How to Plant & Care for Succulents

Succulents are plants that retain water, similar to a cactus. Their roots do not go down as deep as most plants because they hold their water in the body of the plant.  They like sunny areas and do not require much maintenance.  Try planting them in pots for your windowsill. 

A few years ago, this housewife decided to try growing succulents.  These plants are super easy to maintain. They come in many different varieties and are virtually impossible to kill (which is a plus).

                                      
What you will need:

Pots
Potting Soil and a scoop
Stones (get creative with these)
Variety of different types of succulents
Any other decorative clay or resin pieces (gnomes, fairies, mushrooms, etc.)

To Plant:

Fill the pots with soil up to about 3 inches from the top and water the soil. Plant the succulents and scoop the soil around the plants.  Water them and then let it sit for a day or at least 1 hour. This is done to settle the soil so that the plants are flush with the soil.  Water again and then add the stones and other decorations.  Put them in a window and lightly water every 4-6 days. Succulents are similar to cacti and need very little attention to survive.  If you ultimately kill them then perhaps you should not own plants….I’m just sayin’

Tea Cookies with Herbs

If you've been following my blog you know that this inquisitive housewife loves to combine ingredients that are not typically together.  In the past I've loved it when I've had herbs that have been mixed into jams and other sweets so I decided to come up with my own flavor combinations. Don't be shy! Try these recipes and you'll be a believer too.   

Lemon Cranberry Basil Cookies

1 C Unsalted Butter

¾ C Powdered Sugar

1 T Vanilla

2 C Flour

½ t Salt

½ C Dried Cranberries

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 Sprig of Fresh Basil, Chopped

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla. All flour and salt until combined.  Add cranberries, zest, and basil.

Shape into 2 logs, wrap tightly in plastic, chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Unwrap the dough and slice into ¼ inch slices.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes. Cool and serve.

Lavender Orange Shortbread

2 C Flour

1 ¼ t Salt

1 C Unsalted Butter

½ t Vanilla Extract

1 C Lavender Sugar

3 T Candied Orange Peel (or orange zest)

Mix together flour and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter for about 2 minutes and then add the sugar. Mix in the flour.  Mold into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Lightly roll out the dough to about ¾ inch thickness, trying to keep a rectangular form.  Cut it into squares and lightly prick the tops with a fork. Bake on a cookie sheet for about 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool and serve.

*Lavender sugar can be made by mixing 1 of cup of sugar and ¼ cup of dried lavender buds in a tightly sealed container. Ideally this should be made at least 1 month in advance.

Apricot Rosemary Jam Cookies

8 Oz Cream Cheese, Softened

½ C Unsalted Butter

2 C Flour

½ t Salt

1/3 C Sugar

2 t Vanilla

1 C Apricot Jam (or any other jam) 

2 Sprigs Rosemary, Chopped

2 Egg Yolks + 1 T Cold Water

*Mix jam and rosemary preferably 1 day ahead of time

Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the flour, vanilla and salt. Mold into 2 separate balls, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface. Either cut into 2 ½ X 2 ½ inch squares or with a large star cookie cutter.  Put onto a cookie sheet and spoon about 1 t of jam into the center. Fold over the pointed ends and brush with the egg wash. Bake immediately or put it back in the refrigerator until ready to bake.  Bake about 17-20 minutes.  Cool and serve.

Lavender Honey Almond Cookies

2 ½ C Flour

½ t Salt

¾ C Sliced Almonds

1 C Butter

¼ C Sugar

2/3 C Honey (use 1/3 C in the dough, remaining s for drizzling)

1 T Dried Lavender Buds

In a food processor, finely chop the almonds. 

Beat the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes.  Add the almonds, honey, lavender and flour.  Shape into 2 logs, wrap tightly in plastic, chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Unwrap the dough and slice into ¼ inch slices.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes. Brush or drizzle with remaining honey while cooling.

Valentine's Sweets for your Sweetie

Valentine Heart Boxes

Like many of my do it yourself craft projects, I leave a lot of the imagination up to you.  Below are the different items that you my use to decorate these boxes.  Vintage Valentine’s cards can be found in antique stores.  Of course it’s best to find your supplies around Valentine’s Day.  Start by painting the boxes, inside and out before you decorate them.

You Will Need:

Heart shaped boxes

Paints (I like the metallic ones)

Old Valentines or scrap papers

Glitter and glue

Heart scraps and Dresden’s

This box had some decorative indentions in it.  I decided to paint it pink and then lightly follow the pattern with gold paint.  I decorated cherub scrap paper with glitter and then glue it to the lid.  Then I glued a small gold star shaped Dresden’s to the sides and then jewels in the center of each one.

By using heart shapes that are larger than the box, this style closely resembles a chocolate candy box.   I cut out red cardstock in the shape of a foil heart doily and then glued them together.  Then glued one as the base and one on top of the lid.  Then I decorated it with a heart shaped foil Dresden and a flower scrap paper.  Glittering flower scraps are difficult so I just glittered the edges.

This box uses an old Valentine that I embellished with glitter.  I glued it to a gold foil heart doily and then to the lid.  I happened to have a long gold foil border which is a long strip.  I trimmed up the bottom and glued it on.

Chocolate Truffles

There are so many ways to flavor truffles.  I’m always trying to come up with new flavors.  When “inventing” a new flavor, use extracts, dried fruits, citrus peels, and spices.  You don’t want to add a lot of liquid, so think concentrated. Coat them in cocoa, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.  When choosing your chocolate, don’t be cheap.  I won’t name names, but there is a very popular “chocolate morsel” that I do not recommend for anything unless it’s chocolate chip cookies.  You don’t have to spend a lot, but use the better chocolate chips at your local grocery store. Semi-sweet chocolate is traditionally 35% chocolate liquor and 12% milk solids. Below is my basic truffle base.

Basic Truffle Base

1/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream

6 T Unsalted Butter

2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Cocoa Powder, Approx. ¾ C

Over  double boiler (pot of light boiling water with a metal bowl over it), heat the cream and the butter.  Stir in the chocolate.

*at this point you would add your flavoring

Let it cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and scoop them out.  Roll them into a   ball and then in the cocoa powder (or nuts, sprinkles).

*I find this to be very messy as this point.  My tips are to use a small ice cream scoop and to roll them lightly and quickly and put them into the cocoa in approximately multiples of 6 at a time. The heat from your hands will melt them. 

Clean and dry your hands, and then roll it in the cocoa.  I recommend storing them in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes before serving but refrigeration is not necessary.

My Most Inquisitive Flavors:

Dried cherries with chopped pistachios

Crystalized ginger with fresh orange zest, rolled in white and black sesame seeds

Crispy bacon with maple syrup and cracked pepper (substitute the butter for the rendered bacon fat)

Dried cranberries rolled in pecans

Port reduction with almonds

Nutella rolled in chopped hazelnuts

Chocolate Marzipan Candies

Marzipan is traditionally made by grinding whole almonds with sugar or sugar syrup and drying it into a paste.  It is popular in European deserts including cake icing, stollen, fruit cake, chocolate candies and rolled into figurines of animals, fruits, and vegetables. The recipe below is best with baking marzipan which is a slightly finer paste.

Melt semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave.  Fill chocolate molds slightly less than half way. Pick up the mold into the air and carefully rotate it so that the chocolate coats the entire mold.  Refrigerate for bout 2-5 minutes.

Take the marzipan and roll it into small balls.  Put them into the molds and then cover with chocolate to the top.  Let them cool completely and then pop them out of the container. Serve as is or in small baking cups.