Kelly's Delicious Lavender Pound Cake

Today I had to bake up a couple of my special Lavender Pound Cakes for my husband's family reunion and decided to share this unique recipe with you.  It is a delicious and moist pound cake that is great with frosting or without.  The Lavender in the recipe provides a very subtle flavor that is light and tastes like a light lavender breeze blowing through a summer afternoon.  Give this recipe a try...I bet you and your family will come to love it as much as we do!




LAVENDER POUND CAKE


Prep time: 20 minutes  
Category:  Breakfast/Dessert  
Servings:  8-10

Ingredients:
2 sticks salted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp. dried chopped lavender
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each egg is added.  Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.  Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.  Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition.  Pour into 2 greased bread loaf pans.  This recipe will actually give you enough batter for 2 large loaves and 1 mini-loaf.  Bake for one hour (30 minutes for the mini-loaf) or until tester poked through center of cake comes out clean.  Let cool completely before adding frosting.  This pound cake tastes great without any frosting but if you prefer, a little drizzling of icing is quite lovely too!  For an easy frosting I just combine powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. melted butter and a small amount of milk until I get the desired consistency, then just drizzle over the cake.  I like to add powdered lavender to my frosting mix for a complete lavender treat!

Nutritional Info:
I probably don't need to tell you that this is a  very fattening cake.  It is worth every fat gram and calorie so just practice portion control and enjoy it!

Let me know if you try this recipe what you think of it or what changes you would make.  I'd love to hear what you think!

A Healthy Way To Start Your Day!

If you like to drink water with lemon or lime, this article is for you!  I never would have guessed all the benefits to drinking warm water with lemon or lime!  I bet you will find at least one reason to try it for yourself!  I found this interesting article at...you guessed it...Natural News!  Please enjoy the article..

(NaturalNews) A glass of warm lemon or lime water first thing in the morning is surprisingly helpful in several ways. This Yogic or Ayurvedic ritual was primarily for stimulating digestion and eliminating ama, the Ayurvedic term for toxic slime that builds up in the gastro-intestinal or GI tract. This ritual has even more health benefits...For the rest of the article go here: http://www.naturalnews.com//033383_lemon_juice_digestion.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033383_lemon_juice_digestion.html#ixzz1VmutaSJF

Now that you've learned the wonderful benefits of warm water with lemon or lime, will you try it?  Maybe you are already drinking it every day.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Childhood Vaccinations...Are They Really Saving Our Children?

Lately in the media there has been a lot of coverage regarding childhood and teenage vaccinations.  We are a nation that is shot-crazy and I am especially concerned with the CDC's latest campaign to vaccinate teens and preteens against Meningitis.  Being in the medical field I know how truly rare Meningitis deaths are among this group, though it does happen.  But do a few deaths warrant vaccinating our entire teen population?   I found an article at Natural News that discusses the danger of childhood vaccinations and the bullying pediatricians who threaten parents with legal action if they don't comply.  Please read the article and let me know how you feel about this!  Here is the article, enjoy...

(NaturalNews) Just when you think some progress is being made for allowing exemptions from required vaccination schedules, along comes a threatening policy statement from a group that does most of those vaccinations. The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) has issued a position statement opposing secular exemptions from vaccinations.

Already, many pediatricians are refusing healthcare to children of parents, who oppose heavy vaccination schedules.

Pediatricians Are Vaccine Crazy

The vaccination schedule begins at birth with the Hep B shot, which is followed by two more Hep B shots before two years of age. Hepatitis B is transmitted sexually or with hypodermic needles. Even if the mother is not at risk, the Hep B shots are pushed on newborns.

Two other vaccinations come as three different doses in one package. And those are given more than once before age six. They are the MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) and the DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) vaccinations.

Including the two inoculations that inject three vaccines, there are a total of fifteen different vaccines inoculated into a child well over 30 times by the age of six. Those shots aren't cheap, and they are hazardous. The USA requires more infant vaccinations than any other nation, yet it ranks 34th in infant mortality.

For the rest of the article go here: http://www.naturalnews.com/033291_pediatricians_vaccinations.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033291_pediatricians_vaccinations.html#ixzz1UlHyLEGz

Now that you've read this article, how do you feel about getting your own children vaccinated?  I'm personally glad that my children are now in their mid to late 20's and when they were young we simply didn't have all these vaccinations the CDC and pediatricians are pushing at our children.  I do not believe that all the vaccinations our children are getting are necessary.  I would love to hear what you think about this ongoing controversial issue!

Praise for Kelly's Backyard Herbals Gone With The Wound Cream!

 This is an exerpt from an email I received today from a satisfied customer who recently used the Gone with the Wound cream to rid herself of a rash.  I thought I'd share it with you before I put it in the Kelly's Backyard Herbals column.  I did not print the whole personal email, just the information that is relevent.

On August 8, 2011 JoAnne writes:

"...I started a project on the front hill and developed a nasty rash on my neck and arms.  A neighbor said "Gold Bond", so I used that; then she said 'antihistamine's, so I got some of that...   It didn't go away and became a dry and angry mess...  While I was dusting the other day  I realized that the larger jar of cream you sent me some time ago was  Healing Cream, and I do believe, my young friend, you saved me!

Thank you a million times."

I am so happy to see yet another successful outcome with the help of my Gone with the Wound cream and to know that it's out there helping people!

For more information about this amazing healing product go to the Kelly's Backyard Herbals column.

Kelly's Favorite Breakfast Smoothie

I start almost every day with a healthy high protein fruit smoothie that tastes so delicious it's hard to believe it's health food!  I thought I'd share the recipe with you.  

It is a simple recipe to make that makes about 16 ounces.  I work on one half while getting ready for work in the morning and pour off the other half into a thermos, which I drink when I get to work.  This wonderful fruiti-licious drink keeps me going until lunchtime!  Here is the recipe:

In a Vita-Mix or blender add:

1 serving of frozen peaches

1 serving of frozen strawberries, or other fruit of choice

1 banana

cold water to cover the fruit  (this will help thaw the fruit and make blending much easier)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

2 small packages of Truvia sweetener

1 full scoop of LifeTime Life's Basics Pea Protein Powder, Vanilla flavor

   (or other vanilla flavored protein powder)

Gently stir ingredients prior to blending.  Blend on high for 30 - 60 seconds and check to see if the consistency is right.  If needed add a bit more water and blend again.  Enjoy!

Gunnar takes a sip

Good smoothie!

What makes this smoothie taste even better is the lack of guilt you have while drinking it!  Here is the nutritional breakdown for a 16 oz. serving:

382 calories

4.5 gm. fat

29 gm. protein

34 gm. carbohydrate

A healthy and filling breakfast that gives you 3 full fruit servings and a dose of heart healthy flaxseed that won't hurt your waistline!  

I would love to learn new smoothie recipes and hear your ideas about different fruit combinations!  What smoothies are you currently enjoying and making for your family?  Talk to me!

                

Lovely Lavender Lemonade

Here we are in the height of summer and picnic season.  People are camping, fishing, exploring national parks and on many corners of quiet family streets you'll find lemonade stands.  I found a delicious lavender lemonade recipe that I thought I'd share with you.  This recipe comes from the book "An Unthymely Death And Other Garden Mysteries" by author Susan Wittig Albert.  She writes about herbal shop owner China Bayles who also just happens to solve mysteries that occur in her little town of Pecan Springs, Texas.  China collects and shares many lovely herbal recipes and crafts in the many books Susan Witting Albert has written about China and her escapades, and this lemonade recipe is worthy of sharing!  I hope you will enjoy this cool, refreshing summer beverage that comes from Texas.  This recipe might just be the hit at the neighborhood lemonade stand this summer!

For the Lavender-Hibiscus Syrup:
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup dried red hibiscus flowers
1 tbsp. dried lavender flowers

For the Lemonade:
3 cups very cold water
1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice (8 large lemons)
1/2 cup sugar (optional
thin lemon slices, for garnish
fresh lavender sprigs, for garnish (optional)

To make the syrup:
In a medium saucepan combine the 2 1/2 cups of water and the 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Add hibiscus flowers, reduce heat and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in lavender flowers.  Cover and let steep until cool.  Strain hibiscus-lavender syrup into a jar and chill.  Make lemonade in your prettiest clear glass pitcher and stir in the chilled syrup.  If you like it tart, this will be fine.  If you have a sweet tooth, add another 1/2 cup of sugar and stir briskly to dissolve.  Garnish with lemon slices and sprigs of lavender and enjoy!

If you have a special lemonade recipe that you'd be willing to share, please tell us about it!  I would love to hear your creative lemonade ideas!

Spray Away Those Spiders!

I found a great recipe to rid your home and entrances of spiders!  It's all natural and won't hurt you, your plants or the environment.  It's easy, cheap and will generally keep spiders, as well as ants and other bugs, at bay for about two years after you spray.  This recipe is the perfect natural solution to ridding yourself of eight legged pests!

You will need:                                                                                        
1 package of pipe or chewing tobacco
1/2 cup lemon dish soap (organic is best)                                      

Directions:
Place the chewing/pipe tobacco in a gallon of water and bring to a boil.  Remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool completely.  Strain the liquid into a clean container.  Put 1 cup of the resulting tobacco juice and the lemon dish soap into a hose-end sprayer and spray the areas you want to be spider-free.  For smaller jobs, simply pour the liquid into a spray bottle and spray your affected areas.  As I said, this recipe works on other pests as well.

Let me know how this works for you!