Elegant Rose

My Kamut Bread Recipe

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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How to make your own yogurt

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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To Color or Not!!

This article is probably not about what you are thinking! I thought I would give you a little peek into our life, so that you could understand where I come from. This of course took place many years ago, before we knew about such things.

Many years ago, we started having allergy problems. One of the problems was perplexing at first, however, once I thought about it, it all made sense. We used to go out for ice cream occasionally as a treat. We found that everyone was suffering from this family event. Some would get all congested, some would have runny noses, some would get bloody noses, etc. So, we changed our little outings to those colorful frozen drinks, you know the kind, grape, cherry, frozen coke, orange….. I soon realized that there was a problem, by the next day, my easiest going child started acting like a totally different child, kind of like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. It was very strange and like I said took me a few times to make the correlation. It turns out he was allergic to red #40 and all colorings for that matter. Thus, we cut out all colorings and life is grand!

I only reveal this to hopefully help others and to show why I am so against colorings, whether it be in food or soap!

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Homemade All Natural Soaps

If you are thinking about going more natural and searching for the right alternative to store bought chemical soap, that are not really soaps, by the way, here are some things to keep in mind.

* Make sure you know what every ingredient is that is in the soap

* Look at the products used for coloring the soap, are they really safe? Sometimes it takes years and years for someone to figure out that this or that is harmful. It makes the soap look nice, but what are the long term affects on your body?

* Fragrance oils are synthetic, man made, made of who knows what….Essential oils come from the plants provided to us.

* Some people list soaps and don’t fully disclose all of the ingredients, beware.

* Your skin is your bodies largest organ, it absorbs all that is put on it.

Do you ever wonder why there is so much skin cancer and so many skin conditions? What are you putting on yourr skin? Most people don’t even think about it. They blindly believe all of the commercials and continue to poison their body with who knows what kind of chemicals, then wonder why they never feel good. How does your body get rid of all of these toxins? What happens when it is overloaded with toxins? These are things to think about.

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How to use Activated Charcoal

Have you ever tried activated charcoal? Or are you saying “What in the world would I use that for?” Well, I’ll tell you. Activated Charcoal has been used effectively in the healing arts for centuries. Doctors still use it today as a healing agent, an antidote for poisons, and an effective treatment for indigestion and gas. Many industries rely on Charcoal to deodorize, and decolorize. Charcoal can do these tasks because of its amazing ability to attract other substances to its surface and hold them there. This is called adsorption. Charcoal can adsorb thousands of times its own weight in gases, heavy metals, poisons, and other chemicals, thus making them ineffective or harmless.

Today doctors, paramedics and medical centers use Activated Charcoal in a number of different ways:
1. to eliminate toxic by-products that cause anemia in cancer patients
2. to disinfect and deodorize wounds
3. to filter toxins from the blood in liver and kidney diseases
4. to purify blood in transfusions
5. to cut down on odors for ileostomy and colostomy patients
6. to treat poisonings and overdoses of aspirin, Tylenol and other drugs
7. to treat some forms of dysentery, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and “foot and mouth” disease
8. to treat poisonous snake, spider and insect bites

So, what does this have to do with you? Well, activated charcoal comes in 3 forms and I keep all three forms on hand, powder, capsules and chewable. Here is how we use it. We first keep the chewable tablets on hand for the younger children, we have many allergies and I was once told to combat a food reaction, put 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a small amount of water, it neutralizes the acidity in your body and somehow alleviates gas. Well, at some point I ran across an article saying to use charcoal to pull poisons from your body. So, I correlated that if I am having a reaction to a food, my body is calling it a poison or a bad thing. That being said, I stared using Activated Charcoal for my many and varied reactions, all related to food. I had been tested and was allergic to beef, chicken, lettuce, wheat, yeast, chocolate, soy, dairy, pretty much all of the basic stuff. So, when I couldn’t stay away from the food, I used charcoal as a bandaide I guess, allowing me to enjoy a food I otherwise could not. My children also have many allergies and would use the chewable charcoal tablets after visiting friends or going on outings, for their stomach aches. It is very affective, with no side affects except to take away your reaction. Occasionally, I would have to take a second dose. I took the capsule myself. I also used it or baking soda for colic or gas in my babies, it worked wonderfully. I just put a small amount in a bottle with water and down it went. A few minutes later they were belching up the excess gas.

The activated charcoal powder comes in very handy for bee stings. One of my sons swells up terribly to bee stings, so we put the powder on a wet paper towel and apply it to his sting, it removes the poison. I know it works because his reactions are very bad. He may stay swollen for a few days, but it stops it from being a run to the hospital situation.

Please always consult your doctor before trying charcoal and be aware that it will pull any prescription medication out of your body, thus making the medication useless. I believe that you can take it 2 hours before or after, but always double check. Of course if you are reacting to a medication as I have, go ahead and take it to alleviate your symptoms.

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Coconut Oil??

Coconut oil is an amazing oil, not an essential oil. The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-fungal, antibacterial, etc. It’s funny, years ago, I had candida and didn’t know about coconut oil, I was taking a product with caprylic acid in it. Coconut oil may have done the trick, had I known.

Coconut oil comes in 2 basic forms, organic virgin coconut oil, and expeller pressed. The organic virgin oil is the oil that still retains the flavor of coconuts, some people can handle the coconut taste, some can’t. The expeller pressed has no coconut flavor. I have read that it may not work as well as the virgin coconut oil for ailments, but I’m not sure that there have been any studies to that affect. Obviously, it is easier to get used to taking the coconut oil without the flavor, but if you’re not seeing results, go for the gusto! Oh, by the way, the virgin oil is more expensive, but I always have some on hand.

Also, coconut oil is very good for skin problems, including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, and other skin infections, in addition to being good for you. Your skin is your biggest organ and absorbs whatever you put on it. Should you be putting things on your skin that you wouldn’t eat??? I don’t think so. Look for skin care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc that have coconut oil in them.

Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excess weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. There have been many studies done on this very thing. If you have a hard time believing that coconut oil will work for weight loss, give it a try, what do you have to lose?? (pun intended)

Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Many health issues can be helped by taking 1-3 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. It does taste oily, but it also isn’t much, only a tablespoon. If you can’t handle it straight, try using it in stir fries, salad dressings, substitute it for oils in muffins, or baked goods or my favorite way is to use it in making popcorn, the old fashioned way, on the stove top with coconut oil and popcorn, soooo good! Coconut oil is just an amazing oil, check it out!

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Essential Oil Real or Not?

Essential oils have been around forever, just as plants have been around forever. Essential oils have been used medicinally to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. They provide exquisite fragrances to balance our moods, lift our spirits, and get rid of negative emotions.

Essential oils are distilled from shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. It often takes an entire plant to produce one drop of oil. Users need to be very careful in using the oils, there are many safety precautions that need to be taken. Some oils may be used internally, some may not. Some can be applied neat( directly, without being diluted) some can not, so it is very important that you read and learn before experimenting with essential oils. Essential oils can be extracted in different ways, sometimes having dramatic effects on their chemistry and medicinal action. For instance, oils derived from a second or third distillation are not going to be as potent as oils from the first distillation. Also, oils that are subjected to high heat and pressure are far inferior to other oils, because the heat and pressure breaks down many of the aromatic compounds, thus changing the medicinal properties. Some oils are also changed by adding synthetic chemicals, thereby making it cheaper to make and sell. However, these oils loose so much of the medicinal properties that should be expected from them, that some believe that essential oils don’t really work as they are claimed to work, when in fact it is just because they have been altered and have lost those healing properties. Unfortunately, a large percent of essential oils marketed in the United States fall in this category and it is very hard for the average person to tell the difference.

Stay tuned for more information on essential oils.

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Homemade Soaps Coming Soon!

Keep checking back for my version of homemade soap! I will be listing it soon in my Etsy Shop. I take great care in using the best ingredients, coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, essential oils. I will have a variety of soaps, some with no fragrance, most fragranced with essential oils. Do you have a favorite essential oil blend? Let me know. Check out my page on soap making history.

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What’s on your skin?

Did you know that women use an average of 12 personal care products daily?  Each day we use soap, lotion,  face cleanser, toner, night cream, shave cream, after shave-balm, sunscreen, makeup, and deodorant.  Your skin eats — or, more accurately absorbs all that you put on it.  Do you recognize all of the ingredients listed on the back of all of those bottles?  All topical substances can either penetrate or affect the skin’s surface in some way.   To what degree depends on the particular substance, molecular size of the ingredients, temperature, and condition of the skin at the time of contact.    If you think your skin doesn’t absorb ingredients that you put on, read about these popular drugs that are transported  into the bloodstream via a topically applied patch: nicotine, hormones, and nitroglycerin.    Even many products that claim to be natural have highly toxic or irritating ingredients.   Now, think of it this way, if harmful chemicals can be absorbed into your skin, so can beneficial ingredients, such as vitamin E, emu oil, etc, which can promote health and wellness.

I challenge you to read your labels and change just one thing!  Buy a natural lip balm where you actually know what all of the ingredients are.  Try a homemade soap, with health promoting ingredients

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