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UPDATED & ADDED TO ON TUESDAY 12/22 @ 11:00AM CST!
OK, so I’m now on this "kick" of "piggybacking" my TWT tips onto Mary’s (CanadaGirl’s) tips…she’s wayyyy better at the frugal living than I am, so I’m learning a lot from her. I like to read what she’s shared, and then find a way to expand it and apply it to something additional. This week she’s shared about making your own sugars to save money…making powdered sugar (I just used about 3 pounds of that stuff…too late, but next time!), brown sugar, etc.
I immediately thought of something that I’d made years ago, but haven’t in a long time. That’s Rose Geranium sugar. Scented sugar is a beautiful gift to put in a jar and give to anyone who bakes, or likes sugar in their tea! It smells like…well…like what I hope some of Heaven will smell like, cuz it’s just lovely!
Of course, you’ll need a Rose Geranium plant…as with any edible herbs, NO pesticides/chemicals allowed! This is an herb-type, so Northern Climates, it’s a potted houseplant for us!
Pluck off a bunch of leaves (you’ll use about 8 to 10 small leaves or 4 or 5 medium leaves in a cup of sugar) and let them dry out (they’ll turn a yellow-color). Pour a little of your granulated sugar in a glass canning jar, then layer the dried leaves with the sugar. Close up tight. It’ll take a few weeks for the fragrance to begin to really permeate the sugar, 6 weeks for it to be real good! (So if it’s a gift, maybe attach a note saying to start using on the first day of spring, or something!) It is delicious in ice tea and lemonade, too. On cereal… oatmeal… raspberries…in cake recipes…in whipped cream…mmmmmmmmmmmm! A quick Google search for "Rose Geranium recipes" will yield lots of old-fashioned, romantic-sounding yummies! As you begin to use it, I like to give the jar a shake (once there’s some room for the sugar to move!) to distribute the fragrance. The dried leaves, if you don’t take them out, WILL break up into pieces in there. Not a problem in baking, but you could do a quick sifting before you put it in a drink, unless you don’t mind a leaf or two! (I don’t bother if it’s going in hot tea, but in cold drinks, I don’t care for leaf pieces!)
You could make a pretty colored sugar using Mary’s recipe, then add the leaves to it.
Some online scented-sugar recipes say to put fresh leaves, layered with sugar. You CAN do this, but the sugar won’t just "clump a little," it’ll be like a brick that you have to practically hit with a hammer! If you want Rose Geranium Sugar in a hurry for baking, you can take fresh leaves, remove stems, and then process with the granulated sugar in the food processor. Make as much sugar as the recipe calls for, then use it right away. The moisture in the leaves will make it clump if you just leave it without using it.
Here are some other wonderful Rose Geranium recipes I found:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/herbs/msg0414594630038.html
Enjoy, and be sure to visit Mary to add your Tightwad Tuesday Tip!
God Bless you!
Lori
(Please leave your URL if you’re from outside of HomeSTEADblogger, so I can find you and visit! Thanks so much!)
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Wow I now have a reason to buy that plant! I have always loved the scent and the pretty little flowers.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/solidrock/ -
Thanks for the updated info. Lori!
And you're right, I would love your Mom, anyone who likes herbs is a friend of mine, and herb people always seem to be the friendliest, most helpful folks
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It's funny, I had a similiar experience with my grain mill just last week. My "dust catcher" cup fell off without me realizing it, and since it had been a very long time since I had used the grain mill, I had no idea why it kept "puffing" flour out of the little filter thing. When I opened it up, the cup was in the bottom of the container. I wasn't sure if that was the problem, but now I know! Thanks for sharing that with me . Thanks again for the great tips, I'll be visiting your blog often.
Blessings,
Catherine
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That is a neat tip ! I had heard of vanilla sugar but not this. Too bad I don't have this plant. I might have to research to see if it will do okay here. I don't know if it will winter it over in our snow ???
Sending you blessings and ((HUGS)) my SSiC
In Him<><
-Mary……………No, Mary, it won't winter over! It's an herb-type, so you want to grow it indoors as a potted plant. It's so heavenly, if you just slightly brush against it, it gives of the fragrance of roses…but herby-roses. There's also lemon-rose geranium, and I've read from someone that she makes lavender sugar! Just put dried lavender leaves (grown organic, of course, no pesticides…so potting up your own and growing indoors is best) in the sugar! You can put non-dried leaves in the sugar…don't tear them up, just layer them…but they will make the sugar clump up like a brick because of the moisture. So always better to dry them first! I've added an UPDATE to the recipe above…
Blessings! ~LoriEdited by IllinoisLoriH on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 10:59 AM
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I love Rose Geranium
. I have one on my kitchen windowsill, however it is a bit puny these days, so I will have to wait until spring to make my own Rose Geranium Sugar, I think.
Vanilla sugar is fun to make, too. Just stick a vanilla bean or two into the sugar and let it sit for a few days… Something else to add to my "To Make" list!
Thanks so much for sharing this great tip!
Blessings,
Catherine
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Lori in Illinois
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