Tomato Paste Saver: Most recipes call for only a small portion of tomato paste — you use a tablespoon or two, and the rest invariably goes to waste. To save the remainder: Carefully open both ends of the can with a can opener. Remove one metal end, and discard it. Leave the other in place. Wrap the entire can in plastic wrap, and freeze overnight. The next day, use the metal end to push the frozen paste out the open end. Discard can, tightly rewrap unused portion, and store in freezer up to 3 months, slicing off just as much as you need each time you cook.

Enjoy this little tip!

Sudsily yours, Kim (your friendly soap goddess)

8 oz. fresh cranberries
1 C sugar
1 C water
20 mint leaves
2 T lime juice
Ice
4 oz. rum
4-6 oz. soda water

I didn’t want to use fake cranberry juice in my drink and really wanted to incorporate the real deal in. So, I made a simple cranberry simple syrup. Really, it’s so easy! Which is probably why it’s called a “simple” syrup in the first place.

Just put cranberries, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Then lower the heat a bit to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, before your berries start bursting. Remove from heat.

Once the berry mixture has cooled, you can strain them. I ended up letting my mixture cool overnight in the fridge. I wanted to make sure the berries had seeped as much as possible and left lots of flavor behind. But I don’t think it was totally necessary. You can strain the berries right away if you prefer.

Now you’re ready to get your drink mixing on! Put about 10 leaves of mint and a T of lime juice in each glass. With the back of a wooden spoon or a muddler mash the mint up.

Now put ice in each glass and pour 2 oz. of the cranberry syrup and 2 oz. rum into each glass.

Top off each glass with soda water. And sprinkle some fresh cranberries in for garnish.

These drinks were so refreshing and awesome! I love the sweetness of the cranberry syrup and freshness of the mint.

Plus, these colors are the absolute best.

recipe from: http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2011/11/cranberry-mojitos/

1. Water temperature
“The temperature of your water is hugely important. Using boiling water on green tea will burn the leaves, ruining the taste of your cup. I use slightly cooler water for Japanese steamed green teas than I do with Chinese pan-fired green teas.  But using boiling water on Black Tea is a must!  Black tea is best steeped with boiling water and the pot should be pre-warmed!

A quick way to determine the proper water temperature for your tea (without using a thermometer), is to bring the kettle of water to a full boil and let it sit for a few minutes before using. Also, standard tea practice stipulates that hot water must be poured over the tea, never tea into water.”

2. Steep time
“Over steeping your teas can leave them bitter, and you lose the delicate flavor of the leaves. You could use a tea timer, but proper steeping time is approximately four to seven minutes depending on the type of tea.”

3. Re-infuse
“Looking to get as much out of your tea as possible? Try re-infusing your tea leaves! Some teas, like green teas and oolongs, can be re-steeped several times and produce a different flavor profile after each infusion.”

4. Always be sure to give your tea enough room to infuse
“As water seeps into the tea leaves, they expand into the cup. For maximum flavor, you’ll want an infuser that gives them enough room to grow.”

5. Break the rules
I encourage tea drinkers to go by their own rules as well. There is no right way to drink tea –  Experiment add vodka, berries, toasted walnuts  agava nectar’s, milk and infused honeys.  Explore and have fun!

London Fog
Serves 2

3 spoonfuls of Earl Grey
1 cup hot water
1 cup milk, steamed or warmed in a saucepan
2 tablespoons agave
2 ounces Irish cream liqueur

Instructions: Steep tea and strain. Stir in agave, liqueur, and hot milk. Add more agave to taste.

Spiked Chai Cider
Serves 4

4 cups apple cider
3 spoonfuls of chai tea
4 ounces of your favorite whisky

Instructions: Pour apple cider into a small saucepan. Put tea in a tea ball, or spoon into a tea filter and tie the top off so the leaves can’t escape. Simmer tea in cider for about 10 minutes. To serve, pour 1 cup spiced cider over 1 oz whisky and stir. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Here is sipping a cup of tea to each of you, Kim (your friendly, tea drinking, soap goddess)

What organ is the last to receive nutrients in the body, yet the first to shows signs of imbalance or deficiency
ANSWER: THE SKIN!

A Simplistic Approach to Healthier Skin

The practice of dry skin brushing may be old news to those who practice the daily routine, but with all the skin care products and hypes out there, I thought it important to re-introduce a process that is not only a great way to maintain healthy skin, but also helps you to maintain a healthy body. The ability of the skin to excrete toxins is of paramount importance to you.

Dry skin brushing is one of the healthier self-help methods available to us today. Stimulation of the skin sets in motion natural healing pathways within your body. Additionally, it encourages nerve beds within its structure that in turn increases normal healing processes throughout the body.

There are several automatic systems contained by the body including healing processes. Your heart beats by design—you breathe automatically—and your body’s “automatic healing process”, is another. It is set in motion when your body generates an itching response to the required areas. You will obviously scratch that area, and in turn, the area turns red with a fresh blood supply and the natural healing process has now been set in motion. This is the same healing process that will follow a skin brushing session.

Your skin is the primary sign of an internally toxic body. As soon as your internal body becomes toxic, it will spread out into your skin causing your skin to become irritated and itchy. There are numerous ports of elimination of the skin including your mouth, face, and arm pits, the inside of your upper thigh region, feet, and toe nails. Did you know that body odor is also an additional indicator of toxic build-up and is eradicated through the same channels. Let’s not forget your tongue, which builds up a plaque and is yet another gauge of toxins in the body.

Our skin is permeable or porous, and can absorb toxins directly from the environment. According to Jacqueline Krohn, MD, “Caustic chemicals, such as alkaline solutions, can also penetrate the skin. Once a chemical has penetrated the stratum corneum (the most superficial layer of the skin), it moves through the epidermis and into the dermis. Skin brushing will enhance your health significantly. You may wonder how this is accomplished using, “skin brushing”. It is a fact that the skin is one of the optimal ways to getting to the endocrine system and all the glands it reaches very quickly. In addition, at the same time, it triggers them to react successfully. The instantaneous result from a brushing session is a feeling of increased physical well being.

The Benefits Of Dry Skin Brushing

• • Dry skin brushing helps to shed dead skin cells, which can help improve skin texture and cell renewal.

• • Dry skin brushing increases circulation to skin, encouraging your body’s discharge of metabolic wastes, which greatly aids the lymphatic drainage of the entire body. When the body rids itself of toxins, it is able to run more efficiently in all areas.

• • Dry skin brushing also helps to tighten the skin because it increases the flow of blood. Increasing the circulation to the skin can also help lessen the appearance of cellulite.

• • Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymph canals to drain toxic mucoid matter into the colon, thereby purifying the entire system. This enables the lymph to perform its house-cleaning duties by keeping the blood and other vital tissues detoxified. After several days of dry brushing, you may notice the gelatinous mucoid material in your stools.

• • Dry skin brushing helps with muscle tone and more even distribution of fat deposits.

• • Dry skin brushing also rejuvenates the nervous system by stimulating nerve endings in the skin.

• • Dry skin brushing helps your skin to absorb nutrients by eliminating clogged pores. Healthy, breathing skin contributes to overall body health.

• • Individuals who sit at a computer screen all day long will particularly take pleasure in the benefits of skin brushing. People who have inactive lifestyles or jobs usually experience stiff and sore necks and shoulders that reach even into their arms and down their spines and into their lower backs. Increased blood flow begins entering the areas brushed and you will experience an increase in electromagnetic energy that permits you to feel energized and invigorated.

• • LADIES—Cellulite is toxic. Cellulite is toxic materials that are accumulated in your body’s fat cells as they are unable to be eliminated. So, rather than liposuction surgery, how about utilizing the “dry skin brushing” techniques coupled with an alkaline diet program and a great exercising routine. It will break down the unwelcome toxic body deposits and send them scurrying out of your body through the elimination channels we discussed above.

How to Get Started With Your Skin Brushing Regimen

1.Purchase a natural, NOT a synthetic, bristle brush. (vegetable bristle)2. Purchase a brush with a long handle, so that you are able to reach all areas of your body. Best-case scenario would be one that had a removable head with a strap for your hand. 3. Skin brushing should be performed once a day, preferably first thing in the morning. If you are feeling ill, please do it twice a day until you feel better. 4. Skin brushing should be performed prior to your bath or shower and your body dry and naked. 5. Begin brushing your skin in long sweeping strokes starting from the bottom of your feet upwards, and from the hands towards the shoulders, and on the torso in an upward direction. Always brush towards the heart. Try and brush several times in each area, over-lapping as you go. 6. Avoid sensitive areas and anywhere the skin is broken.

7. After brushing your skin, rinse off in the shower. Paavo Airola, author of Swedish Beauty Secrets, recommends alternating temperatures in the shower from hot to cold. This will further invigorate the skin and stimulate blood circulation, bring more blood to the outer layers of the skin.

8. After getting out of the shower, dry off vigorously and massage your skin with Midnight Oil Massage Oil, Body Butter, salve or Lotions

9. Don’t forget to clean your skin brush using Midnight Oil soap and water once a week. After rinsing, dry your skin brush in an open, sunny spot to prevent mildew.

10. For a thorough lymphatic cleansing, perform skin brushing daily for a minimum of three months.

Caution: Do not brush on or over skin rashes, wounds, cuts, infections, poison oak or poison ivy.

Note: Any well designed program will take about 30 days to see and experience the changes. Please be patient and keep up the program!

I love the way I feel after dry brushing and you will too!

Sudsily yours, Kim (your friendly soap goddess)

• MIDNIGHT OIL SOAP (M.O.): add moisture back to your skin as you bath.  DO NOT USE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS, they contain detergents that can remove protective, essential oils.
• M.O. Soaps are olive oil based with the added benefit of Goat Milk making the soaps the same pH as your skin. This allows your skin to not be striped of it’s natural pH.

• Don’t take extra-hot showers. As much as you want the comfort of that heat when it’s chilly, there’s less moisture in the air during winter and hot showers can further dehydrate your skin.  Make showers as tepid as you can tolerate.

• Don’t assume that drinking water or replacing fluids internally is enough to keep your skin healthy during cold weather.

• BODY BUTTER from M. O.: Replenish skins moisture with these easily absorbed, skin loving butters that are high in fatty acids, vitamins and nourishment for all types of skin, perfect for extra dry skin. Apply to every part of your body and enjoy soft, silky smooth skin! I love this lotion and highly recommend it.
• BODY BUTTER FOR HAIR???? Yes, take a handful of M.O. Body Butter and massage it into your hair, and cover hair with plastic wrap  and let it sit for 15 to 60 minutes. A great natural conditioner for the hair in winter.

• HEALING HERBAL SALVE: If you’ve got the driest of dry skin, the best defense for that is a couple of days this salve. Use sparingly, a little goes a long way!  Perfect for dry, cracking skin when lotion just isn’t doing the job.

• Wearing slightly loose cotton gloves to bed after applying a sealant will speed the healing process for hurting hands and nails.

• Drinking fluid is important but moisture from the extra fluids can evaporate if not trapped by the epidermis, the skin’s outer layer. Moisturizing is so important this time of year because it protects the outer layer from winter’s wrath while retaining natural moisture from within. Try M.O. Body Butter it will keep your skin supple and healthy!

• Remember that certain beverages are dehydrating, such as those containing alcohol or caffeine, so consume them in moderation.

• M.O. REJUVENATION SCRUB: is perfect for winter use it is a gentle exfoilent in a light, rich lotion base.

• Humidify the air in your home, especially in your bedroom so that healing and repair can take place while you sleep.

• CUTICLE REPAIR: Don’t ignore nails. They’re made of the same basic compounds as the skin and crack and split in similar fashion, I don’t think people realize that when nails split it’s 90 percent from lack of proper moisture. CUTICLE REPAIR IS FULL OF vitamins and oils that strengthen and moisturize the nails and cuticles.
• Take a  vitamin B supplement can improve skin, hair and nails, especially during winter.

By using Midnight Oil Products your skin will be healthier, softer and happier!  Enjoy!!

Sudisly yours, Kim

Do you remember sneaking a kiss under the mistletoe?  How Pagan of you…LOL

Mistletoe has a long history of being a very magical, mysterious and sacred plant in European folklore. It was used in pagan weddings for fertility and blessings.  Mistletoe in the language of herbs, signifies overcoming difficulties—and so perhaps explains the tradition of stealing kisses from anyone caught standing beneath it.  It is also know for fertility and good fortune.

Many of our traditions stem from humanities colorful spiritual past.   I find this intriguing and so very fascinating, how we continue to do the same traditions only rename them to go along with the current popular religion.  A new name but the meaning is the same .

Did you know that bringing greenery inside was originally a druid tradition?  Druids would bring greenery such as mistletoe, holly, and ivy into the home at this time of year, to welcome wandering nature spirits seeking shelter from the cold and dark.

As Christianity became the more popular religion, the people renamed their traditions and called the greenery  “holy boughs” and decorated their entryways with boughs interlocked with figures of Jesus and the holy family during the holiday season.  The “holy boughs” hung were a symbol of goodwill and welcome toward visitors.

After a period of unpopularity, thanks to the Puritans, Victorians brought the holy bough back from obscurity with a new look, and a new name “THE KISSING BALL”.  A symbol of welcome, good fortune and happy home.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• Apple (moisture in apple keeps her fresh longer)
• Pruning shears
• Needle nose pliers
• Lg paperclip opened
• 2′ high cardboard box or something to hang apple on while decorating.
• herbs, mistletoe, pine boughs, any herb goes (use symbolic herbs and flowers to create a ball perfect for your needs)
• ribbon, jinglebells ect………..
• florist wire
• spray bottle with water

1. Cut florist wire and insert in the top of apple, push through to the top of apple until it comes out the bottom, then take the same wire and run it through to the top of the apple.  You should have two wire coming out of the top of apple.
2. Hang on the inside of the box so you can decorate.
3. Use the opened paperclip to poke a hole in the apple and then insert greenery and flowers.  Make sure to get some Holly with red berries!
4. spray greenery with water as you decorate to keep herbs fresh.
5. After the ball is completed attach a ribbon using the wire as an anchor.  Cut remaining wire and hide wire.
6. Hang in door way or where ever you want and mist occasionally.  Especially if your house is dry.
7. Last about 2 weeks.

LIST OF HERB AND MEANINGS BELOW using the herbs below expresses the desire for a happy home life in the year to come.

Herbs that stay evergreen are particularly nice. Try bay, bayberry,  winter savory, ‘Berggarten’ sage, variegated sages and thymes, silver dollar eucalyptus, holly, pine, balsam fir, and English, French, and Spanish lavenders.

sage for domestic virtues, long life, and good health;

rosemary for loyalty and fidelity;

lemon geranium for gentility;

boxwood for constancy in love and stoicism in the face of whatever cannot be changed;

oregano & thyme for happy activities, courage, and thrift;

lavender for devotion, loyalty, luck, acknowledgment,and protection negative energy.

hyssop for homely virtues and cleanliness and protection from unwanted spirits.

SEND ME PICTURES OF YOUR CREATIONS AND JUST HAVE SOME FUN!!

Sudsily yours, Kim (your friendly soap goddess)

source: Mistotoe it’s history, January 2010 Herbal companion magazine.

Are herbs strong enough to counter or stop flu & colds? Yes, yes they are.  As consumers we spend hundreds of dollars a year on over the counter cold remedies. So why not create your own medicine from what you can find at the grocery store or what is in your spice drawer?

Did you know that we are surrounded by the cold virus all year around?  People think that they will “catch a cold” if they are exposed to someone who has a cold.  But the truth is if you have a healthy immune system then you will not get sick, even if you are exposed to the virus.  When your immune system is low the chances of you “catching a cold” increase.

Cold and flu are viruses not bacteria and that makes them more difficult to treat. Viruses are more active and harder to kill then bacteria.  I have found that making your own herbal remedies will work better then buying a bottle of capsules from the pharmacy.  Most herbalist will tell you that capsules are ineffective and will encourage you to to make teas, tinctures, honeys!

The symptoms of a cold, coughing, aching and sneezing are signs that your immune system is working hard to fight off the virus.  These systems help your body get rid of the virus. This article will help you naturally ease cold systems, prevent illness or stop it in it’s tracks.  But remember it is very important to keep your immune system in tip top shape. .  SO READY?  LET HAVE SOME FUN!

Let talk about that funny shaped root, Ginger (Zingiber Officianale) that everyone has seen at the grocery store.  This is a powerful herb that you can use in cooking, eating it fresh, in teas and many more things……….I am not going to overwhelm anyone with a million recipes and tincture ect…but will focus on just a few ways to use it when you feel like you are getting sick.

GINGER (Zingiber officinale) possesses strong antibacterial activity against several food bourse pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella, it is the choice herb for treating colds and flus, it reduces and eliminates diarrhea, relieves pain, stimulates immune activity, reduces inflammation, has clinical uses for burns, and has been found effective in the treatment of cataracts, heart disease, migraines, stroke, bursitis, fatigue, coughs, fever, kidney stones, sciatica, tendonitis, viral infections, indigestion, and dizziness.

Fever: In the beginning stages of a fever when you feel cold and are shivering, a strong ginger tea is a great way to help your body warm up. In herbalism we call this a stimulating diaphoretic.

Congestion: Ginger keeps mucous flowing and can break up thick congested mucous in the sinuses and lungs. We call this a stimulating expectorant.

Sore Throat: Ginger is antimicrobial and pain relieving. Taken as a tea or as an infused honey it soothes painful sore throats.

Coughs: Ginger candy helps relieve coughing fits at night.

This is a tea I make when I feel systems coming on.  LET ME TELL YOU IT WORKS!!!

GINGER, LEMON, HONEY TEA

• 3 cups of water~ bring to boil
• 1 Ginger root ~cut up into pieces or grate
• after water comes to a boil turn it to simmer
• add ginger root and simmer 15 minute
• pinch oregano (optional)
• pinch sage (optional)
• 1/2 juice of lemon
• 2 TBS of honey  or to taste

HONEY: “Just a spoon full of honey helps the medicine go down”  For this tea we are using honey for it’s immune enhancing qualities including the fact that it fights bacteria and viruses.  Always use local honey.  See Blog on “Making Herbal Honeys”.  Learn how to infuse your honey with herbs, yum!!  I always use my rose petal and beebalm infused honey in this tea.  Both helping with sore throat, coughs and general well being.

LEMON: high in vitamin C and contains antioxidants, natural compounds that help protect us from the harmful effects of free radicals. They cause cell damage and can impair your immune system.  Lemon just lifts the spirit and when added to this tea makes it so delicious it doesn’t taste like medicine at all.  Of course there is a lot more to lemon and how it can help you but this is a great start .

Oregano: It adds a great flavor and is antimicrobial, antiviral…….

Sage: Is wonderful for fighting flu and colds, helping with sore throat.  I add just a pinch and it adds a wonderful homey flavor.

I usually make a larger amount and refrigerate, so I can sip on it during the day, adding lemon and honey after I have warmed the tea.

Let me give you a testimony: Last night we had come home from a full weekend of kids, stress, eating out, and I could feel a cold brewing.  I went to bed and my head was getting stuffy and I could feel a full blown cold manifesting.  So I went to the kitchen brewed the above tea and while it was steeping I ate 2 cloves of garlic, slightly sauteed in butter spread over whole wheat toast.  We discussed the immune enhancing properties of garlic in Part 1.  I went back to bed and never woke up with a stuffy nose or discomfort.  This morning I feel perfectly healthy.  YEAH GINGER AND GARLIC!!!

GINGER CANDY can bring welcome relief for colds and the flu or even motion sickness but is also a sweet and spicy treat.

To make ginger candy you’ll need…

• A pound of fresh ginger
• About a pound of sugar
• Water
• Saucepan
• Kitchen scale (very helpful)
• Wax Paper

Gentle peel the thin layer of skin off the root. Now thinly slice root.

Put the sliced roots in boiling water and boil 30-40 minutes until they become translucent.

Drain off water and save 1/4 cup of the tea.  You can drink the rest of the tea but it is very strong.

Use equal parts sugar to ginger.  Weigh your cooked ginger and if you have 8 oz ginger then you would use 8oz sugar.

Place the ginger, 1/4 cup ginger tea, and sugar into sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium heat and continue stirring for 20 minutes.  The liquid will decrease and the mixture will look dry.

Place on wax paper to cool.

Important: continue stirring or there is a possibility that mixer will scotch.

GINGER GARLIC COUGH SYRUP:

This is a great syrup for those stubborn coughs, bronchitis and pneumonia.  Once again we include garlic in our mixture!!

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 honey

1/4 cup water

1tsp grated fresh ginger

2 cloves of chopped garlic

Mix together and you can use right away and after a week strain it.  Then keep in the refrigerator for a couple months.  Don’t forget to label things!!!

MIDNIGHT OIL’S “GOT PAIN?” WITH ARNICA AND GINGER.

MO offers a full line of products to help with achy muscles and discomfort.  You can use the lotion to rub into skin or the salve as a decongestant and pain reliever, due to the high level of menthol it really great decongestant.  Plus the Got Pain Massage Oil is great for a bath!

You can cook with ginger too.  But this article could go on forever if I kept going.  Please send me recipes of ginger in cooking and I will post them giving you credit.  Send pictures too!

Source: Herb mentor, with John Gallahger, Susan Weed and many other herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar Family Herbal and several sites on line as well as my own personal experience.

Three years ago enters Abby a darling little lab-mix puppy.  As she grew into a HUGE BEAST, we fondly started calling her “Beasty”.  Many of you have heard me talk about my walks with Beasty, that is our Abby dog.  For the last 2 years she has kept all those critters out of the yard and has saved a many a chicken live.  She guards the house from stranger danger as well as any four legged danger.   We love her for that!

Last night Abby met with a skunk.  We came home from a concert, dressed nicely and were greeted by the smell of skunk spray dripping off Abby.  She was crying and of course we all were gagging. What to do??  Then I remembered that I had saved an article from the Mother Earth News about an excellent remedy for removing skunk smell.  My brother had tried the fabled tomato juice and he said it did not work.  So I gave this recipe a try and IT WORKS!!  The smell is gone instantly!

THE RECIPE THAT WORKS!!

1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide. (I just used the bottle on the shelf)

1/4 pd baking soda ( I just dumped some in and made a thick paste and then added a little water)

large squirt of Pamolive dish soap (just because)

Use an old wash clothe and swirl around in mixer and then wash fur and face.  Abby stood there and was glad to get clean.  I had two very large tubs of warm water that I rinced her with and then dried her with a towel.  The smell was gone instently!  Make sure to rinse the fur well.  A good final rinse would be in a light vinegar water.  Vinegar cuts removes any soap residue left.

Blessings, Kim (your friendly soap goddess)

This time of year I see FLU SHOT signs everywhere. Did you know that this years flu vaccines are made from last years flu virus? Flu viruses adapt very quickly, and one can never be sure that a flu shot is really going to help.   If you’ve gotten one you realize that they are not that affective due to the serum is only a guess of which flu is going to strike.  You can still get a strain of flu that the shot didn’t cover.  So why not try some herbal remedies?  They are safe and you don’t need to be rich or have health care to get the benefits!  Anyone can make them and it is empowering to heal yourself and family as the sick season is upon us.

EAT MORE GARLIC

One of the best immune-system helpers is garlic. Garlic has been used for thousands of years.  It was used to fight the plague in the middle ages.  Recently they are finding it is very affective fighting MRSA (staph infection). Garlic is antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antiparasitic, antifungal and immune-stimulating.  Garlic itself is an amazing cold remedy.  Garlic also helps normalize cholesterol, thins blood and is great for the heart.  Dr. James Duke says it contains at least 17 different factors that nourish and support powerful immune system functioning.

When the cloves are bruised or crushed, garlic produces a byproduct compound called allicin. This compound is mainly responsible for its antibiotic activity.

It is best to use raw if you have an infection but if you don’t like fresh raw garlic, powdered garlic is just as good. The dose is 1 or more cloves of raw garlic per day, or up to a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat raw garlic:

• Top scrambled eggs with minced raw garlic.
• Put chopped raw garlic on pasta and cover with tomato sauce.
• Try minced raw garlic on a piece of hot buttered toast. Delicious!
• Add minced raw garlic to your baked potato.
• Mix chopped raw garlic and olive oil with hot cooked greens like kale or spinach.

• Lynn Peterson (a friend of mine) told me her favorite way is to rub olive oil on several peeled cloves and then wrap in til foil. Roast in the oven for about an hour, makes a really tasty garlic spread on bread!

GARLIC OIL

5 cloves of garlic cover with olive oil.  Let it sit as least 4 hours.  Keep in the refrigerator.  Last a couple weeks.

• Warm oil and massage into feet before bed for coughs and colds  Put on socks and go to bed.   Great for ache and cough and stuffy heads.  It really works and your breath will smell like garlic in the morning.

EAT NOURISHING SOUPS

Raw food weakens and stress the immune system.  It is best to simmer herbs and vegetables for a long time together.  This extracts minerals that increase the immunity of the body.  Of course add garlic.  Here is a recipe from Susan Weed, wise woman herbals.

To make an immune strengthening soup:

• Chop at least half an onion per person and saute in olive oil until translucent..
• Add at least two cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped, per person and saute for a minute.
• Add two or more cups of water or vegetable broth per person.
• Add one cup per person of chopped seasonal vegetables such as: carrots, cabbage, celery, corn, burdock, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips.

If using canned soups try adding these ingredients to the soup.

• Add one small handful of seaweed per person.
• Add one ounce fresh, or one-half ounce dried mushrooms — any kind — per person.
• Add one-quarter ounce dried tonic roots per person.
• Add generous amounts of antioxidant seasoning herbs and some sea salt.
• Bring to a boil; simmer for an hour.
• Turn off fire and let your soup mellow in a cool place overnight.
• Serve it the next day, heated up, with freshly-baked bread and organic raw milk cheese.

SEAWEED: build powerful immunity. Kombu and wakame are excellent in soups. Cut them small; they swell to 5-7 times their dried size when cooked.

All mushrooms strengthen the immune system. Dried shitake are available and inexpensive at Chinese grocery stores. Reishii, maitake, and other medicinal mushrooms are delicious, as are the more common button mushrooms, portobellos, and dried porcinni.

FLU BUSTING VINEGAR

• One bulb of garlic (entire bulb)
• 2 Jalapeno peppers
• Ginger 1 piece
• Organic apple cider vinegar

Chop ingredients and place in mason jar.  Cover with vinegar and use a plastic lid if you don’t have a plastic lid, use a piece of wax paper between the metal ring and jar.  This safe the ring from corrosion.  Let it sit for 6 weeks, shaking daily. You will need to top it off the first couple of days.  After 6 weeks strain and keep vinegar in jar.

It’s great for colds, flu, sore throats, and achy bones.  This combination may be a little strong so you can dilute in water, add to dressing or other foods.

Take a tablespoon every hour while you have the flu. You could even take it once a day when you don’t have the flu for prevention.

• JALAPENO: antioxidant and stimulates the immune system
• GINGER: great for sore throats, congestion, foggy head, headaches, muscle cramps, menstrual cramps.  Ginger harmonizes the energy in the head.
• VINEGAR: itself has a long history of use as a healing elixir. Being both antibiotic ans antiseptic in helps neutralize toxin in the body.

WHEN TO PLANT GARLIC:

Plant garlic in the any month that ends in OBER.  I just planted my Oct 9!

May your fall and winter be blessed with health, Kim (friendly soap goddess)

This was sent to me in an email and I was so moved I wanted to pass it along to all MO friends.  Sudisly yours, Kim