Rocket – Eruca vesicaria sativa

Tags

Cashew, cashew nut, dinner, Eruca sativa, food, gardening, home grown, Italian, Mediterranean, Olive, olive oil, organic, pesto, rocket, Seed, skin blemishes, teaspoon cayenne pepper, vegetarian

Rocket has undergone a huge revival in popularity, even though it has been cultivated since the Middle Ages. It is native to the Mediterranean and was prized among the Romans and Persians. It fell out of use for 200 to 300 years. It only in the 1990s that the Italians started using it in ‘designer salads” that it regained its popularity. Medieval Monks were not allowed to grow Rocket in the cloister gardens as it was considered an Aphrodisiac.CULTIVATION
Rocket is a fast growing annual. It will often reseed itself 3 times in the Summer. It demands little attention and will thrive in full sun on compost and regular water.PROPAGATION
Collect seeds from dry pods. Sow from early Spring until mid Autumn. They can be sown in trays and planted out. Once planted out do not move them.HARVESTING
Pick the leaves and flowers often. The more you pick the more it produces.

USES:
Medicinal: Rocket has been used to treat bruises and sprains. Crushed seeds are spread on top of a warmed flannel bandage and holding against the skin without allowing the seeds to touch the skin. Crushed petals are made into a paste to treat skin blemishes. In Medieval times the flowers and green seeds were crushed and mixed with honey to treat coughs. Rocket is an invigorating tonic taken when tired or anxious. To make the teas, use 1/4 cup rocket and 1/4 cup parsley, pour over 1 cup boiling water, allow to steep for 5 minutes, strain and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Drink slowly.

Cosmetic: Rocket juice is used as a facial cleanser for oily skins. It is often used to treat itchy inflamed spots, bites and rashes. Rocket seeds, pounded and mixed with Olive oils is used to treat broken nails and calluses.

Culinary: Rocket is used in many Italian dishes and designer salads. Steam the leaves and make a rich white sauce, and use over baby potatoes of leeks. Rocket pesto is also a firm favorite.

Rocket Cashew Nut and Chili Pesto Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh Rocket leaves
1 clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
50g crushed Cashew nuts raw
1 small chilli

Place all ingredients in food processor, blend until smooth, more Olive oil may be added to make into a creamy paste.

Bottle and enjoy with all your favorite pesto meals.

Basil is King

Tags

basil, food, Greek language, Herb, home grown, olive oil, organic, pesto, Pine nut, Summer savory

Basil is one of the world’s most loved herbs. The Greek word for basil is basileus which means King.

Growing: Basil has deep tap roots, and do not liked to be moved. So transplant your seedlings carefully in the cool of the late afternoon. Keep the soil moist. Sweet Basil is best grown from seed sown in the early Spring and transplanted 50cm apart..

Harvesting: Basil is best used fresh (dried and frozen Basil loses flavor) It is best to pinch of the tips, this also discourages it from flowering, ensuring a longer life span of the plant.

Companion planting: Plant Basil with tomatoes, Summer Savory and fruit trees.

Uses:

Culinary:  Probably the most popular use is Basil Pesto. It tastes good with pizza, pasta, tomatoes, chicken and sausages.

Medicinal: Basil tea is  excellent  to  detox and de-stress. It is good for migraines, peptic ulcers, mouth infections, coughs, hypertension, indigestion and delayed menstruation.

Use 1/4 cup of leaves in  1 cup of boiling water. Leave to draw for 5 minutes, and sip slowly. Cooled tea can be cooled and used as a lotion for insect bites and stings. Basil vinegar is good for sunburn and scalp infections.

Cosmetic: Basil  tea is the perfect toner for an oily skin.

Other uses : Basil leaves rubbed on kitchen window sills keeps the flies at bay and freshens the air.

Basil Pesto

4 cups fresh Sweet Basil Leaves

2 to 3 cloves of garlic – peeled

sea salt to taste

4 tbs pine nuts/ Almonds/ walnuts or pecan nuts

5 to 6 tbs Olive Oil

4 tbs Parmesan Cheese.

Blend all ingredients till a smooth paste if formed.

Serve with pasta, baked potatoes, grills etc.

Raw Tomato sauce in a jiffy

Tags

Cook, food processor, garlic, home, home grown, honey, olive oil, organic, Pizza, raw, raw unfiltered Honey, recipe, Ripe homegrown tomatoes, sauce, sundried tomato, tomato, Tomato sauce

Invariably at this time of year I have a glut of tomatoes, so here is an idea to use up that extra surplus.

Ingredients :

Ripe homegrown tomatoes – 1 cup ( cut in half)

Sun dried homegrown tomatoes – 1/2 cup (softened in a little hot water)

Large clove homegrown garlic – (processed)

Glob of raw unfiltered Honey (from your hive)

pinch of salt.

Method : Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend.

This tomato sauce is delicious on Pizzas, toasted sandwiches, crackers, chip dip. In fact let your imagination be run wild as to how you use this tasty sauce. The sauce stores well in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

This post was shared on Wild-crafting Wednesday 

Basil is King

Tags

basil, food, Greek language, Herb, home grown, olive oil, organic, pesto, Pine nut, Summer savory

Basil is one of the world’s most loved herbs. The Greek word for basil is basileus which means King.

Growing: Basil has deep tap roots, and do not liked to be moved. So transplant your seedlings carefully in the cool of the late afternoon. Keep the soil moist. Sweet Basil is best grown from seed sown in the early Spring and transplanted 50cm apart..

Harvesting: Basil is best used fresh (dried and frozen Basil loses flavor) It is best to pinch of the tips, this also discourages it from flowering, ensuring a longer life span of the plant.

Companion planting: Plant Basil with tomatoes, Summer Savory and fruit trees.

Uses:

Culinary:  Probably the most popular use is Basil Pesto. It tastes good with pizza, pasta, tomatoes, chicken and sausages.

Medicinal: Basil tea is  excellent  to  detox and de-stress. It is good for migraines, peptic ulcers, mouth infections, coughs, hypertension, indigestion and delayed menstruation.

Use 1/4 cup of leaves in  1 cup of boiling water. Leave to draw for 5 minutes, and sip slowly. Cooled tea can be cooled and used as a lotion for insect bites and stings. Basil vinegar is good for sunburn and scalp infections.

Cosmetic: Basil  tea is the perfect toner for an oily skin.

Other uses : Basil leaves rubbed on kitchen window sills keeps the flies at bay and freshens the air.

Basil Pesto

4 cups fresh Sweet Basil Leaves

2 to 3 cloves of garlic – peeled

sea salt to taste

4 tbs pine nuts/ Almonds/ walnuts or pecan nuts

5 to 6 tbs Olive Oil

4 tbs Parmesan Cheese.

Blend all ingredients till a smooth paste if formed.

Serve with pasta, baked potatoes, grills etc.

 

Raw Lasagne

Tags

almond, basil, basil sauce, Cashew, cashew nut, clove garlic, food, garlic, lemon juice, meat free monday, mushroom, olive oil, organic, raw, raw almonds, raw cashew nuts, recipe, rosemary, sun-dried, sweet basil, Tahini, Tahini sauce, tomato, Tomato sauce, tsp lemon juice, vegan, vegetarian, Zucchini

Just reading this recipe makes my mouth water.

Cashew Cheeze

1 cup raw Cashew Nuts

1 cup raw almonds

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in food processor and blitz, tamping down the edges  until it resembles dough.

Tomato Sauce

1 cup sun-dried tomato reconstituted in warm water

1 small tomato

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 chili (optional)

glob of honey

salt and pepper

Process all ingredients until a smooth paste forms.

Basil Sauce

1 cup fresh sweet basil

1 clove garlic

olive oil

Blitz all ingredients until a smooth paste is formed.

Other

Soak thinly sliced mushrooms in Tahini and Olive Oil for 1 hour

Mandolin a baby marrow. If you do not have a mandolin, use a potato peeler.

slice 1 tomato finely.

Construction

In a lasagna dish start with a layer of Cashew Cheeze, then tomato sauce, then mushrooms, baby marrow and tomato. Alternate layers. Top with basil sauce. Leave in refrigerator for an hour, to set.

My neighbor had this to say about it… WOW, such a fusion of delightful tastes.

Raw Lasagne

Featured on Wildcrafting Wednesday

 

Meat free Monday – Baby Marrow and broad bean salad

Tags

baby marrow, Bean, broad beans, food, garlic, home grown, lemon juice, meat free, meat free monday, olive oil, organic, pecan nuts, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, Zucchini

I picked these wonderful broad beans from Bonnie’s garden.

 

I shucked the beans and look what I was left with. I poured boiling water over the beans and left them to stand.

I chopped up some Baby Marrow at an angle and lightly fried them in Olive Oil.

I chopped some Garlic and Pecan nuts and mixed them with the marrows. I removed the water from the broad beans and mixed them with the marrow. I also added a dash of mixed herbs.

I gently fried the mixture, then turned it out into a salad bowl.

A vinaigrette of Olive oil and lemon juice was then mixed into the salad.

The result – totally delicious.

Variations : add sliced mushrooms

add chopped onion

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Meat free Monday –  Macaroni Cheese

Raw Lasagne

Moroccan Butternut stew

 

to dream of Olive Oil

Tags

alfredo, bertolli, caldo freddo, cooking, cooking lesson, food, health, italian chef, olive oil, www youtube

A humorous short cooking lesson about Olive Oil.

Bertolli introduces it’s sexy Italian chef, Alfredo Caldo-Freddo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YuZBGEDM33Y

 

Homemade Lavender Hand cream

Tags

almond, Aromatherapy, beeswax, Coconut oil, Essential oil, hand cream, health, lavender essential oil, light scent, natural ingredients, olive oil, sweet almond oil, Tablespoon

My hands always seem to suffer gardening, with so much scrubbing removing the dirt, becoming chapped and dry. I have been looking around for some time now for home made hand cream using all natural ingredients, as well as Beeswax.

Yes I have found the perfect recipe. Foolproof, a wonderful light scent, and a cream rich enough to not only keep your hands and cuticles looking, but also works wonders on your elbows and heels as well.

Lavender hand cream also makes a wonderful gift and can be adapted to use different scents or even be thinned to use in a hand pump.

Ingredients :

• 1/3 cup sweet Almond Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 2 Tables spoons Olive oil
• 3 Tablespoon grated Beeswax
• 30 to 35 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Instructions :

Combine the oils in a small saucepan over e medium head until just warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in grated beeswax, stirring until completely melted.

Place in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to cool the oil, then stir in Lavender essential oil. Pour the cream into a container, and allow to cool.

Variations :

1. For a thinner consistency to use with a pump, use only 2 tablespoons beeswax.
2. For a thicker salve like consistency, use 4 tablespoons beeswax
3. Try other Essential Oils like Lemon, orange, clove, peppermint, or some other floral scent.

PURCHASE 

This post was shared to Wildcrafting Wednesday

 

Raw Lasagne

Tags

almond, basil sauce, cashew nut, food, lemon juice, meat free monday, mushroom, olive oil, organic, raw, raw almonds, raw cashew nuts, recipe, rosemary, sun-dried, sweet basil, Tahini sauce, tomato, vegan, vegetarian

Just reading this recipe makes my mouth water.

Cashew Cheeze

1 cup raw Cashew Nuts

1 cup raw almonds

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in food processor and blitz, tamping down the edges  until it resembles dough.

Tomato Sauce

1 cup sun-dried tomato reconstituted in warm water

1 small tomato

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 chili (optional)

glob of honey

salt and pepper

Process all ingredients until a smooth paste forms.

Basil Sauce

1 cup fresh sweet basil

1 clove garlic

olive oil

Blitz all ingredients until a smooth paste is formed.

Other

Soak thinly sliced mushrooms in Tahini and Olive Oil for 1 hour

Mandolin a baby marrow. If you do not have a mandolin, use a potato peeler.

slice 1 tomato finely.

Construction

In a lasagna dish start with a layer of Cashew Cheeze, then tomato sauce, then mushrooms, baby marrow and tomato. Alternate layers. Top with basil sauce. Leave in refrigerator for an hour, to set.

My neighbor had this to say about it… WOW, such a fusion of delightful tastes.

Featured on Wildcrafting Wednesday

Garlic trick

Tags

food, garlic, olive oil, salt, tips

Garlic Trick: It’s frustrating to part  a garlic clove from its skin only to have half of it stick to the knife when you chop it. Try this: sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt and a drop of olive oil over the cloves before chopping; the salt acts as an abrasive, helping to pulverize the garlic, and the oil lets it slide off the blade. To make a paste, lay the side of the knife on the garlic and, applying even pressure, drag it across the garlic several times.
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