Essential oil of Cardamom

Local treatment:

• 2 ml Cumin essential oil

• 2 ml Peppermint essential oil

• 2 ml Cardamom essential oil

• 30 ml St John's wort oil

• 30 ml Olive oil

Use: Massage into the stomach in a clockwise direction. Repeat 1 or 2 times a day if necessary.

Note from Aroma-Zone: St John's wort macerated oil presents a risk of photosensitisation. Do not expose your skin to the sun after applying this preparation.

• 1 drop Cumin essential oil

• 1 drop of Peppermint essential oil

• 1 drop of Cardamom essential oil

Local treatment: Use: Pour 1 drop of each essential oil into half a glass of hot water (37°), mix well and then rinse your mouth for about 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat 2 or 3 times a day.

Oral treatment: Use: 1 drop of each essential oil at mealtime in a teaspoonful of olive oil or honey or in a little breadcrumbs. Repeat this treatment 2 or 3 times a day.

Fresh and light, this aubergine cream can be served as an aperitif with toast or in a mixed dish.

• 4 tablespoons cardamom-flavoured olive oil (prepared with 3 drops of cardamom essential oil in 120 ml olive oil - see recipe above)

• 3 aubergines

• Herbed salt

Preparation: Peel and dice the aubergines. Steam them gently in the basket of a thick-bottomed casserole dish. When they have melted, place them in the blender bowl of a food processor, adding the olive oil flavoured with cardamom essential oil. Whizz until creamy and season with salt. Chill until ready to serve.

For the tart pastry (24 cm diameter tart tin) :

• 200 g brown wheat flour (or spelt, petit-épeautre)

• 60 g vegetable margarine

• 1 tbsp light cane sugar

• 75 ml rice or soya lotion (75 g)

For the topping:

• 1 drop of cardamom essential oil

• 150 g walnut kernels (shelled walnuts)

• 2 tbsp rice flour

• 2 tbsp wholemeal sugar

• 2 eggs

• 15 cl rice lotion

For the decoration:

• about ten walnut kernels

• 2 tbsp whole cane sugar and 1 pinch cardamom powder (or 2 tbsp honey with cardamom, see recipe above)

Preparation:

Take the magarine out in advance and place the pieces in the bowl of the food processor with the kneading blade. When sufficiently softened, add the light cane sugar, flour and vegetable lotion and mix to form a ball of dough.

Roll out the pastry and line a tart tin, tucking in the edges and place in the oven at gas mark 6 for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the walnut filling: place the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor using the chopping blade. Add the flour and wholemeal cane sugar and blend to a smooth powder. Then add the eggs and rice lotion and blend. Add the single drop of cardamom essential oil and blend again.

Remove the pre-baked tart case from the oven and pour over the walnut cream. Decorate with a few walnut kernels. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at thermostat 6/7.

Remove the hot tart from the oven and place on a wire rack.

Mix the wholemeal sugar with the cardamom powder and sprinkle over the tart. It will barely melt and harden as it cools, giving a sweet crunch. To give the final touch to this dessert, you may also prefer to use honey flavoured with cardamom essential oil. Make it shine by spreading it over the walnut kernels.

For the compote:

• 5 apples

• 2 tablespoons honey with cardamom (see recipe above)

For the crumble batter:

• 50 g vegetable margarine

• 100g light cane sugar

• 50 g almond powder

• 20 g rice flour

• 50-60 g toasted rice flakes (muesli mix)

• 1 pinch cardamom powder

For the gooseberry parcel:

• 250 g redcurrants

• 3 tablespoons light cane sugar

Directions:

Peel and slice the apples. Cook them in a thick-bottomed saucepan over a low heat until you obtain a compote. Remove from the heat and add the spoonfuls of honey flavoured with cardamom essential oil. Pour the compote into an oiled oven dish. Mix the vegetable margarine (taken out of the fridge ahead of time to soften) with the light cane sugar, almond powder, rice flour, a pinch of cardamom and more or less rice flakes, depending on the consistency. Spread this mixture over the applesauce. Place in the oven for a short time, around 10 minutes, as the crumble browns very quickly.

Prepare the redcurrant coulis: mix the redcurrants and light cane sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. As soon as it starts to simmer and the fruit begins to juice, stir and remove from the heat. Spread this warm or cold coulis over the cooled crumble just before serving.

• 3 drops of cardamom essential oil

• 60 g vegetable margarine

• 100g light cane sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1 small carrot (60 g)

• 50 g slivered almonds

• 120 g rice flour

• 1 tbsp baking powder (5 g)

Preparation time:

Half an hour beforehand, take the margarine out so that you can work with it easily. In a bowl, mix it with the light cane sugar. When you have a smooth consistency, add the eggs one by one. Chop the carrot pieces in a small parsley chopper and add them to the batter, along with the slivered almonds. Mix, adding the 3 drops of cardamom essential oil and, lastly, the rice flour and baking powder. Oil a glass cake tin and pour in the batter. Bake at gas mark 7 for 35 minutes. Once puffed up and cooked, turn the cake out of the tin without waiting (to prevent it sticking to the tin).

This apple jelly is firm enough to be cut into cubes and eaten as a low-sugar treat.

You can also fill two jars with jam or pour the apple paste into bowls for unmoulding.

• 1 drop of cardamom essential oil

• 500 g apples

• 250 g light cane sugar

• 4 g agar agar powder

• 10 cl water

Preparation:

For this recipe, avoid apples for compote, preferring apples that hold together and won't melt when cooked. Peel the apples and cut into thin slices as you would for a tart.

Place the apples in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the cane sugar and cook over a low heat for 25 minutes until translucent.

Dilute the agar agar powder by adding the water a little at a time, stirring carefully

Return this solution to the pan and keep over a gentle heat, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add a single drop of cardamom essential oil

Mix well, the apples should not juice too much and you should obtain a thick compote

Pour into 2 glass jars, seal and turn out immediately (leave to cool upside down) or into a large oiled rectangular dish, spreading the mixture out to a thickness of 2 cm. Leave to cool so that you can easily cut into cubes with a knife.

Mix 1 drop of ginger essential oil (Zingiber officinalis), 1 drop of cinnamon bark essential oil (cinnamonum verum), 1 drop of cardamom essential oil (elettaria cardamomum) and 20 cl of sugar syrup.

To prepare the sugar syrup:

• 7 cl water

• 140 g caster sugar

Boil the water and sugar until the sugar has completely melted (about 5 minutes). Leave to cool.

Add the essential oils to the syrup, mixing well.

This syrup will delicately flavour your punches or other cocktails.