Elderberry Cordial

I'm over at From Scratch Club today talking about finding elderberry trees on my property (awesome surprise!) and how to forage for your own elderberries. I also offered up two recipes: One for making an elderberry cordial, and another on an awesome champagne cocktail using your homemade cordial (picture above). Definitely check out the post, if you can!

Rosemary Simple Syrup

I love to cook and bake, but sometimes my favorite things to make are really simple and easy. Things like compound butters and simple syrups. I love that a few really great, delicious ingredients can come together to create a new ingredient that can be used in so many ways. Most people think simple syrups are good only for cocktails, but I like to use them with club soda, or in dressings, frostings/icings, sauces, and other dips. I always have some in the fridge to perk up my cooking endeavors (I've been enjoying a lemon-coriander simple syrup from Braden lately... it's delicious with Bourbon).

I recently made Rosemary Simple Syrup and Jalapeno Simple Syrup for a From Scratch Club food swap. The rosemary variety is the not-so-secret ingredient to one of my favorite cocktails (see below). Get creative with this syrup recipe or use it as a starting point to create your own.

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Rosemary Simple Syrup
Makes 1.5 cups

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until all sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer to three to four minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool for five minutes. The syrup will be slightly green. Strain out rosemary and store in an airtight container. Rosemary simple syrup will last in the refrigerator for up to three months (if you add a splash of vodka, it will last upwards of six months).

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Rosie Collins
Makes one cocktail
Originally posted October 13, 2011 on From Scratch Club

2 ounces dry Gin
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce rosemary simple syrup
Ice
Club soda
Spring of rosemary (for garnish)

Fill a Collins glass three-quarters of the way full with quality ice. Add gin (I am partial to Brokers, though you could try a local option, too), lemon, and simple syrup. Stir to combine. Top with club soda and garnish with a spring of rosemary. Enjoy!

Food Swap Recap - August

This past Sunday marked the latest From Scratch Club food swap. Held at All Good Bakers, I was impressed with the diverse crowd! Lots of new faces ready to roll up their sleeves and get swappin'. I brought some herbed salt in cute wire-latch jars, some carrots from my garden picked just an hour earlier, and some flowers from around the farm.

I spy Becky of The Mixing Bowl Diary, Sarah from Farmie Market, and Chris with From Scratch Club in this picture.

Turns out nobody wanted my carrots (suckers! I ate them myself and they were dee-licious). In exchange for my four pots of herbed salt, I received a batch of rosemary flatbread (which I'm eating right now with some tasty hummus), a jar of local honey from Wind Women Farm, some amazing, perfectly seasoned salsa, and a jar of chile, cayenne, and brown sugar mustard (from Ms. Chris herself). I also won a brick of cultured thyme butter handmade by Nick and Britin of All Good Bakers. I've yet to really enjoy it, considering how much I lurve butter. My flowers were given to Chris and Christine as a thanks for organizing the event. I picked two bouquets: The "pink" bouquet had zinnias, cosmos, and holly hock; the "orange" bouquet had marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers, and chinese lanterns. Chris generously gave me a half-pint of onions pickled with apple cider vinegar, thyme, and brown sugar in return. I made out like a bandit!

We will be holding another swap in September (as well as some fun special events with author Kate Payne!), so check out the From Scratch Club blog or Facebook page for more information. I hope to see you there!

Herbed Salt

Get ready for one of the easiest, most useful recipes ev-ah. Herbed salt takes less than 5 minutes to make, but has myriad applications. Try a little on homemade french fries or potato chips. Or try a lot, a la salt-crusted fish. It's a simple touch that makes the dish just a smidge more special. It's also a great way to use up an overflow of garden herbs. I recently brought this to a From Scratch Club food swap and people clamoured for it!

Have any other suggestions for herbed salt use? I'd love to hear!

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Herbed Salt
Makes Approximately 2 Cups

2 cups Kosher salt
1/2 cup finely chopped herbs

1. Wash and thoroughly dry your herbs (you can use any herbs you like - I went Provençal and used thyme, rosemary, tarragon and sage). Finely chop herbs.

2. Combine herbs and salt together. Store in an airtight container (you can use immediately, but I like to let it sit for a day or two to let the flavors marry). Keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.