Cheese Bannocks (amidst salsa making)
Merry Meet
I was up to my elbows this morning blanching and peeling tomatoes, roasting ripe jalapenos (yes! ripe! in northern Idaho!), chopping chiles (cayenne, banana and poblano, i.e. what was ripe and available) and onions, and making a lovely salsa. Will can it tomorrow. Pressure canner, so I don’t have to add vast amounts of vinegar or lemon juice. I have learned that you can make whatever combination of veggies you want as long as you process the batch according to the veggie that takes the longest amount of time… in this case, onions. It’s gonna be good.
As promised, here is the recipe for Oatmeal Cheese Bannocks, which are comforting, fragrant, biscuit-like, and welcome any time, especially during the cool days of Autumn.
Just in case you were wondering, rolled oats are good medicine on the outside of the body too. You can take a muslin bag or even a washcloth and tie up a handful of oats and put this into the bath. This becomes soothing and cleansing, easing the discomfort of skin ailments such as eczema or chicken pox. In fact, you can add chamomile flowers, calendula petals or even lemon balm leaves to the oats for a sweet extra; this is especially useful in the children’s bath. Don’t be surprised if the kid falls asleep as soon as they’re out of the tub!
Oatmeal also makes a good facial cleanser. Simply grind up some rolled oats in the blender, add some warm water to make a paste, and wash away — you might want to do this in the shower. You can even add honey or yogurt to the mix, although the temptation to try and lick it off your own face may be strong. Perhaps a good friend could help…!!!
Well, that’s it for now. I will let you know how the salsa turns out. Earlier this week I made what I call Golden Cha Cha Sauce, made with Ida Gold tomatoes and Bulgarian Carrot Chiles, with the addition of a bit of onion and some chopped apple and applesauce. Hot-cha-cha-cha!
Merry part…
Peace, Doreen