Pecans, Pecans, Pecans!

We have a bumper crop of pecans this year.  This may be the only benefit of the mild winter from last year.  Our fruit trees and pecans trees had wonderful crops this year.  It did not freeze in the spring this year so all the fruits and nuts did very well.  You would not believe all the pecans, Gary and I will be cracking nuts for quite some time.

I'm not complaining, very thankful for these especially when I see the prices continually rising at the grocery store.

Making Wreaths

A very dear friend and (my Indian food eating buddy) invited me out for the day to celebrate my birthday.  We had a wonderful time.  First on the agenda, was a wreath making class at Will Rogers Community Center (not sure if that's the exact title).  This is a well kept secret.  There are gardening classes there once a month taught by a very knowlegeable horticulturalist.  I have attended a few of his classes and I always learn something new.  The last class of the year is a wreath making class and the wonderful thing is, it is FREE.  You can't believe all of the different types of natural greenry.  It is all the trimmings from the park and another property. And there are tons of it. 

I didn't really know what to expect from the class but was pleasantly surprised.  I made a small wreath for our bedroom window and when the class was over they passed out huge plastic bags so you could bring more greenry home.  I brought home enough greenry to decorate the wreath that hangs on our pickett fence and to fill my old wheelbarrow by the den door.

Well, after we loaded our cars with all our greenry we headed for our favorite Indian restaurant. It was wonderful, all the Indian dishes I love plus their wonderful mint sauce and cucumber sauce.  You already know, I ate too much, but I always do when I go there.  We then headed back to her home for some afternoon tea and a good visit. We were both so full, if we had been honest with each other we probably could have laid down and took a good nap! :)

It was a wonderful day, an activity that I loved, great food and I shared it with a great friend.


P.S.  Next time you are trimming shrubs or a neighbor is see if you can be creative with the clippings!

Making hand and body lotion

Ok, this is my first attempt at making lotion.  One of my dear friends gave me some lotion she made last year at about this time of the year and it was wonderful.  My husband always has trouble this time of the year with the skin around his fingers cracking (it gets very painful) and the lotion you buy at the store didn't seem to help that well.  The lotion my friend made, he loved.  In fact, he told me to never run out of this, it's great.  It was a jar about the size of the ones in the picture and it lasted all winter.  It was very soothing and my hands and legs were very soft.  It really helped my dry skin.

Why make your own lotion?  Read the label on the lotion you use and then google the ingredients and find out what you are rubbing into your body.  It will be quite an eye opener.  So making lotion has become another item on my resume. :) 

This is my first batch that I made for my children and me and my hubby.  It's not as smooth as the lotion from my friend.  I haven't got to talk to her yet so I don't know why it's a little grainy but it still does the trick of making our skin very soft.  I even use it as a moisturizer for my face.

These are the ingredients:
Small batch:  2 ounces raw Shea butter, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Larger batch: 8 ounces of Shea butter, 1/2 cup of coconut oil, 1/4 cup olive oil

This is the basic recipe.  I added to this coco butter , bees wax.  I also added red raspberry seed oil, lavender essential oil and peppermint essential oil.  Red raspberry seed oil is extraordinarily high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and is a superb anti-oxidant.  Research shows that its high level of Vitamin E is known to give it an important role in skin repair and conditioning.   Red raspberry oil is known for its prevention of gingivitis, rashes, eczema and other skin lesions.  It creates a lipid barrier providing protection to the skin and provides moisture retention for the skin. It is also a natural sunblock. I added the lavender and peppermint because lavender is great for skin repair, burns, ecemza, psoriasis and peppermint is also good for ecemza and psoriasis and they both smell wonderful.  There are other essential oils that are wonderful for skin problems, these were the two that I had purchased.

So this was my recipe:
12 ounces Shea butter
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup coco butter
2 ounces bees wax
6 teaspoons red raspberry seed oil
10 drops of lavender
10 drops of peppermint oil

I melted the first 5 ingredients and allowed them to cool but not completely and then added the red raspberry seed oil, lavender, and peppermint oil.  As I said early, my lotion is grainy I don't know why but I will keep you informed as I perfect this lotion. It is wonderful for your skin and it makes it feel very soft.

Something else I have started to do, got this idea from my daughter, I take about a tablespoon of coconut oil and put 4 drops of lavender and use this also as a moisturizer at night. This will also keep in a small glass container.  Do not put essential oils in plastic containers the plastic will leach into the essential oil.

If you have babies or toddlers read the ingredients on the Johnson's and Johnson's baby lotion. 

Catering a Ladies Christmas Luncheon

Some ideas for your next party or for celebrating the holidays.  First, let me point out the tablecloth how the ends are tied. I love the look and it also keeps your guests from catching their toe in a cloth that goes to the floor. It's hard to tell from these pictures but my client had a beautiful gold tablecloth and I accented it with a white cloth that had gold and silver strands in it. 

Elevating foods on the table looks so much more appealing than having everything the same level. Foods all have such beautiful colors it is easy celebrating the season with so many red and green combinations. The red and greens apples, red cherry tomatoes with green basil and mozzarella cheese balls, red and green peppers and I decorated the top of an herb cheesecake with rosemary from my garden and pomegranate seeds. For the veggie platter, red pepper hummus dip and creamy green avacado dip.

Last but not least, I put cranberries on the ends of picks for the cranberry meatballs I made.  I think it made a great presentation and looked very festive.  The ladies at the luncheon loved the idea.

A lot of work, but I love seeing it all come together.  The food was wonderful and my client was very pleased!

Cranberry Meatballs

2 pounds of ground chuck
2 large eggs,
1/3 cup of dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 garlic
1/2 t. onion powder (I used 1/2 cup finely diced onion, I like the flavor of the real onion)
1/2 teaspoon of thyme ( I used fresh thyme from my garden and I used 1 heaping tablespoon)
1-16 ounce can cranberry sauce
1-12 ounce jar chili sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.  Shape mixture into about 54 (l inch ) balls.  I used a melon baller to help me get the correct amount.
Cook meatballs, in batches, in a large skillet over medium heat until brown. Remove meatballs from pan and drain well on paper towels. I then put meatballs in a casserole dish and finished them off in the oven, 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  I don't like pink meat. When meatballs are done, drain off any grease.

Stir together cranberry and chili sauces and next 5 ingredients in large dutch oven over medium heat and cook whisking occasionally until smooth.  Let sauce simmer about 10 minutes on low heat and then cover the meatballs. Then transfer to a chafin dish or crock pot on low.  When I am catering, I put the crock pot on low and occasionally will turn it off for about 20 minutes and then turn it on again  because I don't want the meatballs to cook I just warm to keep them warm.

Note:  To make ahead you can place cook meatballs in a zip-lock plastic freezer bag and freeze up to one month.  Thaw in frig, warm sligthly in oven and then cover with warmed sauce.

Hungry Cats

I never thought I would be a cat person but after we moved to the country they won my heart.  It's so funny because in the morning when they see me in the kitchen they start to gather around the back door and if I don't bring out the grub, Susie stands and looks in the kitchen window at me until I cooperate.

I've been posting information about essential oils but just a short testimony from me.  Yesterday, I was taking something from the oven and my index finger hit the element and burned the heck out of it.  When I looked at my finger, it was white where it had burned it.  I immediately put a drop of lavendar oil on it and immediately the burning and reddness was gone.  I have a very small blister now but no reddness or burning. It does burn just a little if water hits it but that's it.  I am continually amazed by these oils.  I just can't say enough about them. I love it because it is all natural.

Both of our daughters at different times recently started getting symptoms of a sore throat and sinus congestion. They had some swollen lymph glands in their neck.  One daughter rubbed peppermint oil on her throat and on her sinus area, the other daughter took 4 drops of clove oil in a capsule and they both got up the next morning with no symptoms and the lymph glands were down.

If you are interested in more information about essential oils please contact me at ggschwartz2@juno.com. 

I almost forgot.  This weather is perfect for star gazing in the evening.  Saturday evening I was out for several hours.  It was so nice, perfect temperature, no bugs and in less than an hour I saw two shooting starts. If I had a more comfortable chair I would have dozed off to sleep.

Lemon Oil

As I said in the last post, lemon and peppermint were two of the first oils I used.  The smell of lemon oil is also so refreshing. It's amazing to me that lemon oil has so many benefits.

First, let me tell you of some of the research that has been done on lemon oil.  Vaporized lemon oil can kill meningococcus bacteria in 15 minutes, typhoid bacilli in one hour, staphylococcus in two hours, and pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. Lemon oil has been widely used in skin care and can reduce wrinkles (yeah) and combat acne.

The medical properities  - lemon oil is antitumoral, antiseptic, improves microcirculation, and immune stimulant (increases white blood cells) improves memory, relaxation.  Rich in limonene, which has ben extensively studied for its ability to combat tumor growth in over 50 clinical studies.

The uses for lemon oil are circulatory problems, arteriosclerosis, obestiy, parasite, urinary tract infections, varicose veins, anxiety, hypertension, digestive probems and acne.

When this fragance is diffused it promotes clarity of thought and purpose.  In a study, when lemon was diffused it resulted in 54 percent fewer errors.

It can be used internally and externally but avoid getting in the sun or UV light within 72 hours of using it.

Lemon oil has become my deodorant.  When I firsted started using it, it would sting my underarms but after a week or so it stopped.  It doesn't keep you from perspiring but there is no smell.  It really works great.  Since you have a good amount of lymph system under your arm and it is also close to your breast and lemon oil is antitumoral this is a good place to apply it.  Lemon oil is also good in your water and you can also use it for baking.  If you have granite counter tops it cleans them very well with no streaks and also sterilizes them. It will remove gum, oil and grease spots. Add one teaspoon to mineral oil for a furniture polish. Add a few drops to your dishwasher for spot free dishes. It also helps with bleeding gums and cold sores.

If you have any serious health issues always check with your physician before using essential oils.

Peppermint Oil

When I first started using essential oils, peppermint along with lemon were the first two I used.  I used peppermint and lemon to do a 28 day liver cleanse.  The recipe for the liver cleanse is one drop of peppermint oil and one drop of lemon oil and one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice in eight ounces of water.  Drink first thing in the morning and do this for 28 days.  Seems so simple, at first, I wondered if this would really work.  It really does work.  Lemon is the first stage for a liver cleanse.  I have done this 3 times now and I would highly recommend it.

The essential oil of peppermint first of all smells wonderful.  The fragrance is purifying and stimulating to the conscious mind.  Studies have shown that inhaling peppermint oil increased mental accuracy by 28 percent.  When inhaled it can curb the appetite, it improves a sense of taste and researchers have found that peppermint blocked headache pain.

The medical properties - Peppermint is an anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, antiparasitic, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, gallbladder/digestive stimulant, pain-reliever, curbs appetite.

You can use peppermint oil for arthritis, respiratory infections (pneumonia, tuberculosis,etc) obesity, viral infections (Herpes simplex, herpes zoster, cold sore, human papilloma virus) funal infections/Candida, digestive problems, headaches, nausea, skin conditions (itchy skin, varicose veins, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, scliosis/lumbago/back problems.

Avoid contact with eyes, mucus membranes, sensitive skin, or fresh wounds or burns.  Do not apply to infants younger than 18 months of age.

Never put any essential oils in the eyes or ears.

On several occasions I have had a tickling in my throat and I put drop of peppermint oil on the palm of my hand and rub my hands together and then cupped my hands over my nose and mouth and inhaled it in and it totally stopped my cough.

As always, check with your physician before trying any oils if you have health issues.