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.

Bath Blend of the Month - Relax and Comfort Bath Combination

This blend of salts and essential oils with some dried herbs give comfort and relaxation as well as making a great gift item. To make them get a decorative canning jar.  Those colored ones Ball has out now are nice.  Then mix the herbs and salts right in the jar. If you want to give it as a gift, you can label the jar lids.  I found these great jar lid templates at Garden Therapy you might want to try: Jar lid Templates.

Relax and Comfort Bath Combination

§  2 cups Epsom salts

§  8 drop pure lavender essential oil

§  6 drops mint essential oil

§  2 drops eucalyptus essential oil

§  2 drops rosemary essential oil

§  1 tsp dried comfrey root powder

§  1 tsp dried lavender flowers

§  1 tsp dried mint leaves

§  ¼ tsp dried bergamot (bee balm) petals

Directions: 

Fill a pretty jar about halfway full of the Epsom salts. Add essential oils, replace lid, and shake. Remove the lid again, add comfrey and dried herbs, replace lid and shake (again.)  Add more Epsom salts to fill the jar, replace the lid and shake again.

To use: Add 2 to 3 Tbls. of salt mixture to bath as you fill the tub.  Swish to dissolve.  Grab a cup of herbal tea and relax your cares away.

Herb-themed Holiday Gift Sets - Backyard Patch style

This year I had abundant herbs.  The cooler weather with hot flashes and abundant rain made the herbs happier than any of my vegetable plants.

On the left is the thyme bed at my community garden and on the right is a portion of the Mediterranean wing, with savory, oregano, fennel and calendula.  The purple flowering plant in the back is traditional hyssop.

With the herbs being lush we were able to craft more tea and herb cooking blends then usual and this got me to thinking about ways to package them to make the perfect gifts.

For the Tea Lover

Tea to go sampler

A pretty window box holds a demi tea cup (no saucer) and three small (.5 oz) tea tins with blends of your choice.  Each box with be perfect for gifting, tied with ribbon including a tea infuser and ship-ready.  

Tea Towers

Along the same lines as the sampler we have full-sized Tea Tin Towers.  With a tea tower you get 3 or 5 teas in our full-sized 2 oz. tins gathered with ribbon into a tower of flavor.  Tied to the ribbon will be a bead-decorated tea infuser.  You can choose the teas included in the tower, or use our premade-choices. We have a three-tea tower  or a  five-tea tower  

For the Foodie in your life

Popping Popcorn Sprinkles 

We have had a popcorn shaker seasoning for several years, but this year we crafted two more to make it a threesome. We placed two (your choice) in decorative shaker jars holding .75 oz., along with an ear of microwavable popcorn.  The set is packaged in clear cellophane bag with a decorative ribbon tie and full instructions.  This gift will have a pretty tag and each flavor will be labeled.  They include: Original Popcorn Sprinkle, Cheesy Herb Sprinkle, Spicy Hot Sprinkle.

I have long thought that packaging herb seasoning blends in groups was a great idea, but I never could find the right medium.  This year I found the perfect jars and containers. We have two different sets

Everyday Seasoning Kit

This is a single herbs kit with 6 different individual herbs. We call it a Seasoning Tower.  The tins are in a colorful cardboard tube with a holiday ribbon.  Serval different colors of tube are available.

Soup Mix Gift Sets

Our soup mixes are a popular gift item and the new packaging we created last year has really helped with that.  This year we decided on a few gift combinations you can check them all out in our soup collection on the website

For the Queen (or King) in need of relaxation

Bath items are very prolific online so our items, even though they are crafted without chemicals from herbs raised organically, do not stand out.  We have decided to fix that.  We are repackaging our Bath and Spa items in a whole new way.  

Bath Salts

Many different versions of Bath Salts -- the Skin-Soothing Bath Salts, Relaxing Combination Salts and the Milk Salt Blends will all be available in lovely and colorful organza bags instead of the envelopes we have used in the past.  And the best part of this is there will be no change in price. They are still available for $3.25 for 3 ounces.  Now you can mix and match to create sets too.  We have them listed in a Bath Collection.

Bath Salt Sundae

Is this not a cleaver idea.  I was tossing around bath scrubbies as I was putting them away and one fell onto a mason jar and suddenly I got to thinking if it was a parfait glass it would look like a Sundae!  So here is a bath salt-filled parfait glass, complete with a red tulle wrapped rose herb soap as the "cherry" on top! This is another gift perfect for teachers, groomers and others life helpers!

Bath Tower

Like our tea tower this collection of 3 bath salts will be packaged in square boxes tied together with colorful ribbon to create a wonderful gift package that will need no additional wrapping. 

Bath Tub Tea

With 4 different blends of Bath tub tea to share we thought it was time the presentation got a facelift.  We are making a decorative tea bag with raffia tie that can hang from the faucet.  The tea filter bags will be filled with a single bath measure of herbs and packaged in groups of 3 ($4.95) and 5 ($7.95) in a pretty decorated cellophane bag or a set of 10 that will be presented in a colored mason jar ($20.00).

We are hoping you enjoy our special gift selection as much as we enjoy making them!

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Weekend recipe

What to do with all those innards of a pumpkin you removed during carving?  Here is a great solution, make roasted pumpkin seeds.  They are tasty and good for you.  I start with a basic recipe for roasting seeds, then give a tasty flavored version which uses our awesome Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Created originally to replace pumpkin pie spice we have found this blend to be very good in other recipes as well.  Check out these Cinnamon Roasted Nuts.

Basic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons butter, melted

1 pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300F. Toss seeds in a bowl with melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds out on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes

Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl, toss the seeds with melted butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss again. Spread seeds out on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until the seeds are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Herbs in Shortbread!!

It has been a busy month.  We had an outdoor show near the beginning of the month and have a Halloween show at the end of the month and we have been making seasonal items in between.

We sent out a huge order of shortbread mixes this month too!

For the order we tweeked the recipe for our older Herbed Shortbread and renamed it Lemon Lavender Shortbread and we crafted an oatmeal shortbread with seasonal spices as well as a Chocolate shortbread. And we also included our Orange Poppy Seed Shortbread and a new Holiday Shortbread with great seasonal spices.

To make the best shortbread you need flour, sugar and butter and not much else.  This wonderfully simple combination lends itself  to including herbs.  Try these quick variation using a traditional shortbread recipe.

Traditional Shortbread

    1 1/2 cups. flour

     3/4 cup powdered sugar

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1 cup butter

Cream the butter and sugar.  Then add in the flour and salt. Knead the dough on an unfloured surface until it is nice and smooth and no longer crumbly.

Spray a shortbread pan or use a parchment lined baking sheet.  Working from the center, press the dough into the pan into the shape of a circle. Prick the entire surface with a fork, bake the shortbread at 325 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes.  Allow shortbread to cool in pan for 10 minutes before loosening the edges with a fork.  Then flip onto a cutting board and tap firmly.  Cut into serving pieces while still warm.

Variation #1
Add 1 tsp lavender buds and 1 tsp lemon balm to traditional recipe and complete as directed.

Variation #2
Add 2 Tbls baking cocoa and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to traditional recipe and complete as directed.

Variation #3
Add 1 tsp. savory, 1 tsp. rosemary & 1 tsp thyme to traditional recipe and complete as directed.

Variation #4
Change sugar to light brown sugar and add 1 tsp. Backyard Patch Cinnful Desert Blend.  Complete as directed.

Fall Herbal teas

In the Fall I begin thinking about making new tea blends.  I do not know why the fall affects me that way, but as soon as the evenings cool, not only am I making tea, but I am crafting new tea blends in my head.  It could be the abundance of dried material that I have available come fall or it could be a reaction to the gathering of scents from the garden that I have absorbed during the growing season.  Either way I start formulating blends. 

Some of this mental formulating I  turn into blends to try and each Fall I make two tea blends that are only available only until January that i market to Backyard Patch customers.. This year they are:

Silver and Gold

An all herb blend of silver sage with calendula petals and chamomile for gold along with a touch of cinnamon and the robust flavor of marjoram make this a flavorful and relaxing blend for evening drinking around the warm fire.

 

2013 Tea blend "Comfort & Joy"

Holly and Ivy

I crafted a wonderful red and green blend this year.  Rooibos (Honey Bush) with Green Tea mixed with a bit of hibiscus and rose hips and a touch of lemon balm make this refreshing tea perfect for Christmas morning.

To get you in a tea mood I also have some ideas for making your own tea at home. Try out one of these recipes, or let them inspire you to explore your pantry and whip up some tasty brews with whatever ingredients you have on hand.

Seasonal Spices --

Star Anise, Allspice, and Orange
In a small pot, combine 2 whole star anise, 2 dried organic orange peels, and 5 allspice berries. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes, covered. Strain and drink.

Apple and Cinnamon
In a small pot, combine ½ cup dried apples and 1 cinnamon stick. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes, covered. Pour the tea into a mug and drink, and then munch on the soft, warm apple slices at the bottom! You can reuse the cinnamon stick several times.

Seasonal Healing --

Ginger, Thyme, Cayenne, Lemon
Combine 1 teaspoon dried ginger and 1 teaspoon thyme in a small pot. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes, covered. Strain the tea into a mug and add a pinch of cayenne powder and a dash of fresh lemon juice. This brew will help boost immunity in cold and flu season. Plus the cayenne adds a bit of clearing for better breathing.

Mint, Lemon and Fennel Seed

Combine 1 tsp any kind of mint with 1 tsp. lemon peel or lemon herbs (like lemon balm, lemon thyme or lemon grass) in a tea pot.  Pour over 2 cups of boiling water and allow to steep for 5 minutes.  Add a few seeds of fennel just before you strain into cups. This will sweeten and give it a licorice kick.  You can add a bit of lemon and more sweetness with honey if you want.  The lemon and mint will soothe sore throats and make breathing easier.

What are some of your favorite fall tea combinations?

Fall Splendor Bath Soak - Bath Blend of the Month

Time again for the month bath blend.  This time I chose something that uses a mix of herbs with a fall scent.  These make a great refreshing bath as well as having wonderful germ fighting properties.

Fall Splendor Bath Soak

1 1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1/8 cup baking soda
2 Tbls. cornstarch

1/2 cup thyme

1/2 cup  sage

1/2 cup mint

1/2 cup rosemary

1/2 cup bay leaves

Blend ingredients together and keep in a tightly sealed glass jar.  Use ¼ to ½ cup of blend in a muslin bag or cheese cloth pouch. 

To use: Either hang them on the tap while the hot water is running, making sure the water is running through them. Once the tub is filled, let them float around. Or use the infusion method. Boil a quart of water, turn off heat, add pouch, cover, then steep (for at least 20 minutes for best results). Add the piping hot infusion (and the bag) to a full tub, being careful while pouring to avoid burning yourself.