A Little Bit of Rosemary in My Life

  
  The occasional floods in the creek behind the house I grew up in had already claimed ten feet or so of the far back yard by the time we moved in. This meant the stone BBQ pit sat on the other side of the fence amid a tangle of Missouri flora.

  It was the perfect place for two imaginative grade school girls to pretend they were witches. Kathy Tsiopas and I spent a fair amount of one summer brewing potions there in a tin cauldron, using ingredients native to the creek and utensils we believed long forgotten by our mothers.

  We also tried making paper from the innards of a fallen tree in the woods on the other side of the creek. Our effort possessed a distinct flat bread character that didn't take well to pen or pencil.

    To this day I remained enamored of brews and potions of my own creation.

  It's likely why I'm also fond of old enameled pots, antique jars and unusual spoons.

    Lately, rosemary has my attention. Its odor gives me pause and finds me closing my eyes in order to truly relish the rosemary moment.

  For a woman with 55 waiting literally around the bend, rosemary holds great promise. It's said to firm and tone your skin. It's anti-aging and fiercely ravages those free radicals.

  Last week I had mentioned the rosemary busily releasing it's oil into a bottle of vodka on my kitchen window sill. My plan was to then freeze the vodka, minus the rosemary, so the rosemary oil would rise to the surface to be spooned off.

  However, I mixed up my recipes - a hazard when reading piles of loose paper while simultaneously stirring rosemary ketchup. Alcohol, of course, doesn't freeze. I've started over by putting more fresh rosemary into a jar filled with distilled water.

  At that almost 55 marker, I cringe at the thought of an alcohol-based skin toner. But what to do with this rosemary vodka? Hmmmmm...

Rosemary Martini
2 parts rosemary vodka
1 part Pear Brandy
splash of fresh lemon juice
rosemary sprig garnish

   More on skin care and rosemary as soon as I get it right.

  About that rosemary ketchup. It turned out pretty well but I want to try it one more time with a few other ingredients - including a single anchovy. I'll keep you posted on that, too.