Tea Party Shortbread Scones

Yesterday, I had some rare alone time. I had a day off of work, no binding commitments until later in the day, it was dark and rainy, so I decided to treat myself to a comfort food snack. 

After my morning coffee, I switch to tea for the rest of the day . . . hmmmm . . . now what kind of treat would go well with a few mugs of my Wellness Herbal Tea blend, a dreary day and something to read?

SCONES! And not only scones, but SHORTBREAD SCONES!

I enjoyed own private little tea party with my scones topped with butter and Elderberry jelly on my dear grandma's plate. Ahhhh . . . 

Now, there are two ways that I go about my scones. One is that quick way with a yummy tastes-like-homemade Fair Scone and Shortcake Mix by Fisher

The other way is to make them, of course.

You Will Need:

~2-1/2 c. flour, plus a little extra for kneading (I use unbleached bread flour)
~1/2 ts. sea salt
~1 ts. baking powder
~1/3 c. Turbinado sugar (Sugar-in-the-Raw) or coconut sugar (for a lower glycemic level)
~1 egg
~1/2 c. whole milk
~1 TB. vanilla extract
~3/4 c. cold butter, sliced (for my daughter who can't have butter, I use Earth Balance non-hydrogenated margarine. If you HAVE to have margarine, this is the one to get)
~medium mixing bowl
~small mixing bowl
~baking sheet
~parchment paper *optional*
~large mixing spoon
~whisk

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425*F, line baking sheet with paper, if desired
2) Mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar
3) Cut in pieces of butter into the dry mix until it is well mixed, dry and crumbly
4) In the smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla
5) Add wet mix to dry mix and stir together until moist and crumbly
6) On a clean surface, sprinkle about 2 TB. of flour and knead your dough. Fold and knead, fold and knead 4 or 5 times
7) Divide into 2 halves, pat them out onto the baking sheet roughly 5" round and just a little higher in the middle, cut into 4 quarters; do the same with the other half. If you like, sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top
8) Bake 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned
9) Let cool on baking rack
10) Serve with butter, jam or jelly and if you want the real English Tea Party experience, use clotted cream.

Be sure to make a delicious Earl Grey, Oolong or herbal tea to enjoy with your scones. 

Let me know how your next private tea party goes.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

REVIEW ~ 101 Easy Homemade Products for your Skin, Health and Home

I was recently asked to review a brand new book on some of my favorite subjects: homemade skin care, health care and home care. And I need to tell you if EVER there were a great "what-book-would-you-recommend-for-newbies" book, THIS IS IT!

101 Easy Homemade Products for your Skin, Health and Home by Jan Berry, founder and blogger at The Nerdy Farm Wife.

It has EVERYTHING you are looking for in a book chock-full of information . . . 

~Right from the start, it has a sweet homey cover that just draws you to it

~Even the Table of Contents is exciting  to read: Getting Started . . . , Nontoxic Herbal Skin Care, Naturally Soothing Salves and Balms, Exotic Body Butters and Lotion Bars (oooo, ahhh), Easy, All-Natural Cream and Lotions, Garden-Fresh Bath Soaks and Salts, Beautiful Bath Melts and Scrubs, DIY Lip Care, Luscious Hair Care, Simple Homemade Soaps (any kind your little heart desires), Herbal Home Remedies, Nontoxic Solutions for the Home. And even All-Natural Pet Care!

~The book, itself, is made in such a way that all you have to do is lay it open . . . anywhere, on any page . . . and it will lay open. No laying something heavy on top, no bending or breaking the spine, it simply lays open so that you may read your recipes while your hands are busy.

~The photography is simply beautifully done and all photos were taken by Jan, herself.

~Jan has added a very detailed Resource List of some of her favorite websites.

~Something I don't believe I've ever seen anyone else do, in many of her recipes, Jan has included substitute ingredients and adjustments for using fresh or dried herbs.

~One of my favorite parts is her extensive listing of various herbs, their benefits and a list of recipes she has used them in along with the page number so that you can go right to the recipe.

Jan and her family live in rural Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and as mentioned above, is a writer and photographer for the popular blog: The Nerdy Farm Wife. She write for HobbyFarms.com and Natural Herbal Living Magazine and has been featured in many other publications.

You may follow Jan at these links:
https://thenerdyfarmwife
https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdyFarmWife/
https://instagram.com/nerdyfarmwife
https://pinterest.com/nerdyfarmwife/

I am SO very excited to recommend this book to you. If you know someone who is thinking about growing herbs and making their own homemade skin, health and home care THIS is the book you need to gift them with. And if you purchase a copy for yourself, BE SURE to let me know how much you LOVE this book! 

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Making Heap Big Medicine

I know I usually write about my medicinal teas, but I also like to make capsules for our family. 

THE Man was fighting off a virus-bug that is going around his office, so I needed to make some more goldenseal capsules and while I was at it, I made some more ashwagandha capsules. 

Just as an FYI, I like to use size 0 capsules which are generally 350-500 mg per capsule. You can get empty capsules at most health food markets.

Making your own medicine is easy-peasy. Make it ahead of time so that you always have it on hand.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

*Please see the obligatory disclaimer at the bottom of the page*

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Every year, my family looks forward to the days of fall when we go to our favorite larger grocery stores and find our Duncan Doughnuts Pumpkin Spice Coffee. 
 
OH. MY. It is a seasonal delight.

But . . . for that last 2 years, it has been quite the challenge to find it before OTHERS who evidently also find it and hoard it for the cold Ohio winter like squirrels hoarding nuts.

What's a Pumpkin Spice Coffee lover to do?

Well, leave it to my dear friend, Balinda ~ who also knows that "necessity is the mother of invention" ~ to bless our family with the answer . . . Add pumpkin pie spice to your coffee!!!

This is so easy and you will LOVE it.

 

You Will Need:

~ drip coffee maker
~ your favorite drip coffee
~ powdered pumpkin pie spice (I use Frontier)
~ measuring spoon (for heaping TBs, we like ours strong)
~ any extras you prefer (sweeteners/creamer/milk)
~ a generously sized mug

 

Directions:

1) For every 2 heaping TBs of coffee you use, add 1 ts of pumpkin pie spice powder; I put my spice in the middle of my spoons of coffee, it seems to blend better.

2) Brew coffee as usual

3) pour into your mug, add any extras you prefer; we use coconut sugar OR sucanat and yummy, gorgeous, sweet milk from a local farm.

 

 This coffee is to yummy that I

had to post this picture

again :-D

4) Enjoy.

So now, our problem is salved forever!

Let me know how much LOVE this homemade pumpkin spice coffee. 

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Herbal Harvest

Well . . . I'll bet you thought I had dropped off the face of the earth. Nope. THE Man has been doing some projects from home and has needed the the computer ~ on top of that, I've been working crazy hours at the health food store. It has simply been a crazy fall for us.

BUT . . . I did want to show you that I had one of my best herbal harvests ever! 

One of my most abundant were my rosemary plants. Oh my, they were almost 3 feet high. I've never had such large, lovely rosemary.

I also had echinacea, sweet basil, lavender, sage, dill, oregano, cilantro. 

Here are some of my lavender, sage, sweet basil and rosemary.

I love the smell of my fresh herbs hanging up to dry in my kitchen. 

What was in your garden this year?

Thanks, again, for your patience with my absence. And thank you, to those of you who emailed or commented on my Facebook to make sure I am OK. Love you all.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

How Does My Garden Grow? . . . .

. . . Let me show you . . . 

This year, I didn't plant any veggies. With my busy schedule and because varmints got into my cucumbers, zucchini and squash the last two years, nope . . . didn't even plant tomatoes. I went the easy route and just planted herbs and some wild flowers. I'm still happy with what I have.

I have echinacea and lavender . . . 

echinacea, rosemary, sage, basil and English Daisies . . . 

I love my sage bush, it's now about 5 years old and when it blooms it's full of gorgeous purple flowers.

This year, I went with simply seeding the front bed with two large packages of assorted wild flowers and I couldn't be happier with how pretty and happy-looking they are.

I still have chamomile, dill, cilantro and oregano on my kitchen window sill. I'm debating whether to take them outside in planters.

Special kudos to our friend, Chet, who did all the preparing and weeding for me, this year, to make it look so good and to my DD#2 who often helps me keep it looking so nice and healthy.

What did you plant this year?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<>< 

Homemade Healthy Tonic Tea

Well, here we are, the middle of July and already I am hearing early sounds of fall ~ the cicadas are already "calling" fall to the area, just as doves (a.k.a. rain crows) call when rain is coming. So, does that mean that we will have an early fall? Mmmmm . . . we can only hope. Only the Lord knows for sure, but as much as I love fall, I wouldn't mind.

And as fall has it's own charm ~ abundant color, the smell of leaves burning, crisp cool air that charms us outside for a walk after donning our favorite sweater; or curl up with a cup of tea and your favorite comforter for cozy night by the fire.

Fall is also a time when we need to make sure that our immune system is boosted and working at it's peak.

Government school and private school kids will be going back into the classroom and breathing in a host of new germs; homeschool kids will be rejoining their clubs, gym classes, sports, dance and other group activities where they will, also, be greeted by others' germs. And if your family's immune system isn't built up, germs will be passed around to each other like a supper plate. 

Almost daily, I enjoy my favorite Wellness Tea blend, but from time-to-time ~ especially if a family member has a cold or if I start to feel some little tickle that could be the precursor of something coming ~ I boost my medicinal tea up a notch and mack my Tonic Tea.

You Will Need:

For a large batch ~
~1 TB. freshly grated ginger root
~1/2 ts. cinnamon
large 3-fingered pinches of . . . 
~lemongrass
~astragalus root
~licorice root
~echinacea leaf OR root (I prefer the root)
~lemon essential oil
~1 large tea ball OR 2-3 small tea balls
~tea pots ~ 1 for boiling water, one for steeping ~ OR 1 medium pot

Directions:

1) fill a tea pot or medium cooking pot with water
2) fill a tea ball(s) with first SIX ingredients
3) bring water to boil 
    ***if you are using the tea pots, once water comes to a boil, place tea ball into pot and pour water into pot...
    ***if you are using a pot, place tea ball into pot of water and let come to boil...
4) once water boils, remove from heat ~ steep for at least 15 minutes, more if you want it stronger
5) then remove tea ball and discard used herbs
6) add 3-6 drops of lemon essential oil to the tea and stir a little to blend
7) fill your tea cup or mug
8) add local honey to taste, if desired
9) settle down, get comfy and drink in that tasty immune-building tea . . . ahhhhh . . .

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Holy (Blessed) Thistle ~ Amazing Bitter Herb

"...[T]he Blessed Thistle, which is much used in the time of any infection or plague, as also to expel any evil symptom from the heart at all other times." 
~William Shakespeare; from Much Ado About Nothing

So many people seem to have issues with their digestion ~ reflux, bloating, bile flow in the liver, stomach pains from poor digestion, all the way down to the intestines. It's a bother to anyone who suffers with these issues, but especially hard if your are nursing or elderly.

Bitter herbs a are a group of herbs that work well with the liver and digestive organs. And we all know that if your liver and digestion are going along as they should, barring any other health issues, you will probably have a healthy day.

Holy Thistle, also known as Blessed Thistle, has been well known since at least the Middle Ages and is a very effective bitter herb that is often confused with Milk Thistle ~ they are related by NOT the same thing . . . 

BOTH help with liver function, diuretic and helping nursing mothers' milk flow, but also . . . 

Holy Thistle stimulates bile flow, saliva production, aids digestion in that it helps the intestines and gallbladder and so helps the whole digestive tract. Holy Thistle, being in the Feverfew family, is an anti-inflammatory and helps with headaches and body aches and is mildly antibiotic. Another benefit is that they contain cancer fighting lignans (as does flax). [DO NOT use if you are pregnant or allergic to the Chamomile/Feverfew family of herbs]

Holy Thistle can be used ~ up to 3x per day ~ as a single ingredient tea, a tea blend, a tincture or in a balm for boo-boos of all sorts ~ from hangnails, to skinned knees, to small open wounds.

In the United States, Holy Thistle is most commonly used to increase nursing mothers' milk production ~ blending it with fenugreek and/or fennel seeds makes a yummy and even more effective nursing tea.

 I love my Blessed Thistle.

As you can see, when I label my 

herb jars, I also include

what they are best used for.

To make a tea, my general rule is 1 ts. in your tea ball per cup OR 1-1/2 or 2ts per mug.

To make a tincture, click HERE. 

To make a balm/salve, click HERE. Simply replace the chamomile in this recipe with Holy Thistle OR blend half-and-half.

Have you used Holy Thistle? What are your favorite ways?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><
***Please read the obligatory disclaimer at bottom of page***

Themed Herb Gardens

I've kept an herb/veggie garden in the past, but this year, because I knew I wouldn't have quite so much time to devote to it, I've decided to downsize ~ hoping to have a bigger garden next year, again ~ and just have a small herb garden for now.

 Wouldn't you love to 

stroll through this 

garden?

All I have currently is rosemary, sage, lavender, echinacea, cilantro, dill, oregano and chamomile. Love my herbs.

 Above are some herbs that

are still in my mini hot houses (baggies),

below are some that are ready
for transplant into my herb baskets

for the front porch

(I wait until they are at least

1" high to transplant)

I still have some "babies" in my window ~ using plastic baggies over the starter pots as mini hot houses. But after I write this, I'm going to transplant them into my cute little herb baskets that I found at Meijers, and set them on my porch. I still want a strawberry pot, but none were around when/where I was looking this year.

 Strawberry Pot

Another idea that I LOVE and will HAVE to try someday, is to use an old wagon wheel for herb garden sections. Isn't that cute?

 Wagon Wheel Garden

I am a sucker for books on herbs, essential oils and home rememdies, so on one of my weekly visits to my favorite bulk food store a while back, I picked up a sweet little book called, "The Beauty of Herbs" by Jessica Dorfsmith. The best part: it's written from a Christian viewpoint.

Her first rule for using herbs states: "Carefully avoid New Age or witchcraft influences sometimes associated with herbs. Accept herbs for what they are: a gift from God for the benefit of man, to be properly used and never abused." Amen, sister!

So much of her philosophy and uses of herbs are very similar to mine, even some of her recipes are almost identical. Something that she writes about are "Theme Gardens." A small patch with herbs that meet specific needs ~ I've done that and it's my favorite way to plan. Another thing I want to get back to next year.

This is what Jessica has to say about them . . . 

Herbs planted in separate small gardens, each with its own theme, is gardening at its best! It's also good for the beginning herb gardener, preventing confusion between culinary and medicinal herbs . . . The following ideas are simply that: ideas! Use them as a springboard to get your imagination running. Choose herbs that do best in your climate, suit your family's medicinal needs, and please your eyes and taste buds.

TEA-TIME GARDEN ~ 

Mint                       Chamomile
Lemon balm       Catnip
Lemon thyme     Fennel
Lime and Lemon Basil          Bergamot

CULINARY HERB GARDEN ~

Chives                    Savory
Basil                       Sage
Oregano                Parsley
Cilantro                 Thyme

IMMUNE-BUILDER GARDEN ~

Echinacea            Horehound
Chamomile         Horseradish
Peppermint         Lemon Balm
Mullein                 Rosemary

These are just a few of her ideas. I'm looking forward to using some of these ideas next year.

What do you like to plant?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Rosemary Biscuits with Lavender and Honey Butter

My family doesn't eat as much "regular-type" bread as we used to. These days, we eat more of my homemade Ezekiel Bread and THE Man eats my homemade Paleo Bread. 

BUT . . . on those days (Sundays ~ our "grace" day ~ or holidays) we like really make the yummy treat of a wheat flour bread rock! :-) 

One of my favorites is rosemary bread, biscuits or scones (which you can make with this recipe) and lavender and honey butter.

For the biscuits~

You Will Need:

~2 c. bread flour (for a light, fluffy rise)
~2 c. whole wheat OR coconut flour
~4 ts. turbiano (Suger in the Raw) OR coconut sugar
~1/2 ts. sea salt
~2 TB. baking powder
~1 ts. cream of tartar
~1-1/3 c. milk (rice milk OR almond milk works well, too)
~3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
~1 TB chopped fresh rosemary OR slightly crunched dried rosemary
~whisk
~spatula
~med-large mixing bowl
~medium mixing bowl
~cookie sheet (OR loaf pan for bread OR cast iron skillet for scones)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400* (f)
2) Using the whisk, in the med-large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients
3) In the smaller bowl, combine all the other ingredients EXCEPT the rosemary
4) In small amounts, add the wet ingredients to the dry
5) Stir in the rosemary
6) Pinch off chunks of the dough and roll to about 2" in diameter
7) Place onto cookie sheet
8) Bake 10-12 minutes 

**NOTE** You can make a small loaf of bread OR scones from this recipe, just use an 8"x3" loaf pan OR a cast iron skillet for the scones.

Lavender and Honey Butter~

You will need:

~homemade butter (roughly 1 lb.)
~1 TB. honey (local is best, especially if you have allergies)
~1 TB. slightly crunched/ground-up dried lavender flowers
~wooden spoon
~small mixing bowl
~air-tight container

Directions:

1) blend butter, honey and lavender flowers together
2) store in an air-tight container . . . OR . . . roll into a cylender and wrap in waxed paper, chill and then cut into slices onto a pretty plate to serve . . . OR . . . put into butter molds for pretty shapes

Enjoy!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Horehound Herb

 When I label my herbs,

I also note what they are used for.

When I was a little girl, my Bigmom (maternal grandmother) lived with us. What blessing she was ~ always pleasant, always a wealth of stories and wisdom. She taught me how to spread-up a proper bed, to iron clothes, enjoy coffee, tell a good story, enjoy a good story, to treasure my elders, to enjoy my greens, how to pick the best strawberries, and how endearing the sound of a wonderfully creaky rocking chair can be. She tried desperately to get me to like hominy, but she did teach me that there's nothing for a sore throat like horehound "candy" as a cough drop. And when I could find a source, I have always gone to horehound as my favorite cough drop. Fortunately, when I don't make them, I can get them at my favorite bulk food store. That sweet-pungent taste not only brings relief, but it brings back so many heart-warming memories of my Bigmom.

Now, as I have gotten into medicinal teas over the last several years, horehound herb often finds it's way into a sore throat tea. Granted, the tea is an acquired taste. It can be a little bitter, so you may want to make sure you have a little bit of honey to go with it . . . and local honey has it's own immunity-building benefits.  Horehound herb is renowned for it's immunity building, it's amazing ability to clear your lungs and bronchial passages, flushing your lungs of mucus and allowing for a very productive cough.

A favorite way that my family makes our horehound tea is to make this very simple blend . . . 

You will need:

~1/4 ts. horehound 
~1/2 ts. peppermint OR spearmint 
~a couple small dried olive leaves, crumbled 
~tea ball 

Directions:

1) put herbs into the tea bal
2)let it steep good and strong for 10-15 minutes (depending upon how bad your cough is), 

. . . add honey and sip while it's still nice a warm. Use as often as you need to . . . KEEPING IN MIND that the TEA (NOT the drops) can also be used to detox the kidneys and bowls, which means that using a lot will make you have to potty quite a bit and it can cause slightly loose bowl movements. So, it is wise NOT to drink too many cups back-to-back. 

 Full disclosure ~

these drops came from my

favorite bulk food store

Horehound cough drops are very easy to make. 

You will need:

~2 oz. dried horehound herb
~3 c. water
~3 1/2 c. brown sugar, tightly packed
~powdered sugar (*optional*)
~medium cooking pot
~fine mesh strainer OR cheese cloth
~parchment paper
~dish/plate
~glass container with lid

Directions:

1) In your cooking pot, bring the horehound herb and water to a boil
2) Once it boils, remove from heat, cover and let it steep for 25-30 minutes.
3) Using the strainer OR cheese cloth, strain as much of the decoction out as you can, pressing on the leaves or squeezing the leaves in the cloth
4) Put pot back on low heat, add the brown sugar and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until you can make a hard ball (take a spoon and get a small sample of the "syrup," drop it into a cup of COLD water; if it makes a hard ball, it's ready)
5) Spread parchment paper onto a dish/plate (some people spray it with grapeseed oil ~ optional) and carefully pour the "syrup" and let it cool
6) oil OR butter your hands and shape the candy into balls; if you like, you can flatten them into disks
7) lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar (*optional*)
8) now let them cool completely
9) store in a glass jar with a lid
10) use within a month

Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know how well these horehound herb remedies work for you.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><      

Homemade Shea Butter Soap

For years, I made our own glycerin or olive oil soaps. Our family tends to be on the oily side, so glycerin can help with that. 

Well, it has been quite a while since I've made soap because I had to go back to work outside the home back in 2010 . . . so, today, with the help of my dear friends Balinda & Sherry, we decided to try something different and we made soaps with shea butter. It is a process that is very much like making glycerin soaps. SO VERY EASY and no lye to mess with.

You will need:

~shea butter soap block
~various essential oils (today we made rosemary & peppermint, cinnamon and real vanilla extract)
~various herbs and spices (today we used chamomile, dried rosemary and crunched cinnamon sticks)
**you will want to have these already crunched-up BEFORE you are ready to add them to the melted soap because the soap will start cooling immediately**
~soap molds
~mortar and pestle 
~glass/pyrex measuring cup
~small whisk or spatula
~cooling rack

Directions:

1) cut shea butter block into small chunks

2) put chunks into the measuring cup

3) heat in a microwave beginning with 40 second intervals and then down to 10 seconds until chunks are completely melted
4) while soap is melting, crunch-up any herbs/spices you wish to add with your mortar and pestle

 Obligatory mug of tea never

too far away ;-)

5) QUICKLY add the herbs, spices and essential oils that you wish

 

6) with your spatula or whisk, quickly and thoroughly blend all ingredients

7) pour into molds
8) let sit, IN THE MOLDS, for an hour
9) after an hour, pop soap out of molds and onto a cooling rack

10) let soaps cure on the rack to 2 weeks
11) after 2 weeks, carefully trim the "uglies" off of the edges of your soaps and use, wrap or store as your wish.

**NOTE** We ran out of molds for the amount of soap we made so we tried something I'd never done before ~ we put cupcake wrappers in a muffin pan (since you can't push the soap out from the bottom of a muffin pan), that way we could simply lift the soaps out once they had sat for the 1st hour, and it turned out amazingly well. Paper peeled off nicely and the soaps will have those nice ripples from the papers. Sorry I didn't get photos of those. 

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><