Rose-ade -- a beverage flavored with rose petals

the finished rose-ade, ready for consumption

I wanted to update you on the rose beverage I began last week. First of all, although the articles I read suggested it was a rose "lemonade," it tasted nothing like lemonade. However, it was quite nice, despite the misnaming.

Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'

To make it, after rinsing the rose petals (Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'), I infused an extra large handful of the petals only in a quart glass jar of water on the kitchen counter. I had read some people make this as a sun tea, but we're stuck in a cool and cloudy pattern right now with very little sun. 

beginning of infusion -- the water is still clear

So on the counter it went. I waited 2 days. 

after 2 days -- the water is peachy in color

The water part had become ever so slightly peach-colored. I strained the petals out and took a whiff of the liquid. It was lightly rose-like. 

I sweetened the liquid with honey until it tasted sweet enough then added 1 teaspoon of bottled lime juice. (I would have used lemon juice, but I was all out.)

Both my daughters and I enjoyed the rose-ade. We couldn't get my husband to even try it. Perhaps this isn't the beverage for men. But us ladies thought it was good. I would definitely make it again as a special beverage, but not every week. Rose petals contain a small amount of vitamin C, so this could actually be a beneficial-to-one's-health type of beverage.

The type of rose I used has only a slight fragrance. A heavily perfumed English rose may be overpowering in a beverage, in my opinion.

I'm something of an adventurer when it comes to scavenging food from the landscape. I enjoy trying new things, so this was right up my alley.

By the way, I've been collecting additional rose petals and dehydrating them. I'll use these in tea this coming winter.

Cheap & Cheerful Meals for Early June

Friday
homemade pepperoni pizza, rhubarb-vanilla sauce, cream of sorrel soup

Saturday
pancakes, sausage, carrots sticks

Sunday
refried beans, homemade tortillas, garden green-lentil sprout salad

Monday
meatloaf and gravy, crockpot polenta, roasted turnips, sautéed turnip greens/onions/garlic, rhubarb-koolaid jello, freezer brownies

Tuesday
rice & lentils with leftover turnip greens and 4 oz sausage (I used chives and garlic greens from the garden in place of store-bought bulb onions and garlic), leftover jello, leafy green garden salad with oil/vinegar dressing, brownies

Wednesday
ham, lentil, vegetable soup, cinnamon-raisin scones

Thursday
tuna salad on nasturtium leaves. carrot sticks, toasted homemade bread, rhubarb custard pie, chocolate chip cookies

This the rhubarb and Koolaid jello salad from earlier in the week. About a month ago, my daughter made a pitcher of an orange colored Koolaid that she said tasted like citric acid, so she didn't want to drink it. (She's the only one who drinks the Koolaid.) She paid for the Koolaid packet, but she used my sugar. I didn't want this to be wasted, so I told her I'd make something with the Koolaid. What I did was I stewed chopped rhubarb in some of the Koolaid, added a bit more sugar until it tasted right. I pureed the stewed rhubarb with an immersion blender, then set it with plain gelatin. Everyone loved it.

curried lentils with peanuts and homemade plum chutney -- made a great lunch for us on Thursday

Lunches
garden green/lentil sprout salads with oil/vinegar dressing, grape leaf-rice-lentil-dill weed soup, homemade hummus and crackers, curried lentils with homemade plum chutney, leftovers

Breakfast
toast, homemade yogurt, homemade instant oatmeal (I made a new batch this week)
I have this theory that we use less milk on cooked cereals like oatmeal than we do on dry cereals like Cheerios. My idea is there are so many places the milk can "go" in a bowl of Cheerios. Whereas in a bowl of cooked cereal, the milk can only sit on top. Anyway, just trying to stretch our use of milk a tad. In addition, cooked oatmeal is a whole lot cheaper than boxed dry cereal.

this is a rhubarb custard pie with a crumb topping   recipe in this link

Desserts and Baked Goods

homemade cinnamon rolls, rhubarb-Koolaid jello, scratch brownies, scratch chocolate chip cookies, homemade rhubarb pie, a 3 loaf batch of French bread dough baked in loaf pans

My family agreed, the best meal of the week was Monday's dinner. These were the first turnips of the season. I oven-roasted the roots and sautéed the greens. Turnip greens are a bit bitter, yet we enjoy them, especially with a salty meal like meatloaf and gravy. I did the polenta in the crockpot, as Kris had mentioned she does. And I used regular cornmeal. In the past, I've always used polenta cornmeal. I'm glad to now know that regular cornmeal will work in polenta, too.

We're shifting our eating to more and more garden produce while at the same time trying to use up the last of the produce from summer 2021. So many yummy foods to make, so little tummy space.

That's what was on our menu. What was on yours?