3 Jujube fruits cut into chunks
1 Cinnamon stick
4 Cardamom pods
Lemon Zest
Ginger – dried or fresh
½ tsp. Black Strap Molasses \ sweetener if desired.
Put all ingredients in a large cup. Fill the cup with hot water. Let steep. Drink when cooled to taste.
How to Cook with Jujubes | https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-with-Jujubes
Mug: EarthGiftsCreations.etsy.com
For a complete list of plant research resources, visit the video YouTube page and view the information provided in the video description.
This recipe collection is a thought experiment.
There is “no more important time than now for each and every American to redouble our efforts to watch our distance, wash our hands and, most importantly, wear a mask.” – Dr. Henry Walke, CDC COVID-19 Incident Manager
For Thanksgiving 2021, my family is going with the Zoom version. No masks are required with this plan!
Masks with flaps and liquified … everything. Below is a combination of suck-worthy recipes along with edible straw pairings.
Make edible straws to match your meal course. Example: Beacon straw with soup, cookie straw for desserts or candy straw with Loaded Punch.
*Modification for the cookie straw (to serve with vegetable courses) – leave out sugar and vanilla.
Once your meal course is complete as the directions indicate, add the last step of throwing everything in a blender. Blend until it’s smooth enough to make it through a straw.
Edible Straw Pairing Recommendation: Candy or Cookie
Loaded Cranberry Citrus Punch
1/4 cup cranberry juice
Juice & zest of one lime or lemon
4 oz lt. rum
2 oz. vodka
1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 cups ice cubes (if using frozen cranberries) or 1 cup water (if using fresh cranberries)
Optional
1 tsp. white sugar, if you wish to rim your edible straw with it. (Dip straw tip into water, then into sugar.)
Edible Straw Pairing Recommendation: Cookie, without the sugar or vanilla
Baked Sweet Potato with Lemon Roux
Tangy Rosemary Butternut Squash Soup
Edible Straw Pairing Recommendation: Cookie, without the sugar or vanilla or Beacon
Any Culture Shredded Chicken Soup
Black Bean & Tomato Sauce – Rewilding Chili
Raw Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese
Sauteed Onions and Chia Seeds over Butternut Squash
Three-Meat Giant Meatball Soup
Edible Straw Pairing Recommendation: Cookie, Candy, or Chocolate with sprinkles
Kiwi Fruit Pie Modify this recipe by leaving out corn starch, cooked kiwis, and pie shell.
Pumpkin Pudding (don’t refrigerate, so it is straw suck-upable)
Rose Peach Soup or Pudding (don’t refrigerate so it stays liquid)
Get your blender motor running! If you have blender recipes you’d like to share, send it along with a creative straw photo (if you have one) and I’ll add them here (through November 30th, 2020).
A meal that sucks says it all. Twenty-twenty was a sucky year!
While it was entertaining to re-imagine how a traditional shared Thanksgiving meal might look during COVID times, I’m already cringing at the headlines that will begin around December 12th. For the COVID spread, the suffering caused by a medical system unable to care for the sick, and for the friends and family members who will be lost, my heart is constricting with sadness, and tissues are filling with tears.
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” – Philip Dick, from Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire
NBC – Crowds Seen at O’Hare as Travelers Depart Chicago Ahead of Thanksgiving Holiday
Social Distance Podcast – Katherine Wells podcaster for The Atlantic & James Hamblin Preventative Medicine Physician and journalist – How to Cancel Thanksgiving (Because You Should)
Risk Assessment Map, updated regularly, calculates the odds of encountering infectious people. Enter your group size and location.
Example: In Nevada County today, for a group of 10 there’s a 1 in 7 chance of an infectious person being part of my group. If I lived in South Dakota, there’s a 7 out of 10 chance of an infectious person being part of my group. (The safest way to think about group interactions is to assume everyone is infected, including yourself, even though people aren’t acting sick.)
Back in spring 2020, for a work function, I organized a gathering of ten people from four households. Once we’d gone beyond selecting the date and equipment needs, I realized COVID community responsibility was a factor that needed its own detailed plan.
As the hostess, it was my responsibility to keep everyone safe, informed, and ensure that we didn’t increase the community caseload.
Our activity was outside, with greater than six feet distance between families. Masks were on consistently, except for when we were drinking water, and we did not share food. Back then, active cases in my county were low. Hospital ICU bed capacity wasn’t a concern and we weren’t worried about sick people, exposed from our event, being unable to access emergency medical care three weeks in the future.
The following section and the PDF you can print-out and fill-in for your event are what I created to reduce gathering risks. It includes contact tracing elements that are part of the John Hopkins Contact Tracing online course.
Before people come together, outline a detailed movement and behavior plan. Send it to each household. Request a response so you, and everyone else can verify universal understanding and agreement.
Include a contingency for the unknown. If there’s a major change, if an attendee isn’t behaving as agreed, or something unexpected happens, create a word or hand signal anyone can use to pause the action.
Assess what needs to happen next, ask attendees if they are comfortable with the change. Make an easy, guilt-free out if someone becomes uncomfortable or feels unsafe.
SARS-CoV-2 Gathering Plan Outline PDF
The host or hostess should remain in contact with attendees, checking for symptoms for fourteen days after the gathering. If anyone becomes sick, the host or hostess should notify other bubble contacts of an exposure and make gathering information available to County Health Department contact tracers.
Photo Credit: Shirley Dickard
Kiwifruit Pie
Begin with a pie shell.
Photo Credit: Shirley Dickard
Simmer
1 bag of fresh cranberries with
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Add ¼ tsp cinnamon
And 5 crumbled gingersnap cookies & mix thoroughly (reserve enough cookies for the base of your apples)
Place 5 gingersnap cookies in a baking pan.
Cut the center out of 5 apples
Place coreless apples on top of cookies.
Take 5 tablespoons of cranberry stuffing, place in a separate bowl.
Add 2 or 3 eggs.
Mix thoroughly. Fill apple holes with stuffing.
Place a small slice of butter on top of the apple.
Cook at 350° for one hour
Remaining apple stuffing is a great addition to morning oatmeal or with yogurt or cottage cheese!
*If you tried this and liked it…AND concocted your own apple stuffing, please revisit to tell us about it.
Fresh persimmons in a salad? Are you kidding?!
Opening one’s mind and taste buds to new thoughts, ideas and flavors is what keeps life interesting. The idea of including fresh persimmons in a salad presented itself when I attended a supper club meal at Polly’s Paladar. This creation was made with bitter greens, pomegranates, and candied pecans. It was topped with hot pork chunks and served with a vinegrette dressing.
Here is my modified version. I named it ‘Christmas Salad’ because I first made it right after Thanksgiving – using turkey left-overs – and everyone exclaimed that the colors (spinach, pomegranties, persimmons and mandarines)…looked just like Christmas.
Candied Pecans
Coat as many pecans as you plan to use with maple syrup. Spread them out flat on a baking pan and cook at 200 degrees until nuts are lightly toasted (and dry) …..approx. 30 minutes.
Fresh spinach
Fresh persimmon(s) – soft…almost squishy…peeled and seeded – chopped into bite-sized bits
Mandarines – peeled
Pomegranate seeds
Top wth your favorite protein
Ultra Chocolaty – Chocolate Coma Cake
Three 8″ round cake pans lined with wax paper.
Cake:
5 oz. (1/2 a bag) Ghiradelli bitter sweet baking chips
16 oz. (two 8 oz. bars) Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate bars
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 heaping cup of sugar
1/2 cup flour
12 egg yolks – slightly beaten
12 egg whites whipped into stiff peaks
Filling:
Apricot Pineapple (or any other type of fruit) Jam
**fruit pie filling would also work well
Fresh pineapple (or other soft fruit) slices
Preheat oven to 350˚
Whip the egg whites and set aside.
Beat egg yolks set aside.
Have the sugar and flour measured and standing by in their measuring cups.
Break up chocolate bars into small pieces. On low heat, melt chocolate and butter. Constantly stir with wire whisk until everything is melted and smooth. Immediately remove from heat.
Pour chocolate / butter mixture into a large bowl. Slowly stir in egg yolks till completely mixed. Add sugar in the same manner followed by the flour. Once this is completely blended, add half of the whipped egg whites. Gently fold this in until thoroughly mixed. Repeat with remaining egg whites.
Pour batter into wax paper lined pans. Trim wax paper excess (otherwise it will smoke inside the oven).
Bake for 35-40 minutes until a thin crust forms on top (when it smells and looks done – i.e. ‘spongy,’ gently and quickly tap on the top of the cake with with a finger to check for the crust. ( Caution: DO NOT try this if it still looks like batter as it will cause a burn.)
**the toothpick doneness method does not work with this cake.
Remove cakes from oven and let cool until the centers appear to sink. (This is normal….the sink holes are a perfect place to fill with wonderful things…) While still warm, flip them over onto a wire rack. Gently pull away the wax paper.
Ganache Icing:
24 oz. (three 8 oz.) Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate bars
approx. 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Break chocolate bars into small pieces. On low heat use wire whisk to gently stir until mixture is smooth. Slowly pour in small amounts of the whipping cream while whisking until desired consistency is achieved. Let it cool some before frosting cake. (But not too long as the icing will harden.)
Assemble:
Place first layer of cake on a decorative dish. Gently spread fruit (jam or pie filling) evenly over the top leaving enough space around the edges so it won’t squeeze out when the next layer is put on. [On the cake pictured above, I put fresh pineapple slices on the bottom layer only.] Repeat with cake and jam layering leaving the top of the cake jam / fruit free. Once the cake has been assembled, gently trim any jaggedy edges with a large serrated knife.
Frost.
Place cake in the refrigerator for a few hours to harden the frosting. (If you plan to put candles on…do that before it goes in the refrigerator.)
E-n-j-o-y!
I LOVE it when I can work in my kitchen preparing one thing…and have numerous other things going on at the same time. This one utilizes scraps from ‘other things going on.’
Apples or other tart fruit scraps
1 cup honey per gallon of water
Open glass or crock container
Towels or cloth for covering
Time…
Chop apples into chunks (or use scraps from pie making)
Add honey – stir to mix well
Put a glass plate on top with a weight to make sure all fruit is submerged
Cover with towels (the towels are to keep out fruit flies *see fruit fly trap below) or use a rubber band to tightly tie down a cloth around the opening of the container.
Place in dark spot on counter or in pantry for a month or more…taste occasionally till it’s reached the desired strength
Note: a white ‘fermenting’ scum will appear on the top [this is normal]…scoop it off if you wish…or scoot it aside for taste testing
Strain out fruit
Put liquid in a glass jar with a lid
The ‘floaties’ are a good thing….it’s what turns the fruit liquid into vinegar. Bacteria, air, and sugar create a vinegar ‘mother.’
Let it sit another 6 weeks – Voila! It’s Vinegar!
Lisa’s Notes:
Like many cooks before me, I have to test my results before sharing a recipe.
I experimented with different sugars; concluding that I like honey the best. I tried different sitting times; deducing that a stronger taste will result from a longer sit – but also that the type of fruit used, air temperature, and the time of year that you make it will also have an effect. Which boils it down to – the taste will tell you when it’s done.
Fruit Fly Trap – In an open dish on your counter, place vinegar, liquid dish soap and a piece of fruit that sticks up over the liquid
From The White House Cookbook 1887 – Digitized – Michigan State University Library
“Apple Vinegar (economical and good)
Have an earthen jar ready for use. Into this put your apple peelings and cores if good. Cover generously with water. Cover the jar tight, and let stand in cool place. Every day parings may be added, putting on more water each time. When cold tea is left, pour into this jar and also add molasses to the proportion of a cup to a gallon of water. In the course of two or three weeks you will have an excellent vinegar made of nothing. When ready to use, strain through cheese cloth and stand away. This has been tried with good results, and with a little thought economical housekeepers can make enough in one summer to last all winter. ”
Apple Vinegar from Peels and Cores – Mother Earth News
How to Make Homemade Vinegar – Mother Earth News
Creating Homemade Fruit Vinegars – Mother Earth News
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar
http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-history.html
Make your next meal pop with this mildly sweet, tangy super food sauce.
2 cups fresh cranberries
juice & zest from two lemons
1/2 to 2/3rds cup maple syrup
Combine all in pot; cook on medium (t0 low) heat. Once it reaches a boil, turn off heat. Carefully mash berries with a potato masher (berries will pop ….be careful of hot, flying cranberry juice)
Stir in 1/8 – 1/2 tsp. ground cloves OR 3 drops food-grade Clove Oil – to taste
Health benefits of cranberries
Filling
1 – pkg (8oz. cream cheese)
1/3 cups sugar
2 tblsp. orange juice
2 tblsp. heavy cream
Mix the above
3 cups kiwifruit – cut into thin slices
Betty’s notes: I layered this, a little difficult, but works out okay. Put in refrig. to cool.
Glaze – add green coloring
3 cups sliced kiwis – mashed
2 tblsp. cornstarch in a little cold water
1 cup sugar
Mash kiwis, put in kettle to heat, will make own juice, after cooked a little, add sugar, cook a little more, add cornstarch, mix quickly, will thicken, cool, put over pie. cool
Serve with whipped cream.
*recipe is for a large, deep dish pie shell
Wash fresh, firm apricots.
Cut in half and place cut side down in clean, scalded glass quart mason jars.
Drop in 1 or two pits for better flavor.
Pack firmly but not beyond shoulder of jar.
Cover fruit with boiling, light syrup made from 9 cups water to 2&1/4 cups sugar.
Leave 1/2 inch headroom (space between top of liquid and top of jar).
Place scalded lids on jars and hand-tighten screw lids. Do not over-tighten.
Process 7 jars at a time in boiling water-bath canner for 30 minutes, keeping at least 1 inch of boiling water above jar tops.
Carefully lift jars out of canner with jar-lifter and set on towel on counter to drain and cool.
Lids should pop closed as they cool. If not, the seal is not good, so refrigerate and eat soon. These will store well for months if kept in a cool, dark place.
Remembrance:
Jeanette (3rd Daughter, child #5):
This was a case where the littlest people had the advantage when filling jars. Mom used narrow-mouthed jars so when a half apricot was dropped in, it often bounced and flipped over. A small hand could fit inside and flip them over – skin-side up – so they would look pretty in the jar.
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