No secret here that Roots & Crowns is very Rose-centric. 

Roses are part of all the kinds of products I formulate. Whether it be ingestible, topical, or scent-ual Rose has an absolutely cornerstone in my work.

In celebration of the 6th birthday of my first ingestible product: Beloved Bitters, I've mixed this beverage of yumminess and wanted to share it with you! 

You'll need to prep at least a day in advance to make the infusions, but it's super easy! 

Step 1: 

Infuse tequila (or water) with roses. 

2 cups tequila (or water)
3 tbsp. dried red rose petals 

Combine in clean jar, seal with wax paper and jar lid. Give it a good shake and put somewhere you'll remember to strain it! Kitchen counter is a good choice. Strain 18 hours later if you don't want the Rose flavor to become too astringent. When you strain the tequila/water it will be a reddish/brown color but the pink magic will happen when you mix your beverage!

Infuse simple syrup with roses.

1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1//3 cup recently boiled water
1 heaping tsp. dried red rose petals

Stir all together in clean jar until the sugar is dissolved. Let steep for a full day and then strain. You can keep what you don't use for a couple of weeks in the fridge!  

Step 2: 

Cocktail time!
This is a recipe for 2 beverages. 

3 oz. Rose tequila
1.5 oz. Rose simple syrup
1.5 oz. fresh Lime juice
1 dropper-full of Beloved Bitters

Combine Rose tequila/tea, Rose simple syrup, lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake, shake shake. Strain into a glass (observe the magic color shift!) with an ice block, preferably with roses inside. Top with Beloved Bitters. Enjoy!

Adam and I made this recipe up in a moment of fun necessity when we realized we were hungry and the only things left in the produce drawer were a head of cauliflower and a few leeks! This was so yummy and so gosh darn easy that we've made it several times since and it's a hit. It would be a perfect dish for Chanukah! 

Servings: 2-4 depending on how hungry you are
Start to finish prep and cook time: just under an hour

• 2 tbsp butter (regular or vegan)
• 2 large leeks, thinly sliced (white parts and light green)
• 1 head of cauliflower chopped up
• 4 cups broth of choice (we used chicken)
• 1/3 cup of white wine 
• sour cream for serving
• fresh dill for serving

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Chop the cauliflower up and arrange it with some oil on a baking sheet. Keep a small pile of cauliflower that you chop extra tiny separate and off to the side of the sheet- these will get extra crispy and be a great topping for the soup. Roast the cauliflower for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add the sliced leeks to a buttered deep skillet. Sautee the leeks until they are nice and soft- about 5 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of white wine and let it simmer and reduce on low until most of the liquid has been absorbed or gone. Add 4 cups of broth/stock and bring to a light boil. When the cauliflower is finished, gently add it all (aside from the tiny crispy bits) to the vitamix or high powered blender. Pour the stock + leek mixture into the blender on top of the cauliflower, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend for a minute on high. 

To serve: pour the soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, fresh dill, and the cauliflower crispy bits. This soup is also nice served with fresh baguette. 

Enjoy!

 

MARGARITA, BUT MAKE IT GREEN JUICE

3 stalks Celery
1 small Cucumber
1/2 Meyer Lemon
1/2 Orange of choice
1/2 Lime
1/4 small Apple
1 inch fresh Ginger

Optional but extra Yummy: 
Moon Bitters

Juice this in your juicer. Pour into a glass that's been honey and salted! 

If you don't have a juicer, you can blend this all with a bit of water and then strain out the pulp using a colander or nut milk bag. 

Top with a dropper-full of Moon Bitters. 

BLOOD ORANGE SPRITZ

1/2 Blood Orange
Sparkling Mineral Water

Optional but extra yummy:
Tulsi + Rose CBD Tincture

Hand squeeze blood orange and pour into a champagne glass. Fill the rest of the glass with the sparkling water, and add 10 drops of Tulsi + Rose Tincture. 

LOVE DUST ELIXIR

1 tsp. Love Dust
12 oz. of Milk of choice
1 tsp. Honey (or sugar)

Optional but extra yummy: whipped cream to top it off! I found almond milk whipped cream that worked so well! 

Also optional and extra yummy for daytime enjoyment: split the 12 oz. in half, and make it 6 oz. milk of choice, plus 6 oz. coffee. 

Heat milk in a small saucepan, but don't let it boil. Add the milk, Love Dust, and honey to blender. Blend on high for a minute or two, and pour the frothy elixir into a nice glass. Top with whipped cream! 

Cocoa Dust is a delicious and healthful addition to your morning beverage ritual. It's a combination of medicinal mushrooms and adaptogen herbs with cocoa, and really elevates coffee or tea into a scrumptious latte!

Here's how I like to make my drink:

Add the following to a blender:

• 1-2 shots of espresso
• 2 teaspoons of Cocoa Dust
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Honey or Maple Syrup
• 8-10 oz. steamed Milk of choice (I like hemp)

Blend, blend, blend! 

Pour into your favorite mug.

Adorn with flower petals if that's your thing.

ENJOY! 

I sorta just made this up the other day when I realized it was frozé weather but I had a nice bottle of Rioja open and I didn't want to waste it. 

You need: 

• a 750 ml bottle of red wine (mine wasn't entirely full, but it worked anyway!)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice- I recommend strawberry and pineapple
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon
• handful of fresh rose petals for extra love

Blend this all in a high-powered blender. Add it to an ice cream maker and turn it on! If you don't have an ice cream maker, add the blended concoction to a ziplock bag, freeze overnight, and blend again right before enjoying!

My love affair with Violet continues this year, and besides making Violet Syrup and up-gaming my Essence of Violet. I decided to make Violet Jam! The inspiration for this project was to use the jam hamantaschen recipe for the Jewish holiday of Purim, which was yesterday. 

Making any treats with violets starts with a morning harvest on a (preferably) dry, sunny day. Though I'm fortunate to have a growing patch of violets in my backyard, I also am fortunate enough to have made a local friend who basically has fields of violets on their property, and allow me to forage as I please. 

Violet Jam Recipe

Yield: Three 8 oz. Jars

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups freshly picked violets
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1.5 tbsp. either lemon juice or citric acid
• 3 tbsp. pectin 

Method:

Boil the two cups of water in a sauce-pan, wait five minutes and add the violets.

Cover, and let the infusion sit for 12-24 hours. 24 hours is ideal for strong flavor, but 12 works fine if you are in a hurry.

Strain the flowers from the water (you can use these to make ice cubes, or decorate your pastries later on!).

Add the sugar, lemon juice/citric acid, & pectin to the Violet water and bring to a soft boil. Stir for a few minutes to ensure all the pectin gets dissolved.

Skim any foam that might show up on the top away.

Fill your clean jars, close them tightly and store in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

Special thanks to the Flower Cookery book by Mary MacNicol, which includes so many interesting recipes and information about how enjoying edible flowers is woven throughout history and folklore. I find the snippet from the following violet section so amusing, that I had to share it with you!

This season, I've been reminding my partner every day to "just take a teaspoon of Elderberry Syrup a day!" in order to partake in delicious preventative seasonal medicine. This is the season when shaking hands, touching doorknobs, sharing company with folks who swear they're not contagious anymore, etc. etc. all become a bit of a threat, and Elderberry Syrup (which also contains immune super heroes- Rosehips, and fresh ginger juice!) is a good action step to protect our immune systems. 

It's been a minute since I posted any recipes, so amidst the holiday order bustle, I got myself some Meyer lemons, and concocted this simple, tasty beverage. Arguably, if you're worried about getting sick, alcohol might not be the best part of this concoction, so feel free to leave the gin out. Alternatively, you can also make this beverage warm, but then I'd leave out the fizzy water! 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 oz. Roots & Crowns Elderberry Syrup
• 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed Meyer Lemon
• 1.5 oz. Gin of your choice (optional)
• Fizzy water to top it off

Mix two/three top ingredients in a shaker with ice, strain/pour into a glass with an ice block, and top it off with fizzy water. 

In the rush and rigmarole of this busy life, it's important to have days that are dedicated to indulgence and self love.

...And here are some fun recipes to help you do so!

Read more

Our friends recently brought over a tray of freshly picked peaches. They said they were the kind of peaches their mom approved of (she grew up on a peach farm)- the kind that peels right off the pit and is juicy, perfect goodness. I had high hopes for these peaches in the creative cuisine way, and they sure delivered. And while some friends suggested things like ceviche and salsa, I needed to use these like yesterday (literally), so this is what I came up with! 

Peach Lassi

This recipe is for 1 lassi:
2 fresh peaches, pitted
8 oz. full fat greek yogurt (you can substitute for milk-free yogurt)
1 tbs. simple syrup or honey
1/4 cup coconut milk

Blend all of the ingredients on high in the vitamix (or any blender), and decant into your favorite tall glass. I garnished mine with extra peaches and a sprig of rosemary which is what ended up inspiring the Rosemary Roasted Peach cocktail later on. 

Grilled Peaches + Grilled Chicken Breast Salad

This recipe is for 2 large servings:
2 medium sized chicken breasts
4 fresh peaches
6 cups arugula 
(for dressing/marinade):
6 tbs. olive oil
1.5 tbs. balsamic vinegar 
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 shallot, chopped

Heat up the grill. I used the stove top griddle/grill and while this probably takes longer for cooking time, it worked well! Slice the peaches in half, remove the pit. Whisk up the marinade ingredients and coat the peaches and chicken breasts with it. Grill the peaches flat side down until they seem warm too the touch. Remove the peaches, set aside. Next reinforce the marinade on the chicken, and grill the chicken until it's cooked through. Grab your two favorite bowls, fill them with arugula, add the rest of the dressing to each of the bowls. Slice the chicken breasts and peaches, add them to the salad. Enjoy! 

Rosemary Roasted Peach Bourbon Fizz

This recipe is for 2 cocktails:
1 medium sized fresh peach
1 tbs. honey
3 sprigs of rosemary
1 oz. simple syrup
4 oz. bourbon (I used Knob Creek)
Blues Away Bitters
fizzy water
ice
peach slices for garnish

You will also need:
small oven-safe glass tray
cocktail shaker
wooden spoon/muddler
tight-mesh sieve 

Preheat oven to 375. Halve the peach, remove the pit, place in a small oven-safe glass tray. Add half the honey on each peach half, and sprinkle rosemary over both halves. Cover with tin-foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool. (I did this before I cooked dinner so it was ready to go by the time we were about to sit down). When cooled, add peaches (and whatever liquid formed in the tray) to the cocktail shaker with the simple syrup, bourbon, and a few leaves of rosemary. Muddle ingredients, then add ice and shake well. Use the tight-mesh sieve to strain the cocktail into two tall glasses. Add ice, top with fizzy water, 1 dropperful of Blues Away Bitters. Garnish with a wedge of peach and sprig of rosemary. Enjoy! 

Peach Cobbler

5 large peaches, pitted
1 cup flour (using GF flour is fine!)
3/4 cup raw cane sugar (you can use even less)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375. Slice peaches and lay them in a square or rectangle shaped baking tray that's somewhere around 9 inches. The peaches will fill most of the tray. Mix all the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl until the texture feels gritty/crumby. Top the peaches with the crumble, and bake for about 30 minutes or until you see it sizzling, with the top starting to turn brown. I highly, highly recommend serving this fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream. 

It's no secret to anyone following me on Instagram, that I'm a lover of flowers. But of all flowers, Rose is queen! I'm grateful to live in Portland- the Rose City. And I'm even more grateful to live in a house that bursts with the most fragrant antique roses I've ever seen. Roses have a lot of medicinal uses- both energetically and for the skin. So, many of my products are made with Rose. From cradle to grave, Rose brings hope, trust, self-love, self acceptance, and is downright stress-relieving and magical. I'm sure anyone knows this intuitively when catching a whiff of a fresh rose bloom. Last summer I experimented with using roses in my kitchen, and this year since I have a blog, I'm sharing some of the recipes that I've enjoyed, with you. 

Rose Water 

Can be used as a base for Rose Lemonade, cocktails, or even the base for a smoothie! 

• 5-7 Fresh Fragrant Roses (best harvested in the early morning and processed right away)
• Distilled Water 
• Big Pot

This is pretty simple and basic. Just remove all the fresh petals, add them to the pot, and then cover the petals with distilled water. Cover the pot, and heat over a medium heat until it simmers lightly (don't bring to a full boil, and let it simmer lightly on low for 30 min. Cool, strain water into a jar. 

Rose Cashew Ice Cream

I enjoyed this- it's pretty rich, but definitely yummy and floral. It's nice to know that a dairy free ice cream can turn out so well. 

• 1.5 cups Raw Cashews
• 3 cups Water
• 1 cup Organic Cane Sugar
• 3 tablespoons of Rose Water (recipe above)
• Petals of 2 large fragrant roses, and some extra for garnish

First make the cashew mylk by soaking the cashews for 4-8 hours. Strain out the cashews and them to your high speed blender with 3 cups of water, blend on high for a couple of minutes. Strain the mylk in a nut mylk bag, and massage all the mylk/cream into a jar. You'll notice that the cashew mylk is more creamy than other nut mylks, but squeeze as much of it out as you can. I think this is why the ice cream comes out as good as it does! 

Now add the cashew mylk/cream back to the blender along with the sugar, rose water, and rose petals, blend it all together, and move the concoction to a small pot. Heat over a medium flame, stirring the whole time until you notice it thickening and heated. Again, don't boil! Remove the pot, let the mixture cool, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours to a day. When thoroughly chilled, process in your ice cream maker! Scoop and serve right away. Garnish with some fresh rose petals if you'd like, and enjoy!

Leftovers can be added to your morning smoothie. I really liked layering blended Rose Cashew Mylk Ice Cream on top of a coffee/cacao/maca/ashwagandha smoothie. 

Rose Petal Sorbet

This is my favorite recipe so far!

• 5 large fragrant Roses
• 1 cup of Simple Syrup
• 1/2 cup of Rosé (I haven't tried it, but I bet it would be fine with Rose Water instead)
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 Egg White

You can make simple syrup by heating 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water until all sugar is dissolved. Cool this syrup before use. Gather the petals from the roses, add to blender along with the rosé and lemon juice.

Blend on high till petals are blended up, strain into a jar with the cooled simple syrup. Shake together and chill in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Now's the fun part! Beat the egg white until it's "stiff." It took quite a lot of whisking to get the egg white to that point, but it was kinda cool.

Fold the stiff egg white into the chilled mixture. Add the mixture to the ice cream maker! If you don't have an ice cream maker you can use a shallow container that goes in the freezer, and just turn the frozen sides in a few times during the freezing process. (I've only done it with an ice cream maker, and it turned out a perfect consistency!).