Recipes for Rose Hips

One way to prolong summer after your roses die, is to find ways to eat roses! Rose Hip Jelly, for instance, is fairly easy to make. For Rose Hip Jelly, you will need the following:

Rose hips
water
apple juice
pectin
sugar
paraffin (for sealing canning jars)

Remove the stems and wash the rose hips; then for every cup of rose hips, add two cups of water in a large pan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Using a potato masher, carefully mash the rose hips in the water, and simmer for 10 minutes more. Carefully pour the mixture in a glass or stainless steel container and set aside for 24 hours. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth bag or a fine strainer. Don't push the mixture too firmly or the jelly will be cloudy. Put the juice in a pan and for 2 cups rose hip juice, add 1 cup apple juice and 1 box pectin. Bring this mixture to a good, rolling boil. Stir in 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar. Boil for 6 or 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until jelly is thicker. Remove from heat and skim off the top with a slotted spoon. Pour in to sterilized canning jars. Cover with melted paraffin (follow the directions on the box). After the paraffin sets, put the lid on, label or decorate the jar and store in a cool place.

Or perhaps you would prefer Rose-Hip Soup. Directions for making the soup are fairly simple.

3 cups rose hips
Extra water if needed
3/4 cups sugar
dash salt
Thickening agent, such as potato flour, cornstarch or tapioca, mixed with water to make a paste
1/4 cup chopped almonds
whipped cream

You will need to place 3 cups fresh, well-washed rose hips in 3 pints boiling water. Cover and cook until tender, straining by forcing the softened hips through a sieve. Take 4 1/2 cups liquid from this process, adding cold water to finish out the amount if necessary, and return to pan. Add 3/4 cups sugar and a dash of salt. Mix 1 1/2 Tablespoons potato flour with a little water to form a smooth paste, and stir it in to the mix to thicken the soup. Or, if you prefer you can make a paste with cornstarch or tapioca. Either will work as a thickener. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into a soup tureen. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped almonds on top. Chill soup. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Whether you prefer stopping to see and smell the roses, wearing the lingering fragrance on your skin, or allowing the essence to fill your mouth, roses can continue to delight the senses all the year round.

UPDATE: Ok, I should clarify some things. A post by the lovely and fascinating Protege about the rose hips that grew in her part of the world reminded me that I had some old recipes of Swedish origin that used rose hips. I haven't actually made these with my own rose hips. For one thing, any roses using pesticides probably shouldn't be eaten, and also, if you prune the roses for more blooms, they don't have a chance to form the hips. If you go here and here, you can find out more information, recipes and warnings.

June Roses

Eating Roses

I was at the grocery recently and found a new little section featuring foreign foods. The one that caught my eye was a small packet labeled Sultan's Turkish Delight! Being a "Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" fan, I had always wondered what would make Edmund choose Turkish Delight when he could choose anything he liked. This tiny package was a bit expensive, both in price ($1.59) and calories (200), but, like Edmund, I simply couldn't resist.

Later, after lunch, I opened the package and found a small rectangular candy covered in milk chocolate. I bit slowly in to it, revealing a jewel tone raspberry colored filling. I recoiled a bit from the texture, which resembled something between figs and gummy bears. Or maybe gumdrops. Not something I am at all fond of. But at the same time, my mouth filled with the unmistakable fragrance of roses! I read the package. The filling, mostly sugar, was also suffused with rose water. It was hard to discern whether I was truly tasting it, or smelling it. I took another nibble. The chocolate joined together with the roses to form an irresistibly unique sensation. The filling's texture didn't seem so bad. Really, it was almost... good. Another nibble. This time I just let the roses waft through me, the texture setting it off perfectly. I had never eaten anything like it!
Perhaps it is magic food after all. Legend has it a certain sultan, trying to amuse and please his harem, had been experimenting with perfume. Then he decided to turn his hand to candy, and created this seductive delicacy. Perhaps there is more to the story. Perhaps a genie, owing one more wish, was pressed in to service and the candy had special, magical ingredients ideal for soothing the fretful. Maybe you grew up on Arabian Nights, but never truly believed them. If so, you had better avoid anything labeled "A Product of Turkey." Or else you, too, may end up, mouth full of roses, and under the Sultan's spell!

Blogaversary

One year ago today I began this blog. I had been talking about starting one; talking but never doing. Finally my husband sat me down in front of the computer and said it was time. We both felt it would be a good bridge to more disciplined writing habits. Even though I'd been thinking about doing it, I'd never really thought out the details, but it was crunch time. I decided to name it All About Whatever so I wouldn't be locked in to one subject. The next day I discovered my header verse, one I had always liked, but now the 'whatever's' jumped out at me. When my husband asked me what my screen name would be, for some reason a conversation with my son about a rose bush came to mind. I have a McCartney rosebush that has large, fragrant and prolific pink blooms. If I had known this particular rosebush had ambitions to take over the world, I would not have planted it so close to the walk and the porch, but I had no idea it would get so big. It is at least 8 feet tall as well as wide. I nicknamed it "Rosezilla" and my son joked that he kept Round-Up in his room in case it snuck in to murder us all in our beds some night! I had a perfect picture of a double bloom from it that I chose for the Profile picture, and I decided to use the psuedonym Rosezilla for my blog, with the whimsical idea in the back of my mind that it would be as if the rosebush had it's own blog. I didn't really think anyone would be reading anyway. I had no idea I would meet so many lovely people, so many new friends all over the world who honor me by taking the time to read what I am writing, and who write such interesting things of their own. Following is one of my earliest entries, written in January of last year. But it's just as true this January!

Winter in Florida.

The sun is shining down like a benediction from a flawless sky, sapphire-blue and cloudless. A variety of small birds sing their hearts out from sheer happiness. Several larger birds ride the wind currents, strong and powerful daredevils breathtaking in their freedom. Squirrels are clowning around on the power lines like tiny performers in a circus highwire act. Butterflies flutter by, weaving among the roses in tantalizing flashes of orange and yellow. The roses lift their faces to the sun, perfect buds in pink, red, white or yellow slowly opening, gently releasing their soft perfume into the beauty of the day. It is winter in Florida once again.

Stop and Smell the Roses

It's easy to lament the thorns on the roses... but do you ever think how amazing it is that there are roses among the thorns?

It's just a Monday in August. Take a moment to stop and smell the roses! It's a good way to follow the exhortation, "Be still, and know that I am God." See how He says "I love you" ?

Planting and Growing Roses

For those of you who have always heard that roses are too hard to grow, I have good news for you! They really don't take nearly as much work as is rumored. I plant roses in Florida and have had very good luck with them. I thought maybe I could share a few tips and possibly increase the rosebush population! I think the most important thing is getting the right kind of roses. In Florida, the best kind is fortuniana root stock roses, grown in pots. They are grown specifically for Florida's soil and climate conditions, so they are hardy year round, regardless of rainy season or dry. A garden center or nursery is more likely to carry the right kind than the local hardware store is. At our local garden center they cost about $20.00. This may seem high, but they are guaranteed for a year, and I can attest to how beautifully they grow and bloom.

Once you've decided on which rose bushes you want, you've got to find the perfect spot to plant them. They really need at least six hours of sunshine a day directly on them. If you plant them where they will be shaded all morning by your house, or half the afternoon by a tree, they won't do as well. Ours went crazy once the tree in our front yard was taken down by Hurricane Wilma! I miss our tree, but one of the roses is about 8' tall by 8' around now, so it is practically a tree itself! Also, your roses need to be 4' apart. That way they get air flow, plenty of sun, and they don't share any mites, mildew or black spot as easily!

Water the rose thoroughly with root stimulator. Next, dig a hole 12" deep and 24" wide. This is very important. The roots get lazy and won't grow in to the surrounding soil if it is too tightly packed. If you dig a big enough hole, the roots will have room to expand easily and will be strong enough to go further. Mix the following ingredients well, in a wheelbarrow: One cubit foot of of organic compost, one cubit foot of Black Cow Manure, one cubic foot of the soil you are planting in, out of the hole you dug, one cup of bone meal and 1/4 cup of super phosphate. Mix well with a shovel or hoe. Fill the hole half way with the mixed soil. Place one hand across the top of the pot and turn the rose upside down. Place the other hand on the bottom of the pot and remove your rose carefully. Put the rose in the middle of the hole and make sure the soil around the rose is level with the top. Don't cover the stem and graft. Fill the hole with the mixed soil. Water slowly, then fill again if needed. Now you may want to place a mulch mat tree ring around the rose to help with weeds. On top of that, you can put decorative rocks if you like. We put paving stones around each rose in a pattern as well, as more protection. We like mulch or a pretty ground cover between the roses, but of course you can always do rocks all around as is popular. If you don't want to do these things, at least make sure you don't let mulch, grass or weeds get up close around the bottom of the rose. The rose will like to drain well and not be smothered with anything.

About three weeks after planting, you'll want to begin fertilizing. I use Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower Care. It is a fertilizer and insecticide all in one. I pour a capful of the granules around each rose bush every six weeks or so, and it works really well. One time when things were very dry, I got some mites on the rose leaves, and I had to spray a fungicide on them, but that killed them and I've never had them again. Other than this, I water them if it isn't raining enough, and deadhead them. And of course, pull any adventurous weeds that get past all my barriers. As for deadheading them, the old way of cutting back to the first branching out isn't necessary. I snip off the old rose right behind the neck, and the bushes bloom much more prolifically then they ever did in the past. If there is ever a cane growing under the graft, I snip it off right to the root, but otherwise I only prune to shape a little. If a branch grows out across the path, I prune it at an angle so the new growth will go up, for instance. Sometimes the bush will be covered with roses, then they will be spent, so it kind of ebbs and flows that way, but different bushes bloom at different times, so I truly do have roses year round. I hope you'll try it too. The world can always use more roses!

Gardening in Florida

Roses, Roses, Roses