Big Game, Hunting, Cowboys & Rugged Stuff…………..

It’s All Child’s Play to Me!

Children have a way of brinign out our inner play and wild side.  Think wrestling with your kids, running around the house and how often words like please dont be wild int eh house come out of our mouths.  My brother and his family moved to Wyoming for one so thier kids could have room to be wild in a sense.  I spent a lot of time pondering this, consiously and subconsiously and relalized that in our world today it must be hard for those who have kids to provide the perfect or best enviroment for thier kids to grow up in.  With the amount of television, video games and basic nonsense we are bombareded with it’s important to remember that your kids need to be wild.  They need to play, they need space and they need to roam and discover.  Now I am not saying that we all need to move to Wyoming and I think the basic message here works for kids and adults; GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY MORE.  I also witness often my brothers and thier wives playing with thier chidlren, often wildly and I think this really instills in chicldren as they grow the need to continue to play even into adulthood.  I myself am grateful for these little Wyoming cowboy and cowgirl I got to play with over Christmans and New Years.  They gave me the opportunity and the free pass to be wild and crazy with them and it was fun and it was rewarding.  It doesnt matter where you live, we adapt, that is easy, its all about choice really.  Get outside and play with kids or play like a kid, winter time is the best time!

Leaves Ladies are Going to Give Birth to Meat

Nissa & Stavin Moto Cross

Little Elf Kianna

Wild Pig (rleased into the wild anyhow)

Atlantic City; Ghost Town

When Even a Whisk Can’ t Fix It……………..

Even Children Need to Fail-Here, Svea Tells Us Why

I try and teach children in my cooking classes and in life that failure is inevitable and part of the process.  This wasn’t something I was comfortable with in the beginning  days of me teaching children how to cook.  I think like all of our skills in life, including our cooking, they get better as we feed them with sustenance and learn from the failures we experienced while coveting them.  This is true for me for teaching kids and I have to admit, I have learned more about myself and who I really am form teaching kids than any other thing I have done.  We (adults) ask the question to each other and ourselves often, ” who am I?”  the answer for me is much easier to remember and answer, if I have just been around or around children.  children have a way of bringing us back to our centers our connected selves and above all the simplicity of life.  I am most lucky I think, for a lady with no children (yet) I get to spend a lot of time around them inside and out of the kitchen.  As I witness myself and adults fail all the time in classes and their reactions to those failures, I notice the one big difference; the child can learn the lesson but not be hard on them self about it.  No self deprecation because they didn’t cut the tomato correctly, no severe anxiety because they threw in salt instead of sugar, just simple I made a mistake attitude, which I think is why adults have such a hard time with the mistakes of children, they are emotional less about them and can clearly understand the mistake, but just not have any emotion to it, unless the adults give them some to put there. I find that fascinating.  As adults we are constantly trying, and I certainly am these days, to separate our emotions from our action and our being, yet kids do this naturally.  I learn a lot from kids and this latest observation is a strong breakthrough for me in the art of failure.

On my recent trip to Missouri to visit family for Thanksgiving I told Svea the idea I had hovering over me for my blog for December and she as always wanted to help.  I love the idea of giving her and my other nieces and nephews a forum for their creative work and work hard to give them creative control as well, as I can learn form them each time, like I did from Svea.  So in this series of failure essays by Svea Pierson, she talks about her bouts with failure and what she learned etc etc.  Now take in mind she is a bit of an embellisher for the sake of the story, this is one of her strong suits, she was born to write in a way that the truth is on paper, but it is flashy enough to hold the audience!

Essays on Failure, By Svea Pierson

My New Favorite Tool in the Kitchen & In Life!

This blog as many know for me has been instrumental for me while I learn about key things in life, through food.  The food is a catalyst for my evolvement in life.  As I have shared before, food is my art.  As we speak about patience in this month’s blog, I have shared that I have up to this point in my life, not had much and for those who know me, they most likely concur with this statement.  But like anything in life, the more you look at it deeply the more it changes in what it looks like.  Upon further investigation and delving deeper into my history, I realized that patience came easy to me as far as kids and specifically kids in the kitchen. I have been working with kids in the kitchen for as long as I can remember, regardless of how old I was, I always allowed younger ones to be in the kitchen with me and to this day, I have no issue sharing a kitchen with kids, I quite enjoy it. I learn a lot about myself while in the kitchen with kids, not only about cooking but about myself.  I think this is ultimately because children are not tainted yet by what is “supposed” to be and have these perfect little minds that simply move with excitement, wonder, some fear and generally curiosity.  I am a rare breed I think as I not only think children should be in the kitchen with us, but I also think they should play with food.  This very idea of getting to touch and play with food is somewhat foreign as it seems so wasteful, however it crucial not only for their development of culinary skills and basic kitchen instincts and having a sense of flavor, but further than that it teaches them skills that we do not have the opportunity to learn much in life anymore, like being fearless, being creative, experimentation, trusting their own judgment, walking the line, discovering and many more ultimately I think, skills.  We adults do not readily teach kids these things as today these things seem “risky”.  But without these skills, we would not have evolved as the world we are, many discoveries in life and the food world would not have been made.  Imagine a world where Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison didn’t get to  experiment, operate with fearlessness and essentially be comfortable with their differentness.  In today’s world being different is hard, why not allow children to play with food and in the kitchen as means to grow more comfortable with the idea that different is good and can lead to learning and growth.  We have to have a bit more patience with children and make the time to be with them in lots of ways but food is a great way to help evolve these little lives we are shaping while not investing nearly the amount of time and energy we should be.

I have a close friend who is also a fellow foodie and he has daughter who is just moving into teenage hood.   He describes her as this amazing human being as most fathers do,  but he also describes her as really a fellow human being and I think that is extremely important.  I am not sure he is really prepared for all that this your girl is about to move through as many of us women know, the teenage years can be quite difficult.  He says she has a love of food and all things culinary, which is common for a lot of children her age.  She watches all the food tv and likes to cook.  I have been thinking about my friend and his daughter and her draw to food and her journey she is about to embark on and as my mind has been on patience lately how that all relates.  Well I guess I think that this friend of mine has this beautiful opportunity to remain close to daughter while many teenagers begin to drift apart.  He may start to discover that he will have to have a new found patience (perhaps) as she moves through life trying to discover how to become the women she hopes to become, she may not tell him everything anymore, she may not hug him the same way, she may start to wear makeup, she may start to like different things and she may even start to like new people, people he may like or understand.  He will probably have to start to exercise this patience while he watches his little girl grow and evolve and he may not understand exactly what is happening to her.  But he has this remarkable opportunity in their mutual love for food, to continue bonding and remaining close through other means.  This takes time, commitment and this takes a bit of thinking outside of the box.  Perhaps he should take a cooking class with he, perhaps they should go to a new restaurant together, perhaps they can visit a farm together, there are so many opportunities and I use this friend as an example because I think that ultimately people miss out on the opportunity food give to teach and grow with our children. 

We forget all the important learning and growth that can be done in the kitchen and the learning and growth goes both ways, we teach our children and we learn from them, we all evolve and grow! Let’s all  try and have a bit more patience with our children and allow them into the kitchen with us, so many spectacular things will happen if we do this, let’s give them the best tools for life and there is no more enjoyable teacher than food!

Italian Kids Not In the Kitchen

A Quest for Food Purity Which Lead to the Discovery of Italian Kids

Not in the kitchen but in the sea………..

What I noticed about Italy, the Lingurian coast anyhow was that there is not a lot of fuss when it comes to food and kids. There are not kids menus, no kids complaining about eating and really its just quite simple.  I was surprised to see not many kids helping in kitchens but rather out playing, frolicking in the sea and playing in the streets. The way the Italians tend to think when it comes to food and family, which I believe leads to a very family oriented tradition and one of the main reasons they have held on to tradition and food culture this long is that, they encourage the entire family to eat the same way.  Its simpler more nutritious and certainly more efficient this way and there isn’t a whole lot of variance in family meals and snacks to this method.  Eating habits as we know are made and engrained early one and if the group is doing it just makes sense to the Italians.  I guess it also helps that the food in Italy is not overly exotic or spicy in general and therefore can be introduced to children at a young age.  Pasta and cream sauces are often seen being eaten by babies and I even saw a few eating spoonfuls of pesto, not a milder version but just simply straight up the same as their families on pasta of course!  Babies in Italy are often introduce to grains and legumes at an early age which I find fascinating. I also find it fascinating that the Italians believe children should consume a lot of fresh herbs, they say it bolters their immune systems!  You see toddlers eating prosciutto and salami and aged cheeses and that is just incredible.  I guess in the end, the Italians way of making family and food one seems to work not only for their children’s pallets, but also in helps their children retain their traditions of food culture long after they grow up!

Get Me Outta That Box ,Into My Garden ,Get to Know Me
Getting The Kids into the Garden

Ok so now its time for a bit of openness and honesty and a picture of Nissa (me) casting my judgment onto others!  Children’s eating habits!  This is a sensitive topic for me and I place quite a hefty sack full of judgment onto many people in regards to the way kids eat, and I’m not talking about poor people who cannot afford better, I’m talking about those who can and who are educated accordingly and just simple don’t.  Sometimes I feel like feeding a child a healthy meal and being an American kid are two opposing things.  No matter how hard you try all forces seem to be pulling in the opposite direction and I am not always sure this is the child pulling first.  Now first we start with all the crap that we produce and call food and then specifically market to children.  Sugary cereals, processed cookies, crackers and chips and then oh yes the most evil of them all SODA!  Children’s pallets are shaped, pure and simple and as parents or adults we are the ones who are shaping these little pallets so, the question really is, and this is where I pass my big fat judgment, are you going to let kellogs shape your child’s pallet and in the process fill up the bank accounts of the executives?  Or are you going to shape your child’s pallet by doing whatever it takes to get good healthy food into its mouth, time and time and time again.  Seeking out what you need to know to make it flavorful as well as healthy.  No it’s not easy but it’s really necessary.  So for now all we can really do is encourage adults to take responsibility for what they feed their kids and to also take into account that we cannot simply just give them build vegetables and call it a day, we need to give them flavors and develop their pallets just as we do ours but first they need the chance.  Give it to them!

In summer gardens grow everywhere and no matter where you live I am sure there is access to a garden somewhere even in a school or nearby farm.  Do whatever it takes to get your kid in the garden and learning about how vegetables grow.  Just as children are apt to eat more if they have helped cook, their little pallets open up even wider when they get to nourish in the garden, harvest and eat!  It’s a simple process really, start by some container herbs or if you have the space a small garden and by have the space I mean have a 3 X 3 foot patch of dirt!  Their little eyes light up to a seed sprout, to watch a head of broccoli come into full bloom from seed to head!  So I guess what I am saying is that I am trying not to judge truly, but I am and in this case I feel like it is soooooo important.  Get your kids into the garden and let them watch their food grow!  Show them what the fresh flavors taste like up close and allow them to have their pallets shaped by something more real than a rice crispy bar or a ding don!

I had the pleasure of traveling to Missouri to visit my brother and his children and went camping with a slew of kids.  For a few days I got to cook and play in the garden with the kids and they were amazing the joy they had helping put the recipes together.  All the goods that they harvested from the garden came into the house in small bowls even through the picked big ones, because they ended up eating all the peas, strawberries, carrots and lettuces!  It never amazes me what kids appreciate, if you give them the opportunity they will always surprise you!

Extrodinary Kids in the Kicthen

We were lucky enough to be blessed with 25 kindergardeners a few weeks ago at Ger-Nis where we through a Spring Veggie Fest.  The idea was to expose as many little ones to fresh spring vegetables and herbs in hopes that they would be all the more equipped to make better decsions about food, cooking and health down the line.  The funny thing was that although we begun the day thinking we would change the way they think and give them an amazing opportunity. We were the ones who were “schooled”.  These 25 little people showed us the power of an amazing teacher.  Kattie Wassel, to be exact was who “schooled” us in the art teaching.  We anticipated a tough (but exciting day) 25 kids is never easy, but when they arrived, we were mazed to see not only the excitement and passion and thrill the kids had toward the day in general but for their teacher and the opportunity as well.  It was clear formt eh get go that both these kids and their teacher as a working unit were on a quest beyond the limits of ordinary.  With their snaps and claps and whistles and ways of making the room silent with nothing but love and respect, we were in awe, floored by Katies abylity to deliver 25 of the most well behaved, respectful and passionate students.  It was truly amazing and insipirng and a great recognition of how important teachers are to our kids on this plannet. 

So here is what we contributed to the kids!  But Again we were the ones that walked away with bounties and bounties of lessons learned and few whitle and clap calls!

Rhubarb Lemonade

Makes one Pitcher

Ingredients 

2 cups rhubarb syrup (rhubarb, sugar)
2 cups fresh lemon juice
water

Directions

To make the rhubarb syrup place ½ cup fresh rhubarb chopped, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Strain and cool. In a large pitcher combine the syrup, the lemon juice and water. Stir well and serve over ice!

Ginger-Beet Lemonade

Makes one Pitcher

Ingredients

2 cups ginger-beet syrup (ginger, beets, sugar)
2 cups fresh lemon juice
water

Directions

To make the ginger beet syrup place ½ cup freshly grated beets, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Strain and cool. In a large pitcher combine the syrup, the lemon juice and water. Stir well and serve over ice!

Garlic Herb Bread (kid friendly)

Makes one baguette

Ingredients

¼ cup basil
¼ cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup olive oil
Salt
Baguette, sliced
Parmesan cheese

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. In a blender combine the basil, parsley, garlic and chop. Add the melted butter oil and salt and blend until smooth. With a pastry brush, brush the bread with the herb mixture, making sure to get all over the entire side of the slice. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little parmesan. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Spinach & Three Cheese Ravioli (kid friendly)

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup fresh spinach juice
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup parmesan, grated fine
½ cup pecorino Romano, grated fine
¼ cup ricotta cheese
Butter

Directions

Mound flour on a work surface, preferably wooden, and make a well in center. Add egg, spinach juice and salt. With a fork, gently beat eggs and water until combined. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form dough, adding more water drop by drop if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Roll pasta:

Divide dough into 8 pieces, then flatten each piece into a rough rectangle and over rectangles with an inverted large bowl. Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting. Follow directions on pasta maker to roll out into flat sheets.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the three cheeses and mix well. To assemble ravioli cut the fresh pasta sheets cut into about 2 square inches, add 1 dollop of filling. Cover with another 2 inch pasta square. Using wet fingers seal all sides of ravioli by pinching down. Place raviolis in a large pot of salted boiling water. Boil for about 3 minutes, or until floating.

Strain and dollup with butter.

Fresh Strawberry Mint Ice Cream with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Makes ½ gallon of ice cream

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
10 egg yolks
1 cup sugar plus ¼ cup sugar
1/4 cup water
8 cups strawberries (chopped, with tops removed)
1 cup chopped mint
Strawberries and mint for garnish
Chocolate, melted
Fresh strawberries, stems in tact

Directions

Make simple syrup by placing ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water in heavy sauce pan with 1 cup chopped mint. Bring to boil until sugar is totally dissolved. Let steep on simmer for five minutes, then strain and set syrup aside. Combine milk and cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring to just about boil but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and set aside for about an hour. Bring milk mixture back to simmer. Whisk egg yolks and ½ cup sugar in a mixing bowl and then mix eggs into saucepan. A double boiler helps to ensure that the milk product does not boil. Stir over medium low heat until the mixture thickens into a custard. Usually about 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until very cold. In the meantime, mix strawberries and mint simple syrup in a food processor until smooth. Mix pureed strawberries in with the custard mix, add chopped fresh mint if desired and use ice cream maker according to instructions.

Dip strawberries in melted chocolate and set in refrigerator to harden, serve with mint ice cream.

Nissa & The Gang...Costa Rica

I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize that I wanted children of my own.  Perhaps because my brothers beat me to it and brought a whole slew of little ones into our lives in the past 9 years.  I am sure building and running Ger-Nis and not having a personal life didn’t help either.  Probably the biggest factor for me is that my focus was on the children I didn’t have.  I really felt and still do to some extent that I am more useful to the children in my family moving ahead in what I am doing and keeping the opportunities and adventures coming their way.  For me being a good aunt and role model for these kids is super important.  I cannot begin to imagine what children of one’s own feel like as these 6 little guys in my family make my world complete.   I have had the luxury (made it happen) of spending a good deal of time with them and making it a point to participate in exposing them to food and culture and life from all around the world.  These six kids are proud of me and that feels better than any love I could imagine.

The past 6 years have again (I know broken record kind of shit!) been rough ones, but they were filled with these 6 children learning and growing all around me.  Now they are all scattered throughout the country and have left me on my own so to speak and that has given me the perspective that perhaps its time for me to think about having children of my own.  Certainly I know that is not so simple, but I think first you have to invite the energy in and than the rest works out.

Here are a few recipes I intend to use on my own kin!  This is the sustenance of my heart ultimately!

Sweet Pea Puree

For babies 4-6 months

Ingredients

1 cup fresh organic sweet peas

Filtered water

Directions

Steam or boil the peas in the filtered water for about 6-8 minutes or until soft.   Mash the peas well using a few tablespoons of the filtered pea water.  Push the mashed peas through a fine mesh strainer or food mill until they are smooth and creamy.  Serve mixed with cereal.

Banana Ginger Rice or Oat Cereal

For babies 6-9 months

Ingredients

1 cup of organic rolled oats or organic brown rice

1 teaspoon ginger water (1/2  teaspoon fresh ginger infused with 1 cup water)

banana

1 cup filtered water

Directions

In a blender r, blend 1 cup of rolled oats or brown rice until a powder is formed.  With a flour softer, sift the powder making sure a fine powder is left.  Take ½ cup rolled oat powder or the brown rice powder and mix with 1 cup water in  a medium saucepan.  Place the teaspoon of ginger water and whisk  on a medium heat until semi thick.  Take of the heat and allow to cool.  Mix some of the ceareal with mashed banana and serve.

Here are a few of my food follies with all these kids I am talking about!!

Dead Sea, KiannaHerb Models, Kianna & StavinBasilmania.....

Chicken Dinner all on thier own!

Sleeping iwth Bay, ivin

foraging

edible x-mas

Newest adddition, Lexa

Dead Sea, Kianna

Svea & Leif...Herb ModelsA camel ride in the Arava...Israel

Lexa

Lemon Eyes Leif!

*Zweites Frühstück (Second Breakfast) / Pausenbrot (Sandwich Snack)*

As many of you know I am a bit obsessed with how other cultures and countries eat on a day to day basis, what their grocery stores are filled with and what the overall food culture to each place is.  But for me one of the most important indicators for good eating is how the diets and eating patterns of children play out on a day to day basis for each culture and how they withstand modernization and how adaptable these patterns are.

The Germans as we all know are well known for healthy eating, organics, sustainability of food, and over all clear and clever approach to food on a mass market scale makes Germans out to be one of the most innovative and advanced nations.  Germans are well known for healthy eating and from an early age.  For me one of the questions I have asked in regards to Germans is, as their citizens become more modernized, as their women (mothers) take on more jobs and careers (over 90% of German woman are working full time outside of the home.  How do the Germans keep their children’s eating habits in check and what are the secrets to eating well while having the major caretakers out of the home most of the day?

The answer is many of course and pretty dynamic, but one thing I have honed in on is their ability to eat multiple small healthy meals throughout the day.  It is engrained in German culture that eating is not a once or twice a day thing, it is for, five and even six and it is engrained in the culture and widely accepted and practices in schools, government offices, private business’ and at home.

Germans have plenty of words to describe a meal that is eaten between main meals. Far from being unhealthy, eating small snacks between meals is encouraged to prevent overeating at lunch and dinner and enabling the people to avoid over eating of garbage binging.  Eating a snack between breakfast and lunch is very traditional in German schools and this is called Pausenbrot (recess bread if you translate it literally) or Zweites Frühstück(second breakfast). Since German schoolchildren generally don’t eat meals at school, there’s quite a long wait between breakfast and lunch, which typically they eat at home. So, the Pausenbrot is meant to make sure they have the energy and ability to concentrate for the entire morning.   These meals are always healthy and since German children grew up eating them it is simply a way of life.  Although Pausenbrot indicates that it’s a sandwich snack, it doesn’t have consist of bread. It can be a small sandwich consisting of whole grain bread and cheese or lunch meat but fruit, yogurt or a Muesli bar are also popular Pausenbrot snacks.

The Germans also know they must fill their schools with healthy food, this is one of the big differences that push Germans to the top of the healthy food chart!  To see three, four and five year olds eating celery and radishes like candy bars is a truly amazing sight, what we can learn from the Germans is essentially two things : fill your schools with healthy food options and nothing else, make sure your society & governments are wholeheartedly believers in healthy eating.

Kids in the kitchen is my way of showing you all how easy it is to get kids involved in the kitchen and teach them a little something about food and cooking. With this in mind in conjunction with this month’s theme of “Food Matters,” I think it’s really important to remember that, whether we have children or not, that living by example is the best way to educate.  As I embark on my journey of eliminating all processed foods from my own diet, as well as eliminating any factory raised meat, poultry, and fish, I am thinking of my own nieces and nephews as well as the other children in my life and their futures.

Setting a good example we know is important for kids, so why are we not taking that more seriously when it comes to food?  We should be educating our young, new eaters about where their food comes from, how the food chain works, and what it takes to produce food both from an agricultural perspective and cooking perspective (and everything in between).

Most of us start the New Year eating and behaving in a way that is mindful of our health, and we must apply this concept of living mindfully to our children’s lives as well, understanding a child’s need for nourishment both physically and emotionally in a world stocked with unhealthy, processed food. Learning, listening, and adjusting to the new information we’ve taken in during those processes are key to ensuring a future of healthy, whole, and conscious eating for our kids. Consider what kids eat at school, when you are out on the town, while traveling, and what snack food they consume. Chances are there are simple ways increase the intake of healthier foods at these time which leads to taking greater care of both our children (contributing to stronger minds, bodies, and, therefore, spirits) and the environment. Processed foods still compose over half of American kids’ diets. We can all alter this statistic by taking charge in our own homes on our own plates.

My plate this year 2011 will be filled with nothing but real, whole foods the way that food has been enjoyed in centuries past, and I hope that by setting an example even one child will be educated spawning a future of healthier living. Time is no constraint when we consider the better times our children will enjoy as a result.

Kids in the kitchen is my way of showing you all how easily it is to incorporate kids into your kitchens and teach them a little something about food and cooking.  This month we take you from the kitchen and into the bath.  Children love a good bath filled with herbs!  I used my niece and nephews as guinea pigs for my recipes for an herbal bath article I was writing during my holiday yin Fair Grove and I found that they LOVED the idea of one making the herbal bath sacks and taking a bath with herbs!

  Now take in mind we couldn’t find cheese cloth or kitchen twin in Fair Grove and Wal-Mart didn’t even have them!  But we found an old tent cloth made of net and we used that and dry wall twine!  The art of compromise, back to the theme of balance!

 The basic herbal bath only requires a few items: kitchen twine, cheesecloth, and ingredients like herbs, salts, powders milks, oatmeal, oils, soaps, and whatever else you dream up.  We don’t recommend throwing the herbs loose in your bath as they can be most difficult to clean up and can even cause plumbing issues, and a big plumbing headache defeats the purpose of a relaxing herbal bath! 

 With just a few simple kitchen type tools and some basic recipe ideas your bath with become this winter’s haven. You can create specific herbal baths tailored to your meet skincare needs, or personalize based on scent preferences- so indulge, learn, and allow your skin and your mind to be soothed!

 Here are a few of our favorite winter herbal baths and their easy to follow, alterable recipes! Just throw the finished product into a running bath, and enjoy. Use the pouch to scrub your body, and smell the heavenly scents! It’s time to cut loose, and relax!

 *Each recipe includes one piece of cheesecloth cut into a 12 X 12 inch square and a piece of kitchen twine to tie up the pouch!  Crumble up all herbs before laying them in the cloth which releases all the oils. Lay the cheese cloth out flat, and pile the ingredients into the center.  Tie the pouch with the twine, and toss it into your bath!

Stress Relieving Herbal Bath  ½ cup fresh rosemary leaves; ¼ cup lavender flowers, dried or fresh; 1 cup Epsom salt; 2 tablespoons olive oil
Super Soak Herbal Skin Softener 1 cup fresh peppermint leaves; ½ cup whole oats; ¼ cup almond oil; 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
Winter Wind Down Lavender & Sage Bath ¼ cup lavender flowers, fresh or dried; ½ cup fresh sage leaves; ½ cup whole oats; ¼ cup powdered milk; 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt; ¼ cup almond oil
Foaming invigorating Ginger Basil Lime Bath 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger; 1 tablespoon lime zest; 1 cup fresh basil leaves; 1/2 cup shaves plain soap; 1 tablespoon almond oil
Winter Skin Refresher ½ cup dried chamomile; ½ cup fresh thyme leaves; 2 tablespoon orange zest; ½ cup whole oats; ¼ cup almond oil; 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
Spicy & Sultry Herbal Bubble Bath 4 fresh bay leaves; 1 cup powdered milk; ¼ cup almond oil; ½ cup bubble bath
Grapefruit & Thyme Winter Rev UP ¼ cup grapefruit zest; ½ cup fresh thyme leaves; ¼ cup fresh mint leaves; 1 cup Epsom salts