for the sake of a picnic

Garlicky Greens Pasta Salad

ingredients

• 1 lb garden arugula
• 4 oz garden basil
• 4 cloves garlic
• .25 cup olive oil
• pumpkin or sunflower seeds, toasted
• sea salt
• 1.75 c homemade chicken broth
• Harvest Grains Blend (Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo, red quinoa)
• feta, parm or romano to taste

prep

• warm oil on med-low & add crushed garlic cloves for 3-5 min
• wilt greens in garlic-laden oil 2 min or so & remove from heat
• boil chicken broth, add half the package of grains blend (according to package directions), remove from heat & let sit covered 20 min
• pour garlic greens oil mixture over grains, stir in toasted seeds & cheese to get it creamy
• chill or serve immediately
• offer flatbread (to soak up excess garlic oil, yum) & hummus on the side

gifts washed ashore

Papa & Grandma Clinch visited last month, resulting in a few projects being completed. Oven-dried tomatoes canned in oil, porch swing hung, tool closet pegboard installed & sand table constructed. Friday I removed the trucks (from the sand) in favor of a discovered stash of mama-hoarded seashells. They are in their natural environment, as is Elijah.

a little lavender crazy

Source: Elizabeth's garden; thanks, girl!
Yield:
8 cups of buds (to dry), plenty of extra stems to steep or admire

Results:

• hydrosol (tutorial video reference here)
• syrup (for beverages)
• sleepy balm (extra batch)
• eye pillows
• infused oil

thieves vinegar for bug spray?

image (print available) via LittlePaperPlanes

I've been investigating which herbs & essential oils will repel insects effectively, without chemicals like the dreaded deet. It's almost a paranoia how often thoughts of disease-carrying mosquitoes cross my mind. When I was carrying Elijah, a woman in my Centering Group (with our midwives) mentioned something called Thieves Oil that is recorded to prevent the spread of Bubonic Plague among those raiding the homes & graves of deceased victims.  One of the thieves must have been an herbalist, living to credit the potion for their survival.

Old records describe several recipes that are very much alike. Each herb in tincture form should be effective in place of today’s insect repellents. Of course, superstition was rampant in those times, disease was misunderstood & history books often confuse superstition with herbal healings. Common sense & more recent medical understanding tells me why an herbal vinegar could work so well.

Rosemary, being a strong antiseptic, was one of the choice herbs (even just the smoke from burning it). Wormwood & Rue are the bitterest of herbs. Both are antiseptics and vermifuges (kill worms). Wormwood has been used internally but can cause convulsions. Lavender & peppermint are high in volatile oils, excellent ingredients for a very good insect repellent, as well as being pleasant smelling. Sage is a lymphatic, which is important to remember in cases of a bubonic-type disease outbreak. Of course, garlic, as the king of herbs, is antiseptic, antimicrobial, antibiotic and, antifungal—chemicals that kill parasites.

Thieves Vinegar is my next experiment as a super-strong insect repellent, diluted with water to half strength when we spray it directly on our skin. Splashed on socks or shoes will discourage ticks, chiggers & mites. An herbal cloth in your pocket & rubbed on your skin ever hour or so would be great for outdoor work or play. A nightly bath with a little herbal vinegar & oil will keep it on your skin for many hours, which could help while in the country or on camping trips. It should only be used externally.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Rosemary
• 2 tablespoons Sage
• 2 tablespoons Lavender
• 2 tablespoons Wormwood
• 2 tablespoons Peppermint
• 2 tablespoons fresh, chopped garlic
• 2 quarts of apple cider vinegar

---

Prep

• Combine 12 Tbsp of the premixed herbs & 2 quarts of vinegar in a sealed glass jar. Steep in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks or so, shaking daily. Strain out the used herbs, & retain the herbal liquid mixture.
• Add several cloves of crushed garlic & close lid. Let soak for 3 days, strain out the garlic fiber to be discarded.
• This liquid tincture needs to be stored in a cool place, like the refrigerator. It can be preserved for a very long period of time by canning. You would fill canning jars with boiling liquid tincture to within one-half inch of top. Cap with rubber seal canning lid, tighten ring, turn hot jar upside down & leave it undisturbed until it cools to room temperature. This will cause the jar to seal. Date & label it clearly.

summer berry sorbet

shown with mum's shortcake

Some recipes give instructions to cook the berries down before mashing & freezing. Our whole goal was to eat more raw food so we skipped that step.

Sorbet

• .5 cup strawberries
• 3 cups raspberries
• .5 cup mulberries
• .5 cup water

• whipping cream
• vanilla extract

Prep

• Throw all berries into food processor & blend into puree. Add water & optional .25 cup sugar (if raspberries are especially tart). 
• Pulse to blend & pour into freezer-safe container. Freeze 12 hrs.
• Thaw 30 minutes at room temp or 2 hrs in fridge before attempting to scoop.
• Whip cream with vanilla extract to top.

Shortcake (adapted from this one)

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• .75 tsp salt
• .3 cups raw sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp shortening (can sub coconut cream)
• .75 cup half & half
• melted butter to brush shortcakes

Prep

• Heat oven 400 F.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. Cut in butter & shortening/coconut cream. Mix in half-&-half. 
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter & sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 minutes or until brown.
• Cool and eat!

healing salve

(eucalyptus) image via GrainnePhotography


Summer = exposed skin = boo boos. This topical salve is perfect for diaper rash, scrapes, cuts, burns, bites & stings to speed healing & prevent infection. More creamy than sleepy balm, the amount of tea tree oil makes it smell somewhat medicinal so avoid close contact with mucous membranes on sensitive little ones.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1.5 tsp beeswax
• 15 drops tea tree oil
• 15 drops calendula
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Prep

• In small saucepan over low heat or in a double boiler, combine oils with wax & gently warm until wax has just melted. 
• Remove from heat, allow to cool 5 min & add essential oils. Stir to blend.
• Pour into storage container(s). Allow to cool 20 min before capping containers.
• No refrigeration required, but freshest when used within 6 months.

Apply
Smear as needed.

sleepy balm

At baby bedtime, it's still pretty bright outside. So mama concocted a batch of sleepy balm to rub on the temples & chest for dreamy wafting smells all night. A bit flowery, perfectly delightful & soothing, very gentle on the skin. I used less wax than other recipes to account for coconut oil being solid at room temp.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 4 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp beeswax (.5 oz)
• 20 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops chamomile or geranium essential oil
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Prep

• In small saucepan over low heat or in a double boiler, combine oils with wax & gently warm until wax has just melted. 
• Remove from heat, allow to cool 5 min & add essential oils. Stir to blend.
• Pour into storage container(s). Allow to cool 20 min before capping containers.
• No refrigeration required, but freshest when used within 6 months.

Apply
A little salve goes a long way when applied under the nose, on the throat, temples, hands, &/or chest just before bedtime.  Also relaxing when suffering from a headache, nervous tension or anxiety (like when babe's molars are cutting).

*Edit*
I find coconut oil to be great for cradle cap, so after coating my hands in this balm I sometimes rub it all over baby's head. Immensely helpful with a touchy/fussy one like Os in the afternoons.

agenda

image, via so wabi sabi.

Today must:

• dry herbs, some hanging & some spread on a screen
• brew sun tea
• pick mulberries before the birds eat them all
• let Elijah get purple-faced with berry-eating

greens for your face

image via roadtothelakehouse

Love that we can use greens from our CSA for homemade cosmetics, via Organic Body Care Recipes.

Parsley & Peppermint Astringent
Ingredients

• 2 cups distilled water
• .25 cup fresh, chopped parsley
• .25 cups fresh, chopped peppermint leaves
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil

Prep
In small saucepan, bring water to a boil & remove from heat. Add herbs, cover & steep for 30 min. Add essential oil (if desired) & stir to blend. Strain into storage container(s). Shake well. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, then discard.
Apply
Using a cotton cleansing pad, apply 1 tsp to the face or more as needed to the throat, neck, shoulders or back. Avoid eye area.
Doubles as a hair rinse to enhance natural highlights in brown/red/black hair.

branches

driftwood from beachglow, branch blocks from the whimsy tree, red oak buttons

Storms knock them down so you can make stuff. Like teepees. Or tikis.

creamy dill dressing

photo via Sassy Radish

Excellent on potato salad or over asparagus! Yields 2 cups.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups mayonaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
• juice of 1 lemon
• 4 teaspoons grated onion*
• 3 garlic cloves, minced*
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

*for these I added the leftover Vidalia pesto until the mixture measured 2 cups

Preparation

Whisk mayonaise and sour cream in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Optionally season with salt and pepper. Cover & chill 1 hour to blend flavors.

ingredients

Success! After a short trip north, this weekend will be filled with domestic ritual. Stocked up on farm berries, plums, eggs & onions which will turn into preserves, quiche, baby food & hopefully accompanied by sourdough bread baking. The farm milk this week is particularly delicious as well! Taken with a fluffy macaroon (which is sure to contain powdered sugar), I have drunk a half gallon in 36 hours. I've never been able to get a macaroon to be this light, so props to Howard's Bakery.

vidalia onion greens pesto

Inspired by Sarah Britton's Totally Wild Leek Pesto, I jumped at the sight of Vidalias with their stems still attached. This pesto topped a salt-rubbed & grilled steak, cooked rare & savored very slowly... partly because we still haven't invested in steak knives & partly because the pesto is a bit spicy but perfect with well-aged beef. What do you top with pesto?

Vidalia Onion Greens Pesto
Ingredients:

• 5-8 cloves garlic, roasted
• 3 Vidalia onions (use just the leaves for a sweeter pesto)
• ½ cup pecans, lightly toasted (cashews or pine nuts also may work)
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:
1. Roast garlic cloves in foil on 350 for 10 min (toaster oven does just fine). Lightly toast pecans in a dry pan until they are just starting to turn golden on one side. Remove from heat.
2.  Wash the onion greens well by submerging them in a large bowl of water and swishing them around. Drain and spin dry. In batches, blend greens with roasted garlic in a food processor. Mixture will be very moist.

3. Crush toasted pecans to the size you prefer; I used a coffee grinder to chop them very finely. Add pecan crumble to the onion greens & stir; drizzle in the olive oil until a desired consistency is reached. If you like your pesto a little smoother and creamier, add more oil. Taste to adjust seasoning.
4. Serve. Can be stored in the fridge for 4 days (but it loses nutritional potency with every passing day) or in freezer for 4 months.

Yields: about 1 pound of pesto!

pesto with roasted garlic & almonds

My fingertips are stained green, & our kitchen smells like a freshly mowed lawn of basil. Is this what World Cup season smells like in Genoa? This rendition of pesto calls for what I had on hand. We ate it over Farfalle with sage sausage & a white wine from Cupcake Vineyards. [Also, the garlic is roasted because my nursing babe gets gassy when I indulge in raw garlic.]  Pesto can be stored refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months. Makes about 1 cup, or enough for about a pound of dried pasta.

Ingredients

• 5-8 cloves garlic, roasted
• 2 cups packed basil leaves, turns into 3/4 cup when chopped
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
• salt and pepper -- to taste

Preparation

• Roast garlic cloves in foil on 350 for 10 min (toaster oven does just fine). Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse to break into pieces. With a mortar & pestle, crush garlic & almonds together.
• Add basil to mortar & pestle to crush before combining with garlic/nut mixture. Stir in the parmesan, salt and pepper and adjust ingredients to your taste.
• Pour in the olive oil and crush gently until the mixture comes together and is smooth but still has some texture.
• Add a tablespoon or so of water to lighten up the pesto a bit if you like.

lavender jam & lemon layer cake

This almost didn't happen, folks. It definitely did not turn out on the first try. But thanks to the directions inside no-sugar-needed Sure Jell, it firmed up into jam eventually. We filled a large bowl with what ended up being enough blossoms for 3 batches of jam, 9-10 packed cups. The following proportions work best with no-sugar-needed pectin.

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed lavender blossoms
• 3 cups water
• juice of one lemon
• 1-1.5 cups unbleached sugar or sucanat
• 1 box no-sugar-needed pectin

Preparation

• sterilize jars by directions on the pectin box; if they're already hot then pouring jam into them won't cause them to crack. Always use new canning lids to make sure they vacuum seal.
• boil blossoms with water 10-15 min, the smell will be overwhelming so use open windows & an exhaust fan
• strain out blossoms, add lemon juice, stir in sugar, bring back to a boil
• add pectin & bring to rolling boil that can't be stirred down for 3 min
• ladle mixture into mason jars & following canning directions on the pectin box
  

After chilling the jars to make sure it was really jam, I experimented combining lavender with lemon & vanilla flavors. The most satisfying results were: atop Stone Ridge Creamery's vanilla Tart frozen yogurt & in between layers of this Lemon Cake (yields 8-10 servings).

 Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups cake flour (I triple sifted King Arthur)
• 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (we crave Minerva's Amish butter)
• 1 1/3 cups unbleached, granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 cups Greek yogurt or sour cream (I used one cup of each)

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 11 ounces white chocolate chips (one bag)

• 1/3 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
• 2/3 cup lavender jam
• lavender blossoms for garnish

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line with parchment paper; butter and flour sides of pan and parchment paper.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 
• In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract, egg yolks and lemon juice. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with yogurt, until ingredients are incorporated. Beat an additional 2 minutes to insure ingredients are well combined.
• Divide batter evenly into prepared pans, smooth surface with a spatula, and bake at 350 degrees F, for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into cakes comes out with moist crumbs attached.
• Cool for 12 minutes on wire racks, run a knife around outside edges, and invert cakes onto wire racks (removing parchment paper) to cool completely.
• To make the white chocolate ganache, heat the cream in a small saucepan, over medium heat, until hot. Pour the cream over the white chocolate chips, set in a large bowl, and stir until melted. Chill in the refrigerator until a good spreadable but pourable consistency.
• To assemble, spread some white chocolate ganache on one of the cake layers. Sprinkle the almonds over the white chocolate. Layer generously the lavender jam atop the ganache. Sprinkle the almonds over jam layer. Top with additional cake layer, and pour/spread ganache over the sides and top. Garnish with blossoms & more almonds to taste.

wild edibles & herbal cleansing

I love foraging wild edibles near home. There's an amazing woman named Riana living in France who blogs & Flickrs about eating wild... she's a great resource for edible & medicinal herbs/flowers, but to give a fair heads-up she narrates in a rather "Mother Earth/Fertility goddess" way.

Her link is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/81951381@N00/ &

For those of us who love turning well-worn pages more than clicking through links, try thumbing through

via abbytrysagain.typepad.com

For natural cleaners that are affordable, I make a lot of our supplies using basic ingredients like Castile soap, vinegar, borax, baking soda, etc. Make Your Place is a treasure trove of recipes for household cleaners, body care & gardening in a toxin-free way. The author has organized her narratives with cute illustrations, straight-forward directions & the book is small enough to keep in your bag for waiting-room-reading. For laundry, I've stopped making our own & have started using Charlie's soap, particularly for washing cloth diapers.

I'm also looking into a variety of whole foods based vitamins... what do you do for supplements?