Herbal Recipes shared by our members.
Wassail
4 cups hot brewed tea
4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups apple juice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
Combine first six ingredients in 5 qt. crock pot. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves in cheesecloth bag. Cover and cook on high 1 hr. or until punch begins to boil. Discard spice bag and serve warm. Yield 3 1/2 qts. — shared by Nancy Klammer
Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Butter Sauce
3 cups raw cranberries
3/4 cup raisins (I like to use golden raisins)
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup light molasses
1/2 cup hot water
Rinse berries and raisins, sift flour and baking soda over and mix. Add molasses and water and stir until all white is covered. Spray bottom and sides of two 1 pound coffee or similar size cans or pudding/cake molds with Pam. Fill each about 2/3 full with mixture and cover with tin foil secured with rubber band. Place on rack in roaster with boiling water about 1/2 way up sides, cover again with foil and steam on stove top for 1 1/2 hrs over med. heat. Cool 10 min. then turn out. Store in refrigerator. Serve with warm butter sauce. — shared by Nancy Klammer
Sauce:
1 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Pour into jar(s) and store in refrigerator. Serve warm.
Herbs de Provence Blend
This is a handy blend to have available and making it yourself is much more economical than buying it. It uses savory, the “Herb of the Year” and is good in egg dishes, salad dressings or in vegetables. The following recipe makes ½ cup.
2 Tbsp. dried thyme 2 Tbsp. dried marjoram
2 Tbsp. dried savory 1 Tbsp. dried rosemary
2 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers
Combine all ingredients in blender or processor on low-med setting for about 10 sec. or until lavender has been broken down into very small pieces.
Store in an airtight container. —- Recipe from Marge Powell – International Herb Association
Corny Shrimp Chowder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2-1/2 cups cubed potatoes
¾ lb. small fresh shrimp (1-inch bites)
1 cup fresh corn kernels
¼ cup chopped green onion
2-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (room temperature)
Heat broth, add potatoes and cook over medium-high heat 7-8 minutes. Add shrimp, corn and onion. Cook 3 minutes. Add buttermilk and stir until hot, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and parsley or dill. — Submitted by Janet Lindsteadt
Paula Deen’s Crockpot Potato Soup
1 x 30 oz. bag of frozen hash-brown potatoes, squares not strips
1/3 – ½ cup chopped onion (depends on how much you like onions)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 x 14.5 oz. cans of chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package cream cheese, softened
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese for the top
Combine all ingredients (except for the cream cheese and cheese) in the crockpot and mix well. Then cook on medium 4 hours. Add the cream cheese (softened) and ½ cup cheese at the end and cook for another 20-30 minutes. Add some cheese to the top. — Submitted by Dianna Lear
Lentil Soup with Minted Yogurt
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 16-oz. package dried lentils
9 cups (or more) chicken broth
1-1/2 cups plain yogurt
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic, saute until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add curry, then lentils, and stir 2 minutes. Add 9 cups broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, adding more broth if soup is too thick and stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Whisk yogurt, mint, cilantro, and basil in small bowl to blend. Season herbed yogurt to taste with salt and pepper. Soup and herbed yogurt can be prepared one day ahead, cool soup and refrigerate. To serve spoon generous dollops of herbed yogurt on top of soup. —- Submitted by Bonnie Bake
Lavender Cookies
1 1/4 sticks of butter
1/2 C white sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp lavender flowers, plus 1 Tbsp to top after
cooking
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat the egg, and blend it into the butter and sugar. Mix in the lavender flowers and the flour. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake 15-20 min, or until golden. Remove cookies to cooling racks: sprinkle additional
lavender flowers, if desired. Yield 2 dozen cookies From the kitchen of Lily Philbrook – submitted by Pam Cuttlers
Lavender-Honey Filling for Crepe Cake
2 pts. whipping cream
1-2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. dried lavender flowers
Chop lavender into smaller pieces with processor. Place in pan on stovetop and toast on low for 5 min. to dull out super flowery taste. Then let cool. Whip cream and honey together for 3-4 min. on medium high speed until peaks begin to form. Fold lavender into the honey/whipped cream. Place
first crepe down on plate and apply cream mixture and spread around…repeat until desired height. End with cream on top and garnish with fresh
rosemary and flowers or fruit. Chill until ready to serve. I used a package of Melissa’s readymade 10 in. crepes for the cake but you could make your own if you wish as they are hard to find sometimes. —Submitted by Nancy Klammer
Ginger Shortbread
1/4 C crystallized (candied) ginger, finely chopped
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp ground cardamom
1/2 C cold butter
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine chopped ginger with flour, sugar and cardamom in a bowl. (If you don’t have crystallized ginger, substitute one Tbsp
fresh grated ginger mixed with one Tbsp sugar) Stir ginger, flour, sugar and cardamom together. Add a stick of cold butter and, using a blender, mix
in until the dough is fine and crumbly. Then press the mixture into a glass baking dish (9×13). Mark lines with a knife where you wish the bread to
break. Bake for 25 min. or until the edges start to brown. Slice the marks to break up the shortbread, garnish with cinnamon and allow to cool.
From kitchen of Steve Asbell, submitted by Pam Cuttlers.
Nasturtium Blossom Salad
3 cups ruby lettuce
1 cup arugula
8 nasturtium blossoms
Vinaigrette:
1 garlic clove, pressed
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¾ tsp. salt
2 grindings black pepper
¼ tsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or fruit vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, minced
10 Tbsp. olive oil
Put ruby lettuce on bottom of salad bowl, then
arugula and finally nasturtium blossoms carefully
arranged to show off their colors. Whisk together
all ingredients for vinaigrette and dress salad with
½ the vinaigrette.
(Submitted by Anne Vidaver)