Carrot Cookies

Andon and I tried a recipe for carrot cookies the other day. They are very good more like little cakes then cookies but delicious. So I wanted to post the recipe. I made a few changes from = the original recipe in order to use what I had in the house.

Carrot Cookies
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Orange Juice
1 Egg
1.5 - 2 cups grated Carrots
2 2/3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

Cream the Butter and Sugar. Add Egg and Orange Juice. Combine Flour, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg. Add the flour mixture and the carrots alternately to the butter mixture. Mix to form dough. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 or 12-14 minutes.

I have found that a batch of almost any cookies is to much for our family at once. Instead of baking all of the cookies I scoop out the dough to make cookies but I then freeze the scoops. Once they are frozen I place them in a container which I keep in the freezer. When ever we want cookies I just heat up the oven and pull out the frozen cookies.

Carrots

I have found that carrots grow like crazy here. Right now we have an abundance of them so I have been looking for ways to use them. I have developed a recipe for carrot bread which Andon and I made today while Brylynn took a nap (in her swing of course). I also found a recipe for what we call Carrot Butter Andon liked it and it made a good snack. I might try adding some cinnamon to it next time.

Carrot Bread
Mix together
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together then add to the flour mixture
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir in
2 cups carrots

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes


Carrot Butter
1/2 cup pureed carrots
3 tablespoons cottage cheese
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 teaspoons smooth peanut butter
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve on crackers or bread.

Gardening

With all my free time this past week I have gotten a lot done. My garden has been top on my list of to dos. So far I have planted squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, corn, beans, celery, and onions. I also already have broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, and carrots growing.
Yesterday I was overjoyed to find artichoke plants at Home Depot. I am so very excited because I love artichokes but I can never find them grown organically at the store. Although it has been my experience that artichokes take a couple of years to produce good fruit I can not wait. The only thing I have yet to plant that I would really like is asparagus.
We are also thinking of adding some berry plants to our yard. I would love to have blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries. I have to do some research and planing but hopefully I can get some going soon.
We also have a lemon, peach, and apricot tree in the backyard. It is so much fun to grow our own fruit and veggies. Andon loves to pull up carrots and pick peaches.

On a side note anyone interested in cilantro please let me know. I love to cook with it but it grows so quickly that most of it goes to waste. If you ever want any just let me know.

All is ready for Brylynn's arrival on Friday. I promise to have pictures up as soon as I can. I do not think Andon has any clue what is about to happen but I know he will be a great big brother. He is having a wonderful time in CA visiting all his family out there. He especially loves his Auntie Em I think he would leave me for her in a heartbeat. Oh well at least I know he is well loved and happy.

Natural Living Review of 2007

I can not believe it is already February. I wanted to sit down and think about my progress of moving to living more natural. What have I accomplished and what do I want to work toward this year.

Changes in 2007

1. Began an organic garden
2. Started a compost pile which has created some great soil for this years garden
3. Stopped using Chem Lawn and began Soils Alive an all natural alternative. Now I feel safe having Andon run and play in our grass.
4. Began cloth diapers with Andon. I have not bought disposables since April and I will not buy them at all with Brylynn.
5. Began buying organic cotton pajamas instead of conventional cotton for Andon. I hope to buy mostly eco friendly fabrics for Brylynn.
6. Stopped using chemical filled baby products on Andon
7. Switched all of my cleaning products. We now use Seventh Generation laundry soap and dishwasher detergent. For all other cleaning we use vinegar, backing soda, and water solutions.
8. Switched my beauty products. I use my own recipes for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face scrub, toothpaste, lotion, and lip balm. I use Everyday Minerals for my makeup.
9. Switched from using disposable sponges to washable dish cloths
10. I buy everything I can organic with as few ingredients as possible. I make cookies or other sweets to save money and control the ingredients.
11. I look at ingredient labels and do not buy products with ingredients I can not pronounce or do not know what it is.
12. Switched our cats to natural food with no chemicals or preservatives
13. Bought my own shopping bags for the grocery store
14. Bought reusable sandwich wraps for picnics or eating away from home
15. Stopped using Ziploc bags for storing food or anything else
16. Recycling everything we can instead of throwing it out
17. Started my own business using organic cotton yarn


Goals for 2008

1. Order natural nail polish. So I can paint my nails again.
2. Use less paper towels and more washable towels instead
3. Find a way to stop buying bottled water. I hate the taste of our tap water.
4. Get reusable non plastic water bottles for the family
5. Buy non plastic storage containers for leftovers
6. Change the cats litter to something better for the environment
7. Buy more organic cotton and eco friendly fiber clothes, towels, etc and less conventional materials
8. Work on a plan to produce more veggies from our garden and store them using my new food saver.


I also would love to help others begin a more natural life. Even if it is only one or two things you can make a big difference in your life and the environment. So if you have any questions on living more natural I would be glad to help you out.

I am sure there are other things I am forgetting about if you can think of anything else I have or could change let me know.

New Beauty Recipes

Conditioner, Shampoo, Body Wash, Face Scrub, and Toothpaste

I make my products about once a month and sometimes I make a few changes. I have developed recipes which I really like right now. It took quite a while to develop a shampoo I like but I finally found it. I discovered aloe as a moisturizer and it also works great for shaving and hair gel to lay down those little fly away hairs. Any way here are my latest recipes.


Face Scrub

2 TBS Almond oil
½ tsp Lavender
½ tsp Tea Tree oil
½ cup Baking Soda
1 TBS Vitamin E
3 TBS Castile Soap

Mix all ingredients except castile soap. Add the castile soap last.

Body Wash

1/3 cup Castile Soap
1/3 cup Almond Oil
¾ cup Baking Soda
3 TBS Aloe Gel

Mix the oil and baking soda first then add the castile soap and aloe. Shake bottle before each use.

Shampoo

½ cup Castile Soap
½ cup Water
2 TBS Baking Soda
2 TBS Aloe Gel

Mix all ingredients. Shake bottle before each use.

For conditioner a pour a little apple cider vinegar on my hair and the rinse it out.

Toothpaste

½ cup Baking Soda
4TBS Hot Water
20 drops of essential oil for flavoring (peppermint, cinnamon)

Mix all ingredients and then place into a squeeze bottle. If the mixture becomes dry then add a small amount of water and mix.

Garden

Our garden is growing well. I hope next year to have a better plan so we have vegetables ready to pick all the time. It all takes planning and this year I just planted stuff for fun with out much thought. I am finding though that I do not have enough room for all I want to grow and I am thinking I need more garden space. In fact I think I need a whole backyard makeover especially when it comes to our patio. I was hopping to get some work done in my yard while my sister was here but so far it has been very rainy.

Natural and not so Natural

On the natural end of things I have started using apple cider vinegar as a conditioner. It works well and makes my hair softer then using nothing after shampooing. So now I have my whole beauty product line. In the morning I use my face scrub, shampoo, apple cider vinegar conditioner, and body wash. When I shave I use my body wash. After showering I use my lotion on my face and under my arm pits then I put on my everyday minerals makeup. After that I spray some apple cider vinegar on my arm pits and then brush on some of the powdered deodorant. I then use my toothpaste. At the end of the day I wash my face with a bar of castile soap and use my lotion on my face. Everything is going well and I feel so much better knowing I am not using chemicals.

Although it is not natural Emily and I got tattoos on Monday. I have always wanted one and she did too so we decided to get matching tattoos. We spent a lot of time trying to decide but we settled on two purple pink flowers. We both got them on our hips mine is on my back and Emily’s is on her front.