DIY Dry Shampoo for Brunettes

I've always wished I was one of those lucky ladies that could just wake up in the morning and have my hair look clean! However I'm not. My dark brown (and gray) hair that's been washed in the morning starts getting oily and flat looking by dinner, let alone the mess it becomes after I slept on it.

I've tried many brands of dry shampoos with less than ideal outcomes. Most are white powders that make me look (grayer) than I do already or like I have a wig on. And if the color wasn't bad enough it stripped all the shine from my hair and still just laid there doing nothing. So I came up with my own amazing recipe for Dry Shampoo for Brunettes you can make at home for just a few dollars!

Here's my recipe:

1/4c organic corn starch
1/4c cocoa powder

Mix them up, I store mine in a old spice jar with a small hole shaker lid, shake a little powder into the lid and using an old make up brush - apply to the roots of my hair. I leave it sit for about 30 minutes then I brush my hair with a natural (boar) bristle brush to spread it through my hair and remove excess.

Now, it's not like fresh-washed-clean hair but looks perfectly fine pulled back in a ponytail or head band! It's awesome to skip a day from washing my very long thick hair!!!

Enjoy!

DIY Toothpaste

Super easy toothpaste with all natural stuff you (should) have at home! My teeth feel so clean and smooth. Just be prepared it's not sweet and bubbly like the store bought tube of toothpaste. This will get firm and you just rub your toothbrush through it!

This recipe fits nicely in a 1/4 pint canning jar:
3T Aluminum-Free Baking Soda
3T Organic Coconut Oil

Optional Additions to your taste:
Essential Oil (Peppermint, Cinnamon, Wintergreen or Spearmint are all good)
Liquid Stevia

Mix everything well. It was warm in our house tonight so our coconut oil was nearly liquid, if yours is solid just warm up on your oven on the lowest temp setting and only until it's soft enough to use.

Enjoy!!!

Roasted Tomato Soup

Hayley's Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup with Feta Crumbles!

I hated tomato soup until I tried this recipe. After making a big batch of this you'll never want to purchase the canned-crap at the store again! The recipe I'm posting is for a single batch, with great success I've doubled, tripled and quadrupled it! Today I made a triple batch with 15 pounds of tomatoes fresh picked from our garden!

20# of tomatoes picked 8/17/12

5lbs of fresh tomatoes, wash, core, and quarter
1/4c fat of your choice (tallow, lard, coconut oil, etc)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

2T Butter
1c chopped onion
1-2T sugar or honey
2c water
Crushed Red Pepper, Salt and Pepper to taste

In a 9 x 13 pan (or other similar pan with sides) combine the tomatoes, fat, garlic and liberally salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 450  on the middle rack for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some tomatoes may get browned and will become very juicy!

15# of tomatoes roasting in the oven 8/17/12

While your tomatoes are roasting in the oven, In a large pot over medium heat, add butter and onions. Cook about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add 1T sugar, and a pinch of crushed red pepper, cook 1 minute, then add 2c water... simmer over med/low. Add in the roasted tomato/garlic mixture and simmer for 10 minutes.

Fill your blender no more than 1/2 way with the hot tomato soup and puree until smooth. I then pour my soup into another clean pot through a fine mesh colander to be sure i don't have any seed or skin lumps - the extra step is what makes the soup velvety!! (be very very careful if your blender does not have a steam escaping lid - over filling your blender will cause a huge mess of very hot liquid exploding out of your blender!!! We have a vitamix and its lid vents the steam so I don't have to worry but most normal blenders do not - I recommend blending very small batches as a precaution!

Simmer your blended, strained soup over low until it's your desired thickness. Season with additional crushed red pepper, sugar, salt and pepper to your taste. We like about 1/3t crushed red pepper and 1 1/2T sugar - it's a little spicy!

Add some cheese or cream if desired into your bowl! We love a grilled cheese with feta, mozzarella and pesto dipped in this soup!!!

If you make a big batch - you can freeze it or, like me, I can pint and quart jars (pressure can 40 min at 10# pressure using standard 2part lids and sterilized jars)

Meatza - Thanks to Divine Health!

Tonight Ray and I enjoyed a "Meatza" after I got my inspiration from Divine Health's posting..
I've been going back and forth regarding my "issues" with gluten and am finally back on the anti-gluten program. I'm not a huge pizza fan (i know it's shocking - but I'm not a sandwich fan either) but the "Meatza" recipe sounded amazing!!!!!! Recipe in our house = Idea. I just can't "follow" a recipe, I just read them and then do my own thing.. no disrespect but I want everyone to add their own special twist to what I do too, that's what makes what you cook your own.

Here's what I did tonight for our "Meatza"...

The Sauce:
In a small skillet over medium heat, lightly cook 2 pressed cloves of garlic in coconut oil. Then I added in a 1/4 pint of my homemade tomato paste (recipe to be posted later this summer!!) and 1 pint of canned pureed tomatoes, cook over medium/high to thicken for about 30 minutes - stirring frequently. Add Salt, Pepper, Basil, Crushed Red Pepper to taste.....

The Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Combine 1 pound of grass fed organic beef with 1 free range-organic egg, about 3/4c grated Parmesan cheese (I don't measure, just grate and figure it out!) and salt/pepper.... spread on cookie sheet with sides (jelly roll pan) .. easiest way was to put the meat crust mix on the pan then top with parchment paper and use your fingers to press the meat out into a large oval (about 1/4 in thick). Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. I used my pampered chef cookie sheet with sides that's been seasoned well over the past 10 years.

Toppings:
Top your baked crust with sauce and lots of grated mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. Yes it will be runny and messy... it's ok. Top with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and more Parmesan cheese - let cool for at least 10 minutes......

It's not pretty, I know.. but sometimes things that taste amazing don't look so pretty and we're ok with that!

This is a "Fork Pizza" and I can tell you that after we each ate 1/4 of the "Meatza" we were already thinking about making 1/2 pork sausage and  1/2 beef next time, cause we just love pork! and by the time we both ate our half... we were wishing we could go back in time and eat it all over again, since it was so amazing. It's meals like this that remind me that I truly love eating this way and it's so much better tasting that bread-pasta-gluten crap!!!

Divine Health did a great job with this "Recipe-Idea" thank you so much for sharing!!!

Canned Meadow (Button) Mushrooms

If you consult any present day canning recipe book or do a search on the internet - you'll read all the warnings about attempting to can wild mushrooms at home - poisonous mushrooms are dangerous as is canning, put the two together and people get really freaked out.. that being said let's move on... I have been canning mushrooms for over 10 years, both meadow mushrooms and maitake turn out wonderful!!

We pick meadow mushrooms in our yard every year (we are 100% sure they are edible) They taste like the white button mushrooms from the store but have a stronger flavor - so much better. I throughly cleaned the mushrooms and separated only the best mushrooms for canning. Be aware mushrooms shrink to about 1/2 their fresh volume once cooked... it takes a lot of mushrooms to fill big jars so I always stick to 1/4 pint jelly jars, which is the perfect serving size for us.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil (as large as needed based on the quantity of mushrooms you have to can) Once water is boiling, add cleaned mushrooms, time for 5 minutes then drain.

In a separate pot or 220 degree oven, sterilize canning jars and warm flat lids in a small pot of water on medium/low. Also prepare another pot or tea kettle of clean boiling water.

Pack drained/boiled mushrooms into sterilized jars, adding a scant 1/8t salt per 1/4 pint, then top each to 1/2 inch head space with boiling water. Wipe rims and fit with 2 part lids. Pressure Can for 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. After depressurized, remove lid, pick out jars and allow to cool for 12 hours - discard any that did not seal...

I cannot guarantee that my directions are deemed safe by our government and I can't take responsibility for the mushrooms you gather.. but for me this works perfectly!!!

Chanterelle Mei Fun

One "Chinese Food" Ray and I really enjoy is Pork Mei Fun, so I came up with a healthy and gluten-free version we make at home using fresh ingredients. Since we found a bunch of fresh wild Chanterelles, I made Chanterelle Mei Fun!! It's really easy and quick! Here's my recipe:

What I made tonight was A LOT for just the two of us, I suggest this recipe as a meal for 4 people :)

Coconut Oil

Butter

Tamari Sauce (Gluten Free Soy Sauce)

Mei Fun Noodles (Brown Rice Noodles)

2c Ham, chopped 

1c Onion, chopped

1c Celery, chopped

1c Carrots, peeled chopped

1c Frozen Peas

2c Cabbage, sliced thin

2c Chanterelle mushrooms, chopped

6 eggs

Salt and Pepper

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook Mei Fun noodles for 3 minutes, then rinse with cold water - set aside to drain. In a large skillet, add coconut oil and butter (about 2T each) lightly saute ham over medium heat, then add onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms... when veggies are just begining to soften season with Tamari, Salt and Pepper to taste.  Add cabbage then remove from heat and set aside. 

In a separate skillet, prepare scrambled eggs (leaving egg in large pieces). In pot that you cooked Mei Fun noodles, heat over medium heat,  1T butter and coconut oil then add Mei Fun noodles gently tossing. Add cooked veggies, frozen peas and scrambled eggs - toss gently and stir fry - adding more Tamari, Salt and Pepper to taste.... Enjoy!