Yummies

February 7, 2010

Hi Barbara;

Stevia is a plant. An herb. I bought a few plants at a local retailer and discovered it to be self propagating. It grows, flowers form, they die and new leaves and flowers grow. I actually have not caught any seeds as of yet but the plants are flourishing and redoubling in size over and over.

If I pick the leaves fresh while in the garden, the taste is so sweet it is a wake up call. I snip the stems above the new growth, clip off the spent flowers and stick the remainder in the dehydrator.

The dried leaves come right off the stem when I run clean fingers down them. The leaves go into the coffee grinder and I have freshly dried stevia powder.

If the plants prove prolific enough, i may start selling and bartering the powder. :-)

Cheers.

February 7, 2010

Kathy,

Does the fresh-dried leaves have the same aftertaste as the stuff in the store? I want to grow some stevia, but I'm really put off by that strong aftertaste. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, though.

Thanks,

Shara

Kathy <geekling

oleander soup

Sun, Feb 7, 2010 8:38 am

Yummies

Hi Barbara;

Stevia is a plant. An herb. I bought a few plants at a local retailer and discovered it to be self propagating. It grows, flowers form, they die and new leaves and flowers grow. I actually have not caught any seeds as of yet but the plants are flourishing and redoubling in size over and over.

If I pick the leaves fresh while in the garden, the taste is so sweet it is a wake up call. I snip the stems above the new growth, clip off the spent flowers and stick the remainder in the dehydrator.

The dried leaves come right off the stem when I run clean fingers down them. The leaves go into the coffee grinder and I have freshly dried stevia powder.

If the plants prove prolific enough, i may start selling and bartering the powder. :-)

Cheers.

February 7, 2010

Well I recently bought a dehydrator, now all i need is a stevia plant:-)

I use only stevia, but not much of it anyway. I do not have a sweet tooth and I use honey in tea, but if I have a cup of coffee I want sugar, so i use stevia.

thanks,

barbara n germany--- On Sun, 2/7/10, Kathy <geekling wrote:

Kathy <geekling Yummiesoleander soup Date: Sunday, February 7, 2010, 9:38 AM

Hi Barbara;

Stevia is a plant. An herb. I bought a few plants at a local retailer and discovered it to be self propagating. It grows, flowers form, they die and new leaves and flowers grow. I actually have not caught any seeds as of yet but the plants are flourishing and redoubling in size over and over.

If I pick the leaves fresh while in the garden, the taste is so sweet it is a wake up call. I snip the stems above the new growth, clip off the spent flowers and stick the remainder in the dehydrator.

The dried leaves come right off the stem when I run clean fingers down them. The leaves go into the coffee grinder and I have freshly dried stevia powder.

If the plants prove prolific enough, i may start selling and bartering the powder. :-)

Cheers.

February 7, 2010

We have a stevia plant in our front garden. We cut back by 2/3 whenever it

starts to bloom, and we put it all in the dehydrator for future use. We strip

off the leaves and buds, then cut up the stems. We add dehydrated stevia to our

loose tea when we steep it (we use Adagio tea pots from amazon). We only use

green tea, and we use each batch more than once.

We like that stevia is an herb that happens to be sweet, so we don't think of it

as purely sweetener.

February 7, 2010

The recipe sounds great! Thanks for sharing.

Donna ACS

Paul has it right.

The Health Ranger is a tool. Deepest sorries. Going to

dark chocolate is better than munching on milk chocolate but all of the

sugar, additives, and the processing is still there. Why must you buy a

bar which has been processed in a factory which has also processed

peanuts? If a company gave a darn about its customers, they'd use clean

rollers or mixers, don'cha think? The folks who harvest the cocoa don't

get much of the money pie, which is another reason I prefer to buy the

sun dried raw item.

Even stevia is processed. It is GREEN in its natural state

but the powder which is sold is white. Go figure out why that might be.

Cocoa powder is also processed. Dutch chocolate is

processed in a particularly abhorrent manner.

Available for purchase are raw cocoa nibs which are the

actual beans the cocoa tree produces. i buy them whole (not cheap), sun

dried and grind them myself but they are available already ground up

for you. I grow and dry my own stevia.

Here is a nice chocolate recipe which can be frozen or

used as an icing or just licked by the spoon. It is not calorie free

but will not harm you in moderation.

Equal parts:

ground cocoa nibs

coconut oil

maple syrup, grade B (dark amber which is also less

processed)

Whisk until thoroughly mixed.

2 T of each will ice a 9" cake or pie. My cakes are made

wholly of ground nuts, seeds, and fruits. If you can actually get

freshly dried stevia, you only need 1/8 t for the same recipe. Kinda

like a small pinch. I chew a few cocoa nibs sometimes before bed and it

relaxes me. All by themselves, raw, unadulterated cocoa is an entirely

different tasting (and acting) food than a purchased chocolate bar.

This week, I made a cheeze cake from nuts and seeds and

raisins and dates and used the above recipe as icing. actually, it the

second cake I've made this week because I've had visitors.

Cheers

The enclosed chocolate recipe will satisfy any sweet

tooth. Remember that moderation is a key.

Try not, lol, to mix it up by the quart.

February 7, 2010

I understand totally about the aftertaste -- a real turnoff.

I find the KAL brand doesn't have that problem. It's very concentrated

and works well for me. (Hope mentioning a brand isn't against the

rules.)

February 8, 2010

Kathy,

Do you get the bitter taste from your powdered green leaves?

Thanks.

Melly

oleander soup , Kathy <geekling wrote:

>

> Hi Barbara;

>

> Stevia is a plant. An herb. I bought a few plants at a local retailer and

discovered it to be self propagating. It grows, flowers form, they die and new

leaves and flowers grow. I actually have not caught any seeds as of yet but the

plants are flourishing and redoubling in size over and over.

>

February 8, 2010

Fresh dried stevia is a brown/green leaf you can crumble into a powder.

It will not dissolve in tea or in baking products, as will the processed

stevia. It has a licorice or

earthy kind of taste to it - not the aftertaste that the processed stuff

has, but some folks don't care for the licorice flavor. It is a

medicinal herb in its natural state - stabalizes

blood sugar. In South America it is used in treating diabetis, not

simply as a sugar

substitute, but for actual treatment. I love the taste and use it in

tea. I don't do much baking, so haven't worked out how to do that with

natural stevia. but there are books out there that tell you what

proportions and how to do it, with the green/brown natural dried

leaves. Usually it involves covering the powder with vodka, or

sometimes water, to draw out the sweet, than filtering out the powder

and saving the sweetened liquid, using certain number of drops of it,

according to taste. It is an inexact science, but for things you aren't

baking you can just tell by taste. Even if you don't like the flavor of

the natural herb, you can take it in a capsule, for its health

benefits. It is

well worth growing for your home use. Sara

February 8, 2010

I have recently purchased a four oz bottle of the Liquid Stevia. It

says it can be also used as a weight loss product?? Just a few drops in

a glass of water 3 times a day? I personally use it inplace of sugar in

my coffee at 3-4 drops per cup. It did remind me of a Saccharine taste.

My Great Grandmother had Diabetes and used Saccharine. I use it to

hopefully lower my Triglycerides. I'm healthy now and I'm on a mission

to stay this way!

Ron

Sara Mandal-Joy wrote:

Fresh dried stevia is a brown/green leaf you can crumble into a

powder.

It will not dissolve in tea or in baking products, as will the

processed

stevia. It has a licorice or

earthy kind of taste to it - not the aftertaste that the processed

stuff