Soft Serve Ice Cream

People in my family keep coming up with allergies to one thing or another.  One of the latest is lactose intolerance.  Here's a recipe that satisfies the pickiest ice cream eater and also has no milk!

Milk-free Chocolate Soft Serve Ice Cream

Toss the ingredients into a high powered blender, blend, and serve.  Makes 2 servings of soft, smooth soft serve.

One banana broken into pieces and frozen
1/2 avocado
1 cup coconut milk
2 pitted dates

Chinese Chicken Ginger Soup

 

Had some fun with my iMovie today on my iPhone.  Totally made the video above and uploaded it to YouTube on my iPhone!  Amazing day overall.  One of my daughters was under the weather so I made her some of our favorite "cure-all" soup.  It's great for people with upset tummies because of the rice (easy to digest) and the ginger (soothing to the digestive system).  It's also great because it's chicken soup (age-old soothing food for a cold).  It takes about an hour to make and freezes well.  I freeze it in my soup bowls, then transfer the frozen soup to gallon freezer bags, label, then pull out the soup as needed.  Makes a great lunch to take to work!  I got this recipe (given in a conversation, now written recipe) from a friend of mine who is Chinese.  She brought this soup to me at work one day when I was sick and it was magical.  She told me how to make it and this is my version of the soup.  If anyone has the name in Chinese, I'd love for you to share.  

Basic recipe for Chicken Ginger soup

(remember you choose what is best to put in for each batch so it's different every time, but always FABULOUS)

Saute in oil (your choice):

1/2 (or more) finely chopped onion

1-3 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed)

Add and bring to simmering:

about a gallon of liquid (I use home made chicken broth whenever I can, but will substitute or add purchased broth as needed)

Add and simmer for 45-is minutes until the rice has flowered (I show this in the video)

3/4 cup rice (I like Jasmine rice)

Add to the rice/broth mixture:

1-4 cups chopped vegetables of your choice (such as carrots, mushrooms, green onions, summer squash, spinach, Chinese cabbage, pea pods, you get the picture - more for a thicker soup, less for a thinner soup)

Add at the end:

1-2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (or 1-2 drops ginger essential oil, making sure you are using a product that is safe to eat.  https://sites.google.com/site/goodforlife1/home

DIY Eye Make-up Remover

I use a re-purposed bottle to store my DIY make up remover.  I usually don't have the big paper stuck on the front but out of respect for the manufacturer (who makes terrific products and made the eye make up remover product that was originally in the bottle), I covered the label.  

I just put the ingredients into the bottle and shake before using (because the oil and water separate when it sits).  You can use any of your favorite carrier oils for the 2 Tablespoons oil (apricot, jojoba, almond, fractionated coconut oil, etc.).

This mixture works great and I know exactly what I'm putting on my face.  I don't use any essential oils in this product because I often wash my face after removing make up.  I save using essential oils for products that I will leave on my skin so I can soak in their goodness and enjoy the delicious aroma!  Check me out at https://sites.google.com/site/goodforlife1/home

Dance Like No One Is Watching!

One day you will know that things in your past are to be treasured.  Enjoy each day as it comes to you (I'm third from the right end) and dance like no one is watching!

DIY Fabulous Hair Products!

I keep working toward including more natural, simple products in my home.  I like to cook, so it is just natural that I would start concocting fun stuff for personal care.  Here is what I've been doing for my hair.  Pictured at left is a hair mask that I whipped up in the kitchen. I created a recipe page that is a "live" Google Doc.  If you visit this doc from time to time, you may find new additions to the recipes as I discover new ideas!  Feel free to share your ideas with me!  I am also a small business owner and you can support my by purchasing products from my web page (link is included on the recipe page).

Click here to view the recipes and complete directions

Happy Birthday Bear

This sweet, softly stuffed little bear was a birthday present in response to my granddaughter's request.   She loves the story Corduroy by Donn Freeman (an American classic).  I decided to make a little girl bear for her.  Click here for the pattern that I found online.  I decided to make her a little dress.  I created the little dress for her and included the pattern to download if you'd like to make it too.  I included some basic instructions with the pattern.  The bear pattern says that it's "easy" but I wouldn't venture this little bear unless you have some sewing experience.  I used 35 mm plastic joints and only stuffed her with poly fill.  I also sewed a wind up music box into the back of the bear (my "grandma trademark" for stuffed animals).

Basil Magic!

Basil grows fast and furious during hot weather so in Arizona, I get a lot of basil.  I hang it to dry (looks nice on the kitchen wall), I eat it like lettuce, wrap it around slices of cheese, make pizza, pesto, and whatever else takes basil and still have leftovers. Below, you can see one of 3 pickings that I brought in from my herb garden over the last several days.

Want to know how I keep my basil fresh? Click here for a printable "how to" with pictures.