Rose Petal Jam

The backyard roses seem to be done for a while.  Not sure if the smaller bushes in the front will put out enough for me to make another batch of rose petal jam or not.  In my quest to make the most of the urban homestead (aka dad's house), I have been looking for new ideas for what to do with roses.  The lemons and grapefruit are done for a few months.  The peas are petering out in the heat.  The tomatoes, melons and squash are still in their early stages.  I've dried about five gallon bags of rose petals, put up 2 quarts of rose petal jam, (we've already eaten almost a quart), and I have a quart jar of dried rose hips to use for jam and/or syrup for fall.  We've enjoyed vases of roses in every room of the house for the last 2 months.  I was hoping for enough rose petals for another batch of jam and an experiment with infused oil, but looks like this is it for now.  Looks like the family won't have to suffer through trying a few rose petals in the salad, either.  Yet.

I like the rose petal jam for several reasons.  It uses up rose petals.  Its sensual aroma permeates the house while it's cooking.  All that are needed are rose petals, one whole lemon, including seeds (another use for the lemons from dad's tree), water and sugar.  It has a light, delicate flavor.  Did I mention that it's a product we can nearly wholly produce in the back yard?  Roses, lemons, done.

I found several recipes in an online search, and I picked out two that looked the simplest.  Before I share my own tweak on the formula, I'd like to note a couple of items I ran into in making two separate batches of the jam.

- I used only backyard roses.  We had plenty of commercial roses around, due to mom's funeral, but I did not feel comfortable with using them for a food product.  Our backyard roses are not sprayed or fertilized, just mulched.

- use only perfect, clean petals.  Rinse well, tear off any wilted spots.  I did not find it necessary to remove the white bottom part, it did not seem to affect my product with any bitterness.  Use your judgement - take a taste test!

- if not using right away, cover with water and store in fridge up to 3 days.  After that I found the rose petals to be in a less than desirable condition.

- use a fresh lemon, or homemade juice.  You want the seeds, too, because they contribute the pectin.  The juice contributes acidity.  Do not overdo the lemon juice.  My first batch was a bit tart for the guys, but I liked it.  The second batch was better, but still slightly tart.  My next batch I will cut the juice a bit more.  My juice was made with the Jack LaLanne juicer, so it contains everything - peel, pulp, juice and seeds.  It is highly concentrated (and makes awesome lemonade!).  I used 3T for my second round, and plan to cut that back to 2T next time.

- it takes quite a while to cook off the water, but do not overcook.  You can tell when you've gone too far, the color darkens and the flavor is not as light and sweet.  It is a bit tricky to bring the jam to just the right stage where it will gel but not carmelize.

Now for the recipe:

Rose Petal Jam

1/2 pound rose petals (I used all colors, the result was a nice deep rose hue)
2 cups sugar
2cups water (I will reduce to 1 1/2 on my next batch to try to shorten cooking time)
juice of 2 lemons, with seeds (or 2T lemon concentrate)

Layer clean rose petals in a bowl with about half the sugar.  Bruise them well with clean hands (this releases the flavor oils).  When they are completely crushed with the sugar, cover and let sit overnight in fridge.

The next morning, combine the rest of the sugar with 2 cups water and the lemon juice.  Dissolve over low heat.  Stir in rose petals and bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Bring to a rolling boil and continue to cook at a rolling boil until mixture thickens.  If sugar begins to carmelize (darken) before you think it is thick enough, remove from heat immediatedly.  If you continue the jam will develop an unpleasant flavor.  Remove lemon seeds if you were using lemon juice instead of concentrate.  Pour into jelly jars, seal and label.  If not being used right away, use proper canning methods to seal jars.  If jam does not set up, it can still be used as a delicate, flavorful syrup for ice cream and pancakes.

Eat More Greens!

ready for lunch

Mrs. D is obsessed with eating greens lately.  Daily large salads were becoming a habit until the sub zero temps hit.  Then it was lightly braised greens on the side of a baked potato, squash or meat.

Greens are great to grow indoors.  They don't need to be pollinated, and there are several varieties that are easily propogated in pots in a sunny window.  Lettuces, collards, beet greens, kale and spinach to name a few of my favorites.  Don't forget the lentil sprouts, wheatgrass and chives.  Garlic also grows well in pots, and don't underestimate the delight of fresh herbs - oregano, rosemary, mint and basil. 

indoor lettuce - just harvested some for lunch

Check out this great video by Leanne at Saving Dinner on how to cook greens.

Many stores have great prices on lots of organic produce now, and our local health food store stocks beautiful seasonal greens.  Of course,  here in Arizona we can get most greens locally within 50 miles or so, year round.

lentil sprouts ready to eat

Simple greens are some of the most economical, healthiest things you can do to improve your diet.  Even cabbage, which is usually a great buy anytime.  Mrs. D enjoys the versatile cabbage year round, red or green, cooked, raw or brined into sauerkraut.  A few slices in a stir fry, or a big hunk steamed and served with butter, salt and pepper are both winners for chilly evening suppers. 

Here is one of my favorite ways to include cooked greens in my menu plan:

Mrs. D's Chow Mein

1 lb. cooked spaghetti noodles
2 cups chopped greens - mix and match cabbage, chives, collards, kale, chard, parsley, etc.
2 cups assorted fresh or frozen veggies, chopped
2 T. olive oil
4 T. soy sauce
pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, to taste
dash turmeric
1 cup or less of water, vegetable or meat broth

Heat oil, add noodles, stir fry 1 minute.  Add assorted veggies, then greens.  Add soy sauce, stir fry 1 minute, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding water or broth until veggies are tender.  Add spices to taste.  Turn off heat, cover 2 min. to allow flavors to blend.  Serve and enjoy!
Eggs or meat can be added for a heavier meal, rice can be substituted for "Fried Rice".  We love to eat this with chopsticks!

Cookie Therapy

One of the drawbacks of living out in the boonies - our internet service has been pretty spotty since before Thanksgiving.  I'm pretty tolerant.  It's taken me this long to finally get fed up.  After yelling at my computer screen, then hanging up on the computerized "tech support" several times, I finally turned to cookie therapy.  Creating always helps me to refocus on something positive rather than the problem I can do nothing about at the moment.  It also lowers my blood pressure (pretty scary, because my BP is normally low). 

So what level of Cookie Therapy is called for after over two months of lousy internet service?  Hmmm, first, a batch of Lemon Bars.  One of my faves, because I always have plenty of organic California lemons, thanks to Dad's tree.  And the crust is flour, butter and sugar.  How can you go wrong with that?  Of course, I use whole wheat flour.  Next came six plus dozen Snickerdoodles.  Those got baked right after the lemon bars.  They're cheap and easy comfort cookies.  Then I mixed up two more varieties for the coming days when I knew I would need more Cookie Therapy.  These needed to be refrigerated before baking anyway.  Sure enough, the morning after the snickerdoodles and lemon bars, no internet.  So I baked eight dozen Chocolate Crinkles.  I love this recipe, because it uses less expensive cocoa, which I always have on hand for hot chocolate and brownies, instead of more expensive chocolate chips (which I tend to sneak into and eat).  They are also a perfect fix for a chocolate craving.  Still in the fridge, awaiting the next outage, is a batch of Lemon Cheese Spritz.  I mixed these up because I happened to have the cream cheese, and I have been wanting to use my cookie press.  So sometime in the next few days I will be baking the Spritz. 

There are several side perks to Cookie Therapy.  Baking helps warm the house.  I know we're eating healthier snacks, with organic whole wheat flour and real butter, without hydrogenates and unpronounceable additives.  And my freezer is stocked for the next couple months with said snacks.  Well, I think they'll last a couple months...

So which recipe should I share?  Oh, the dilemma!  I guess it has to be the Chocolate Crinkles, because of Valentine's Day coming up, and Mrs. D's chocoholism.  Here it is:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
(adapted from original in Betty Crocker's Cooky Book (c)1963)

1/2 c. olive oil
12 T cocoa plus 4 T olive oil
2 cups sugar
1 T molasses
4 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. non-aluminum baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
1 c. sugar processed in blender for 1 min.  (substitute for confectioner's sugar)

Mix oil, cocoa and oil, sugar and molasses.  Stir in 1 egg at a time until well mixed.  Stir in vanilla.  Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then add to wet ingredients.  Mix well.  Chill overnight. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Drop small spoonfuls of dough into remaining sugar (processed in blender or confectioner's).  Roll in sugar, shape into balls.  Place about 2" apart on greased baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Do not overbake!  Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Anyway, if anyone out there has a recommendation for rural internet service, such as Hughesnet, Mifi, aircard, please let me know.  Or go to Mrs. D's Homestead on Facebook and join in the discussion there.