Supernatural Botanicals

Want your holiday table to look like you hired a celeb party planner?  Steal this idea… cranberry ice!  It’s super-simple to make, and looks gorgeous in an ice bucket, or under a heaping load of shrimp cocktail.

Simply fill a cake pan (silicone is the easiest) with a couple handfuls of cranberries.  Next, fill with water just enough to cover the cranberries.  Freeze.  When the ice is solid, crack the ice into large pieces (bang on countertop) and place the ice shards over a bottle of wine or champagne in a bucket, or on a large tray and load it down with cocktail shrimp and sauce.  Add a few sprigs of greenery (use some pieces from the back of your Christmas tree if you have a live tree) to set the look off.

Simple + gorgeous.  Love that!

With the surge of catalogs and Christmas cards we all receive in December, be mindful to recycle.  Be especially cognizant of your landfill contributions this month by recycling all magazines and catalogs, recycling envelopes from the Christmas cards, and ultimately recycling the cards after Christmas.  If the card is especially beautiful, buy a great frame, put the card in it,  and put it on a bookshelf, desk, or entry table.  That’s recycling too, you know.  Have a Green Christmas this year!

Fun Fact:  The coldest spot in your refrigerator is on the bottom shelf, in the back.  It’s the perfect place to keep your drinks to keep them the coldest (and also to avoid having delicate fruits and veggies from getting icy.)

A morning bath can make you feel revitalized. Use a stimulating essential oil such as rosemary or grapefruit. 

Don’t stay in the tub too long, as an ultra-long bath strains your circulation and hot water dissolves your skin’s natural lipids. There is a definite correlation between bath temperatures, duration of soak and the mood your bath leaves you in.

REFRESHING
77 degrees F to 86 degrees F – Duration 10 minutes

RELAXING
98 degrees F to 102 degrees F – Duration 15-20 minutes

THERAPEUTIC
102 degrees F to 104 degrees F – Duration 10-30 minutes. To treat a cold or induce sweating.

Farmers Markets Flowers are a staple in my house every summer.  Farmers Markets have more than fruits and vegetables, they are also known for their gorgeous flowers (usually sold on the cheap).  In fact, for a well-rounded Farmers Market experience, you should leave with your hands full of fruits, veggies, herbs, breads, soaps, and, of course, gorgeous flowers.

Once you’ve had homemade salsa, you’ll never go back to vinegar-tinged jarred salsa again.  This salsa recipe mimics that of Mexican restaurants in that it’s made with fresh ingredients and, of course, made without vinegar.  It’s super impressive to whip up some salsa on the fly for when friends or family stops by.  I make mine in a food processor, but you can also use a blender.  Tweak it to your liking, add more peppers.  This recipe makes a medium-hot salsa. 

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Ingredients: 

Huge handful of fresh cilantro.

1 clove of garlic.

3 small jalapenos. 

1 small onion. 

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Ingredients: 

2 14 oz cans of whole tomatoes.

2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles.

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Dice onion

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Slice jalapenos long ways

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Then dice jalapenos, seeds and all to give it a nice kick

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Dice 1 clove of garlic

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Combine canned tomatoes, onion, jalapenos and garlic in the food processor. 

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Add a teaspoon (or so) of sugar

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Add a teaspoon of ground cumin to give it a good “Mexican” flavor.  Then pulse the food processor about 4-6 times, depending on how chunky you like it.  Keep pulsing if you like your salsa a thinner consistency. 

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Here’s where it all comes together.  Cilantro.  Use a lot of it.  It gives it a good garden taste.  I use a huge handful, and then pulse for 4 more pulses. 

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And there you have homemade salsa.  I blend mine to a medium consistency.  Serve with chips, with tacos, steaks, etc.  Great to have in the fridge all week long to accompany your dinners, and exceptionally good for a low-calorie snack. 

Delicious herbs from our Supernatural Garden.   Fresh chives, Rosemary, Dill and peppers.  They are so easy to grow, and there is always an abundance of fresh herbs from the garden.  Not only are they fab for adding kick to your meals, but there are multiple at home spa recipes you can try to even use more of your herbs.  Brilliant!

So it’s May here in Cincinnati, otherwise known as zone 6, and everything in my garden and yard is starting to bloom.  It’s such a beautiful time of the year when plants are such a beautiful spring-green.  The rain has been good this season, thus far.  Here’s what’s happening in my yard.  Having luck in your yard this year? 

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Cilantro.  This gorgeous cilantro has taken root and is spreading quickly.  Good thing, because I’ll need at least a cup of this cilantro this evening for a homemade salsa I’m making.  It makes salsa and Pico de Gallo come to life with freshness.

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Parsley.  I haven’t had a chance to plant this outside yet as I’ve only had it a few days, but it looks great sitting in my kitchen windowsill.  I’d let it grow there all season, but I want it to expand.  I’m going to need a lot more than this to make Italian dishes all summer long. 

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Annabelle Hydrangeas.  These will definitely be the sweetheart of my yard when they are in bloom.  They produce enormous white flowers that are between 8-12″ wide!  They also produce lots of flowers.  Perfect if you like having vases of flowers around your house (like I do.)

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Backyard.  The perfect place to be.  I love it here.  I don’t like that all the grass is worn off under the tire swing, but you try keeping 17 neighbor kids out of your yard.  I surrendered.  They have fun, so what’s a little rough spot in your lawn at the end of the day?  There are bigger fish to fry than that.

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Flowering Cherry Blossom Tree.  I planted this about a month ago.  It accepted its chosen location very well, but I am concerned about some of the leaves…note the top right leaf has tiny holes in it, which appears to be from pests.  I will spray it with organic pest killer this weekend. 

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Dwarf Anjou Pear Tree.  Another freshly planted tree, about a month into the ground.  I cannot wait for fresh fruit! 

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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree.   Planted about a month ago, it’s doing a great job of getting rooted in place.  The fruit trees will be treated organically, of course.

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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree.  Up until about four days ago, I thought this tree was dead.  It has been in the ground for over a month without even a sign of life.  Luckily, I waited before I decided to pull it out of the ground.  Four days ago, I noticed these little stubs.  It’s a beautiful thing!

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Inside of composter.  Okay, brace yourself on this one.  This is the inside of my composter.  You’ll find things like a huge tree root system, coffee grounds, celery, salad, leaves, etc.  This will take almost a year to break down and turn into soil.  But think of the organic material I’ll have for next year, and all the garbage I’ll be saving from the landfills. 

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Earth Machine Composter.  This is the what the composter looks like, tucked back into the corner of my yard.  It blends right in behind a pine tree.  Best of all, I’m helping save the Earth.  Love that!

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Bartlett Pear Tree.   It won’t produce fruit this year, but when it does…yum!  Nothing like eating fruit right from the tree when it’s still warm from the sun.

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Rows of  lettuces.  This is new this year, a raised vegetable bed.  These were all planted this past Saturday from seed, and I took these pictures on Thursday evening.  Less than seven days, and they are sprouting already. 

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Raised vegetable bed.  I’m so excited to add this bed to my yard this year.  Because my yard is filled with bunnies and squirrels, growing veggies on the ground in the traditional method is pure hassle.  A raised bed is a great way to keep out pests , to assure your soil is completely organic, and it spares your back when bending over when gardening.  I have rows of designer lettuces, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes in this bed.

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Stargazer lilies.  These were planted as bulbs, and have been in the ground for about five weeks now.  These will produce sensational Stargazer lilies throughout the summer.  Perfect for cutting and putting in vases around the house.  Gorgeous in bouquets.   Each stem will produce at least a half dozen huge flowers. 

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Rosemary.  Rosemary just screams “put me on some roasted potatoes!”  This herb will spread out and become a wonderful addition to my Mediterranean meals I make this summer.

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Garden Salsa Peppers.  The first peppers are emerging from the baby flower pods.  Last year my garden salsa pepper plant produced tons of peppers.  If they keep on producing abundantly, I have no problems making salsa every weekend!  Bring it!

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Dill.  Okay, so she’s not prettiest girl at the dance.  Dill is not a very attractive herb.  It grows eratically and in awkward shapes.  But, there’s nothing like fresh dill.  It’s superb in dips, in salads, on seafood, and on my infamous cucumber sandwiches.  Delicious when you mix it with lettuces in your salad.

Fresh from my garden five minutes ago.  They smell so amazing.  My entire kitchen smells of their succulent fragrance.  Gorgeous!

Not only is fruit good for you, it’s good on you.  Fruit is an incredible multi-tasker in that its purely nutritious and it’s beneficial to your skin when topically applied.  Try a fresh fruit peel for your face and body.  A simple kitchen basting brush (either silicone or with very soft bristles) can be used to “paint” your body in the shower to exfoliate and moisturize every inch of your skin.  Pineapple and papaya contain natural enzymes and alpha-hydroxy acids that remove dead skin cells while the honey moisturizes the skin.  At home spa treatments are closer than you think.

• Gentle Fruit Peel

• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup fresh papaya
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Puree fruit together then add the honey and mix into a smooth paste
• Apply to skin and let dry for approximately 5-10 minutes, rinse clean