Approx. 30 Fresh clean dandelion heads (free of pesticides or herbicides)
1 egg
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 c flour
Extra virgin olive oil

Stir all ingredients together to make the batter.
Heat pan with extra virgin olive oil.
Dip dandelion heads into batter by holding the head by the green base near the flower petals. Cover the entire flower with batter.
Drop into skillet flower side down.
When they are lightly browned, turn them over and brown other side.
When they are brown put them on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Pour a bit of maple syrup over the top and eat ‘em up!

Grab a large bowl and let your creativity take charge.  Some herbs that work well are rose petals, red clover, lavender buds, whole calendula flowers, lemon verbena, rosemary, peppermint, chamomile, or any herb that is well-known for throwing sweet, herbal scent. Toss the herbs together in the bowl with flower power in mind!  Think pretty combinations and skin-loving herbs.

Rose Petal and Calendula Bath Soak

Once the herbs are blended and you love the look, add in as much Epsom salts as desired.  Blend the salt and the herbs together.  You can now add a few drops of an essential oil that you know your receiver will enjoy.  One of my favorites is lemongrass. Citrus oils go well with the calendula flowers and chamomile and lavender essential oils always pair well together.

Grab a pretty tin or jar and fill with your new herbal creation.  Tie it with a pretty red ribbon or make a label and give it a neat name.  You can even name it after your receiver if you would like.  We called ours a foot soak because we know so many ladies that like to give their feet a treat.

Last but not least, include an organza bag.  For some reason, herbs heading toward the drain hole sometimes seem to make our partners very crabby!

Happy Herbal Valentine’s Day,

Deb Doubek

One of my favorite recipes, this time of year is my Grandma Schnell’s Butter Cookie Recipe.  Over the years I have perfected it.  You see, the art of a great butter cookie is more than just a good recipe.  Trick #1 is to roll the dough thick, preferably just under 1/2 inch.  Trick #2 is use an old-fashioned cookie cutter.   The metal cookie cutters work best not the thin plastic cutters.  I prefer to use the type with the rippled edges as you can see below.

Trick #3 is bake them lightly.  Pull them out of the oven when you pickup a cookie and can see a light browning on the bottom.  This will create a nice soft cookie.  Trick #4 is to follow the recipe I show below.  It produces a nice, light fluffy buttery cookie that your family will love. 

Butter Cookie Recipe

1 c butter

1 c sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream the softened butter and sugar together.  Then add the cream of tartar, eggs, and vanilla.  Fold in the flour and baking soda.  Combine into a large ball and then separate to the size you would like to roll out.  I usually separate the batch into two balls.  Put flour down on a clean surface, rub some on your rolling-pin too, and roll out to just under 1/2 inch.  Use cookie cutters and place unbaked cookies on a baking sheet and bake until just slightly brown on the bottom in a 350º oven.  I am not even going to give a time as you really need to eyeball this as every oven is different.  Once you have your first pan or two baked, you can jot the time down for your next batch.  Once the cookies are baked, place them on waxed paper to cool.

Merry Christmas!  I hope your family loves your next batch of butter cookies as much as mine!

Happy herbal holiday,

Deb

Hot processing is a technique where a soap base is cooked at low temperatures between 180 – 200°F for 2-3 hours.  During this process fatty acids are neutralized and produces clear liquid soaps and transparent bar soap.

Cold processing involves no cooking of the soap base.  Yes, the oils are heated and combined with the lye solution, but this does not constitute a hot process.  The oil and lye are combined between 80-110ºF and then poured into molds.  It is during this time that the cooking method takes place and the soap basically, cooks itself.    This photo below represent the gel phase. 

It also during this time that many soapmakers (including your truly) will incubate their soap with a towel to increase the chances of getting their soap to the gel stage. 

My specialty has always been Cold Process Soapmaking, but I am about to change that.  The process between the two methods is very similar and requires similar equipment.  I plan to come out on the other end of this weekend with my first batch of Hot Process Soap in the form of liquid soap.

Happy herbal!

Deb Doubek

Now, I just cannot imagine there is a cupboard in the world that would not benefit from a fine bottle of homemade vanilla extract, especially one that can be reused and refilled.  Here is the recipe:

Purchase boston rounds or similar bottle locally at a herb store or online through a company such as Specialty Bottle or SKS Bottle.  Online they can be purchase for less than $1 each.  Purchase vanilla beans either locally or online.   The cost should run under $1 per bean.  You are going to need about 1 1/2 to 2 beans per bottle.  Slice the beans in half and place inside bottle.  Fill bottle with any kind of inexpensive vodka (you may already have some in your stash!).  Allow this to sit for approximately 6 weeks…just in time for Christmas!

Let the receiver of your gift know that more vodka can be poured over the beans until they are spent.  I made this vanilla extract just yesterday and the vodka is already starting to turn color.  The finished product should be a nice, dark brown color just as you would find in a gourmet kitchen.

Here is another recipe that take advantage of your herb garden.  Even in Wisconsin I was able to extract these herbs from the garden yesterday to make these little cuties!

Horehound cough drops are sucked on and used as an expectorant.  This is great for scratchy winter throats.  Some people do not like the taste of horehound but the sugar in this recipe helps it taste better.

4 oz fresh horehound leaves

1/2 tsp crushed anise seed or several star anise

3 crushed cardamom seeds

4 whole or crushed cloves

2 1/2 cups water

Simmer for 20 minutes and then strain or filter out herbs with cheesecloth.

Put herb water back in pan and add the following:

2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 brown sugar

Boil over medium heat until syrup forms. 

Test with the hardball method by dropping syrup in cold water.  If it hardens like a ball, it is done.

Pour into an oiled tray, score and store in waxed paper bags.

Happy herbal winter folks!

Deb

This past Sunday, I was invited to come and pick up some odds and ends such as old doors and windows by the son of Uncle Bill, our Cousin Bill.  He is quite the sales person and wisecracker and was making a play for me to remove tires, old glass windows, or anything he could get me to shove into my car.  He thought I could teach a class in “How to Make a Tire Swing” or “Painting on Windows” or “Making a Cold Frame out of Old Windows”.    He actually did some research the night before and came up with oodles of ideas.   See my bounty below.

Junking at My Aunt's House

Well, I actually did have a very good time walking the property with my cousins and connecting some of the pieces to my childhood and things he used around the place such as the old cast iron bathtubs that he watered horses in.

My collection started to grow as I went from heap to heap.  I wish you could see the look on my face, and then my cousin’s faces as I pulled these old chicken feeders from the pile. 

Old Galvanized Chicken Feeder/Waterer

Old Rusty Rake on Old Door

 

All in all, the few hours I spent there was a blast and I am very happy I made the trip, got to connect with family and I may even buy that old 1949 Nash they have for sale,  place it in the front yard, and put our logo on it.

 

Happy junking folks~!

Deb

 

 

 

Green Tomato Jam

3 c. Green Tomatoes – wash, core, and remove seeds

2 c White Sugar

2 Large Pkg of strawberry or raspberry jello

Boil the tomatoes and sugar together for 10 minutes, add the powdered jello of your choice and boil 10 minutes longer.  Pour the jam into sterilized canning jars with sealing lids.  No one will believe you used green tomatoes!

Happy herbal,

Deb

We have an elderberry tree just behind our pole barn that is loaded with berries every year.  The challenge is getting some of them removed before the birds take care of that for us.  If you do not have one nearby, keep your eye out along roadways for their signature blossom earlier in the year, and find out who owns the property.  Chances are good that they have no interest in the berries or never knew they existed.

Only cut the berries that are very ripe.  I have also heard that eating the raw berries in high numbers can make some people feel ill, so take it easy on the “it doesn’t count if I eat it” theory.  I usually place berries face down into a bowl, rinse and pat dry, and pop in them in the freezer overnight or several hours.

Yes, I said freeze them.  You may occasionally have one of the little buggers roll across the floor with you in hot pursuit, but I assure you this is easier than working with fresh berries.

Just work the frozen berries with your fingers and the little blue berries will drop like bb’s into your pan.  You can do a bit of fine-tuning to get the smaller stems out, but as you roll them out of the pan, many of the small stems stay in the metal pan.  In all actuality, the whole batch will get a good straining with cheesecloth during the cooking process anyway so the stems will stay with your cloth.

Once they are separated from the stems, you can label them and pop them back in the freezer or you can begin to make whatever fresh elderberry concoction you had in mind. 

Good luck in your elderberry ventures, and stay tuned for Part 2 and 3 of our elderberry journey.

Happy herbal,

Deb