Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Sustainable Living
Eczema-Friendly Soap
A member of our family has been struggling with eczema for a very long time, so I began researching natural remedies for this ailment. In my research, I found that coconut-based products help to moisturize the dry skin of eczema, and many essential oils are found to relief many of eczema’s symptoms. Now please remember, I am by no means a medical professional, but this soap (which has only been in use a few days now), seems to be helping to give some relief.
Eczema-Friendly Soap
2 pounds Melt and Pour Soap Base (I use this Goat’s Milk Soap Base.)
1/4 cup organic coconut oil
2 teaspoons fresh chopped lavender
2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary
5 drops cedarwood essential oil
10 drops patchouli essential oil
5 drops clary sage essential oil
5 drops tea tree essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops rosemary essential oil
a shallow pot or saucepan
a glass bowl
wooden spoon
soap molds (You can purchase these at your local craft store or here.)
Fill the pot or saucepan half full with water. Bring to a simmer. Place the glass bowl in the pot of water to create a double boiler of sorts. Place the melt and pour soap base in the glass bowl, along with the coconut oil. Stir the base and coconut oil with a wooden spoon until it melts. Remove the bowl from the heat and mix in the fresh herbs. Then add the essential oils and stir. Allow the mixture to cool just slightly (enough to thicken the mixture just a bit). Pour into your molds. Allow to rest until completely cool. Remove the soap from the molds. Enjoy!
From Scratch
In our family’s attempt to make as much as we possibly can here in our home, there are those weeks that go by when we are in the midst of a creating whirlwind, and suddenly I look at the calendar and it’s Wednesday. This is one of those weeks. Oh boy.
There have been baskets and baskets of beans harvested from the garden, more than we could ever eat at this time. So, this weekend we rinsed, cut and froze most of our harvested beans to set aside for the winter months.
We are to that point in the growing season where some of our plants have gone to seed. So this weekend, entrenched in vines and leaves of green, we pulled out arugula and collected the seed pods for late fall planting. Then replanted carrots and beets for fall harvest.
I opened my linen closet last Friday to a cavernous black hole, completely void of any form of soap, lotion or shave oil. The girls and I got to work and rounded out the weekend with a fresh batch of lotion (I use the recipe from this book.) and shave oil (my recipe can be found here), and a new eczema-friendly soap concoction. (The recipe for this soap to come soon.)
And last but not least, there is the fermentation frenzy that has taken over our house the last two weeks. I don’t often become overly obsessed with much, but oh my, I think I may just be in love with Sandor Katz, his book The Art of Fermentation, and all of the nutritional benefits fermenting has to offer. I gave this book to my husband last summer for his birthday, to aid him in his beer-making endeavors. But I now find myself huddled with my morning coffee, spilling over the pages of this book, completely enraptured by the content.
Amidst the fermenting madness is fresh made yogurt, milk kefir, water kefir, and kombucha. The constant growing process of it all is just amazing, and the wonderful probiotics offered naturally in these foods is simply mind boggling. I have so much more to learn, but I am sure enjoying the entire process along the way.
I hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful start to your week!
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
This Week in my Garden
It’s crazy what can happen to a garden in a matter of weeks. For so much of the summer, our garden is green. Lettuce, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, peas, beans, carrot tops, etc. But now…now is when the real fun begins. Color.
The raspberries are starting to produce juicy crimson fruits, tomatoes are moving from green to a pale red, and blood red beets pop from beneath the surface of the soil.
Join me today for a walk through our garden…
Just Peachy
The time has arrived again. My favorite food time of the year. Peach season. There is nothing that ignites more excitement in my taste buds than those handheld orbs of deliciousness. We are extremely fortunate that my in-laws have a beautiful peach tree on their property that has produced a record number of peaches this year.
So, it has been all things peaches in these parts, my favorite of all being peach pie. If you are interested in my Grandma Dit’s peach pie recipe, you can find it here. Enjoy!
A Day at the Beach
Living in the Midwest, we have little opportunity to make beach-side trips. But this weekend we had the wonderful chance to visit…Wisconsin. Yes, I know what you are thinking. The words Wisconsin and beach don’t really coincide, but Sunday my mother-in-law competed in a half-Ironman in Racine, Wisconsin and i must say, it was not quite the locale I was envisioning.
We arrived to find ourselves surrounded by sun, sand and waves. Words cannot do this sight justice, so I thought I would tell you about our day from behind the lens.
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
What I’m In To
As I move throughout this week, I find my mind wandering to a few special things in my life. Today I bring you those lovelies I’m in to this week…
The Bela Lugosi lilies in bloom in my garden. Who doesn’t love a day lily named after the actor who played Dracula?
These vintage dishes my mom found for me at Salvaged by Sonya, a fabulous antique shop in downtown Rockford.
The Pioneer Woman’s Pots de Creme. There are no words.
My new yogurt incubator. I purchased my kit at this store, but you can also order the exact same one from this website.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I have been purposefully taking my time in reading this book because quite honestly, I don’t want it to end. You know those pieces that you are so sad once they are completed because you feel like you have just lost a friend? That is how I feel about this book. It is truly just a lovely tale.
Beans, Beans Everywhere
One thing is for sure, we have a LOT of beans coming through our kitchen door these days. So many beans in fact that there is no feasible way to eat them all. Enter “Operation Dilly Bean.” If you have never eaten a pickled bean, a.k.a. dilly bean, you must make it your duty to eat one this year. A dilly bean earns a solid ranking in the top 3 list of pickled veg in my book. Yum.
This past Sunday found me hovering over the kitchen island chopping beans and breathing in vinegar fumes, with visions of dilly beans dancing in my head. The past few years I used a dilly bean recipe from this book, but this year I decided to mix things up a bit and try something new. I used the basic pickling recipe from this cookbook, and based on how great Miss English’s other recipes are, I’m sure this one will not disappoint.
Making of a Home 