How To Kill Ants

I'd like to apologize for the little break that Lizzie and I have taken lately! Life's been kicking us both around, but we've both been cooking and homemaking like little hummingbirds, so we're back to share it with you again.

I wanted to come back with a recipe, and there are many in the offing, but today I wanted to share a quick tip with you.

Our house is apparently built on top of Ant Manhattan. Every summer, we have to be very careful about keeping everything edible in tightly-sealed jars, because the first time you leave anything out, suddenly there's an ant superhighway leading across the house to it. They're just tiny black ants, not offensive in small numbers, but when they come in droves to gather cat food, it gets a bit gross.

The thing is that we didn't want to put out poisons because of the risk to our cats; we didn't want sprays or ugly traps around, so we needed a natural, nontoxic way to get rid of the ants. Acting on a tip from an acquaintance, I bought a box of Cream of Wheat.

Yep, I said Cream of Wheat! The same tasty porridge you loved as a little kid. Ants love it too. They love it so much that only one day after I put down 1/4 cup of it in a pile, the pile is almost gone. They take it back to the colony and share it around with all their friends and family. And then it puffs up inside them and kills them.

It won't hurt your pets (unless you have a free-range ant farm), it won't hurt you, it doesn't stink... it has no nasty side effects whatsoever. But whenever I've sprinkled it in an area where ants congregate, the ants have disappeared overnight.

So if summer has brought in an invasion of the only nonhuman creature known to engage in agriculture and organized warfare, fight back with the product of our own agriculture. Cream of Wheat, man. It'll do the trick!

It Works!!

I just have to give a big endorsement of Lizzie's recipe for baking soda shampoo. Sure, it's cheap and it's all-natural, but why not just use regular shampoo?

Aside from avoiding phthalates, it turns out there's an even better reason. This stuff cures dandruff better than any expensive high-tech dandruff shampoo on the market!

For some reason, most of the guys I know suffer from dandruff issues, and my husband's were getting bad. Head & Shoulders didn't fix it, and he only got moderate results from a very pricey bottle of KMS. He had to use the dandruff shampoo every single day to avoid that festive Christmas-flocking effect.

Then a few days ago, he ran out of shampoo and didn't have time to go out to buy more, so he whipped up some of the baking soda shampoo and vinegar conditioner from Lizzie's blog post. (See, men can read and enjoy our blog too!) Lo and behold, his hair is glossier, silkier, less oily, and there is not one hint of dandruff. We haven't seen any in days!

So, I'm a convert, and I hope y'all don't mind the double post. I just had to share these awesome results and encourage the world to give this a try. Don't you just love it when the best solution also turns out to be the cheapest one?

How To Get Dressed In Seconds

One of my favorite things about spring is the return of Salad Season!

During the summer, I pretty much live on salad. It's good for breakfast, it's good for lunch, it's good for dinner, and it's good for just a random snack. If you grow your own salad greens and veggies, it's even better, but you don't have to. Just make sure you're going to a farmers' market or a good produce stand for the good stuff; plastic-wrapped iceberg lettuce really has no place on anyone's table.

Salads don't have to include lettuce at all, of course. It's great if they do, but you can be creative. In the summer, I make salads out of nothing but tomatoes piled high, sometimes sprinkled with crumbled cheese, and of course tossed with dressing. Tonight I'm making a sunchoke salad (think potato salad with more flavor), and last summer I made a fabulous salad out of grilled vegetables (which included eggplant, potatoes, onions, and turnips, if I remember right).

The real secrets to a good salad are the dressing - we'll get to that in a minute - and, most importantly, variety. Salads are satisfying when they combine lots of different flavors and textures into one huge sensory experience. The one in the picture, which was our lunch the other day, was made of a mix of young spring greens topped with sliced artichoke hearts, diced avocado, carrot shreds, raw kohlrabi, leftover BBQ chicken, and sunflower seeds. Think about all the nutrition in such a meal! So many vitamins, good fats, proteins, and everything else the body needs. It kept us full for hours, much longer than you'd think "just a salad" would.

But now for the dressing, which is crucial. Most of the time when you go to a restaurant, they'll serve you a perfectly healthy salad and then drown it in a dressing which is actually worse for you than anything else you could order. For example, here's how a salad at Wendy's weighs in:

1/2 Pound Double Cheeseburger - 750 calories, 42 g fat, 1520 mg sodium
Chicken BLT Salad - 790 calories, 53 grams fat, 1670 mg sodium

That's right, almost all the day's fat intake and most of your calories (and way more sodium than you need) in a damn SALAD! Some of that is in the processed chicken they use, but almost all of it is in the dressing, and bottled dressing from the grocery store is not much better. So make your own. (It's a lot cheaper that way too!)

Salad dressing, contrary to popular opinion, is super-easy to make yourself. All you need to remember is two parts oil to one part acid (which can be vinegar or acidic fruit juice). Play with different oils and different vinegars, and add whatever spices you like (paprika and cumin are delicious with balsamic and olive oil, for example). Here's my most common, foolproof standby dressing - it goes really well on just about everything, from green salad in the spring to tomato salad in the summer to hot potato salad in the fall and winter.

10-SECOND LEMON-DIJON VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 Tbsp lemon juice (see note!)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Few drops of hot sauce, optional

Note: If you made the Preserved Meyer Lemons I posted about two weeks ago, use the juice from that and don't add any more salt to the dressing. You can even chop up one of the lemon wedges very fine and stir that in for extra zing!

Add all the ingredients together right there in the measuring cup and whisk them together with a fork for ten seconds. Pour into a pretty little serving container if you want, and serve. If you're keeping this on hand to use a little at a time, just store it in a jar and shake it up before using, or give it another whisk with the fork.

Easy-peasy!

Tight-Arse Tuesdays - Healthy Nutritious Eating is NOT EXPENSIVE.

Dear Readers,

This is more of a shout out and a rant than actual advice, but I know it's been getting to both Kimberly and myself these days. I will also include a few tips for those who know all this.

Food is not expensive. Food is not hard to make. A good meal is not a dream. I have no idea where Western Society got this bizarre idea that only the rich can afford to eat well. Are farmers rich? Do they eat well? Now, for the rich: do you ever see a rich man cook his own organic food or is he rushing from meeting to meeting sipping overpriced Starbucks? Exactly my point.

From poor to rich, from time-rich to time-tight; everyone can eat healthy. Correct, some people simply don't have time for drives to the country to get the food right off the farm. However, health is not just in the country-side. Good food is not far away.

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Tips to save money on food:

Don't eat out. Find a nice fancy recipe to try at home. Sure, at first the ingredients will cost more, but they'll last forever. And in the end, that meal will still be cheaper than if you ate out at a nice restaurant plus you'll have leftovers!

Organic food, by nature, is metabolized more proficiently by the body. Thus, you need less of it. Organic seems scary and expensive? You only need half if not less to get the same nutrients out of fresh organic food - however you still need calories - so you can fill up on more cheap carbohydrates like potatoes and brown rice. Delicious. Inexpensive.

Food can be grown at home and in not much space. There's a whole organization dedicated to growing food in a square foot. Heck, those Aerogardens are taking off nicely. All they are is a hydro setup, which can be inexpensive if purchased at an actual hydroponic shop instead of off a pretty jingley commercial. Insert marijuana joke here.

Bulk is always good but not always the best. Only buy bulk of what you will eat. I know that sounds obvious, but I'm a hoarder and I've stocked up on bulk cans of beets before. I hate beets. I especially hate canned beets. Now the charity hates beets. Staple bulks: beans (I personally use barlotti the most), chickpeas, brown rice, oats, sugar and flour.

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Someone told me they couldn't find organic food because they lived in a city. I found that confounding! I live in the farm rural areas and I have a MUCH harder time finding healthy and organic than I ever did living in the city. The city is a cluster of all kinds of shops within walking distance. Country? Notsomuch. Granted, it's a few days older than farm-fresh food - but it's definitely there. Look around, ask around.

Another person told me they simply did not have enough time. Sure, I don't have children - but I have two jobs, go to university and spend a day a week helping charities - and I cook every meal except one a week, which my husband does as a gift to me.

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Tips to save time on cooking:

The minute you bring home the groceries, chop and bag them. I find when I do this, not only do I eat the vegetables more often (because, hey, they're already cut, I might as well use them) but I have tons of time doing it all at once instead of before each meal. Once you get a good groove going, it's pretty quick.

Using the above tip I also make bags of mixed vegetables with ginger and garlic grated in and freeze them. Instant stir-fry in a pinch.

Every meal I make, I make extra and freeze it. Currently it's going to the fact I'll be away for ten days later this month and I don't trust my husband to cook for himself, but other than that it goes to my husband's lunches or spare dinners/desserts when I'm exhausted.

Crockpots: proof Gd loves us. It's an amazing delicious meal that you spent maybe ten minutes on, that cooked itself and used the CHEAPEST cuts of meat. Because that's what you do with crappy tough meat - you throw it in this thing and it comes out tasting jucier and flakier than any expensive filet mignon. And it cooks while you work!

Mini-Crockpots: I realized one day that I could put steel-cut oats and fruit into a small two-bowl crockpot before bed and I'd wake up to a high-calorie carbo-filled breakfast that would pretty much fuel me until lunch time, where my previous night's dinner had already made my meal! I'm currently playing with the idea of putting dough in there to make muffins as I sleep - so far it's better in theory.

Baking: Like crockpots, only quicker! Cut, toss, throw in, help the kids with homework, eat. Baked chicken takes five minutes to prepare. Shove a lemon up it's butt and thyme under it's skin and throw it in the oven. Want to speed up even THAT time? Boil the lemon first. Not only will it explode inside the chicken, self-basting it, but it will also start the cooking process from the inside as well - cutting your time by at least 15 minutes. I've cooked three whole chickens in a half hour this way before.

Use your weekends intelligently: You have a few minutes to watch TV and unwind? Before you do, quickly start some dough. Ten minutes, promise. Watch your show to rise and then par-bake the loaves of bread. Freeze and take out during the week when you want bread. Finish the baking process and - voila! Fresh homemade bread, during the week! Do the same with pizza dough then you always have fresh pizza bases on hand! Slap some jarred sauce on it, fresh veggies and some cheese and you have a fresh homemade pizza in minutes - up to 6 times a week! My husband tells me my pizzas are better than any shop including those pricey snobby ones.
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You can eat healthy and happy at home even short on time and money. C'mon, I'm currently planning and paying for a wedding* on TOP of my two jobs and school and I still find time for all of that - and writing this blog up as the smell of fresh curry wafts into my house from that crockpot. Enough to feed 12 and it cost me ten bucks. So I know you can do it!




*I call him my husband even though he's not yet, for the confused.

Tips For Lips

I have never been a particularly fashionable woman. In high school, I was the one in Daria glasses and camoflauge pants, who the popular girls sniggered at because I never wore anything that was currently in style. I do not read fashion magazines, and I cannot stand shopping malls. So don't look at me to tell you what's fashionable or stylish.

I will, however, tell you what never goes out of style, and red lipstick is at the top of that list.

Magazines tell us that red lips come and go, occasionally displaced by "nude" or pink. But they're wrong. Red lips are ALWAYS in, and no one will agree with me more emphatically than your average male. Every woman can wear red lips - if you think you can't, you just haven't found the right shade yet - and they make all the difference between "cute" and "goddess."

We all giggle at period films from the 70's and 80's because of the goofy makeup and hair. But when was the last time you heard anyone snicker at Rita Hayworth?

Here are my Ten Tips For Lips, if you aren't accustomed to rocking the vintage glam...

1. Choose a red shade that goes with your skin tone and hair. This makes all the difference between Marilyn Monroe and Ronald McDonald. Dab the sample on your wrist and see how it looks with your skin tone - typically, yellow-based skin tones (which most people have) go well with brown- or orange-based reds, and pinker skin tones go with a blue-based red. Ask the nice ladies at the makeup counter to help you find a red for you. They might even throw in a free makeover.

2. Different reds suit different occasions. A "true" or neutral red is good for daytime, while a deeper "fire engine" red makes for a sexy evening look.

3. Don't overwhelm your face with too much makeup. Red lipstick stands on its own! All you need on your eyes is a little eyeliner and mascara. If you're getting extra dolled-up, go with neutral brown tones on your eyes and a slim black eyeliner on the upper lid only. This is a very classic 1940's look that, again, suits just about everyone.

4. As with a house, a solid foundation is crucial. You don't want your red lips to play up red tones in your skin. Start with a good clear foundation, apply concealer where necessary, and then powder on top of that. This gives you the nice even-complexion look which makes the right canvas for bold lips.

5. If you have a problem with your lipstick bleeding or feathering into the little lines around your lips, apply foundation to your bare lips and then line with a good pencil before you apply your lipstick. It helps to hold your lipstick in place.

6. Try not to line with red liner - very few people can pull this off. I make my lips look a bit more full by lining with white liner in the upper "dip" part, then using a deep pink liner just outside the center of my lower lip. (I don't fill in my lips with liner as I cannot seem to do this evenly, but feel free to try it if you want to.) Then, after my lipstick, I apply a dab of clear or purple-pink gloss to the center of my lower lip and give a smack. This creates a full, wet, very appealing mouth.

7. To keep from getting lipstick all over your teeth: After you've applied your lipstick and gloss, stick your finger in your mouth with your lips on it, as though you'd dipped your finger in cake batter for a taste. Slide your finger out and it'll grab the excess lipstick off your inner lips so that it won't decorate your pretty white teeth.

8. Straws are your friend! Don't drink anything without a straw or you will WRECK your lipstick. A straw makes it much easier to keep that foxy look in place.

9. If you find your lipstick fading out in the center and collecting at the edges, do it in layers. Put on your lipstick, blot it off with toilet paper, then apply it again. The first application will leave a stain and also absorb excess moisture so the second application won't slide.

10. Speaking of moisture... I'm a big advocate of moisturizers and your lips are no exception! Drink plenty of water throughout the day, apply lip balm whenever you don't have lipstick on, and never lick your lips. Find a good lip balm and apply it first thing in the morning, giving it a few minutes to soak in before you put your lipstick on. Cracked and peeling lips never look good, no matter the color! So keep 'em soft!

I personally believe that every woman can be beautiful if she looks like she cares enough to be. This is how the legendary screen stars - some of whom, if you can envision them without makeup, were not actually that exceptional - became the goddesses we know today. So if you find yourself keeping up with modern fashions and still not feeling like a starlet, just remember that modern fashion is mostly designed by men who like boys and get in touch with a more classic womanly look. It might not be trendy, but it's timeless.

And by the way, that's me of the Daria glasses and camos in the pic.

The Spa In Your Kitchen

So your skin is blotchy, dry in patches and oily in others, looks ten years older than you are, and is just generally in need of restoration. You can go pay half a paycheck for a salon facial, or you can whip up this mask in the comfort of your own home, without even getting out of your pajamas.

Even though I'm good about moisturizing every day and taking care of my skin, I'm 30 years old and getting to the point where my face needs a boost every so often. Besides, I like to take a Beauty Day for myself every once in awhile. Sunday was one of those for me, and so I threw together a face mask...

1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp organic yogurt
1 egg white

That is it, ladies, no mas, finite. Whisk it up in a bowl with a fork until it's all evenly blended and that's your fancy-ass spa facial. Try to use raw honey and a free-range, organically grown egg. Save the yolk - you'll use it momentarily!

Hold a hot damp towel over your face to steam it for a minute, then dry it with a fresh towel and use your fingers to apply the face mask as thickly as you can, covering your face and under your chin. If you have a little more than you need, apply it to your neck and decolletage. Let it stay there for 20-30 minutes, or until it feels very dry and tight all over.

Meanwhile if you want to treat your hair too, take that egg yolk and whisk it with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil or olive oil. Apply that to the ends of your dry hair (ends only! no roots!) and comb through your ends with your fingers so that it gets evenly distributed. Let that sit for a bit as your face does - I like to spend this time soaking in a bubble bath with a good book.

When that face mask gets so tight you can't stand it anymore, now's when you wash it off very gently with warm clean water. Use an exfoliating scrub too, if you like. Shave, if you do, and massage your whole body neck to toes with coconut oil or olive oil to keep it soft and supple. Now wash and condition your hair as usual, but before you get out of the shower, dilute a little white vinegar with an equal amount of warm water. Pour that over your head for a rinse that will leave your hair super-shiny - don't worry, it won't make you smell like vinegar, I promise!

Now step out of the tub, apply your favorite facial moisturizer, and fix yourself up. Relax and enjoy feeling extra pretty!

Farm-Fresh Friday: Raw Milk

Now that spring is here, 'tis the season for sweet fresh milk - straight from the cow (or goat), unprocessed, just as nature intended it!

If you're horrified by the idea of unpasteurized milk, let me point out the difference between farm and factory. In a factory farm, dairy cows are crammed into a modified feedlot, fed on a diet rich in corn. Ruminants like cows did not evolve to eat grain, so while the corn does boost their milk production, it also makes them vulnerable to the diseases that fester in the filthy conditions. The corn in their diet is rounded out with cheap non-food fillers, which not only abuses the cows but also makes the milk taste nasty. (This is why no one pours a glass of milk to drink anymore.) On a good farm, on the other hand, a manageable number of cows will live on grass (or hay in winter), soaking up the sunshine and clean fresh air that keeps them healthy.

Science has discovered that two weeks of a grass diet completely eliminates E. coli from a sick cow's digestive tract. Yep, all of it. No further processing needed on the E. coli front. But of course it's better if they don't get sick in the first place.

Pasteurization, therefore, is necessary in a factory system where the milk is diseased, infectious, and full of nastiness you really don't want to read about over breakfast. This is why mandatory pasteurization almost immediately followed the birth of the modern corn-based feedlot. It is not so necessary with farm-fresh milk. What's worse, pasteurization destroys vital nutrients and robs the milk of almost all of its health benefits.

Remember when every other kid didn't have asthma or lethal allergies? I know, those days seem more and more like ancient history, writ with every kindergartener's EpiPen. But it appears as though raw milk boosts the immune system better than anything out there, preventing or even curing allergies, asthma, and other immune disorders. It has other benefits too - you can read about them here.*

If you're lactose intolerant and think you can't drink milk, surprise! Raw milk has an enzyme built into it, called lactase, which helps to break down lactose; this enzyme is replicated in the Lactaid product you get at the store. Pasteurization destroys milk's natural lactase, but it's there in raw milk and it will do the work of breaking down lactose so you can digest it easily. Many people who are intolerant to pasteurized milk can drink raw milk without a problem.

"But I don't like milk," you say. If I may say so, you haven't had milk until you've had it raw. The flavor is so much sweeter; it tastes like rich, creamy sunshine. I love the joy of getting up the morning after we make our milk buy, and the cream sits in a thick layer in the top of the jar, with the smooth milk underneath it. I like the fresh cream in my coffee, but it's also good to cook into desserts and occasionally I make cultured butter with it. My husband and I like to drink the milk itself after a workout - it's got just the right combination of proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to rebuild our muscles and replenish our energy.

To answer a common question, raw milk usually keeps in the refrigerator for a week or two. When it starts to turn and it's not good to drink anymore, you can still use it. Pasteurized milk goes rancid, but raw milk just cultures with the beneficial bacteria living in it (those "probiotics" you hear so much about). You can make sour cream or creme fraiche from the cream, and from the milk you can make yogurt or kefir. You can cook with it in soups when it starts to go off, or bake with it as you would buttermilk. Yesterday I used up some slightly-off raw milk in a cheesy sauce for cauliflower au gratin. So unlike processed milk, there's no waste with living milk!

If you thought raw milk was illegal, you can be excused for thinking that. In most areas, however, it isn't. Availability varies by state (and country). In some areas, you can buy it in certain stores; in most areas, you have to purchase it directly from the farm. Many farms cater to buying clubs, where members take turns making the drive out to the farm to bring the milk into town so everyone can pick it up locally. We just enjoy a pleasant drive to the country every week or so; it takes about an hour to make the trip, and the scenery is gorgeous.

You can find out where to buy raw milk at this link.

As for the other common objection - yes, it costs a little more. But at what price your health? My grandmother always says she'd rather have a big grocery bill than a big doctor bill, and it really does work out to be one or the other. In the 1950's we spent about 19% of our income on groceries and about 9% on health care; today those proportions are almost exactly reversed. There is a direct correlation between one and the other, and besides, healthy food is more delicious anyway. I know I'd rather spend my money on sweet, fragrant, tasty milk and farm-fresh foods than asthma inhalers (which I used to shell out $150/month for and now no longer need).

So find a farm near you, preferably one with Jersey cows because the milk is richer and more filling. (We only need 4 oz at a time when we drink it.) Then pour yourself a nice glass of living, probiotic, nutrient-dense milk and toast: To Your Health!

* (Of course there are some who are so immunocompromised or have other issues which preclude the consumption of untreated animal products, so avoid them if this is you, but the trick is to avoid getting into that situation in the first place whenever possible.)

St. Patrick's Day: Potatoes!

Sure, we're doing corned beef in Guinness today just like everyone else (and a Guinness cake for dessert!), but let's take a moment to honor the Irish for their humblest contribution to world cuisine: the delicious potato. For some reason, Americans have recently decided that potatoes are bad for you. What a bag of hooey! Potatoes are among the most nutrient-dense foods out there, loaded with fiber to lower your cholesterol and keep you feeling full, rich in potassium, iron, copper, and heart-healthy vitamins.

In my opinion, the most healthful and delicious way to prepare potatoes is by roasting, especially if you roast them along with other root vegetables and tubers. We often have a side dish made with roasted potatoes, sunchokes, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, celeriac, or any combination of the above. If you're ever confronted with an unfamiliar root veggie or tuber, throw it in with some diced potatoes and roast it up. And, for reasons I will explain in a minute, make double the amount that you need.

Here's our dinner from Sunday night: Steak filets cooked in a Jameson whiskey sauce with mushrooms, chard salad on the side, and there at the back is our roasted potatoes and sunchokes. The basic recipe for the roast veg follows.

ROASTED TUBERS

You can use all potatoes for this, or make it more interesting by subbing in any combination of the roots and tubers I mentioned above. (Yes, I know kohlrabi is neither root nor tuber, but honestly I don't know what category it goes in, and from a culinary standpoint I treat it just like a turnip whenever I use it raw or cooked.) I especially recommend sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes; if you use them, remember DO NOT peel them. Ever. The skins are tasty and all the nutrients are directly under the skins, so just scrub them thoroughly with a brush and leave those skins on!

5 cups diced tubers and roots
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh minced rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried
1/2 Tbsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F (225 C). Chop up your veg and spread them out in a casserole dish. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour it all over the veggies, then use your hands to toss it all together so it's evenly distributed. Slide that dish in the oven and roast for half an hour; stir it all up, then roast for another half hour until those veggies are nicely browned and cooked through.

"Oh, but Kimberly," you say, "That's way more than the two or three of us will eat in one meal."

That's right. You made extra roasted potatoes so you can use them again! Now you can put together a quicker meal with roasted-potato deliciousness and you won't have to wait an hour while they cook. They're very good tossed into soup (lentil soup is our go-to quickie dinner around here), or you can even toss them with a little pesto sauce and have them with fish, which cooks up in under ten minutes.

Or, you can make a nice frittata in the morning.



Do not underestimate potato frittata. It's so versatile - you can add sausage or bacon to it if you're so inclined, or whatever veggies you have on hand. The eggs give you a big protein wallop to start the day, and the potatoes will keep you feeling full well into lunch time. When I make frittata, I usually have it for breakfast and again for lunch, as it tastes absolutely delicious cold or at room temperature and goes so nicely with salad. This is a great one to take to work with you.

VEGGIE FRITTATA

1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 leek, sliced -OR- 1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups leftover roasted potatoes (and other tubers if applicable)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup baby spinach
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 F (225 C).

In a heavy, oven-safe skillet, melt the butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Throw in the onion or leek, saute until it softens, then add in the garlic and potatoes. Continue sauteeing until the garlic starts to turn golden, stir in the grated carrots, and keep going until they soften up a bit.

While the veggies are cooking, crack all the eggs into a bowl. Add the milk, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper; beat it with a whisk or fork until it's an even mixture. Set aside and stir the cooking veggies. When the carrots are soft, stir in the spinach and cook another minute or two until the spinach wilts, and then spread everything out evenly in the skillet. Pour in the egg mixture and tilt the skillet around to make sure the egg is evenly distributed. If you're using cheese, sprinkle that on top.

Stick the skillet into the oven and bake it for about 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs have set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into pie wedges and serve.

Happy St. Pat's, don't drink TOO much beer, and make sure you wear a little green today!

Flowers!

I thought I'd take the opportunity to celebrate spring (in my hemisphere, anyway) with a plug for one of life's little treasures. It's amazing how something so small and basic as a flower bouquet can dress up a room, a meal, a life.

Take the above pic. That's a quick breakfast I threw together the other day, just scrambled eggs and apple slices with cheddar-garlic drop biscuits. And it was so lovely there on my table by the window, with the newspaper and some delicious coffee, nibbling with my husband across the table, and a big bouquet of spring daffodils to bring the spring inside.

I feel happy when I have flowers on the table, and they elevate any meal into a dining experience, which is not only pleasurable but crucial for health. When we mindfully dine, rather than feed, we savor our food more, we chew it more thoroughly, and we eat less of it. Eating becomes an act of nourishment rather than stuffing. (For more on this subject, I recommend the excellent book French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.) And when you're not eating, it's a great mood boost to have flowers around; I know I get a lift when I come home from a hard day at work and those bright sunny daffodils are beaming at me!

Besides, flowers don't have to be expensive, though they certainly can be. I picked up the daffodil bouquet above for $1.29 at Trader Joe's, but in the summer I typically have marigolds or roses from my yard in a small juice glass on the table. You don't need a fancy vase or a professional arrangement. Just cut some pretty flowers from wherever you find them (oh yes, I've pulled over for a wildflower before!) and stick them in water. Cut them at an angle so they take up more water and last longer, and for an even longer lifespan, drop a penny into the water too.

Coconut Oil!

Continuing off Lizzie's beauty treatments of yesterday, here's a little plug for one of nature's greatest gifts: coconut oil!

Now personally, I am not a fan of coconut as a culinary ingredient. I don't like the flavor, I hate the texture, and something about coconut milk is just off-putting to me. The oil, on the other hand, is a miracle worker. It has numerous health benefits - both inside and outside your body. It may even help you lose weight!

To cook with it, use just a spoonful of it when sauteeing (just as you would any oil), or substitute it for butter when making a grilled cheese. It melts very quickly and easily, and doesn't have a coconut flavor so don't worry about it affecting your foods.

My favorite use for it, however, is for skin care. Since I began using coconut oil a couple years ago, my skin has become more soft and supple than it's ever been, and I never need to use lotion anymore. When I moisturized with lotion, I always found my legs drying out by midday, but with coconut oil I haven't had any dry skin problems at all.

Just take the jar of coconut oil into the bath with you, and drop the jar (tightly sealed) into the tub so that the oil melts to liquid. After you shave, massage the oil into your legs, and keep going until you've massaged it into your whole body from the neck down. Don't use it on your face, and (ahem) feel free to bring in someone to oil your back for you if you can't reach it by your lonesome!

If you feel a little oily when you get out of the tub, that's okay; it'll absorb into your skin as you dry off. For maximum benefit, hang out naked for a few minutes and air-dry. You'll help the moisturizing along because you won't be able to stop checking out how smooth and silky you feel.

For even more benefit, apply coconut oil to your dry hair (Ends only! Not your scalp!) when you first get into the tub and let it sit there for awhile. You can read a book, sip wine, shave your legs, or just doze a bit in that hot steamy bath and the coconut oil will soak in and make your hair super-glossy and soft. Once it's sat for a bit, shampoo and condition your hair as normal and then style it however you usually do. You'll notice a difference right away!

Tight-Arse Tuesday: Buy In Bulk!

I've just come back from our local food co-op, where we loaded up on all of our staples, about two weeks' worth, for $50. That's the great thing about buying in bulk!

You've probably seen bulk candy at the grocery store, but a lot of stores are beginning to realize that the goods are cheaper for them, as well as for the consumer, when they dispense with all the packaging. And it's better for the planet too! We use various recycled jars and bins to store our bulk goods - everything from flour to beans, even dish soap and oatmeal, even olive oil and honey.

We really see the savings in spices; instead of paying $7 for a little jar of garam masala (most of which would go stale before we used it), we can pay a quarter or so for only the amount we need for a particular recipe. Things we use more of, like cinnamon and paprika, wind up costing us a dollar or two for a big jar that lasts for two or three weeks. And it's fresher, not like that sawdust at the supermarket!

Canning jars make great containers and look pretty on the shelf when full of beans, peas, steel-cut oats, pasta, nutritional yeast, and other staples. You can also typically find bigger containers at the dollar store. See if there's a co-op in your area, or check if your supermarket is one of the many now starting to offer bulk sections. It will save you more money than you can imagine!

The Five-Minute Face

So you're a busy woman. I know. I am too, believe me!

These days everyone's running around on the go. It always amazes me, though, when I go out to run errands and there are so many women who look like they don't have a mirror at home. I remember when I was in college just over a decade ago, and so many of my classmates would come to class in their pajamas! PAJAMAS! With ratty, unbrushed hair swooped back in a scrunchie and last night's mascara raccooned under their eyes.

"But I don't have TIME to get fixed up before I go out," I'd hear.

Bullpockey. Of course you do.

It only takes five minutes to make yourself presentable, and you may be amazed at how much better you feel. Even if you're just running out to the grocery store or the post office, it's worth taking five minutes to look in a mirror and give yourself a little once-over. And before you accuse me of sexism - guys, this wouldn't hurt you either. It takes you even less time to splash a little water on your face and comb your hair. (And to the twentysomething boys I see strolling around so often these days: For the love of G-d, please change into a clean shirt! You might not complain about not getting women if the women could stand to be within five feet of your clothing!)

Anyway, ladies, this is a little routine I call the Five-Minute Face. Start with whatever you just rolled out of bed with, and splash it clean with only water. Dry with a towel. If you have old makeup under your eyes (I almost always do!), apply a little baby oil gel with your fingertip and wipe it off with a cotton ball or a clean rag. Follow this up with moisturizer - a really good one. I swear by Lush's Dream Cream. It's pricey, but the tub lasts forever.

The five-minute clock pauses here while you brush your teeth and hair and get dressed. Go on, I'll wait.

Hi! Welcome back. Now dab on just a little bit of a good foundation - I'm a big fan of Almay Smart Shade, which adjusts itself to your skin tone and goes on smoothly without a caked-on makeup look. Top that off with a light dusting of powder. Then smile and suck in your cheekbones at the same time, dab on a little bit of blush in the shade your skin turns when you're drunk or embarrassed, and then use a soft fluffy brush to dab a bit of bronzer in the hollows of your sucked-in cheeks. Hello! Did you even know you had those lovely high cheekbones, glamour-lady?

Now give your eyes a quick line with a soft pencil - shade can vary, but brown looks good on almost everyone, especially the blue-eyed, and it's subtle - and a coat of mascara on the top lashes only. A quick coat of a tinted lip gloss, and you're done - unless, like me, you have blonde scraggy eyebrows. In this case you need to take an extra thirty seconds and go over those brows with a soft, light pencil. I know, nobody pencils their eyebrows anymore. But just try it once and see what a difference it makes to your whole face.

There! All pretty and in only five minutes. I doubt you had to wake up earlier to do this, but if you did, isn't it worth it? I always find myself so much more productive and in a much better mood when I feel like I look nice. Pretty does as pretty is - isn't that how it goes? (Oh well, close enough.)

8 Simple Tips to Using Less Energy in the Kitchen

1. Use the residual heat from a finished oven project to dry something overnight such as flowers,
home-made beef jerky (recipe coming later), or pieces of sliced banana for snacks. Check the oven the next morning and you'll have perfectly dried fruit and veg for no extra well-earned money.

2. To be honest, electric ovens use a considerable amount less energy than gas (65%!). If choosing a home based on effeciency, choose electric. A real woman doesn't pass gas, though. And by that, I mean a real woman doesn't pass on a gas oven when she sees one! Sorry, this tip is true, but I refuse to follow it. Gas allegience!

3. Use a crockpot instead of baking a casserole or stewing for long periods of time. Not only will crockpots prevent burning for the majority of the day (what do you mean you know I left it on for two days once?) but you'll have a hot meal whenever you want AND save money on your electric slash gas. Yippee!

4. Steam your foods. It uses less water, thus saving on the water bill. It also uses less energy o heat up less water, which saves on your energy bills. And then, get this, your food tastes better!! And has more nutrients. Where's the negative in this?! Oh yeah, you actually have to eat your vegetables. Looking at you, husbands!

5. Check your oven seal. Is it cracked, broken or in good condition? Who cares. Break it and drink a cuppa as the sexy handyman down the road repairs it for you. Oh yeah, baby, bend over.

6. Put a lid on it!! Your pans, that is. So much unused energy escapes from the pan that could be used to have your food on the table quicker and cheaper!

7. Boiling hurts food AND pocket books. Try to simmer your stews. Not only does it taste better, your wallet (my wallet's name is Glynn) will thank you for it.

8. Clean your freaking stove, people! The dirt can get trapped into the little holes the gas escapes through, so you need to take the whole thing apart now and then and clean it up so your precious money-hole can be powered more effeciently and thus cost less money. Electric is the same idea... can't cook your food evenly if there's burnt crud on the coils. Don't worry, advice for super quick organic oven cleaning is coming soon, too!

Safe, Frugal Cleaning

Confession time: I'm one of those crunchy organic types.

I won't do chemicals at all if I can help it; I garden organically and get most of my food from farmers' markets and other sources where I can trust it to be all-natural. I'd been doing this for years when suddenly it dawned on me, "Why am I still spraying my kitchen counter with Windex?"

So I began investigating less poisonous ways to clean. Surprise, surprise - it's actually much CHEAPER, not to mention better for your health, to clean with common kitchen ingredients! These ingredients I use do a much better job and I don't have to worry about poisonous residues, plus I have more money left over to spend on food and wine. Win all around! Here's what I use...

Baking Soda
You can use ordinary baking soda in place of abrasive cleaners like Comet or Ajax. It works on toilets, bathtubs, sinks, what-have-you. With a common scrub brush, it will even get most stains out of a porcelain sink.

It will soak up greasy spills and absorb odors - we always add a sprinkling of baking soda to the litterbox when we clean it out. You can also sprinkle it around the carpets before you vaccuum, and add it to stinky trashcans, ashtrays, and laundry hampers.

Baking soda can also make a silver polish for your finer occasions. Just mix up 3 parts soda to 1 part water and use that paste for cleaning. Oh happy day, no nasty silver-polish smell!

Plain White Vinegar
To replace the common spray cleaner, go to the dollar store and get yourself an empty spray bottle. Wash it out, and then fill it with a solution made of equal parts water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. This will clean your mirrors, windows, and other glass surfaces with no streaking or residue.

I also clean the kitchen counters with this same solution after cooking, and I use it for cleaning out the refrigerator, cleaning the tabletops, etc. Basically anything you'd use a spray cleaner on, this solution is for it.

A cheap, easy solution for mopping the floors: 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot water. However, this will leave a bit of a vinegary smell for a few hours - not bothersome in the long run, but I have a new answer to mopping which I will get into in a minute.

A quick spritz of vinegar will prevent mildew in the shower and on the shower curtain.

Steam Wand
Okay, it's not a chemical. But my mom sent me one of these for a holiday gift and I'm in love with it. You load it with water - that's it, just water - and it steams your floors beautifully clean and shiny! It works on carpet (or so I hear), but in our house we have a combination of tile, hardwood, and wood-style laminate. This wand worked on all surfaces, even the laminate, which usually just looks spotty and gross after a go with the regular mop because it doesn't dry evenly. These things are definitely worth the investment.

A final tip: Baking soda and vinegar are even cheaper if you buy them in bulk. Look for a co-op, or a bulk store that sells huge multigallon jugs of vinegar and baking soda by the pound. This is one of those happy times when you can save a lot of money by going eco-friendly!