Bring essential oils into the kitchen

By Sarah Allen

Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Pinwheels, a favorite recipe using essential oils recipe from Freedom Farm Market owner Midge Weller.

Essential oils available for sale at the Freedom Farm Market in Hillsboro.

In this modern world, most solutions can be found with only a few clicks of a mouse — but for some, solutions are being found instead with only a few drops of essential oils.

Chrissy Wendel, a wellness advocate with doTerra, described essential oils as “the aromatic compounds that are distilled from plants.” She added they have been “used for thousands of years medicinally.”

However, Wendel said the oils have applications beyond the medicine cabinet.

“I know so many people who use them for such a wide variety of uses,” she said.

Essential oils can be used in soaps. Along with fragrance, she said, they also provide soaps with antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.

And let’s not overlook the kitchen. She said she likes to use lemon essential oil when baking fish. A couple of drops added to melted butter, she said, give the fish an “amazing taste” — but without the acidity of lemon juice.

“It’s very simple … to incorporate (the oils) into really every aspect of your life,” Wendel said.

Kathryn Coy, of Fayette County, has made essential oils a part of her life. She began using them nearly three years ago for health reasons but has branched out.

Coy said that she uses clary sage, frankincense, peppermint and lavender essential oils every day for a variety of reasons, ranging from headaches to bug bites to relaxation.

She enjoys peppermint oil in homemade cleaning products “because it repels spiders, mice, ants, ticks, rats and various other nasty beasties.”

“My biggest current use is putting peppermint oil on the hems of my jeans (and on) my wrists, neck and hair when I have to work in the long grass to keep the ticks off me,” Coy said. “I put three drops into my hands, then rub my hands over my clothing and hair.”

Midge Weller also uses oils in numerous ways. She began using them in 2014 and sells them at her store, Freedom Farm Market.

“They are just amazing,” she said, adding that they can be “spiritually uplifting” and can also “inspire a positive emotional state.”

“I personally enjoy them for the emotional end,” she added.

She also uses essential oils while cooking. One of her most popular dishes is sun-dried tomato basil pinwheels, which uses basil essential oil.

She added that essential oils can be used aromatically, topically or internally. However, labels should be consulted to learn how to use each essential oil, as not all are used the same way.

“Education is key when it comes to the oils,” Weller said. “Start slow.”

Susanna Hobleman has been using essential oils for five years. Like Wendel, she is also a wellness advocate with doTerra. Hobleman believes they have helped stabilize her emotions and that they have helped her daughters, who have cystic fibrosis, maintain healthy respiratory systems.

The oils, Hobleman said, have “just phenomenally changed … our lives.”

Hobleman, Wendel and Weller said, ultimately, essential oils support the body’s systems. They do not necessarily treat, prevent or cure ailments. Hobleman described them as tools in bettering health.

Hobleman said one of her favorites is using five to six drops of lemon essential oil in a bowl of hot water. She said she uses that mixture to clean her windows and polish furniture.

However the oils are used, Hobleman said connecting people with education and resources about essential oils has “become a passion.”

“It’s been an amazing, fun thing to see people’s lives changed,” she said.

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— Recipes courtesy of Midge Weller, Freedom Farm Market owner

SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL PINWHEELS

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

8 ounces cream cheese

4 drops basil essential oil

4 flour tortilla shells

Directions:

Combine the sun-dried tomatoes and the garlic in a food processor. Once that is chopped together, add the cream cheese and the basil essential oil; Process until smooth. Spread on a tortilla, then roll the tortilla. Repeat until all tortillas are filled. Chill the rolled tortillas and slice.

(Recipe from Chrissy Wendel.)

ITALIAN OREGANO CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 chicken breast

2 tablespoons powdered chicken bouillon, divided

6 cups water, divided

4 stalks celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 package ditalini pasta, usually 1 pound

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 pint whipping cream

2 drops oregano essential oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Place olive oil and oregano in small skillet and sauté over medium heat for approximately 1 minute. Set aside.

Place chicken, 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon and 1 cup water in pressure cooker. Cook for 20 minutes on high. Once chicken has finished cooking, shred or dice it.

Saute celery and bell pepper in a small skillet over medium heat for approximately 1 minute. Place celery, bell pepper and chicken in the pressure cooker. Add pasta. Mix 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon with 5 cups water; pour over ingredients in the pressure cooker. Pasta should be covered. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low pressure for 2 minutes.

When finished cooking, add cream, tomatoes, the sauteed oregano and oregano essential oil. Mix well and heat for 1 minute before serving.

Note: This soup may be prepared without the use of a pressure cooker, but cooking times will be longer.

STRAWBERRY CITRUS SLUSH

Ingredients:

2 cups lemonade, fresh preferred

1 cup frozen strawberries

Juice of 1 lemon

4 drops lemon essential oil

4 drops lime essential oil

3 cups ice

3 tablespoons white sugar or 1/2 teaspoon stevia

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth or at desired consistency. Pour into cups and enjoy.

CINNAMON APPLE CHIPS

Ingredients:

7-8 medium-sized apples of your choice

1 tablespoon sugar or sweetener of your choice

6 drops cinnamon essential oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together sugar and cinnamon essential oil in small bowl.

Cut apples into thin slices. Place apples on baking sheets in single layer. Sprinkle apples with sugar mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes. Halfway through, flip apples over.

When edges of apples are curled, remove from oven and place on wire rack until cooled and crispy.

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