Tuesday, May 29, 2012

APPLE BLOSSOMS

  Beltane is probably the most beautiful time of year. Everywhere I look I see flowers blooming. Nature is in full speed preparing for seed production. And I´m loving it!

  Here is our good old apple tree in the back yard, still blooming every summer:

We built the extension part of our house so that this old beauty could still continue living. It produces the best apples I´ve ever tasted!




One of the good things about living in the country side is having nature so close.

This is the view from our upstairs balcony.


  I hope it will be a good apple year this time! Organic apples eaten fresh from the tree is sensational... Not to mention fresh juice, jam, apple pie, etc... Yum!

Friday, May 25, 2012

NATURAL AIR FRESHENER

  I picked up a bouquet of lily of the valleys yesterday when getting the mail from the box. It grows around my mailbox like crazy at this time of year. The scent was in the air a long way before I even got there, and it just made me so happy! I wanted to bring some of the wonderfulness inside my house as well.
  But where to place the bouquet?

In the bathroom of course.

I hate it when men do their thing standing up! Therefore I´ve installed instructions of use straight onto the bowl itself. =)
This won´t be needed as much anymore... Now I think life should be fun, and adding little details like this one cheer´s one up. It is actually missing the mouth piece, so it wouldn´t even work in reality.
When washing hands it is lovely to bend over the lilies and get a strong sense of their lovely scent.
Now I´m terrible when it comes to vases. For some reason I´ve not managed to buy one single piece yet in life. So this old juice bottle will have to do. And hey, it´s ecological too! I
Can you just nearly smell them? Aah!

  As an air freshener I normally sprinkle a couple of drops of essential oil in the hand towel. My favorite scent in the bathroom is eucalyptus. But now I won´t have to use that, and I can enjoy these with my eyes as well as my nose. Lovely!

Monday, May 21, 2012

LOSING BABY FAT, PART 1

  It´s now been nine weeks since I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. Pregnancy took it´s toll on my figure, and I gained 20 kg altogether. When returning from the hospital I had 15 kg extra to lose... quite depressing.

  I breastfeed, so I will not do any diets or restrict my eating. My plan is to eat healthy and as much as my body seems to want. This goes for healthy foods, not desserts.
  So far I have lost 9 kg. Wow, that´s a kilo per week, now that I think of it. Not bad. I´m lazy when it comes to exercising, or should I say, I rather use my time on other activities. I have a couple pathetic attempts to do some abdominal workout, but overall I must admit I haven´t really done anything that matters.
  So what has changed in my physics so far has totally come natural, without any further work.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would have such a flat belly ever again, let alone this soon after giving birth! Thank you Mother Nature.

  Clearly I haven´t yet reached my goal of getting back to the weight I was in before pregnancy. But this is a good start. I gave myself until the end of this year to get there. That means 6 kg in 6 months.
  I know from experience that the less weight there is to lose, the harder it becomes. So I may have some tough times ahead by the end of the year... But I´ll worry about that later.  =)






Tuesday, May 15, 2012

LEARNING TO EAT DANDELION

  Oh boy, am I excited about all these new greens pushing through the bare ground!!!

  For several years now I´ve had a mission to learn one new wild edible green per summer. This year I´m tackling dandelion.

Doesn´t this lush green bush just look delicious?


  Often I start by learning to recognize the current "weed", but with dandelion that isn´t necessary. We all know what it looks like, and some even go in war with the plant to get rid of it. But not me. I love the yellow flowers dandelion so generously shares with me in my yard year after year.
  With dandelion, I start by experimenting with recipes. So far I´ve only tried adding it into salads as a green, and failed to like it´s taste. Too bitter. I heard that in Greece they even sell dandelion greens in shops just like lettuce in the veggie section.
  I gotta try it...



  I yanked two large bushes of dandelion leaves out of the ground, and learned that it was too much.One big bunch is quite enough for two people. (Yes, surprisingly my husband agreed to taste my sauce, and he liked it! Even came for seconds.) Here´s what I came up with:

I call this Mother Nature´s Flavorite Sauce.

  The recipe:

1 large bush of dandelion leaves
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cube of vegetable bouillon
50 grams margarine (vegan)
black pepper
little water

+  Chop the dandelion leaves and mince the garlic. Put them in a pot with some water and bring to a boil. Add in the bouillon and let simmer until the leaves are softened. Add the margarine and black pepper, and adjust the amount of water to your liking. (I find the stock very tasty, so I let the leaves swim in it freely.)

  I ate this sauce with mashed potato and carrots, and it was delicious. I´m sure it would be tasty with pretty much anything, especially with whole grain rice. Maybe I´ll try making a dandelion risotto the next time...

Monday, May 14, 2012

GROWING SUNFLOWER SPROUTS

  Beltane offers us tons of natural wild greens to add to our diets, but I just had to try the new gadget I bought earlier this year; a sprouter. I tested the smaller version earlier in Oestara with garden cress, and now it was time to try out the bigger tray with sunflower seeds.

Heavenly...

I love the fact that using this sprouter there is no soil clinging to the sprouts, and causing my teeth to chip. Easy and less messy.

The tray itself is from Lord Nelson (the page is not in English), but there must be other brands selling similar kinds.

Sunflower is one of those seeds I never was very fond of before, because I found it too much work compared to what I gained from all of it. There was the soil everywhere in the sprouts, and I had to pick the seed shells off the sprouts before I could get munching. Now there is only half of the work left, and I have fallen in love with these soft yet crunchy sprouts.

  I have tossed these sprouts over everything: soups, bread, pasta, salads of course, and even pizza. They add a nice fresh, mild, a bit nutty touch to foods. I love it!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

HARVESTING BLACK CURRANT IN EARLY SUMMER

  The taste of black currant is heavenly! The berries ripen late in summer, but the distinctive taste can be enjoyed already.
  The leaves of black currant have the same aroma as the berries do. And the leaves are starting to bud now. What I do is collect the buds of those branches that have overgrown, or are too old, and use them in my cooking.

Black currant isn´t exactly a wild edible, and certainly not a weed, but it is sturdy, and grows outside without care. And is full of vitamins of course!

At this stage the leaves are very tender and soft.


You can whip them up in a blender with  your smoothie, or simply chop them up into a (fruit)salad.

  Here´s a refreshing green smoothie recipe for these early summer days:

1 small handful of black currant leaves
1 small piece of beet (to give color)
1 apple
1 banana
(one handful of cashews if you want a more filling smoothie)
water, as needed

+ Blend all until smooth.

  Keeping the ingredients quite simple allows the taste of black currant dominate and really play the head role in this concoction.  Bottoms up!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

THE BEST DIAPER COVER PANTIES

  This past winter, when my baby wasn´t yet born, I explored different types of patterns to use to make panties to go over her cloth diapers. I made three different types, which I tested the first thing after she was born. It was quickly clear which ones were the best.
  Now it has come time to make the next size of those same panties. Here they are:

There are actually three pairs of these, but one is always in use, so I could only catch these two on camera.

The edges are turned in, so that bare skin touches only the cotton side of the fabric, not the polyurethane laminated inner side or the elastic bands.

Little details add cuteness, and show which is the front side.

The bows are bought from a craft shop, and are not actually intended to be washed in a machine, but they have endured fine!

  The diapers we use are excellent, all-sizes-in-one types from Snug-To-Fit. I bought them, about twenty pieces, eight years ago when my firstborn was on the way. The diapers worked very well, and he learned to potty (and then quickly use the toilet) easily before he turned two. They are still in excellent condition, and I´m so glad I don´t have to spend so much money on disposable diapers now!

  These panties are based on a pattern like this, but they weren´t originally meant to fit a cloth diaper. So I just raised the back a little to cover the whole bum. You don´t have to be so pedantic with kids´ clothes, as long as they´re big enough to fit!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

BELTANE SATURDAY´S MENU

  Saturday is my munchies day. I treat myself by having my absolute favorite food in the world: pizza. Home made is the best, but I don´t always have time or the opportunity to make it, so sometimes I go for a store bought one. I actually prefer frozen pizzas over restaurant ones, because they don´t leave me so overly stuffed.
  For evening snack I go for the best in the world too: chocolate. Again, home made is the best, but I do admit I cut the corners sometimes and just buy it from the grocery store. 

 Breakfast: 1/2 liter green tea, plain
                   berry pudding

Recipe: berries (any and as much as you like), 1 banana, 1/2 avocado, wild edible greens (as much as your taste buds can tolerate), little water. Blend all in blender until smooth. Enjoy the taste and your vibrant health!

Lunch: 1/2 liter water
            pizza (preferably home made and vegan. I use the recipe for scones  to make the crust, and then top it with veggies and soy cheese. Simple and delicious.) )

Dinner: 1/2 liter herbal tea with soymilk
             raw chocolate (I mix raw coconut butter with oatmeal, honey, medjool dates, agave, cacao powder, vanilla sugar, and a pinch of salt. )

  Yummy Saturday!

Friday, May 4, 2012

BELTANE FRIDAY´S MENU

  The sabbat has changed from Oestara to Beltane, and so has my weekly menu. Here is what I will be eating throughout Beltane on Fridays:

Breakfast: 1/2 liter green tea, plain
                chocolate pudding

All healthy, raw food recipe: 1 banana, 4 medjool dates, cocoa powder to taste, vanilla sugar, a handful of sesame seeds, wild edible greens, and a little water. Blend all in a blender until smooth. Unbelievable that this treat can still be good for me!

Lunch: 1/2 liter water
           goat´s cheese salad (I use whatever veggies I happen to have, fresh and cooked, and top them with the cheese.)
            2 big rice cakes

Dinner: 1/2 liter herbal tea with soymilk
            cinnamon roll- flavored oatmeal (oatmeal = 1dl oat flakes+2 1/2dl water, topped with cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, honey, and a little butter)

Dessert: chunks of dried coconut

  Using this menu as a guideline assures that I eat a varied diet, and stay clear(er) from unhealthy food choices. Plus it makes grocery shopping easier and money-saving knowing what I need, instead of buying everything appealing. Works for me.