Some great orchid photos on that forum too!

Last summer, the top of my Brighamia insignis started rotting. Either rotting or squirrel/wildlife decided it was tasty.
Because Brig has a thick-thick trunk, I sawed off about an inch, then sprinkled Cinnamon over the cut.
Worked like a charm.

Also, someone, think it was the Hoya Forum, not certain though, said Cinnamon works as a natural fungicide. Every so often, succulents are sprinkled w/cinnamon. lol

Anyhow, Larry...yes to the cinnamon as an anti-fungal, in a preventative capacity. I used to keep some on hand when I was taking cuttings, or starting seeds.

I actually brush it on the ends of my jade cuttins to prevent rot.

I also use in in my oatmeal, along with real maple syrup that I make, nuts, bananas, and a bit of vanilla.
Yummy!

Mike

Not keen on the stuff myself, as food that is

Lol.. You know I meant you:-)

Mike

Forgot to mention, it's great on sweet potatoes/yams.

I've begun keeping cinnamon in a salt shaker & keep it w/ my potting supplies. This way, if a succulent has lost its roots & needs re-rooting (some Haworthias), I can shake some cinnamon on the base of the plant, shake off the excess & pot it right up. I also use this on some Hoya cuttings too, even on Sans, when potting them up anew.

I've seen mention of folks making a paste of cinnamon for topical application on specific leaves w/ a particular problem. I haven't tried the paste yet.

Gastronomically, I use it on my oatmeal, w/ honey & some nuts or raisins, or just w/ bananas.

Cinnamon has also recently been discovered to have some medicinal properties (which I can't recall at the moment); I believe some tie-in to prevention of diabetes (? I forget exactly what right now).

yes it does have medicinal properties. i forget too but heard to sprinkle some in tea or coffee

Your kidding right? Do you peel it or use a part of your plant in food? If not, why do you grow it? Where did you get it?

Like I have said before. Is there a plant you don't own other than an 'Osmanthus Tree'?

Mike

Yes, I've read that it's used for control of high cholestrol.

I'd forgotten about using it as a fungicide. I have a bunch of pencil cactus I'm potting this saturday, i'm going to use cinnamon on some and potting hormone on some - see what happens.

Great Thread..

I also have read about using this for the prevention of Fungus and any other problems with rooting or even pruning of trees.

PG.. i do believe years ago, it was from you that i read about this. Found it really interesting and have tried this because of you.. Thank you!!

Flora.. Love the pic. ALways like to visit other countries and see and learn from the locals.. I bet you had a blast!! Thanks for the info..

As far as the "tummy.." Oatmeal cookies..fresh from the oven. Pumpkin pie.. Ok, i better stop. Im hungry!!

Take care Larry and thanks for bringing this up. Lots of interesting topics lately.

Laura

Silent, are you saying you don't cook at all?

Y'all know cinnamon is known to attract gnomes, right? You could develop a serious infestation if you're not careful with this stuff!

Grows faster in cooler temps. Haven't attempted eating it though..lol.

Purple, lol, gnomes.

I don't mean to sound dumb, but what's shortening if not butter or margerine (am guessing it's Crisco or something like that?) Hopefully they don't mean lard, not in a cookie anyway.

I've never had or even heard of these, I thought the name was for a candy bar. Is this a Southern thing?

Larry, where did grits come into the conversation, lol! Grits are coarsely ground corn....not a meal. The texture is not unlike that of polenta, sort of. When cooked, grits are creamy and buttery and delectable. The origins are Native American and they are now almost exclusively a Southern food. Most people not from the South turn their noses up at the delicate flavor of grits.

Grits are a favorite breakfast or brunch dish. My specialty is 'shrimp gravy and grits '. I can coax my Yankee relatives into eating grits with that stuff.

Gotta love the Grits!! Especially with runny eggs in the morning! YUM!!

Crisco is also known as shortening. Back a few years ago.. we had to use lard for cooking. People used to keep glass jars next to the stove to collect the grease from cooking and would collect the fat and place it to use for
grease in the pan for your dinner.

Southern girl here!! ;-)

Snickers also can be used for snickerdoodle cheesecake..

Now that is delicious!!

alright.. back to cinammon!! LOL..

Rhizo.. That sounds delicious!! "shrimp gravy and grits" Mmmmmmmmm!!!

Night,

Laura

Your first sentence evoked a wonderful breakfast experience - yum, yum and thank you.

Lard is a great "generational divide" item. I've never bought this stuff, but I'd bet there's some at my Mom's house still (as in she keeps buying it, not that the same jar has been sitting around for 30 years - HA!) That grease jar/can mentioned above is a generational divide between my Mom and Gramma. There was always a can of grease on my Gramma's stove.

This is one of the reasons I don't bake certain things. If I can't devise a way to cheat the fat, I'll pass. For cake or brownies, you can use applesauce instead of oil, so I make those. No difference in taste. When I make a previously mayo-based salad like potato or pasta salad, I use a mix I make instead of mayo, with olive oil, roasted garlic, and emulsified spinach. (And work off more calories with all of that work!) Besides plants, that's my thing, making food taste good while eliminating unnecessary calories and adding more nutritive content. Sure we have mac & cheese, I just don't put butter in it and add broccoli or cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.

Grits - ewwww! Cinnamon isn't going to help this stuff. "What is a grit?" (My Cousin Vinny!!! LOL!)

I forgot about tea..I buy Cinnamon tea, but sprinkle extra on top..

How chocolate, too..ummmm..can't forget Marshmallows.

Egg Nog...ummmm. For alcohol drinkers, a shot or two of Spiced Rum.

According to Fox, cinnamons medicinal purpose:
Stabalize blood sugar, alleviate colds, conjestions, and treats diarrhea..

Cinnamon Incense.

Larry...bet you never thought your thread would turn out to be a Recipe and Health benefit thread. :)

Italian grits is not polenta - two very different consistencies and preparations.

Toni,

No, in fact quite the opposite. With a little butter and salt, grits are a positive contribution to American food from the southern USA.

I love cinnamon and nutmeg - in fact any spice. But not on coffee. In my book that should taste only of coffee. No sugar, no milk, no chocolate, no spice. I don't much like hot chocolate either, unless I'm freezing cold and very hungry. It's just too sweet. Marshmallows on top would just about finish me off. For watching rugby in the winter a flask of mulled wine with cinnamon and cloves suits me far better.

Grits are eaten quite a bit in the south. When we were in TN, GA, and AL, we stopped at Cracker Barrels..Each had grits.
CB's in central IL, do not serve grits..not on their menu..or wasn't..it's been a while since we've been to a CB.

I didn't know there were different types of grits. The type I was served were white, looked similar to rice pudding, but tasted like.............lol

Don't you like gingerbread cookies? Cinnamon & nutmeg are some of the spices in them...

And very common practice is to have pot of mix of (some or all) cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, anise, apple - orange - lemon peel, bay leaf, simmering to have house smelling nice. Beats the air-freshener sprays anytime (nasty-IMHO)!

Flora, yes, mulled wine is it...Rina

Don't you like gingerbread cookies? Cinnamon & nutmeg are some of the spices in them...

And very common practice is to have pot of mix of (some or all) cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, anise, apple - orange - lemon peel, bay leaf, simmering to have house smelling nice. Beats the air-freshener sprays anytime (nasty-IMHO)!

Flora, yes, mulled wine is it...Rina

I associate old-fashion Christmas with smell of cinnamon/gingerbread cookies, and clementines.
(When I was a little kid, we were able to get clementines usually only at Christmas-was a special treat, now you can get them all year long.)

Lots of great memories coming back to me with all of the great thoughts of spices...

Rina. I also make my own pot of spices starting around Thanksgiving. I cut up oranges, lemons and add cin sticks, cloves and all of the spices you have mentioned. My daughter always ask if i have it on the stove during the holidays.. All i have to do is keep adding water and simmer. MMmmmmmmm, i can smell it now...

Jeff.. LOL.. I did think of the toast too! But,, i figured that most may not understand how we scoop it all together and eat this wonderful mess of a breakfast. LMAO!!

Toni.. CB has the best biscuts..closest to the buttermilk ones i used to make growing up with fresh buttermilk..

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.. Thanks for the warm wonderful memoriess!!

Larry.. See what you have done? LOL. Good stuff! ;-)

Hoping that everyone in Sandy's path gets ready.. I think we are going to get hit hard.. Ugggg. ALl of my plants are inside, outside furniture tied down. Hang on!!

Take Care,

Laura

I just take a small sauce pan and slice an orange, lemon and then add some cinnamon sticks, couple pinches of whole cloves, add some pumpkin spices or what ever you think smells good in your spice rack. I will take the ground cinnmon and other ground spices and just add to the mix. No real recipe.. just throw it together!!!

Cover with water and simmer.

This usually last a week or so, but remember to keep adding water when it cooks down. You could start a fire on the stove if you forget about it.

Just be careful with those precious little ones.

I also like to add during the simmering time if i have anything to throw in there as i am cooking.

Hope this helps..

enjoy!!

Laura

But, deep inside, I believe you are like me,,(Romatnic about Christmas,) The scents, lighted trees, decorations.
I remember thinking, 'as a child,' after moving out of our house, there won't be a year without a tree or decorations, and if/when I have children, as adults they'll have many fond Christmas memories.

Laura. Ummm, CB..I loved their bacon..crispy, w/o fat. It's been a long time since we've been to CB...love their entire breakfasts..cheesy hash browns..umm. :)

Rhizo, I like oatmeal. :)

A whole pork tenderloin simmered uncovered in lobster pot for about 3 hours with:
apples
onion
carrots
(these 3 sliced in food processor)
raisins
corn (kernels and juice from 3 ears)
a few red potatoes (kind of big, so cut in 2 or 3 pieces)
6 oz can of pineapple/orange juice
(I don't measure anything, so about...)
2-3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
few shakes of "7 pepper seasoning"
few shakes of celery seed
3-5 oz white vinegar
sprinkle of CINNAMON
sprinkle of dry mustard powder
6-8 oz of white grape juice
few taps of cayenne pepper

After about 2 1/2 hours, I used a ladle to get the amount of liquid I needed out of the pot to cook enough rice for 2 people.

Slice meat, serve with scoop of the cooked fruit/veggie mix on a pile of rice, piece of bread. OMG it was so (&^@#$(*&^ good and made the house smell incredible! Had the same thing but with mashed potatoes instead of rice the next night.

I put the potatoes and carrots in first, to make sure they would stay under, and my "measurements" of added liquids were kept to just an amount needed to bring the overall level of everything besides the pork even with the top of the meat. I thought I might have to add some water as it cooked, or put the lid on, but the apples and onions released more than enough moisture to keep this simmering and to make the rice. Also could have used the pot liquid to make a gravy/sauce, thickened with cornstarch (but that would add a lot of unnecessary calories to this plate.) I try not to make meals without "something green" but nothing I had on hand would have meshed well with this flavor complex but if I had had some raw green beans, I would have thrown a few in.

Mike

Fresh Apple Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas baking soda
1 teas CINNAMON
1/2 teas nutmeg
1/4 teas clove
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raisins

Cream butter...add sugar...cream again. Beat in egg. Add sifted, dry ingredients alternately with milk. Stir in apples, raisins and pecans.
Drop by rounded teaspoons 1 1/2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375, 8-10 minutes. Remove, chill on rack.

These cookies smell oh, so good, although honestly, my family/siblings prefer sweeter cookies. Snowballs, Cinnamon Cookies and shaped, Butter Cookies, etc.

Flora..when you were in Italy, ever hear of...the spelling in incorrect, so please pronounce the words.

Basta goo spa da jadee

Basta goo lin dee kee Toni

Tiff..That recipe is just for "Stove Potpourri"

Just to make the house smell good!!

I think im going to have to make that recipe Purple!!

Makes me hungry just reading it!!

Toni.. those cookies sound delicious!!

YUM!!

Cinnamon... Good for plants and us!! Mmmmmmmmm!

Laura

Laura, they're good, but my family, 'siblings' prefer sweeter-tasting cookies..lol..

Hi Purple. The recipe book doesn't mention type of apples..
I guess any 'baking' apple is good.
Since I only make Fresh Apple Cookies once a year, I normally buy large, sweet apples.

My favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas cookie is Snowballs..no cinnamon though.
Prepare all ingredients in one bowl..top with powdered sugar.
Another favorite treat...Cheesecake bars..oh, they're delicious..

Like you, a week before Christmas, I do a lot of baking, then pass out to family..Their favs are cheesecake bars, snowballs and Old Fashioned Butter Cookies..shaped, of course. :)

Anyway, Purple, in the past, I've used whichever apples were available, but when made for family/friends, the large, sweet, red apples..sorry, don't know the name.

Rhizo, I'm all about substitutions. That's why I don't use recipes, except sometimes I write down what I did if I want to remind myself later. I still probably won't do it exactly the same way because it's not good odds that I would have the exact same stuff. An organized person would make a list that had everything needed written on it, remember to bring it to the store, buy the things on it, and cook predetermined meals. I think I've met a few...

Toni, probably red delicious, they're usually the biggest. It probably doesn't matter in a cookie. If I throw some oats in there, I'm good with calling these breakfast.

Are those snowballs with butter, flour, bit of powdered sugar & chopped nuts? I've also heard them called tea cookies and wedding balls. Common names, huh? LOL! I make these a LOT and last time I put some cocoa powder in the powdered sugar to roll them in after baking, about 25% cocoa powder. That was really good! Also put choc chips in them sometimes, and once I half-dipped them in melted choc after baking/cooling but that was more trouble than it's worth. Drizzling would have been a lot easier. Stole the idea from candy buckeyes. Do you ever make those?

This is some unknown person's picture, but exactly what it looks like when we make them.

I always vow I'm not going to do these again, but I already know I'm going to be cussing at these cookies again this year. I will end up doing it. They are the star of the cookie package, they make it all make sense. And it always seems like you're going to have to throw it away and start over, but I don't think I've ever actually done this, it will work if you keep stirring with your already-numb arm. I know, you're like, "What in the world is she talking about?" Sigh... holly cookies. Made the same as rice krispie bars but you corn flakes instead, and a lot of green food coloring. Put in cookie-size clumps on wax paper to set, and stick on 2-3 "red hots candies" on each one. Looks like holly with red berries.

Found a pic of those too (thanks unknown people):

Larry, are you getting more or less than you expected from this thread? Muahahaha!! (A leftover Halloween vampire cackle.)

The Holly cookies are too pretty to eat..lol. A lot of work was involved decorating.

I think you named most of the Snowball ingredients...let's see, butter, chopped Pecans 'sweeter than walnuts,' flour, granuated sugar..I'd have to get the book for all ingredients..
I also make a Cresent Cookie similar to Snowballs, but add lemon rind, shape in moon-cresents.

In 2009, took pics of Christmas cookies, lol. Reason, a friend helped and was proud of her work. First time she ever baked.
None are shaped..usually make wreaths, holly, Christmas trees, reindeer, 'very pretty, use half-pecans for deer ears,' etc. And food coloring for Butter Cookies.

Snowballs are bottom left. Peanut Butter cookies w/Hershey's candy. Top w/frosting, Maple Cookies. Umm.

Purple, I too change ingredients..For instance, Snow Balls call for 1/4 cup sugar, I add 1/2 cup...
I also alter frosting..