Nature Photos of the Day

Apple Blossoms

Microscopic Activities

Budding Willow and a Waxing Half Moon

And before the month is over, March was the month of me turning one year older. And a "Seven Up" year at that. 28. Every seven years is a pretty big and significant developmental stage, so I've heard!  I know that at 25/26, I wasn't quite where I feel I am today. In hindsight, I can surely say that I felt like I was in between 21 and 28, while 21 also felt like a pivotal year (not just because of the fact that this country sets the legal age to drink alcohol then).  I don't think I've drastically changed or anything (sometimes I acutely feel like I did in junior high), but I just know much more what I'm interested in. Tea cheers to that! Me and my man on my birthday.

Monday Morning Muffins & More

I made some Blackberry Yogurt muffins with Sunflower Seeds this morning. They were quite sumptuous.

The freshly awoken taste-tester

Then we went to Deception Pass.

Then we had to wait in the ferry line the other day. I'm going to have to get used to warm-weather visitor traffic to the island. Moving here in the wintertime allowed me to get used to winter ferry traffic.

But it was okay because we had a funny dog to look at.

new batch

Geranium Rose + Orange
This is the soap to have when you are wanting a sensuous smell. There are a few other secret essential oil scents in there, to add depth! ... shhh!

Busy as a bee

... here in The Herbal Workshop! ... in case you didn't know, I'm kinda starting my own little business. I don't know how it's going to work out, but for now, I'm kind of addicted to making soap. This will be in addition to growing culinary and medicinal plants, to sell as fresh-cut. Lemon balm tastes best and is most medicinal fresh after all,  and is one of the best tasting herbal teas! Why not have it fresh three months out of the year?! Oh, but your grocery store doesn't have it?! That's ok! Come visit me at the farmer's market! (Pretty good sales pitch, huh?! I'll have to work on them; I don't naturally like selling things to people.)

The next batch of soap is cut and curing.

Rosemary + Lavender Shampoo Bar

Do you ever get itchy scalp? I do. And I'm tired of it. I notice it mostly after using heavily detergentized shampoos and conditioners. I'm going to try switching to gentle shampoo bars. And I'm working on creating the perfect formula. 

So far, this one is pretty basic: Olive, Coconut, Palm, Sweet Almond & Castor oils; Rosemary & Lavender essential oils. 

Rosemary contains caffeic acid and it's derivative rosmarinic acid, which according to a scientific study published here, in the US National Library of Medicine's archive, have antioxidant effects. In case you didn't click that link, I'll quote some more of the study:

"Rosmarinic acid is well absorbed from gastrointestinal tract and from the skin. It increases the production of prostaglandin E2 and reduces the production of leukotriene B4 in human polymorphonuclear leucocytes, and inhibits the complement system. It is concluded that rosemary and its constituents especially caffeic acid derivatives such as rosmarinic acid have a therapeutic potential in treatment or prevention of bronchial asthma, spasmogenic disorders, peptic ulcer, inflammatory diseases, hepatotoxicity, atherosclerosis, ischaemic heart disease, cataract, cancer and poor sperm motility."

I think if rosemary can do that, it can probably also help to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss, which has been the word on the street for quite a few centuries now.

Lavender... we'll save that for another day.

Homemade almond milk

Homemade milks are so attractive. Extremely fresh, cold, bright white, in a cool glass bottle, no buying it at the store, using things that otherwise might sit on the shelf for too long, 4 ingredients, nothing to throw away... who wouldn't think so.

Here's my latest batch of almond milk.

I really want to learn how to make rice milk. Does anyone have any good websites for that?

I can post the recipe if anyone requests it.

~ ALMOND MILK ~

recipe re-written from jae steele's 'Get It Ripe'

INGREDIENTS

½ cup raw almonds, soaked in filtered water overnight (or for 4-8 hours)

3-4 cups filtered water (to thicken milk as desired)

⅛ tsp sea salt (optional)

up to 1 tbsp of preferred sweetener (agave nectar, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, etc.) or ¼ tsp green stevia powder (optional; to sweeten as desired)

METHOD

Soak almonds in enough water to cover. Drain in 4-12 hours.

Place soaked almonds in a food processor or blender, along with filtered water, salt, and sweetener, and give it a whirl for about 2 minutes, until almonds are completely pulverized.

Strain almond milk* into a sealable glass jar (if a smoother consistency is desired, use a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag).

Stores in fridge for up to 4 days. Blend again or shake well before serving.

MAKES 3-4 cups

SPILT MILK: If you find your food processor or blender leaks out the top while processing, try covering the top with a piece of plastic wrap, letting some hang over the sides. Fit the lid over the plastic wrap, and blend as usual.

*Save leftover almond pulp as a baking ingredient or to sprinkle on cereal. Be creative!

** Personal Notes **

I definitely use sea salt. Salt is the secret to food, even neutral or sweet stuff. And I've only used maple syrup and boy is that delicious. I like the consistency of 3 cups of water best. I've used a food processor once, with the regular blade, and it didn't chop up the almonds enough. I definitely recommend a blender (or the "Bella," the imitation Magic Bullet blender I got from Target that works quite well.) I also definitely strain through some sort of tightly-woven cloth material. Next time I will probably double or triple this recipe-- depends on how fast you and the loved ones you feed drink it.

Crochet, Eggs, Soap + more

Cowls for my sisters and mom

First eggs of the year! 

And now on to some other very fun and first things, my first batches of soap!

Cutting, trimming and curing the bars

(Pardon the following somewhat cheesy photos.)

Cinnamon + Fir

Spearmint + Poppy Seed

And I finally got around to eating this homemade granola that my friend over here gave me, and it was SO GOOD. I'm officially sold on homemade granola.

First glimpses

    of soap that I finally made! It's only taken me two years.  I ordered my first supplies when we lived in Chicago still. But lots of business and other activities became prevalent, so time and energy were shorter. Now it's back to more free time and yesterday was the day. It really does feel like it's taken months of lots of free time to lead up to this day. Reading books, watching youtube's, gathering materials...

    Lo and behold, I pretty much had the worst thing that could happen, happen. I got the mixture pouring all over my gloveless hands. I thought I could have a heart attack my heart was beating so fast from being scared that my hands were gonna start burning to blisters. Calling 911 started becoming very real. But very thankfully, after many, "Oh god, oh god!"'s later and extreme handwashing in the sink, everything was okay. Making soap involves caustic soda (lye), which is the chemical that combines with fats to make soap. Caustic soda is extremely alkaline and can cause skin erosion pretty much. I'm not too sure how I made it out alive because right now, 24 hours later, my soap measures a pH of about 9 or 10, and my book says I shouldn't even touch it if it's at a pH of 11. After another day or so, the saponification process will continue and the pH should come down.

    The mistake I made was from a great idea-- putting rubberbands around my milk carton mold, to make it more square instead of it bulging out from the weight of the soap mix. At this point, I had taken off my gloves, and then the rubberbands started collapsing the carton, so the mix was overflowing all over the place. I had to grab it quickly to save it all from going to waste (/to almost lose both my hands). Most of it just landed on this soap mold and made an extra bar of this nicely molded soap, of which I was only going to have one of (due to excess mix that I pre-measured I would have), but now I have two!

You can see that it got a little messy.

  
    I will be posting more pictures of the cut up loaf I'm sure when it's ready to be cut in a few days. I am calling this soap, "Cinnamon + Fir" (not so creatively), as it is scented with Fir Needle essential oil, and contains cinnamon for 1.) it's nice color, 2.) it's warm, creamy scent, and 3.) it's antiseptic, astringent and stimulant properties. The Fir is fresh and woodsy.

**EDIT: I might call this soap something else. Should I go for creative names? Or just the simple ingredients? This for example, is warm and woodsy smelling... so it's dreamy, like a cloud, and foresty, like a forest. So maybe "Forest Cloud"...? in a nice font, with a nice (streamlined with my other soaps) graphic?! What would you like to buy?

foodstuffs

This lemon cake with vanilla (cream cheesy tasting) frosting is sure to brighten your mood.

Sautéed carrots with green onions, red bell pepper and loads of garlic with this black bean pasta, tossed with olive oil and Parmesan cheese.