#rose syrup

[fattributes]

Mohabbat ka Sharbat

[morethansalad]

Mango Falooda (Vegan-Friendly)

[seven-deadly-dishes]

Blushing Ginger Rose Fizz

via The Flavor Bender

[gemwel]

Have you ever looked at roses and wondered if they were tasty? (Or maybe you went to a restaurant with something like rose milk tea with rose jelly that you got & liked).

Well, here is a guide to eating roses.

(Please note that people tend to put all kinds of nasty chemicals on roses sold both commercially & that you find growing at a neighbor's house, so please make sure they are unsprayed/untreated/organic before consuming them and always ask permission if they are growing on someone else's land).

First, go early in the morning (as that lovely rose scent will disappear as the day heats up) & pick some just opening flowers. Then wash them to remove dirt and bugs.

These are some common domestic roses (Mr. Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, etc), but if you are buying roses to eat, supposedly Damascus roses are the best. Next, you will gently remove the petals from the stem (a slight twist & pull is usually sufficient). Now you have to choose preparing fresh (rose jam, rose jelly, rose syrup, rose oil, rose water, etc) or drying them for later.

In this case, I dried them.

As you can see, once I had just over 2 quarts/2 liters, I proceeded to the next step. Grinding them to a fine powder in the blender.

As you can see, grinding the petals dramatically reduces the overall volume. For long term storage of the powder, I sift it (through a sieve) and dry again before storing it in glass jars.

This powder is really nice to have on hand. One spoonful into a cup of hot water or coffee makes a nice drink. Or you can add it to baked goods for rose flavor & color.

In this case, I am going to make waffles. I started with a commercial pancake mix, added ingredients suggested on the box and a good amount (no more than 1/10 the volume of mix/flour) of rose powder. After making the waffles, they looked like this:

I also had some rose syrup using a recipe from a really interesting cookbook about Lebanese pantry staples (which can be made from things that grow well in Mediterranean climates like roses).

The rose syrup was interesting to make as the pigments in the rose petals leach into boiling water, leaving clear, transparent, and slightly chewy petals behind. The book has lots of recipes for fresh rose petals. I water bath canned them for 15 minutes so I can store it long term. It was a two day process to make.

Then I combined the rose waffles with rose syrup to moisten them.

Finally, I used hot water to clean the blender & make my first batch of rose tea. I think the purple color is from my Mr. Lincoln rose.

So there is an entire meal from roses. (If you want a clear tea, use dried whole rose petals & strain them out before drinking).

[askwhatsforlunch]

Pretty in Pink

My first two meals in Aotearoa New Zealand were hot chips at Eden Park. They were very good chips, and the ones I ate at lunch had a very local Paua sauce generously laden on them. But still. Thus, the next day, Ava and I dined at S.P.Q.R on Ponsonby Road, where I had one of the best cocktail I ever drank! I needed a good occasion to try and re-create it at home, and Valentine’s Day perfectly suits this Pretty in Pink beauty. It also reminds me of these blissful weeks my girl and I spent in Aotearoa, and makes me look forward to returning to her shores. And, I’m very happy with how it turned out, I must say. As potent, delicately fruity and floral, as it is luscious, its soft, cloud-like foam melting on your tongue... A very sexy cocktail, indeed... 

Ingredients (serves 1):

5 beautiful, fresh raspberries

1 tablespoon Rose and Hibiscus Syrup

1/2 lemon

60 millilitres/2 fluid ounces (4 tablespoons) good quality London Dry Gin

1 large egg white

5 ice cubes

2 small fresh raspberries and sugar hearts, to garnish (optional)

Place raspberries in a shaker, and crush them with a muddler. Add Rose and Hibiscus Syrup, and muddle again until well-mixed. Thoroughly squeeze in the juice of the lemon halve. Add London Dry Gin and egg white.

Close shaker tightly and dry shake (without the ice) for about a minute.

Add ice cubes, close shaker tightly and shake energetically until well-chilled.

Double strain in a coupe glass, and garnish with fresh raspberries and sugar hearts, if desired.

Enjoy Pretty in Pink immediately.

[tsugaruspalate]

“Perhaps you should consider adding some love to your food?” - Soma to Tsugaru (in a knowingly mysterious way)

Soma is arguably the most romantic of the guys in Public Safety, and, if Tsugaru were willing to accept the help, I’m pretty sure he could learn a thing or two when it comes to date food at least.

Or he could stick to his own tastes (albeit in a milder form) and buy some sparkling rose cider to drink, or rose syrup to put on ice cream, in yogurt, or even on salad and in curries. Seriously. It apparently enhances the spices.

Made from real edible roses grown at this specialty garden in central Japan, they’re organic, all natural colours (the syrup has added natural colour however) and they both taste like roses. I tried the sparkling drink first and it made me feel like I was surrounded inside and out by a huge flower garden. It’s such a lovely feeling.

The syrup is probably best with ice cream versus yogurt (in my opinion). Vanilla or chocolate ice cream are ideal, since there aren’t a lot of other flavours to get in the way, but I’m sure Tsugaru wouldn’t mind if you put rose syrup on matcha or even peanut butter banana ice cream. It might even make him proud.

[callmebliss]

New cup, new drink, same old face

Went to visit, in Georgia, a friend I’ve known online for a decade but had never met in person. Through a divorce, a marriage, a birth, a death, countless changes in their life, and finally I got to go visit them.

It was easier than I thought to slip into their household for a few days, in part because somehow our friendship was older than their marriage (which I hadn’t really given thought to until their spouse pointed it out) and in part because my friend took care to make sure I was aware of triggers and boundaries before I even headed their way.

Normally I sleep very badly my first night anywhere, but there I slept easy. We embarked in various configurations on several adventures, one of which was visiting an antiques/vintage/rummage shop not far from his house. I happened upon a knife that drew me in like a magnet, in a locked glass case. I went and spoke to the shopkeep, and we discovered the lock was broken. As luck would have it, the owner of that section was nearby and, by hook and by crook (literally - she bent and twisted a wire coat hanger and used it to tug and tease the knife toward the small opening she could manage in the case doors until she was able to twitch it out with her fingers) it was freed from its little glass prison. I bought it, and thanks to TSA restrictions it will hopefully show up in my PO Box in the next week.

In the same shop, I found several gifts to bring home for folks, as well as a silver spoon from an exhibition that had taken place in Atlanta in…some year, I forget. I don’t think it was 1996. I also found a little spoon that had, nestled in the bowl, an enameled design of strawberries.

The teacup I happened upon in another shop. I quite love strawberries, in part due to Strawberry Shortcake (80’s OG, not reboot) and in part due to the berries themselves. I collect teacups and somehow didn’t have a strawberry one yet. I buried it in the center of my suitcase for the trip home.

After I returned home I drank a bit too much and had a rather horrid meltdown. Poor SALM handled my nonsense beautifully.

He is having a difficult day himself today, and I asked if he would do better with company or solitude. He chose the latter. I offered him food, which he graciously declined. I let him know if he changed his mind on either, I’d be in the living room.

I made cucumbers and cream cheese on toast. It is too hot to cook. I cleaned out the pitcher and ground fresh coffee and set up the cold brew for overnight in the fridge.

I will retire there shortly to watch more Outlander (no spoilers please, as I am only in S1, but happy to discuss it here or on Discord) and work on Thing 22 of my 22 Things project. But, as it is hot as balls and hydration is important, I put into my cup some seltzer and a couple spoons of a rose syrup I picked up recently and had yet to try. It is perfect! Cold, rosy, only a little sweet but not cloying. It feels and tastes special.

Good evething.

[moononmyfloor]

Delicacies Destiny: Featured Dishes

Ep 7

Dish 30: Longqing Cakes

Made with precious ripe Chinese Bay berry.

Dish 31: Steamed Lobster

Dish 32: Pigeon Soup with Ginseng

Dish 33: Dumplings of Seven Delights

"The filling has pork, beef, fish, duck, boar, vension, shredded green onions, yellow chives."

Dish 34: Chicken with Eggs

Dish 35: Sesame Oil Vegetables

"People grow these vegetables throughout the year. If the base is cut and planted in soil again, it'll regrow. It's everything to them."

Ep 8

Dish 36: Rose Syrup

Dish 37, 38: Imperial Jujubes, Stewed Cattail in Milk Soup

A sweet made with nutmeg, jujube puree, sugar, honey and osmanthus flowers and a soup made of cattail, milk and shitake mushrooms. Good for digestion.

Ep 9

Dish 39: Chili Oil Wonton