H is for Herbs.

About 15 years ago, after graduating from university, I studied herbalism for a few years. I wanted to be self-reliant when I was away from civilisation, to be able to treat minor injuries and discomforts myself, with what I found growing around me.

During the day, I worked in an independent bookstore. In the evenings, I took classes in physiology, botany, aromatherapy and phytochemistry.

It was a great time, even though I spent the bigger part of my early wages on herb books I didn't necessarily need.

About half of the course consisted of practical work. We made syrups, tinctures, elixirs, balms, oils and lotions. I imagined myself an alchemist, stashed away in a lab in a cobweb-ridden tower.

Other evenings were spent in the kitchen, where we learnt to chop and taste, cook and bake with herbs, flowers and roots. I dreamt of becoming a chef or opening a patisserie.

It didn't happen. I've never used those skills professionally, but I've continued experimenting, in the kitchen as well as in my improvised lab-under-the-stairs.

Today I want to share a few easy herbal recipes, using everyday ingredients.

Most of them make great presents. Find a nice bottle, make a vintage-style hand-written label (which you can personalise as you see fit) and decorate with a ribbon, raffia, flowers or sprigs of herbs. Or how about trying them out with friends or family during a well-deserved, health-inspired spring get-together?


Recipes

Herb-infused oil

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil, enough to fill the container of your choice. Most food quality oils will do, but the milder the flavour, the more you'll taste the herbs.
  With mediterranean-style herbs like basil, thyme or oregano, I use a good olive oil.
• fresh herbs. To give an idea of quantity: per cup of oil (roughly 250ml), I use about 1 cup of fresh herbs.
  I make this with either one herb or a mixture of several. My favourites are: thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, basil, rosemary, oregano, chillis and garlic. Lemon thyme and (a bit of) sage make a particularly good combination.

Recipe:

• Wash the herbs and dry them well.
• Gently bruise the herbs to help them release their flavour.
• Put the herbs in a jar, add some fresh pepper.
• Pour the oil over the herbs. (Some recipes want you to heat the oil. I don't do that. I'm not a fan of heating vegetable oils because it changes the nature of the fats.)
• Close the container and keep in a cool, dark place for about a week. (Some recipes advise you to keep it longer. I find 1 week is enough; I prefer a more subtle herb flavour. You can taste in between to see if it needs a few more days.
• Strain the oil and pour it in the container you've chosen. You can add a sprig of dried herbs, a few peppercorns and/or dried chillis for decoration and additional flavour.

Tips:

• Choose a good quality oil. This will affect the outcome, as it's the main ingredient.
• Experiment with different herbs and combinations.
• After infusing the oils, don't keep them too long or they will turn rancid.
• Adding some lemon zest to the recipe gives a nice tang.
• You can make herb vinegars in quite the same way.
• Use this recipe with just oil (e.g. almond or sesame oil - check for allergies first!) and calendula flowers (marigold) to make a great body or massage oil.

Herb-infused wine

• To make a herb-infused wine, add cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, lemon or orange zest, ginger, lemon balm, ... to a bottle of white, red or sweet wine.
• You can either heat the wine with the herbs (don't boil!) and then strain, or add the herbs to the bottle, close, and leave it standing. Taste regularly and remove the herbs if the flavour is strong enough.
• I like to do this with mead or a nice-but-not-so-spectacular dessert wine, to give it more layers of deep and interesting flavour.
• These wines make a great and cherished after-dinner drink. They improve your digestion and general well-being.

Avocado Face Mask

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ripe, preferably organic avocado
• 2 tablespoons of warm herbal tea (camomile for a soothing effect, peppermint to refresh)
• 1 teaspoon of honey

Recipe:

• Purée the avocado with honey and tea to a smooth mixture.
• Apply to your face, avoiding the eyes.
• Leave on for 10 minutes.
• Rinse off with warm water, then once more with cold water.

Tips:

• If you're concerned about allergies, test out the mixture on a small part of your skin (e.g. the inside of your wrist), leave it on for a few minutes, rinse off.
• If you have some left: add onions, garlic and lime juice. Eat with nachos / corn chips. ;-)

Enjoy :-)

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D is for Dips.

After yesterday's chocolate extravaganza, I thought I'd go for quick, delicious and healthy dip recipes today.

Dips make great party foods or last-minute miracles when you have impromptu visitors. They also add spice to an everyday meal.

I wanted to share 2 of my favourite quick dip recipes here. They're easy to make and require only ingredients that keep a while (in the pantry or fridge), or that you can grow yourself.

Greek yoghurt and green garlic dip 



Ingredients:

• Greek yoghurt
• fresh, green garlic, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
• salt & pepper
• splash of lime juice (optional)

Recipe:

• Add the garlic (white and green parts) to the Greek yoghurt, add salt and pepper, stir the ingredients together.
• If you can, let the dip sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours blend.
• Add a splash of lime juice.

Tips:

• As a variation, add chopped onions, shallots or fresh herbs (chives, coriander, dill, thyme, etc.).
• This is a great dip for raw vegetables (carrots, celery sticks, cucumber, etc.), nachos or potato wedges. It's nice to serve with fish fingers or calamari as well.

Feta cheese and sundried tomato dip

Ingredients:

• feta cheese
• sun-dried tomatoes (dry or in oil)
• olive oil
• pepper
• chillies, fresh or dried (optional)

Recipe:

• Mix the feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes in a blender.
• Drizzle in some good olive oil (or use the oil from the tomatoes) until you get the right texture (not too firm if you're using nachos or crisps). Use lemon or lime juice instead of oil if you'd rather not add more calories.
• Add pepper (and chillies, if you want it spicy) to taste.

Tips:

• Add chopped fresh basil for extra flavour, or a clove of garlic if you like.
• As a variation, instead of sun-dried tomatoes, you can use roasted red peppers (type bell pepper) in olive oil. The sweetness of the red peppers goes really well with feta cheese.
• This is a great dip to go with nachos or pitta bread.
• You can also use it as a pasta sauce (like pesto) or as spread on ciabatta bread.

What are your favourite easy dips?

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Rum Nom Nom...

Isn't it beautiful? The essence of summer captured in a stoneware jar. And what better time of the year to open it and savour the aromas of fruits, herbs and spices. If sunlight had a scent, this would be it!

The journey started last spring, when I got a rumtopf (the jar) from my father-in-law. He wasn't using it himself and thought I might. Not entirely an unselfish gift, I suspect, but much appreciated nonetheless.

I started it in late May with the first strawberries from my parents' garden and a few fresh herbs. In the following months I've added raspberries & more strawberries (both grown by my mum & dad), cherries and plums (from our own trees) and peaches and nectarines (store-bought).

The last batch of raspberries were added mid October, and I've let the rumtopf sit and ripen until now. Well, actually until last night, because we had a sneak peak and a quick taste to avoid disappointment during the grand opening today.

Oh yes, the recipe.

Honesty requires me to admit that I haven't followed any recipe religiously. As is usually the case with any of my kitchen or herbal experiments, the types and amounts of ingredients I've added after the start depended more on instinct and availability than on measured amounts. But that was the original idea behind rumtopf anyway, wasn't it?

The only thing I didn't mess with was the strength of the rum. Not only is that a matter of principle, but you need to get 54% vol. alc. or you risk decay.

Typically rum here is around 40%, so I've added food grade ethanol (94%) to get to the desired 54%.

 

Ingredients:

- 1 vanilla pod (sliced in 2 halves & scraped out)

- 1 sprig of rosemary

- 1 sprig of lemon balm

- rum (I used Havana Club Añejo Especial and a 5 year old Barbados Rum)

- cane sugar

- strawberries

- raspberries

- cherries

- plums

- peaches

- nectarines

Process:

- Use a big vessel. Wash it (I used soda + boiling water), rinse and dry.

- Put the herbs & spices in the pot. I'd strongly recommend adding a vanilla pod. You only detect a hint of it in the final result, but it's one of those little things that makes a difference.

- Choose ripe fruit, but not overripe. It's a matter of balance, really: it has to be ripe enough to be full of flavour, but still firm or it will turn soggy in the alcohol and give an unappealing end result.
I started with strawberries (about 500g) and raspberries (about 250g).

- Wash the fruit and clean it up, cutting out the overripe or damaged parts and removing stalks etc.

- For the 750g of fruit, I used 375g of cane sugar. Pour half of that sugar over the fruit and (carefully!) scoop it under. Try not to damage the fruit. Leave it for an hour and add the rest of the sugar.

- Pour ho-ho a bottle of rum (0,7l) over the fruit. It should be fully covered.
You'll find that some of the types of fruit will float to the top. I used two small plates (that just fit through the opening of the jar) and tried to lower them as level as I could onto the fruit. It never worked perfectly, but at least most of the fruit stayed underneath, and the alcohol should take care of the rest.

- For the consecutive layers, the original recipe(s) recommended adding 500g of a different fruit, 250g of sugar and half a bottle of rum each time, but as I've said above, I've played that more by ear, except for the 54% alcohol. There's no need to peel peaches, nectarines, plums, etc, as the skin softens up in the alcohol and adds an interesting bite.

- It's recommended to keep the rumtopf cool, not cold, and properly sealed. I used cling film and then put the lid on top. The jar got a corner of its own on a shelf in the cellar.

- Usually the last layer is added in October, after which it should sit for a while, to be ready for relishing by the darkest days of the year.

How to serve:

So far, we've only just sampled our rumtopf pure. Great, but be warned: it's bloody strong stuff. We had pink champagne biscuits with them (biscuits roses de Reims) and that was a great match. Who says France & Germany don't mix?

I expect it to taste great on different kinds of desserts: ice cream, frozen yoghurt, cake, cheesecake, pancakes, Belgian waffles, etc. I can imagine the drained fruit is also brilliant for fruit crumbles, pies or trifles and with regular, whipped or coconut cream. Apart from coconut cream, that's all stuff I don't have often, but I think I'm going to have to make a few exceptions here.

We're definitely going to try the liqueur in sparkling wine, white wine and experiment with different cocktails.

A few concluding thoughts:

It's so easy to do, and more fun than I'd anticipated, knowing that you're saving a bit of summer for the times when you'll need it most. Also, the fact that you've 'worked' on it over a period of 6 months, makes it quite special and symbolic.

I have a feeling that, providing you start of with a clean jar, firm fruit and you stick to the minimum alcohol percentage, it can't really go wrong. Mind, as this was my first try, that feeling might not correspond with scientific reality.

I've kept the most important bit for the end: when you serve your rumtopf, don't forget to toast to everything you've harvested over the past year: what you have accomplished, the people you've met, the lessons you've learnt and the joy and wonder you've felt.

Whatever the new year will bring, we'll be stronger to deal with it when we're grateful and aware about what we have right now. Cheers!



Rumtopf and pink champagne biscuits.



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Midnight Blue(s) Margaritas.

At this very moment, my novel's main character is having Midnight Margaritas with a few friends, and I had to test the magical formula to make sure it was just right for the occasion. I'm not going to add the recipe to the story, but still, I like to do my research properly. Not an easy life, being a writer on sabbatical...

As an extra challenge, the drink had to be blue. You're free to ask why, but I can't tell you just now. The fact that I'd run out of Cointreau wasn't the only reason. Really.

Either way, here's the recipe, and a glimpse of how it turned out:

Ingredients:

50ml tequila

30ml blue curaçao

juice of 3/4 of a lime

tiny dash of cane sugar syrup

ice cubes

some coarse salt (I used fleur de sel)

How to make it:
- Add ice cubes, tequila, blue curaçao, lime juice and cane sugar syrup in a blender.
- Quote the 'Eye of newt, toe of frog' lines from Macbeth while waving your arms and hands in a most mysterious way.
- Blend.
- Cut the remaining 1/4 of a lime in 2 pieces. Use one to wet the rim of the glass and dip the glass in the salt.
- Add the lime pieces to the glass (and another ice cube if you prefer) and pour the blended mixture over them. Done!

I think a blue margarita makes the perfect accessory to my writing desk. Wouldn't you agree?

Right. No more procrastinating for me. Back to the novel!

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Om Nom Nom... More Inspiration for the Holidays!

A few days of blog silence usually means the novel is going well, and I'm glad to say it is. After a few weeks of rethinking backstory, plot and final outcome, I'm finally writing again. It took some perseverance, but the end result, if I dare say, will be much better for it.

In the past few days, my street, house and garden have turned into a gorgeous cotton candy Winter Wonderland. The darkest time of the year is near, and you can see and feel it everywhere. To compensate, I allow myself a bit of comfort food while I'm huddled up with my laptop in our warm and cosy living room, surrounded by lots of candles.

The sweet treat that - to me - is most typical for this season is gingerbread, in all its forms: there's our Belgian variety called 'peperkoek', there's the French 'pain d'épices' or the German 'Lebkuchen', each with its own particular texture, flavour and aromas.

I actually love the scent of gingerbread more than its taste, and I tend to use the typical spices in many other dishes: apple crumble, nut bread and several types of hot drinks, like tea, hot chocolate and of course mulled wine. It's a great way to make sugar-free (or sugar-reduced) desserts seem just that little bit sweeter.

A few days ago, I found the best gingerbread shape I've ever seen. Seriously, how cute is this:



Photo credit: Megan of notmartha.org


These gingerbread houses were made by Megan of http://www.notmartha.org/, and you can find the full instructions + more gorgeous photographs here.

She's also come up with several variations, like these, with tiny chimneys on snowy rooftops:

Photo credit: Megan of notmartha.org

I'm sure they will require some practice before they'll be anything like the ones on the pictures, but looking at the instructions, it actually looks feasible! And there are so many ways in which you can add your own touch, in the recipe as well as the decorations.

Actually, you can probably make these to fit on a glass of sweet wine as well. Gingerbread would be a great match for a sweet Muscat, a Sauternes, a dessert Riesling or a Macvin du Jura!

My heartfelt thanks to Megan for this great idea and the kind photo permission.

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Cider, sushi and Sunday aperitifs.

Another lovely sunny day today, which I wanted to celebrate with a healthy pre-dinner drink, especially after last night's (Somerset) cider tasting.

Two dear friends had got us the ciders (3 kinds: Cox's, medium dry and oak matured), and after a bit of doubt what food we'd pair them with, we decided on sushi.
 
I tried to make sushi for the first time about a year ago, and found out that - once you get the hang of it - it's not really that hard.

Of course I wouldn't compare mine to anything made by a real sushi chef, but for 'regular home consumption' they're pretty good.

On top of that they're fun to experiment with, they're healthy, made with a variety of good quality fresh ingredients ánd my immediate environment loves them, which is what matters most, really.

Pairing sushi with those exquisite ciders was a bit of an experiment, but we were surprised at how well it worked. Definitely something we'll be doing again!

But this morning I felt like a healthy, refreshing, sugar- and alcohol-free aperitif, so I decided to go for one of my (as yet unnamed) classics. Name suggestions are always welcome, by the way.

Here's how to make it:

1. Take a long-drink glass
2. Add an ice-cube if you want (I would do this in summer, I didn't now)
3. Add a splash of grapefruit juice
4. Add a splash of lemon (or lime) juice
5. Top up with sparkling water
6. If you have a sweet tooth: add a bit of natural sweetener. (I use stevia).
7. Stir and taste if it needs more grapefruit, lime or sweetener
8. Add a splash of carrot juice for the taste and the orange gradient effect.

(Use freshly squeezed juices if possible, but bottled will do, as long as it's got no added sugar. You don't need a lot of juice, it's just a bit for the taste and the colour, so this drink isn't high in fructose either.)

Enjoy!

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