Homemade Anise-Fennel Seed Biscotti

Anise-Fennel Seed Biscotti

Organic Fennel Seeds Harvested from My Garden

I tried making biscotti for the first time.  I used a recipe featured in Better Homes & Garden, but used 1 Tbsp of fennel seeds instead of 2 Tbsp of aniseed, and I omitted the milk chocolate candy coating.  This recipe is a keeper.  I will definitely make it again, but next time I think I will lightly drizzle some chocolate over half the batch.  

Anise-Fennel Seed Biscotti Recipe

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. anise extract
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 Tbsp fennel seeds, pulsed in food processor for 5 seconds (OR 2 Tbsp of aniseed)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and extract.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in almonds and seeds.
2. Divide dough in half.  On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or lined with foil that is lightly sprayed with cooking oil), shape each portion into a 12-in. x 2-in. rectangle.  Bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until firm to the touch and the edges are golden brown.
3. Remove from oven and cool pans on wire racks.  When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and cut diagonally with serrated knife into ¾-in. slices.  Return to baking sheets, cut side down.
4. Bake for 6-7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in airtight containers.

Make Your Own Freshly Ground Sage in Minutes

Freshly Ground Organic Sage from the Garden

Nothing beats turning high-quality, sage from the organic garden into freshly, ground sage for cooking.  The flavors and the aroma of the freshly ground sage are strong and wonderful for cooking.  I especially love using ground sage in rubs and herb-butter spreads.

If you are growing sage in the garden and own a food processor, you can easily make your own freshly ground sage spice in no time at all.  

Freshly Ground Sage

Comparative Savings Analysis

Source	Money	Time	Other Considerations
Grocery Store	~$5 + Gas	Trip to/from Grocery Store	Shelf life - Unknown* Quality - Unknown
Our Garden	~$0	Less than 5 minutes Active Time	Freshly ground Quality - Known

*Ground herbs are normally "good" for six to nine months, and when I say "good," I mean having a strong flavor and aroma. 

How to Make Freshly Ground Sage

Step 1 

Cut a bunch of stems from your sage plant and tie them into a bundle using a rubber band (See Photo Below).  Then hang the bundle upside down in a cool and dark place to allow the sage leaves to completely dry out.  How much time it will take for the leaves to dry out depends on how many stems are in a bundle, airflow, temperature and humidity.  Allow the bundle to dry until the leaves are crunchy.

Organic Sage, Dried

Step 2 

After your sage is brittle to the touch, strip the sage leaves from the stems of the plant and place the leaves into a bowl or directly into the food processor.

Organic Sage Leaves

Step 3

Place the leaves into a food processor (if you haven't already).  I am using a small Ninja food processor.

Dried Sage leaves in Ninja food processor

Step 4

Give the food processor a few pulses until the dried sage is finely ground.  Then pour the sage into your clean container.

Freshly ground organic sage

As you can see, grinding up your spices can take less than five minutes of your time, and is well worth the effort.  Not only will you be getting high, quality herbs from your organic garden, but you will also be saving money and saving yourself a trip to the grocery stores.

Better Homes and Garden Holiday Store

One of my favorite magazines, Better Homes and Garden (BHG) has a Holiday Store! Currently, you can get $3.95 shipping on any order, any size.  You can shop by issue or by topic.  They also have holiday exclusives! For example, you can get 40% off holiday fruit boxes and get free shipping as well.

When to Harvest Corn

Photo: This corn is ready for picking.  

The silk is dry and brown, and the kernels at the top of the corn have fully developed.

How can you tell when corn is ready to be picked?  I wait until the silk of the corn has dried up and turned brown. Then I take my fingers and feel around the tip of the corn.  The tip of the corn should feel full. If it is pointy, then you can wait longer.  If you are unsure, you can always peel back a bit of the husk to see if the kernels have fully developed to the top.  However, please be aware that when you peel back the husk you are also are risking opening your corn to pests so if at all possible avoid doing this. 

Once you have determined the corn is ready for picking, just grab the corn in your hand and twist it off the stalk.

Tip: Corn will start converting its sugars into starch as soon as it has been picked.  To capture the natural sweetness of the corn, have the grill ready to go before you pick your corn and then immediately grill your corn after picking it.  If you are growing sweet corn it is not necessary to immediately cook the corn.  Sweet corn converts its sugars into starch at a slower rate than other corn.

   

Homemade Vanilla Extract (Part II)

Photo 1: Starting a new jar of homemade vanilla extract

The homemade vanilla extract I started earlier this year is finally ready for use!  It smells absolutely wonderful, and tastes great too!  I love the fact that we can get high quality stuff for a fraction of the price, and it also does not contain corn syrup like some vanilla extract products in the store do.

Encouraged by the success of my first batch, I started a new batch with a different blend.  Previously I had used all Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans to get that rich, traditional vanilla extract taste.  Now I am using primarily Tahitian Vanilla Beans.  I only had 10 of them, and you need 6 beans per cup so I just added a few more Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans to the mix.  

Photo 2: Tahitian Vanilla beans from www.vanillaproductsUSA.com 

To Learn How to Make Vanilla Extract Click Here: http://aptgarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-vanilla-extract.html

Preparing and Freezing Green Beans

My bush bean plants are producing a lot of beans---too much for us to consume so I have been freezing them for later use.  To learn how to prepare green beans for freezing, see the photos and directions below. 

How to Prepare Bush Beans for Freezing

Tools

• Scissors
• Knife
• 1 Sauce pan
• Colander (or slotted spoon if you do not have a strainer)
• 1 large bowl
• Freezer Bag

Directions

Step 1.  Harvest your beans in the morning.  I use scissors to snip the beans off the plant.  You can harvest the beans at any size.  I like the flavor and texture of medium size beans.  Remove any debris by giving your beans a quick rinse under water.    

Step 2.  Boil a pot of water.  Use enough water to cover the green beans.  While you are waiting for the water to boil, prepare the green beans.  Snip the pointy ends off the green beans (See Photo 1).  You can stop here or if you rather have bite size pieces, slice the beans into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (See Photo 2).

Photo 1

Photo 2

Step 3. Prepare another bowl filled with ice cold water.   

Step 4.  Pour your green beans into the water and boil your beans anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes.  Then remove your beans from the boiling water, and immediately plunge them in the ice cold water.  This will help preserve the green vibrant color and texture (Photo 3).  Then drain the beans in a colander.   

Photo 3

Step 5.  You can either serve the green beans or store them in a freezer bag for freezing.  If you choose to put them in a freezer bag, allow the beans to dry for about 5 minutes in the colander.  The dryer the beans, the less likely they will stick together in the freezer bag.  Then place them in a freezer bag.  Remove as much air as possible from the bag to prevent freezer burn.  

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Photo 1: 12 Madagascar vanilla beans split lengthwise steeping in a jar of vodka.

Photo 2: The vanilla bean on the top was split lengthwise with a knife.  

The vanilla bean on the bottom is a whole vanilla bean.

I started making homemade vanilla extract about a month ago.  It is a lot easier than I imagined.  All you have to do is place several vanilla beans (split lengthwise).  See Photo 2.  Then steep the vanilla beans in vodka for a minimum of three weeks.  See Photo 1.  The longer the vanilla beans steep in the vodka, the better the flavor.  I can still detect a slight smell of alcohol so I am going to allow it to sit longer.  [Update: 3 months later I can no longer detect the smell of alcohol.  Now it smells absolutely heavenly!  I have a smile on my face every time I open this jar.  It fills the room with the smell of vanilla.]  For instructions and more information about making vanilla extract, click here.

Quick Tips: 

• Consider purchasing vanilla beans online.  Grocery stores charge a lot of money for only a couple of vanilla beans.  I purchased mine from www.vanillaproductsUSA.com, but you can also try places like Amazon or eBay.   
• If you want to make a "classic" vanilla extract, use Madagascar Vanilla Beans.  Otherwise try experimenting with other kinds of vanilla beans and liquor.  
• Make sure you use enough vanilla beans or you will just end up with vanilla flavored alcohol.  According to Instructables.com, you need 6 whole vanilla beans to make 1 cup of single fold vanilla extract. 

Source: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Vanilla-Extraction/

Last updated: July 25, 2011