There is really nothing more delicious than a well made, creamy Rose Petal Ice Cream.  It is the number one big favorite here .

Ingredients
1/2 pint  milk (organic if possible)
yolks of 6 free range eggs
1/2 pint cream
3 1/2 tablespoons caster or superfine sugar
1 cup rose petals (wash them thoroughly and remove the white ends – as these are very bitter)
4 tablespoons of  a good Rosé Wine

Method

• Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bow

• Place the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and slowly add the milk while stirring over a low heat

• Keeping an eye on the heat keep stirring until the mixture thickens

• Remove from heat and allow to become cold

• Whip up the cream until it forms soft peaks

• Fold cream into the cold custard mixture

• Mix the rose petals with the wine

• Fold the rose-petal mixture into the custard and cream mixture then freeze

Alternatively you could use an ice cream making machine and churn according to the manufacturers instructions.

Serve over fresh strawberries that have been soaking in Rose Water, add a  sprig of fresh mint in the prettiest of bowls you can find.

Now just decorate by adding a few shavings of chocolate, a brandy or vanilla wafer and rose petals.

Wicked but Wonderful!!

1

Make sure you stir the mixture at least once or twice during freezing

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This is another  absolutely to die for favorites.  Aah, no! -  this is not  an Original, but it is a highly recommended favorite  originally from ‘The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook by Louise Tate King and Jean Stewart Wexler.

But,  as usual,  we have added our own personal touch by adding plain, no fat yogurt (instead of sour cream) with the obligatory pinch of nutmeg – and topped off with a deliciously fresh sprig of  mint.  Serves 4

Rose Hip Soup

Ingredients

• 3 cups rose hips

• 6 cups water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon water

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

• 4 tablespoons sour cream

• Grated Ginger or nutmeg, to garnish

Method

• Pick over rose hips, using fully ripened fruit for measuring. Rinse well and remove stem and bud ends

• Combine rose hips and water in a 2-quart saucepan,  bring to a boil, and cook on moderate heat for 25 minutes (remember – boiling too fast will result in too much water evaporating)

• Cool fruit slightly then put through a food mill

• Measure pulp, if necessary, add enough water to make 3 cups puréed fruit

• Put pulp in a smaller saucepan, add sugar, stir well, and bring to a low boil

• Mix the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water, stir slowly into fruit mixture

• Continue stirring slowly until mixture reaches a low boil

• Cook, on low heat for about 2 minutes, until soup thickens evenly

• When you are ready to serve, top each portion with some of the yogurt, sprinkle with nutmeg and top with a delightful fresh sprig of mint

Then, you invite us for lunch!  Oh my!! I am just kidding…

All you have to do Petals,  once you have served this refreshingly wicked soup up into some simply gorgeous  soup bowls, is simply sit down and enjoy it.

Mmmmm Sluurrp!

1

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Let soup cool and refrigerate until well chilled.

Remove saucepan from heat, stir in lemon juice, rind, and ginger.

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This is a recipe that we make time and time again, we are  always on the lookout for pretty bottles (preferably spritz bottles) to store our Rose Water in.

Tip: A little trick that we came up with was to add just the tiniest, weeniest drop of ‘red cochineal‘ to the rose water to give it a lovely soft pink color.  You could though be adventurous and use an assortment of different colors to add interest.

Ingredients

-Clean Glass Jar
-Distilled Water
-Witch Hazel (available from most chemists/ pharmacies)
-Rose Petals (it is recommended that you use petals from the wild Rugosa -Rosa or Apothecary rose petals)

Image by magnusfranklin via Flickr

To clarify – You must use the old fashioned rose petals and not hybrid roses petals.

Method

• Fill the glass jar two thirds full with witch hazel

• Fill the last third with distilled water

• You should pick your rose petals daily and add them to your solution until it is filled

• It is important to keep the jar out of bright light

• When your  jar is full, store it in a cool dark place for approx six weeks

• Now strain the solution into a pretty clean spritz bottle

Other Ideas For Your Rose Water

1. Use as facial toner. Keep it in the fridge, after cleansing your face, spray onto face and neck and wipe clean with a cosmetic pad or cotton ball

2. For a touch of freshness and romance spritz pillow cases and sheets before pressing

3. Put into a pretty or unusual bottle and give as a gift

It is times likes these when we appreciate why ‘Piggy’ spends all his time sniffing the roses….

Snniiifff – aaaaaaah!

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We are of course always looking for, and trying out,  new things to do with roses.  More common uses are for example, Rose Hip Syrup, Dried Roses, Rose Vinegar, Rose Honey etc.

This yummy little number found its way into our in-box last week so we gave it a try and …..mmmm hmmmmm!! just delicious.  There was no name to claim its origin, but we do extend our congratulations to whomever it was who discovered and/or created it.

Rosewater and Watermelon have a special and exciting relationship, they absolutely adore one another. Of course when a relationship as beautiful and perfect as this is introduced to and teamed up with another stunning couple, chopped dates and pistachios – well the result is just magical!

This is a simple and easy recipe that takes no time at all to prepare – but it must be served immediately.

Exotic Persian Watermelon Rose Salad

Get yourself a melon scoop and scoop the watermelon into balls.

See if you can find yourself some organic rose petals.  These can be sprinkled on the salad to give it added visual appeal and to support the rosewater flavor.

4 cups of watermelon “balls”
4-5 medjool dates, pitted and cut into small pieces
3-4 tablespoons pistachios
1/8-1/4 teaspoon of preferred rosewater (brands can vary in taste), or to taste

Combine watermelon, dates and pistachios in a bowl, gently mix together. Sprinkle with rosewater (so suit taste preference). Sprinkle with organic rose petals. Serve immediately.

Always cooking with Joy

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Oh my, oh my, oh my!! … here is a little gem we discovered and very excitedly brought home over the weekend, together with a shopping bag full of the necessary ingredients.

By doubling the ingredients you can make enough for around 10 people , my..what a perfectly lovely refreshing cocktail.

This recipe has earned pride of place in our Pantry Recipe Book of Favorites.

Mmmm, note for pantry… A thank you note to Giada De Laurentiis!! Yes!

Hibiscus Tea with Vodka and Citrus

from: Giada De Laurentiis, Redbook, June 2009

(Makes 4-6 Servings)

Ingredients

4 cups water

2 cups (2 oz) dried, sweetened hibiscus flowers, dried rose petals, or hibiscus, rose hip or Red Zinger tea bags

1/3-1/2 cup sugar, or to taste

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 cup vodka chilled

1 cup ice

Method

• In a medium saucepan, combine water, hibiscus flowers, and sugar over medium-high heat

• Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved

• Let cool 25 minutes

• Add lemon juice, lime juice, and vodka

• Place ice in a tall pitcher

• Strain tea into pitcher and discard flowers

• Refrigerate before serving

Notes/Results: Delicious, refreshing and slightly addictive, another cocktail that you can drink right down before you know it. The drink has a sweet, slightly citrusy-floral-berry taste to it and is excellent for a hot evening.

The bright, festive color makes it a great drink to serve at a party. I used just 1/4 cup of sugar in mine with the sweetened hibiscus flowers and it was perfect. If you don’t imbibe, it would be delicious without the alcohol, and if you can’t find the dried hibiscus blossoms at TJ’s, a natural food store, or a Latin market, you can always use Red Zinger tea or rose petals for a still exotic and fun cocktail.

A great recipe and a keeper.

Ching, Ching… to many an enjoyable cocktail hour

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Although Roses are not vegetables or even a fruit, there are some deliciously delightful edible gifts you can make using them – like ‘Rose Honey’. A Word of Caution: Be sure to not use petals or hips that have been treated, sprayed or dusted .  It is also a good idea to ensure that both the petals and the hips  you are going to use are fresh and do not have any diseases.

Certainly, instead of just making these as gifts, do what we do at Rose Cottage and make sure you make enough to keep some for your own enjoyment.

Rosa canina (lit. Dog Rose)  mature into an oval 1.5-2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip. It is recognised for being high in certain antioxidants and its high vitamin C level (rose-hip syrup). The hips are commonly used to make tea, honey,jams,syrup and wine.

How To Make Rose Honey

Tools: Saucepan – Fine Strainer – Sterlized Jars – Wooden Spoon

Ingredients: 4 oz rosehips  – 1lb jar of premium honey

Method:

1. Thoroughly wash and tail 4 oz of rose hips

2. Place a cup of water in a saucepan and boil the rose hips for approximately 15 minutes

3. Using a fine strainer you can now push the pulp through it into a small glass bowl

4. Get yourself some ‘premium quality honey’ and fold 1lb of it into the pulp

5. So, get comfortable beside your stove and boil away continually stirring the mix until it resembles a lovely ‘jam like consistency’

Image via Wikipedia

6. Now you should already have found yourself some attractive looking glass jars.  Make sure you have properly sterilised them so that you can now just fill them up with you freshly made ‘Rose Honey’.

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You probably already know that Dried Roses can last pretty much indefinitely.  However, if you don’t handle them or their arrangement carefully their delicate lives could be compromised.

Best Type of Roses for Drying: Semi-Double Blooms

How To Dry Roses

Tools:

* Biscuit or other 2 to 3 inch deep container

* Oven-dry fine sand

* Adhesive tape

* Fine Brush (one of those lovely thick ‘blusher/face powder’ brushes is ideal)

* Medium Florist Wire and Green Florist Tape

Method:

1. Cut off the stems and allow the flowers to first become quite dry

2. Place a layer of oven-dry fine sand on the base of the container then on it place the flowers beautiful faces upwards about an inch apart.

3. Now this is where your delicate blooms need your ‘gentlest of actions’. Carefully add more of the oven-dry fine sand, taking care that you cover all parts of the flowers.

4. Are ‘Air Pockets’ a good thing?….No, so you must avoid these.

5. Make sure you have covered the flowers with 1 to 2 inch layer of the fine oven-dry sand then pop the lid on and seal it up nice and tight with the adhesive tape.

6. Now you will have to ‘tuck them up’ in a warm dry place for 3 whole weeks and let them rest.

7. Oh joy!! 3 weeks have now gone by and it is time to unpack and enjoy your newly Dried Roses.

8. Now remember – always be ‘gentle’ when working with these delicate blooms’.

9. Carefully clear away the fine sand and gently remove each of the blooms – gently shake off the excess sand and place each one upside down on a clean dry surface.

10. The little dears should be dry and ‘crisp’

11. With your fine brush, gently brush away any excess sand.

12. Insert the florist wire into the base of each flower then cover with your green florist tape.

And…voila!!…now enjoy and brag about your beautiful ‘Dried Roses’.

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