How to Make Violet Cordial

It’s that wonderful time of the year when violets make their brief appearance, and my yard is filled with the beautiful little deep-purple flowers. A few years ago, I posted a tutorial on how to make violet syrup, and I thought it would be fun to revive that recipe with a twist. I made the same basic syrup, but added some vodka to the mixture to make a lovely violet cordial that can be sipped by itself or added to other beverages to make a light floral cocktail. The variety of violets I have in my yard are only slightly fragrant, so the cordial has a mild floral flavor. Different varieties will yield different tastes.

I began by gathering 2 cups of violets, making sure to choose only those blooms that were open and free of bites and blemishes. When you are harvesting edible wild flowers, make sure that you are picking them from locations that are free from pesticide or other chemical applications.

I placed the violets into a colander and rinsed them thoroughly.

Then placed them in a Mason jar and covered them with 2 cups of boiling water. The water almost immediately began to turn a gorgeous sapphire blue! I let the violet infusion cool, then placed it in the refrigerator and let it steep for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, I strained out the violet blossoms, squeezing them to get out all the gorgeous purple hue. I placed some in a bowl so that I could show you what a brilliant color it made.

I placed the strained liquid into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Then added 2 cups of organic cane sugar and let this mixture come to a boil.

I then turned down the heat to medium and let it cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

I removed the syrup from the heat, then added the strained juice of half a lemon. The acid from the lemon made the syrup go from deep violet to a beautiful magenta color.

I then mixed the syrup, 50/50, with organic vodka and bottled it in sterilized capped glass jars, which I bought at the Container Store.

After letting it sit for 2 weeks, it was ready to decant. It is very sweet by itself, but makes a lovely addition to champagne or sparkling water. Enjoy!

Cool Glass Straws and Hot Simple Syrup!

A couple of weeks ago, I struck up an Instagram friendship with the good folks over at fellow Green America certified sustainable business Glass Dharma, makers of the original glass straw. In talking to them, I mentioned that I would love a straw, so they sent me one!

It was beautiful and sturdy, and when I tested it out, I was struck by the fact that it doesn’t affect the taste of beverages the way plastic and paper straws do. It was also just fun to use! So the beautiful glass straw inspired me to try some new drink recipes.

I had recently bought a bottle of habanero lime syrup, and thought it would make an excellent sipping beverage. However, the habanero flavor was muted and tasted more like black pepper. So, I decided to try making my own.

In researching habanero simple syrup recipes, I came across Tipple Sheet’s habanero syrup recipe, which I adapted to make my own habanero lime drink.

Simple syrup ingredients:

• 2 habanero peppers
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 cup water

I found these gorgeous habanero peppers at my local hispanic market.

Trim off the stem , and slice the peppers in half. I wanted to have the flavor and some of the heat, but not have it overwhelmingly hot, so I removed the seeds and the white membrane. If you want maximum heat, leave the seeds and membrane intact!

Many instructions I read recommended the use of rubber gloves in handling habaneros. I chose instead to just be careful not to touch the cut edges of the peppers. If you do this, please be careful. And don’t touch your eyes or your family members until you have thoroughly washed your hands after handling these hot peppers!

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of organic cane sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture turns clear, add the habanero peppers.

Allow the mixture to come to full boil, then turn the heat down and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes

Remove from heat and allow the syrup to cool. Strain into a clean glass jar. The syrup will keep for about 2 weeks if kept refrigerated.

To make the Habanero Lime Drink, add 1 teaspoon of the habanero simple syrup to 8oz of still water or sparkling water. Add the juice of one half lime and some sugar to taste. This makes a refreshing, yet spicy, drink. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Southwestern-Style Quinoa

I have to confess that I have never been much of a quinoa fan, even though I know it is a superfood high in fiber, iron and protein. Unadorned quinoa tastes too earthy to me, but, out of necessity, I’ve finally created a quinoa dish that I not only tolerate, but love!

Home after traveling for several days, we were longing for a health home-cooked meal. In advance of our travels, we hadn’t done any grocery shopping and were completely out of all of our usual staple grains. The one thing in my cabinet, which had been there a while being ignored, was a bag of Alter Eco Organic Royal Rainbow Quinoa, which my husband had purchased because it looked interesting. I also had a bag of organic corn in the freezer, which inspired me to try making a southwestern-style dish. The end-result was so good that I wanted to share it with you!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups filtered water (plus water to soak the quinoa before cooking)
• 1 vegetable bouillion cube
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 bag of frozen organic corn

Soak the quinoa in water for ten minutes, then drain thoroughly. Place in a saucepan with 2 cups of filtered water and the bouillion cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent, then add the spices and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the corn and cook for another 5 minutes and remove from heat.

When the quinoa is finished cooking, remove from heat, add the corn mixture and almonds and stir until well-blended.

Serve with a salad, for a simple well-balanced meal! This dish can be enjoyed hot or cold.

How to Make Vegan Welsh Rarebit (aka Rabbit)

A while back I posted a recipe for vegan mac and cheese. And although it was the best recipe I had produced at the time, I have to admit that I haven’t been quite satisfied with it.

Recently, I had a craving for vegan nachos with cheese sauce, so I did some searching on and found this excellent recipe on Food.com. This one has a higher proportion of cashews, which results is a rich, creamy texture.

Ingredients*

• 4 cups of filtered water
• 2 cups raw cashews (roasted won’t give you the nice creamy texture)
• Another 2 ½ cups of filtered water
• Strained juice of 1 lemons
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular works, too, but smoked provides a deeper flavor)
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• ½ cup of beer (a dark beer, like porter, is preferred)
• 4 slices of whole grain bread, toasted

Directions

1. Soak the cashews in filtered water overnight.

2. Drain the water from the cashews and place them in a blender with all of the ingredients, except for the beer and bread, and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the blended mixture into a saucepan, add the beer and heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently

4. Spread over the toasted bread and serve with a salad for a simple, delicious meal!

To make nacho cheese sauce, eliminate the beer, replace the mustard powder with garlic powder and add 1 tablespoon of chili powder.

*Most Welsh Rarebit recipes call for Worcestershire Sauce, but this contains anchovies. If you are not a strict vegan, this adds a nice depth to the flavor.

Meet Us at The Mother Earth News Fair this Weekend!

The following post is by Katie Peige, Herban Lifestyle’s Sustainability Associate.

This weekend, Herban Lifestyle will be exhibiting at the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania.

This fun-filled family festival is a three-day event held at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort starting at 12:00 pm on Friday and going until 6:00 pm on Sunday. The event is like a state fair, but better, because it’s all about rocking the sustainable lifestyle. So it’s like a Sustainability State Fair (as this Rogers and Hammerstein geek starts to sing, “Our State Fair, is a great State fair, don’t miss it don’t even be late!”)

Back to the fair… When you go, you’ll find a slew of activities to partake in to boost your sustainable expertise. First off, there are the workshops (with very entertaining titles), featuring hands-on experiences on topics ranging from modern homesteading to composting to DIY solar panels. Then there are the animal husbandry workshops with a variety of animal workshops on chicks, and ducks and sheep (oh wait, that’s another R&H musical) and llamas, alpacas, horses, and so on. I am torn between whether I would get a bigger kick out of “Hare-Raising Possibilities with Heritage Rabbits” or “Everybody Duck! The basics of raising ducks.” For those who are not as amused with word play as I am, there are also classes like “Pastured Pork Basics” and “Incubation 101.”

So where does Herban Lifestyle come into this mix? Well, we will be exhibiting in good company with an array of vendors including Affordable Barn Co., The Apothecary’s Daughter, Featherman Equipment, Flying Fibers, Gita Naguri Yoga Farm and Grandma Whimsy’s Cupboard. And I really like the name, Love at First Sit, which happens to be “portable, fair trade, ergonomic back support systems made of organic cotton and hemp.”

Tickets are $35 at the gate for a three-day pass or $20 for one day. By using this coupon, you can get $10 off those prices. Sounds like we are going to have a blast. I hope you can join us this weekend to get your State-Fair-Fix-with-a-twist. Mmmm pass the raw cultured veggies and vegan goodies this way!

Join Us at the Farm-to-Street Party on July 21st!

FARM-TO-STREET PARTY!

Saturday, July 21
1-7 p.m.
$15 (includes four $2.50 tickets for food/drink and beer garden)
1300-1400 V Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Please join us at the second annual Farm-to-Street Party being held in the awesome U Street neighborhood! Enjoy scrumptious dishes made with fresh ingredients from local farms, drink local craft beer and wine, shop local retailers and take craft food classes in the pop-up park. Entertainment will by provided by musicians via Listen Local First!

Here’s a taste of the great businesses that will be there:

13th Street Meats featuring Ben’s Chilibowl    |   Busboys and Poets  |   Clean Currents   |   The Diner  |   Eagle Bank  |   Eatonville  |   Flavor Magazine   |   Goldilocks Goodies
Herban Lifestyle   |   Local 16  |   operation:eatery |  Ripple  |   Sonoma Wine Bar  |   Sweetgreen  |   Tevolution  |   United Tables   |   Whisked!  |   Zipcar DC  |   Arden Jewelry Design  | Coastal Nut Company   |   Dreaming Out Loud, Inc.  |   Gouter   |  Just Peachy Organics  |  Kew Park Farm  | Langdon Wood   |  Live Green  |   Logan Hardware  | Loulies |  Mid City Businesses  | MTO Kombucha, LLC  |  My Great Garden|  Neighborhood Farm Initiative|   Pawgevity  |   Penn Quarter Bodega  | Pleasant Pops  | Prospect Solar, LLC  | Route 11 |  Rutabaga Sweets  |  Scout Mob DC  |  Seasonal Pantry  |   Slow Food DC  |  Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative  |  Waldo, Sluggo & Me  |  YB Green

Beer garden:
The Pug featuring DC Brau, Chocolate City and 3 Stars Brewery.

Music by:
Flo Anito   |   Justin Trawick with Drummer Duo  | Bumper Jackson  | Lucky Dub Trio 

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS!

How to Make Almond Milk

My daughter has been a vegetarian since age 5. More recently, she has become a vegan. Luckily, she is a wonderful cook, so never lacks for delicious, healthy, balanced meals. And almonds are one of her main sources of protein and omega-3, and she has found almond milk to be her preferred dairy substitute. Finding that she wasn’t satisfied with store-bought almond milk, she learned how to make her own, then passed that knowledge on to me. It is surprisingly easy to make, and far more delicious than any pre-made almond milk you can buy. The following recipe makes about 1 quart of almond milk.

You start by soaking 1 cup of raw organic almonds in filtered water for at least 4 hours (I soak them overnight) to soften them. I buy them in bulk from Whole Foods or other natural foods stores.

You then drain the almonds and place them in a blender with 4 cups of water (you can adjust the water to make a thicker or thinner milk).

Blend the almonds and water on high speed for until very well blend. I used the Liquefy setting.

Pour the blended almond milk mixture through a very fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain. You can press on the mixture with a spoon to help the liquid come through the strainer. You may need to do several batches depending on the size of your strainer. You can either compost the pulp or save it for use in a recipe (see below).

Ta dah!

Your almond milk needs to be stored in the refrigerator, and should stay fresh for about 4-7 day (although I have found that it doesn’t usually last that long in my house!)

I was wondering what to do with the leftover almond pulp, so I did a Google search. And thanks to the wonders of the Interwebs, I found a site devoted solely to almond pulp recipes! I plan to make these yummy-sounding savory almond pulp crackers using fresh herbs from my garden.

Wordless Wednesday: Farmers Market Finds

Perfect tomatoes. Ready to eat. No adornments necessary.

English peas. Preciously short season. Delicious in Minted Pea Soup.

Fingerling potatoes. Red and white. To be roasted with garden herbs and olive oil.

Strawberries. Last of the crop. Season came early this year. Perfect for Cold Strawberry Soup.

Icelancic lambs wool. Naturally gorgeous brown color. Will be used to make a batch of Fuzzy Soaps.

Peas and potatoes and basil.

Tomatoes and cucumbers. A salad in the making.

The jewel-toned cauliflower would look gorgeous on a crudité platter.

Nice variety of squash. My favorite are the oddly decorative and yummy patty pan.

Garlic scapes have a very short season. They are wonderful in stir fries.

So happy to have Solitude Wool selling their wares now at the farmers market.

How to Make Rose Petal Lemonade

The antique tea roses as well as wild roses in my yard are in full bloom. They look so beautiful I want to eat them. And, fortunately, I can since I don’t use any chemical pesticides in my garden. In the past, I have made cold strawberry rose petal soup and rose petal jelly. This time, I thought I would try making a beverage out of the blossoms. Inspired by a cold glass of lavender lemonade I had at J. Chocolatier in Georgetown yesterday, I thought I would try making my own version using roses.

I picked the freshest-looking blooms in the late morning, after the dew had dried from them, choosing a mixture of antique tea and wild roses for a greater depth of flavor. I removed the stems and stamens, and tossed any petals that looked brown on the edges. In total, I collected enough petals to loosely pack 1 measuring cup.

I placed the petals in a pyrex bowl and covered them with 2 cups of boiling water. I allowed the petals to steep for 30 minutes.

While the rose petals were steeping, I thought it would be fun to make some embedded rose ice cubes. I used a silicone gem-shaped ice cube tray that I had bought a while ago, but never opened. It seemed like a great girly-girl touch for my lemonade.

I also made some simple syrup from this New York Times recipe using organic Fair Trade sugar, then set it in the refrigerator to cool.

Once the rose petals were finished steeping, I strained the liquid through a cheesecloth into a measuring cup and placed it in the refrigerator to cool for an hour.

After an hour had passed, I squeezed the juice of 3 lemons through a strainer into the rose petal tea. I stirred in the cooled simple syrup, added the rose petal ice cubes, and voila! Rose petal lemonade – a perfect summer drink.

Meatless Monday: Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

Lately the weather has been waffling between summer-like and winter-like. One day last week, when it was feeling particularly chilly, I decided to make a hearty split pea soup. The potatoes and barley give it the consistency of a stew more than a soup, and the addition of nutritional yeast and Liquid Smoke™ give it a creamy smokey flavor without the additional of ham. This recipe makes about 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dried split peas
• 1/4 cup barley
• 4-1/2 cups water, or vegetable broth (I use Imagine’s “No Chicken Broth”)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke™
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I set my grinder to a very coarse grind, as you can see by the large black specks in the photo)

Directions:

In a large pot (6 quarts works well) saute the onion and bay leaf in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the split peas, barley, and vegetable broth or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow it to simmer for 1 hour.

Add the carrots, celery, potato, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast, and Liquid Smoke™ and simmer for another hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the peas and vegetables are tender.

Serve with crackers and a salad for a healthy, hearty meal.