geranium syrup=some good mojitos tonight??

My friends Linnea and Dave told me that they had some geranium plant for me to use-i have been wanting to use geranium for a while to make a few things. my two plants, while they are getting bigger are certainly not enough to make jelly, liquor, scented sugar and syrup without stripping them bare.

YOWZA-i ended up getting an entire trash bag full of the stuff that left this wonderful scent in the store and house...so first things first...
i made 2 bouquets in old mason jars, one for the house and one for the shop. not only do i get to have the fragrance of the plant for a little bit longer, but keeping geranium in some water prolongs the plant so i can use as much of it as possible.

(just another Thursday night: cleaning and sorting geranium plants!)

For the longest time i have been wanting to turn this plant into a cocktail-type ingredient, i haven't really seen it on any menu (tell me if i am wrong) and anyone who has a geranium knows that once it is established, it grows like crazy (hence the trash bag present). The first two things that came to mind were sugar and sugar.

SCENTED GERANIUM SUGAR

• handful of large geranium leaves
• 1 large mason jar (quart)
•  2 cups of sugar (or whatever you need to fill the jar)

Quickly sterilize the jar by pouring some hot boiling water with a shot of vinegar in the jar (or a run through the dishwasher) and dry it.  Line the bottom of the jar with a few leaves and cover with 1" of sugar, tamp the sugar down with a spoon to start releasing the oils from the plant. keep alternating geranium with sugar until you reach the top. Attach the lid, and leave in a sunny place on the counter for a few weeks. Check and shake the sugar every day or so until you can smell/taste the geranium on the sugar. Filter the leaves out after a few weeks and store in the pantry.

GERANIUM SYRUP

• 2 c water
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c washed geranium leaves

Dissolve the sugar in a large pot under medium heat while washing the leaves.

Add the leaves to the sugar mix and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Strain the leaves and bring the mix to a boil again for 10-15 minutes.  Allow to cool and pour into cute jars.

(bottles from Ikea, $1 store down the street and the nice lemonade @ Trader Joes)

I have to let the syrups cool before i can use them, but i am planning on making geranium mojitos tonight when our friend mike comes over so i will be posting about that and a few other things i make!

CSA cooking: 2 easy passion fruit cocktails

basket inventory: yellow wax beans, oranges, apples, eggplant, 3 kinds of lettuce, chard, onions, squash, arugula, guava

(yes, that's all you need)

although we didn't receive passion this week, Morning Song Farm usually hooks us up with some yummy passion fruit which i was completely oblivious to how wonderful it was until i joined a CSA-boy have i been missing out!

i am lucky enough to know someone who has a boatload of passion fruit (and those who have passion fruit know that the vines go CRAZY-much like grapes), and i am allowed to pick from them. recently, most of the passion fruit that i've gathered has gone to making a beautiful jelly that you will be able to pick up at this month's Patchwork Shows, but what do you do when you have less than 10?
you make cocktails of course!
i am all about the cheap and tasty and one of my most favorite things to drink is the UBER-cheap these recipes for sure embrace this.
right now, i am totally in love with the $5 cava/champs from Fresh and Easy. great for cooking, preserves (coming in dec) and cocktails, buy over 6 and receive %10 off-hell of a deal and tastes really good (my mom just bought a case after having some cocktails here)!  this is my take on a mimosa with a little somethin'-somethin'

PASSOSA

• tall glass
• ice
• 1-2 passion fruit
• one super juicy orange or even grapefruit
• champs, cava or some other sparkly deal (even non-alchy!)

yep, that's it and is REALLY good! juice the whole citrus, scoop out the passion fruit (seeds and all-totally OK), add some ice and fill the rest with bubbly. mix, down (because you will) and repeat.

the next drink has been a crowd favorite and just as easy and cheap-sangria. when having larger events and have passion fruit i always make this.

EASY PASSION SANGRIA

• 1 gal, cheap a** sangria/burgundy/red wine, like the Carlo Rossi one below
• 1/2 c. Triple Sec
• fruit: a few citrus (1/2 in rings other 1/2 juiced), apples (diced), or whatever you fancy
• 5-10 passion fruit insides
• ice
• champs/cava/clear soda 

(just $5 at your local booze seller)

mix all together and put in one of those big honker glass deals that you see at Mexican grocery stores (a worthy investment!)

CSA cooking: cucumber-basil mojitos

basket inventory: lettuce (2 kinds), oranges, carrots, grapefruit,  limes (YES!), cucumbers, basil, strawberries, green beans, watermelon, squash

(basically this and a few more items)

so it is Summer and what better way to embrace it than with a cool and refreshing drink made from the cool cucumber.  lots of high-end eateries are making cucumber drinks, spare the $10/drink price tag and make your own for $10/gallon!  typically, mojitos are made with mint-we didnt have any, so i thought of the next logical thing we had-basil!  it was actually pretty good and i made it recently for a canning class at the house.

CUCUMBER-BASIL MOJITOS
(serves 4-5 drinks)

• 1 c cucumbers, chopped (i like to have them pretty well chilled)
• 1/4 c agave nectar (sugar will work too, but agave mixes so much better!)
• 1/4 c fresh lime juice
• 4-5 basil leaves (you can add more depending on the type, but start small them add more)
• 2 c ice cold water
• 1 c sparkling water (or you can omit the agave and add ginger ale or some other sweetened seltzery bev)
• 3/4-1c rum (i tend to add a lot of ice so i add more rum)
• garnishes: sliced cucs, basil, limes (have a little of each to help people balance the flavors)

blend the cucs with the chilled water well and strain to get the chunky stuff out, pour into a pitcher.

muddle the basil and a little agave and lime juice well. pour into the cuc pitcher and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, adjust.  

fill glasses with ice, pour into cup and garnish-enjoy!

adventure in loquats and other backyard fruit-and a special request to readers of this blog!

(THIS is why we have a VW bus-easy to load with fruit!)

i have been awaiting the loquat season excitedly...

ever since our loquat-a-paloza last year, i have been waiting like a little girl on Christmas night for the one month when loquats are in season, so delicious-yet a total pain in the a$$. not only is the season a split second, but once you pick them, they last about 2 days before they start going brown...but that's not all-

(Caitlin seeding and cleaning)

anyone who has had this Chinese fruit that looks and tastes more like an apricot than a kumquat knows that they are small and have 2-3 seeds in them...can't eat the seeds, they are known to be toxic.

(toasted loquat seeds-more to come on what i do with them...)

so last week, gustavo and i went to Tustin to pick fruit. we were lucky in that the tree we picked from had the larger variety of the fruit-SO much easier to deal with and it seems like they were ready a little earlier than the smaller version which was on a tree a few yards away. that day we were able to pick almost 2 baskets of loquats, tangelos, mandarin, lemons and a few find ugli fruit (more to come on that!)..what a score!

(from one small tree-we were able to have almost 2 baskets!)

(leaving Tustin, and noticing a lot of fruit trees...)

so what did we make?? 4 cases of loquat butter and a special brew-loquat n' honey vodka!...won't be ready for a few weeks at leaast, but will give an update!


if you have any fruit trees that you want me to pick or you can pick and hand over-i will give you a few jars of whatever i make....viva Spring!

i have got some really great customers

i have been saying this for a while- i love my customers. i have probably had 1 bad experience in the 4 years i have been in business, the rest have been incredible people who have been loyal to this little store and have helped to spread the word. many of them have come to be my friends and simply stop by to say hello or to let me know about things that would interest me...they just care!
one customer Jane, has been coming in for a while and is not only a big fan of Backyard Bees Honey, but is also a prolific preserver-every time she comes in we swap stories of what we made/what we want to make/trading...
a while ago she loaned me a book on eating snails, as you know i am planning to do this (VERY soon actually) and while having my adventures in long beach, found myself a copy of it at {open}...
just today at the store, while having coffee with a friend, in comes Jane with a bottle in one hand and kumquats in the other...Jane's been busy...

(the gift next to my new book from {open} on wine making!)

first: she came in with a gorgeous bag of kumquats, thank goodness! i had already ran out with the vodka recipe and marmalade that i already canned...looks like more booze is on the way!

she also came in with a somethin'-somethin' special...a homemade orange liquor made from citrus, juice, honey and everclear! homes knows how to start a party!
i was totally intrigued and when a few hours later, another fave customer Bonnie (you will see a post about her soon)...came in i told her about Jane's nectar. first thing she said was, "well, let's taste it!" so we sat there, in the shop sampling Jane's nectar...AND WOW!
again, i love my customers and the fact that they know how to appreciate a fine drink.
thank you Jane!

CSA cooking: Kumquat Vodka

basket inventory: lots of kale and carrots, lettuces, cilantro, rosemary, tangerines, blood oranges, mandarins, limes, lemons, kumquats, broccoli, avos, mac nuts, sprouts

yes more kumquats...but i thought this might be a good one for the adults in the crowd.
NOTE: if you want to make this for a party, you need to start a few weeks in advanced so that you have a well developed flavor.

KUMQUAT VODKA

• 1 liter/5-6 c. good vodka
• 2 c sugar
• 1 pound well washed kumquats

pierce the quats a few times do that they can soak up the booze. dump them into a sterilized glass jar/pickling container and add sugar. add the vodka and close the container well. let it sit for about 2 weeks or until the sugar is dissolved...
i should be doing a follow-up to this recipe in a few weeks!

a clever idea for sealing wine!

i love vintage etsy seller, Little Byrd Vintage...cute items and displays, very much what i like for the shop and my own personal taste these days (also gives me great ideas of what to look for this summer on 127 yard sale)

just recently i noticed this cute wine stopper whose top was from a vintage glass doorknob. this looks pretty simple, i am going to try it!

craft night with Estasia at The Annex

forgive me for waiting a day on my CSA food tip...i have it..i was just too caught up in making new items for the store in our new space The Annex that is dedicated to DIY and sustainable living, learning and teaching.
on the last thurs of each month, the Annex is open to people wanting to hang out and do something creative...yes, just bring your supplies, sit down and chat while making your thang...there are even supplies just in case.
my friend Estasia, (who by the way, makes ADORABLE hemp skirts) came by to catch-up and make stuff...what did we make??
*remember my 127 yard sale adventure?? i actually bought a large bag of odds and ends- vintage lace and ribbon, buttons and fabric goodies. we turned these items into cute "pillowcase primers" or cute collages with a pillow template inside a small tag. all you have to do is sew and decorate!
(from this)
(to this)

*OK, break time: i am in LOVE with Knudsen's Jamacian Lemonade
...this is the BEST canned/store-bought lemonade around and mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with champagne, well, it is BETTER than a mimosa.
*bean ornaments: we then made these cute ornaments made from hot-gluing dried beans to stryo (YES I KNOW it is stryo) balls...but they are pretty damn cute.

kumquat margaritas!

one of my favorite things i have been making recently that i have trying to show off to everyone that comes to visit us-kumquat margaritas.
i got the recipe from farmer Donna when i asked her about what to do with the baskets upon baskets that we receive each week with kumquats-they are great and all, but after a few months...getting kind of over it. it's funny, the "turning it into a drink" has been a popular thing to do in our CSA (caipirhinas, mojitos, sangria, limeade...), but hey we use up everything and coming up with a little more than the "bottle of beer" when people come over.

Farmer Donna's Kumquat Margarita:

2 baskets kumquats
-cut in 1/2 or in 1/4 if you are good with a knife
-blend one basket at a time in the food processor, add water to help it out (like 1/2c per basket)
-strain through a sieve to get the chunks out (if you don't have one-get one, they are cheap and if you want to save $ by cooking more this makes life better)
-put into sauce pan over med heat
add 1 tbs stevia or agave to mix
-mix and reduce the liquid for 30 min or so, taste occasionally, you might want to add more sweet
-set to cool, transfer to old tomato/sauce jar (will last for a while, NOT forever)

in a martini shaker...
equal portions tequila and kumquat mix
triple sec (i dont know how you like your margie, you decide this part)
handful of ice
-shake and pour in little vintagey glasses, tumblers look great holding this drink
-pour some of the ice in