Whole Living

I just learned that Martha Stewart has a Whole Living site. I love it already!

http://www.wholeliving.com

"living peppermint fudge"

Rawesome Peppermint Brownies
by Julia Holt
1 cup almonds ground into flour
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup cold pressed coconut oil
. . . blend
Slowly add:1/2 c. powdered cacao
7-8 drops doTerra Peppermint essential oil.
Gently blend, and do not over mix or heat.
Pour into a square pan and let set in freezer. Stores in freezer or fridge. Serves 16-1" pieces of deliciousness.

Heather's Chicken Noodle Soup

adapted from http://www.pacificfoods.com/kitchen-talk/recipes/view/67

3 quarts of Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth
2-3 chicken breast halves cut into small cubes
2-3 cups baby carrots cut into small pieces
2 tbsp minced garlic
2-3 stalks celery
1/2 onion chopped finely
1TB Soy Sauce or Amino Acids to taste
1/2 tsp thyme, crushed and or 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning and Parsley
1 tsp Basil, crushed
1 tsp Coriander (powder)
1/2 tsp Salt to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper

2 TB Olive oil added near the end of cooking to enhance flavor (optional)

1/2 package semolina egg noodles or shell noodles

or

2 cups partially cooked wild rice ( Can cook the rice in Organic Free Range Chicken Broth as well instead of water)

In a large pan add three quarts of Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (or add "Organic Better than Bouillon" to three qts. water)Cover and start heating on high.

While the broth is heating, cut three chicken breasts into cubes 1/2 to 1 inch in size.
In a separate skillet or wok, add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
Cook and slightly brown the garlic then add the chicken and stir together. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken as it starts to cook.

Wash and cut up celery, onion, baby carrots in 1/4 inch pieces, add to broth.

Add remaining spices and oil to broth.

When the broth begins to broil, add 12 oz package of semolina based egg noodles.

Add the fully cooked chicken and the juices created from cooking to the broth, noodles and veggies.

Cover, reduce heat and simmer until noodles are tender.

Should make about sixteen cups (or eight two cup servings).

cari's delicious black beans

All-Purpose Black Beans

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 scotch bonnet or jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely chopped (I used jalapeno)

3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (I used minced garlic)

3 cups cooked black beans

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

½ c- ¾ cups water

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Sauté onion and jalapeno until soft and onion is translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Stir in beans and spices. Add water, lemon juice, and cilantro (the sooner you serve after adding the cilantro, the stronger the cilantro flavor will be).

We eat these in warmed up corn tortillas with salsa and lettuce and tomatoes. We use them in quesadillas. We use them in enchiladas. They can be used in taco salad. We eat them plain with brown rice. They originally came from a recipe called “Black Bean Burritos” and came with the following sauce recipe to go inside the tortilla with the beans. I haven’t tried the sauce yet, but it looks really yummy.hh

Sauce:

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

2 T tahini

Juice of ½ lemon

2 T clinatro, finely chopped

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

ellen's healing harvest soup

ELLEN’S HEALING HARVEST SOUP

You will need a cutting board, good chopping knife, soup pot, steam rack, skillet

Steam on a steam rack on low heat with as much water below rack as possible whatever veggies you have or want to get. Some suggestions are:

Winter squash

Carrots

Turnip or parsnip

Beet

Potato – any kind

Cabbage (red is pretty)

Celery

Asparagus

Chop in order of hardness (into largish bit size pieces) and put on rack in order of hardness. Steam only until fork will go thru the carrots (not mushy). By steaming, the veggies retain their individual flavors, & by not boiling they retain their nutrients too. Save the water from steaming for soup stock.

While veggies are steaming sauté large onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic in a mixture of Olive Oil and Tamari in skillet – stirring- just until softened.

Once veggies are soft - turn off heat – put veggies into the steam water in pot. Add 1 quart fresh or canned Tomatoes &/or 1 quart of any packaged organic soup (like Imagine). Tomato Basil or Vegetable Broth is good. Add grated fresh Ginger.

After soup is all together add any chopped greens (kale, chard, arugula, collards, bok choy, etc.), and fresh, dried or frozen herbs such as: Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Cilantro. They do not need to cook ~ they will wilt in the hot soup.

After soup is in bowls I like to sprinkle on green onion or parsley. (kitchen sissors)

If there is illness use a garlic press to press in 2 cloves garlic per bowl.

When a cold or flu is trying to get you ~ eat only the soup all day, 6 bowls at least, with the fresh garlic for a day or two and it will heal you. Promise J Fresh Ginger tea is great too!

Remember to keep head, feet and chest very warm. Avoid any sugars (including fruit) as sugars feed infection. Also avoid any dairy & bread. For sinus problem use a Nettie Pot with: 1 cup warm water with ½ teas. salt and 2 drops of Iodine. For sore throat: gargle with ¼ cup hot water with ¼ teas. salt and dash of Cayenne (as much as you can stand). It needs to be hot in temperature and BTU’s. It really, really works!

An Herbal Christmas!

Natasha Watson & Jamie Garlic showed how you can make your own rice packs. You can make a tube out of material to go around your neck and simply straight stitch around the edges or simply use a clean sock and an elastic band. You fill them with regular rice or basmati rice for a lovely aroma. Then add essential oils like peppermint so you can have a little aroma therapy while you are relaxing. Natasha also said that you can partially fill a small sock and put in the freezer for emergencies when someone needs an ice pack.

Natasha also shared a brown sugar scrub to soften your skin. (Note: not for facial use)
3 parts brown sugar
1 part canola oil
vanilla or essential oil for fragrance

Jamie made a darling wreath out of tea bags and scrapbook paper, clothes pins and card board. She found a delicious selection of herbal teas at Sunflower Market.
http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/05/make-a-tea-wreath/

Learning about Herbs
http://www.botanical.com/ (This site features the online text A Modern Herbal "one of the most popular resources for herbal information. Written in the early part of the last century, the advice is both timely and historical.")


http://www.findaspring.com (where to find a spring any where in the United States)

http://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/newsletter/09/January/winter.html (Seven herbs to help you through winter)

http://www.learningherbs.com/
(this site contains lots of free information on how to use herbs and a cooperative game that teaches about edible and medicinal plants.)


Making your own cosmetics
DIY Mineral Make-up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ukHbEw17fU
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Mineral-Makeup/

Lotions/Soaps/ Natural Home Keeping


http://www.makeyourcosmetics.com/index.asp

Elder Berry & Elder Flower


http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elder-04.html

Brook Andreoli and Julia Holt taught us about Elderberry.

It protects against multiple strains of flu and shortens flu durations and increases the production of infection fighting cytokine. It fights viral and bacterial infections, strengthens the immune system and helps protect the respiratory system. It has been shown to be effective against ten known strains of influenza including the type that includes H1N1.

You can use the bark, leaves, flowers and berries. You can find the right kind of Elder Tree in Provo Canyon—the berries need to be the black kind not red. (They said if you ate them raw it wouldn't hurt you, but they may give you a tummy ache, so better to cook them.) Good Earth sells the dried Elderberries and flowers, or you can find them online at Mountain Rose Herbs.

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/search/search.php?refine=y&keywords=elder+barry&x=0&y=0

Brigham Young's favorite herbal blend was:
1 part Elder Flower
1 Part Peppermint
1 Part Yarrow
Prepare as a tea and use for the flu, lowering fever, bronchial inflammation & congestion. Serve with honey and lemon as desired.

Elderberry Lemon Syrup

1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup dried elder berries
3 cups water
1 cup raw local honey
12 drops lemon essential oil

Bring the berries and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Mash the berries, strain and add the honey to the liquid.
Mix Well (Julia uses an electric hand blender)
Discard the berries. Store the elderberry syrup in a covered jar and refrigerate.
Keeps 3 months.

Adult Dosage: Take 1 Tablespoon per day for upkeep, or 2-3 Tablespoons per day for the flu.

Children's Dosage: 1 tsp. per day for upkeep, or 2-3 tsp. per day for the flu

Elder Tincture recipe shared by Brook

Tincture by Amy Jones (her local classes are AH-mazing)
16 oz vegetable glycerine
16 oz reverse osmosis water
2 c cut herbs or 1 c powdered herbs

Sterilize your glass jars with hydrogen peroxide before filling.
Use equal parts Elder Berries, Elder Flowers and Wild Cherry Bark
Wild lettuce (you can find these at the Orem Herb Shop)
Shake every day for 14 days.
Pour into another sterilized jar and squeeze through muslin.
Store in a cool dark place.
You can find dark amber bottles at "Aroma Tools" in Orem (along with lots of other great jars).

http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/11/making-elderberry-glycerin-tincture/

"Elderberry is one of those things I like to keep in my medicine cabinet for both young and old. It is good to take as a preventative to the cold and other nasty bugs you can pick up here and there. We also take it at the first sign of sniffles, aches, or flu-like symptoms. It works better than I could have ever imagined...I came across a wonderful resource, Rosemary Gladstar’s Family Herbal. This book simplifies all of the herbal preparation methods. I looked up her simple method for glycerin tincture making (because I know this is easy to give to children) and went to work."
Elderberry Glycerin Tincture

1 part vegetable glycerin

1 part water

dried elderberries

Directions

Combine vegetable glycerin and water in a 1:1 ratio and set aside. In a quart jar place about 1/2 pound of the dried elderberries. Pour over the glycerin-water mixture until well covered and saturated. Place the lid on and keep in a dark place.
Shake the jar every day to distribute the berries and glycerin. Let sit, shaking daily, for [14 days to] about a month.
Strain the liquid off from the berries using cheesecloth, a coffee filter, or a thin old towel. Be sure to squeeze all of the liquid out of the berries.
Store in an airtight container. yields about two cups of tincture.

Make Your Own Lotion Bars for Holiday Gifts!
by Rosalee de la Forêt

The following recipe makes about seven one-ounce bars
http://www.learningherbs.com/news_issue_73.html