Aromatherapy Ornaments and Jambalaya

I love the way a certain scent can bring back a memory or take you back to a time long since past.  Cinnamon, cloves, citrus, balsam fir:  these are the scents that make me think of the holiday season.  They bring back memories of making Christmas cookies with my family, memories of decorating the tree together, and of meals together on Christmas Eve.  Our tree brings a great balsam fir smell to the house, and these aromatherapy ornaments I am making today will hopefully bring the other scents together.
Aside from the great smell, I also like the idea of making these ornaments because it reminds me of making Christmas ornaments with my mom.  I remember making lace snowflakes and bright red felt cardinals.  These homemade ornaments are always so much more meaningful than the store bought ones when you pull them out of the box each year to hang them.  The ornament recipe comes from Aura Cacia, a company that makes aromatherapy products.  I work  in the health & wellness department of a natural foods co-op and we sell Aura Cacia products, so they sent us these recipes to hand out during the holidays.  The recipes included some for holiday home fragrances and this recipe for aromatherapy ornaments.  With my Blue Yule album on, I gathered my supplies and got to work. 

Spicy Aromatherapy Tree Ornaments

1 cup ground cloves
1 cup cinnamon powder
2 cups applesauce
2 tsp craft glue (I used Elmers)
toothpick
ribbon
10 drops of clove bud essential oil
10 drops of cinnamon essential oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
cookie cutters

Combine clove and cinnamon powder.  Add the essential oils and the vanilla.  Mix well, then add applesauce and glue to form a dough.  If the dough is too wet, add more spices.  If too dry, add more applesauce.  Roll out the dough on a dry counter top until about 1/2 inch thick and use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes.  Use the toothpick to make a hole for the ribbon.  The recipe then says to bake in the oven at 125 F until dry, but the lowest my oven will go is 170 F.  It took them about 2 hours at 170 to get completely dry.  I think it took them an especially long time because I made them a bit too thick.  I was afraid if they were too thin they would be fragile, but in hind sight, I should have made them slightly thinner than these you see in the photo.  Once they are dry, take them out of the oven, cool them, and then attach the ribbons.  Hang them from the tree and let the comfort and joy of the season appeal to all of your senses!  Don't let the scent fool you, though.  These are absolutely not edible.  The recipe points out that the ornaments can be freshened up with a few drops of essential oil in a few weeks if needed. 
  

Now that the ornaments are done, I will move on to making one of my favorite meals for dinner.  Even though I didn't grow up in Louisiana, my dad loved cooking Cajun cuisine, so we ate lots of gumbo, low country boil, etouffee, grillades & grits, and jambalaya.  I didn't always love these meals as much as I do now, which I attribute to my wimpy palate for spicy foods as a kid.  I laugh as I picture my dad saying "I promise I didn't make it too spicy" as the sweat dripped down his face from the bite he just sampled.  The point was that it was supposed to be spicy.  Now I can't get enough of it!  I'm fascinated with Louisiana music, food, and culture and like to think that somewhere deep down, I have a little ragin' cajun in me.  Zydeco music was often playing as dad cooked his Cajun cuisine, so I'm switching my Blue Yule album for one called New Orleans Christmas, and assembling the ingredients for dad's Jambalaya (or at least the way I remember it, since he never writes his recipes down).   

 Jambalaya                                           

1 lb Andouille Sausage
1 16 oz. jar of tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
2 small shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, diced
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 cups chicken broth
1 smoked ham hock (optional)
1 cup shrimp, peeled
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp Tabasco pepper sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground allspice
salt & pepper
2 cups white rice

Andouille sausage used to be tough to find in VT, but I was thrilled to recently find some from Vermont Heritage Grazers.  If you absolutely can't find it in your area, you can use Kielbasa, but it won't be quite the same.  I was also able to find some local onions and shallots and it's nice to be able to use our home-canned tomatoes and home-grown garlic.  In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat the oil.  Slice your sausage on a bias into 1/2 inch pieces.  Add the sausage, onions, shallots, bell pepper, jalapeno and celery.  Cook 8 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Now the veggies should all be tender and the onions translucent.  Remove the sausage from the pan, cover it, and set it aside.
Add the chicken broth, smoked ham bone (if using), tomatoes, bay leaf, Tabasco, salt, pepper, thyme, and allspice to the pot.  Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.  You can either add the rice now to the pot, or you can cook the rice on the side in your rice cooker.  We always cooked the rice on the side and then spooned the finished Jambalaya over the steaming rice in bowls.  If you add the rice directly to the pot, cover it, and cook an additional 15 minutes.  Finally, add your sausage back to the pot, along with the raw shrimp.  It should only take a minute for the shrimp to cook.  If you cooked your rice separately, spoon it into each of your bowls.  Then spoon the Jambalaya over the rice.  Serve with crusty french bread and with additional Tabasco for those who like it extra spicy.  Enjoy!