Licorice Root & Hibiscus Tea (Another Cold Remedy)

The last few weeks have been rather eventful.

First and foremost, I married the love of my life. We had a huge elaborate wedding planned, but it started to get out of control. One day, we looked at each other and said “why are we doing this to ourselves?” And with that we decided to elope. In the blink of an eye, we were in a chapel in Las Vegas and became husband and wife. It was absolutely perfect. But I’ll save that for another post.

So with all the wedding planning, eloping and everything else, I never really got to tell you about my new venture. When I have more time, I will do just that. Because right now, unfortunately, I’m sick as a heck. The cold started a few days after we got back from Las Vegas, and about 4 other friends/family also became sick. I’m not sure if it was the smoking in the casino, the drinking, the lack of sleep, something else or all of the above, but as of right now, I’ve lost my voice and can’t eat.

I’ve been drinking a tea for the last few days along with taking some OTC meds. Really, I’d prefer not to take store bought meds, but nothing knocks you out at night like Nyquil. FYI, I will apologize now for the pictures. I can’t find my camera so I’ve been taking pics with my cell phone. And now then…The tea I’ve been taking is a mixture of:

-Licorice Root: This herb has been used for centuries to treat coughs and sore throats. It’s very soothing and calming on the throat and it also works as a phlegm expectorant. Licorice can be used for a variety of ailments, from internally to externally, so do your research to see if it’s something you want to try. Licorice is not intended for long term use, but for coughs and colds, it’s not too bad. You can chew the root or make it a tea like I do.

-Hibiscus: Full of vitamin c and great at decreasing inflammation, hibiscus is a tart and tasty herb you’ll want to keep in stock. Unlike licorice, you drink hibiscus tea long term. I’ve also read it’s really great for colds, but I suspect it’s because of it’s high concentration of vitamin c.

-Honey: I’ve said it many times, honey tastes great! Also, it’s very soothing on a sore throat, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial.

Something to note about hibiscus and licorice root is that they are both mildy diuretic. You will find that you use the bathroom more than usual when drinking this tea. Also, if you have some elderberry on hand, you could add this to the brew as well. Generally I would, but I’m not feeling flu-ish yet. Mainly just tons of congestion and major sore throat.

I prepare my teas the same way I make tinctures. I let them simmer down until I’m left with half the water I started with. With any types of root herbs, I’ve found that I get better concentration of the herb when I let it simmer a good long while. Also, I follow the Chinese tradition of using the herbs in 3-4 rounds of teas. Meaning, when I drink up my first batch, I use the same herbs again in a new batch. But, I only use the herbs the same day, I don’t carry them over to the next day.

I realize these look like ordinary branch twigs. But that’s just an illusion as these are herbal wonders.

Recipe:

1. Break 1-2 twigs in smaller pieces in a pot. Add 1-2 teaspons of hibiscus. Add 4 cups of water.

2. Bring all 3 ingredients to a boil.

3. When the mixture is boiling, turn down to a simmer. Simmer until about half the water is gone. For me, this is about 20-30 minutes. You can really drink your tea any time, but let it simmer awhile.

Whats left of the herbs after they’ve been simmered for about 30 minutes.

4. Once you get the tea the concentration you like, strain and pour into a mug. This is where I add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of honey.

This is my brew after it’s boiled down half way. It’s a rich purple color and is about as thick as rich red wine.

5. Drink and enjoy.

The lower you let the water boil out, the thicker the tea will be. You can’t go wrong with any amount of tea you end up with, so don’t feel like you have to boil it as long as I do.

Bottoms up!

Hello Again!

Hi gang.

I’m finally back in the swing of things, home from Canada and back at work making soaps and other things.

What are those other things you ask?

Well, more on that to come…*muahahahahaaa!*

Life in the Fast Lane

Hi everyone!

I realize I haven’t posted in awhile and wanted to send out a quick update. I’m working on some new things for the business and it’s been keeping me super busy. Because of it, unfortunately, soap and other luscious things are on hold. This also means no holiday festivals this year. When the new unveiling comes, hopefully you’ll all love the changes as much as I do already.

Until then, I’ll be posting off and on with my usual randomness. Soap, moisturizers, even some travel may get thrown in. Thanks to everyone who’s kept up with me and kept me sane over the last month.

 

Misadventures in Soap Making Part 2

Lately I’ve been on a glycerin soap kick. I’ve been having a lot of fun playing with the different ingredients I can use to make glycerin soap do more than just clean. So when I got an email to participate in a soap swap, I was all excited about what I could make with the ingredients I had in my stash.

I came up with a triple layer loaf that would be exfoliating and antibacterial. I decided I would use oatmeal, rosehip seed powder and honey powder. Oatmeal and rosehip seed powder are very gentle exfoliators and honey is highly antibacterial. I also added a little olive oil and camellia oil to make the bars more moisturizing. I could not wait to see how these were going to turn out.

My first layer was a mix of oatmeal, white glycerin soap base, olive oil and fragrance oil. As I melted the soap, I used a coffee bean grinder to pulverize the oatmeal. Once the soap was melted, I added in the olive oil, oatmeal and fragrance oil. This layer poured nice and easy.

Looks cool huh?

The second layer was the honey layer. As I melted the honey glycerin soap base, I measured out the amount of honey powder I wanted to use. As soon as the soap was melted, I dumped the honey powder in. And then it happened.

Maaaaaaaaaaan. It got all clumpy.

Um yeah. I had to fix this and fast. The soap was starting to harden up and if it did, there was no way I’d be able to get all the clumps out. I grabbed a slotted spoon and started digging the clumps out as fast as possible. And luckily I did get them all. I think the mistake I made here was to not dilute the powder in oil first. Had I done that, the powder would have easily dispersed into the soap. I think it would have anyway. Since I had honey granules in the stash, I decided to use those instead. Honey granules are a lot more substantial than the powder, so by swapping these in, I was able to save the layer.

The final layer was the rosehip seed layer. Rosehips are a gorgeous dark brick red color. Between the lighter oatmeal and honey layers, I knew this would be the perfect offset. In addition to the rosehips, this layer was made with clear glycerin soap base, camellia oil and fragrance oil. As I melted the soap base, I added the camellia oil to the rosehip seed powder. I was not about to have another “ai-yah” moment. Luckily for me, this layer worked as planned with no problems.

And here is the finished loaf, cooling down and waiting to be cut.

Since I added so much extra material to the soap base, I decided to let it harden up overnight before I cut into it. But when I did cut it up the next day…

Dude…so not cool.

My bar broke in half between the layers. I was able to save some of the bars by “gluing” them back together. The “glue” is actually more glycerin soap melted and poured lightly in between the two things you want to glue back together. I’m not sure why my layers seperated other than maybe the temperatures weren’t right when I poured the layers. I’m pretty sure my friend Rose of Sugarloaf Soaps can tell me what I did wrong, but for now, I was happy that only 3 of the bars had issues. The rest were looking good.

When I tested the bars, they came out exactly as I wanted. Light scrubbing action with super clean and soft hands. Luckily for me, this didn’t turn out too bad after all.

When Life Hands You Apples…

My lemon tree is covered with aphids. My orange tree is still a baby. But my neighbor’s apple tree is putting out like a champ.

For the last week or so, the tree has been dumping in the backyard and the side of our house.

This has been going on every fall since we moved in and it really makes a big mess. My neighbor never offers to clean it up or to prune the tree back. Since the person didn’t want to do anything about it, I decided that I would. And here is my solution.

A trip to OSH and $21.99 later, I’ve got a nice little pile of apples to eat. In fact, I think we’re having pork chops with fried apples for dinner tonight. A few more picking sessions and the picker will have paid for itself. Pesticide free, non sprayed apples.

Mmmmmmmmm…That’s what I’m talking about!

So friends, the moral of this story is not to get mad when you have a lazy neighbor. The moral is to enjoy the hell out of the apples they are too lazy to take care of themselves.

Who’s That Peepin’ Through My Window?

This just cracks me up. I wonder if homeboy is hoping I’ll throw him some scraps.

Whether it’s the apple tree (more on that later) or a cat(s), everything of our neighbor’s seems to find it’s way into our yard.

 

Hand Mixed Tea Blend for Gifts

Fernando asked me to start making more tea in an effort to decrease all the juice and other sugary filled drinks that we normally consume. Having a room full of herbs to pick from, I was more than happy to oblige. As I filled a jar full of things I love to drink, I realized how pretty it looked and how nice it would be to receive something like this as a gift.

And here it is all mixed up.

And here it is freshly poured in my cast iron.

I let the whole mix brew for about 10 minutes and then I let it sit in the pot another 20. Why, I don’t know. I think I was being lazy. After all that laziness, I strained it and then let it cool in the fridge. The mix was a beautiful purple color, tart, fruity and flowery at the same time. And the smell? Heavenly!

Look at that pretty purple color.

If you’re interested in making this blend as a gift , the cost is very affordable. For this blend, the cost of all the herbs was about $32. For that price, you get a lot of material to work with. I purchase the majority of my herbs from San Francisco Herb Co. They have a store on the outskirts of the Mission in S.F. and I like to see what I’m buying. Here is a breakdown of the tea blend costs and sizes if you were to buy them from SFHC.

Herb	Cost	Oz
Orange Peel (California cut)	$      4.50	16
Hibiscus (whole flowers)	$      7.55	16
Chamomile Flowers	$      6.90	16
Elder Berries	$      5.85	16
Peppermint Leaf (8 oz)	$      2.30	8
Rose Petals (red with buds)	$      4.45	16
Total	$    31.55	88

If you filled mason jar with 8 ounces, you’d get 11 jars for $3.94. I usually buy The Republic of Tea and Tazo teas anywhere from $6 – $15 and on average they are only 1 ounce to 3 ounces full. Not only that, who knows how old the tea is? When you make your own blends, you control the ingredients and the quality.

Can you tell I’m an advocate of making your own teas here?

You can take it even a step further, and get sealable tea bags and fill them yourself.  It would not be as pretty as loose tea in a jar, but would make it less messy for whomever you give the gift too.

At Home Facial Pt. 3

The last step to my el cheapo at home facial series is steaming.

These are my favorite herbs to steam my face with. The mix includes roses, jasmine, calendula and lavender. Their benefits are:

a. Roses not only smell amazing, but they are a major skin rejuvenator.

b. Jasmine has calming qualities when taken internally as well as used externally. It’s believed that jasmine also helps with relief to skin afflictions.

c. Calendula is full of anti oxidants and is used in many anti-aging creams.

e. Lavender is antiseptic but also is good for healing skin irritations.

Steaming your skin is insanely easy.

1. Grab a pot and fill it with water.

2. Dump the herbs in and bring to a boil. I used a heaping tablespoon of each. You can eyeball how much you want to use.

3. Go wash your face so there is nothing between you and the steam.

4. Check on the pot. Once the herbs and water start boiling and steam is rising, turn off the stove and put the pot on a trivet or something that will protect the counter or table where you will be steaming.

4. Put your face over the steam and using a towel, cover your head like a tent.

5. Wait 5 minutes. Take breaks if you need to. Done.

I love steaming because it opens up your pores and all the good herbal essences from the herbs get in them bad boys and clean house. The best part is that you don’t really need to use herbs, but it’s nice to have some because you get extra benefits from steaming. I mean, you could have just stood in the shower and absorbed the steam too right?

So check out my el cheapo 3 step at home facial. I noticed a significant difference once I started doing this regiment weekly after about 2 weeks, but you may have different results.

Quilting Bees and Me

When I was a little girl, my grandmother presented me with a quilt she had made. I always used it, and later on, when my cousin was little, my aunt (my mom’s sister) began using my quilt for her. My dad wanted me to get my quilt back, because his mother had made it for me, and he wanted it to stay with me and my siblings. I did ask for it back, but I felt terrible. The quilt was on my cousin’s bed and she used it, just like I had.

Now that I’m older, I understand why my dad wanted the quilt back. But more importantly, as I look back at the situation, I understand something much more deeply than my dad’s request. My quilt was special, not only because my grandmother made it for me with love. It was even more special because someone else I love, in this case my aunt, realized how special this quilt was, and wanted her daughter to feel the same love and happiness I felt when I saw my quilt. Needless to say, I still feel bad about asking for the quilt back.

As I thought about it, I decided to learn how to quilt myself. So, this weekend I’m hanging out with a bunch of more experienced quilters who will hopefully help me along the way. I’ll be taking a lot of pictures, so keep checking back.

Here is the material I’ve chosen for my first bed sized quilt. I already have someone in mind for this quilt, and that person may have figured out this is for them based on the colors.

Here is a close up of the fabric I’ve chosen to focus on. I found it at a quilting fabric store in Paso Robles when visiting Miss Kathryn. Isn’t it gorgeous?

These will be the complimentary colors on the front of the quilt along with the focus fabric. Because the focus is so vibrant, I thought soft, muted colors would compliment the reds and pinks really well.

For the back, I decided to go ultra bright. I love this color and the person this quilt is going to (as long as it comes out okay) wears this color a lot.

Have you figured out yet who this quilt is going to? *wink*

I want to be able to give those I love a special gift that they know comes from the heart, just like my grandmother gave me. And, if I’m lucky, someone will decide to hand down my quilt to someone else they love.

Love and lots of fabric,

Camille

At Home Facial Pt. 2

Last year I posted my el cheapo (but all natural) microderm recipe with baking soda. Now I’m going to post my 2nd el cheapo at home facial recipe.

This one involves:

(Ignore the baking soda. I was also doing my el cheapo microderm.)

First, mash up one or two strawberries.

Add a tablespoon of plain yogurt and mix together.

 

Slather on your face and leave on for about 10 or 15 minutes. It gets a little sloppy, so just pull your hair back and lay on a pillow. Rinse the mask off gently with cool water and pat your face dry.

Strawberries are full of anti-oxidants, vitamin C and salicylic acid. Plain yogurt is full of lactic acid which helps slough off dead skin and tighten the remaining skin underneath. Also, I’ve been told the acids in both strawberries and yogurt help diminish age spots, brown spots, etc. My brown spots are still here sadly, but they do seem to be getting lighter and smaller.

While going to the spa and getting a full facial is a real treat, these at home remedies aren’t too shabby either. Plus I love that they are all natural and you know exactly what’s going on your skin.

Coming up, I’ll show you part 3 of my el cheapo at home facial steps.

Oh, and guess what another huge benefit is for making this strawberry mask?

That’s right, strawberry shortcake! And you know I made some as soon as I was done with my facial mask.

Love, strawberry shortcake and tighter pores,

Camille