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The Novice Gardener

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The Novice Gardener

Category Archives: Drinks

Fiesta Friday #15

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Drinks, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday Challenge

≈ 161 Comments

Tags

Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #15, Fiesta Friday Challenge, moscato, moscato santero, moscato strawberry

Our Fiesta Friday Challenge #1 is off to a great start. We have 45 participants so far, including Catherine and me. (Yes, we’d like to participate, too.) Everybody is truly excited about it. There are talks about conquering the “Yeast Beast” and putting on a hugely humongous “Creative Cap.” That’s always an encouraging sign.

Catherine and I have been brainstorming for ways to make Fiesta Friday Challenge even more exciting. We have been busy trying to get sponsors to provide prizes for the winners and we got one. She would like to remain anonymous, but I just can’t let a generous gesture such as this go unnoticed. I won’t tell you her name, so I won’t get into trouble, but I’ll give you a few hints. Please revisit the Fiesta Friday Challenge #1 post to find out what the prizes (and the hints) are.

In the meantime, you can start conversing with each other. Record your trials and tribulations in your yeast quest, and share them with us. Yeast has the tendency to have a mind of its own. Those of you who have not worked with it will see. I expect a lot of laughter to come out of this.

Please feel free to add your comments and thoughts on the FFC post. Interaction with one another may be the best part of being in an event. You’d never know what you could come up with when two or more heads get together.

For instance, when I started talking to a co-worker about it, I found out that there are many kinds of yeast, the obvious being the ones used for baking and brewing. But, there’s also the kind that is used to make tempeh. Tempeh starter is sometimes also called tempeh starter yeast. It may be a misnomer to categorize tempeh starter as yeast, since it’s really a mold, but for the purpose of this challenge, we will allow it. I have updated the Fiesta Friday Challenge #1 post to include this as well.

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Fiesta Friday #10

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Drinks, Fiesta Friday, Food Photography & Styling

≈ 180 Comments

Tags

cocktail, drink, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #10, Latin Lover, pineapple juice

latin lover cocktail¡Ay, caramba! Latin Lover is @Fiesta Friday!

Introducing Fiesta Friday #10 co-hosts – Julianna@Foodie On Board and Hilda@Along The Grapevine, two Canadian bloggers and two of my very best blogger friends. Let’s thank them for being so gracious as to let us intrude into their space. Julianna and Hilda, are you ready? Tables set up, floors scrubbed and shined, furniture dusted, etc., and most importantly, red carpet laid out?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh – Cucumber and Watermelon

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Daily Prompt, Drinks, Gardening

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

cucumber, cucumber watermelon cooler, mocktails, postaday, recipes, watermelon, watermelon rind pickles

cucumber watermelon cooler
cucumber watermelon cooler3
cucumber watermelon cooler2
cucumber watermelon cooler4

Cucumber Watermelon Cooler

The first precious cucumbers from the garden were immediately made into cucumber watermelon cooler, with the help of a store-bought melon. We’re having a heat wave and this drink definitely helped us cool down. No alcohol was added into this, because I wanted the kids to partake in the drinking. But feel free to add it in yours, in lieu of the club soda.

Cucumber Watermelon Cooler
3 cups cubed cucumbers
3 cups cubed watermelon
1/2 cup water
A handful fresh mint leaves (about 12)
Juice from a small lime
10 oz club soda
2 tbsp sugar or honey

1. In a blender, puree cucumbers, watermelon, mint leaves and water. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a pitcher.
2. Press on solids to extract as much juice as possible.
3. Stir in sugar or honey.
4. Add lime juice and club soda.
5. Pour into glasses filled with ice cubes.

watermelon rind pickles

Then, I set aside some of the watermelon rind to pickle. Why? Because, because, because, because, because … sometime ago, I checked out this book, for some light reading.

wizard of oz cookbook

In it, there’s a recipe for these pickles.

watermelon rind pickles recipe

I’ve actually made these pickles before and I think I kind of liked it. I can’t remember for sure since it was a while ago. But, hey, the main ingredient is pretty much free, so what’s there to lose? I’ll find out in a few days if it’s a winner or not. If it’s not, I’m off to see the wizard!

Update: I just realized I’ve been missing out on a lot of fun by not participating in Weekly Photo Challenge. And since the theme this week is Fresh, I decided to re-tag this post, ’cause you know, what could be fresher than Cucumber and Watermelon?

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Lemon Balm, What Do You Do With It?

23 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Baking, Cooking, Drinks, Edible Flowers & Weeds, Gardening

≈ 130 Comments

Tags

lemon balm, lemon balm margarita, lemon balm mushipan, lemon balm recipe, lemon balm strawberry yogurt, lemon balm tea, member of the mint family, mocktails

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you lemon balm … well … whatcha gonna do?

Draining my brain here trying not to waste the lemon balm.

a bunch of lemon balm

If I dry a bunch of this every day, you think I’ll be able to get a year’s supply of lemon balm tea?

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is not without any merits. It has the most wonderful, delicate minty lemony smell. Very clean smelling. I find it calming and the more you smell it, the more you’ll like it.

I like going over to my wild patch, pluck a leaf, rub it between my fingers, and inhale … deeply … and again … and one more time … aah … See what I mean. You can’t stop smelling it. All of a sudden, any stress you had is gone. It would make a perfect ingredient in a perfume, or air freshener, in my opinion.

lemon balm leaves

I think that was the reason why I picked it up in the nursery. I had no clue, otherwise, what it was good for, as far as culinary usage was concerned. I might have also confused it with bee balm, thinking it would give me flowers.

And it does give me flowers. Small, white, nothing to brag about. Although I have used them in arrangements as fillers.

A member of the mint family, it is capable of invading an entire field, given the chance. Not so much from the spread of its roots, but from its seeds, I’ve found. The original clump planted in my garden several years ago has now been joined by more clumps. Many, many more.

There used to be a patch of beautiful Siberian Iris in here. I guess the lemon balms swallowed it.

lemon balms growing wild

Many times I thought about mowing these, but never had the heart to do it. Foolish gardener, you agree? That should have been my blog’s name.

Some websites mention that it has escaped gardens, and grows like weeds in the wild. Did I contribute to that? Oh, well, more edibles to forage, I’d say.

Lemon balm’s flavor, however, is not as robust as its growth. And when it’s cooked, the already mild flavor sort of dissipates, leaving only a faint lingering of the minty lemony fragrance. No wonder lemon balm is such a minor player in the kitchen. Many other herbs outshine it.

The simplest way to enjoy lemon balm is obviously in teas, both hot and cold.

lemon balm tisane

lemon balm iced tea

But I have a lot of it, and you can’t live on teas alone. So, I’ve been tinkering in the kitchen, and the following recipes are the results. Give them a try, I think you’ll be pleased. If not, at least I’ve given you some ideas. I hope!

lemon balm syrup

Lemon balm syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Lots of chopped lemon balm leaves (I used 3 cups)

Boil water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add lemon balm. Simmer for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool for 30 minutes, then strain the syrup, discarding the leaves.

lemon balm margarita
Lemon balm frozen margarita, kid-friendly

My kids love this. I’m not sure you can really taste or smell the lemon balm, but it doesn’t matter, it’s good! First you have to make the syrup. Then put 1/4 cup of it in a blender (you can adjust the amount to your preference), along with 1/2 can frozen limeade, 2 cups crushed ice cubes, 5 oz. club soda. Blend until smooth.

lemon balm mushipan
Lemon Balm Mushipan

This is probably the best use for lemon balm. It’s so unique, and surprisingly the lemon balm flavor stands up to the heat (perhaps because it is steam heat?). It gives the buns that fresh fragrance, not quite minty, not quite lemony, but yet both. Plus, the color is just gorgeous! You have to try this one. Use a coffee grinder to grind dried lemon balm leaves to make the powder.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup self-rising cake flour*
2 tsp lemon balm powder
1 tsp baking powder*
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp milk
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Combine flour, lemon balm, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

2. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, sugar and oil, and mix until smooth. Pour this into the flour mixture, and mix until well incorporated.

3. Pour batter into silicone muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full.

5. Steam for 13-15 minutes. Mushipan should feel spongy and springy when cooked.

Serve warm. This makes 6 medium-sized buns.

*Most recipes of Mushipan don’t call for cake flour, but I find that the addition results in lighter buns, which I prefer. It’s totally optional. I also use the self-rising kind, so I added only 1 tsp baking powder. If you decide to use all-purpose flour for the entire batter, then you need to add 2 tsp baking powder.

strawberry lemon balm frozen yogurt
Strawberry frozen yogurt, with lemon balm

This is adapted from Southern Living’s recipe for Strawberry-Basil frozen yogurt.

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp chopped fresh lemon balm
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup whipping cream

1. Pulse strawberries, sugar, and lemon balm in a food processor 9 to 10 times or until berries are finely chopped (almost pureed), stopping to scrape down sides as needed.

2. Whisk together yogurt and cream in a medium bowl until smooth; stir strawberry mixture into yogurt mixture until well blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.

3. Pour strawberry mixture into freezer container of electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Freezing times will vary.

There you have it, for now. I have a couple more recipes in mind, for another day, when once again I look at my lemon balm patch and start thinking … Something’s got to be done to this thing, but let’s not waste it, let’s eat it!

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Fiesta Friday #363

Fiesta Friday #363

While shocking images coming out of DC were being broadcast all over cable networks, I was quietly busy in the kitchen trying out recipes from our Fiesta Friday friends. And for that, I was immensely thankful. Nothing eases my mind quite like baking. The Sweet Potato Scones above were inspired by Jess’s Sweet Potato Biscuits. […]

Fiesta Friday #362

Fiesta Friday #362

I’m getting ready to make a leftover-steak salad. The inspiration came from Petra’s Steak Salad, featured down below in the Features section. To go with the salad, I’m thinking of making the Persimmon Vinaigrette, also featured below. Then… and it’s a promise, I will go to the store and get sweet potatoes. To make Jess’s […]

Fiesta Friday #361

Fiesta Friday #361

Happy New Year, guys! Don’t forget to eat your donuts. For good luck! Or black-eyed peas. Or collard greens. Or pomegranate. Or pork. Or whatever your family tradition is. It’s all cool. Over the years, my family has adopted several of these fun traditions, so I figure we’ll do …uh… everything! We’ll eat a little […]

Fiesta Friday #360

Fiesta Friday #360

Hello, Fiesta Friends! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! May your socially-distanced holidays be filled with joy and hope. And may you and your family continue to be safe and healthy. Also, world peace! I just want to say that 😄 Last year around this time I was at Disneyland, enjoying Pineapple Dole […]

Fiesta Friday #359

Fiesta Friday #359

A Nor’easter brought the first snow of the season. How quickly things changed! Last weekend I was getting quite the workout (read: I was sweating) raking leaves in the garden with temperatures downright warm at 60 degrees. I’m glad I had the opportunity to clean up out there before the storm came. I expect my […]

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