Henny Penny Farmette

Potpourri mixtures are easy to create and their long-lasting fragrance can add an attractive visual appeal and fresh scent to any room. You can find many items in nature. Use a festive basket or crystal bowl for displaying your potpourri.

 

 

 

 

A five-pointed, dry and leathery pomegranate peel takes center stage in this potpourri

 

 

 

 

Go on a nature walk to hunt for materials (see the List of Potpourri Items below).

 

Visit a shop for spices–whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice.

 

Cut or purchase herbs (preferably dried)–lavender, rosemary, and mint.

 

Combine nature’s materials with spices, dried herbs, and dried citrus slices and peels.

 

Add rose petals, lavender buds, and/or pinecones and red cedar bark.

 

Arrange pretty seashells or small pieces of driftwood.

 

Include fresh leaves and berries from eucalyptus trees  and also he fuzzy seed pods of wisteria.

 

Put the potpourri in a pretty basket or cut crystal bowl; add a drop or two of essential oil if desired.

 

 

 

LIST OF POTPOURRI ITEMS

Combine using any of the following to create interesting mixes, textures, and colors.

Find other ideas for farm crafts and delicious recipes in A BEELINE TO MURDER.

Click here: http://tinyurl.com/nhdae39

The author and her debut cozy mystery, A BEELINE TO MURDER

It’s that time of year when the scents of cinnamon and apple potpourri mingle with hot mulled cider. Thank you, Johnny Appleseed.

Or should I say, thank you, John Chapman (1174-1845). Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, Chapman planted apple orchards on lands in the northeastern and mid-western parts of the United States, returning after several years to sell those orchards after they were producing.

He also gave away many trees and seeds. But he didn’t believe in grafting, and the trees he planted bore apples more suited to cider. See, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/real-johnny-appleseed-brought-applesand-booze-american-frontier-180953263/?no-ist

It was John Chapman’s father Nathaniel–a farmer–who encouraged his son to become an orchardist.  John planted more than a few orchards around the Midwest on lands he bought, owned, and sold. His life gave rise to the folk tradition of Johnny Appleseed. Today, there are many festivals that honor his life and work as well as a U. S. postage stamp.

Cox orange pippin apple on a two-year-old tree

Today, you don’t need a lot of land to grow an apple tree or two. Even a small piece of land can accommodate the fruit tree, thanks to the availability of dwarf and semi-dwarf varietals. Apartment dwellers and people who have limited space can even espalier an apple tree against a wall.

On the Henny Penny Farmette, we are growing the thin-skinned Cox Orange Pippin dessert apple, among others. This late-season varietal was first grown in 1825 in Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England. The flesh is orangey-red and the flavor is sweet and nutty. These apples can be eaten fresh, used in recipes, or made into cider.

If you have some cider on hand and would like to create the mulled apple cider flavor,  add a couple of cinnamon sticks, a teaspoon each of whole cloves and allspice with a half-gallon of cider and heat in a saucepan. Add a little orange juice or some slices of orange. After simmering for 8 to 10 minutes, strain the mulled cider into mugs. Consider making a batch of farmhouse doughnuts to accompany the cider.

FARMHOUSE DOUGHNUTS

Ingredients:

1 pkg. yeast

1 cup lukewarm milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

31/2 cups flour

1/4 cup canola oil, plus oil for frying

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Mix together the yeast and milk in a small bowl.

Combine flour with salt in a large bowl.

Add the yeast and milk to the flour and salt mixture and beat well.

Let the mixture rise for one-half hour.

Add all the other ingredients and beat well again.

Let rise for one hour.

Punch down the dough. If it appears too soft to roll out, add more flour.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and let the dough rest for ten minutes.

Divide the dough in half. Roll one section of dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut with a doughnut cutter. Repeat the process for the other half of the dough.

Let the doughnuts rise for about an hour; fry in oil at 360 degrees Fahrenheit. When the doughnut has turned brown, flip over. Take care not to burn.

Remove from doughnuts from hot oil and drain on paper towels.

Place doughnuts in a bag with granulated sugar and shake to coat. Makes approximately two dozen doughnuts and holes.

Invariably, when fall and winter holidays roll around each year, I find myself wishing that I’d planned ahead and utilized more raw materials from the garden for gift-giving. If you have had a similar experience, here are some ideas for turning what you grow into heart-warming gifts.

Seeds from the heads of giant sunflowers make great gifts

At summer’s end, harvest the seeds of your favorite flowers like cosmos, sunflowers, nasturtiums, zinnias, and even vegetables. Dry and re-package into paper envelopes that you hand-stamp, emboss, or otherwise embellish for gift-giving. Be sure to include information about how to grow the plant.

Rose petals, Spanish lavender, and French perfume lavender can be used to make a flower essences or potpourri

Flowers and herbs, picked at their zenith, can be turned into potpourri, fragrant soaps, soothing lotions, and skin moisturizers.

If you keep bees in your backyard garden, consider using the extra wax for dipping candles. Of course, honey is highly prized for its healthful properties, so be sure to jar up plenty of honey for gift-giving occasions.

Vines, berries, and pine cones are easily transformed into wreaths and dry arrangements.

A bottle of vodka, gin, or other spirits can be transformed into a gourmet gift by the addition of sun-ripened berries, herbs, vegetables (such a cucumber), or fruits and then stored in a dark, cool place for at least six weeks.

Gourds make lovely bird feeders and bird houses.

Dried chilies can be made into wreaths

Just imagine the delight a dried-pepper wreath, a garlic braid, or jars of dried beans and seeds might evoke.

Make sheets of homemade paper, incorporating  colorful rose petals, lavender, or pansies. Making paper is easy if you have a blender, some scraps of paper (junk mail works), and water.

Seed cakes, created from crunchy peanut butter, seeds, nuts, and dried fruit, make great gifts for bird lovers who can place them near feeders during the cold months when the bird must vigorously forage for food.

Re-potted cuttings of your garden favorites make lovely gifts for other gardeners in your family or circle of friends

Take cuttings in fall or early spring from your roses, dip the cuttings into root hormone, and plant the cuttings into a pot of soil that you keep damp until the roots have formed.  Or dig bulbs (bearded irises, for example) and place in a tin for gift-giving.

Preserve jars of pie-filling, do up crocks of pickles, or create mouth-watering chutneys and special relishes. Wrap the jar lids in gingham and ribbon. Use hot-water canning of fruit and citrus into jam, jelly, and marmalade. Place jars of these items into a  food basket, made festive with the addition of colorful tea towels or tissue paper and ribbon.

Use clean, dry corn husks for tamale-making, or craft them into corn husk dolls.

With a little forethought and advance planning, you’ll have plenty of backyard bounty to harvest and turn into gifts for almost any holiday or special occasion.