DIY: Natural & Non Toxic Wood Oil

BEFORE :

Here is my kitchen counter (made of unfinished hickory wood planks) before applying my wood oil recipe...

In order to prevent alot of staining plus possible mold and mildew growth on the unfinished wood, especially during the summer months I decided to 'stain' or oil the wood with a natural recipe - one that was 100% non toxic, that would not out gas, and would be safe for those people who are sensitive to the chemicals in commonly toxic wood finishes.

SUPPLIES :

• Bees Wax
• Walnut Oil
• S alt
• Apple Cider Vinegar
  

• Knife
• Stirring Spoon
• Pot to cook it in
• Rag, sponge or some type of tool to rub the oil into the surface

The first thing I had to do was cut a portion of the bees wax off, which luckily my friend Gabi gave me the awesome tip to heat up the knife first then cut into it "like buttah"...
Mine was super thick so, I had to re-heat it a few times until about 1/4 of the pound of wax broke and I had the perfect piece to add to my recipe.

NOTE: I recommend using bees wax and not a white food grade wax because of the coloring when it dries, and general coloring added to the recipe. Bees wax is also easier to work with and has a good smell!
ADD TO THE POT:

2-3 cups Walnut Oil, 1/2 cup Salt, chunk of Bees Wax, teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar... And bring to a boil till the wax is fully melted into the mixture and stir occasionally.

This is totally experimental amounts - if you add alot of wax the mixture will become so wax-y that it will be too thick a coating on the wood... if anyone has 'buffing tips' for a more wax heavy mixture please share!

After the wax is melted, rub it into the wood while warm...
Rub the wax in a buffing fashion, and be sure to not drip too much or lay it on thicker in various places... when using a mixture with wax you do have to be conscience of layering it evenly.
Looks awesome and smells edible.... but it could use a little extra buffing ---> so i am looking for suggestions of what would be a good material or tool to use for buffing this kitchen counter?
In the meantime, I LOVE it!!! I love it so much I can't stop putting that stuff on everything wood around the house. :) The bathroom floor is next!!!

Kiss This HOuse BEAutiFUL!
Xoxoxo

Gluten Free & Organic Chickpea Burgers

Here is a recipe I made up a few years ago using chickpeas to make a nice yummy bean burger patty free of gluten, dairy, meat, and most any common food allergen! Each time I make it they come out a little bit different so I will share the basic recipe and you can make it your own with your favorite herbs, beans or spices. :)

What You'll Need:

• Eden Organic Canned Chickpeas (or other gluten free brand) - 2 cans
• Lundberg Organic Brown Rice -1/2 a cup
• Organic Herbs- rosemary, parsley, oregano or basil (whichever you like best, in amounts you like)
• Organic Red Onion - 1/3 chopped up
• Organic Olive Oil - couple teaspoons
• Ume Vinegar or Sea Salt- shake to personal salt preference

STEP 1: Cook the chickpeas and rice. I cooked mine with bay leaf, rosemary and ume plum for salt.

STEP 2: Smash the rice and chickpeas with a fork till textured. I made more rice then normal for this batch - a helpful hint is not too much rice and make sure all water is drained out, the burger will stick together better this way. Wet burgers will taste good but will fall apart.
STEP 3: Add chopped onion and herbs to the smooshed up chickpeas.

STEP 4: For pazzazz I added some grated carrot, then threw in the ume vinegar (salt source) & 3 teaspoons of olive oil.
STEP 5: Mix it all up and then form patties in your pan. You can cook them without oil, fry them with oil, or bake them to get an outside crunchy layer!!! I topped mine with baked shittake mushrooms and ate it straight out the pan with a fork. :) Mmmmmm. Goooood.
XoXOoo

Organic, Gluten Free, Mayo Free Egg Salad Sandwich

Are you ready for this? I have not eaten a sandwich since 2001, right before being diagnosed with Celiac Sprue during the end of that year! I can remember my very last sandwich I ever ate, it was a "live food" sandwich from the All Natural Store in New Orleans, it was totally stuffed with organic veggies, tempeh, miso & dill, and totally a gluten death sentence for me... I remember picking the middle goods off the whole wheat bread and thinking 'the bread part is sick!' This last year I have finally healed enough to begin eating a few gluten free baked products, mainly all from a brand called Namaste. This is how I got today's idea to make a Egg Salad Sandwich using their sugar free muffin mix and a little cajun DNA to invent something yummy to replace mayo - I am born to make something out of what seems like nothing.
Egg Salad Recipe:

• 5 hard boiled organic eggs (chopped up)
  
• Fresh or dried herbs- rosemary, thyme, chives (or any flavor you like)
  
• Lemon squeeze 1/2
• Olive Oil (a few cap fulls)
• Ume Vinegar (2 cap fulls)
• Shredded carrot

Bread Recipe:

• Namaste's Gluten Free Sugar Free Muffin Mix (bake in the oven)
  
• Add a little extra oil to give the bread thickness- cause it's gluten free, basically it's gonna fall apart a little. ;)

You mix the egg salad makings together and then mash a bunch of it onto your "bread" slices. I drizzled olive oil onto the gluten free bread before layering the egg salad on. Mmmmmm.
Oooooooh HOly crap! It is so good! You know exactly what happened next after this next pic... I cleaned the plate. :)
XoXoXoxooooo

Gluten Free Sushi Rolls

This is a quick, easy and completely void of any sushi making equipment recipe - I have loved sushi since I moved to Manhattan back in 1998 & discovered it at one of the many delicious vegan eateries throughout the island. I was so addicted to it that I'd show up at Fairway weekly for the goods made by the "sushi boy" (cute boy who's too young and makes one sushi and gives one free endamame beans from his pocket cause they have crush on each other). Ehem, anyway... here is what you need to make your own simple sushi rolls:
*cooked brown rice
*veggies (like avocado, carrots, cucumbers etc...)
*salmon (cooked) or tofu
*lemon
*ume vinegar or grain free soy sauce (for dipping)
*nori seaweed (unroasted if you don't mind roasting it yourself!)
FIRST: Roast your nori seaweed over your burner till it turns brighter green and crispy, then lay it flat and place a strip if rice on a far end. SECOND: Layer your thinly sliced veggies. I lightly steamed my carrots to make them easier to digest, but you can use them raw too- which is especially good in the summer. :)
THIRD: On top of the veggies layer your protein of choice. The cooked salmon is really good, but for those who are vegetarian tofu and tempeh work awesome too.( Tofu is my favorite kind of sushi!)
I always over stuff my sushi rolls (sushi burrito?), so if you want a tighter roll just add a little less of each layer to control the size of the roll when your done. I am sorry to say, but this pic below of the roll (below) before it's cut into circles kind of grosses me out... remember the part in Caddy Shack when the little girl screams "Doodie, Doodie!!!" about the candy bar in the pool?!?
Ok... so moving right along, LAST: You'll want to have some water ready to roll the sushi tight and make the seaweed stick together properly. I used lemon juice and water for flavor, rubbing it evenly all over the roasted nori. Then once it's done like in the pic above, take a sharp knife and cut one inch sushi rolls (as shown below).
Sushi is best paired with a salty flavor for dipping it in grain free soy sauce or ume vinegar. An extra squeeze of lemon will give it some yummy kick too!
mmmmmmm.
xoxo

Recipe: Vegan, Gluten Free, Macrobiotic 'Minestrone' Soup

The following recipe is an easy to put together faux minestrone soup that caters to eliminating many food allergens. I came up with this one using my slow cooking cajun skills and memory of how the taste of minestrone soup satisfies hunger on a chilly day.

• Organic Groceries You'll Need: Collards, Yellow Squash, Broccoli, Red Onion, Red Beans, Brown Rice Noodles (elbows or shells).

• Organic Seasoning : Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaf and/or Sage), Ume Plums or Sea Salt, Kombu Seaweed, Olive OilStep One: Chop up all the veggies and put them in the pot with water & your seasonings of choice. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium.Step Two: Cook your Red Beans in a separate pan with bay leaf, rosemary, and pitted ume plum or sea salt. When they are cooked enough to be flavored you can add them to the pot of veggies to cook together.Step Three: Add your Brown Rice Elbows or Shells to the pot and keep simmering on medium till they are cooked through. Make sure to add another half ume plum or some extra salt for the noodles, which makes them easier to digest!

When you are done (I slow cook this for hours) and ready to serve add a little fresh olive oil & a shot of ume vinegar on top your bowl of organic yummy unreal minestrone soup... mmmmmm. This soup turned out so good I already ate 4 bowls today!

PS- If you have allergies to rice try noodles made of corn or beans instead. Another alternative is to add potatoes for a starchy flavor instead of noodles.

Recipe: Organic Gluten Free Mayo From Scratch

Making organic mayonnaise from scratch is surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it - it takes very little ingredients and can be flavored exactly the way you like. Real homemade mayo doesn't look or smell like the store bought stuff we are used to, instead it is yellow in color and 100 x's more creamy then it's manufactured cousin could ever be! It's also more neutral in taste and can be flavored by adding things like dill, mustard, extra salt, or other herbs & spices.To make organic mayo you'll need the following groceries: Eggs, Olive Oil (Almond or Grapeseed will work also), Lemon, Salt, Vinegar (I used ume vinegar which is salty already!).
Optional flavor choices : Dill (this is what I used) or mustard, cayenne pepper, extra salt, etc... you can be really creative since the mayo base is mild in taste.

FIRST STEP: Take two eggs and drain/separate the whites out of them, then save the yellow yolks in a separate bowl. You won't be using the egg whites for this recipe and can save them for something else. (I fed them to my cat Toots who loves raw egg.)

STEP TWO: Add 6 teaspoons of lemon to your egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of vinegar, and mix together. You can use either a whisk or a blender to get the mayo party started! I went with my blender on a moderate setting, putting in the egg & acidic liquid mix plus some dill & salt.

STEP THREE: Here is where the magic happens and the adrenaline rushes in... pour approx. 1 cup of oil into the egg mixture VERY SLOWLY, like a dripping drizzle steady stream of oil - while you are either blending or whisking.

Here's the catch... (and this happened to me) if you put too much oil suddenly your amazement at how creamy & fluffy your mayo has become will burst into a soupy nasty liquid. This is when the mayo "breaks". And mine broke alright- I kind of cried a little. The thing is, don't follow an exact measurement on how much oil to put in, just slowly pour the oil in till it becomes mayo-like then STOP. :) So that this will happen..............

Creamy dreamy mellow yellow mayo!!!

And look how tempting it is, just totally sticking to my spoon just like real mayo! YAY!

Use your organic mayo for all the fun things you use store bought mayo on - pasta salad, potato salad, sandwiches & for dressing and sauces. All it needs it's your personal flavor and imagination!

xoxo

Recipe: Dairy Free, Macrobiotic, Gluten Free Cream Of Broccoli Soup

The winter season is the perfect time to snuggle up to your space heater and a warm bowl of thick creamy soup. Alas with all my food allergies a traditional "creamy" meal can be hard to come by - but here is a fabulous basic recipe for Vegan Cream Of Broccoli Soup (slightly modified from "The Self Healing Cookbook" by Kristina Turner.) - BTW, this is so easy to make you'll freak out! You'll need 3 main (organic) ingredients and some seasoning: Cooked Brown Rice, Broccoli, Red Onion, and then Sea Salt or Ume Plum (plus Rosemary if you happen to like it's taste!)

You will want to skin three broccoli stalks then chop them up into smaller pieces (to make it easier for your blender to handle). Depending on how much red onion you can tolerate you can use anywhere from the whole chopped onion to 1/4 of it, and add all your diced goodies to some boiling water. Simmer for about 10 mins, or until tender. (At this time you can add whatever salt source you like to use also).

Once the simmered broccoli and onion have cooled some you will add approx. 2-3 cups of cooked brown rice to your blender, then pour in the simmered liquid and veggies. (If you want it less thick, use less rice.)

Then blend the ba-jeezus out of it, till it is as creamy as it can possibly get and makes your mouth water!

Chop up the broccoli heads and add them into the pot with the blended cream. Then simmer until the new pieces have gotten soft. If you would like to add an herb for flavor this is the time to throw in the rosemary branch.

MMMMmmmMmMmMm. Ok, this is not only really yummy but also filling, delicious and the smell brings back memories. It's totally 100% dairy free, macrobiotic, gluten free, organic and vegan!!!

Some tempting variations to add to this soup would be after making the cream, adding not only broccoli but also cauliflower, flavorful mushrooms, or using leeks instead of red onions. The rice can be used to make a creamy base in many other recipes too... get wild and experiment a little. :)

xoxo

DIY: Sweet Rice Dumplings (from scratch!)

Making sweet rice dumplings from scratch is easier then you might think and only takes 2 ingredients! ( I love anything that takes less the 3 ingredients and comes out right). All you need is sweet brown rice and water, and then a pot to cook in and a place to knead the dough.
I made my own sweet rice flour from actual sweet rice grains using a special VITAMIX blender my parents were nice enough to give me a few years ago, but you can buy your organic sweet rice flour instead.
Put the flour in a mixing bowl while you are boiling the water.
Once the water is boiling pour it slowly over the sweet rice flour, and then once it cools some go ahead and start kneading. Keep adding flour or water as needed (or kneaded) ;) . Work that dough for about 5 minutes or until you think you are done being amazed by the sticky textured rice dough that won't come off your fingers.
Form any shape dumpling you like, as long as it stays 1/2 inch thick and no larger.Throw into a pot of boiling water and like magic when they are finished they rise to the top! Yay, that makes it so easy... no timer necessary.You can put the yummy yum yum dumplings in clear soup, eat as is, dowse in soy sauce, dip in rice syrup, roll in chopped nuts or eat with savory rice dish like I did. I have no idea whether they store well, but I put some in a mason jar in the fridge and will update ya'll on how it works.