Get Involved
12 Days and 8 Nights of Herbal Recipes
Spicy Cranberry Jam
Ingredients
12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries
1 ¼ Cup sugar
1 orange zested plus 2 Tablespoon juice retained
¼ Cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
Optional-1 Tablespoon grated crystallized ginger
Instructions
1. In a large pot add the cranberries, sugar, water, orange juice, zest and cinnamon, stir to combine.
On high/medium heat, bring the ingredients to a boil stirring occasionally, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until it thickens, and all the berries have popped. As the jam is cooking use a potato masher to pulverize the berries. Stir.
If you want it very smooth, use an immersion blender or food processor after it has cooked and thickened.
Spoon into clean, airtight containers or jars. Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Enjoy!
Basic Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup salted butter, or unsalted with ½ teaspoon salt added, at room temperature
2⁄3 cup sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract (double vanilla is even better)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup jam, for the centers
Confectionary Sugar (optional)
Instructions
Cream together butter and sugar.
Beat in extract.
Gradually blend in flour ¼ cup at a time.
Gather into a ball, cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out dough roll into one-inch balls, placing one inch apart on parchment covered cookie sheet.
With the end of a wooden spoon, make an indention in the ball and fill with spicy cranberry jam. Don’t overfill and don’t break through the bottom of the dough.
Bake at 350°F for 14 to 18 minutes. When cookies cool, you may sift tops with confectionary sugar.
All bakers should have this four ingredient shortbread in their repertoire. These cookies are simple to make and, if you’re in a hurry, the dough can be smoothed into a cookie sheet and treated like a tart shell.
Almost Empty Jam Jar (Mo)Cocktail
Ingredients
8-16 ounce Jam jar with 1 or 2 teaspoons of spicy cranberry jam
½ ounce fresh orange juice
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce rosemary simple syrup, recipe below
4-6 ounces club soda
2 ounces gin or alcohol-free gin, optional
Speared cranberries on rosemary sprig, optional
Rosemary Simple Syrup – keeps for up to one month in the refrigerator
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 thumb-sized sprigs fresh rosemary
Directions
To make simple syrup, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, constantly stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat, add the rosemary, and let steep for several hours. Discard the rosemary. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Fill the jam jar halfway with ice. Add juice, simple syrup and gin if using. Shake well. Top off with club soda and serve with a garnish. Serve in the jam jar if you can spare it!
Cranberry and rosemary is a great holiday combination. Although many winter recipes call for warm drinks, this is a refreshing party sipper to enjoy with hors devours.
Chicken and Rosemary Meatballs
1 pound ground chicken
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg, whisked
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs – more if needed
1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce
1/2 tablespoon each ground rosemary, onion salt and parsley
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 -3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Gently mix all ingredients except olive oil in medium bowl. Don’t overmix or meatballs will be tough.
Form into 1-inch diameter meatballs.
Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium high and add the olive oil. Cook the meatballs in batches, shaking gently so they brown on all sides. Although they won’t be cooked though, transfer each browned batch to a plate.
Spicy Cranberry Jam Sauce
1 Cup of spicy cranberry jam
½ to 1 Cup of Chinese BBQ sauce.
Mix sauce ingredients together and cook in the same skillet over medium low heat until slightly thickened. Slide meatballs into sauce and simmer until done, about 8 minutes.
For an updated version of the 1960’s favorite grape jelly meatballs, use ground chicken. The egg and breadcrumbs will keep the low-fat meat together and the herbs take center stage because chicken is so mild. Chinese BBQ sauce has a deep flavor, usually boosted by anise and oyster sauce. It makes a nice foil for the cranberry jam.