Bucket List for a Quarantine Winter 2021

Since most of my life got put on hold to complete orders starting in November, many of my grandiose plans for the holiday and crafts I wanted to try got shelved.  The other day I realized that Covid is still raging and I am not going back to the office while it is, I cannot teach in person until late January at the soonest, and it will be cold (it is Illinois afterall!) So why don't I just get cracking on a list of activities.

One of our few activities this fall was winter lights at the Chicago Botanic Garden, so we will be visiting the garden in winter also.

There is no excuse not to work on that set of ideas I made a concerted effort to save to Pinterest - see my herb themed Pinterest boards here - so here is my quarantine winter bucket list 2021. I chose only 4 items per topic so that I can keep this manageable and therefore attainable!  Think of these as new year resolutions.

Business

Work up some new packaging for gift items

Finish the upgrade to Herb Mix packaging

Find some herb bloggers to do some group projects with

Create / find and adapt the recipes for the Recipe Theme for 2021

Just a few of the hundreds of recipes in my collection

Personal

Get out and walk everyday, regardless of the weather!

Organize the craft spaces and supplies so I can figure out if I have what I need to make these:

    Fun snow globes / kits

    Spring decorations / wreaths

    Make dried flower arrangements with garden materials I dried and saved last year

    Create some of the organizing ideas I have saved

Practice and get better at playing my bowed Psaltry

I can't find the photo of the Psaltry my hubby got me last Christmas, but these are just as lovely from 

Gardening

    Order Seeds for exotic herbs

    Create Winter Sowing area and materials and begin winter sowing for 2021 garden

    Make self watering seedling starters

    Take scented geranium cuttings and learn to grow them hydroponically

Mocktail and Cocktail Punch for the New Year Holiday!

I have to say I am always more ambitious than my time actually allows, but I must admit I was not expecting to be as busy as I have been this fall.  I should have had a clue when when people where Christmas shopping from in in July.

I have been teaching online and that takes more preparation and concentration that one might realize exhausting my ability to write a post.  I have never been one to pre-program most of my posts so those that are pre-programed were kinda the only ones that happened recently.

As a result the recipe theme ended in October.  Since November and December were not my most creative theme ideas anyway, I just dropped them from the schedule and will start a new set of recipe ideas come January for 2021.

Instead I thought I would share a few punch recipes with you.  If you are entertaining during the holidays, these are a fun way to share flavors.  If not, making a punch and keeping in the refrigerator is a great way to extend the holiday fun when, like us, the number celebrating is rather small.  You can also share these recipes with family and all share the same beverage while Facetiming or Zooming.

Merry Mocktail

4 cups cranberry juice

1 bottle sparkling apple cider

1 liter ginger ale

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Orange slices studded with cloves

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Combine all the liquid ingredients together and give them a stir. Float a few orange slices in the punch and add a few fresh cranberries. Or stud the orange slices with cloves and keep on the side to use as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Add 12 ounces of vodka to the recipe for a cocktail.

Mocking Fall Apple Punch

4 parts Sparkling Apple Cider

1 part Mulled White Grape Juice

½ part Lime Juice

Apple slices studded with cloves and kept in lemon juice until used as a garnish and apple mint sprigs.

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Put all the liquid ingredients together, and give them a stir. Float a few apple slices in the punch and add a few sprigs of apple mint. Or stud the apple slices and place in lemon juice on the side as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Substitute hard cider  and/or mulled white wine for a cocktail.

This Bourbon Punch is a variation on the HARRY ELLIS COMMEMORATIVE Knockout PUNCH, but I was never able to definitively determine which Harry Ellis the drink was designed to commemorate, so if you have details, please share.

Sneaky Bourbon Punch

Bourbon is a smooth alcohol, and anything made with it can sneak up on you, so enjoy this punch when you know you will not be driving.

• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 750ml bottle of bourbon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 oz. ginger beer
• 4 oz. lemon juice
• 4 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
• 6 oz. Madeira Wine
• 24 oz. sparkling or soda water
• Fresh nutmeg

GARNISHES

• Mint leaves
• fresh cranberries

PREPARATION

Let cinnamon sticks sit overnight in bourbon. Strain. Stir sugar into the juices and ginger beer until completely dissolved. Pour juice/sugar blend, Madeira, and cinnamon-infused bourbon into a punch bowl and stir. Top with sparkling water and stir again. Grate a healthy amount of nutmeg—about a quarter of the whole—on top.

To serve, pour a 3 oz. ladleful over ice in a punch cup. Garnish with a cranberry and a mint leaf. Don’t dilute the punch with ice, always have the ice in the glass!

 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

Busy Season - Join the Advent Calendar - last minute gifts and more!

Much to my surprise and excitement, people really did shop online this fall.  Backyard Patch Herbs has been so busy that posting on the blog was impossible.  I was able to keep up with the Advent Calendar which you can view here- Advent Calendar.

We lost a lot of sleep since Thanksgiving, we would fill the back seat of my car and go to the post office every morning, work all day making orders and fill the car again the next day.  My only trips away from the house were generally to the post office. 

I never realized how important ink was when you print your own labels and ink is in short supply at stores. And canning jars may be something folks are hording as much as toilet paper.  We had to trek to the hinterlands to buy jars frequently and there was a limit on purchases.

I ran out of shipping boxes two to three weeks ago and my husband started making me boxes out of other boxes.  He announces it as his new hidden skill.

All that being said, I wanted to share a couple things with you, 

First if you want a last minute gift, I suggest two things:

1- The Essential Herbal Magazine!  It is an eMagazine so you can get the January/February issue which just came out, sent to your family member or herb friend.  The magazine comes out 6 times a year with the in-between months receiving an "extra" of seasonal herb recipes and ideas.

2- An herbal subscription at Backyard Patch Herbs - these monthly subscriptions are available in various lengths and can feature tea or cooking blends sent once a month.  For those ordering at the last minute, we will send an email with subscription details and send the first installment around January 15.

Now to the meat of the message - my husband and I are going to graze through Christmas while creating a mystery marathon with our subscription services since our favorite PBS station is no more.  We are creating charcuterie boards featuring meats, cheeses, spreads and olives.

I have made this great spread with goat cheese and olives-

Holiday Green and Red Spread

• 3/4 cup green- or black-olive finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 5 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (or 2 Tbls fresh)
• 5 ounces soft goat cheese
• crostini or thin slices of French bread

In a small bowl, combine olives, thyme leaves, walnuts, and cranberries. Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons goat cheese onto each crostini. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons olive mixture on top, and garnish each with thyme tips. Serve.

So enjoy your holiday safely, and may we all be prosperous in the New Year when we will be able to hug again!

Candy Cane Bath Salts - Bath Blend of the Month

 This is a great last minute gift, and it is also fun to make with kids as you layer the salts to make a perfect candy cane swirl.

Candy Cane Bath Salts

2 cups Epsom salt

2 cups sea salt

1 cup baking soda

red rose petals

beet powder

spearmint and peppermint (optional) essential oil

Mix the salts and baking soda together and divide evenly between 2 bowls.  In one bowl add up to 3 drops of peppermint essential oil.  In the other bowl add enough crushed red rose petals and beet powder to make the salt pinkish red.  You will probably need about 1/4 cup each of rose petals and beet powder.  Add more for a deeper color and more contrast in your final product.  Then add 15 to 20 drops of spearmint essential oil.  Spearmint essential oil is much milder than peppermint.  The roses mixed in with mint has an amazing smell.  

Creating the Candy Cane Effect

Now for the fun part, layering the bath salts!  Take a bag or a jar and place one color of salt in the bottom.  Make sure the salt is level and hold the jar or bag steady.  Then add the other color of salt to create a layer, or candy cane stripe.  Repeat until your container is full.   I enjoy making this bath with kids because of the pattern that appears when the kids layer the salts.  They really enjoy watching the candy cane form.  It is fun if you tilt the jar as you add the salts to create a diagonal look.

To USE:

Add 2 Tablespoon salts to bath water as you fill the tub.  Swirl to dissolve.  To avoid a ring of rose petals, measure the salts into a muslin bag, tea ball or coffee filter and float in the bath swirling to dissolve the salts.

Busy times at Backyard Patch Herbs - Advent Calendar Announcement

I have announced the coming of the Advent Calendar in my newsletter, but not here on my Blog.  About a year ago we migrated our website from one provider to another and the new provider has the ability to craft as many pages as I want and I have been having fun finally posting the product related recipes I have tried to figure out how to post so people could search for them easily. 

In my work I found my old website postings of Advent Calendars and decided it was time to do that again.  I posted items on Facebook a few years ago, but nothing as organized as I was back in 2010- thru 2014.  Here are the links to the postings that were collected onto a single page for each year on an old website.

2011http://www.backyardpatch2.mysite.com/custom3.html

2012 http://www.backyardpatch2.mysite.com/custom3_1.html

2013: http://www.backyardpatch2.mysite.com/custom3_2.html

2014: http://www.backyardpatch2.mysite.com/custom_17.html

 https://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/advent-calendar-how-to-herb-holiday.html

https://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-advent-2014-scented-pine-cones.html

https://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-advent-2014-making-scented-cork.html

No Advent done in 2015 thru 2019

In 2020, I gathered new ideas and recipes to share and will be doing so on the website.  Each day beginning today, Nov 29, 2020, you will have the opportunity to read a recipe, craft idea, decoration tip or gift suggestion all related to herbs.  Since so many people are staying home for the holiday, we tried to find recipes and gift ideas one could make at home as well.

Short History of Advent Calendars

There are many types of calendars used in different countries. The most common ones in the UK and USA are made of paper or card with 24 or 25 little windows on. A window is opened on every day in December and a Christmas picture is displayed underneath.

In the 19th Century, German protestant Christians counted down to Christmas by marking 24 chalk lines on a door and rubbing one off every day in December.

Paper calendars were first popular in Germany in the early 1900s, although people made their own  from the 1850s. There's a debate about exactly where and when the first mass produced calendar was printed but it was in the first decade of the 1900s. The most famous and popular early maker of printed Advent calendars was a German printer called Gerhard Lang. His first calendars consisted of two sheets, a 'back' piece of card with the numbers 1 to 24 printed on it and a separate sheet of pictures which you could cut out and stick onto the numbers each day. The first calendars with 'doors' were made in Germany in the 1920s. During World War II, the production of Advent calendars in Europe stopped due to a shortage of cardboard.

When they were first made, scenes from the Christmas Story and other Christmas images were used, such as snowmen and robins, but now many calendars are made in the themes of toys, television programs and sports clubs. The first record of an Advent calendar, in the UK, was in 1956.

The first calendar with chocolate in it was made in 1958; and in the UK Cadbury's made their first chocolate calendar in 1971. However, they didn't sell very many to start with. Chocolate calendars really only became popular in the 1980s.

Some European countries such as Germany use a wreath of fir with 24 bags or boxes hanging from it. In each box or bag there is a little present for each day. Pinterest is covered with great ideas for making Advent countdown decorations.  I started a tradition back in 2011 of posting Advent recipes and activities.  I posted them on my, now defunct, website and on Facebook. This year I thought it might be nice to go back to using my website, so this year I will be posting them beginning November 29^th.  

Each day I will have an activity or recipe that one can make.  Many will focus on gift giving and all will use herbs and spices. Since it has been almost decade since our original Advent calendar, we will bring back a few of the popular recipes from our original postings.

You can find the Advent Calendar, which will be updated daily – on our website www.backyardpatch.com  then just click on the Advent Calendar link at the top of the website home page.

Bubble Bath Cookies - Bath Blend of the Month

 As we get into the holiday cookie baking season I thought I would share a cookie you can use in the bath instead of to increase your calorie intake.  They also make great gifts if you package a bunch of cookies in a box or clear bag.  Just make sure you label them "not for human consumption," because no one wants their mouth washed out with soap!

Bubble Bath Cookie

1 cup Baking Soda

1/2 cup citric acid

1 Tablespoon lavender buds or crushed peppermint candies

2 oz. liquid castile soap

1 oz cocoa butter, melted

1 oz shea butter, melted

few drops of essential oil

Directions: 

Melt your Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter over water in a sauce pan or double boiler.  Once they are melted, remove from heat and add the castile soap.  Stir to keep everything liquid. Combine all of your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour your Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter into your dry mixture, if you want this scented you can add a few drops of essential oil in any scent you desire. Mix until well combined. You want your mixture to hold its shape when pressed into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Press the balls into a rounded flat cookie shape on wax paper or press into a silicone mold as tightly as you can. Allow to set overnight. Remove from molds and continue to dry for another 24 hours.  Decorate with lavender flowers, rose petals and sugar. Wrap for later use.

TO USE: Place one cookie in bath and allow to dissolve.  Enjoy a nice relaxing fizzing bubble bath.

Squash and Bean Soup - Weekend Recipe

This soup is a bit different because you serve it over couscous to give a unique texture.  I like how you can make it in the crockpot.  I like dry beans so I pull them out and soak them overnight and use 1 cup cannellini beans and 1 cup soaked chickpeas (garbanzo beans.)

Squash and Bean Soup

• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 piece fresh ginger
• kosher salt
• Pepper
• 1 small onion
• 1 small butternut squash
• 2 clove garlic
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 1/4 cup dried apricots
• 1/4 cup roasted pistachios
• 1 scallion
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can chickpeas

DIRECTIONS

1.      In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, whisk together the coriander, ginger, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the onion, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook, covered, until the squash is tender, 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.

2.      Twenty minutes before serving, place the couscous in a medium bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups hot tap water, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and fold in the apricots, pistachios, scallion, parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

3.      In a medium bowl, mash half the cannellini beans with a fork until fairly smooth. If the slow cooker is on low, turn it to high and stir in the mashed beans, then add the remaining beans and chickpeas and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the couscous mixture.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Vegan Summer Squash and Pesto Soup - Recipe Theme

If you have a few leftover summer squash as the frost moves in, this is a great soup to help use them up.  You can also use your other garden produce to make this flavorful and unique soup that can use up all your remaining fresh basil. This is another crock pot recipe, can you tell where my cooking of soups tends to gravitate?  Hubby does not like to make soup and I don’t like to be in the kitchen for long periods which makes crockpot soups my favorite.  

The butter-based pesto topping is what makes you love this soup as one last time to enjoy the flavors of summer. And the butter is great on pasta, rolls, and steamed vegetables too! Leftovers of both can be frozen. 

Vegetable Soup with Pesto Butter

•  1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound new potatoes (1-inch diameter), halved
• Salt and pepper
• 2 summer squash (8 oz. each), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/3-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound green beans, halved
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 quart vegetable broth or stock
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
• 4 tablespoons butter or vegetable butter substitute
• 3 ears corn, kernels cut off (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 large tomato, diced

Directions:

Layer the onion and potatoes in a large, lined slow cooker; season with salt and pepper. Add the squash, green beans, snap peas and broth. Cover and cook until the potatoes and squash are soft and the beans and peas are crisp-tender, about 2 hours on high or 3 hours on low.

Meanwhile, make the pesto butter: Using a food processor, puree the basil and garlic until finely chopped. Add the parmesan, butter/butter substitute, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Process until the butter comes together in a ball. Transfer to a small bowl.

Stir the corn and tomato into the finished stew; season. Top each serving with pesto butter.

 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Creamy Wild Rice Soup - Weekend Recipe

This is a slow cooker recipe I got from a newly published book from Rockridge Press called Slow Cooker Soups by Pamela Ellgen.  It is quick to prepare and easy to serve.  You just put it in the crock pot and later you have a meal.

 

Creamy Wild Rice Soup (serves 6)

4 cups diced butternut squash

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 ½ cups wild rice
1 yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can full fat coconut milk
12 cups vegetable broth
Sea salt
Freshly black pepper
Fresh mint, thinly sliced (for garnish)
1 cup full-fat yogurt

Put squash, tomatoes, rice, onion, garlic, curry powder, red pepper and coconut milk and broth in a slow cooker.  Stir then cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Turn off the heat.  Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.  Divide the soup among serving bowls.

Top each bowl with fresh mint and a drizzle of yogurt.  I don’t eat yogurt, so I used sour cream on top.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)