Pink Saturday - Roses & Give A Way

I want to dedicate this post to our friend Paul, who passed away tonight (3-26-2010), and to his beautiful wife Susan. May God comfort you dear friend.



Welcome to Pink Saturday, I hope you are enjoying all the fun pinks that are being shared. To see the list of Pink bloggers visit Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound. If you would like to share some Pink, Beverly tells you how.

Last weeks Pink Saturday post featured part 1 about roses and their many uses besides beauty in the garden or on a table.

This week I want to share a couple recipes with you and perhaps a few craft ideas. I am also having a give a way, read on down to the bottom for the info about that. The pictures are for you viewing enjoyment, they are from my former garden.




















Rosewater: Place a brick or flat rock in a large canning pot. Surround the brick with rose
petals and cover the petals with water. Keep the water level below the top of the brick. Place
an empty stainless steel bowl on the brick. On top of the canning pot, invert a lid and fill it
with ice. Place canning pot on high heat until all water is evaporated from the petals and
distilled into the bowl. The water that collects in the bowl is rose water and can be used in cosmetics, food, or as a refreshing beverage. You can also buy rose water, a good place is
Mountain Rose Herbs

BE SURE TO USE ORGANIC PETALS! You don't want to use petals that have been sprayed with bug killer, it will transfer to your rose water.



















Rosebead Recipe: (from Herbalpedia)
½ lb fresh fragrant rose petals
¼ lb fine salt
½ oz each of cloves and allspice
Pound the ingredients together in a mortar or grind in a meat or grain grinder. (If
your rose petals are not moist enough to form balls, boil them in a small amount of water
first.) Shape into balls, sliding a thick needle or toothpick through the center for a hole. They
will shrink and dry in a few days and continue to harden with age. When very hard, they can
be polished with vegetable oil.
You can also go to The Essential Herbal to get prepared powders to make rose beads, as well as several other plants that they have put together. I have used the powders and they are great.



















Rose Petal Jam
4 cups rose petals
1¼ cups water
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp rose water
Gently simmer the rose petals in water for 15 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and
sugar and bring again to the boil, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved.
Cook steadily for 15-20 minutes, until the jam starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and
stir in the rose water. Pour into sterile jelly glasses and seal. (The Herbal Connection Collection)




















Rose Candy
2 cups fresh fragrant rose petals
2 cups confectioners sugar
hazel nuts (shelled)
Place the rose petals in a food processor with ½ cup of the confectioners sugar (no liquid
needed) blend until the petals and sugar start to become liquid.. Add the rest of the sugar
gradually until the mixture thickens. Remove from the food processor and place on a flat
surface and knead in more confectioners sugar. Roll in small marble sized pieces with more
confectioners sugar. Place each piece on waxed paper and flatten slightly. Press a hazelnut into
the top of each piece. Let air dry for several hours. Store in the freezer.



Rose-Brandy Liqueur
2 oz fresh rose hips (or 1 oz dried)
1 cup fresh rose petals or ½ oz dried
½ cup red grape juice
3-4 tablespoons honey
a good grating of nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cloves
1 ½ cups brandy
Sterilize and rinse a wine bottle or similar bottle. If you use dried rosehips, soak them for
24 hours before use. Pour grape juice into a pan. Chop each rose hip in half and add, with
all ingredients except petals and brandy, to grape juice. Warm over a gentle heat. When the
mixture is warm and honey dissolved, allow it to cool. Put the petals in a sterilized bottle, and
add the brandy and grape juice mixture. Seal it and store in a warm place, such as an airing
cupboard, for 10 days. Strain and rebottle. This will be cloudy, but will clear after a few weeks,
at which point you can strain it off, leaving the sediment in the original bottle if you wish. The
liqueur is ready to enjoy after 6-8 months after the original straining.



















I hope you have enjoyed getting a feel for roses, these recipes are from Herbelpedia, I confess I have not tried them but they are some I want to try, when I get roses again. Sigh. If your so inclined you can do a search and find alot more recipes.

Now on to the give away. I figured I should show you what your getting.

2 - 4 ounce bars of Creamy Rose Milk Soap.





































I unwrapped one to get a picture of the bar for you. Pretty isn't it. This soap has, goats milk, oils, including rose hip seed oil, pink clay. It is creamy and perfect for the face.

To enter, leave a comment for 1 chance to win and become a follower for a second chance (be sure and tell me).

Drawing will be on next Pink Saturdays post. Good Luck.