Save the Hate

Please think long and hard before using the word "hate" toward a candidate, your kids are listening. I found my kids saying "hate" a lot more since this election really started rolling. So I started to think about the word hate and how strong a word and emotion it really is. We shouldn't down play the emotion of hate. It is a dark and consuming emotion that has sparked some of the most horrific events in human history.

I don't like Trump. Do I hate him? I will say he is very offensive in his actions and words. I really don't know him or can figure out exactly what he stands for. Hatred is a strong emotion and frankly the man doesn't mean enough in my life to get that billing. I am passionate about politics but to waste something as strong as hate on it is something I can not afford to do. If I feel myself going there I pull back and remind myself its not worth the good things I could be doing with my energy. I hear people say they "hate" Hilary all the time and it is really starting to bother me. Did she kill your dog? I mean really, is "hate" appropriate?

There are many things in this world we don't like but hate is something we should fight all the time. I mean it! Your kids are learning how to cope in the world by watching and listening to you. I will even catch myself saying I hate something. I recently have been making a great effort to stop and correct myself.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” - Nelson Mandela 

I care on principal who you vote for in this election. However, I care more about how you speak about it in front of your kids because they are the ones that will shape the future.

My Soap Secrets

What's in your soap? How do you make it? When I first looked into making my own soap I found everyone seemed to be keeping it as some big secret. With the rise in DIY hobbies soap making knowledge is finally being release out into the world and everyone has their own way of doing things. This blog post will give an over view of how I make my soap and where I get my supplies. You will find I get most of my supplies from Bramble Berry.

There are risks involved in making cold press soap. Please read Back to Basic: Lye Safety Guide before you begin your own soap making journey.

Equipment I use. Remember everyone does it a little differently.

• Scale
• Two Plastic bowls (one for weighing oil and another for lye)
• Large pot for mixing soap (DO NOT USE ALUMINUM!) I use a canning pot
• Pot for mixing lye and water (DO NOT USE ALUMINUM) Mine is stainless steel from Good Will 
• Two wooden spoons (one for mixing oils and one for lye) 
• Candy or poultry thermometer
• Protective gloves and goggles
• Mixer (I have an old GE hand mixer from Good Will that will never die I swear!)
• Freezer Paper
• Mold(s) I prefer wooden log molds
• Cutter for slicing soap (I use a crinkle cutter)
• A bottle of white vinegar (just in case to neutralize any lye spills) 
• Two large storage tubs (one to store oils and lye and one for equipment)

First, I figure out how much I want to make. I make mine in a 10 lbs wooden log mold. This mold makes about 40 bars (4 oz each). 10 lbs is a nice round number to work with when measuring out oils.

Once I know how much I want to make I decide on a recipe. I like to use 40% Pomace Olive Oil, 30% Coconut Oil, 20% Palm Oil and 10% Shea Butter. I then use a lye calculator to figure out how much lye and water I will need. Here is what I need to know for the calculator: I am making a solid soap, using a percentage, using ounces as my unit and a superfatting level of none. I usually buy my oils 7 lbs at a time. I like to scent my soap with essential oils, so then I have to find out how much I will need using a fragrance calculator. What I need to know for the fragrance calculator: type of fragrance I will use, I am making cold press soap, the amount of soap I am making and how strong I want the soap to smell.

Once I have all these numbers down (I keep a soap journal) and have all the supplies its time to start weighing and mixing. I start with lining the mold with freezer paper.

Then using my scale to weigh out the water I will need first and pour it in my lye pot. Then measure out the lye in my designated lye bowl. Then wearing my gloves and goggles slowly pour the lye into the measured out water (ALWAYS add lye to water NOT the other way around!) then stir, using the designated lye spoon, until all the lye flakes are dissolved. I always mix the lye and water outside or by a well ventilated window. The lye and water will heat up to 200+ degrees F, so I keep it well away from my kids and pets!

While the lye mixture is cooling I start pouring and weighing out the olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and shea butter and putting them into my largest pot. Once the oils are all together I put them on med-low heat and stir, using my designated oil spoon, until all the oil are melted and incorporated together. Then remove from heat. 

Now my goal is to get the lye mixture and oil mixture both around 100 degrees F.  Once they are close to the same temperature I slowly pour the lye mixture into the large pot with the oil mixture. Then use my trusty hand mixer on low in figure eight patterns I mix until the soap begins to thicken and trace. This can take 15 to 45 minutes to happen. 

Once the mixture begins tracing its time to add my essential oils if desired, Once I mix those in it is time to pour the mixture into my mold that I have already lined with freezer paper. Once I have poured my soap the goal is to keep it warm for the next 24 hours. I usually cover the top of the mold with cardboard and then cover with towels for insulation.

After 24 hours I remove the towels and cardboard and begin the curing process. The soap should be still soft but safe to touch at this point. I usually let the soap sit for couple up days uncovered in the mold. After a couple of days the soap should begin to firm up and I can then pull the sides of the wooden mold down exposing the sides of the soap log. I let it sit for a couple of more days to firm up some more. When the soap is firm enough that touching it doesn't leave marks then it ready to cut. I always do a practice cut on the end of the log using my cutter at this point. I really love to use a crinkle cutter because it helps hide any crooked cuts I may make. If the soap breaks apart it is not ready and I give it a couple more days. 

Once I have all the bars cut then I stack them in a breathable paper shopping bag and let them continue to cure for a couple more weeks. The bars should then be ready to use!

When I first started out I only used 2-3 lbs molds until I got the hang of it. There are many different things can go wrong when first starting out. I lost a couple of batches to uneven lye and oil temperatures. I had one batch separate and another seize up into a rock and crumble. Both had to be thrown out! To avoid such mishaps there are some great books I use as guides such as "The Natural Soap Book" and "The Soapmaker's Companion" 

Why I support Planned Parenthood

For some folks this is a touchy subject so for starters I have never had an abortion and since government money does not go toward Planned Parenthood abortions I am not going to talk about that here, so don't go there!

When I first got out of college with my bachelors degree I did not have much job experience so I joined the Washington Conservation Corps, which at the time did not have health care options as it does now. I was kicked off my parents health care plan a week out of school (thanks for fixing that Obamacare). I was working 10 hour days of manual labor in heat and cold with not always ideal bathroom conditions. Due to our difficult working conditions and not drinking enough water I had developed a bladder and kidney infection that put me in the hospital. Luckily since I was broke the hospital wrote off my ER visit and so my finances were still somewhat safe from annihilation. My health was my meal ticket and rent! One day on a bathroom break passing through a grocery store restroom on the way to a job site I saw a pamphlet for free annual woman exams. I shoved it in my bag.

I was working for minimum wage, living alone with rent and eating lots of pasta, so I should total qualify. I took a chance on my next day off and walked into the Bellingham Planned Parenthood. I completed my paperwork and I qualified for one year of free women's health coverage, which included an annual exam, lab work and birthcontrol. I had my first exam and the doctors and nurses were friendly and made me very comfortable. They answered any questions I had with no judgement.

A few weeks later my lab work came back with abnormal results. I asked the doctor what that meant and she answered that it could mean anything from nothing to cancer. I panicked, of course! They calmly informed me that they were going to run a second test before jumping to conclusions. The results of the second lab work came back a week later normal with evidence of a yeast infection, which was no surprise after the antibiotics I had taken from my last hospital visit. Much relieved they gave me information to best treat the yeast infection and I was back to life as normal.

I am asking that if you don't like certain things about Planned Parenthood ask them to change. Better yet get involved and learn how they really operate, but do not defund them! Their free annual exams catch treatable diseases and cancers before they become deadly. By defunding them you are endangering women's lives! Please take a moment and look at the larger picture of what they really do for women and where government funding really goes.  

DIY Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt

Many folks have asked me for my yogurt recipe so here it is. First I must warn folks that I cook like I garden...somewhat haphazard. By that I mean I don't always measure everything out and I don't often use a thermometer. I built this recipe around the use of a Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker which I found on Amazon for $27. I find I make about one batch a week.

Fruit sauce
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh fruit (chop up large fruit)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons corn starch
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir until it thickens. More cornstarch may be added if a thicker consistency is desired. Set aside to cool and prepare your yogurt.

Yogurt
If you are using the Euro Cuisine Yogurt maker you will need one jar of whole milk for each jar of yogurt you plan to make. For example my model carries up to 7 jars so I add 7 jars of milk to a medium sauce pan. Put the milk on medium high and using a wire whisk stir until the milk starts to foam on top. Then remove the milk from the heat and let it cool to a lukewarm temperature.

Once the milk is lukewarm add 5 tablespoons of Nancy's Yogurt: Plain Whole Milk and whisk into the milk. The reason I use Nancy's is that it contains live bacteria cultures and you would be surprised how many yogurts out there are pasteurized to death once you start to look. You can find Nancy's at New Seasons, Whole Foods or any natural foods co-op.

By this time the fruit sauce has cooled. Begin spooning the fruit evenly into every jar but one. You will want to set one jar aside. This jar will be the plain yogurt that you will save as your culture for the next batch. Once the desired amount of fruit has been added to each jar take the well whisked milk mixture and pour it gently over the top of the fruit sauce and fill to the top. Also fill your one empty jar with your milk mixture.

Place all your jars into your yogurt maker without lids and turn it on. You will want your yogurt to set for a minimum of 8 hours. After 8 hours or more you can remove your jars gently pouring off any standing liquid then replace the lids and refrigerate.

Open Your Heart Meat Eaters!

In the heat of the holidays we are surrounded by traditional meals which usually are centered around meat. If you are a vegetarian this time of year can be a struggle. I am writing this for my  mother. My mother has been a vegetarian for 25 years and vegan for the last 3 years. For her it was not a choice made to save the animals but for health reasons. In her early 30s meat started causing painful gout like symptoms. Back then vegetarians were not as socially accepted as they are today. She was made fun of by family and struggled to find anything other than a pile of iceberg lettuce at restaurants. In more recent years it has become much more accepted, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where we have whole restaurants dedicated to vegetarian cuisine.

Even with this recent acceptance of vegetarians there is still an attitude carried by meat eaters that they are somehow superior to the vegetarians. Some people, men in particular, I have found seem to think that eating meat makes them more of a man. Some of the men I have encountered are so proud of it that you might think they killed that grocery store bought steak themselves! Some meat eaters seem to think that vegetarians are out to take their meat away! Most vegetarians do not belong to PETA in case you were worried about that.

I personally eat some meat but prefer less meat in my diet. I actually enjoy the taste of Field Roast Sausage (a vegetarian sausage alternative). My husband eats a modified Paleo diet for health reasons so he consumes more meat than I am comfortable eating myself. He is supportive of my eating habits and has no problem throwing some Field Roast on the BBQ alongside some beef patties. I still always hear someone open their mouth about how stupid it is that vegetarians eat something that looks like meat but isn't. My response to this is to just look at what you call meat. Sausage in general is stuff in a tube that in no way resembles natural meat of any kind. I am also pretty certain that vegetable patties existed well before ground meat patties. If I wanted to copy meat I would have to figure out how to get bean curds to look like a cow and frankly I don't have that kind of time.

For some people eating meatless is a choice and for others it is medically essential. Whatever the reason is think in the holiday spirit and enjoy the company of those around you and not what is on everyone's plate. At our family meals we now commodate meat eaters, vegans, gluten allergies, nightshade allergies and low sodium diets. Why do we try so hard? Because regardless of these people's personal choices or allergies they are my family and I love them all! For that I can live with a little less here and there. 

November Paleo Turkey Meatloaf

My husband eats a modified Paleo diet due to an autoimmune disorder that affects his digestion and skin. Our cooking involves a lot of vegetables, so we get a weekly CSA (farm share) from Sauvie Island Organics. This farm share forces us to eat a more seasonal diet. In order to use all the veggies each week I often make what I call a kitchen sink meat loaf the night before our new share arrives to clear out space for the fresh incoming veggies. This week turned out to have a bit of a Thanksgiving taste so I decided to share this one. Another great place to find recipes for this kind of diet is the blog Autoimmune Paleo.

Ingredients

- 1 tbs coconut oil

- 1/2 roasted pie pumpkin, pureed or 1/2 can pumpkin pulp

- 2 small or 1 large parsnip, grated

- 1 beet, grated

- 1 small onion, minced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 tsp sea salt

- 1 tbs dried oregano

- 1 tbs dried sage

- 2 tbs dried parsley

- 1 egg

- 2 lbs ground dark turkey 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, heat the coconut oil and saute the onion, parsnip and beet for about 5 minutes, adding garlic and pumpkin at the very end. Let cool.

In a large bowl mix egg with herbs and salt. Add the meat and vegetables to the bowl. Mix gently with your hands until incorporated.

Transfer the mixture into a loaf pan, spread it evenly and into the corners. Cook for 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oven and carefully pour off liquid.

Cloth Diapers and Diaper Rash

The dreaded diaper rash! All babies get it no matter what you use or do. Yes, even cloth diaper babies. We can however, lessen the frequency of diaper rash by using certain products and techniques. The diaper design and creams can all play a part.  My first babe was constantly red until potty training and my second is less so but blisters terribly when she eats certain acidic foods.

I will start by stating I have had more diaper rash with the all in two style diapers over the pocket diapers. With my first I used Softbum Echo and Flip all in twos for awhile and saw improvement when I switched to the Softbum Omni and Sunbaby pocket diapers. The extra fabric layer between the insert and the baby's bottom seems to help bring down the moisture touching the baby. However this is still not enough sometimes.

With my first daughter the cloth diaper friendly balms worked great! My two favorite balms were Angel Baby Bottom Balm and Goo-Goo Baby Bum Balm. These products ready helped relieve the redness and chafing and washed out of her cloth diapers easily. Her sister however is a different case. The balms did very little to heal the open blisters on her poor little bum.

Zinc oxide based creams are considered the best moisture barriers for combating diaper rash. However, every cloth diaper manufacturer will say "Don't do it!" Zinc oxide  is a nightmare to get out of most fabrics. The cloth diaper world recommends using balms instead, but this does not work for all babes. For my youngest it was time to get serious. I did thirty minutes to an hour of diaper free time with each diaper change and I reached for the zinc oxide staples. In order to use a zinc oxide based cream with a cloth diaper you have to use a flushable liner to protect the fabric. This also increases the dryness in the diaper which will also help the diaper rash problem. I really loved Kushie Fushable Diaper Liners until I realized they are made from virgin timber pulp. As an environmental studies major this is a big no no! Bumkins Flushable Liners are the most popular liners on the market and generous in size for those solid food eaters. Bumkins are made using 100% viscose which is considered a much more environmentally friendly process. Once you have a good liner then its time for cream

I tried Boudreaux's Butt Paste and it stayed on but was terrible to get off when it came time to cleanse the affected area and did not wash out of cloth at all! It also didn't have any of the natural healing properties of the balms we crunchy mamas love so much. I tried Yes to Baby Carrots Soothing Diaper Cream and it worked alright but I really wanted to get these blisters healed. After some research I discovered Weleda Calendula Diaper Rash Cream. The Weleda cream is made in Germany and a combination of zinc oxide and healing oils. This cream in combination with a lot of diaper free time did the trick. I saw the rash improve in two days time.

Lyra and Etta (wearing a Sunbaby diaper)