Hiya all!
Here’s a simple and easy-peasy recipe for Stovetop Potpourri. This particular brew is the one I like for using Christmas, with oranges and apples, whole cloves, cinnamon quills and vanilla beans, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a dash of vanilla essence for luck! I use this gorgeous little Turkish Coffee pot to brew my mix, but a small saucepan or an old kettle would do the job just fine!
You can use anything you like. Lemon, lime, oranges, mandarin, granny smith apples, rosemary, mint, lavender and rose petals are some of my favourites – fresh, dried or frozen! To dry the peel, I either hang the spirals to air-dry or leave the pieces in a cane basket with plenty of airflow. I also keep a snap-lock bag with citrus and granny smith apple peel and cores in the freezer to use whenever I need them for stovetop potpourri. I dry all of my roses and lavender throughout the season after enjoying them in the vases, some in bowls and some in pretty jars on a shelf, my own natural apothecary!
I like to mix cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl to scent my kitchen like Christmas all year round! I usually use a heaped teaspoon in my stovetop potpourri, and once the fruit is in the pot loosely, top it up with water. Simmer on VERY low heat, check the water level often, or take off the stove once hot and stand on a trivet to scent a room. Once the brew’s done, I put the remains in my compost, but if you don’t have a compost bin, drain the excess water off and deodorise the bin to smell nice, too! I make a fresh pot daily during the holiday season.
For a thoughtful gift from your own kitchen, pop a little cello bag of the dried spice mix attached to a whole orange or lemon with a ribbon, handwrite a tag, and you’re done! Personally, I like homemade gifts best of all; to be able to make someone else happy or to receive and enjoy a gift from somebody else is the best, especially if you are lucky enough to have grown it in your own garden.
As Cicero said: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
So true for this little Christmas Elf.
Happy brewing!
Mx
