i have a deep seeded passion for making cordials and flavoured liquors.  not just cause i love drinking them...holy! mmmm...but because i love the ritual of the process.  i never use a recipe. i usually make them on the new or full moon. i always choose the ingredients based on the elixir i am envisioning.  

for instance...i made one with two of my besties, kelly and teya, one night on the new moon. we decided to have this one be called "unconditional love".  we settled on using cocoa powder, damiana (an herb good for many things but widely used as an aphrodisiac), rose petals, etc.  we had 3 mason jars, one for each of us, set up in a triangle where each of us were sitting.  we had a big wooden mortar and pestle that kelly had brought back from mali, in the middle.  we took turns grabbing pinches of each ingredient and as we would grind it in the mortar and pestle, we'd share a story, poem, or time when we gave or received (or wish we had) unconditional love.  wow. very special were those moments.  some of the most potent ever.  sometimes we'd pull cards from the goddess deck for each one and write the name on the jar to infuse the beauty that she stood for into the cordial.  

now days, i mostly do them alone.  but they are still very special and i usually have an intention set, beyond a badass culinary pitchyao-chyao.  the day we moved into are new home my son, loji and i, walked around collecting a bowl of huckleberries and raspberries.  he and i made a simple raspberry, local honey and vodka cordial that night which was one of the yummiest of all time. we also made one with the huckleberries and fennel seeds...we agreed to call it Huck Fen. haha.

this cordial is so freaking good....oh. my. holy taste. buds. batman!  well, there are some different combinations i did with the 20lbs. of organic plums i bought. hands down my favourite fruit to use in flavouring liquors. sooo juicy. well, they might be tied with raspberries, actually. but whose thumb wrestling? 

since i believe in quality control, i poured a bit of each of my plum cordials to sip and decide which recipe to share. if my words start tripping over each other...it's because these are so delish, it's easy to forget they are almost straight booze. mmmm.....so, there's the disclaimer. carrying on...

instructions...

organic plum cordial with star anise and black peppercorns

• wash your plums. ;) the more the merrier.  they should be soft, ripe, plump and very sexy.
• start chopping, pitting and fill up as many mason jars as you can. you want them to be pretty full, but leave enough space at the top so that your spirits can cover about an inch above your fruit. 
• i used widemouth litre jars, but seriously, use what you have. i threw about 6-8 perfect beautiful star anise in each one. they are so awesome! if yours are broken up, it's all good. just put in a small palm full, you'll strain it later.
• pinch of whole peppercorns.
• 1/2 cup raw local honey. i know some of you are reaching for the plastic honey bear...don't do it. local honey is the jam! but i understand.  just do one thing for me, if you use the boiled down, refined store bought honey bear kinda honey this time (it truly is all good, if you do), promise that next time you will use the good stuff and have a lil taste test.  tell me how it goes. who knows...
• lastly, i use vodka in this one.  again, better is better.  but you don't need to go top shelf here.  i use rusian standard. i love that matte bottle. i have used grey goose, sky, finlandia...use what you use.  like i mentioned before, fill the bottle up so that the vodka covers the fruit.
• now...you want to store these in the pantry or a cupboard that is mostly dark and turn it upside down once a day for a week or two. this is important because if there are any air pockets, your fruit could go off. a little swish a day will insure this doesn't happen.  this also gives the honey a chance to dissolve it's magic into your future blissful sips.
• then, use a strainer, cheese cloth or jelly bag to strain the fruit out. reserve this and i'll tell you what to do with it in a sec....ooooo....so good. don't mash them when you strain the fruit or your end product will have a lot of sediment.
• return the delish liquid back into clean jars and put them back in their dark home (the pantry) to sit for another 2 or 3 months to reach optimal yummy times.

i usually do a massive batch in september to sit until the holidays and give them as gifts. i save special bottles and dress them up with this's and that's.  they like to feel pretty. they are magic potions.  the bottles in the pictures below, i reused tissue paper, some twine and some salt dough stars that i made with my little guy.  cute tags...key!

serve a couple ounces over ice with a splash of soda water or in little brandy glasses on their own for sipping. mmm, the nectar.

okay, now for some tid bits on what you can do with the fruit you strain from the bottles.  try and remove the star anise and black peppercorns.  if one or two make it to the party, it's okay. but...good to try right? 

put the fruit into the food processor.  you really want it to be drained as much as possible.  blend into a puree and pour into ice cube trays. i like to use the square silicon ones because they look really cool and are easier to get out.  because alcohol doesn't freeze, these will only freeze to a certain point, hence the straining as best you can. give them a couple of days in the freezer and if you need the trays, you can ejector seat those babies into a container or a ziplock bag and return to the freezer until you want to use them.  

they are really awesome to pop into a sangria.  i also enjoy putting one cube into a glass of white wine on a hot summer day. hello! that's a happy hour!

oh dandelions!  aren't they beautiful?  those abundant vibrant yellow blooms that turn into "wish flowers" granting wishes made with close eyed visions and eye lashes batting?  seeds flying in the wind...wishes gliding on hopeful breezes.  CUT!!! what are we talking about here? every time my son goes out to harvest his wishes i see the seeds in matrix vision...all the new plants springing forth before my eyes.  you should have seen how many we had on our uncut lawn about  a month ago. good thing i do secretly adore them!  even better that i found a recipe a few years back for this dandelion fizz that knocked my socks right off to utilize this years lawn harvest.  it is sooo good! like magic really....divine sips of sweet sunshine on your lips.

the best part of this recipe is that you get to cut the heads off those flowers before they turn into "wish flowers" and reseed, replacing your grass with yellow fields of dandy times.  hmm, that sounds really awesome actually.  and now that this fizz is in my life...might just be what happens.

i am excited to try this recipe with other flowers and herbs.  very similar to elderflower cordial, in fact.

dandelion fizz recipe

6 cups dandelion flowers

5 quarts water

4 cups sugar, honey or other sweetener

2 lemons (less lemon or none if you use honey)

first off, collect  flowers.  you wanna make sure you are picking them from a place out in nature that has not been sprayed with anything but rain and sunshine.  i employed my little guy, Loji, and his best bud, Jasper for this job.  i had already gathered a pot full of them, but it was soOoooOo beautiful out, i thought we'd have some really sweet outside times.  they had so much fun!  they wanted to keep going and going.  so, i let them.  they filled up an entire backpack with dandelions.  i quadroooopled the recipe.

only cut the flowers that are in the direct sunshine.  i saw this tid bit in a recipe i had found it an old old herbal book (not the one where this recipe comes from) and love it.  i think it's really sweet and that it is why it feels like you are drinking sunshine when you sip'a'da'fizz! 

now, go through and be sure to snip the flower right at the stem. you only want the flower head in there. 

clean dandelions if necessary, there was an ant or two (okay, mabe 20) in mine trying to come to the party but i swooshed them right off with a quick shower.

put flowers in a heat-proof container made of glass, ceramic, enamel, or stainless steel.  i used a large crock.  love them. i want to marry crocs when i grow up!  

bring water to a boil and pour over dandelions.  cover, and leave over night, or at least for 12 hours.

strain flowers through a cloth.  you can use cheese cloth, a piece of muslin, a clean tea towel, a nutmilk bag, or...i'll let you in on a little secret...raw foodies sell special nutmilk/strainer bags online for about $11+ each...did you know that you can get the same product, pretty much, at a hardware store for pennies? they are called paint strainer bags.  i think they are just a few dollars and i get mine 3 to a box. boom. 

now, add sweetener, lemon juice and rind.  i used local honey. i think you should too. 

heat and stir till dissolved but do not boil.

strain into jugs or jars and leave to cool.  be sure to cover the jars.  fruit flies are not invited to this party.

pour into clean, dry bottles with tight screw caps and wait for as long as you possibly can. store in a cool dry place.  don't forget about them...enjoy them within a couple months.  they could, you know, explode on you if you leave them lonely in your pantry for too long. 

brew will do it's thang, ferment and become fizzy.  there will be some alcohol content in it; as that's what fermentation does, but no more than kombucha might have.  brew is ready to drink in 3-4 weeks!  summertime enchantment is what you'll experience popping one of these beauties open. super special moment!  enjoy!

after a day or two of weeding our garden beds and cleaning up the winter debris, we got all our seeds out.  i went to "seedy saturday" where heirloom seeds are sold and traded and brought home the beginings of a bountiful harvest.  we got out the egg cartons i collect to plant our seedlings for the year.  my little man always helps me with this on the spring equinox.  there is something so magical about this for me.  we have such sweet convos about the changing of the seasons, what we loved about winter, what we are excited for about spring, and looking forward to in summer.  i always braid in notions about how the seeds we are sowing in spring will be so fun to enjoy all summer.  we talk about what we will make with the fruits and veggies that will grow and the picnics, bonfires, and potlucks we will share them with our friends.  i love this day.

i cut down the center of the carton, separating the two halves and cutting off the little side tab to recycle it.  then i stack the two together and fill with organic soil.  loji loves doing this part.  i usually leave cleaning the porch off after winter rains and pine needles dropping until after we plant our seedlings. he also likes poking holes with his pinky and placing seeds in them.  he tries to convince me that all we should grow is watermelon and corn and i explain to him, or try to, because i halfway agree with him, why that isn't what we are doing.

then because the soil isn't packed down at all and you want to keep it pretty loose for the seeds to sprout, but don't want it spilling all over the sides...we water the first few times with a spray bottle. i used a sharpie to write on the sides of the egg cartons what seeds were which.  i usually use popsicle sticks to label them, or clothespins that have snapped apart, but was pretty much fresh out.  so, a sharpie it was...

then, i put them on baking sheets or pans so that the watering doesn't make a mess and put them in a sunny window.  it takes only a day or two to start seeing the sprouts.  loji and i make bets which will come up first and run to check every time we think about them.  radishes and brussel sprouts won the first round this year.  if you have a good farmers almanac use that or google where you live and what gets planted outside when.  i also use this step to help loji learn to research things that interest him and help him find out things he'd like to know.  today we will be planting our lettuces, arugula, kale, cilantro, dill, beets, broc., and brussel sprouts.  since the cardboard of the egg crate will be a bit moist, it is so easy to tear them each individual sprout in an egg cup right off and plant the whole thing right in the ground.  before i do this, i pinch a little whole in the bottom for the roots to easily grow right through.  the carton itself mulches right into the soil and actually protects the youngster in the ground a bit.  love this time of year.  kinda giddy like a school girl.

y'all betta' get ready for this.  you will literally be smothering this chimichuri on every single thing you eat until every last speck of green is swooped by fingers and tongues from the jar.  f'reals.  it is fresh, tangy, and such a fla'blamo flavour pop that anything it gets to hang out with on your plate will be made light years more glorious.  pop rock candy might make a come back if they made a chimichuri flavour.  

now, i know i have mentioned this before, but i believe that the best recipes are the ones that live in your head.  ones with no real weights and measurements, it's more about handfuls, bunches and pinches.  that's how i love to cook.  

chimichurri is a pesto'esk herb sauce that can vary a lot in ingredients based on it's spanish and italian influence.  it's from Argentina and is used as a sauce or is a sublime marinade on meats.  i personally love it so much, i could swirl it into my cereal and smile.  my biggest crush, david rocco, made a version close to this one on his show, dulce vita, and i've been savouring the flavour ever since.  whoa. have you checked that show out?  best ever.  i want to marry him, his wife and his whole rustic italian life when i grow up. 

throw a couple garlic cloves in the food processor with a small handful of capers.  buzz these real quick and then fill the bowl with parsley (cleaned and chopped a bit.  discard the bottom 1/3rd of the stem but keep the rest...it's filled with flavour).  now pulse those all together.

once it looks a bit like this, scoop out the herby delish into a mason jar.  now squeeze a whole lemon into the jar.  if it's an organic lemon, zest it prior  to cutting and squeezing, for extra brownie points.

throw some sea salt "up in the mug" and drizzle extra virgin olive oil into the jar until it is just covering the goodness.  taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  i love doing this with green apple as a scooper.  

some things i use this churri on:

• as a salad dressing...add a bit more oil and or lemon juice for added drizzle factor and use on an arugula, green apple, feta and caper salad. boom. so good.  straight sexy time salad.
• a marinade for virtually ANY meat.  it is a dream on halibut, beautiful on venison, and chicken was born to be drenched in it (umm, that sounds bad).
• pasta. pizza. bread products. oh. my. gawd.
• piled up on a melty brie round on a cheese plate.  expect proposals.  people will bow dow to you on one knee.  i might be exaggerating. i might not be. try it and you will see. 
• as a face mask.  okay, i am kidding.  but i have contemplated it before.  it's that good.

the low down...soon, i will get better at posting these tid bits as i am doing them, leading up to the holidays and parties i throw them on, so you too can share in the culinary crafting adventure i set sail upon.  hop aboard matey!  squack...hop aboard matey (totally done in a parrot accent, much like the one from Aladin).  for now, here this is for next year's reference for you to go ahead and take magic back along side us! 

little recap on St. Patrick's Day....we decided to take magic back!!!  the actual story of st. patrick and his day is totally lame and sad... but, like many "holidays" it has come to the americas through hemispheres and time, passed like a silly secret through ears and culture until it has become completely unrecognizable to it's origin. YAY! so good, in this case. this is the day my family celebrates magic! rainbows, leprechauns, and pots of gold. adventure seeking, charms, spells, and going green. crafting, food and friends.   long live the druids, the shamrockers and magic homies like yourselves!

rainbow ice cubes....umm, yeah. took me days to finish these icy gems...freezing each layer separately and such.  found natural food colouring that was extremely spendy and not as poppin as i'd hoped, at whole foods.  but deeeam! i had fun drinking my irish whiskey with one of these babies floating in it.  the kids were suuuper excited about them.  i found enormous silicon ice cube moulds somewhere... forget where, but am in love with them. i have seen them on amazon if you wanna go that route. 

menu:  

• cheese plate:  all kinds of cheeses that had green touches, bartlet pears, green apple chips, pistachio this, basil that, sage something or other...you get my drift. yu-um.
• caprese stacks:  beefsteak tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, mint leaves, and homemade basil pistachio pesto on a bed of arugula.
• mini cabbage:  okay, so obvz these are brussel sprouts with applewood smoked bacon from our friends farm in Powel River, but...you know...irish theme...cabbage. nuf said.
• potatoes:  obvz had to have a potato dish.  these are fennel chicken broth baked mandolin potatoes.  3 ingredients (besides salt and pepper) and are sooo good. i will post the recipe ...calm down.
• venison rack:  marinated in a lemon parsley caper chimichurri and lightly seared on the bbq and baked off to perfection.  salivating just thinking about it.  served with chimi on the side.  
• dessert: mini pavlovas with kiwi and blueberries tossed in a mint, lime simple syrup and topped with matcha whip cream and lime zest.  holy f*$k it was good.  plus, i totally cheated on the sugar in the simple syrup and used half sugar and half Zero, a natural sweetener with a super low glycemic index. yup, getting nerdy over here.  it was magnificent and fresh with now sugar crash afterwards.  recipe to follow.

i really wish i had amazing pictures of the table pre-aftermath...but...nope.  was totally in the zone. the magic zone.  fueled by magic, guiness and irish whiskey and solid gold friends and family. loved this evening.  only 3 couples and a houseful of kids.  that's how we do.  

i'm tempted just say this...."Put a bundle of fresh lavender on the dash in your car.  your life will change.  wait and see."

no but for real.  trust me.  wink. me smiling....you nodding...  then you smiling the next time i see you.

every time you turn on the heat....oh my josh!  every time you hop into your car on a sunny day...oh my josh!  every time your friends sit shotgun...josh curls his toes in splendiforous olfactory bliss.  mmm.  i am going to go sit in my car on the driveway now.  that is all.

yes, some of the little flower buds with fall into the vent.  yes, like i did, you will think, "oh no, what have i done?"  then, also like me, you will join josh in his toe curling and think...mmm..."totally meant to do that. so good.  smells so good."        enjoy.