Posted on 10/31/2021 11:14:58 AM PDT by Jamestown1630
Thank you so much, really appreciate it.
Many thanks for the great information.
If you have a patch where you can put the lemon verbena, I say go for it. I have mine in a large pot and it spreads its shoots out and drapes all over. It’s lovely. It smells divine every time you walk past it, and when you harvest it and turn it into liqueur, it’s like liquid gold. It’s so beautiful. I found one recipe online but it has too much sugar for my tastes. I halved it and it was still plenty sweet.
https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/lemon-verbena-liqueur/
This might be a bit of a long post, but ….
Thank you for the info on how the lemon verbena grows in a container. I have double wash tubs on a stand & I have used them for flowers – this past year, I had Cardinal Climbing Vines in them. After unwinding/clipping vines off of everything in the area (fencing, etc.) for 2 hours, I have decided NO MORE climbing vines!! The tubs will be perfect for Lemon Verbena … draping & delicious smell will be welcome in that area of the garden. I have saved the Lemon Verbena Liqueur recipe in my recipe program so I won’t lose it – looks delicious.
There are lots of liqueur recipes I’ve always wanted to make. My biggest issue right now is that I cannot do “sugar” …. I’m extremely low carb (due to being formerly pre-diabetic & reversing that situation). I saw a Coffee Liqueur recipe by one of my favorite low carb/sugar-free Keto bakers, Carolyn Ketchum of “All Day I Dream About Food”. She uses Swerve sweetener in combination with monk fruit extract in her liqueur recipe This might be something you can use with your Lemon Verbena Liqueur to get away from the sugar (or maybe half sugar, half Swerve or whatever).
Homemade Coffee Liqueur – Sugar Free
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/homemade-coffee-liqueur-sugar-free/
Carolyn has a very good “Ultimate Guide to Keto Sweeteners” if you want more info.
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
I substituted Swerve in a sugar cookie recipe I gave my little great nieces last year – it was a recipe-in-a jar …. they loved it, got to practice their baking skills. Mommy (who tries to keep the kids low sugar/sugar-free) asked for the recipe it was so good & daddy was stealing cookies, hiding behind the kitchen counters to eat them.
The “queen” of liqueurs (IMO) is ‘Barb’ who does the Creative Culinary blog. I’ve always wanted to make her Limoncello liqueur & she has a bunch of others. With the Swerve & other sweeteners, I think I could make some of these happen. Christmas 2022 is likely going to be a “liqueur” year for gifts – if I do one a year, I’ll be ‘good to go’ until 2026! :-)
Home-made Limoncello Liqueur
https://creative-culinary.com/homemade-limoncello-liqueur-recipe/
Homemade Chocolate Liqueur
https://creative-culinary.com/homemade-chocolate-liqueur-recipe/
Homemade Raspberry Liqueur
https://creative-culinary.com/homemade-fresh-raspberry-liqueur-recipe/
Homemade Blackberry Liqueur (Creme de Mure)
https://creative-culinary.com/homemade-blackberry-liqueur-recipe/
Homemade Cranberry Liqueur with Orange Zest
https://creative-culinary.com/cranberry-liqueur-orange-zest-recipe/
CHef John is fantastic....I made his bread and butter pickles this year ....wonderful....anything he makes is great....
cooking, baking, canning, fermenting, pickling....its all there...
did you all know that Costco sells vanilla beans?.....
Thanks for the sugar substitute links.
I haven’t tried Swerve yet, but maybe I will. So far, I’ve found that I hate sugar substitutes for the most part. I either get an aftertaste or digestive distress, so my method has been to just cut down on the amount I use. If I use applesauce, bananas, or other fruit in a baking recipe, it often tastes sweet enough so very little real sugar is needed.
My dad and brother both had type 2 diabetes and a few years ago I was on a fast track to the same place. My doctor really encouraged me to lose weight, so I used a prescription appetite suppressant to help me get my first 20 pounds off. I eventually lost 50 pounds, but put back on 10 or so within a year of stopping the Rx. Then lockdowns happened and I put on another 10 quickly. So I started Noom in January and have successfully taken off 15 and kept it off. I have 5 more to reach my goal weight, which would put me back at 48 pounds from my very highest. The weight loss has been significant in keeping my blood sugar down and other problems I was beginning to have due to the extra weight. It may not be for everyone, but Noom has helped me get control of not just my weight, but my outlook on life in general. I’m healthier and fitter than ever.
Oh, and back to the double was tubs on stands. Those will be perfect containers for lemon verbena plants!
Congrats on your weight loss .... I’m down 65 lbs. I was at a yard sale the 16th & had a great conversation (”fellow traveler” ... low carb/Keto) who weighed 400 lbs a year ago & was T2D, on a high insulin dose ... he’s down to 300, off all insulin. BP meds reduced, but he wants off totally. He’s going to try to hold at 300 through the holidays, then get back to losing more weight. The last year’s successes have changed his life - very uplifting to talk to him.
The tubs ... my brother & two partners bought a farm - one partner wanted the farmhouse & garden area, so he owned that, the other two had the land. Well, the house owner decided to sell out to the other two. Shortly after that happened, I was out there with my brother .... the tubs/stand were in the garden & had been used for herbs or something - all grown up, a real mess. My brother was trying to clean up around there - asked me if I wanted it. Of course!! We dumped out the tubs & put it all in the pickup. When I looked online, those 2-tub/stand combos were selling for $250! Quite a ‘gift’!
They make very reliable electric ones now. We like our Instant Pot; but I don’t think I’d try using the old fashioned type.
I am not surprised about the cost of those tubs. Sure was a great find, and gift! I love repurposing things and all things retro have great meaning to me. Previous generations knew more about not wasting things, and we could all learn more from them.
CoVid has made me very motivated to have as healthy a body as I can. I’m young enough that my new habits should help me last a long time, barring freak accidents.
Weight loss has been so beneficial to me in so many ways. I plan on keeping it off for good now that I’ve learned more about what I eat, when I eat, and why I eat. Congrats on your weight loss, too! I’m glad you found encouragement from a fellow traveler!
Tonight I’m going to try my hand at Czech dumplings to go with roast pork loin and Bavarian sauerkraut using my Czech grandma’s handwritten recipe. It’s been a while since I’ve made them, so wish me luck. The balls of dough basically cook/steam on top of the sauerkraut. I hope mine don’t turn out too rubbery like they did the last time.
The only dumplings I’ve made like that are in Chicken and Dumplings, and they cook in the liquid. I’m not sure what would make yours tough, unless it’s in the recipe or over- handling.
I probably over-handled mine way back then. Plus I had little children around pulling at my apron strings trying to distract me from the task at hand. This try should go better. Fingers crossed.
Eternal vigilance is the price of a good meal using an old fashioned Pressure Cooker. -Tom
I”ve read so many complaints from people who grew up eating food cooked in the old-fashioned stovetop ones - it seems that everything was overcooked and bland.
But the new ones are great for some things. There’s a learning curve to it, and I haven’t yet had the patience for it; but my husband plays with it a lot. It makes great pulled pork, if you have to do it indoors, and he thinks it does a much better job at corned beef and cabbage. Our current one can also function as a regular slow-cooker, and even a yogurt maker...
When I was a kid you really only ate meals at your house and no restaurant visits or eating at other peoples houses. So a lot of comparisons could'nt be made as to whether the same meal tasted better by different cooking.
Also in those days people were eating to live, where as now we are living to eat.
Also a big change was then, women were concerned on what to make for supper, where right now many American women would prefer to make "reservations" for the evening meal. Times change.(definitely better for the women)
In any event tonight I ordered the cast iron pre-oiled Dutch Oven where the lid can be used as a fry pan. Should have it shortly.-Tom
Congratulations! May it broaden your cooking horizons.
Cast iron is a great cooking vessel.
Speaking of vanilla extract...have y’all tried vanilla bean paste? I’ve used it in several baked goods and it has an amazing flavor not to mention the thousands of tiny vanilla specks.
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