Brandied Cherry Sauce with Honey
Before the Bing cherry season comes to an end, here is one tasty way to extend and enjoy the bounty. It is possible to double or triple this recipe and bottle it as well for cold winter delights. Transfer the hot sauce to sterile bottles and process 10 minutes. One cup of fresh cherries has […]
Continue readingFresh Fruit Bonfires
The two celebrations most often shared outside are Litha (summer solstice) and Lammas/Lughnasagh (August 1st ish). The days are usually still warm and it is enjoyable to have a personal connection to that big ball of flame above us. Lammas is also linked to “first fruits” and in the Church of England “the feast of […]
Continue readingHerbed Devils
Recipes for stuffed eggs can be found back to when Ancient Rome was at its height. The domestication of chickens however goes much further back so that is probably not the beginning of deviled eggs. Deviling was a term applied first to meats and meant highly spiced. By the 1500’s deviled eggs was a well […]
Continue readingGinger Cherry Crumbles
We have fresh local fruit for such a short time that baking with it seems almost sacrilegous, better to just find a serviette. In much of Asia, cherries are associated with youthfullness and immortality. In Japan, a custom is to tie a single strand of hair around a cherry tree to attract love. In Chinese […]
Continue reading3 Ways Of Preserving Lavender For Later In The Year
Sometimes preserving the aroma and essence of an herb is better than using them fresh in an immediate recipe. That way they can be enjoyed long after the season is finished. Lavender can be preserved in vinegar, sugar and oil. Jean’s lavender is just opening and she generously gave me some to take home so […]
Continue readingFreestyle Cherry Handpies, but you can fill them with almost anything
Handpies are freeform pastries smaller than a galette with a top cover, meant as a single serving, much like a turnover which around here is made with puff pastry. They can be packed with sweet or savoury goodness and are a great way to use up leftovers. Think of them as a portable meal with […]
Continue readingWild Berry Ice Cream with Lemon Balm
Ice Cream! Yea!… well maybe not. Plans are sometimes subject to change. I had brought the ice cream maker to class as a possible surprise to finish up Playing with Herbs but the bowl had been out of the freezer for too long, even with the extra ice it was packed in and we would […]
Continue readingRosemary Infused Alfredo Sauce
Yes, this is a post about infusing alfredo sauce but I would like to add a little context as I was visiting with my friend Detta, a culinarian of Sicilian hertiage. Pasta is in her genes and she has just finished remodeling her kitchen, so we decided to mess it up a bit. Egg noodles […]
Continue readingStrawberry Rhubarb Popsicles with Sweet Cicely
With weeks of cool gray weather it is hard to believe it is officially summer. But I am hearing rumours of hot weather on the other side of Canada, so somewhere popsicles will be appreciated. This is essentially a recipe posted several years ago but I wanted to focus on the Sweet Cicely added to […]
Continue readingSoda Bread with Extra Bits!
Spotted Dog may be the most well known soda bread with “extra bits”. It has added raisins or currants, a spoonful of sugar and an egg as the budget allowed. Often served as a special Sunday treat in Ireland it was also made to support and encourage men in days gone by, who were working hard […]
Continue reading