10 Rose Recipes

     Rose is such a great flower, and has quite a few medicinal properties. However, we also forget that it's a traditional ingredient in quite a few foods, especially of the Middle Eastern variety. Using rose petals, rose water, and rose hips is a great way to add a bit of flair to any dish though. Check out some of my favorite recipes using the flowers (or water) and hips of this great plant.

Rose Petals/Water 

     Rose petals, and rose water, have a great floral taste that enhances quite a few dishes. It's more commonly used in sweet, dessert style food. But rose goes so well with so many spices that you can really add it into most any spice mixture. Rose is a great addition to Berbere, Garam Masala, and Adveih, and well as many more. Check out these 5 recipes using rose petals (or rose water made from those petals).


1. Starting with a treat! Rose petal jelly is delicious on any occasion, but adding a little clove and cardamom steps it up to a treat that will be hard to put down.

Spiced Rose Petal Jelly

(4 Servings)

3 ½ cups Water

2 Whole Cloves

1 Cardamom Pod, crushed

1/3 cup dried Rose Petals

1 ¾ oz Pectin

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 cup, lightly packed, fresh Rose Petals

4 cups Sugar

Instructions:
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in dried Rose petals, cloves, and cardamom pod. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain and discard the solids. Return to the saucepan and stir in the fresh petals, lemon juice, and pectin. Stir until the pectin is dissolved. Over high heat, bring the new mixture to a boil and add the sugar. Set a timer and boil for 2 full minutes, stirring constantly. After 2 minutes, transfer mixture to sterilized jars, seal, and allow to come to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator overnight to set. After it has set, it will hold in the pantry for up to 6 months, or in the fridge for up to 1 year.


2. Roses in a savory dish? No way! Well, guess what. Roses go great with savory things too! This recipe features roses used in a Moroccan style sauce called a Chermoula, which is usually used as a marinade for fish. This recipe, however, uses the sauce for roasting a mixture of chickpeas, carrots, and zucchini. You can use any of the left over sauce for other dishes such as eggplant “steaks,” shrimp kabobs, chicken, or even tofu. It's so versatile.

Rose Roasted Chickpeas

(2 Main-Dish Servings, or 4 Sides)

Chermoula Sauce:

¼ cup Parsley Leaves

¼ cup Cilantro Leaves

3 cloves fresh Garlic, smashed

4 tbsp Olive Oil

4 tbsp Vegetable Broth

Juice of 1 Lemon, reserve the zest

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp dried Rose Petals

½ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Pepper

*optional: up to ½ tsp Cayenne powder (however spicy you want it)

Chickpeas:

4 Carrots, peeled and diced

2 small Zucchinis, diced

1 can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tsp Sauce

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp dried Rose Buds

Zest of 1 Lemon (reserved from making the sauce)

*optional: Yogurt or Dairy Free alternative as a topping

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all your sauce ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a thick paste forms. Adjust any seasoning if necessary. Toss the carrots in some olive oil and place them on a lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, and bake them for 10 minutes, or until tender. Combine all remaining other ingredients and toss well, coating the vegetables well with the sauce. After the 10 minutes are up, remove the carrots from the oven and add to the vegetable mixture. Toss once more to coat the carrots and place the mixture back onto the cookie sheet. Roast for 25-30 more minutes, or until carrots are fork tender and slightly charred. Remove from the oven, drizzle a little more sauce on top (if you need to thin it out, add a bit of water) and a dollop of yogurt.


3. Back to more familiar rose territory. This sweet bread makes a great treat either drizzled with honey or used to make a killer french toast breakfast.

Honey Rose-Berry Bread

(10 Servings)

1 tbsp ground Flax Seed

2 ½ tbsp Water

¼ cup dried Rose Petals

2 cups Gluten Free Flour (my favorite is by Namaste)

½ cup ground Chia Seeds and/or Flax Seeds

1 ½ tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Salt

Zest of 1 Lemon

¼ cup fresh Strawberries, diced

¼ cup fresh or dried Blueberries

1 cup Honey or ½ cup Agave nectar

2/3 cup Rose Water

1/3 cup of Lemon Juice (juice of 3 small lemons)

Glaze:

1 cup Honey (or ½ cup Agave Nectar and ½ cup Water)

2 tbsp Rose Water

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X5in loaf pan. Combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 2 ½ tbsp water, mix well and set in the fridge to chill, at least 10 minutes. Lightly crush rose petals in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, add in flour, ground chia/flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Fold in rose petals, berries, and lemon zest. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix honey (or agave), chilled flax seed mixture, rose water, and lemon juice. Stir well. Pour mixture over flour mixture and stir well until combined. Pour batter into your greased loaf pan and bake about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert the pan to flip out the bread and continue to cool on a cooling rack while you prepare the glaze. For the glaze, in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, combine honey (or agave and water) with rose water. Bring mixture to a gentile boil and remove from the heat. Whisk well and pour over the cooled bread.  (if you really want that glaze to impact the flavor of the bread, use a toothpick to punch tiny holes over the top of your bread before adding on the glaze)



4. Rose makes a refreshing drink as well. Not only do the petals and hips make a lovely tea, but you can add them to lemonade, sangria, mojitos, etc. Here's one of my favorites, Hibiscus Rose Lemonade recipe for the summers.

Hibiscus Rose Lemonade

(1 Quart)

1 ½ -2 cups Sugar or Honey (however sweet you like it)

1 ½ cups Water

½ cup dried Rose Petals

½ cup dried Hibiscus Flowers

2 cups freshly squeezed Lemon Juice (about 10-12 Lemons)

Ice

Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar/honey and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir until sugar/honey is dissolved. Add in the rose petals and hibiscus flowers, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to cool for 45 minutes. Pour mixture over ice and stir well before adding in the lemon juice and stirring one last time. Taste your lemonade and adjust the sweetness if desired. If you want some more rose flavor, simply add a ½ tsp of rose water at a time until it reaches the flavor you want.


5. I love chia pudding. It makes for a great breakfast, starting you day off with all the benefits of chia. It's also a great snack for when I'm just craving sweets. This variation adds in the soft, floral flavor of rose and the rich flavor of chocolate.

Chocolate Rose Chia Seed Pudding

(4 Servings)

2 cups Coconut Milk

½ cup Chia Seeds

½ tsp Rose Water

¼ cup Honey or 2 tbsp Agave Nectar

¼ tsp Cacao Powder

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Optionally, you can put them in a food processor and process to make a smooth chia pudding. Cover and refrigerate over night (or at least 4 hours). Mixing it a few times within the first hour helps it to gel evenly. This one is great topped with strawberries.

Rose Hips

     Rose hips (the fruit of the rose plant) are super high in vitamin C, making them taste a bit on the citrus-y side, though some people compare their taste to a tart cherry. You can use them in place of cranberries, citrus, or cherries in just about any recipe. However, when they're dried they are usually pretty hard. So if the recipe calls for dried fruit, make sure you add a bit of water or juice to them and allow them to reconstitute for a bit before using them in your recipes. 


1. This dip is a great slightly sweet, tart dip for just about any occasion. I like to serve this with gluten free graham crackers, but it also works well with apples and other fruit.

Pecan Rose Hip Dip

(makes about 1 ½ cups)

8 oz Cream Cheese or a Dairy-Free alternative

½ cup dried Rose Hips 

¼ cup Pineapple Juice

¼ cup chopped Pecans

1 tsp Orange Zest

¼ cup Honey or 2 tsp Agave Nectar

½ tsp freshly grated Ginger

2 teaspoons Orange juice

Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine the rose hips and pineapple juice. Chill overnight to reconstitute. Once reconstituted, combine all ingredients (including the reconstituted rose hips, don't drain them) in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well. Chill for 10 minutes prior to serving.


2. This twist on everyone's favorite party snack is full of surprises. It's not only a great dip, but I also like to use it on some of my savory main dishes. It's great over turkey (or any poultry really), pork, and it also adds a southwestern flare to eggplant “steaks” and veggie burgers.

Rose Hip Salsa

(10 servings)

12 oz dried Rose Hips

¼ cup Lime Juice

¼ cup water

¼ cup Honey or 2 tsp Agave Nectar

¼ cup diced sweet Onions

2 fresh Jalapenos, seeded and minced

¼ cup fresh Cilantro Leaves, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
Combine rose hips, lime juice, water, and honey/agave. Mix well, cover and chill overnight to reconstitute. When reconstituted, add in remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until they reach your desired consistency.


3. Rose hips in rice? Heck Yeah! Rose hips add a great bit of sweet and tart flavor to a number of dishes, but I'm really a huge fan of how they can make rice and quinoa dishes really pop. This recipe makes for a great side dish, use quinoa instead of brown rice, and add some more of your favorite vegetables (such as Brussels sprouts or green beans) to make it a super healthy and filling one dish meal.

Brown Rice with Rose Hips and Almonds

(6 Side Dish Servings)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

¼ medium sized Sweet Onion, finely diced

¼ cup Celery, finely diced

1 1/3 cups uncooked long grain Brown Rice

1 2/3 cups Water

1 cup Vegetable Broth

2/3 cup dried Rose Hips

Salt and Pepper to taste

2/3 cup Almonds, sliced or slivered and toasted

1 tbsp fresh Parsley, minced

Instructions:
In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, saute the olive oil, onions, and celery together until just translucent. Add in the rice, water, vegetable broth, and rose hips. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 40 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients, cover again, and allow to cook another 5 minutes, or until all the remaining liquid is absorbed.


4. Bread is such a staple in most of the cultures of the world, and there are so many different kinds of bread to make. Quick breads are my personal favorite for a number of reasons, although the most important one is that they're the easiest to make gluten free. This quick bread recipe also makes for great muffins for breakfast, or just a snack.

Rose Hip Bread (or Muffins)

(10 Servings)

1 tbsp ground Flax Seed

2 ½ tbsp Water

1 cup dried Rose Hips

½ cup Apple Juice

2 cups Gluten Free Flour (my favorite is by Namaste)

½ cup ground Chia Seeds and/or Flax Seeds

1 ½ tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Salt

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 cup Honey or ½ cup Agave nectar

2/3 cup Orange Juice

1/3 cup of Lemon Juice (juice of 3 small lemons)

Instructions:
Combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 2 ½ tbsp water, mix well. In a separate bowl, combine rose hips and apple juice. Set both mixtures in the fridge to chill overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X5in loaf pan (or line a muffin pan with papers). In a medium mixing bowl, add in flour, ground chia/flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Fold in rose hips and lemon zest. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix honey (or agave), chilled flax seed mixture, orange juice, and lemon juice. Stir well. Pour mixture over flour mixture and stir well until combined. Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake about 1 hour (muffins may not take as long, so check them after about 30 min and every 10 min after that). Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert the pan to flip out the bread and continue to cool on a cooling rack.


5. Here we come to the easiest recipe in this post. And one of my personal favorites.

Easy Rose Hip “Jam”

(about 1 ½ cups)

1 cup Rose Hips, dried

1 ½ cups unfiltered Apple Juice

1 tsp Orange Zest

Instructions:
Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and allow to sit overnight. Pour mixture into a food processor and process until it reaches your desired consistency. Store in the fridge.

If you want to skip letting it sit overnight, you can pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring it to a boil on the stove top. Reduce it to a simmer and allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes. Allow it to cool and puree it in the food processor.








   
     I hope you enjoy making (and eating) these great Rose recipes!  If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!

Body Powder

If you're anything like me, you grew up playing with your grandmother's beauty supplies. Spraying her perfume, trying on her lipstick, and having all kinds of mischievous fun with your grandma's stuff. I have fond memories of doing all of this. But one of my favorite things was her powder. I didn't know why she used it, but it always smelled soft and floral.

As an adult, I came across several deodorant powder and/or foot powder recipes. It wasn't until I started really taking a look at them that I realized what my grandmother's powder was for. Body powder is awesome. It helps to keep you feeling fresh even in the hot summer months in Florida. Think of it as a dry deodorant that you can use anywhere. Anywhere on or off your body, where funky smells tend to accumulate. You can use it on your thighs to keep them from chaffing during your workout routine, you can dust your feet before putting on your shoes to keep the foot odor to a minimum, you can lightly dust your entire body after a shower to help you feel fresh and smell great, you can even lightly dust your gym bag to help keep your workout clothes smelling fresh. There are so many uses for body powder. I also use my home made body powder as a base for some of my home made makeup. Just add a few colorants to your body powder and you have a loose blush, shadow, or foundation.

Most body powders you find commercially are made with talc. Talc has been linked to several instances of cancer. Using caution with talc is a good idea. Instead, I make my own body powders using arrowroot powder. However, you can use any of a variety of powders as your base.

The Base:

For your base you want to use an absorbent powder, particularly one that also has antibacterial properties and that is ultra fine and soft on your skin. Here are a few options that work pretty well. I prefer to use a combination of powders for my base. Some of my favorites include arrowroot, cornstarch (non-GMO), tapioca starch, rice flour, baking soda, kaolin clay, french green clay, betonite clay, or any of a variety of cosmetic clays.

Dried Herbs:

You can add ground herbs to your powders as well. These can help improve your skin, prevent acne, help heal wounds, and they smell lovely. Some of my favorite herbs to use include chamomile, lavender, calendula, rose, elder flower, peppermint, lemon balm, and jasmine flowers. Each one of these herbs has different properties, but all of them are known for helping improve the health of skin.

Essential Oils:

You can also add essential oils to your powder. They may cause clumping if not mixed well, but if you mix them well they can add more health benefits and a beautiful scent to your powder. Try lavender, jasmine, ylang ylang, frankincense, myrrh, and rose geranium. These oils are some of my favorites, but you can use any essential oil you'd like. Just keep in mind that some cause photosensitivity (making your skin sensitive to sunlight), and all essential oils are extremely strong and should always be diluted before use. An additional word of caution. Avoid using eucalyptus, rosemary, and camphor essential oils around people who have seizures, as well as young children and pets. I like to use around 10 drops of essential oils per 1 cup of powder for these recipes.

And here are some of my favorite recipes for body powder, starting with the super basic, unscented recipe, and going a bit more complicated. Enjoy!

Basic, Unscented Body Powder

1 cup Arrowroot Powder or Rice Flour

½ cup Cornstarch (non-GMO) or Tapioca Starch

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.

Romantic Floral Powder

¾ cup Arrowroot Powder or Rice Flour

¼ cup Kaolin Clay

¼ cup Cornstarch (non-GMO) or Tapioca Starch

¼ cup French Green Clay

¼ cup each powdered Rose Petals and Calendula Petals

6 teaspoons powdered Lavender Buds

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. If you need to grind your flowers and/or petals, a coffee bean grinder works really well. Just remember that you don't want to use the same one you use for your coffee or you'll have floral coffee.

Cooling Summer Powder

1 cup Arrowroot Powder or Rice Flour

½ cup Cornstarch (non-GMO) or Tapioca Starch

¼ cup Betonite Clay

6 teaspoons each powdered Mint Leaves, Calendula Petals, and Lemon Balm Leaves

5-10 drops each of Frankincense and Cypress Essential Oils

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. If clumps form when you add the essential oils, just break them up with the whisk and mix a little longer. If you need to grind your flowers and/or petals, a coffee bean grinder works really well. Just remember that you don't want to use the same one you use for your coffee or you'll have floral coffee.

I hope you enjoy these body powder recipes. For more essential oil blend ideas, check out my previous entries, Herbal Home Fresheners for Spring and Car-Omatherapy. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!

Damiana Dark Chocolate

Love and chocolate go hand in hand. That's why this time of year is full of chocolate hearts. It's not hard to take a little leap and make some amazing aphrodisiac candies with dark and decadent chocolate. It also helps that dark chocolate is actually very good for your heart. So here's my favorite recipe that is great for both heart and libido.

But first, a bit about the ingredients:

Cacao is the main ingredient in chocolate making. It's super supportive of the cardiovascular system, anti-inflammatory, full of antioxidants, a stimulant, and relaxant. It also contains small amounts of phenethylamine, which enhances our mood and increases our sense of “love.” This applies to cocoa butter as well cacao nibs/powder.

Damiana is one of the most well known herbal aphrodisiacs in the world. This little flower was used by the Aztecs for just that reason. It increases circulation to the sexual organs, which also makes it great for those with anxiety or depression, and helps to balance the hormones. You can read more about this amazing herb here.

Rose is an optional ingredient in this recipe, but it is also an aphrodisiac and antidepressant. Plus we associate the smell of rose with romance and adding rose to any aphrodisiac recipe increases that feeling.

Cardamom is another optional ingredient in this recipe. However it's another herbal aphrodisiac. Plus the flavor of cardamom may seem strange to add to chocolate, but it's so delicious, especially with rose. Read more about this herb here.

Cayenne is a great optional ingredient. Adding cayenne to dark chocolate adds an air of the exotic. It's also a great way to boost your aphrodisiac power. Because it works so well to increase circulation, it helps to carry the effects of your other ingredients more efficiently, and a little bit faster. Making it a great addition to any herbal recipe.

Damiana Dark Chocolate

2 ounces Cocoa Butter

2 ounces Coconut Oil

1 teaspoon dried Damiana Leaf

1-2 teaspoons Optional Dried Herbs: Rose, Cardamom, Cayenne

(one of my favorites is 1 tsp Rose Water, ½ tsp Cardamom, and 1 pinch Cayenne)

2 ½ ounces Cacao Powder

6 teaspoons Raw Honey (or sugar of your choice)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

Combine Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, and herb(s) in a heat proof bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water. Allow the ingredients to slowly melt and incorporate. Allow them to infuse for 20 minutes or more. Strain out the solids, making sure to squeeze the herbs well, to get out all the infused butters. Return the butters to a bowl over simmering water. Add in all other ingredients (if you're using sugar, put that in first to melt before adding other ingredients). Adjust sweetness if desired. Stir until smooth and shiny.

You can go the easy route and make this into a chocolate bark simply by lining a cookie sheet with wax paper then pouring this chocolate over the paper and freezing it. Once frozen, break it up into pieces. You can also use this to dip aphrodisiac truffles (such as these bliss balls). There are also some really cute candy molds out there these days. Get creative! But don't forget, if you are going to use molds, make sure they are completely dry before pouring in your chocolate, or you'll get little bubbles in your chocolate.

I hope you enjoy making these delicious chocolates! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!

Also join my friend, Ms Lisa Ray at the Florida School of Holistic Living this Valentines Day for a class all about making herbal chocolates!

Rose Elixir

     Herbal elixirs are fabulous things to keep around the house.  Not only are they great for first aid and sore throats, but they’re tasty and can be made into some fabulous cocktails and delicious food.  I even pour some over my favorite desserts.  Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I figured that I would introduce herbal elixirs with one of my favorites, Rose Elixir. 

     Rose elixir is one of my most indispensable items in my home first aid kit.  Not only is it great for burns, poison ivy, bug bites/stings, rashes, sore muscles, and minor wounds.  It’s also great for sore throats, menstrual cramps, panic attacks, shock, and helps to calm people down after trauma.  Combining this with Rescue Remedy is a very effective way to help people stay calm in traumatic situations. 

A quick word about the 3 basic ingredients:

Rose is a great herbal ally to keep in mind.  Its astringent (which makes it great to use in beauty products), anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and cooling.  Rose helps to elevate the mood and move the blood.  It is a fairly well-known aphrodisiac that also helps to calm and soothe the nerves.  Just remember that when you use roses, you want to make sure they haven’t been sprayed with herbicide or insecticide. 

Honey is one of the best first aid remedies around.  It’s antifungal, antibiotic, antimicrobial, helps initiate the healing process in skin, speeds up the healing process, nourishes skin, and is full of vitamins and minerals.  Honey can improve athletic performance and makes a great sugar substitute.  Honey is also a great, natural preservative. 

Vodka/Brandy is used to help extract the beneficial constituents (natural chemicals) from the rose petals, but it also acts as a preservative.  When shopping for alcohol for elixirs, you want something that is a minimum of 80 proof.  Any drinkable alcohol can be used, vodka and brandy are my usual choices, but sometimes I switch it up and use gin (for that refreshing juniper flavor), tequila, or rum.  Whatever you feel is good for you. 

Rose Elixir

1 pint Mason Jar

Rose Petals

Honey

Vodka/Brandy

Plastic Wrap

Fill the Mason jar with rose petals, leaving ½ inch at the top.  Fill 2/3 of the way with alcohol of choice.  Fill last 1/3 with honey, leaving a little space at the top.  Cover the jar with plastic wrap before sealing it with the lid.  Roses have a tendency to eat through metal, the plastic wrap will protect your seal.  Allow your elixir to sit in a cool, dark place for 3-6 weeks.  Shake daily.  After the time is up, strain the elixir through a sieve/coffee filter.  Enjoy!

Vanilla Rose Martini

3 oz Vanilla Vodka

1 oz Rose Elixir

Rose Petal garnish

Combine the Vodka and the Elixir in a shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a rose petal.

 

Honey Rose Lemonade

1 cup Honey

1/2 cup Rose Water

1/2 cup Rose Elixir

1 cup Lemon Juice

2-3 cups Sparkling Water

Combine honey, elixir and rose water in a pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and stir until completely dissolved.  Allow mixture to cool.  Add in lemon juice and dilute with sparkling water.  If you want it sweeter, add more honey dissolved in warm water. 

     Like all of my recipes, these can be modified to suit your needs or taste buds.  You can use whatever herbs you want.  Some good ones to try when you feel adventurous include hibiscus, elderberry, lemon balm, rosemary, violet, or lavender.  Get creative!  Have fun!  And let me know what you think in the comments below!

Resources:

Bach Flower Remedies: Rescue Remedy Information: http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-information/

Healthy Green Kitchen: Rose Petal Elixir: http://www.healthygreenkitchen.com/kivas-rose-petal-elixir.html

Herbs of Grace: A Rose is a Rose: http://www.herbsofgrace.com/Homeopathy/tag/rose-elixir/

Medicine Woman’s Roots: Wild Rose Elixir: http://bearmedicineherbals.com/wild-rose-elixir-a-favorite-first-aid-remedy.html

Organic Facts: Health Benefits of Honey: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/health-benefits-of-honey.html

Steth News: The Many Benefits of Rose Elixir: http://www.stethnews.com/1408/the-many-benefits-of-rose-elixir-how-to-make-your-own/