rose petal tea + rose facial steam

I was staring at the small bouquet of red roses on my desk, when a thought popped into my head: I should cook with these!  So I picked a petal and ate it.  Okay, not bad.  I could do something with this.  By the way, Bob thought I was absolutely nuts for doing this, but the way I see it, if I'm going to cook with it, I need to taste-test it, right?  Who's with me?!

Not surprisingly, there weren't a ton of rose recipes out there.  But I did manage to find one for rose petal tea.  Doesn't that sound delightful?  Rose petal tea!

Rose petal tea (based on The Joy of Soup)
1-1/2 cups of rose petals
2-3 cups of water
Sugar or honey, to taste

Rinse rose petals.
Place petals in saucer, cover with water and boil for 5 minutes.
Strain and serve into cups/mugs.
Add sugar or honey, to taste.

Almost immediately after the water started to steam, the petals started to lose their color and dye the water with this lovely rich pink.  It was so pretty.

But pretty is where it stops because the taste was...not for me.  It wasn't terrible...ok, it was terrible.  It didn't even seem edible (or drinkable, in this case).

But when you have lemons, make lemonade, right?

The tea wasn't great, but as a relaxing steam for my face, it worked beautifully!

Rose petal facial steam
Handful (or more) of rose petals
2-4 cups of water
Facial mask of your choice

Heat water until boiling point.  Immediately remove.
Add petals and let sit for about 7-10 minutes.
Drape a towel over your head and hang your head over steam for about 5 minutes (not too close).
Pat face dry.  Apply mask.
Rinse or wash off after 10 minutes (or until mask is fully dry).

Although I've read that roses have astringent properties, I can't really say for sure if they had any effect on my complexion.  But it did make me feel like I was at a luxurious spa.  And the Queen Helene Mint Julep mask that I applied afterward always leaves me with clearer, smoother and a more even skin tone (did that sound like a skin commercial or what?).  So in the end, I win.  And so does my skin.


-jillian m.