Elegant Rose

Oh, the smell of fresh popped popcorn, no one can resist. Have you ever tried making it the old fashioned way? Here’s what you will need:

a stainless steel saucepan with a handle
coconut oil
popcorn( I prefer the white)
stove

Put a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil in the saucepan and put the heat on 7 or a bit over medium. Add enough popcorn to just cover the bottom of the pan. Use the handle of the pan to gently move it back and forth over the burner. In the meantime, melt a few tablespoons of coconut oil to pour over the popcorn. When the popcorn starts to pop, turn the stove up to 10 or high, at this point, you will need to move the pan back and forth over the burner constantly. When it is done popping, pour it into a bowl and drizzle a bit of your melted coconut oil over it, and sprinkle with sea salt. I prefer sea salt as it has some nutrition in it. Shake the contents of the bowl or bag gently and drizzle more coconut oil over it and once again sprinkle with salt. Taste test to be sure all is well, and eat!

Optional: Sprinkle nutritional yeast on your popcorn, you will be amazed how good it is and it’s good for you! We’ve also sprinkled parmesan cheese on it!

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After selling soap online and looking at many different soap shops, I have come to the realization that it might be helpful to have a few tips or things to look for in buying homemade soap so that you’re not disappointed.

The first thing you would want to look for is what size bar are they selling and for how much. The size of the bar is usually listed in ounces. You will want to know this so that you can compare pricing in different shops and know what you’re getting. A bar of soap from the grocery store weighs about 4 - 4.5 ounces, I think they must have shrunk since I last bought them. That being said, you should be able to get a feel for what you are getting. Most sample size bars of soap are about the size of a hotel bar, some are bigger. I would say a hotel bar is about 1 ounce in size.

Now that you have a better idea of what size bar you are getting, you will may want to consider how it is made. Is it melt and pour soap, cold process or hot process. This may not be as important as the size, but you may want to test a bar of melt and pour soap vs. hot/cold process and see if it matters to you. Cold process and hot process are very similar.

Next, what ingredients are used in making the soap. Here are a few common vegetable oils used and their properties.
COCONUT OIL’S ability to nourish and heal the skin has been known in the tropics for hundreds of years. Coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties. It also has wonderful antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil has wonderful moisturizing and lathering properties, although too much of it can be drying.

OLIVE OIL ~ One of the best natural treatments you can use for dry skin. It’s light & mildly antibacterial. Olive oil is also very moisturizing, by itself, the lather would be little to none. It is mild and softens and soothes the skin.

PALM OIL is rich in antioxidants and contains high concentrations of a powerful form of Vitamin E called “tocotrienols”. Palm oil cannot be used by itself, but combined with coconut and olive oils, it produces a very nice soap.

UNREFINED SHEA BUTTER ~ The benefits of raw shea butter are that it can be used as a superior moisturizer with all natural vitamin A, an anti-inflammatory, a minor sunscreen agent (up to SPF 6), and it also reduces wrinkles. Shea Butter is very moisturizing and nourishing for the skin. It is used in many bath and body products for these qualities. It is usually used in small amounts in cold process soap.

Any other oils listed in soap ingredients are usually used in small quantities for their moisturizing capabilities.

Now, consider whether it matters to you if they use fragrance oils or essential oils in scenting the soap. I guess there are probably pros and cons of both. Fragrance oils are synthetic and I would guess can cause more allergic reactions than essential oils. Although essential oils can also cause reactions. Let’s face it, if you are allergic to lavender flowers, lavender essential oil will cause you problems too. For those of you that prefer a more natural soap, I would probably choose essential oils.

What about the coloring used in soap? Does it really matter? Well, your skin is the largest organ and absorbs everything you put on it. I don’t know if studies have been done, probably not, but I just prefer to err on the side of caution and not put something on my skin that I wouldn’t eat. I prefer to have natural colorants, from spices, clays and such. I know many will not agree with me, or maybe you have just not thought of the effect it may have on you over the long haul.

Hopefully this will at least enlighten you in your search for a great homemade soap.

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If you’ve never had the chance to enjoy Kamut bread, you should give it a try. Many years ago, when many of us in the family were allergic to wheat, we had to find an alternative. We searched and found spelt and kamut grains, which are both ancient forms of wheat. Even though they were forms of wheat, we were able tolerate them better than we did wheat. Kamut is a wonderful grain, golden in color, thus the resulting bread is a golden color and oh so good! They are both available through co-ops and most likely at the local health food store. I have a DLX mixer and love it, I make all of my bread in there. It has a timer, so I set it for so many minutes and walk away. You can make this recipe by hand if you wish.

Kamut Bread

Makes 3 9″ loaves, can be halved to make 2 medium loaves.

4 1/2 cups hot water (120-125)
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup honey
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon vitamin C crystals, optional
11 cups Kamut flour
1 cup gluten flour
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

Put water, olive oil, honey, salt, vitamin C and yeast in mixer. Mix briefly, then let stand for 10 minutes. Slowly mix in the Kamut flour and gluten flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead for 15-25 minutes. Let rise until doubled, then put into loaf pans and let rise again. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. If you are using stoneware pans, you will need to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy! Bread doesn’t last very long at my house!

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I have some wonderfully scented soaps for the fall. Here are a few of them, I will be listing more in the very near future.

Crisp Autumn Soap

Bay Spice Soap

Keep checking back for more soap!

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What’s in your cabinet? What do you keep on hand for the cold and flu season? I don’t get sick often, but when I do, it seems I really do. I have been sick the past few days, scratchy throat, terrible cough, just overall blah feeling. So, I thought I would share what we use in these cold months of the year.

My husband swears by vitamin C powder. You obviously want a very pure vitamin C powder. You mix 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon with some water and drink up. It may make you pucker, but the vitamin C is more quickly absorbed than when taking it in other forms.

Thieves oil, and many other essential oils for stomach aches, headaches, flu, congestion, etc.

Cherry bark syrup - this stuff does wonders for those coughs that just won’t stop. I also use Ricola cough drops occasionally.

Colloidal Silver - we use this when in need of an antibiotic type medication. People are actually becoming immune to antibiotics because of such overuse. You will read many different opinions about colloidal silver, so it may be a tough call on your part, but I have never had a problem. We do buy a very good colloidal silver, and only use it when needed. To take, you mix 1/2 teaspoon in water. Of course, depending on where you purchase yours, your directions may be different. The weaker kinds have you take it straight.

Grapefruit Seed Extract - a small bottle of this stuff will last for months. I use it to wash our fruit. As a disinfectant, it can be used for many different things. Just last night, I put 15 drops in a capsule to help kill of this nasty bug I had. Never take it straight, it must always be diluted.

So, if you are looking for alternatives to the medications you find in the store, I hope I have at least given you some food for thought.

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I have a dear friend who always seems to find deals on everything. So, when my beautiful tomatoes got blight, as did most of my friends tomatoes locally, she found an Amish farmer to come to our rescue. I bought 6 bushel from her and had to decide what to do with them. I hadn’t done tomatoes in quite a few years as it seems so time consuming, as is all canning I guess, besides the fact that I’m usually so busy with kids and such that my garden gets neglected. Anyway, it took me 2 1/2 days to can the tomatoes and in that time I made some sauce, a batch of ketchup, and many jars of canned tomatoes.

I got the ketchup recipe online, it was an Amish recipe, they must like sweet things as it turned out good except for the fact that it is sweeter than I would have liked. Now my kids will eat even more of it because it tastes sugary. It was an interesting recipe as it used essential oils! So, here it is, if anyone cares to try it:

* 3 quarts tomato juice
* 1 pint apple cider vinegar
* 4-5 cups sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 3 drops clove oil
* 5 drops cinnamon oil
* 4 tablespoons ground dry mustard

Directions

Mix all ingredients& boil for 2 1/2 hours, or until thick.
Pour into jars.

Please consult the blue ball canning book for proper canning techniques.
* I found this recipe too sugary for our family, but I liked the fact that it contained fairly simple ingredients. I put 4 cups of sugar per batch and next time would probably only use 2-3. I also think I had to cook it down longer than 2 1/2 hours, but it probably depends on the tomatoes you use.

I’ve never made ketchup before and just thought I would try it, not sure if I would do it again or not. It beats using the store bought ketchup that’s loaded with corn syrup, but is it worth it???

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It’s funny how we can take so much for granted! We are about to embark on our second camping trip this summer, rustic camping, that is! It definitely takes a bit more preparation and creativity to come up with enough meals to cook over the fire. We hadn’t been camping in years until last fall, because we didn’t feel the need to camp after moving to the country. We had all that we went camping for right in our backyard. Well, after taking the plunge into the horse world, we decided to go camping with them.

The change of scenery was wonderful, from the beautiful trails, although a bit muddy at the time, to the surrounding trees and skyline. We all had a wonderful time, although I have to admit that after a few days, I was more than ready to come home. The thought of a warm wonderful shower was just too much.

We did reintroduce the kids to our pie cookers. It’s kind of funny, when they were very young, we camped almost every weekend, so, when I told someone to go get the pie cookers out of the camper, they just looked at me with the funniest look. “What is a pie cooker?” they said. I proceeded to explain to them what it was they were looking for and they finally found them. Well, the first pie cooker meal was a success, we made pizzas, then we made pies and more pies! Then when we ran out of bread, so they used the leftover buns, they turned out pretty good too!

Probably the most requested campfire meal was the hobo dinners. Here is the recipe:

Campfire Hobo Dinners
hamburger
onions
carrots
potatoes
seasonings(if desired)
cream of mushroom soup

The hobo dinners are cooked in foil, we use heavy duty foil. Make hamburger patties, cut carrots, potatoes and onions, set aside in piles. Tear off a piece of foil about 8 inches wide, this will be for one dinner. Place one hamburger patty, potatoes, onions, carrots and 2 tablespoons of cream of mushroom soup, then fold in to center and fold ends in. Repeat. Your fire should consist of hot coals, it is really a science to cook these properly, but boy are they worth it. I usually cook them for 20 - 30 minutes. Last time I cooked them on our tripod right over the coals and they were delicious. It’s very easy to burn the hamburger on the bottom if you’re not careful, to check them use tongs to pull them out of the fire and carefully open foil to see that the veggies are cooked and the hamburger done.

I don’t typically use cream of mushroom soup as I haven’t found one without msg, so, if you prefer, you can substitute spices of your choice.

Enjoy!

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I started making jam many years ago. The task was daunting at first, with so many little ones running around, but, it was a wonderful family time. Everyone wanted to help do strawberries. The youngest would sit and eat while the rest of us would hull the berries. Initially I used the pectin from the store, but as I learned more about eating healthy, I came upon an alternative, Pomona’s Pectin. The pectin from the store requires that you use more sugar than you do berries, I always thought that was strange, wouldn’t you want to taste the berries rather than eating a spoonful of sugar?? Well, with the Pomona’s pectin, you can use very little sugar, honey, or all fruit. It is very versatile and easy to use. I typically use about 1 cup of sugar per 4 cups of berries, you can use as little as 3/4 cup. If you are interested in this pectin, it can usually be found in health food stores or @ www.pomonapectin.com, I order mine through a co-op.

Yesterday we picked 80-90 pounds of strawberries, which correlates to 8 large boxes. So, everyone had there own box to hull as I worked at getting the kitchen set up for canning. A few years ago, I started doing larger batches of jam, making things go faster, previously it would have taken me 2 full days to do 80 pounds of berries. It took 7 hours yesterday. I am fortunate to have lots of help, but with 10 people in the family I also have a lot of eaters! Tomorrow, we will again to visit the berry patch to get another 8 boxes, we are big strawberry jam fans, we used 95 pints last year and ran out a few months ago, so the kids tell me we need to make more this year!

They all love picking berries also. The wagon takes us out to the patch to pick and when we are done, the kids visit the small petting zoo. I know that the memories created will last forever.

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About 6 years ago, we got our first goats, mainly because most of us were allergic to cow’s milk. For anyone that has had goats, you know how it can be figuring out what to do with the overabundance of milk. Well, that’s how this recipe came about. I have made this recipe with both goat’s and cow’s milk.

Mama’s Yogurt

Ingredients

5 quarts of milk, 4 in one container, 1 quart in another
1 cup tapioca flour - available at health food stores
1 cup yogurt - make sure it has acidopholus in it. I buy Stony Field Farms organic if available, but any plain yogurt should work.

You will need the following: large pot, small pot, 8 cup measuring cup, 1 cup measuring cup, dairy thermometer, long handled spoon and wire whisk

1. In the small pot, mix 1 quart of milk with 1 cup tapioca flour.
2. In the large pot, slowly heat 1 gallon of milk to 165 degrees. I put my burner between 4 and 5, med
3. When the milk has reached 165 degrees, pour the tapioca-milk mixture into the heated milk.
4. Stir with the wire whisk and continure heating until it returns to 165 degrees.
5. Remove the milk from the heat and let cool to 90 degrees. This could take from 1.5 to 2 hours, could be cooled faster if put in another pot filled with water and ice.
NOTE: A thick film will develop on the surface, I typically skim it off.
6. Mix in 1 cup of yogurt, stirring with wire whisk.
7. Put lid on pot, place in your oven, don’t turn it on. Wrap the pot in towels to insulate it. I usally try to do this so that it will set overnight, make sure you don’t turn the oven on!!
8. After 8 hours, remove the post from the oven, pour your yogurt into a large container of your choice and place in the refrigerator.
9. OPTIONAL - Save 2 cups of this yogurt for use in making your next 2 batches.

We usually serve our yogurt with homemade stawberry , peach, or blueberry jam, sometimes we mix it with our homemade granola. The kids love it and it’s really good for them.
Enjoy!

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What’s all the hype about using all natural products, deodorant in particular? Well, there have been many studies done on the affects of aluminum on the body and few know the health hazards from using commercial underarm deodorants. Beyond the synthetic fragrances and toxic ingredients found in most personal care products, antiperspirant and deodorants are loaded with aluminum compounds that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, brain and respiratory disorders.

Aluminum compounds or aluminum salts, such as aluminum oxide, are key ingredients in almost every antiperspirant. They are powerful astringents that close pores, stopping sweat and odor from escaping the body. They may leave the outside of the body smelling fresh and clean, but inside, the toxins that would have escaped the body in the sweat, have nowhere to go. Not only that, but the aluminum and other chemicals are taken into the body and who knows what happens after that.

An alternative to using all of that aluminum is to try a natural deodorant, and I have tried more than my share before finding one I liked. When I did, the cost soon became too much, especially with so many in the house using it. So, my experimenting began. I searched and searched to find something comparable to what we were using and finally decided to make my own.

The best essential oils to look for in a deodorant are the following: lavender, patchouli, peppermint, spearmint, eucalyptus, tea tree, and rosemary as all of these oils have anti-bacterial qualities. Natural deodorants still allow you to sweat, but your sweat won’t smell bad.

If you are in a pinch, you can even apply the essential oils directly, you will most likely need to mix the oils with olive oil or another oil of your choosing. As always, be careful when applying oils with your hands, it’s easy to inadvertently touch your eyes forgetting you have essential oils on your hands. I have gotten in the habit of applying any oils with my left hand as it would then be less likely to happen, as sometimes I get sidetracked and forget to wash my hands after applying the oils.

At the very least, read the label on your deodorant and consider whether you are comfortable using all those ingredients you can’t even read, let alone know what it is.

To see what I’ve come up with, visit my etsy shop at www.elegantroseboutique.etsy.com.

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