Cooking with Essential Oils

Over the past several months I've been learning about using essential oils in my home. I've really enjoyed learning about them and using them. One of the many ways I use them in my house is in my cooking. I'm teaching a class this week about cooking with essential oils and these are the recipes I will be sharing.

Orange Truffles (gluten free)

1 20 oz bag of dark chocolate chips
1 ½ c heavy cream
2 drops Wild Orange Essential oil

Put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Put the heavy cream in a pot and scald it (very hot but not boiling). Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Wisk until melted together. If you still have pieces of chocolate chips that won’t melt then microwave the mixture for 20 seconds, wisk again, repeat as needed until melted together. Add essential oil and stir. Cover and put in fridge until hard. Use a melon baller to make small balls. Coat in hard chocolate coating like almond bark (I buy mine from chocoley.com so it’s gluten free and I like the quality). Top with an almond if you want.


Peppermint Truffles (gluten free)

1 20 oz bag of dark chocolate chips
1 ½ c heavy cream
3 drops peppermint essential oil

Put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Put the heavy cream in a pot and scald it (very hot but not boiling). Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Wisk until melted together. If you still have pieces of chocolate chips that won’t melt then microwave the mixture for 20 seconds, wisk again, repeat as needed until melted together. Add essential oil and stir. Cover and put in fridge until hard. Use a melon baller to make small balls. Coat in hard chocolate coating like almond bark. (I buy mine from chocoley.com so it’s gluten free and I like the quality)


High Protein Pancakes (gluten free)

2 c cottage cheese
6 eggs
4 T agave or honey
2 t vanilla
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 c uncooked rolled oats (quick or old fashioned are fine)
½ c uncooked quinoa
1 drop Cinnamon essential oil
1 drop Wild Orange essential oil

Put all ingredients in a high powered blender. Blend on high for about a minute. Make silver dollar size pancakes on a griddle at 325 degrees.

Cilantro Lime Salsa (gluten free)

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel
1 small can sliced jalapenos (can add more if you like more heat)
1 handful cilantro leaves
1 t garlic powder
¼ t cumin
½ t salt
2 drops Lime essential oil

Put all ingredients in blender and blend on low until all combined but not too pureed.

Tangerine Fruit Dip (gluten free)

2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 c honey
1/2 c heavy cream (1 c of whipped cream would work too)
4 drops Tangerine essential oil

Whip together and serve with fruit. I added 1/2 c heavy cream. It was a little too dense.



Jillard’s Curry (gluten free, just make sure your curry paste is gf)

15 oz Chopped tomatoes ( or use one regular can of diced Tomatos)
4 Skinless chicken breast – cubed
2 Medium onions – finely chopped
2 Cloves of garlic- finely chopped
1 Inch sized piece of ginger – finely chopped (or 2 drops Ginger essential oil)
1 Tsp Turmeric powder
0.5 Tsp Chilli powder
2 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tsp salt
0.25 cup of Vegetable oil
2 Tbs Madras or Jalfrezi curry paste
10 Curry Leafs chopped (Optional)
Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When crackling add the chopped onion and fry until golden. Add ginger and garlic and after 2 minutes add the turmeric, chilli, salt.
After 2 minutes add the curry paste mix well then add the tomatoes.
Mix well and add the chicken and after 5 minutes add 2 cups of water, cover and allow to simmer for at least 40 minutes.


Aloo Gobi (gluten free)
4 large potatoes
1 medium head of cauliflower
4 t cumin seeds
¼ c cooking oil
1 c water
2 cloves garlic
1 drop Ginger essential oil
1 drop Corriander essential oil
½ t turmeric
1 t salt
Cut potatoes into chunks, and separate cauliflower into florets. Mix ½ cup of the water, the garlic, turmeric, ginger, coriander and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Heat cooking oil in a large saucepan. Add cumin seeds to the oil and cook until they pop a little but don’t overcook, they burn easily. Add water mixture to the cumin seeds and stir to combine. Add the potatoes and cauliflower. Mix thoroughly. Add the other ½ c water. Bring water to a boil, then simmer and cover until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender. Keep an eye on it, you might have to add more water.


Blender waffle (gluten free)
3 c buttermilk
3 c uncooked grains (combination of oats, quinoa, brown rice, millet, amaranth, etc)
4 eggs
4 t vanilla
4 T agave or honey
4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
4 T melted coconut oil
1 ½ t salt
2 drops Cinnamon essential oil
Put all in a high powered blender. Blend and use in waffle maker as directed. When mine is a little too thin I like to add some peanut butter powder.



No-Knead Bread (Rosemary)
Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery via Mark Bittman at New York Times

Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 c cool water
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
2 – 3 drops Rosemary essential oil

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, salt and essential oil. Add water, and stir until blended; dough will be sticky. Add a little more water if you need to make it sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at room temperature, out of sunlight, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles and it's a little bit darker of a color. Use lightly floured hands to pull the dough off the edges of the bowl and tuck the edges in to make it a round ball. Make sure there is a light coating of flour all over the ball of dough, not too much, just enough so you can pick it up without the dough sticking to your hands.

3. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Fold towel over to cover dough and put it in a draft free place to rise. Let it rise for 1-2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. A half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 475°. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes (I ended up only baking mine 10 minutes extra), until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.


On Guard Wassail (gluten free)

2 c apple juice
1 c cranberry juice
4 drops On Guard essential oil
2 drops Wild Orange essential oil
2 drops Lemon essential oil

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat until hot, enjoy.


Teriyaki Sauce (gluten free)

1 c soy sauce (I use gluten free Tamari soy sauce)
1 c mirin
1 c brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, sliced in half
2 drops Ginger essential oil

Wisk all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring it almost up to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer and simmer for about an hour. Watch very carefully the whole time. It boils over easily. I use this sauce on chicken or salmon. When using chicken I use chicken thighs. I simmer the chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce just until cooked. Then I put the chicken on a foil lined cookie sheet in a single layer and spoon more sauce over. Then I broil the chicken on both sides until all the fat renders off.


Pasta Sauce (gluten free)

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano tomatoes)
1 medium onion diced
2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 drops Basil essential oil
Salt to taste

Put oil, onion and a little bit of salt in a skillet. Cook on medium heat until onions are very soft. Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Do not let garlic burn. Add the tomatoes and Basil. Let the tomatoes simmer for about 20 minutes. If you want a tighter sauce you can add 1 T of tomato paste. Salt to taste.



Lemongrass Chicken (gluten free)

2 lbs chicken thighs

Marinde:
3 T brown sugar
2 T diced onion
2 T minced garlic
1-2 drops Lemongrass essential oil
3 T fish sauce
1 T soy sauce
1 T oil

Mix all marinade ingredients. Put chicken thighs in a bowl or gallon plastic bag. Add marinade ingredients. Mix well and put in the fridge to marinate overnight. When you’re ready to cook it you can cook it on a grill or under the broiler in the oven on both sides until all the fat is rendered off. I like to serve this with rice, julienne carrots and cucumber and fresh cilantro. You can also add siracha or garlic chili paste for some spice.