Vitamin Water Infusions

 

Creating your own vitamin water is one of the simplest things to do! All you need is some fruit, herbs and water and you are set. Don't settle for the "vitamin waters" you might notice in grocery stores. Those waters are full of artificial chemical flavourings, plenty of refined sugar and bone dissolving acids all of which promote illness and disease. 

Making your own vitamin water infusions is quick and easy! They are packed with natural vitamins and minerals (not synthetic alterations of them) and thus they are better recognized and utilized in the body. Make sure to create larger batches so that these waters will last you all throughout the week!

Directions:

1. Pick a non-citrus fruit - I like to pick things like berries, kiwi, mango or pineapple. 

2. Pick a citrus fruit - you can choose from orange slices to lemon or lime slices!

3. Add herbs - choose things like mint, rosemary, basil or other favourite herbs

Once you have decided on the combination you want to use (and you may add as little or as much as you please of each - I like to add in about 1/2 cup of each fruit and 1/4 cup of herbs for 2 litres of water), put them into a large jug of water and let them soak in the water in a fridge overnight. In the morning you will have yourself a wonderful vitamin infused water that you can enjoy over the day!

Favourite combinations of mine:

1. Strawberry, lemon, mint

2. Lemon, lime, mint

3. Kiwi, lemon, lime, mint

4. Pineapple, lemon, basil

5. Mango, orange, rosemary

*You may also choose to add some ice to your water for an even cooler treat!

Fruit Cordials

I found these wonderful recipes in the Herb Mentor website.

Check them out You will find many good tips about Herbs over there!
There are three main steps to making cordials.
Steeping - in this step, the ingredients are steeped in the alcohol (usually vodka or brandy, but you can try anything you like).
Sweetening - typically a sugar syrup is used, but maple syrup is a great substitute.  Honey can also be used.
Aging - The flavors all improve tremendously with age.  Generally 2 to 4 weeks is good.  I like to leave mine longer, if possible.
 
Here are some recipes to get you going:

 Wild Blackberry Cordial- Christy Sarles (radicalweeds.com)
Pick enough berries to fill a clean glass jar in the size of your choice at least a third, and up to a half, full. I use about two quarts of berries for a gallon of cordial. If those lovely wild blackberries don't grow in your neighborhood, you can substitute raspberries or blueberries. The little wild blueberries will give your cordial a more intense flavor than the larger cultivated ones, but either way blueberries are relatively tough-skinned and you will need to macerate them - crush or grind coarsely - before adding the other ingredients.
Fill the jar to the top with equal parts of maple syrup and brandy. I usually use E&J brandy, but any decent variety of 80 proof brandy will do fine. As for the maple syrup, I like the dark, late-season Grade B syrup because it has the strongest maple taste and contains more minerals than the three lighter Grade A syrups produced earlier in the sugaring season. You can use whatever grade of maple syrup you prefer, but please make it real. Don't use the artificial stuff!!
Put the cover on the jar and shake to mix. Label, date, and leave the fruit to infuse for at least 10 days, and up to 6 weeks. Shake occasionally when you think of it. Strain out the fruit (marvelous over ice cream) and decant the cordial into glass jars or bottles. Keeps for years without refrigeration - but I guarantee it won't last that long!
Peach Cordial, Christy Sarles
Cut unpeeled peaches in quarters, and add them to a wide-mouth glass jar. Pits optional. Fill the the jar with brandy, to cover the fruit. (I use E&J brandy, which has no preservatives,although as a child of the 60s it still galls me to buy Gallo...). Anyway, let it sit, shaking it up occasionally, until the peaches lose their color and start looking mushy. Then, depending on where you are in the season, you can either proceed to the sweetening stage or strain and pour the brandy over a new batch of fresh peaches (and pits) for a more intense peach flavor.
When you're ready to sweeten and bottle, strain out the fruit and add the ginger syrup -- a quart per gallon, or more to taste. Start with a basic simple syrup recipe -- 2 parts water to 1 part sugar (demerara is my preference). Add sliced, unpeeled ginger to taste. I like it HOT, so I use LOTS of fresh ginger -- at the very least a cup.
Simmer/boil for 15 minutes or so til it thickens up, let it cool with the ginger in it, then strain and add to the peach brandy. Decant to smaller bottles as needed.
Pear Cordial, Christy Sarles
Use the basic fruit/brandy/maple syrup cordial recipe with either peaches or pears (or any other fruit), using 1/2 fruit and the rest equal portions of brandy and maple syrup -- or more or less of either one depending on how sweet you like it. I always look out at yard sales for pretty little bottles to fill up with summer cordials for winter solstice gifts -- a little bit of midsummer in midwinter!
Kahlua Recipe, Susanna Reppert (therosemaryhouse.com)

• 2 C water
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 C dry instant coffee (a dark roast is best)
• 1 fresh vanilla bean, chopped
• 1-1/2 C vodka

Slice open and scrape the vanilla bean into the water. The more you scrape/chop the bean the more flavor you will release. Boil the water, sugar and vanilla bean together for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and slowly add the instant coffee and keep stirring.
Allow to cool and combine this sugar/coffee/vanilla syrup with the vodka. It tastes yummy right away but improves and mellows as it ages. If you want a cleaner product strain out the vanilla particles. If you want an even smoother taste add 1 t glycerin to the finished blend. Yield: about 4 cups.
Tip: Drizzle over ice cream. Oh my goodness....
 
Tea Liqueur, Susanna Reppert

• 1 T good quality tea leaves, we like earl grey or darjeeling
• 1 ½ C vodka
• ½ C sugar syrup
• Steep the leaves in the vodka for 24 hours only.
• Strain, filter, and add sugar syrup. Ready in 24 hours!

It's Berry Good, Susanna Reppert

• 10 oz package of berries, strawberry, raspberry or any berry (fresh or frozen)
• 1 ½ C Vodka
• ¼ C sugar syrup
• Steep berries and the juice in the vodka for one week.
• Strain and filter.
• Taste and add sugar syrup as needed.

Note: Many frozen berries are pre-sugared.
And some of my own personal favorites:
Elderberry Cordial

• 1pint fresh elderberries OR 1 cup dried berries
• 1 pint 80 proof brandy
• 1 pint Maple syrup
• 3-5 cinnamon sticks
• a few slices of fresh ginger
• 2 cardamom pods
• the zest of one lemon

Put elderberries in a quart jar & muddle well.  Add cinnamon sticks.  Then add equal parts brandy & maple syrup until the jar is full.  Cover tightly.  Macerate for 6 to 8 weeks, shaking gently every few days.  Strain & bottle.
Chocolate Cherry Cordial

• 2 pints pitted sour cherries
• 1/2 cup cacao nibs
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 qt brandy
• 1 qt maple syrup

Muddle cherries in 1/2 gallon wide-mouth jar. Add cacao chips, brandy & maple syrup.  Stir well.  Put on the lid and wait.  This needs to age for 6 weeks.
Nectar of Venus Cordial
This beverage needs to be made up early in January for use mid- February, but it will be worthwhile. The flowers give it a beautiful deep pink color, and can be served with ginger ale and lime slices.
The following ingredients should be placed in a ½ gallon jar with a tight fitting lid that allows for shaking. Be sure to label and date the jar. Put out of sunlight while it sits for 1-6 weeks. Shake occasionally. All herbs and flowers are dry.

• 1 fifth of good quality vodka ½ c red rose petals
• ½ c hibiscus flowers ½ c rose hips
• ½ c spearmint ¼ c granulated orange peel
• ¼ c cinnamon bark chips

After sitting this mixture is ready to decant. Strain through fine cheesecloth or muslin into a pitcher large enough to also hold the additional 5 cups of Grand Marnier and simple syrup (below).

• 1 c Grand Marnier
• 4 c simple syrup made from 2 c water, 2 c sugar.
• 1 T either rose water or orange blossom water.

 
Add these ingredients to the vodka mixture and blend well. Allow this to rest for a couple of weeks so that the flavors can become well acquainted. Pour into beautiful bottles, cork, label, and enjoy.
Lavender Limoncello

• Zest from 10 lemons
• 1 fifth vodka
• 1 cup lavender buds
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 cups water

1. First infuse the lavender in the vodka for 24 hours.  Strain.  If you leave the lavender longer, it gets too medicinal for my tastes.
2. Next, infuse the lemon zest in the vodka for one week, and strain.
3. Make a simple syrup with the sugar and water, boiling gently for 15 minutes without stirring.  Cool well, and add the infused vodka.  Allow this mixture to steep together for at least 2 weeks.  Serve ice cold.
4. Substitute rose geranium leaves for lavender buds for a real treat!

Related articles

• A Good Appetite: Spiking Summer Fruit in Order to Preserve It (nytimes.com)
• From Bushel to Bottle: 360 Vodka Distills the Best of Mother Nature with the Release of Six New Flavors (prnewswire.com)
• Recipe: Caramelized Apple Pancake Syrup (christiescorner.com)

White tea health benefits

Jun 6, 2010 Deanna Lynn Sletten
White tea comes from the same species of plant (Camellia sinensis) as green, black and oolong tea but is processed differently to give it a softer, smoother flavor. Although fewer studies have been done on white tea as compared to green tea, the studies on white tea have shown it to be more effective in preventing certain diseases as well as being an overall healthier choice.

Why White Tea May be Healthier than Green Tea

White tea is produced mainly in China from the Camellia sinensis plant but this particular species contains more buds than leaves. The buds and young leaves are picked, steamed immediately and dried, allowing for the freshest tea possible. The processing of green tea involves the picking of mature leaves that are then steamed or fried and then rolled. The extra processing of the green tea leaves is believed to take away from its health benefits. Researchers from Oregon State University who studied the health benefits of white tea for cancer prevention believe that it is the combination of the young buds and leaves of the white tea as well as the way it is processed that allows it to maintain a higher concentration of polyphenols (catechins) than green tea that protect against some diseases.

White Tea and Cancer Prevention

In March, 2000, the first ever study of white tea for cancer prevention was presented at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. In the wake of reports on the cancer-fighting ability of green tea, researchers at Oregon State University wanted to find out if white tea possessed the same antioxidant levels as green tea. They tested four different varieties of white tea and found that white tea inhibited DNA mutations, the earliest steps leading to cancer, more effectively than green tea. While white tea has the same types of polyphenols as green tea, it was found that it contained different proportions.


Read more at Suite101: White Tea: Health Benefits May be More Effective than Green Tea http://www.suite101.com/content/white-tea-health-benefits-may-be-more-effective-than-green-tea-a245646#ixzz155bsASUF