Fun Facts From The Almanac

I don't know about you but every year I look forward to getting the new Farmer's Almanac and reading it cover to cover.  I enjoy this almost as much as I enjoy perusing my herbal journals and magazines when they come.  It is like having an old friend come to visit and I carve out some quality time just to spend reading.  The Almanac is always full of great information about gardening and planting and tide tables and astronomy guides but it is also chock-full of interesting facts and awesome tips from readers that can really help you in your garden and home, not to mention the great ideas for frugal living you can find.  I thought I'd just share a few of the great stuff I found in this year's Farmers Almanac, though there are so many it was hard to choose just a few!  I recommend you pick up your own copy so you can have the full scope of this awesome information!

Some of my favorite tips for 2012:

1. Corn Circles: Blues guitarist Elvin Bishop, famous for the melody "Fooled Around And Fell In Love," has
   this unique tip for growing corn - In his 10x10 plot Elvin lays down a water drip line in a spiral of ever  
   increasing circles spaced 1 foot apart.  The circular planting formation allows for more even pollination,
   resulting in a better yield of corn.

2.  Instant Compost:  Put fruit, vegetable peels, rinsed egg shells, coffee grinds and other compostable items in
   a blender.  Add water and process.  Spread wherever you need compost.  Works great for container
   gardens!

3.  Eggshell Starts:  Place small amount of dirt in bottom of rinsed eggshell.  Plant seed and allow to sprout.
    Once sprouted, simply plant the whole thing, eggshell and all!  I LOVE this idea!!!

4.  Use leftover deli chicken containers as mini greenhouses!  When I think of all the deli containers I have
    recycled...I wish I had read this tip years ago!

5.  Perfume Paint:  Mix one tsp. of Vanilla, or other flavored extract into one gallon of paint.  What a great
    idea!  I have to paint my bathroom soon and I will definitely be trying this, though I will likely replace the
    vanilla extract for a tsp. of Lavender essential oil!

Those are just a few of the great ideas to be found in the 2012 Farmer's Almanac.  I can't wait to try these
ideas around my own home and garden!

What great home and garden tips do you have to share?  I'd love to hear them!
   

Why I've Been M.I.A.

I have not written anything in quite a while now and I have to confess to you it's because I've been down in the dumps, uninspired and unmotivated.  I guess everyone experiences burn-out occasionally and I'm no exception.  I still love herbs and natural healing, still enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, still make and sell herbal products to boost health and beauty, but for some reason I have just not felt like writing.  With spring and the onset of gardening season I will likely be too busy to write.  So what is my problem?

First, I've been unemployed for too long.  I work per diem shifts here and there but that only amounts to 4-5 days per month.  I have all this time on my hands but I've become lazy...a million projects to work on and no motivation.  So, I'm going to Texas at the end of the month, a gift from my sister and am hoping to feel rejuvenated when I return home.  She has a yard project for us to work on and I am hoping that will get my blood flowing again!

Second, I don't have much of a following so it is hard to feel strongly motivated to write when no one is reading!  However, I have reminded myself that I don't do this blog for anyone but myself and so the writing is for me, not readers!  Since I don't do FB, this is the closest thing I have to social networking.

Third, winter is always a dreary time for me!  Arthritis keeps me pretty miserable from Halloween to Easter and when I'm hurting I don't feel like writing, typing or being creative.

SO...I'm taking the bull by the horns!  I'm going to commit to posting at least 2 blogs per week.  They may be very short posts or very long ones.  They may be a simple picture or new recipe to share.  They may be just be a shared article from the web that I found interesting.  Whatever they are, I am making a promise to myself that I will write at least twice per week.  If I'm particularly inspired I may write more!

Gardening time is almost here.  I have my seeds ready and just need to start them indoors.  I am giving up my herb garden space to my husband this year for our vegetable garden.  Where my main herb garden sits is the best site for veggie gardening so I decided to sacrifice my space and pull up the plants so that the veggies may have the sunniest spot and I will plant my herbs in containers this year.  I will transplant a few of my well established plants, such as Rosemary and Sage, but will plant the rest new.  I am excited about this but when I think of all the work involved...GROAN!  I believe that we will have our most successful vegetable garden this year so the work will be worth it!

I have decided to grow less herbs this year and concentrate on growing the plants I use most for making my medicinals and beauty products.  I need to be less wasteful!  I also am bugging my husband about building me a cheap composting unit and hope to be blogging about that soon!

What will you be growing this year?  Do you garden in the ground or containers?  I would love to hear about your gardening plans!

Valentine's Day Chocolate Torte

\

Valentine's Day is over but I wanted to share with you an awesome recipe for Valentine's Day or any day of the year that you want to woo and impress your loved one!  This is a delicious, rich and decadent flourless chocolate cake that your gluten-free friends and family will love!  It is simple to make and one of the best tasting desserts I have ever tried!  This recipe comes from my favorite cousin Julia who has given me a number of truly fantastic recipes...here is one more!

Ingredients:
7-9 oz. 50% cocoa semi-sweet chocolate bars (I used 70% cocoa organic dark chocolate candy bars)
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, divided in half
4 eggs, separated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt chocolate and butter on low heat and stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 4 egg yolks, mixing well into melted chocolate.  Lightly beat egg whites and add in 1/2 cup sugar.  Beat on medium to high until stiff peaks form.  Fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate and stir well until all combined.  Pour batter into a 8x8 greased pan or round cake pan.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  It is important to remember that this cake will not rise like a normal cake so don't worry when you remove it from the oven and it seems rather flat!

The Chocolate Torte Without Sauce

If you want to top your torte with raspberry sauce here is the recipe, if you can call something so easy a recipe!  Just take a small container of fresh raspberries and sweeten slightly with sugar or sweetener of choice.  Heat in a saucepan until a sauce is formed and spoon the sauce onto the cooled torte.  Voila!  A lovely and delicious dessert that will impress even the most critical guests!  Enjoy!

Fraulein's Favorite Pumpkin Doggy Biscuits

Does your dog have a sweet tooth?  Mine does.

Fraulein

Yes, Fraulein likes anything sweet and especially loves the flavor of pumpkin with cinnamon.  I hate giving her unhealthy snacks and have to admit that occasionally my dog (Fraulein) has the pleasure of licking a beater when I'm baking pumpkin or ginger bread.  I know, my bad!  Thankfully those days are over!  I found a recipe today that I couldn't follow exactly because it called for different types of gluten-free flour that I don't have, so I tweaked it using what I could find and the doggy biscuits are now in the oven, leaving my house filled with the scent of pumpkin bread reminiscent of  the holidays.  It's heavenly!

Here is my own recipe for Pumpkin Doggy Biscuits:
Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour (I make my own by simply grinding whole oats in a coffee grinder for about 15 seconds)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour or any flour of your choice
1/4 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pure pumpkin puree  (not the pie filling!)
1 egg or egg equivalent
1 tbsp. organic virgin olive oil or heart healthy oil of choice (coconut might be good...I might try it next time!)
2 tbsp. ground organic flax seed
dash of cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice (optional but great if your dog has a sweet tooth!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl combine the flours and ground flax seed.  Add in your optional spices if desired.  Add in the pumpkin puree, applesauce, egg and oil.  Mix until combined.  This is one treat you can allow your dogs to really enjoy!  Let your pet lick the beaters and the mixing bowl clean, after all it's made specially for them!

Now for the messy part!  Just try to channel your inner child for this task!  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly with your hand until you get a thickness of about 1/8 inch.  It's easier if you keep your hand just damp with warm water and have some patience!  Score into squares, or use cookie cutters for shapes, but do not remove the shapes.  This is just to score the shape to make it easier to break apart after baking.  Now, bake for 1- 1 1/2 hours, until the biscuit has the desired crunchiness.  For an older dog you may not want it to be so crunchy, depending on their teeth and oral health.

Remove from the oven and transfer the parchment paper to a cooling rack.  Cool completely before you try to break the pieces apart.  For best results, store in the refrigerator for up to a week or store in the freezer and remove portions as needed.

Not too pretty, but tasty and ready to eat.  I even had one!

These will make great treats, training snacks or meal supplements for your dog.  You may want to play with ingredients based on your dog's special needs and this base recipe allows a lot of room for creativity!  I hope you'll let me know if you try the recipe and what changes you have made for your own dogs!

Fraulein happily does a taste test!

Fraulein loves her pumpkin "cookies" and comes running when I offer one!  I hope your dog (s) love this recipe too!  I'd love to hear from you what kind of treats you make for your own pets!

Delicious German Chocolate Cake

My wonderful husband just turned 50!  Happy Birthday Gunnar!

 c

When I asked my husband what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday I really already knew...duh, a german chocolate cake.  What else for a guy born and raised in Germany?  So his answer was no surprise for me.  Now usually I just pick up a cake mix from the store, add a bit of this and that to add flavor and moistness, then top it off with some store-bought frosting from a can.  That just didn't seem good enough for a 50th birthday cake so I scoured the internet for recipes and found, I think, a true winner.  I must admit, baking the cake from scratch was labor intense but SO worth it!  It was moist, delicious and rich...divinely decadent!  My hubby loved it and we've been enjoying it all week, though my waistline is starting to complain!

melting the chocolate was fun!

I couldn't help but try it!  Yum!

Here is the recipe, which I tweaked only slightly by adding an egg, using dark brown sugar and substituting light sour cream for the full fat variety.

Ingredients for cake:
2 1/4 cups all- purpose flour  (I used cake flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
5 large eggs
4 oz. sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour two 9" cake pans.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, sour cream, eggs, chocolate, milk and vanilla.  Beat with mixer on low speed until well blended.  Increase mixer to high speed and beat for another 2-3 minutes.  Spoon batter into prepared pans.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.  Remove to racks to cool completely.

Ingredients for frosting:
3/4 cup evaporated milk (1 small can)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 oz. flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium heat bring evaporated milk, brown sugar and butter to a full boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.  DO NOT attempt to frost the cake until both the cake and frosting are COMPLETELY cool...it will not frost well as you can see from the picture of my completed cake. I was too anxious!  It may not have looked pretty but it sure tasted heavenly.

Gunnar enjoyed his 50th birthday cake!  I hope you will try the recipe and let me know how your family like it!

Quick And Easy Fix For A Headache!

Today my husband is home ill with a migraine headache.  Over the years my poor migraine-prone hubby has tried everything for his headaches from aspirin to Imitrex and other prescription drugs.  Narcotic pain pills only cause rebound headache and Ibuprofen and Tylenol only help a little.  But we have a secret weapon in our arsenal!  This secret weapon is an inexpensive natural product that has a myriad of uses but is especially helpful for headaches.  Our secret weapon is...drum roll please...Lavender Essential Oil.  Yes, something that simple!

 I simply dampen a washcloth and sprinkle on it just a bit of the lavender essential oil, then I roll it up and place it on my suffering spouse's forehead.  The Lavender Essential Oil really helps to knock out his tough headaches!  Lavender is wonderfully relaxing and just a few drops on the cloth make the whole bedroom smell like a Lavender garden.  My husband is able to sleep for a few hours and almost always wakes refreshed and headache free.  I hope you'll try Lavender Essential Oil the next time you have a headache.  If using the damp washcloth is impractical for you just rub a few drops of oil into your temples and dab a bit under your nose.

Wonderful Lavender

Other uses for Lavender are: anxiety/stress, wound and skin care.  For anxiety and stress you may want to rub a bit of the essential oil into your temples or simply take a few deep inhalations from the bottle.  A cup of Lavender tea will also settle those nerves!  For wounds simply apply a drop or two of Lavender essential oil to help heal and ward off infection.  Lavender is also known to help the skin and fight wrinkles so adding about 30-50 drops into your face lotion will help to fight aging and keep your skin glowing.  You may even notice less breakouts, if you are prone to them.  Experiment with the essential oil of Lavender and you will discover an array of uses and delights!  If you need to purchase Lavender essential oil just click on one of the links to Mountain Rose Herbs on my blog...they will hook you up and I can personally vouch for the quality of their products.

Let me know how Lavender helps you!  I'd love to hear from you!

Natural Beauty The Easy Way

Do you wish you could afford lavish spa treatments and body oils?  Why not just make your own?  There are lots of ways to use the ingredients around your kitchen and home to keep you youthful, glowing and looking your best!  Here are just a couple of ideas that are fun and easy and feel luxurious without a trip to the spa!

Glittery Body Glow:
This lovely, scented oil will keep your skin glowing and refreshed all day long!
Ingredients:
1 cup almond oil
1 tbsp. mineral makeup, golden tone  (powdered eye shadow works well)
10 drops natural perfume or essential oil of choice (optional)

Preparation:
Add all the ingredients to a small container.  Put the top on and swish the mixture around until well mixed.  Smooth onto arms, chest, neck and legs for a glittery glow that that will last for hours!


Morning Buzz Coffee Scrub:
A different way to wake up with caffeine in the morning and a great way to use up those coffee grounds!

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 cup of used coffee grounds
2 tbsp. coarse salt
1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Preparation:
Place the coffee grounds in a container that will be safe in your shower.  Add the salt and drizzle the olive oil, stirring with your fingers to blend.  Scrub your body gently with the coffee grounds mixture, being careful to avoid the eyes.  Rinse well and feel refreshed all over!

I hope you enjoy these fun and easy beauty tricks.  The coffee scrub feels great and is truly rejuvenating!  The body glow is fun on a summer day or on a winter's day when you want to feel a bit of summer.  Enjoy!