

Poke crust many times with fork. This keeps

it from forming bubbles.

Bake until browned –about 10 –12 minutes.

Add your favorite toppings and return to

oven  Increase heat to 400 degrees for about

10 minutes, or until done.

Feast:)

I have a gallon jar full of mixed beans. I buy the 16 bean mix bags  when I find then on sale-usually at the grocery outlet. Love that store! When I have a small amount of uncooked beans or legumes I add them to the jar and shake it up.

This soup makes a complete complex protein and it is packed with all kinds of  vitamins, minerals and nutrients. This soup is very nourishing and comforting. It makes your body happy.

When the urge to make soup hits, and it does often in January, I bring out my trusty old crook pot. I rinse the beans and soak them overnight. I always add some barley and other grains. In the morning I turn the crock pot on high, and go about my day.  I usually throw in some frozen tomatoes that I bought at the farm down the road last summer, along with a bay leaf. You can add a can of tomatoes later instead.

About an hour or two before dinner time, I add whatever veggies need to be used, which always includes lots of fresh garlic and onion. I add some veggie broth and or some miso.  (A note about miso. It is a concentrated soy bean paste, and very nutritious. Add at the last. If miso boils all the beneficial parts of it are killed.)  If you have a  half can of corn in the fridge for example, throw it on in.  I like to add oregano, thyme,  rosemary and cayenne.

This soup is different every time I make it, as I use whatever is on hand.

It’s a very versatile soup. Add tomatoes or not, Add different spices. Add whatever veggies are on hand. Sometimes I throw in a handful of noodles. It takes very little actual hands on time. Throw together some quick corn bread muffins (anyone want the recipe?) and maybe a small salad or marinated cucumber and dinner is served.

This soup is very inexpensive to make, and it makes good use of foods that would otherwise get wasted. If you have leftovers-and I always do-you can freeze it in pint containers. This is quite handy to take to work with you. It’s thawed by lunch time. I like to reuse yogurt and margarine containers for that. They work well for this.

It’s a joy to come home after a hard cold day out in the real world to home make soup awaiting for you, the scent reaching you as soon as you open the door.

Here’s a few photos-and my lunch:)

I had picked up a few pine cones earlier in the year. I wanted to use them in the basket but wanted to make them prettier.  I have some glitter that is made for faces, so thought I’d try using that. I squirted some on the cones, then spread it around with a paint brush. After letting it dry for an hour or so, I then put a drop of elmers glue on the end. I would have used super glue, but didn’t have any. I had some raffia, so I cut it and tied it in a knot at the end, then put it in the glue. This made a loop to hang the pine cone. I left them to dry on newspaper.  When they were dry, the project was complete.

I didn’t want to leave the house or spend any money so I used what I had around the house. There are many things that can be picked up in your yard or on a walk that would be good to decorate. Make it pretty and put a loop on it. Wala. Now you have a unique decoration for free or nearly so.

This whole project only took about 10 minutes of actual time to complete.

Here are some photos showing the process.

The materials.

Adding glitter

Some red glitter

Applying glue

Adding the rafia loop.

The finished basket