Florame Organic Aromatherapy

Smoked haddock chowder with parsley essential oil

2010-02-21T18:19:00.003Z

Smoked haddock chowder is a wonderful, rich, filling and warming dish which can be served either as a starter or as a main course. When you add parsley essential oil to the chowder it gives it a tasty kick and unique twist which you can call your own. It’s very easy to make and shouldn’t take longer than about 30-40mins from start to finish. The below recipe serves 4-5 as a starter or 2-3 as a main course so scale up or down as necessary.

Equipment
Large saucepan
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Wooden spoon

Ingredients
Large knob of butter
2 x rashers of streaky bacon, chopped into 1” pieces
1 x medium onion, finely chopped
500ml/15fl oz milk (semi skimmed or soya can be used as an alternative)
2 x medium sized potatoes, chopped into 2cm cubes
2 x smoked undyed haddock fillets, roughly broken up into large chunks
140g of tinned or frozen sweetcorn
1 x drop of Florame’s parsley essential oil

To make
Heat the butter in a large saucepan. When sizzling add in the bacon & fry until it starts to brown, stirring all the time. Add in the onion and fry until glazed and soft, stirring all the time so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the saucepan. Add the milk and chopped potatoes, bring to the boil then reduce the heat as much as possible to a simmer. Simmer for approx 10 mins or until the potatoes are soft.

Once the potatoes are soft, add the chunks of haddock, stir and simmer for a further 10 mins. Add the sweetcorn and parsley essential oil, stir through and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.

Put the smoked haddock chowder into warmed bowls and serve with chunks of crusty bread.

SAUSAGES IN CIDER WITH ORGANIC JUNIPER ESSENTIAL OIL

2010-02-19T18:10:00.003Z

This is my favourite version of bangers and mash. The cider, apple and organic juniper essential oil gravy is totally more-ish and goes perfectly with plain mashed potato. This version is for 4 people so scale the ingredients up or down as you see fit. I am not giving the recipe here for making the mash – just the sausages. It’s really simply and Florame's juniper essential oil adds a unique flavour. So here goes:

Equipment
Sharp knife
Large frying pan
Large flame proof casserole dish or deep, lidded frying pan
Plate
Wooden spoon
Apple corer

Ingredients
8 x fat pork sausages
2 x tbsp olive oil
1 x eating apple (cored & sliced into rings)
1 x cooking apple (cored & sliced into rings)
1 x medium onion (sliced into rings)
1 x clove of garlic (finely chopped)
2 x rashers of streaky bacon (chopped into 1cm pieces)
15fl oz (500ml) dry cider
1 x tbsp cider vinegar (but white wine vinegar will do if you don’t have cider)
1 x heaped tbsp plain flour
1 x good pinch mixed herbs
2 x drops of organic juniper essential oil
Salt & pepper

To make
On a high heat, heat one tablespoon of oil in the frying pan, wait until shimmering hot then plop in your sausages to brown and reduce the heat to medium. Turn them regularly until they are browned on all sides. Take off the heat, put the sausages on a plate and set aside (keep them warm in a low temperature oven if poss). Into the same frying pan put the garlic, onion rings and bacon. Fry until the onion and bacon are browned and the rings are very slightly black at the edges. Take off the heat and set aside.

Put the casserole dish or deep frying pan on to a high heat and add the other tablespoon of olive oil. Once shimmering, reduce the heat and add in the sliced apple rings. Fry for 3-4 mins on either side until brown. Once browned, add the onions, bacon, garlic and sausages to the apples and reduce to a low heat. Stir together with a wooden spoon then sprinkle over the heaped tablespoon of flour, stirring all the time until the flour soaks up the juices. Then slowly, a couple of splashes at a time, add the cider and the cider vinegar, stirring continuously. Add the pinch of herbs, salt (not too much as the bacon is salty) and pepper and the two drops of organic juniper essential oil.

Mix together then turn the heat to its lowest setting, put the lid on the pot and let the mixture simmer very, very gently for about an hour. Take the lid off every 5-10 mins and stir with your wooden spoon to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning – especially if you’re using an electric hob or range cooker as these often remain quite warm on their lowest settings whereas gas hobs are much more controllable.

Serve with mashed potato. Gorgeous!

Roast Gammon with organic clove essential oil

2010-01-30T16:28:00.002Z

Modern curing methods mean that gammon no longer needs to be soaked for hours before cooking. These days it’s as easy to cook as any other roast joint and the following recipe uses Florame's organic clove essential oil instead of cloves themselves so there’s no danger of you accidentally biting into a whole clove! In addition, there’s a recipe for a yummy gravy to go with it which includes organic sweet orange essential oil.

The following recipe feeds up to six people so increase or decrease amounts as required.

Equipment
Sharp knife
Roasting tin
Zester
Large frying pan
Measuring jug
Skewer
Juicer

Ingredients
For the joint
2.25kg/5lb gammon joint
1tbsp black treacle
Rock salt crystals
3 x drops of organic clove essential oil

For the gravy
1 large orange – zested & juiced
300ml/10fl oz chicken stock
2tbsp port or rum
2tbsp medlar jelly or apple jelly
2 x drops of organic sweet orange essential oil

To make
Once you’ve bought the gammon, take it out of its packaging and rub dry with kitchen paper. Then score the top fat skin in crisscross fashion into one inch ‘diamonds’ using a sharp knife – just as you would the crackling on a pork joint. Then store in the fridge uncovered to allow it to dry out as much as possible. Do this as early as you can on the day you plan to roast it – or even a couple of days beforehand – to allow the skin to dry so that you get a really good crackling when it’s roasted.

When you’re ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 240C/465F/gas mark 9. Put the gammon joint in a roasting tin then get a skewer and pierce the joint through the middle from top to bottom making a hole by wiggling the skewer around. Into the hole pour 3 x drops of organic clove essential oil. This will ensure the whole joint is gently flavoured with cloves. Then get your soft (i.e. warm) black treacle and smear it over the crisscrossed skin followed by a sprinkling of rock salt which you should press well into the scored skin.

Bung the joint in the oven, skin side up, for 25mins then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and continue cooking for 1 ¾-2hrs (approx 25 mins per lb/500g). To ensure the joint is cooked take your skewer and pierce in the middle from side to side. The meat should feel tender all the way through. Once cooked, cover with foil to keep warm and let the joint rest for 30 mins.

While it’s resting, make your gravy. Get a large frying pan on a high heat and into it pour the chicken stock, followed by the juice & zest of the orange, then the port/rum, the jelly and the 2 drops of organic sweet orange essential oil. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the jelly has dissolved and let the juice reduce by approx two thirds, or until it feels quite thick.

Take off the heat, then carve the gammon, giving everyone some cracking, and serve with your favourite veg.

BEETROOT CHUTNEY WITH ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS

2010-01-10T19:19:00.003Z

Beetroot has been a forgotten vegetable for the last 30 years or so but now is enjoying a renaissance. It is one of the most versatile of our root vegetables, certainly one of the tastiest and without a doubt the healthiest as it’s full of nitrates that lower blood pressure, it’s a great source of fibre, it’s high in iron and so on.

Many people who were force fed beetroot when they were little – either pickled or boiled – dislike the taste but it’s actually very easy to make beetroot taste yummy and this chutney recipe, using Florame’s organic essential oils, is not only a great way to preserve beetroot but also tastes fab and goes incredibly well with cheeses, cold meats and game. I’m not usually a fan of chutneys and pickles but this really is a stand out flavour!

Equipment
V large saucepan or preserve making pan
Wooden spoon
Knife
Chopping board
Peeler
Grater
Corer
4 or 5 large jars (mayonnaise size)

Ingredients
1.5kg/3.5lbs raw beetroot, trimmed & peeled
3 medium sized onions
3 eating apples, peeled, cored and grated
3 oranges
2tbsp mustard seeds – preferably yellow or white
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 drops clove organic essential oil
2 drops cinnamon organic essential oil
1 drop sweet orange organic essential oil
700ml/1pint (just over) red wine vinegar
700g/1.5lbs golden sugar or unrefined sugar

To make
As you chop the ingredients chuck them into your large saucepan.

Firstly dice your trimmed & peeled beetroot into squares about 1cm/0.5inch large. Then peel & chop your onions to approximately the same size. Grate the zest of the 3 oranges as finely as you can (use a proper zester if you’ve got one – you can buy them at any decent cook shop or department store) then juice the oranges and add to the onions and beetroot. Core and peel the apples then grate the flesh. Add in the mustard and coriander seeds, the organic essential oils, the vinegar and sugar.

Mix everything together in the saucepan, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and leave for at least 1 hour, stirring every now and then, until the chutney is thick and the beetroot feels tender.

This will make your kitchen pong (because of the vinegar) but it’s worth it for the end result!

In the meantime wash your jars then, when the chutney is ready, bung your jars in a hot oven for approx 15 mins to sterilise them. Meanwhile take the chutney off the heat and set it aside to rest for 10 minutes. Spoon the chutney into the jars and enjoy!

You can eat this chutney straight away but if you leave it for a month or longer you’ll get the full, rich, seductive flavour of this wonderful accompaniment. The beetroot chutney will keep for 6 months if stored in a cool, dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge and use within 6 weeks.

Beat the Blues with mood lifting organic essential oils

2010-01-04T18:02:00.003Z

For many of us who live in the northern hemisphere, January can be a bit of a downer for several reasons. In fact, the third Monday (though some say fourth) in January is now widely referred to as the most depressing day of the year in the UK – it’s a Monday, it’s January, it’s four weeks since Christmas, it’s a week and bit until pay day so we’re all skint, most of us have broken our New Year resolutions and there’s a general sense of nothing to look forward to on the horizon. In addition, the lack of sunshine really doesn't help. Great!

In order to help you beat the blues this January we have devised a mood lifting aromatherapy cocktail of essential oils. These mood enhancing organic essential oils with anti-depressant properties and wonderful exotic fragrances will help create a light, stress free, happy ambience in your home or office.

You can diffuse the organic essential oils in a perfume burner to release the fragrance, just ensure that you put a tablespoon of water in the burner first before adding the oils and lighting the candle. This stops the oils from burning and congealing on the surface of the burner. Alternatively, you could use one of Florame’s electric diffusers which don’t heat the oils and as a result the essential oils retain their molecular composition, so that the molecules remain suspended in the air for a much longer period of time than when heated, thereby giving a much stronger ‘hit of happiness’.

When blending essential oils you need to ensure that you mix the blend properly otherwise the base note oils will overpower the top note oils and you won’t get an even spread of the different fragrances. However, you should experiment in small quantities until you get a blend that you really like as our sense of smell, just like our taste buds, is unique to each of us.

A good rule of thumb is to check the perfume note as well as the aroma family of each essential oil. See Florame’s tips on blending to help you get started.

So for a generally uplifting, mood enhancing, anti-depressant blend we would recommend the following:

3 drops of Yunnan verbena essential oil (aka may chang)
3 drops of grapefruit essential oil
3 drops of clary sage organic essential oil
3 drops of sweet orange organic essential oil
2 drops of frankincense essential oil
2 drops of complete ylang ylang organic essential oil
2 drops of bourbon geranium organic essential oil
2 drops of neroli orange blossom organic essential oil
1 drop of jasmine organic essential oil
1 drop of myrrh essential oil
1 drop of amyris sandalwood essential oil
1 drop of vetiver organic essential oil

All of the oils listed have either healing, wellbeing, calming, stress relieving or relaxing properties and generally blend well together to create a gorgeous, rich aroma. However, one of the best ways to learn about which essential oils tickle your scent buds is to experiment so whilst this is a guide, feel free to mix and match your own essential oils based on your favourite smells, be they herby, woody, earthy, floral, spicy, minty or whatever. Have fun and beat those blues!

Christmas pudding with organic frankincense and myrrh essential oils

2009-11-18T19:04:00.003Z

Stir up Sunday is on 29 November this year so plenty of time for you to get all the ingredients and Florame organic essential oils you need to make an unforgettable Christmas pudding. The organic cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, tangerine and sweet orange essential oils serve to really lift the flavours and aroma of the pudding, creating an aromatic, zingy bite! The frankincense and myrrh essential oils help to create a rich, spicy undertone.

The below Christmas pudding is very traditional but to be honest I’m not that keen on a lot of the ingredients so I’ve added in my own preferred alternatives in brackets – and you should do the same. This is a great recipe for adding your own special twist!

For example I really like lots of nuts so I’ve added a few more in and I dislike raisins so I’ve suggested chopped dates as an alternative.

If you’d like to make a vegetarian Christmas pudding then substitute the traditional suet with vegetarian suet or with butte or margarine. If you want to make a vegan Christmas pudding use the vegetable suet and you’ll need to leave out the eggs. The eggs bind everything together so perhaps you could just add more alcohol - but I’m not sure it would have the same effect!

The following recipe makes one large Christmas pudding to serve 8-10 people. However you could divide it into 8 small puddings instead & give to friends & relatives. If you don’t need to make such a large Christmas pudding simple scale back the ingredients.

You should make the pudding the day before you steam it as it needs to settle & the flavours need to merge. The day you steam it, start in the morning because it takes all day.

Equipment

Day 1
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Sieve
Fork or whisk for beating the eggs
Tablespoon
Measure
Small mixing bowl
Knife
Chopping board
Apple corer & peeler
Grater
Rolling pin (to roughly smash up the nuts)

Day 2
2 pint (1.2lt) greased bowl/basin for steaming
Baking parchment
Foil
String
Large saucepan with steamer

Ingredients

4oz (110g) shredded suet (vegetarian or traditional)
2oz (50g) sifted self raising flour
4oz (110g) white bread crumbs
1 drop of frankincense essential oil
1 drop of myrrh essential oil
1 drop cinnamon essential oil
1 drop nutmeg essential oil
3 drops sweet orange organic essential oil
2 drops lemon organic essential oil
2 drops tangerine organic essential oil
8oz (225g) soft brown sugar
4oz (110g) sultanas (I’d substitute roughly chopped hazelnuts or walnuts)
4oz (110g) raisins (I’d swap for dried chopped organic apricots or grated carrot)
10oz (275g) currants (I’d substitute either chopped Eat Me dates or, if you’ve got dried dates I’d chop them, soak them in rum to soften them up then add them)
1oz (25g) candied peel
1oz (25g) chopped almonds
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely
Grated zest of half an orange
Grated zest of half a lemon
2tbs dark rum
2.5floz (75ml) barley wine (I prefer ginger wine)
2.5floz (75ml) Guinness/stout (I prefer Kahlua)
2 large eggs preferably organic or free range

To Make
In the large mixing bowl add the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs and sugar. Mix these ingredients very thoroughly together, then gradually mix in all the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts followed by the apple, the grated orange and lemon zests and the essential oils.

In the small bowl add the alcohol then add the eggs and beat these thoroughly together. Pour this over the ingredients in the large bowl & mix thoroughly. At this point, everyone in the family should be invited to have a stir and make a wish. You should also pop a couple of 5p pieces in at this juncture if you so desire. The mixture should have a fairly sloppy consistency – i.e. it should fall instantly from the spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl. If you think it needs a bit more liquid add a spot more stout or Kahlua or whatever. Cover the bowl and leave overnight.

The next day pack the mixture into the greased 2 pint bowl. Cover the whole bowl with a double skin of baking parchment and a single skin of foil & tie together securely with string. Then make a strong string handle on the top for easy retrieval from the steamer. Put the Christmas pudding in the steamer and steam for 8 hours on a low simmer, remembering to top up your saucepan with boiled kettle water every hour or so.

When it’s finished steaming, let the Christmas pudding get completely cold then remove the string, foil and baking parchment and replace with new ones. Store your pudding in a cool dark place until Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day the pudding will take approx 2.5 hrs to cook so don’t forget to put it on at the right time. Again, pop the pudding in the steamer once the water’s boiled, turn the heat down and let it steam for the duration. Remember to check the water ever hour and top up if necessary.

Once steamed, taking of the wrapping, slide a palette knife around the edge and turn the pudding out onto a warmed plate and decorate with whole nuts or holly. To get the brandy to flame as you pour, heat the brandy in a ladle over direct heat. Once the brandy is very hot, light it then pour over the Christmas pudding at the table.

If you’ve decided to divide the mixture into eight small 6oz (175g) Christmas puddings the method is the same but steam for 3 hrs then again for 1 hour on Christmas Day. Use metal ramekins for this.

Tarte au Citron (Lemon tart) with organic lemon essential oil

2009-10-30T17:45:00.006Z

A lovely pudding either for winter or summer, this classic French treat can be made even more zesty & Provencal by adding a dash of Florame’s organic lemon essential oil. It’s best to make this on the morning of the day you want to serve it up.

Equipment

20-23cm/8 or 9” flan dish/shallow cake tin
Fork
Pastry weights or uncooked dry beans
Blender/food processor
Cling film or clean plastic bag
Rolling pin
Greaseproof paper
Whisk
Grater

Ingredients
For the pastry
150g/5oz butter
275g/9.5oz plain flour
1tsp grated lemon rind
2tbsp sugar
Up to 3tbsp chilled water

Icing sugar for dusting

For the filling
6 eggs
150g/5oz white sugar
150ml/5 fl oz double cream
75ml/2.5oz fresh lemon juice
1-2 drops of organic lemon essential oil

Instructions

First make the pastry. Chop the butter into small pieces then put it, the flour, grated lemon rind and sugar in the blender and whizz on high until the mixture looks like sand. With the motor running on low, add the chilled water in small drops until the mixture forms a soft dough – you may not need to use all 3 tbsps of the water. Wrap the dough in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 mins.
Turn the oven on to 200C/Gas 6.

Just before you take the pastry out of the fridge, lightly flour your kitchen work surface. Then roll the pastry out on the floured area as thinly as possible. Lightly butter and flour the flan tin then line the dish with the pastry and trim the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork, cover with greaseproof paper and fill with the pastry weights or beans. Bake for 20 minutes until firm but not brown. Carefully remove the paper and weights, and return the tart case to the oven for five minutes to dry the pastry base further, then remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Turn the oven down to 160C/Gas 3.

Beat the eggs and sugar until creamy. Gently whisk in the cream, then the lemon juice and drops of organic lemon essential oil.

Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for approx 45 minutes, or until the filling has just set, and is lightly golden. Cool the tart to room temperature. Dust with icing sugar and voilà!

Pumpkin pie with nutmeg and ginger essential oils

2009-10-26T19:41:00.003Z

This is a classic recipe for both Halloween and Thanksgiving - in fact it's a great autumn recipe for a very versatile vegetable and it's really easy to make. Florame's recipe has the added twist of using nutmeg essential oil and ginger essential oil to really give this pie some lovely warm flavours.

For the shortcrust pastry base I'd recommend you buy a ready made one from the supermarket which you can just roll out.

Equipment

Large knife

Spoon

Blender

Steamer

20cm/8in pie dish

Large bowl

Ingredients

500g/1lb pumpkin flesh

200g/70z shortcrust pastry

2 eggs, beaten

100g/4oz caster sugar

4tbs milk

1 drop nutmeg essential oil

1 drop ginger essential oil

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7. Cut the pumkin into slices removing any seeds and cottonwoolly type inside strands and cut away the outer skin. Then chop in to 2.5cm/1inch pieces & steam over a pan of boiling water for approx 15-20mins until tender. Drain thoroughly then puree in the blender.

Roll out the pastry and line the pie dish. Trim the excess off the sides so it looks neat & turn the excess into leaves to decorate the top of the pie.

Beat the eggs with the sugar then add the pumkin puree milk and the 2 drops of essential oils. Mix thoroughly then pour into the pastry case. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and bake for a further 30mins or until the filling is set.

Serve up warm with either cream or ice cream. Gorgeous!

Apple and blackberry pie with organic rosa geranium essential oil

2009-10-24T12:39:00.003+01:00

A lovely autumn warmer with a floral twist. Florame’s organic bourbon geranium essential oil, aka rosa geranium essential oil, adds a subtle floral fragrance and taste to this classic autumn pudding, giving it a hint of rose petals. It’s absolutely yummy and the addition of the bourbon geranium organic essential oil will mean your apple pie stands out from the crowd!

It’s best to make the pastry in the morning or at lunch time to give it enough time to chill in the fridge. Try to use organic ingredients if you can, particularly for the flour as it’s likely to be unbleached.

Equipment you’ll need

2 x large bowls
Food mixer
Greaseproof paper
Cling film or clean plastic bag
Rolling pin
Pastry brush
Oven dish e.g. Pyrex (approx 12” x 7” x 1” deep = 18cm x 31cm x 2.5cm)
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Apple or potato peeler
Small bowl

Ingredients

For the pastry
225g/8oz unsalted butter – softened to room temperature
50g/2oz caster sugar
2 x large eggs
350g/12oz plain flour

For the filling
600g/1lb of cooking apples
110g/4oz blackberries
2-3 drops of organic bourbon geranium essential oil
150g/5oz caster sugar

To brush the pastry
1 x large egg
1tbsp milk
15g/½ oz caster sugar

Instructions

First make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl using a food mixer starting on low speed then increasing to medium speed. Then add the two eggs and beat in for several minutes on medium speed. Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour. When completely mixed in, turn the pastry out on to the greaseproof paper, flatten into a round, wrap either in cling film or plastic bag and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Once the pastry’s been chilling for a few hours pre-heat the oven to 180°/gas mark 4 (approx 160° if using a fan oven).

To make the pie base, take the pastry out of the fridge and roll out approx two thirds of it to approx 3mm (approx an 1/8 of an inch) and line the oven dish with it.

Then roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness to form a lid and set to one side.

For the filling, peel, quarter then dice the apples and put in a large bowl. Add the blackberries, the 2-3 drops of bourbon geranium organic essential oil and sprinkle with the 150g of caster sugar then mix together.

Pile the fruit mixture into the lined dish and drape the lid over the top sealing the edges with water. Chop any excess pastry off and fashion into leaves to decorate the top.

Finally beat the remaining egg with the milk and brush on to pie lid. Pop in the oven and bake for approx 45 mins until golden brown. Take out of the oven and let it rest for approx 5 mins then sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar and serve. Fab!

Homemade cheesecake with organic essential oils

2009-10-11T20:11:00.005+01:00

This is a foolproof cheesecake recipe which my grandmother used to use. It doesn’t require any baking but you should make in the morning as it does require a few hours in the fridge to firm up. I’ve adapted it by adding Florame’s organic essential oils to the mix to really give it some punch!

For this recipe I’ve chosen to use cinnamon essential oil and organic sweet orange essential oil. However you can obviously supplement these with lemon, bergamot, mandarin, lavender or any other edible essential oil that takes your fancy.

Equipment
8-9inch cake tin or other suitable dish
2 x wooden spoons
2 x smallish saucepans
A blender/mixer or a rolling pin and plastic bag
An electric whisk
Large bowl
2 x medium bowls
1 x small cereal sized bowl
Spatula

Ingredients
For the base
8 oz/230g digestive biscuits
4 oz/100g butter (melted)
4 oz/100g brown sugar
2-3 drops cinnamon essential oil

For the top
6 fl oz/150 ml water
Half a pack of orange jelly cubes or equivalent vegetarian gelatine
10 oz/300g Philadelphia cheese
6fl oz/150 whipping or double cream
3-4 drops organic sweet orange essential oil

First make the digestive biscuit base. Crush your digestives either in a blender or put them in a clean plastic bag and smash them up with a rolling pin.

Take one of your wooden spoons and put the smash biscuits and brown sugar in a bowl and mix together. Add the cinnamon essential oil to the melted butter then slowly add the melted butter to the biscuit mixture stirring all the time to ensure that all the crumbs and sugar are coated. Once mixed, tip out into your cake tin and spread evenly across the base then press down to ensure a firm bottom. If you want a thicker base, just bulk up the quantities above. You can pop the base into the fridge whilst you make the top.

To make the top first put the 150ml of water in a saucepan together with the half pack of jelly or vegetarian equivalent and put on a low heat, stirring continuously until the jelly has melted. Then take off the heat & pour into the small cereal bowl to help cool it down quickly & set aside. At this point add the drops of sweet orange organic essential oil to the jelly and mix in. Bear in mind you don’t want the jelly mixture to start setting in the bowl so you must do the next bit quite quickly.

Next whisk the cream until it is firmly whipped.

Then tip the Philly cheese into a large bowl and knead a bit with a wooden spoon to soften it up a little. Add the jelly mix to this slowly and beat it in until the two are blended well together. Then fold in the whipped cream.

Take your base out of the fridge and pour the topping over it using a spatula or flat knife to spread it evenly over the base.

Pop back in the fridge for a few hours then serve. Fab!

Crab apple jelly with organic essential oils

2009-10-04T19:58:00.003+01:00

Autumn is apple jelly making season. This year we tried our hand at making crab apple jelly using organic essential oils. One batch we made with Florame aromatherapy's ginger essential oil. The other batch with organic clove essential oil. Either will give a real kick to your jelly. However, you can experiment with your own essential oils. In past we’ve made apple jelly with organic lavender essential oil and with organic sweet orange essential oil. Both are gorgeous.

To make the crab apple jelly:

Ingredients
2.5kgs/5.5lbs of crab apples washed & cut into halves.
1.75 ltrs/3 pints of water
2-3 drops of either ginger essential oil or clove essential oil
Sugar

Equipment
2 x large saucepans or jam making pans without lids
Jelly straining cloth
Large bowl
Several clean and sterilised jam jars with lids
Wooden spoon
Saucer (placed a freezer drawer or the fridge if no freezer available)
Teaspoon
A friend with a pair of oven gloves to hold your jam jars when you pour in the jelly

Put the crab apples in the saucepan & cover with the water. Bring to the boil then simmer for approx 1-1.5hrs until the fruit has turned into a mash. Whilst this is happening you can sterilise your jam jars. I use the same sterilisation liquid as you would for baby bottles. Once you’ve sterilised them, rinse them off then turn them upside down and put them in a low heated oven to dry off slowly.
Once the apples have turned to mash, suspend the jelly cloth over the bowl and strain the mash into it. Let the liquid juice from the mash strain out. Now, traditionally you’re supposed to leave the mash to strain through overnight without squeezing it so that the liquid is clear of must. However, if you’re impatient like me, after about an hour or so (once the mash is cool enough to handle) I start to squeeze the cloth to extract the maximum amount of liquid. Once this is done, discard the mash, rinse the jelly cloth through then strain the liquid through the jelly cloth again in order to get rid of any must. If you don’t do this your jelly will look cloudy in the jar rather than clear. The end result is that, rather like when you’re making wine, you should be able to see a lit candle with clarity whilst looking through your jar of jelly.

Once you’ve strained your liquid, measure it out into the other large saucepan. For every 600ml/1pint of liquid, add 450/1lb of sugar. Now, I like my crab apple jelly slightly tart so I tend to go for 400g of sugar per pint but this is purely a matter of personal taste.

Turn the heat up to maximum and stir in the sugar with the wooden spoon until it has dissolved. Then add your chosen drops of Florame organic essential oil. Start with 2 drops and taste. If you want a stronger flavour add 1 drop more, taste again and so on until you have the perfect blend. The jelly should start to boil rapidly in the saucepan. Whilst it’s boiling you’ll see an opaque film appear on the top of the jelly, skim this off every few minutes. Let it boil for approx 30mins. Then test whether it has reached setting point – take your saucer out of the freezer, trail a teaspoon of jelly on the saucer, wait about 5 seconds then draw the jelly towards you with the teaspoon. If a ripple appears as you do this setting point has been reached. If not, let the mixture continue to boil for another 5-10 minutes and try again. Remember to keep your saucer cold.

Once setting point has been reached, turn off the heat, take the jelly off the boil and pour into the jam jars. Once cool, tighten the lids on the jars, label and enjoy. You could of course go the whole hog and decorate the jars to give as unique personal gifts to friends and family.

Treating hemorrhoids (haemorrhoids) with aromatherapy essential oils

2009-09-27T18:29:00.005+01:00

Hemorrhoids (haemorrhoids), aka Piles, are very common despite the fact that they are infrequently discussed and thus regarded as an embarrassing condition. Indeed it is estimated that at least 50% of the population suffer with them at one time or another*. The only reason it’s embarrassing to talk about them is because, unlike ear infections or eye infections or other common ailments, they occur in the ‘nether’ regions.

Hemorrhoids or haemorrhoids (the proper UK spelling!) are the result of the blood vessels around the anus becoming dilated and swollen usually because of pressure inside the abdomen. Often there are no visible symptoms of hemorrhoids but in many cases the blood vessels may project into the anal canal and out of the back passage and are sometimes referred to as ‘a bunch of grapes’ when visible.

Other symptoms to watch out for include:

1) bleeding when opening the bowels – the blood is usually bright red in colour and is seen on the loo paper or on the surface of the motions
2) mucus discharge
3) itching around the anus

There are a number of steps which can be taken to help reduce the symptoms and make the stools less solid and more frequent:

1) Eating a diet rich in fibre so lots of fruit & veg (beetroot is particularly good), wheat bran, nuts, cereals and the like
2) Adding fibre supplements to your diet such as psyllium husks (they don’t taste particularly pleasant in water but do help ‘bulk out’ the diet making you more regular and the stool softer)
3) Drinking plenty of water and juice to help reduce water retention
4) Taking regular exercise

In addition to the above, a mix of Florame aromatherapy’s organic essential oils and carrier oils, applied daily to the anus may help to reduce inflammation of the blood vessels and relieve itchiness. Before using, ensure you are not allergic to the blend by massaging in a drop to the inside of your elbow and leaving it to soak into the skin overnight:

Mix 3 drops of Florame’s organic cypress essential oil with 3 drops of amyris sandalwood essential oil in 10ml of macadamia oil. Every evening before bed, clean the anal area with soap and water and pat dry with a towel – don’t rub as this will only serve to irritate the inflamed blood vessels. Then put a couple of drops of the mixture on your fingers, rub to warm up then apply to the anus as you would a cream.

Organic cypress essential oil and amyris sandalwood essential oil are both known for their venous decongestant and oxygenating properties and are widely used to help increase blood circulation and reduce the swelling in varicose veins.

Alternatively Florame’s Blood Circulation Blend of Essential Oils which contains a pre-blended mix of 12 organic essential oils can be diluted to 5% in our organic sweet almond oil and applied in the same way.

*Source: BBC

Combatting road rage with organic aromatherapy

2009-05-10T19:30:00.004+01:00

With the May Whitsun Bank holiday and school summer holidays rapidly approaching, many of us are likely to experience some form of road rage incident, particularly as many Brits decide to ‘staycation’ in the UK this year to avoid the expensive Euro zone. Whilst holidaying at home is great, it does mean there will be more traffic than ever on our roads this summer and as a result it’s likely that more of us will fall victim to a road rage incident.

Figures from the British Institute for Anger Management reveal that the UK already has the worst road rage figures of any European nation with 80% of drivers saying they’ve been involved in an incident and 1 in 4 admitting to committing an act of road rage themselves. Men are three times more likely to commit an act of aggression than women and over 60% of drivers say they have been intimidated by aggressive tailgating.

Whilst road rage levels peak during the rush hour, if this summer proves to be a bummer year for British tourism, there is likely to be an increase of incidents regardless of the time of day, particularly if travelling with excitable children when stress levels inside the car can boil over for the driver.

Road rage is generally brought on by stress and anxiety. If you are prone to suffering with stress when behind the wheel diffusing relaxing essential oils in the car can help combat stress and maintain calm.

Florame has got three neat little natural devices that could help reduce feelings of stress – our organic & sustainable lavender or sweet orange wooden diffusers and our relaxing roller ball. vFlorame’s wooden diffusers should be put in the car 24 hours before the start of your journey to allow enough time for the organic lavender or sweet orange essential oil to be drawn up the wooden stick into the ball and diffused into the atmosphere. The oil is drawn up by capillary action. Place the wooden stick into the top of the essential oil bottle and gently push down until approximately 2cm of the stick is immersed in the bottle. As the wooden ball dries out, slowly push the stick down further and so. After about 4-6 weeks the stick and bottle will need replacing.

The wooden holder has velcro backing so can be placed in a suitable area of the car where it’s easy to get to in order to change the bottle.

In addition to helping to calm nerves and reduce stress, our organic lavender and sweet orange wooden diffusers will also make your car smell gorgeous!

Our relaxing roller ball is ideal to help you maintain a sense of wellbeing at the end of your journey. It’s a very handy size and can easily be packed in a handbag, pocket or glove box. Simply massage the roller ball on your pulse points especially the temples, the inside of your elbows and your wrists when you feel your stress levels rising and reapply as and when necessary.

Other steps you can take to help combat road rage include allowing extra time for your journey, listening to an audio book that will keep the whole family gripped, keeping the car well ventilated and having water on hand to ensure you remain hydrated.

Make your own organic deodorant using essential oils

2009-04-26T20:02:00.007+01:00

These days, more and more of us are becoming aware of the use of man made chemicals in our toiletry products. Many deodorants contain aluminium which closes the pores and stops perspiration which isn’t healthy - the skin needs to breathe. However, none of us wants to smell of body odour. So here at Florame, we’ve come up with a couple of diy deodorant recipes using organic essential oils and flower waters. These recipes will allow your skin to breathe and you’ll smell great but they are not antiperspirants. If you perspire quite a lot or it’s a hot day and you get a bit sweaty, you will need to reapply the deodorant as necessary.

Alternatively, if you’re feeling lazy, you could just buy our ready made Homme for Men organic deodorant rollerball which is alcohol free and aluminium free. Although it’s aimed at men, it smells equally good on women.

For both of these diy organic deodorant recipes you’ll need a glass bottle (ideally 100ml) with a spray top/attachment. Glass doesn’t affect the properties of the essential oils whereas plastic does so don’t use a plastic bottle. You can buy this kind of thing at most chemists or online.

The use of alcohol in both these recipes is optional. It serves to help thin the oils and it acts as a preservative. You can get pure alcohol from any good chemist. Alternatively you could use vodka.

Organic geranium and cypress deodorant for a spicy floral aroma

1 tsp pure alcohol/vodka (optional)
10 drops bourbon geranium organic essential oil
10 drops cypress organic essential oil

8 drops bergamot organic essential oil

5 drops ylang ylang complete organic essential oil

4 drops fine lavender organic essential oil

3 drops black pepper organic essential oil

4tbsp/40 ml organic witch hazel flower water

2tbsp/25 ml organic rose flower water
2tbsp/25 ml organic lavender flower water

Put all the ingredients in the bottle and shake vigorously until the essential oils are fully mixed in. Then it’s ready to be used. You’ll need to shake before each use to ensure the oils and waters haven’t separated.

Organic citrus and herby deodorant for a zesty aroma

1 tsp pure alcohol/vodka (optional)

10 drops bergamot organic essential oil

8 drops clary sage organic essential oil

7 drops paracymene thyme organic essential oil

5 drops frankincense essential oil

5 drops distilled lemon organic essential oil

3 drops hybrid lavender organic essential oil

2 drops petit grain organic essential oil
4 tbsp/40 ml organic witch hazel flower water

2 tbsp/25 ml organic lavender flower water

2 tbsp/25 ml organic orange flower water

Seville orange marmalade with organic essential oils

2009-04-24T19:39:00.002+01:00

At the time of writing this it isn’t Seville orange season. However, a friend of mine has just returned from the South of France where he has a house with a large garden. In his garden there are several bitter orange trees, the fruits of which can easily be substituted for Seville oranges. They happen to be in season at the moment so he picked a few oranges for us to make our own marmalade. We put our own twist on the marmalade by adding drops of different essential oils to the jars as we were spooning the marmalade in.

Here’s a recipe for the marmalade. It makes about 10 medium sized jars of marmalade so add or subtract as necessary.

Equipment
Large saucepan
Muslin bag
V sharp knife
Lemon squeezer/juicer
Approx 10-12 sterilised jam jars
Saucer (chilled in the freezer)

Ingredients
1.5kg/3lbs of bitter or Seville oranges
Juice of 2 lemons (or 1 drop of organic lemon essential oil)
3.5ltrs/6 pints of water
2.75kg/6lbs sugar (organic preferably)

To make
Wash the fruit, cut in half and squeeze out the juice and pips. Collect the pips in the muslin bag and tie securely. Then pour the juice into the saucepan & add the pips.

Slice the peel as thinly as you can and add to the juice & pips. Simmer gently, uncovered, for approx 2 hours until the peel is soft and the liquid reduced by about half.

After about an hour, sterilise your jam jars. There are two ways to do this – sterilising solution or heat. There are lots of sterilising solutions available from good kitchen shops, chemists and department stores – in fact, if you have babies you can use the same sterilising solution that you use to sterilise their bottles.

Using the oven method, thoroughly wash your jars in hot water then turn them upside down on a rack in the oven and let them drip dry at a temperature of 140C/275F/Gas1 for around 30 mins whilst you’re making marmalade.

At this point don’t forget to put your saucer in the freezer if you haven’t already.

Back to the marmalade. After approx 2 hours, fish out the muslin bag and squeeze any juice back into the pan. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved then boil rapidly until setting point is reached – about 15mins-30mins.

To check the setting point, after 15 mins get a teaspoon of marmalade and tip it onto your frozen saucer. Leave for about 30 seconds then nudge the marmalade with the spoon or your fingertip. If it wrinkles setting point has been reached. If it doesn’t, continue boiling the marmalade for another 5 mins and try again.

When setting point has been reached, take off the heat and rest for approx 10-15mins then spoon into your jars. At this point you can add your essential oils.

We left 5 jars as ‘normal’ marmalade then to two jars we added 1 drop of organic lavender essential oil to each; to another two jars we added 1 drop of organic cardamom essential oil to each and to the last jar we added 1 organic drop of clove essential oil.

The organic essential oils not only add a unique flavour to your marmalade but it also means that you’ve got lots of different flavours to enjoy, rather than just one - and with so many jars to eat, it's great to have a variety pack!

Rhubarb crumble ice cream with organic lemon and ginger essential oils

2009-04-20T18:32:00.005+01:00

As we slowly start to warm up this Spring, why not try your hand at making your own ice cream. It tastes fantastic and is great fun to make, just as long as you don’t keep dipping your spoon into the mixture and eating it before anyone else has had a chance to try it – believe me it’s very tempting!

Rhubarb crumble ice cream is scrummy and a great way to use up any excess rhubarb you may have in the garden. When you add Florame’s organic essential oils into the mix you’ve got a winner on your hands.

To make this recipe you will need an ice cream machine as making ice cream without one is a real faff. However, if you don’t have an ice cream machine then borrow one from a friend or buy one second hand. Unless you intend to use it several times a year, it’s not worth the expense of buying a new machine.

The following recipe makes about 1.2 ltrs (2 pints) of ice cream so enough for about 12-14 scoops or 6-8 servings.

Equipment
Ice cream machine with bowl frozen (read your instructions)
Mixing bowl
Blender/food processor
Measuring Jug
Baking dish
Shallow baking tin
2 ltr (3.5pint) lidded plastic box that you can store the ice cream in in the freezer

Ingredients
ice cream:
1 lb (450 g) trimmed rhubarb

8 oz (225 g) sugar

2 drops organic lemon essential oil

15 fl oz (425 ml) whipping cream

1 tbsp water

crumble:
3 oz (75 g) plain white flour
2 oz (50 g) butter (room temperature)

2 oz (50 g) golden sugar or light brown muscovado sugar

1 drop ginger essential oil

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C) & put your empty plastic box in the freezer

To make
First make the crumble. Mix the 1 drop of ginger essential oil into the butter using a fork. Then combine all the ingredients together in the mixing bowl and using your hands to rub the butter into the flour, so that the mixture comes together to form small, pea-sized balls of dough. Sprinkle this evenly into the baking tin and set aside.

Cut the rhubarb into ½ inch (1 cm) lengths and place them in a large, shallow baking dish sprinkled with the sugar and a tablespoon of water. Place the dish on a lower shelf in the pre-heated oven and put the tin containing the crumble mixture on the shelf above. The crumble needs to be baked for 10 minutes, then removed from the oven and left to cool.

The rhubarb may need a further 15-20 mins cooking before it is completely tender.

When it's cooked, take it out and leave it to cool a little before pouring it into a food processor or blender. Process until you have a smooth purée, then pour it into the jug, cover and transfer to the fridge to chill for about an hour.

Now return to the cooled crumble and using your hands, break it back up into small, pea-sized pieces.

Once the rhubarb purée has chilled stir the cream into it then pour into the ice-cream maker and add the two drops of organic lemon essential oil. Churn until the mixture has the consistency of softly whipped cream.

Hand stir in the crumble pieces then spoon into the plastic freezer box. Cover and freeze for a minimum of 2 hours, or until the ice cream is firm enough to serve.

Rhubarb Fool with organic lemongrass oil and rose flower waters

2009-04-18T12:24:00.007+01:00

This is a really yummy seasonal Spring pudding which looks fab and is easy to make. Our twist is add a dash of organic lemongrass essential oil and organic rose flower water.

The following makes enough for 4 so add more or less as necessary.

Equipment
Four Sundae glasses or large wine goblets
Whisk
Sieve
Saucepan
Mixing bowls x 3
Chopping board
Sharp knife

Ingredients
700g/1½lb rhubarb

1 drop of organic lemongrass essential oil

100ml/3½fl oz water140g/5oz granulated sugar

110g/4oz icing sugar
2 tbsp of organic rose flower water

150ml/¼ pint crème fraîche

150ml/¼ pint mascarpone cream

To make the Fool:
Wash, trim and chop the rhubarb into even chunks approx 3cm long and put into a saucepan with the water, granulated sugar and organic lemongrass essential oil. Cover and simmer for about 10 mins until pulpy.

Strain through the sieve and reserve the juices in a bowl and set aside. Put the pulp in a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

Put the mascarpone in a mixing bowl and whisk in the icing sugar. Then gently fold in the crème fraîche, the organic rose flower water and half the rhubarb.
Spoon equal amounts of the remaining rhubarb into your four goblets and spoon the fool mixture on top. Allow to set and cool in the fridge and serve.

Rhubarb lemonade from reserved Fool juices
This is a lovely, refreshing, long drink. To the reserved Fool juices, add the juice of 1 lemon and then freeze the mixture until a hot summer’s day. Then defrost in a jug, add sparkling water and enjoy!

Homemade rhubarb liqueur with organic essential oils

2009-04-14T18:10:00.004+01:00

April is rhubarb season and doubtless you've seen those glorious sticks of pink in your local greengrocers. Rhubarb is a diverse plant that can be used both for puddings and in savoury dishes (it goes rather well with duck). However, it also makes a rather tasty liqueur and as we always end up with a glut of rhubarb from our crowns, making rhubarb liqueur is a good way to use up excess sticks.

I'll be adding a couple more rhubarb recipes over the next couple of days but here's our rhubarb liqueur recipe with organic essential oils. It's really easy to make and tastes fantastic - just remember, if picking your own, NOT to use any part of the rhubarb leaf as it is poisonous.

Equipment

Demi-john or large, wide mouthed sealable jar

Funnel

Ingredients

500g of rhubarb – chopped into pieces small enough to get into the demi-john or jar
1ltr of vodka (save the empty bottle for use later)
250g of granulated sugar
1 drop of organic clove essential oil
1 drop of ginger essential oil
2 drops of organic lemon essential oil

Put all the ingredients into the demi-john. Store in a cool dark place like a wardrobe, bathroom cupboard or pantry. Shake every day for a week until the sugar has dissolved. Then shake once a week for about 3-4 months. Strain into the cleaned and saved vodka bottle.

Chill in fridge & serve on its own as an after dinner drink or mix with ginger ale as a long, cooling summer cocktail. Fab!

Home made organic lemon curd with organic essential oils

2009-04-13T17:10:00.004+01:00

Lemon curd is one of my favourite toast and crumpet toppings. It’s really easy to make at home and, for added zing, why not add a drop of organic distilled lemon essential oil to the mix?

Traditionally for this recipe you’d use the same amount of lemons as eggs but we decided to experiment in order to incorporate our distilled lemon organic essential oil and, amazingly, it worked rather well so here goes:

This is enough to make approx 4 small jars or 2 large jars (mayonnaise size) so add more, or less as required.

Equipment
Lemon juicer
Grater
Small mixing bowl (for beating eggs)
Whisk
Medium to large mixing bowl or double saucepan
Double saucepan or saucepan large enough to hold mixing bowl
Jam jars (sterilised)
Sterilising solution (optional)

Ingredients (try to use organic if possible)
Grated rind and juice of two unwaxed lemons
4 eggs, beaten
100g/4 oz butter
450g/1lb granulated sugar
1 drop of organic distilled lemon essential oil

To make:
First, sterilise your jam jars. There are two ways to do this – sterilising solution or heat.

There are lots of sterilising solutions available from good kitchen shops, chemists and department stores – in fact, if you have babies you can use the same sterilising solution that you use to sterilise their bottles.

Using the oven method, thoroughly wash your jars in hot water then turn them upside down on a rack in the oven and let them drip dry at a temperature of 140C/275F/Gas1 for around 30 mins whilst you’re making the lemon curd.

While your jars are being sterilised, heat enough water in your saucepan so that when you put the mixing bowl in it, the water will rise approx two thirds of the way up the sides of the bowl. The water needs to be at simmering temperature for the duration of the curd making.

While the water is heating, finely grate the zest of your two lemons, then juice them. Beat the eggs and measure out your sugar and butter.

Once the water is simmering put the medium sized mixing bowl inside the saucepan then add all the ingredients at once, including the organic distilled lemon essential oil.

Stir the ingredients together until the sugar and butter have dissolved and continue to heat, stirring from time to time until the curd thickens. During the heating process you may see blobs of white in the mixture – this is egg white separating so just stir this back into the mixture to maintain an even, rich, golden yellow colour. Once the curd has thickened to a jam like consistency – basically, if you think it’s thick enough to spread on toast - then it’s time to remove it from the heat and pour or spoon into your jam jars and seal.

Allow to cool to room temperature then store in the fridge.

Roast meat glazed with organic essential oils

2009-04-11T15:53:00.003+01:00

Most of us enjoy a traditional British roast every once in a while. However, usually we just season the meat with a bit of oil, salt & pepper and some herbs. Our suggested ’10 minute meat glazes’ will add a really tasty extra dimension to your roasts, thanks to the use of organic essential oils. When we say 10 minutes it’s because we’d recommend that approximately 10 minutes before the joint is due to finish cooking, whip it out of the oven, glaze the outside with one of our suggested glazes, then pop it back in for the last 10-15 mins before taking out and leaving it to stand.

Equipment
Saucepan
Whisk or spoon
Teaspoon

Ingredients
100g granulated sugar
50 ml water
1 drop of organic essential oil

The glaze is actually a sugar syrup. To make, heat the water in the saucepan. Once the water has reached boiling point add the sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved then add the drop of organic essential oil. Let the syrup reach boiling point and continue to boil until the syrup thickens a bit to a syrupy consistency – you’ll feel it on your whisk. Put a little bit on a teaspoon, let it cool then taste. If the flavour it too strong for you simply add more water and sugar until the flavour is to your taste - the golden rule is always two parts sugar to one part water to maintain the syrupy texture. If the taste is not intense enough for you, add a further drop of essential oil.

Obviously feel free to experiment with your own choice of organic essential oil flavours but below are some of our suggestions (and favourites):

Roast lamb – either organic peppermint essential oil, sweet basil essential oil or fine lavender essential oil.

Roast beef – either organic black pepper essential oil or juniper essential oil

Roast chicken or turkey - either organic sweet orange essential oil, distilled lemon essential oil, lemon balm essential oil or bergamot essential oil

Roast pork – either organic fine lavender essential oil or clary sage essential oil

Roast gammon – either organic clove essential oil or juniper essential oil.

Roast goose or duck – either organic sweet orange essential oil or organic tangerine essential oil

Where lavender or orange has been suggested, you could substitute the essential oil for an organic flower water of the same for a slightly more subtle flavour. So instead of using tap water to make the syrup, use either organic lavender or orange flower water

If you’ve made too much syrup for your roast, then simply put the excess in a glass jar and pop in the fridge until the next time you need it. It’ll keep for up to 6 months.

Organic aromatherapy to combat travel sickness

2009-04-08T17:21:00.003+01:00

As we head into the start of the long weekend breaks, some of us will embark on a long road, plane or train journey. Unfortunately for many of us this can cause travel sickness or motion sickness.

These feelings of nausea are caused due to mixed messages being received in the brain – the eyes saying one thing but the inner ear balance saying something else.

Children tend to suffer more than adults - just over half of children (58%)* suffer with travel sickness - and although many grow out of it as they get older, nevertheless a lot of adults suffer with travel sickness, some to a debilitating extent. Statistics reveal that as many as 1 in 3 adults (28%)* suffer with car sickness, over a third with air sickness during turbulence (33%-50%)* and in rough seas 100%* of passengers will suffer with some form of sea sickness, however mild.

Travel sickness is more common in pregnant women and women who are menstruating. People who suffer with migraines are also more prone to travel sickness.

For many sufferers, travel sickness means having to take pills or wear pressure point wristbands. However, we’ve got two neat little natural devices that could help reduce feelings of travel sickness – our organic & sustainable mint-lemon wooden diffuser and our travel sickness roller ball.

Florame’s mint-lemon wooden diffuser should be put in the car 24 hours before the start of your journey to allow enough time for the organic essential oil blend to be drawn up the wooden stick into the ball and diffused into the atmosphere. The oil is drawn up by capillary action. Place the wooden stick into the top of the essential oil bottle and gently push down until approximately 2cm of the stick is immersed in the bottle. As the wooden ball dries out, slowly push the stick down further and so. After about 4-6 weeks the stick and bottle will need replacing.

The wooden holder has velcro backing so can be placed in a suitable area of the car where it’s easy to get to in order to change the bottle.

In addition to helping to prevent car sickness, our organic mint-lemon wooden diffuser will also make your car smell gorgeous!

Our travel sickness roller ball is ideal for those travelling by air, sea or road. It’s a very handy size and can easily be packed in a handbag, pocket or glove box. Just before embarking on your journey, massage the roller ball on your pulse points especially the temples, the inside of your elbows and your wrists. Then reapply as and when necessary.

Other steps you can take are to ensure you don’t read or look down for long periods of time when travelling, that you face the way you are travelling and that, where possible, the area around you is well ventilated.

*Holisticheathtools.com

Organic hibiscus iced tea

2009-04-05T11:56:00.004+01:00

The Jamaican name for Hibiscus Tea is Agua de Jamaica or Water of Jamaica. On a glorious sunny day there’s nothing quite so refreshing as a glass of organic hibiscus iced tea. It makes a great alternative to the standard black iced tea we’re all used to in the UK and its sensational rich ruby red colour makes it a very appetising drink to look at.

In order to make it, as well as some hibiscus tea, you’ll need some sugar, ice and ideally a lime but otherwise a lemon would suffice.

To make it, brew yourself a pot of organic hibiscus tea, using 1 dessert spoon of tea per person and let it infuse for 5-10 minutes.

Whilst the tea is infusing, get a tall, good sized glass jug and add 1 teaspoon of sugar for every dessert spoon of hibiscus tea. Cut your lime in half and slice one half thinly to use as glass decorations later. Pare the other half and set aside the peel to use as a garnish later. Then squeeze the juice into the jug over the sugar.

When the organic hibiscus tea has finished infusing pour it into the glass jug and stir so that the sugar dissolves. Top up with cold water and leave to cool completely for half an hour or so. Add ice to the jug and stir again. Add more sugar if necessary then sprinkle the top of the jug with the lime peel for garnish.
Pour into slim jims or large wine glasses and decorate the glasses with your slices of lime.

Simply gorgeous and very refreshing.

Homemade organic Easter eggs with organic essential oils

2009-04-01T19:34:00.007+01:00

For many people Easter is a complete choc-fest – especially for children. However, buying Easter eggs can be pricey so why not consider making your own which you can flavour with your own choice of organic essential oils and personalise with your own piped icing? If you have children you can get them involved in helping you make them as well.

This recipe makes four Easter eggs so just adjust ingredients as necessary if you want to make more or less.

Equipment
8 x small egg moulds – available online or at specialist kitchen shops

Paper towel

Heat proof bowl that fits comfortably on top/inside one of your saucepans

Saucepan of simmered hot water (but not boiling)

Cooking/jam thermometer

Pastry brush

Spoon

Tray (or similar) covered in greaseproof paper

Ruler or flat edged knife e.g. pallet knife

Baking paper

Icing piper (optional)

Small glass (optional)

Ingredients

300g/10½oz chocolate (70% cocoa solids & organic if possible)

Organic essential oil of your choice – we recommend fine lavender, sweet orange, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, palmarosa, rose and peppermint but it’s your creation so experiment away and why not try combining some oils? Nutmeg and ginger make a lovely combination as do orange and ginger, and lavender and rose.

Flavourless oil e.g. sunflower/vegetable

Icing for decorating the eggs (optional)

Instructions

First wipe the inside of each mould with a piece of paper towel. Then dampen another piece of towel with the sunflower oil and polish the inside of each mould with the oil. This ensures a high gloss finish to the chocolate and also helps to release the set chocolate from the mould.

Then break the chocolate into small, even pieces and melt gently in the bowl over the saucepan of hot water. When melted, add in one drop of your desired organic essential oil & mix in. Taste the mixture to see whether you need to add more essential oil then place the thermometer into the chocolate and heat until it reaches 43C/110F. Take off the heat and cool to 35C/95F. Now it is ready to use.

This heating/cooling process is called tempering is used in chocolate coating & moulding. Tempering separates the cocoa solids and ensures the set chocolate will have a high gloss and smooth finish.

Pour spoonfuls of the chocolate into each mould. Swirl around until coated using the pastry brush if necessary and then remove the excess chocolate. Leave to set on the tray. Fill each mould in the same way.

Wait for approx 20-30 minutes for the chocolate to set then use your ruler/pallet knife to draw a clean edge across the mould which is essential when it comes to sticking the two sides together.

Then fill the mould with chocolate again and repeat the process. You’ll need to do this about 3 times to get a good layer of chocolate in each mould.
Leave to chill in a dark cool place until completely set.

Then carefully un-mould the egg halves and place on a clean surface taking care not to handle the chocolate too much as it will start to melt from the heat of your hands.

Heat the baking sheet, place the edges of two egg halves on it for a few seconds, then gently push the edges together so they stick and hey, presto! You’ve got an egg.

You can then decorate and personalise the eggs if you want to. Sit an egg in a glass or small cup to use as a stand while you pipe your desired message on the egg. Then wrap your eggs in cellophane and give them away.

Organic aromatherapy as a complementary treatment for hay fever

2009-03-31T19:10:00.003+01:00

Sadly it’s that time of year again when hay fever rears its ugly head. In Spring, those who are allergic to tree pollen begin to suffer – run away if you see a birch tree! - whilst those who are allergic to grass pollen won’t start seeing the symptoms until around May.

Being a hay fever sufferer myself, I know the problems this irritating allergy can cause and whilst aromatherapy and essential oils can’t stop you getting hay fever, they can help relieve the symptoms of itchy eyes and blocked sinuses when used alongside anti-histamines.

For itchy eyes we’d recommend putting a cold compress of organic camomile flower water on your eyes two to three times a day to help reduce soreness and puffiness. Spray on to cotton wool or tissue and put over your eyes for 10-15 minutes at a time. Camomile is known for its healing and soothing properties on sensitive skin.

Either diffuse into the air or on a tissue a blend of organic essential oils to help clear your sinuses. Oils such as eucalyptus and Scots pine are good for this, or you could just use Florame’s pre-mixed organic Easy Breathing blend which contains 10 different organic essential oils. If you diffuse our easy breathing blend into the air using an electric diffuser then do it every 3 hours for approx 15 mins. If you diffuse it on to a tissue, breathe it in for 2-3 minutes then continue to use as and when necessary.

At night, why not try our organic Breathing pillow perfume which will help you breathe more easily. It contains eucalyptus flower water and eucalyptus essential oil but it doesn’t leave a stain on your pillow which a neat essential oil may do.

Other sensible tips are to put Vaseline or similar under your nose to trap pollen particles and prevent them getting into your nasal passages, and keep all doors and windows shut so that dust and pollen don’t get into your home or office. For some, avoiding dairy products and white wine also helps to relieve symptoms and for others acupuncture can be a very effective treatment but this must be done before symptoms start.

How to give a sensual massage

2009-03-30T17:51:00.003+01:00

The key to giving and receiving a good sensual massage is preparation. First, set the mood. Start by lighting an organic scented candle, put on a romantic CD, lay down a clean sheet, get some fresh towels at the ready and ensure distractions like phones are switched off.

Before you go any further, it's important to talk to your partner so that they know exactly what a sensual massage involves. Describe it as an erotic activity which involves nudity and intimate touching.

Then, ensuring your hands are warm, start by lightly stroking your partner's body with the tips of your fingers. Start on your partner's back and work your way down and around to the front. Take your time, don't rush. Move from one area of your partner's body to another covering the shoulders, arms, thighs, calves and buttocks.

Once your partner is completely relaxed begin the massage by pouring about two tablespoons of our unique organic sensual massage oil into your hands and then rub them together until the oil is warm. Now, use your hands to make long, gliding strokes over your partner's body making sure you check with your partner that the pressure is okay. Again, start on the back.

When you've covered all the key areas of your partner's body, switch from long gliding strokes to short deep strokes. To make deep strokes you will need to use your body weight rather than your arm strength but remember to be gentle and check the pressure is ok.

As you work your way around your partner's body using short deep strokes, remember to massage their feet, brush over their buttocks and if you're massaging a female partner, make sure you gently stroke her breasts. When you think the time is right, begin working your way very slowly down your partner's legs gliding your hands as you go. Brush past your partner's genitals, teasing them by stroking their inner thigh. Finally, when the erotic energy has had time to build, ask your partner to give you an equally sensual massage so that both of you become aroused.

Prolong the mood by washing off the massage oil with a bath for two using our rosewood organic bubble bath.