It seems like everywhere I go these days everyone is sick. Whether it’s a party or the grocery store it’s nothing but sniffling and coughing all around. Ick! Today’s treat is an effort to deliciously soothe or even help prevent winter sickness. It’s packed with vitamin C from fresh squeezed blood oranges, the ginger helps with headache and nausea, the raw honey is full of nutrients and throat soothing sweetness, and the cinnamon is rich is immune boosting minerals. Together they make a tasty symphony of soothing relief.
This concentrate is always ready to brew a delightful hot cup of yum. Keep it in the fridge in a jar and drop 3-4 spoonfuls in hot water whenever you feel like a soothing treat. It also makes a beautiful winter gift, especially to families with kids;)
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cups water
- 1 large hunk of ginger, peeled and coined (or 1 Tablespoon dried ginger)
- 5 pods cardamom (optional)
- 4 allspice berries (optional)
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 cup raw honey (or 1/3 cup for a less sweet drink)
~ Bring water to a boil in a pan and add the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and cinnamon sticks. Boil until liquid is significantly reduced, about 30 minutes.
~ Before cutting the citrus, roll them on the counter with your palm to release the juices. Squeeze all of the citrus juice.
~Once reduced, strain the concentrated spice mixture. Allow to cool slightly then add the honey and stir to dissolve. Add the citrus juice last, pour into jar/s and store in fridge.
~ To make tea, give the jar a gentle shake to mix up any spices that may have settled to the bottom and add 3-4 large spoonfuls of concentrate to hot water.
ENJOY and BE WELL!!
With fall rolling in it’s time to shift over to foods of a new season. It’s always exciting to see the year’s first harvest of a new food at the farmers’ market. This week I found bosc pears and nearly flipped my lid with happiness! The sweet, crunchiness of those ugly brown pears makes it truly feel like fall, despite the horrendously hot weather we’re still sweating through here in SoCal. Bosc pears give me hope of a cooler day! Ha! This autumn delight is as easy as can be and fairly healthy when compared to most sugar laden versions of caramelized fruits. We used honey to caramelize the pears instead of sugar which opens up all kinds of infusion possibilities. I used the chile infused honey we made a couple of weeks ago and it added a nice twist of complexity to an otherwise completely sweet dish. Feel free to use the infused honey of your choice and don’t forget to comment and let me know if you have a great infusion combo!
Here she is, your sweet, crunchy start to autumn…
- 1/4 cup honey, we used chile infused honey
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- pinch of ground cardamom
- several large pinches of ground cinnamon
- plain greek yogurt
- 2 bosc pears cored and halved lengthwise
- pomegranate seeds
~Heat honey and butter in a large skillet over low heat, The mixture should bubble a bit but not burn or turn brown.
~ Sprinkle the cuts sides of each pear half with the cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla bean.
~Place each pear half face down in warm honey, swirl the pears around in the skillet to coat evenly, cover with lid and cook until brown (about 4-5 minutes)
~Flip pears over and spoon honey over top. Cover and cook still over low heat for another few minutes.
~Remove and plate pears, drizzle with remaining honey syrup.
~Top pears with a generous dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.
ENJOY!!!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
This is sort of a new flavor profile for me. I tend to shy away from the spicy stuff and opt for a more savory taste, but sometimes you have to venture out of your comfort zone to try some amazing new things. It’s no secret that infused honey is AMAZING and an easy oh-so-useful way to make a simple, normal dish just a little bit more interesting. Infusing honey couldn’t be any easier so if you’re feeling lazy about the idea, have no fear! Wondering what in the hell you can do with chile infused honey?! You’re not alone, I had no idea either so I started experimenting and will feature a recipe for honey caramelized pears next week that uses this honey. In the meantime, it’s delicious drizzled on yogurt, biscuits (sooooo good on biscuits!!), grilled fruits and even chicken so don’t knock it ’til you rock it!
You can use any type of dried chile pepper you like such as Chipotle chiles for a sweet but hot smokiness or Guajillo chiles for a hot deep flavor. Also, your friends will Oooo and Aaaah at the gorgeous bottle of mystery nectar on your counter;)
- Dried chile peppers, you can use a variety or choose one
- Honey
~Warm honey in a saucepan over medium heat until liquified. Be careful not to let it scorch!
~Pour honey into a jar over the chiles and let cool to room temperature. Store at room temperature.
ENJOY!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
It’s always a bit sad when fig season comes to an end. This year it seemed especially brief but I’m not sure if it actually was or if I’m just being a big fig-loving baby! So to celebrate the season before it passes, here is just a simple roasted fig recipe stuffed with soft, crumbly goat cheese and drizzled with lavender and thyme infused honey. The infused honey makes this recipe a little more fragrant and delicious and is definitely worth the extra few minutes to make. If you have some fig recipes near and dear to your heart, please share them with us! There can never be enough uses for figs!
As a side note, a family member recently asked me what figs taste like and wondered if they were similar to prunes (yuck!). I told her that the best way I can describe a good fig is that it has a slightly seedy, soft, full-mouth feeling with a deep and subtle honey flavor. What do you think? How would you describe figs?
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
- 2 pints fresh figs
- goat cheese
~Heat honey in a pan over very low heat until liquified and add thyme and lavender. Let “steep”.
~Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
~Quarter figs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Stuff with goat cheese and roast in oven for 12 minutes until soft.
~Pour infused honey over figs and serve.
ENJOY!!!
So lately I’ve been celebrating (or exploiting;) the abundance of fresh sweet cherries from the farmer’s market. The most classic of all cherry recipes is the cherry clafoutis (kla-foo-tee) which is surprisingly easy to make. I’m not much for baking, but this recipe is a lovely rich custard that’s no more difficult that making pancake batter. That’s my kind of baking!
You can use all-purpose flour and most clafoutis recipes call for white flour, but I try to find interesting substitutes for white flour whenever possible. Even if the rest of this indulgent dessert is all eggs and cream, at least I can take solace in the fact the the flours in this recipe are full of fiber and healthy fats! The coconut and almond flour lend a nutty richness to this recipe you won’t get from white flour.
Traditional cherry clafoutis calls for un-pitted cherries. I pitted them for eating convenience but it’s your call!
- 3 cups whole cherries, pitted if you choose
- 5 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoons almond flour
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp ground vanilla bean
- coconut oil, melted if necessary
- powdered sugar
~ Wash, pit and let cherries dry. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~ Brush shallow baking dish with coconut oil and scatter cherries in this dish.
~ In a bowl, combine milk, cream, eggs, flours, honey, and vanilla bean powder with a hand mixer for a few minutes until thoroughly mixed.
~ Pour over cherries, place baking dish on cookie sheet in case it spills over, and cook for 45 minutes or more until the top is golden and the middle is ever so slightly jiggly.
~ Let cool then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
ENJOY!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
More honey time in the studio. Shooting honey has been extra fun because honey really has a life of it’s own and, unlike many food subjects like lettuce which just wilts and deflates, honey drips and oozes and bubbles and catches light differently with each frame. This makes for fun shooting but, admittedly, not so fun editing. What do ya’ll think of these? Does honey turn you on? 
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Oh, whip a hunk of honeycomb into a stick of softened butter for yet another new and fantastic compound butter experiment. You won’t regret it. The raw honey sealed inside a honeycomb is as pure as it get, a totally untouched and unadulterated flavor. Trust me, you will notice the difference!
Bees are incredible, industrious little soldiers working for the good of the group. If only we could take a page from their book and help each other out a bit more. I do my part to keep the bees happy in the garden and they do their part pollinating and supplying us with fresh, homegrown fruits, herbs and veggies. I’m a big fan of the bee:D This is part of a possible fine art mini series I’ve been playing around with. The geometry of the honeycomb, the precision, the brilliance, is an absolute marvel. Truly impressive and obnoxiously delicious!! Grab a spoon and a hunk of fresh bread and dive in!
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