Quote of the Day: John Greenleaf Whittier
Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune’s bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
~ John Greenleaf Whittier
I think of this quote when I visit gardens that were planted and tended many years ago like: Pierre du Pont’s Longwood Gardens, Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello, and F.A. Seiberling’s Stan Hywet. All of these men had riches and they chose to invest some of those riches in their gardens, which we all can now enjoy. Here are some photos from Stan Hywet in Akron from a couple visits in 2009, if you want to see the slideshow in full screen click on the little icon in the top left corner of the first photo.
[flashgallery folder=”Stan_Hywet”]
I really enjoy going to gardens like this, I’ll never have a grand garden filled with rare plants, but I often find little ideas to incorporate in my own garden. There’s something quite wonderful about visiting an established garden that has been around for a long time.
Do you enjoy visiting botanical and public gardens? What’s your favorite?
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Sometimes the Light is Just Right
During the dark days of winter I’m always happy to see the sun poking through the trees in the morning, but some mornings the sun seems especially warm. There’s something so wonderful about seeing the warm yellow tones of the sun against the cold bluish cast of the snow, especially on a sub-zero morning with a fresh layer of glittery snow that fell overnight. These kinds of morning make me bundle up in Mr Chiot’s big wool hunting coat and HUGE hunting boots (quite a sight for the neighbors I’m sure) to head out to grab a few quick photos before my fingers freezer to my camera. This past Tuesday was one such morning, I wish every winter morning was this lovely, although not this cold!
What can make you get out of your comfortable little nest into the elements to experience something lovely? a thunderstorm, a hurricane?
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Friday Favorite: Tropical Traditions + giveaway
A few years ago, as we were transitioning to Real Food, I read Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. We’d been using some coconut oil on occasion before this, but we started using more after reading this book. Once you start reading up on the health benefits of coconut oil it seems like a wonder food, it does everything from boosting your immune system to lowering your bad cholesterol. I won’t go into all the details and health benefits of coconut oil here, I’ll add some links to the bottom of this post if you’re interested. I have to say, since we nixed other oils in our diets for coconut oil and butter several years ago we haven’t had to deal with colds or the flu, now I’m a big believer in the immune boosting properties of butter and coconut oil.
We use coconut oil as one of our main cooking fats, along with local pastured butter and organic olive oil. Coconut oil has a higher smoking point than olive oil and butter, so it’s very useful in high heat cooking. It makes the best popcorn when mixed with ghee and you can’t beat potatoes fried in coconut oil. I’ve tried many different brands of coconut oil, and a few different varieties before finding Tropical Traditions and falling in love with their products. I have many of their products in my pantry: Gold Label Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil, Coconut Cream, Shredded Coconut and I also get my tuna from them and I love them all – if you’re looking for great quality coconut products look no further.
I use the various Tropical Traditions products for different things. The Gold Label Extra Virgin is a fragrant coconut oil, meaning that is smells of coconut and infuses food with a slight coconut flavor. If you’ve ever tried using it for cooking mushrooms or something you quickly realize that it works in some applications and not others. I do not like the virgin oil when it comes to frying potatoes, mushrooms, onions or other savory type applications. It does however work beautifully in baked goods where a hint of coconut enhances the flavor. I use the Virgin Coconut oil in my healthy carrot oatmeal bites. It also makes basmati rice taste exotic and tropical. Simple add one Tablespoon for each cup of rice and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how delicious the rice is.
If you want to cook savory items, like mushrooms, that you don’t want to have that coconut taste, you’ll want to use expeller pressed coconut oil. This imparts no coconut flavor whatsoever. If you’re averted to coconut in any way, this is the coconut oil for you. You can still enjoy the health benefits without the coconut flavor. I also love their coconut cream, which is simply ground coconut. It has the most wonderful coconut flavor. I eat it by the spoonful and slather it on my toast. I hear you can also use it to make coconut milk, but since I have a bunch of coconut oil in my pantry I haven’t tried this yet.
Another benefit of coconut oil is that you can use it as a skin lotion. Coconut oil is supposed to help in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. It works wonders for my skin, keeping me from getting the dry flakiness that I used to get in the winter. I’ve also read that your skin absorbs some of the health benefits of the oil when you use it topically – bonus. I use coconut oil on my hair, it keeps it shiny and soft. You have to play around a little to find what amount works for you. I often put it on before going to bed at night and wash it out in the morning, I also use a tiny amount after washing for a conditioner and shine enhancer.
Coconut oil also comes in very handy for seasoning cutting boards and wooden spoons. Melt some coconut oil in a small cast iron skillet, add a thin layer to spoons and boards, then put them in the oven on low (170) for 30 minutes. They will absorb the oil, if they’re really dry you can repeat this process several times until they quit soaking it up. I do this at least once a month to keep my wooden cooking utensils in tip top shape.
I love it when I can use one product for so many different things. When you live in a small house, being able to use the same product for hand cream, hair conditioner, wooden utensil seasoning and cooking is a big bonus. Not to mention it’s a very inexpensive non-toxic option for all these uses! I am also experimenting with using coconut oil as a wood furniture polish and a few other applications, I’ll let you know when I come across another great use.
Now on to the good stuff. Tropical Traditions is giving away one 32 oz jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to one lucky reader. Comment below for your chance to win.**winner chosen** They’re always having great sales as well, I usually watch for their sale e-mails and follow them on Twitter and buy a year’s worth when they have a good sale. You can sign up for their sale e-mails and follow them on Twitter for the latest info. Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions did give me a jar of their coconut oil, but I’ve been purchasing their oil for several years now. I wouldn’t lead you astray and tell you to buy something I’m not willing to spend my own hard earned money on.
**The Captain’s Wife has won a jar Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Her comment was so great, I love the story. Head on over to her blog to read more about her life as a Navy Captain’s Wife.
Are you a coconut oil convert? What kind of cooking fat is used most often in your kitchen?
Organic Facts: Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
Livestrong: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
CoconutInfo.com
We have a winner for our Lemon Ladies Meyer Lemon gift bag, congrats to:
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A Valentine’s Day Surprise
Last week Ethel Gloves contacted me because they wanted me to take a photo of their gloves for a Valentine’s Day promo. I didn’t have a pair of the lovely red Expression gloves, so they overnighted me a pair for the photos. Because of the ice storm that came through, the gloves were delayed and didn’t arrive until right before sunset on Thursday. I had a small window of opportunity to take a few photos for them, thankfully the lighting was PERFECT. With Mr Chiot’s help we braved the single digit temps and got a few great images for them.
I was thrilled to open up my e-mail yesterday to find one of my photos looking back at me. I went to their website and there it was again. If anyone is interested in getting a pair of Ethel’s (perhaps you can leave this blog open for your husband to see) there’s a special Valentine’s Day discount, use code: VALENTINE15 until February 28 to get 15% off your purchase.
I’m not a procrastinator so doing things last minute under the gun stresses me out big time! It was also super stressful because I’m not a professional photographer by any means, I simply love doing it for creative expression and to document what’s going on in my life and my garden. I’m definitely not a professional!
Are you a procrastinator, do like working under the gun, or are you a get everything done way ahead of time kind of person?
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Vanilla Meyer Lemon Tooth Powder
As part of our No Buy February Challenge, I’m going to be posting Make Your Own how-to’s on Wednesdays. Learning to make things yourself from scratch is a great way to save money.
I blogged about making homemade toothpaste last October. That recipe used vegetable glycerin, which Mr Chiots and I weren’t really fond of. After we used up that batch we’ve been using tooth powder instead, which we like much better. I’ve been trying different recipes, cinnamon tooth powder being our favorite so far. Since it was time to make another batch, I decided lemon would be a wonderful flavor for the coming spring months. I made up a batch of Vanilla Meyer Lemon Toothpaste. It smells heavenly, like a delicious lemon cookie. The recipe for toothpowder is basically the same, you can add various essential oils and spices to customize it to suite your tastes. I often add peppermint oil if I don’t have lemon. Cinnamon is also a great addition.
LEMON VANILLA TOOTH POWDER
4 Tablespoons baking soda (I use aluminum free)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 Tablespoon of grated lemon peel (from one lemon)
10 drops of vanilla
Stir together ingredients and whir in a food processor to pulverize the lemon peel. Store in a small jar. Put small amount on toothbrush and enjoy and non-toxic delicious tooth brushing experience! As with all tooth brushing make sure to rinse well after brushing, especially with the citrus as it’s slightly acidic. Rinsing well gets rid of the acid.
For my cinnamon recipe I simply omit lemon peel and vanilla and add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Sometimes I also add a few drops of peppermint essential oil.
This recipe is simple to make and really inexpensive as well. An SLS free non-toxic toothpaste can run $4-10 per tube, since this costs less than 50 cents per batch you’re saving a bundle!
I really enjoy learning to make things for myself so I don’t have to rely on heading to the store when I need things like toothpaste, brown sugar, bread, crackers and other things. All you have to do is keep a few staples in your pantry and you can save a bundle buy learning to make your own.
Have you ever made homemade toothpaste? How’s your No Buy February going?
