Lavender Bath Salts

Ingredients:
1 cup Epsom salts
10 drops pure essential lavender oil
2 tbsp dried lavender petals

Directions:
- Place the salt in a glass bowl and whisk with a stainless steel whisk.
- Place 1 tbsp in a coffee grinder and pulse until it becomes a fine powder.
- Combine the remaining lavender petals with powder.
- Mix lavender with salt and essential oils.
- Keep tightly sealed in a glass jar until ready to use. Store in a cool dark place.
- To use, pour 1/4 cup of the bath salts into the tub.  Each bath salt recipe yields 2 to 4 baths and takes approximately 5 minutes to prepare.

Bottles

When it comes to private collections, what comes to mind?   Art?   Shoes?   Tools?   Cars?   Wine?   Snow globes?   Antiques?   For me, it's bottles.   I think that bottles offer individual, unique pieces of art.   They're versatile.  Our pantry is filled with funky glass storage containers.  The older, the more interesting.  Fill them with river rocks, beans, cotton balls, paint brushes, or shells.  Use them to make candles or flavored oils and vinegars.  Use them instead of plastic containers for leftover food, or to store herbs and bulk grains.  When mixed and matched as glassware, they make a fun table arrangement.

As more information was published about access to clean water and the long-term side effects of using plastic, we transitioned to a plastic-free household.  There are good arguments indicating that buying glass does not necessarily promote a smaller footprint than buying plastic.  Still, I cannot support keeping plastic in our home unless it does not leach chemicals into our bodies.  The solution?  We collect artsy recycled glass containers and save those that can easily be reused.  In a sense, it's another way of living in art.

Making Ravioli Stuffed With Brie And Parsley

This recipe came to us in or monthly CSA from Bluebird Grain Farms. They sent their customers a trial whole grain pasta flour.  Cymone and I decided to make Brie-stuffed ravioli.


Ingredients For Ravioli:
3 cups Bluebird Whole Grain Flour
1 tsp kosher salt
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
*plus flour for kneading & rolling

Ingredients For Stuffing:

Brie, cut into small pieces

Parsley

Directions:

- Combine flourand salt in a food processor. Process briefly to blend. Measure water and oil into 4 cup measuring cup, add eggs, and whist together.

- With the food processor running, pour in water/oil/egg mixture and process until mixture bonds. Process for 5 more seconds.

- Spread 1/3 cup Farro flour on a large wood surface. Scrape pasta dough onto work surface and knead for about 1 minute, until dough becomes smooth and pliable.

- Divide dough into 4 pieces, pat each into a round disk and wrap in plastic bag/wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, overnight, or up to 4 days.

- Generously flour work surface, cut disk in half and roll out one piece at a time until it is as think as possible without ripping.

- Hand cut dough with a knife into 1"x3" rectangles.

- Place slice of Brie and sprinkle of parsley on one side of each rectangle. Fold. Press sides together with fork.

- Cook in large pot of boiling salt water for 5 minutes.
- Serve with everything from creamy butter to marinara, with vegetables, meat and/or seafood.

Sweet Potato and Cashew Soup with Avocado Cream

Tonight's soup made by our friend Susan Prichard was a perfect balance of sweet, rich creaminess (without cream) and tangy lime.  It was served with moist cornbread and a green mango walnut salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Acoado Cream:

1 garlic clove, pealed

2 avocados

1/4 cup plan yogurt

3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Place in an airtight container with avocado pits to prevent browning.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Soup:
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped & roasted

1 cup cashews, lightly toasted

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

3 tbsp lime juice

In a large Dutch oven, saute onion and celery in oil until translucent.  Add sweet potatoes, cashews and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat, puree in blender until smooth.  Add lime and season to taste.  Add more broth to achieve desired consistency.  Remove pit from cream.  Add a dollop of cream to individual servings.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Cable Scarf

I found this soft, cozy, chunky yarn (on sale) at Darn Good Yarn and decided to make something simple - a cable scarf - that would highlight its cheerful colors.

Materials Needed:

Yarn

Size 15 (10mm) needles

Cable needle

Directions:

Cast on 26 & work in the following pattern.

Row 1. (RS) P4, K18, P4

Row 2. P

Row 3. P4, K6, C12F, P4

Row 4. P

Row 5-10. (Repeat rows 1 & 2) 3 times

Row  11. P4, C12B, K6, P4

Row 12. P

Row 13-16 (Repeat row 1 & 2) 2 times

Repeat rows 1-16 until scarf is desired length

End with row 16 of pattern.

Bind off.

C12F: Slip next 6 sts onto cable needle and hold at front of work, K6 from left needle, then K6 from cable needle.

C12B: Slip next 6 sts onto cable needle and hold at back of work, K6 from left needle, then K6 from cable needle.

The Arrival of Bees

Our bees arrived yesterday.  Derek fed them syrup (sugar water), which increased their activity tremendously.  He checked in on the queen bees this morning.  The worker bees were already busy eating the candy plugs to release the queens from their cages.

Making Strawberry Foot Scrub

I returned home from a long run with sore feet.  It was a beautifully crisp spring afternoon, so I decided to relax on our deck and treat myself to a sweet-flavored foot scrub.  That may sound odd, but I feel like a queen.

Ingredients:
3 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

8 fresh strawberries

Directions:

- Pour salt into a bowl and add the oil, honey and lemon juice.  Stir to combine.

- Remove caps from strawberries and slice them into the mixture.

- Mash with a pastry blender or fork.  Make sure that the strawberries stay somewhat chunky.

- Rub mixture into feet, massaging the areas of your feet that feel tired or sore.

- Rinse, pat dry, and massage feet with a gently lotion.

Chicken Wild Rice Portabella Soup

Last night's tasty Chicken Wild Rice Portabella Soup was created again by Keri Miles.

Ingredients:

3 sm onions

2 lg portabella mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2-3 tbsp olive oil

¼ cup red wine

1 cup wild rice (uncooked)

1 cup brown rice (uncooked)

16 cups chicken broth

4 cups cooked chicken

4 carrots, sliced thin

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Directions:

- Saute onions, mushrooms, garlic in olive oil (just enough to coat ingredients lightly) for 10 minutes on medium heat, stir often.  Add red wine, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes on ultra low heat.  Add onion/mushroom mixture to broth.

- Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add both wild and brown rice.  Simmer until water is absorbed.  Rice will still be firm to hard (cooked about halfway).  Add rice to broth.

- Add remaining ingredients to stock, simmer soup on low heat for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with Braided Herb Bread

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups water

2 tbl olive oil

2 tbl honey or sugar

1-1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp of fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or other favorite herb)

2 cloves fresh garlic, finely pressed

2 cups ‘bread’ flour

2 cups whole wheat (or other whole grain) flour

2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one packet)

Directions:

- With a mixer or by hand, mix all ingredients until blended.  In mixer, use bread hook for several minutes until dough forms a ball, then knead by hand another 4 minutes until dough is smooth (not sticky) and bounces back.

- Coat a bowl lightly with oil, put dough ball in bowl, cover loosely with saran wrap, let rise 60-90 minutes at room temp (or until roughly doubled in size).

- After the first rise, separate dough into 3 equal parts.  Roll them out long and skinny and lay side by side.  Pinch tops together and turn under, then braid the three parts together, pulling dough gently as you braid to keep it long.  Pinch bottom end and turn under.

- Set on cookie sheet, let rise again, 30-60 minutes at room temp.

- Coat lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.

- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Bacon-Flavored Dog Treats

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Emmer Flour (or other brown flour)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken (or other meat) stock
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp. bacon drippings

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets & lightly flour surface area to roll out the dough.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
- Mix together egg, milk, chicken stock and bacon drippings, add to the dry ingredients. Stir.
- This dough is tough, so add more chicken stock if it is too stiff to work with.
- Roll out dough on floured surface to about 1/4" thickness.
- Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired size/shape.
- Bake for 30 minutes and let cool.

A testament to how good the treats are!

The Forever Sweater

This men's sweater designed by Erika Knight took me all winter to knit.  It required hemp which has less give, and used sizes 3 (3.25mm) and 5 (3.75mm) knitting needles.  It's a little stiff to start, but luckily after all that work, it fits Derek pretty well.

Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

My parents (who live on Cape Cod, MA) live primarily off the land around their home.  They are avid gardeners, catch lobster, collect oysters, deep sea fish, and grow mushrooms.  They bike to the store to purchase wine to accompany the food they've raised/caught themselves.

My father contributed the following to post on my blog:

The Process:  
- Buy mushroom spores from an on-line merchant, i.e. Oyster Creek Mushroom.
- You can buy the spores alone, the spores and the dowel stubs, or the spores, dowels and oak logs.
- Drill holes in oak logs just bigger than the dowels.  Place the spore infused dowels into the holes.  Seal the holes with a wax.
- Soak the logs in a trash can filled with water for at least 24 hours.
- Hang the logs on a tree in a shady area.  (Hanging them avoids slugs, rolly pollies and other predators.)
- Water the logs occasionally.
- Mushrooms start to grow in the fall.  Cut when large enough to enjoy.
- Logs can produce for several years.
- Do not be tempted to eat Shitakes raw or undercooked.  Toot city.

It’s great fun watching them produce with little or no assistance.

Making Granola

The combination of fresh yogurt and granola is my favorite breakfast.  A batch of granola never turns out the same, whether it's by using a different mixture of nuts and dried fruit or by substituting peanut butter for vegetable oil or butter.  Each bite offers a delightful surprise.

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats
2 cups nuts and/or seeds (any combination of 2-4 of the following: almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, etc)
2 tsp cinnamon for taste
1/4 cup dried coconut
2 cups dried fruit (any combination of 1-2 of the following: dried blueberries, apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, raisins, etc)
1/2 cup maple syrup (can be substituted with honey or brown sugar)
1/2 stick butter (can be sustituted with 4 tbls vegetable oil or one large scoop of peanut butter)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
- Turn oven on to 385 degrees F.
- Combine all dry ingredients into a large bowl (except for coconut and dried fruit).  Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Melt maple syrup & butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Once melted, turn off heat and add vanilla.
- Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and stir until everything is moistened.  Spread onto ungreased baking sheet.
- Place mixture into oven & let bake for 5-7 minutes.  Take out & turn mixture.  Repeat every 5 minutes until the entire mixture is golden brown.
- Before the last 5 minutes, sprinkle coconut across the top and bake.
- Remove from oven.  Let cool.
- Add dried fruit and mix.
- Enjoy with your fresh homemade yogurt.

Planting Asparagus

If you live in a cold region like we do, right now is the good time to plant your asparagus roots.  It does best in soil with adequate drainage.

I like to place my asparagus roots in jars of water to trick the spears into sprouting right before I plant them.  Then, I do the following:
- Dig a trench approximately 12 inches deep.  Add 6 inches of aged manure or compost and an inch or so of soil dug up from the trench.  Mix everything together.
- Create small mounds at the bottom of the trench about 1 foot apart, and about 4 inches below the soil surface.
- Set 1 asparagus crown on top of a mound and drape its roots down around the mound.
- Fill the trench with soil to cover the asparagus crowns up to 2 inches.  Once the spears begin to emerge, fill the trench in with a little more soil to give the stalks exra support.

- Mulch the spears after they puncture the soil and let the plants grow through the summer and fall.  Do not cut the shoots or ferns.  In the spring of the second year, clear out the old growth, mulch and fertilize, but leave the plants to grow again through the summer and fall.  By the third year, cut away the old growth.  Leave the spears that are spindly, but harvest the rest as they emerge (by cutting below the soil surface) for the first 6(ish) weeks of spring.

Treatment for Stinky Skunk-Sprayed Dogs

Sa'be

This is the time of year that we start seeing skunks emerge from their dark winter corners.  Our dog Sa'be has been sprayed twice in the past 5 years.  Each time, the skunk smell has clouded our entire house, making it difficult for us to breath.

When a skunk sprays your dog, keep it outside and hurry to the bathroom supply cabinet & pantry for these ingredients:

• 1 or more large tubes white toothpaste (do not use gel or colored pastes since they can discolor fur), which helps neutralize the smell
• 1 bottle dog shampoo
• 1/4 cider vinegar

- Wet your dog thoroughly and apply the shampoo, working up a full lather.
- Apply the toothpaste on top of the shampoo, rubbing it into the fur as much as possible.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

- In a large bucket, combine the vinegar with 1 gallon of warm water.  Rinse your dog with the solution and dry.

- Repeat the treatment as needed, and double the recipe for a large dog.

We rubbed tomato paste all over Sa'be in between treatments, which helped a lot, especially the time he was sprayed directly in his face.

Mugs With Lip

I like to drink my soup out of large mugs.  I must have been in a playful mood when I made these, but they're fun to use when feeling punchy.

Coconut Chickpea Soup

This Coconut Bean Soup offers a lightly seasoned and textured bite, perfectly balanced with a tinge of sweetness.  Tonight's take on a Southeast Asian dish was created by Ashley Lodato, served with a moist and tangy cabbage side salad.

Ingredients:
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
Vegetable stock or broth
2 bay leaves
2 large whole garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp vegetble oil
1.5 cups chopped onions
1/2 lb chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp salt (optional, to taste)
1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup brown/whole grain rice

toasted coconut
lime wedges
fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

• Place chickpeas into a large soup pot, add stock/broth until it reaches 1 inch able the level of the chickpeas.
• Add bay leaves, garlic, oil and simmer until chickpeas are tender, approximately 1 hour.
• Periodically replenish stock/broth, keeping the chickpeas covered with an inch of liquid.
• Once chickpeas are tender, remove bay leaves and garlic.
• In a separate pot, cook rice and set aside.
• Sautee onions, chicken, minced garlic, and spices in oil on low heat until onions are translucent and chicken no longer pink.
• Add peppers, carrots, tomatoes, salt and sugar and simmer for 5-10 mins until peppers are tender.
• When the chickpeas are tender, stir in the vegetable-spice mixture and more stock if too thick.
• Heat on low for 10-15 mins to blend flavors.
• Serve the soup on top of rice, garnished with toasted coconut, fresh lime juice and cilantro.

To add a little more sweetness to the soup, add coconut milk to the vegetable-spice mixture instead of additional stock (before last 10-15 minutes).

Sprouts

Growing sprouts for the first time made me convinced that I had a green thumb.  Now, decades later, I know that sprouts are pretty much the easiest thing to grow, and utterly satisfying.  They are especially easy with some of these wide-mouth screened jar lids which do not require a layer of open-weave fabric.  They can be used solo as long as the openings are not so large that the presprouted seeds fall through.  They are sold in sets of three varying size screen openings (yellow, red and green) at food co-ops and health food stores.  I purchased mine at Glover Street Market.

I tend to grow alfalfa and broccoli sprouts, occasionally mung.

Instructions:

• Place 2 tablespoons of sprout seeds into a wide-mouthed jar, close with screened jar lid
• Cover seeds with water and let stand for several hours, overnight is fine
• Drain sprouts, rinse
• Continue to rinse sprouts 2-3 times daily until sprouts are green and shed seed skin
• Change lid size, as needed
• Enjoy on sandwiches, salads, in springrolls and stir-fries, and more!



River Rock Earrings

Cymone and I wandered along the edge of the river this weekend to collect little rocks to add to our beaded earrings.  She would like to sell them at the Twisp Farmer's Market this summer.

Thai Coconut Lemongrass Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 2 (13.5 ounce) cans canned coconut milk
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 4-6 slices fresh ginger
• 4 stalks lemongrass, bruised and chopped
• 10 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 red or orange pepper, chopped
• 1 cup cabbage, chopped into thin strips
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (optional)
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cups bean fresh bean sprouts
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Boil the shrimp until pink. Drain shrimp, and set aside.
2. Pour the coconut milk and 2 cups broth in a large saucepan; bring to a simmer. Add the ginger, lemongrass, and lime leaves; simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the coconut milk into a new pan and discard the spices (although I tend to discard only the kaffir lime leaves). Simmer the vegetables in the coconut milk for five minutes. Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Season to taste with curry powder.
3. To serve, reheat shrimp in the soup, and ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with bean sprouts, cilantro, and red pepper flakes.

Absolutely delicious when served with sauteed edamame and farm-fresh spring rolls.

Fertilize Your Garlic

For a big, healthy crop of garlic by summer, fertilize it in the spring - now.  Personally, I need to pull back some of the mulch that I placed there to insulate the garlic for a harsh winter, then fertilize.

Fertilize growing garlic plants either by side dressing, working in a little fertilizer along side each plant, or by broadcasting it all over the bed.  High nitrogen organic fertilizers such as bloodmeal or a synthetic source of nitrogen is best.  Rabbit droppings are an excellent option filled with nirtogen and act as a light mulch.  My mother uses buckets of seaweed from the marshes in front of their house to lightly blanket her plants.

Fertilize garlic again just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (mid-May).

Make sure that you keep garlic well weeded since it does not tolerate much competition. As the spring weather dries, water your garlic to a depth of two feet every 8 to 10 days.  As mid-summer approaches, taper off the watering.

Stay tuned for more on garlic as summer is upon us.

For more information on growing garlic, check out Boundary Garlic Farm.

Beaded Earrings

The beaded photo clips morphed into another tangent: beaded earrings.  Now that Cymone has her ears pierced, we got a little carried away.

Beaded Photo Clips

When trapsing through art galleries and gift shops on my weekend trip to Seattle, my eye stumbled upon some fancy (and expensive) beaded photo clips.  They were simple, but fun, and similar to the beaded curtains that Cymone and I made to spruce up her room.  So, I decided to make some (slightly different variation) of my own.  Now I'm addicted.

Planting Wheatgrass

The Montessori School that Cymone used to attend would work with the children to plant wheatgrass in their Easter baskets each year.  I fell in love with the tradition and adopted it at home.  It brings spring onto our window sills, and we use the trimmed grass for our own energy-boosting smoothies.

Germinate

Measure out a bowl of organic wheatgrass seeds.  Estimate enough to fill one layer of seeds on the size of your container.

Rinse the seeds in clean water, drain, then soak in a bowl with 3 times the amount of cool water.

Soak for 8 hours.

Drain the water, then soak them again for another 8 hours.

Drain again and soak once more for another 8 hours.

Sprout roots should be 1/8”-1/4”.

Prepare the Basket or Tray

Line the bottom of your container with unbleached paper towels.

Fill it with pre-moistened, chemical-free soil to cover the bottom 2”.
  

Plant

Spread the germinated seeds evenly and densely in one layer on top the damp soil in your container.  Gently press the seeds into the soil.

Place your tray under indirect sunlight beside a window with proper ventilation.  Wheatgrass does not like hot or direct sunlight.

Water

The young shoots need to be watered at least twice each day.  If the soil becomes dry, the young shoots may wilt before they take root.  To help prevent this, put a sheet of damp newspaper over the tray to keep them moist until they grow to about 1”.

Use a spray bottle to water.  On day 5, reduce to watering once each morning.

Watch your wheatgrass grow!