Cooking with Orange Oil and Orange Peel
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
The zest of a citrus fruit for a recipe is nothing new to many who cook on a regular basis, but did you know that the oil of the citrus has benefits for your health that go above and beyond. Orange oil in general has health benefits such as improving you mood, calming anxiety and even helps maintain healthful, young-looking skin by boosting the production of collagen. You can blend orange oil with other essential oils such as cinnamon and ylang-ylang to create a better room refresher than those on the market today.
The orange tress (Citrus aurantium) produces petigrain essential oil from the foliage of the tree and neroli oil from the blooms of the tree and orange oil from the orange fruit itself. The orange oil is pretty inexpensive and the peel can be added to most any dish to create a citrus, orange effect to cookies, cakes and even muffins. If you blend five drops orange oil, three drops lime oil, and two drops lemongrass oil in a diffuser you create a scent that can help bring your blue mood to a more cheerful one quickly.
There are many ways to use orange oil and orange peel right in your own kitchen; blending orange essential oil with vinegars or purchase alcohols that contain orange oil already to add to many dishes to help flavor foods of any kind even more. The possibilities are endless with the use of orange essential oil or the peel of an orange.
_______________________________________________________
Earthly Eating Recipe
Twice Baked Potatoes
Serves: 8
8 medium-sized potatoes, baked
2 tbs. butter
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 strips bacon, cooked and diced
3 green onions, chopped finely
Slice the top off of each potatoes lengthwise and hollow out the skins after being backed. In a bowl mash together the potato insides, butter, sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Mix till combined and add the heavy cream, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the bacon and onion and refill the potatoes skins. Top with the remaining cheese and extra bacon if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions or chives if desired.
Happy Eating!
