Country Homesteader
Deeply Rooted
@flowerbug then you and your Mom can come to my house on Fri 12/15 and help me deco the sugar cookies. PLEASE pretty PLEASE I'll even have coffee, hot cocoa, tea, and cookies for sampling
Coffee
- Thread starter digitS'
- Start date
flowerbug
Garden Master
i would help frost if i could, but i do not do decorations any more. she is making jello cookies today to use up the "old boxes of jello mix and the margarine that is left" but i think she just has a baking addiction... cookies anonymous anyone? i am very thankful that i do not like jello cookie dough - if these were chocolate chip cookies i'd be in trouble.
Country Homesteader
Deeply Rooted
baymule
Garden Master
Coffee is ready! Fence guy is coming this morning. There is a huge oak tree that has to come down, it’s leaning over the road and has a rotten streak down the trunk. So it’s doomed to fall someday and it will crush my fence, block the road and crush neighbors fence. I don’t want to be repairing two fences, so take it out now.
Phaedra
Garden Addicted
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The second coffee is waiting, and a lovely cookie I've baked yesterday! Crispy at edge and soft+chewy on the center~
Country Homesteader
Deeply Rooted
I do have about 1/2 pot of coffee that's wanting to be shared so if you need extra caffeine come join me. My cookie baking is on hold until at least Friday seeing how I forgot to get milk and heavy whipping cream over last weekend then it will be crunch time over the weekend so FH can take them in on Mon.
- Thread starter
- #3,817
digitS'
Garden Master
Dipped into Lemon Verbena and Anise Hyssop supplies for a cup of herbal tea now that I have had my French toast and Mandarin oranges. Ah yes, peelings were already dehydrated and bagged from those oranges. The LV&AH won't last more than a couple of weeks if i didn't have the commercial citrus and licorice root to rely on most days. Homegrown mint should hold up but if there is anything readily available on the herb shelf at the supermarket, it's mint.
I need to explore citrus flavor in annual crops. There are only so many big pots of Lemon Verbena that i can deal with over Winter months. However, I wonder what the hardiness of that plant is. Maybe, it could survive under mulch outdoors.
Mild December weather here ... and elsewhere. I was commenting on DD's coworker traveling thru Colorado to Texas recently, having heard about a recent snowstorm scheduled to repeat itself in the southern Rockies. Then, I checked — I don't really know his route but looked at 2 locations that I have enjoyed visiting (Summer!), Gunnison and Alamosa. Both are over 7,500 feet elevation but neither has had 2 inches of snow in December! Both are at 30°f (-1°C) this morning as they wait under clouds for the snow ... but, it's like an even chance that they will have none/some for the next few days. Our snow is only in the shade and none really in the forecast. Competing with Colorado at 7,500 feet?!!
Steve
I need to explore citrus flavor in annual crops. There are only so many big pots of Lemon Verbena that i can deal with over Winter months. However, I wonder what the hardiness of that plant is. Maybe, it could survive under mulch outdoors.
Mild December weather here ... and elsewhere. I was commenting on DD's coworker traveling thru Colorado to Texas recently, having heard about a recent snowstorm scheduled to repeat itself in the southern Rockies. Then, I checked — I don't really know his route but looked at 2 locations that I have enjoyed visiting (Summer!), Gunnison and Alamosa. Both are over 7,500 feet elevation but neither has had 2 inches of snow in December! Both are at 30°f (-1°C) this morning as they wait under clouds for the snow ... but, it's like an even chance that they will have none/some for the next few days. Our snow is only in the shade and none really in the forecast. Competing with Colorado at 7,500 feet?!!
Steve
Branching Out
Deeply Rooted
Time for a confession Steve: I have never made a cup of tea using fresh mint or verbena, despite those being a couple of my favourite teas. Is there a correct or preferable way to brew tea with these homegrown herbs? And for making tea are fresh herbs better than grown fresh and then dried? I have mint growing in a large pot that sits on concrete, to contain it.
- Thread starter
- #3,819
digitS'
Garden Master
@Branching Out , I have drank the orange zest and licorice root tea for the last couple of years. Dried cranberries adds sweetness altho I have substituted stevia a few times. The mint brightens it just a little. I was reluctant to try it because I'm not the greatest fan of mint flavor but, dry or fresh, it did make an improvement.
These are just my dehydrated pieces of orange and the sliced licorice root sold in the Asian market. Coarse. It takes 30 minutes of steeping with a little heat under the kettle to adequately bring out the flavor. An hour or more is probably even better. After such a long time above low heat, I find that there is nothing wrong with shutting off the burner and reheating in the afternoon. I'm unsure if I don't prefer it that way.
The Anise Hyssop & Lemon Verbena is now from the freezer. Sprigs are rinsed and frozen through the growing season. The purchased dried Lemon Verbena was a serious disappointment because the flavor was so limited.
Steve
These are just my dehydrated pieces of orange and the sliced licorice root sold in the Asian market. Coarse. It takes 30 minutes of steeping with a little heat under the kettle to adequately bring out the flavor. An hour or more is probably even better. After such a long time above low heat, I find that there is nothing wrong with shutting off the burner and reheating in the afternoon. I'm unsure if I don't prefer it that way.
The Anise Hyssop & Lemon Verbena is now from the freezer. Sprigs are rinsed and frozen through the growing season. The purchased dried Lemon Verbena was a serious disappointment because the flavor was so limited.
Steve
Branching Out
Deeply Rooted
Interesting brewing method Steve. You are very patient to take so much time preparing your tea-- not to mention the effort it took to grow, harvest, and freeze these herbs during the summer. That tea must taste amazing. I will try to freeze some fresh mint next year, so I can give it a try. Lemon Verbena may be a bit trickier. It is not very common around here; in fact, I am not sure if I have ever seen this plant growing.
