Basil Seed Shrub, Duck with Hazelnut Orange Stuffing, and Year Old Fruit Cake

 I feel like I haven't been cooking as much this past month....or just not cooking things I post. I need to get back to my list. Until then...these are some of the things I've made in the past few weeks.

A Basil Shrub. This was interesting...and nothing like the picture. It doesn't use nearly enough seeds. I think it might be really healthy for you though. I think I've seen something similar in the store but I've never bought it. Probably because I couldn't tell what it was and wasn't curious enough to take a look at the packaging. It tastes like rose water, only a tad is needed to really give it the rose flavor. It kinda makes me want to make a rosewater lemonade. I would try it again...but not with this recipe.

I was in charge of Christmas dinner...but I did have a lot of help. Figured I would post what I did make. I made duck. Which was really intimidating...but actually easy. If you can make chicken you can make duck. I made a glaze for it that was a few things I threw together- soy sauce, orange juice, honey, brown sugar, rosemary and a few other things. I did do the stuffing, which was OK. But I'm not a fan of stuffing anyway. I used the recipe here. So in 2022, I learned to make Turkey and Duck. I also made gruyere rosemary mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce and prepped some of the veggies. My sister made the brussels sprouts and green beans. And my Dad made some rolls. Yum.

Almost forgot about the fruit cake I made over a year ago. I had been dousing it in rum every 1-2 months. And it was pretty good..-for a fruit cake. Did you know fruit cake is the traditional wedding cake flavor of royalty? I think it's the oldest known cake. If you like rum or rum cake this was a solid cake. I think the most impressive thing was the texture. It was really perfect. I think it's one of the best textures of a cake I have ever cooked. I should have taken pics of the inside. I don't think I would do it again in the near future but it was a really fun kind of project cake.

And that's all!