SWEET SURRENDER

How to make Yarrow Oil

Yarrow is a volunteer herb growing in my yard.  It has many medicinal benefits, so we scooped up some of the volunteers and planted them purposefully in our small herb and flower bed.  When taken internally, it's good for menstrual cramps, it's a digestive aid, it can help lower fevers.  Externally, it is good for cuts, scrapes, and burns.  A woman at my farmer's market was selling yarrow sticks and after buying one from her, I found out that it made an excellent lip balm as well.  It was the only thing that was working for my dry lips actually.  And since I have quite a bit of experience making herbal oils, salves, tinctures, etc. and I knew yarrow grew in my yard, I thought to myself, I should make that. 

So first off, in case you have never seen yarrow, here is my attempt to show you what it looks like.  In the first picture, the flowers are a blur, I know, but at least on my computer, you are able to make out the leaves.

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To make the oil, you have to wait until the flowers are in bloom like the ones above.  For the oil, you use the flower blooms, the leaves, and the stems.  I just read on one site about yarrow that after the early summer blooms are gone, you can cut down the plant for a fall bloom as well.  I am just making a small amount here because I know it will be plenty for my needs.

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After gathering the herb, you need to macerate the herb- crush it, so that it is able to release its medicinal properties in the oil.  The stem is pretty fibrous.  I personally haven't tried using a mortar and pestle for this which would definitely be a nicer way to go about making the oil.  I am not sure how the stems would do though.  I think with the mortar and pestle I may only try the leaves and blooms.  I just load the herb into a food chopper and grind it down and then place the final product into a glass mason jar.

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 You then want to cover the herbs with oil, covering them by an inch or two.  I am using organic extra virgin olive oil, but nothing fancy- just a store brand.

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And then to compensate for using a food chopper, I use the sun's energy to extract the properties of the fresh yarrow into the oil.  It sits in the sun for 2-3 weeks and I shake it every day, sometimes twice.  Alternately, you could pour oil over the macerated herb in a shallow baking pan and bake on a very low (like 200 degrees) temperature for a few hours.

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I hope to make a post in the next couple of weeks about the actual making of the yarrow sticks, so stay tuned!

Living Bread

 I tried my hand at making living bread.  All and all, I am happy with the results and eager to experiment as I am sure the flavor and texture will improve with practice.
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 Living bread is a very simple food overall.  The first step is to sprout grain (rye, spelt, kamut).  After sprouting it, you grind it in either a food processor or juicer with a homogenizing plate.  At this point you can add any additions, seasonings, fruits, veggies, etc.  You then form loaves or flat rounds and dehydrate at low temperatures so as not to destroy any of the precious enzymes. 

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  I think I have a lot of work to do in order to perfect the art of sprouting grains. It's not quite as easy peasy as alfalfa sprouts!   I have my eye on a book that I believe is going to enter my life soon.  Angela Stokes recommended it to me last summer and I thought it looked good, but now I feel it will be most useful in this sprouting journey. I made honey spiced loaves and rye flats.  These were both recipes out of Living Cuisine by Renee Loux Underkoffler.  My rye was over sprouted.   I checked it in the morning and little tails were just starting.  I left for a few hours (I was stocking up on produce from two farmer's markets!  Woo-hoo after my little stint with very little fresh food).  By the time I arrived home, massive growth had occurred!  The tails were probably 1 1/2 times as long as the grain and some grains had acquired multiple tails!  I tasted them and they were still mild in flavor, so I decided to forge on ward with the process.  My final result yielded half as many flats as the recipe suggested it would and they are a bit heavy, but still taste well enough to consume. With the honey loaves, I tried processing them in the food processor because the juicer was pretty challenging to clean after the rye sprouts had run through.  I added water to the sprouts and I think I added too much, so to compensate, I had to add a ton of ground flax, thus altering the recipe significantly I am sure.  I also used about 1/3 of the amount of honey that she called for.  I might go a little sweeter next time, because it lost a little of the sweetness after drying.  So, I definitely have to work on moisture level as well. Overall though, the texture and taste is quite satisfying!  It is exciting to think of the possibilities, especially since I love bread and muffins and can't eat those anymore mostly due to allergies and of course, as I eat more and more raw foods, I am quite sensitive to how they make feel.  ( With that being said, I have experimented with a few gluten free recipes in the muffin realm).  I would have to say that the end result is very similar to manna bread that you can get from the freezer section of the health food store which is yummy, but as far as I understand, not entirely raw.  However, it is convenient and probably the most healthy option available. 

Adventure with the buckwheat sprouts

It was fun trying my hand at sprouting buckwheat.  Here is what I have learned from the experience so far. 

First, I sprouted the buckwheat (that has not been removed from the hull) until its tail was as long as the grain itself.  Then I filled a seed tray (which I cleaned really well first) with a soil mix of peat moss, vermiculite and leaf mold- something Steve had mixed up to start our garden seeds in.  I laid a pretty thick layer of the buckwheat sprouts over the tray.  I think a thinner layer would have been fine,  but I only had one tray prepared and many sprouts and the sprout people said that in their experience that it was fine to layer thick, so I did. 

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I covered the whole tray with a dark plastic bag that I poked air holes into.  The next day, I noticed some white "fuzz" all over and I had a little freak out (i.e. I called Steve at work asking his opinion) thinking it that it may have been too moist because I had watered everything and then put plastic on.  So, I took the plastic off and let the tray air out a little.  All the white fuzz turned out to be little root hairs that were growing, so that was a relief. 

I sprayed the sprouts a few times a day, but never had to water the soil again as it retained enough moisture.  They grew quickly.  My book said they were ready when the first two leaves were unfurling and had poked off the hull in the process.  It said that if there are several at this stage then it is good to harvest because young sprouts are more tender than older ones.  To harvest them, you just use a knife and sort of "saw" off sections. 

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As you can see they got rather tall and a lot of the sprouts have pushed off their hull (the dark brown thing on some of the tips).  So, I went ahead and harvested them.  They were sweet and watery and crunchy- kind of like a bean sprout, but with a milder flavor.  I realized after harvesting though that not many of the leaves were unfurled and maybe I should have waited for another day to harvest.  Also, it was quite labor intensive to rinse off all the hulls that have a tough fibrous texture.  (I used the directions on the sprout people website.)  I thought that maybe if I had waited longer, that there would be less hulls to rinse off.  However, since I had planted so many seeds in the first place, once I sawed off the first layer, there was a whole other layer waiting to grow up, so I continued to spray and watch them grow.  This time I let them go a little longer.

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I think this might be a more accurate stage to harvest them at, but I wonder if they should be more green.  My book said to keep them out of direct light, but they were really reaching for the sun, so maybe I need to put them in more light than I did. It is still a bit of a pain to rinse off the hulls.  I spend a good 15 minutes at it.   I made a balsamic vinaigrette that we dressed them with and they were quite tasty and fresh alongside our dinner.  I think they are a very nice thing to keep on hand for the winter. 

I definitely want to keep experimenting and maybe do some more research on harvesting.  The whole family enjoyed them a lot. 

   

A Recipe for Fun

 Here is a really fun thing to do with your children!  To get started, dress your children in their play clothes and set up a space outside where you won't mind making a mess.  If you are anything like me, this step will ensure that you can relax and join in on the fun.

Next, measure out a 1/2 pound of cornstarch (equivalent to 1/2 a box).

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Then, add 3/4 cup water mixed with an optional 1/2 TBSP of food coloring.

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You may wonder, "What's so fun about this?"  Well, you have just made a wonderful, magical substance called Oobleck.  The recipe I just gave you is from a really fun book called Lotions, Potions, and Slime Mudpies and More!  by Nancy Blakey. 

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 When you put your hands in the oobleck, it is impossible to tell whether it is a liquid or solid.  You can be holding a bit in your hands and it suddenly melts into a thick liquid and oozes down.  One of my favorite things to do with it is to set my hand on top of it.  At first, it feels like you have set it down on something solid and then moments later, your hand sinks to the bottom.

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It is really hard not to be amazed over and over again.  The book explains the science behind this phenomena like this.  "Cornstarch is ground up into such fine particles that the molecules line up like little plates.  When you pound the oobleck, the cornstarch plates are ridgid.  When you movie it slowly, the plates slide around and then act like a liquid."  The boys really, really enjoyed this.  When we were cleaning up, Rowan said, "I'm so happy."  So sweet!

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If you have made this before, I encourage you to try it again.  I think it is somewhat like Christmas morning for children.  It always holds wonder and once it is over, you look forward to the next time.  Note: If you choose to use food coloring (which I can totally understand why it might be a hesistation for you), your little cuke's hands will definitely be dyed for a little while.  My boys thought it was totally groovy to have smurf hands though!  It does wash off in less than a day. 

Some darn good alfalfa sprouts, buckwheaties, and the best gRAWnola bars ever!

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I had a really good turn out with the alfalfa seeds I sprouted this past week.  Steve said he thinks they are the best I have ever done and I agree.  I read tips on sprouting on the sprout people website which I feel were helpful.  The tip that I think helped the most was to use a fork to break the sprout "clump" apart and aerate them when they start growing together in a mass.  I have never done that before and I think it helped A LOT.   I am pretty excited about the progress of my buckwheat greens.  I have my fingers crossed that we will be consuming those by the week's end.  It is interesting to watch the growing process. 

The buckwheaties which are in the big jar to the left in the above photo are pretty much a staple around here.  They are super simple to make too!  All you do is soak buckwheat in fresh water overnight and then rinse it really well (if you have a chance, it is best to rinse it at least once during soaking because the soak water gets kind of thick and it is easier to rinse really well if you do it a couple of times, but it is not necessary).  After you rinse and drain the buckwheaties, you place them on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 108 degrees until crispy.  They make a nice cereal with banana and nut milk.  I have one recipe where you can coat the buckwheat in a mix of honey, orange juice, almond butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg before dehydrating and that is quite yummy too.  But the plain buckwheaties come in handy when making the very best grawnola bars. 

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Steve made me this holder for my sprouting jar that seems to be working really well.  I am not sure if it will be the final design, but it is great for now.  He is going to make me one (or two) for the half gallon sized mason jars, but this one was a tester, so he made it for the quart sized jar.  I have two jars of alfalfa sprouts going right now which are doing nicely.  I think they will be ready just as we are finishing the first batch which is lucky timing.  I need to try broccoli sprouts the next time around. 

Here is a closer shot of the embroidery on the tea towel in the photo to give my Grandma some kudos.  She has embroidered some very sweet towels for me and each one seems to get fancier. 

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So, I think I have found the best gRAWnola bar recipe.  We love it!  It is out of the book Baby Greens which I am enjoying.  I made a really great not tuna pate from it as well (it was my favorite out of three that I have tried) and there are some other things on my list that I would like to try out at some point.  We took these grawnola bars with us when we went disc golfing this weekend and we learned that if you take them some where in warm weather, you should bring them in a cooler.  They didn't hold their shape well when they warmed up, but the flavor was still wonderful. 

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These grawnola bars may seem a little labor intensive because they call for buckwheaties and soaked and dehydrated almonds and dried apples.  I tend to soak and dehydrate most of my nuts and seeds and make buckwheaties frequently, so I just have those things on hand and I buy dried apples at the health food store.  So, when all of these things are prepared, the bars go together just as quickly as if you were going to bake some cookies or something.  You can make all sorts of substitutions as well (see below), so if you don't have buckwheaties, no sweat. 

No-Bake Granola Bars

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup wheat berries, spelt, or rye

1 cup buckwheaties

1 cup soaked and dehydrated almonds chopped finely 

1 cup dried, shredded coconut

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup dried apples, chopped

1 cup raisins

Wet Ingredients:

1/3 cup nut butter (if your children are used to peanut butter, you can introduce them to this treat using sugar and hydrogenated oil free -i.e. natural peanut butter)

1/3 cup raw honey (no substitutes as it helps the bar to firm when chilled)

5 TBSP quality coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together.  You can substitute some or all of the grain berries with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or rolled oats.  Also try using other favorite dried fruits in place of the apples and raisins.

(I omit the grain berries and add in half sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds- I put some hemp seeds in once too.  I think next time I am going to use dried peaches and cherries.  I really think you can't go wrong!)

Scoop out a small amount of coconut oil and place in small jar and then place the jar in some warm water to liquify the coconut oil. (I usually do this ahead of time) Mix all wet ingredients together and then mix with the dry ingredients.  Press mixture firmly into a 8 inch by 8 inch glass pan and chill in the fridge or freezer until solid. 

Enjoy! 

 

 

Save the last cinnamon roll for Silas

The raw cinnamon rolls I made turned out really well, so I thought I would share them here.  Silas slept over at a friend's house last night, so he missed out on them for breakfast, but we saved one for him to try because we thought they were so tasty, we hoped he would like them too.  (On a side note, our friends are going to be moving soon and they are clearing out stuff, so when I dropped Silas off yesterday, I was gifted with some hemp seeds, a ton of sesame seeds, and a ton of flax seeds.   I thought that was sweet!)

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It is really amazing what you can do with some sprouted grains, dried fruit and a dehydrator!  Aimee made these rolls last summer and gave me the recipe, but I am not sure where she got it from.  I think maybe it is out of the book Rawesome. 

Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup buckwheat sprouted

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup dates soaked 20 minutes

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp salt

Process in food processor, shape dough into 2" rounds on dehydrator trays.  I have just a round dehydrator (I think it is called American Harvest) and I used the mesh screen trays for these rolls.   Dehydrate for 12 hours at 105 degrees, flipping half way through.

Frosting

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup dates soaked 20 minutes

1/4 cup pines nuts

1/2 tsp vanilla

Process until smooth

I think the key to sprouting buckwheat is not to over sprout it.  I have over sprouted it before and it turns bitter, so with these, as soon as a tail appeared off the grain, I stopped rinsing.  After a couple of hours, I could tell that the tails were getting longer, so I put them in the fridge to slow down the sprouting.  It was several hours later, but as soon as I could, I made the roll dough.  I think because I made sure to use it right away and not let them over sprout, I was successful with the process (in my past experience, the buckwheat will continue to sprout in the fridge).  The rolls were very good and there was no bitterness at all, which gave me hopes for other recipes calling for sprouted buckwheat.

The frosting is good too, but I keep thinking of a cream cheese frosting I made out of Alissa Cohen's book that I made for a raw carrot cake last summer.  I think it might be good on these rolls, so I might have to experiment. 

I think Silas liked them too!  Hurrah. 

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In other news,  this less than normal amount of produce week has been a very interesting experience indeed.  For one thing, I feel like the Life Force Energy is slowing being sucked from my being.  It's so crazy!  I feel more tired and lethargic than normal.  I am so happy to be witnessing this in my body.  It is such a stark contrast to how I have been feeling the past several months.  Also, I feel super dehydrated and keep drinking water.  I think it is because I am losing so much water from my food. 

I don't mean to complain, because we have PLENTY of food.  I am so glad I just read the book Living More with Less.  It puts it in perspective for me for sure.  There are people starving who would love all the food we are eating right now.  I am glad I am getting to experiment with raw desserts.  I hope to make some Essene bread next week.  These cinnamon rolls and such would be very satisfying if they were combined with my normal intake of food.  I think if I wasn't having this experience I would be putting off the desire to sprout, etc, so hopefully I will be able to continue these things with juicing and smoothies and get even further into my raw diet. 

I was talking to Aimee today and she was telling me a story about a person who didn't pick up their CSA share (her husband grows food for their local csa with a partner), but the person didn't call to say they would be a no-show.  So they had all this wonderful produce, some of which was wasted and Aimee thought of me and how I would LOVE that produce right now!  Too bad we live 5 hours from each other!  Maybe that will change some day.  So, I think we are going to use some mesculun that Steve harvested today and blend it with some frozen fruit we have for a green smoothie right now.  I am jonesin'! 

Oh, we decided that after we are through this spree of cleaning out the cupboards, that we were are going to up the ante on our raw consumption.  In The Raw Food Detox, Natalia Rose has a test to establish where you should begin in your transition to eating raw foods (how many cooked things vs. raw) just to keep your level of detoxification at a level your body can handle.  Steve and I scored at a level 3, but we are ready to move it up to level 2 which is when you eat cooked foods just a couple of times per week.  I am looking forward to the summer and the abundance of fresh foods and to seeing what changes this shift will bring for us.  But, I am sure I will be writing more about it later. 

Until then, Peace on your journeys!  

     

Lavender wands and Yarrow Oil

Here is a little bit of what I have been up to over the summer.   

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingThe lavender wands were something that I had been wanting to try for several years now.  Our lavender that we planted a few years ago was finally big enough to yield to a project like this and so I just had to try it!  I started small and only tried two just to get a knack for it.  It is best to start when the lavender stem has only one to two flowers open on it.  The first two rows are the trickiest to weave, but after that it is pretty smooth sailing.  I did find that you can't let them sit too long before finishing them up because they get brittle.  I learned the hard way and a couple of the stems broke on me as I was weaving.  Aimee (who was up for a visit at the time) suggested that maybe if they were stored in a plastic bag they would have retained some of their moisture.  Next year I would like to make many more since they are fun, pretty, and I think they would make nice gifts.  The story I tell myself is that when I am not traveling out of town every week, I may have a bit more energy to do more.  We'll see how accurate that is next summer! 
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingI am sorry that I didn't take more pictures of the process of making yarrow oil.  This is the second time I have done it and it is marvelous stuff.  Basically I grab a ton of flowers (when in bloom), leaves, and stems.  I then macerate them and put them in a big jar and cover them in a blend of vegetable and olive oil.  I like to put the jar out in the sun and let its energy and heat draw the properties from the herb into the oil.  After a few weeks, I strain the oil and this fall or winter I will mix the oil with bees wax and pour it into chap stick tubes.  It is the most awesome remedy for dry, chapped winter lips!  My brother in law, Jon, loves the stuff!  I have hooked him up with many tubes.  We love to give it away to friends and family. 

A week with Moosewood

Oh my goodness!  I have found a new favorite cookbook!  It is Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.  A new friend in our local chapter of Holistic Mom's Network recommended it and I am so glad she did!  I checked it out from the library and was inspired to cook up a storm last week!  But I am definitely buying this one.  It will take ages to tire of.  Everything I made was delicious and the whole cookbook is soups and salads which are my favorite foods.  It is all vegetarian, but there is a section of soups and salads that include fish as well which I am looking forward to experimenting with over time. 

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosSpicy Pineapple Tofu Salad
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosBourride (Provencal Soup with Aioli)
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosFattoush served with Egyptian Red Lentil Soup (not pictured)
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosBlack Bean and Chipotle Soup
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosSouthern Wheat-free Cornbread and Jalapeno CreamSo, for this week, I have an easy menu planned and I am giving myself a break from such cooking!  Mostly beans and rice (plain) and spicy peanut udon noodles, but that's about it!  Happy cooking to you!

I LOVE SOAKING THINGS

For Breakfast

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosRolled oats soaked overnight in milk, pineapple, and cardamom.  Served in the morning with sliced banana and toasted sunflower seeds.For dinner
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosBlack Beans.  Don't forget to add the kombu while cooking to improve digestibility and add valuable trace minerals.And for a snack
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosAlmonds.  Did you know when you soak almonds that you release tannins from the nuts and bring forth valuable nutrients that you otherwise wouldn't receive?  It's like a garden seed germinating.  When you get it wet, all of the energy from the seed comes forth to burst out a new sprout of a plant.  Well the same thing is true with the nuts and seeds you eat.   Wonderful results occur if you dehydrate the nuts after soaking.  I use a dehydrator.  You want the temperature to be less than 150 degrees and it takes about 24 hours.  The result is a crispy little nut.  Delicious! 

Aimee will be proud!

Just in time for Spring.....my new winter hat!!

Here is my new hat that I knitted over the winter.  I used Ara yarn and an Ann Norling spiral ribbed hat pattern.  I thought the pattern was fun to do.  I like the softness and warmth of the yarn too.  The reason I say my knitting friend Aimee would be proud is that she has been waiting for me to finish this hat!  When I told her I had purchased this pattern, she told me "I think I have that pattern" and then in probably less than two weeks she knitted 2-3 of these hats!  My life permits one or two rows knitted here and there, but after two and a half months, it made a hat, so I guess that works.  The past couple of weeks as the hat has been done, I found my hands longing for another knitting project though, so I started a hat for Steve this weekend.  So, maybe in a few months, you'll get an update on that.

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