The clock approached three a.m. last night as I finished preparing my first batch of lilac syrup, pouring the simple sugar syrup over the tiny, sweetly delicate-scented flowers. At midnight, I'd gone out on a neighborhood lilac foraging run up 62nd Street, since lilac season is so short and ours at home were already past prime. Now I had a pint of lilac blooms of various breeds, or enough for half the recipe.
I've been on an infused oil tack lately, but I haven't ever done much in the way of syrups. Time for that to change! They're not only easy, they're delicious, and can be highly medicinal. I've got a new horehound plant in the backyard whose bitterness all but demands a syrup preparation. Some herbs, especially woody ones, can't merely be steeped overnight to infuse a syrup, and will instead require an alcohol extraction. But with fresh floral syrups so easy to prepare, I can see myself making many more in the coming days!
Today is hazy and balmy, nearly eighty degrees, and I'm enjoying just being home and out in the sun. Tonight will be a time for more indoor arts, crafts, and writing, but for the moment I'm savoring the ambiance of our garden haven, since so much of my life currently is nocturnal (though I am also giving thanks for plenty in the bank, for once!).
My lilac syrup steeped overnight, and how beautiful the color is! Even before stirring, it was a rich mix of gold, orange and mauve. After I gave it a few twirls, the color from a few blueberries I added infused the whole mixture, turning it a deep warm plum. I'll leave it for one more night for extra flavor, then strain it tomorrow --- on Mother's Day, it so happens. The woman who posted the lilac syrup is a prolific and seemingly loving mother, and while I can't either call my mother anymore or engage my own motherhood yet in the literal sense, I can embrace the day to discover, celebrate and cultivate my nurturing, motherlike abilities.
But what else can I make on such a day? Hot weather begs a glass of fresh sun tea, and I remembered I have dried hibiscus. I gave it a jump start with still-hot tea water in the stove kettle, and the color deepened wonderfully! We've also been instructed to take a lot of Vitamin C lately. A spoonful if ginger juice added to a glass of this will make a lovely early summer tonic.
Gorgeous! The tea turned out super-tart but still very tasty.
This is a good time of year to celebrate abundance. Like talismans of fortune, the round seedpods of this "money flower" can be used to decorate altars. We have some growing in our yard. Looking like tiny flat envelopes, wallets or coin purses, these seedpods are in fact made to capitalize on wind power:
Update:
I liked my lilac syrup so much that I turned my refrigerated leftover hibiscus tea into syrup as well. It is very much "da bomb"; in other words, delicious. Sweet and tart all at once.
On a less happy note, thanks to my long work hours I did not manage to tend my wisteria infused oil frequently enough, with either heating or fresh flowers, aaand it molded. Drat. Back to square one again! I think I'll stick with the heated infused method this time; the long way is just too dodgy if your material is even slightly damp.
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