Kids' Blog: About Rosemary - By Bria

Hi I`m Chris`s friend`s daughter, Bria. I am 12 yrs old and i love to txt. thts y most of my stuff below will b in txt. It is 2010 and i am writing about Rosemary. we grow Rosemary in the front yard. Its easy to grow, u don't need to do much. water it, and give it sunlight, see not much. Basically its a small-ish plant that smells like lemony vick`s rub, like if u bustd open a freshly peeled lemon with vicks. smell it but b sure not to get it too close to yr eyes bc it hurts rlly bad. Rosemary rlly smells tht fresh, may b even a lil fresher. its small and green, and if u cook chances r u have cooked something with Rosemary. well tht concludes our blog for today. have a great friday.

<3 Bria :)

Days of Barbecued Peach Pie & Cobbler

Here is an old blog post I found that was never published! And yes, once again, tis the season to have pumpkin chai spice soap curing! :)

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Summer is officially unofficially over. Labor day weekend, that age old line of demarcation signifying that yet another summer has come to an end and wearing of white has passed with it (which doesn't really affect me since I personally rarely wear white any time of the year).

This holiday weekend I was blessed with a wonderful deal on organic peaches that needed to be used immediately (there was a reason they were such a great deal). One could not ask for more juicy sweet peaches to make pie and cobbler with - but my oven died upon arriving home from my holiday away with family (the new oven arrives Saturday - Yay!).

Well I really wanted that pie and cobbler, but the oven broke, so I decided to make them on the barbecue (I'll have to find the photo). They came out so well that I've gained 6 lbs (add that to the weight I gained on holiday with mom feeding me - Oi!). They were the best barbecued pastries I've ever had.

With that note marking the end of my summer, I say its time to get ready for the holidays, darlings! Today I'm making my annual batch of our most popular seasonal favorite - Organic Pumpkin Chai Spice Soap which should be ready to go for the true arrival of Autumn! :)

Asure (Turkish Wheat Pudding)

Asure (Turkish Wheat Pudding)

This is one of the oldest and most traditional deserts in Turkish cuisine. Legend says "When the Flood finally subsided and Noah's Arc settled on Mount Ararat in Agri, those on the vessel wanted to hold a celebration as an expression of the gratitude they felt towards God, but alas, the food storages of the ship were practically empty. So they made a soup with all the remaining ingredients they could find and thus ended up with 'Asure'.

Following that legend, today Asure is prepared by cooking together at least fifteen ingredients which vary slightly by region. For example, in the Çorum region, known as "Pekmezli Hedik" molasses is used and replaces sugar. In Gaziantep anise is added to that version.

Servings: 10

Ingredients:
Dövme (dehusked wheat for Asure) 1 cup
Chickpeas 1/3 cup
Dry white beans 1/3 cup
Rice 2 tablespoons
Water 12 ½ cups
Dried apricots 10
Dried figs 5
Raisins (seedless) ½ cup
Orange 1 small size
Sugar 1 2/3 cups
Rose water 2-4 Tbsp
Walnuts (not crushed) 2/3 cup
Pomegranate ½ small size

Preparation :
Rinse the wheat, chickpeas and dried beans. Soak beans and chickpeas, separately, each in 1 cup of water, overnight. Soak the Dövme and rice together in 2 cups of water, overnight.

Add 3 cups of water to the Dövme and 2 cups of water each to chick peas and beans and place them individually on the burner. Cook the Dövme until the grains are dissolved and the starch comes out. If necessary boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker.

Rinse dried fruit and soak them for 2 hours in 1 ½ cups of water.

Mix the cooked ingredients and the dry fruit in a pan and cook for 15 minutes.

Peel the orange and cut the rind, including the white inner part into 3-4 cm long and 1 cm wide strips. Divide the orange slices into 4-5 pieces. Add them to the mixture altogether and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the rosewater and stir.

Pour into dessert cups. Garnish with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.

Blossoming Pineapple & Olive Clay Mask

Pineapple & Olive Clay Mask

Pineapple contains protein digestive enzymes and fruit acids that help
remove dead skin cells and dirt, as well as leaving skin smooth and
soft. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is mildly astringent.

Olive oil has vitamin E which is very nourishing to the skin, and it has other wonderful healing properties.

The occasional use of clays such as kaolin, green clay
or betonite can be very good for drawing dirt and toxins
out of the skin.

Combined they make a wonderful mask for the face and the rest of the
body - it is a super treat if you can get someone to give you a body
wrap with it.

This mask is simple to make and deliciously effective -and it smells
yummy too! ... I hope you enjoy my little "spa recipe" as much as I do.

Recipe:

In a food processor puree about 1/2 cup of pineapple, 2 Tbsp of neroli hydrosol (use rose hydrosol if your skin is dry or sensitive) add 2-3 Tbsp olive oil, add a few Tbsp of clay - starting with 2 Tbsp and adding more as you blend to get it to the paste consistency you'd like. Spread over skin, massaging gently and leave on for about 15-20 minutes (it will not fully dry - it'll be kinda sticky). Rinse with warm water. Pat dry. Tone skin with a spritz of rose or neroli hydrosol. Enjoy having baby soft skin :)

This recipe will make enough to do a face and some body parts - or a
couple of facials. You can freeze the leftovers to use later that week.
It might change color slightly, but the enzyme activity will still be
effective, as freezing slows enzyme activity but does not stop it, and
once warm again the enzymes will return to being fully active.Do not
re-freeze after thawing.