Tag: healthy herbs

Tips and tricks on how to freeze fresh turmeric 

In the kitchen🌶 Busy working in the kitchen since morning more it looks like a working in a turmeric processing factory 🙂 

Making fresh turmeric paste to freeze this morning while cooking my breakfast 🙂

It’s too much turmeric to dry so decide to grind half of it to paste and freeze in a ziplock bags. Filled up four bags with turmeric paste, that speed up the process of taking care of half the turmeric I harvested this season and half of it just shredded in food processor and left it outside to dry, feel accomplished 🙂

While working in the kitchen, also made my breakfast 🙂

Sautéed one zucchini with 

One green pepper

Couple of cloves of garlic 

Added 

Olive oil 

Salt

Red chili powder 

One tablespoon of hot salsa

It cooks so fast in a minute 

So delicious 🙂

I like this kind of breakfast, it takes so little time, effort and just couple of ingredients, specially when you busy doing other things, yes I also finished my breakfast while working with turmeric 🙂

Now cleaning the kitchen is another story 🙂

Have a good day ❤️

Tips on how to make turmeric powders from garden fresh turmeric🌱 

My favorite time of the year autumn🍁time to harvest, season to celebrate to appreciate and show our gratitude towards nature.🍃
Turmeric is always a last thing to harvest in the garden. It takes almost month of November from start to finish.
I already harvested some earlier and made pickles.

I harvested  some more to dry and make powder to use in every day cooking.

How to dry turmeric:

First , need to wash good few times , peeled the skins, wash one more time to make sure no dirt remain in it.

After washing and peeling, towel dry so no water remains 

Some people boils the turmeric, than sun dries, I don’t like to boil, it’s not necessary as it will loose some nutrition from the turmeric roots, plus it will boil and cook when you use in cooking, 

So no need to boil or cook twice, doesn’t make sense in my opinion.

Ok now slice all the turmeric, small pieces is better so will dry faster.

Spread all the turmeric in trays with clothes or paper towels in sunny spots 

I dried mine in my front porch 

Turn it upside down everyday, until it dries completely.

In summertime , or after summer depending on your climate,turmeric  should be completely dried  and ready to process to make powder.

It took three days to dry completely, thanks to Georgia weather, extremely hot here in south.

How to make turmeric powder
You can make powder two ways

Using coffee grinder

Using blender

 1 : using coffee grinder

coffee grinder is easiest way to make power

it works perfectly grinds so quickly, try few at a time.

if you want fine powder, use sifter couple of times

Your turmeric power should be ready to use.

2 : how to make turmeric power using blender

You can also use blender, in that recipe

You wash, clean and towel dry turmeric, make small pieces and grind few at a time at a time

that will give tiny pieces of turmerics, which you put it out in sun to dry again

When that dries,

you grind again that should give you powder like consistency, leave it out on counter, in case any moisture remains in it

Next day or whenever you have time, you grind one more time,you will get your turmeric power ready to sieve to get fine power of turmeric.

You have your home made turmeric powder ready to use in cooking, smoothies, tea,turmeric milk or just add in your favorite juice.

Nothing like garden fresh dried turmeric. 🌱

Whole kitchen is full of pure turmeric smell, color also very vibrant than commercial store bought package turmeric powder,.

since it’s pure and highly concentrated in flavor and nutrition you only need pinch or two in cooking.🌱
Happy and excited to see the finished product 🙂

I still can’t believe I made my own turmeric powder 🙂
Just amazed, excited and happily content with the finished product,.

do appreciate the gift of nature🌱

Hope you like the two method I used to make powder.

You can also freeze your turmerics 

For more about turmerics

How to freeze 

How to use

Recipes for turmeric pickles

Turmeric tea

Turmeric milk

And more alread  posted here on this website if interested 

Thank you for visiting 

Do like the page and share to inspire others 

Thank you

Tips and tricks on how to collect, dry and save tulsi seeds

Harvested and saved tulsi seeds🍃

Simple, easy and more efficient way to collect tulsi seed.

When you go in garden to collect those dry and turned brown seed pods ,

Take a sieve or colander along with large container. As you pick up seed pod harves indirectly in sieve.

As I harvested my tulsi seed pods in pictures , look at the picture to give you better idea.

Reasons to harvest straight in sieve that

You going to have to use this important utensil when you want to separate seeds from seed pods, so why not from the beginning that way it saves a few steps of harvesting and you less chances of loosing any seeds from moving here to there.

You can then leave the seed pos for few days to make sure all will be dried completely.

Once it dried and ready to separate 

Just scrape all the dry seeds pods from the tiny dry stems 

Rub all the dry seeds with the dry skin in same utensil, pressing against it with your hands, you can use two hands to rub too 

Most of seeds will separate and go through sieve with some powdery brown which you can blow out on a gentle breeze day., 

It this stage you Should have a much cleaner seeds to save.

Do not through away the waste of dry seed pods you just separate, as there might be some seeds stuck in it too, so throw then in you herb garden or whatever you want them to grow again, you will be amaze to see when it grows some plants from it.

Here some pictures to give you better idea.

Hope this helps to collect tulsi seeds more efficiently.

Do like the page to see more on herbs, vegetables, flowers and trees and share to inspire others.

Thank you🍃

Turmeric pickle

imageThis turmeric pickle stays fresh for long time if you keep it in a refrigerator. I grow turmeric in my garden so every fall when I harvest fresh turmeric, I make this pickle for whole year. This pickle is spicy, healthy and full of flavor.

Let’s make a turmeric pickle.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh turmeric. Peeled, washed, towel dry and sliced or shredded.
2 tsp salt or less according to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3 table spoon red chili powder. Add more or less according to your taste.
2 tsp mustard seeds crushed.
2 tsp fenugreek seeds crushed.
2 tsp pickle masala available in any Indian grocery stores. You can make this pickle without pickle masala too. I like to add pickle masala for extra taste.
1 tsp sugar.
2 fresh lemon’s juice. Make sure you take out seeds.
1 cup mustard oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of hing or asafetida powder.
You can use any spice more or less , if you don’t like taste of mustard oil  you can use half mustard oil and half olive oil.

Cooking:
Now let’s heat oil in a saucepan on a medium heat
When oil starts moving around in pan, that means oil is ready
Add mustard seeds
When mustard seeds starts spluttering or cracking turnoff the heat, take oil pan to one side .
Add pinch of hing in hot oil and let it cool.
While oil is cooling
Prepare turmeric for pickle
In a large bowl
Place shredded turmeric
Add salt, turmeric powder and lemon juice first
Mix it well until incorporated.
Now add remaining ingredients
Starting with
Crushed mustard seeds
Crushed fenugreek seeds
Pickle masala if you have
Red chili powder
Sugar
Mix all the spices well in shredded turmeric
Now wait for oil to cool down completely.
Meanwhile make jar ready for pickle by washing with
Dish detergent in hot water and dry completely.
By this time oil should be cool and ready to use
Add oil in turmeric pickle
Mix it all well until everything incorporated.
Your turmeric pickle is ready to store in a jar.
Keep it refrigerated

Your turmeric pickle is ready to enjoy with your everyday meals. It’s healthy for you and adds touch of a zest to any food you eat with.

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Hope you like this recipe.
Do like the page and inspire others 

Thank you❤️

Tips on how to grow strong, bushy and healthy tulsi a holy basil.

Tips on how to grow tulsi, a holy basil strong, healthy and bushy tulsi, a holy basil plants.

We all know how important tulsi a holy basil as a medicinal herbs for its many health benefits.

However I want to point out few tips 

on how to grow tulsi plant to produce more healthy leaves on much stronger branches for much longer time 

And if you are like me who also like to harvest seeds, then end of the season you can let them flower to go seeding and you will have lots of seeds for next season, you never have to buy seeds, will show you my last years tulsi in garden with lots of seeds 🙂

If you don’t do nothing plant will start flowering and stop producing leaves

If you cut the top the single stem will not grow much leaves, so you want your plant to produce more branches to grow more stronger plant.

I try to make as simple as I can

First 

When tulsi plant is about six inches tall 

Look at the plant closely 

You will see new sets of leaves on both side of stems 

When plant has a about 4 sets of leaves and tiny baby leaves growing on top

That’s a time to cut the top part 

Now before you cut the top 

Make sure you cut the top above the last set of two leaves

You want to keep those two leaves , which will start producing two branch on both side of main stem

So now those two branches will have four sets of leaves quickly, since you already cut the top of main stem

Now again repeat the same process on two branches

Cut the top of those two branches making sure you cut above the last leaves 

That’s very important because you want those two branches to grow new branches, each one produce two more branches and so on..

Plant will grow much more strong branches which will produce leaves for long time.

In short :

When plant is about six inches tall cut the top above last set of two leaves, that very important to grow more branches and leaves.

At some point you will have enough leaves harvested, you might want your plants to produce seeds, then let them flower to produce seeds to harvest for next season.

After drying some and freezing some leaves for winter to add in my tea , I let them flowers to seeds and collected seeds for next season 🙂

I hope this tips help you grow this highly medicinal herb.

Do like and share to inspire others.

Thank you❤️

Note:

The first picture with the tiny plant and some cutting of the plants is just to show you how much To cut, just to give you an idea.