National Popcorn Day

Today is National Popcorn Day!  

Never allowing a proper holiday to go to waste, here is my opportunity to celebrate popcorn which is one of the four major food groups in my family.  A bit of butter and salt is all good popcorn needs, however, if you eat it as often as we do, you need to acknowledge that butter and salt every night is not a good thing.  I crafted some herbal popcorn sprinkles that one can use instead of salt or with salt in moderation.

These may have sprung from research I just did on theme gardens. Maybe I should make a popcorn seasoning garden. That might be fun!

Italian Sprinkle

1 Tbls. Basil

1 Tbls. Marjoram

1 Tbls. Oregano

½ Tbls. Garlic granules

1 tsp. rosemary

2 Tbls. Parmesan Cheese or to taste

Blend together and place in a shaker.  Sprinkle over warm popcorn just out of the popper.

Greek Sprinkle

1 Tbls. lavender

1 Tbls. rosemary

1 Tbls. Greek Oregano

1 Tbls. Garlic, granulated

1 Tbls. Lemon peel or Lemon pepper

These Mediterranean or Greek herbs make a great addition to popcorn with a unique flavor.  Keep in a shaker for quick use.

Mexican Sprinkle

1 Tbls. Chili Powder

1 Tbls. Cumin powder

1 Tbls. Garlic flakes

1 Tbls. Onion granulated

½ Tbls. Parsley

½ Tbls. Thyme

½ Tbls. Oregano

½ Tbls. coriander, ground

Combine and keep in a shaker.  If you like things hot, celebrate the year of capsaisin and add some cayenne or red pepper flakes.

If you enjoy popcorn sprinkles but don't want to craft your own, we have several popcorn shakers available from the Backyard Patch and they make a great gift for the popcorn lover in your family.

Cinnful Dessert Blend beyond Dessert!

Time to bring that package of Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend that you have not been sure what to do with out into the open and create a few seasonal treats with it.

These twelve suggestions give a number of new things to try with this great blend.

Pumpkin Spice “Tea Latte”

Put seasonal spices—such as a cinnamon stick, half of a vanilla bean (pod and seeds) and some Cinnful Dessert blend in a tea infuser and place it in 2 cups steamed milk for about 5 minutes. Add the spiced milk to cups of freshly brewed hot black tea (or coffee), and top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel

sauce.

Pumpkin Smoothie

Blend together 2 ounces of pumpkin puree with 6 ounces of almond milk, soy milk, or fat-free milk and a dash or two of Cinnful Dessert Blend to taste. Sweeten with honey or agave nectar as desired. For a thicker smoothie, replace some milk with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. For a frosty drink, add ice before blending.

Cinnful Sugar

Combine  ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon of Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Use the mixture to season cookies, flavor popcorn or even make a simpler version of spiced nuts.

Spice Butter Cookies

First make some Cinnful Sugar. Next, make your favorite butter cookie or sugar cookie recipe and lightly dust the top of the cookies with Cinnful Sugar before or after baking.

Holiday Special French Toast or Pancakes

Stir ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend into every 2 cups of French toast custard (egg-milk mixture) or 2 cups of pancake batter before cooking.

Cinnful Oatmeal

Add a dollop of pumpkin puree and a teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend to a serving of cooked steel-cut oats. Sweeten to taste.

Seasonal Yogurt

Add a dollop of pumpkin puree and ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend to vanilla yogurt. Top with a handful of cinnamon-flavored cereal. 

Cinnful Sweet Potatoes

Bake sweet potatoes until they’re nearly done; then slice halfway through each and add a sprinkling of Cinnful Dessert Blend and a drizzle of honey or caramel sauce. Continue baking until the potatoes are done.

Seasoned Cinnamon Rice

When making instant brown rice, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in the saucepan and stir in 2 teaspoons of Cinnful Dessert Blend, then add water, salt, and rice per package directions.

Cinnful Popcorn

Drizzle popped popcorn with butter and sprinkle with Cinnful Sugar (see above) to taste. Toss to coat.

Simply Cinnful Nuts

Beat 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon of water until frothy. Add 1 pound of Almonds (or other shelled nuts) and toss to coat. Spread the nuts on a lightly oiled baking pan and dust them with Cinnful Sugar (above). Bake at 250°F for 15 minutes; then reduce the heat to 200°F and bake until the nuts are caramelized, about 45 minutes longer.  (This recipe is similar to our original Cinnful Roasted Nuts you can find in this blog from 2011.)

Cinnamon Raisin Popcorn Balls

Makes 12 (2-inch) balls.  You can wrap them airtight and keep them for 2 days, but they are best the day they are made.

6 heaping cups popped corn

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup reduced-calorie light corn syrup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely chopped raisins

½ tsp. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Prepare a medium bowl of ice water. Put popcorn in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the syrup starts to lightly bubble, cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is melted and the mixture darkens, about 2 minutes. Immediately pour the mixture evenly over the popcorn; gently mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well coated. Toss the raisins with the Cinnful Dessert Blend then gently stir into popcorn. Dip both hands in the ice water. Working quickly, press small handfuls (heaping 1/4 cup each) of the popcorn mixture firmly into 2-inch balls. (Make sure each ball gets a little bit of the raisins.) Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. If they seem too fragile, rinse hands with cold water and press and squeeze each ball again to help keep it together. Let cool completely before storing. To store, individually wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.

October is National Popcorn Popping Month.

Never allowing a proper holiday to go to waste, here is my opportunity to celebrate popcorn which is one of the four major food groups in my family. AI bit of butter and salt is all good popcorn needs, however, if you eat it as often as we do, you need to acknowledge that butter and salt every night is not a good thing.  I crafted some herbal popcorn sprinkles that one can use instead of salt or with salt in moderation which will allow you to enjoy popcorn as often as I do!

Italian Sprinkle

1 Tbls. Basil

1 Tbls. Marjoram

1 Tbls. Oregano

½ Tbls. Garlic granules

1 tsp. rosemary

Parmesan Cheese to taste (about 2 Tbls. is good)

Blend together and place in a shaker.  Sprinkle over warm popcorn just out of the popper.

Greek Sprinkle

1 Tbls. lavender

1 Tbls. rosemary

1 Tbls. Greek Oregano

1 Tbls. Garlic, granulated

1 Tbls. Lemon peel or Lemon pepper

These Mediterranean or Greek herbs make a great addition to popcorn with a unique flavor.  Keep in a shaker for quick use.

Backyard Patch Popcorn Seasoning, a savory blend!

Mexican Sprinkle

1 Tbls. Chili Powder

1 Tbls. Cumin powder

1 Tbls. Garlic flakes

1 Tbls. Onion granulated

½ Tbls. Parsley

½ Tbls. Thyme

½ Tbls. Oregano

½ Tbls. coriander, ground

Combine and keep in a shaker.  If you like things hot add some cayenne or red pepper flakes.

So enjoy your popcorn this month.

Herbs on the Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas!

I hope your Holiday is filled with all that you desire, from family to food to peace and quiet!

This year with the herb business expanding and my role with organizing an office move time slipped through my fingers and I ended up not getting my decoration out.  We are also traveling to Wisconsin for the holiday so in the end since I would not be home to enjoy it, I decided against putting up the tree. 

So in celebration of Christmas Day I created this virtual selection of herb related ornaments that I could have put on my tree, if I’d actually gotten it out of storage!

I start with scent.  Here are the spice and applesauce balls I made at the Palos Park Library for my November program.  These smell heavenly and are so easy to make.

Not sure if I shared the recipe to make these here before but here it is:

Apple Spice Balls

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 ½ cups ground spices

  (1/2 cup each cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)

2 tsp. orris root powder

Gradually stir the spices into cold applesauce until thick enough to roll into balls without being sticky.  If crumbly, add a bit of water.  Roll dough into small balls and lay on wax paper to air dry.  Allow to dry for 1 to 2 weeks.  Wrap in netting and tie with ribbon.  To create ornaments, push a skewer through the center, and when partly dry, remove skewer and thread with ribbon, then continue to dry.

I also crafted a scented ornament using mulling spices.  The warmth of the bulbs on the tree lifts the scent out of the ornament and it is pretty to look at too filled with cinnamon, star anise, orange and lemon peel, lemon balm and cloves. 

A friend said she dries Queen Anne’s Lace during the summer, spray paints it gold, sometimes add a bit of glitter, then sets them on the tree branches.  

In the past I have made popcorn and cranberry garlands, especially when I worked at Kline Creek Farm with the hubby.  I remember coming home with red fingers and it wasn’t only from the cranberries.

A pomander ball, made by pressing cloves into the skin of a fresh orange is always a seasonal scented delight.  They were very popular in the Victorian era and were something I remember my grandmother teaching me to make back when I was in first grade.

Pine cones are my favorite thing to use in decorations.  This year I started working on a ball ornament that incorporated many pine cones of various shapes and sizes.  I don't think it has the final look I want yet though??

I love the attractive natural look of them.  I have decorated them with just ribbon.

Dusted them with powdered sugar or glitter to give a snow effect and painted them gold and silver too. 

I like pine cones so much that 40% of the glass ornaments I have for my Christmas tree are shaped or colored like pine cones.

Hope you have enjoyed the vitual tree and however you decorate, I hope you have a blessed and peaceful holiday season.  Please enjoy your holiday and if you are traveling, be safe!

Herb of the Week - Popcorn!!

Today’s herb of the week is POPCORN --

Okay Popcorn is stretching it a bit, but today is National Popcorn Day and I thought instead of an herb of the week we could celebrate one of my favorite foods by talking about great recipes that you can use instead of salt to flavor popcorn.

Popcorn or 'popping corn,' is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, unlike other grains, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy filling. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive "pop" results. Some strains of corn are now cultivated specifically as popping corns.

Popcorn was first discovered thousands of years ago by Native Americans in the Southwest, United States. One of the oldest forms of corn, evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico.

The popularity Popcorn now enjoys is a result of two events in history.  During the Great Depression, popcorn was comparatively cheap at 5-10 cents a bag. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for some struggling farmers. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, causing Americans to eat three times more popcorn than they had before.

Where I am from, Illinois, Popcorn is the official snack food of the state and (although no the only town to claim this) Ridgeway, Illinois says it is the "Popcorn Capital of the World."

Popcorn is usually served salted or sweetened. In North America, it is traditionally served salted, although sweetened versions, such as caramel corn and kettle corn, are also commonly available.

In a health conscious America we are trying to enjoy the fiber-rich nature of Popcorn without the fattening additives, so we have turned to herbs to provide a bit of flavor without the calories of butter or sugar.

Here are a few blends for you to try.  If you want a great combo add a bit of parmesan cheese to any of these blends:

Garlic Infused Shaker

2 tablespoons basil

2 tablespoons Thyme

2 tablespoons Marjoram

2 tablespoons garlic powder

 
Blend together and shake onto hot popcorn.  It can be ground in small batches in a food processor for a finer shake.

Hot Shaker

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons parsley

2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder
dash red pepper flakes

Blend together and shake onto hot popcorn.  It can be ground in small batches in a food processor for a finer shake.

Herby Shaker

1 tablespoon basil

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon savory

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp onion powder

Blend together and shake onto hot popcorn.  It can be ground in small batches in a food processor for a finer shake.

And if making your own popcorn seasoning is not your thing, the Backyard Patch has a ready-made seasonings that are great on Popcorn, just click here to see a full description of our Salt Substitutes.