Going wild with Essential Oils - Clary Sage

Next up on my essential oil adventure: Clary Sage!

*see disclaimer at the bottom of this post, thank you!*

Clary Sage helps with so many hormonal issues, it's been quite a find for me. After reading about the different things it could help with, I ordered some, and have been pleasantly surprised at the issues it has improved for me.

While it was on my list to try, the thing that moved it to the top of the list was finding out that it could help a stalled labor kick into gear and help strengthen contractions. Since my oldest daughter is imminently due with her first child, and stalled labor was a huge problem for me, I thought she might like to have some of this on hand when she went to the hospital. I'll report back on that one, if she decides to use it. (If the baby EVER comes...;)

I have been on a diuretic and hormone supplement for a number of years due to having wild palpitations if I don't take them. I have now been able to cut out the supplement! If I start having any kind of palpitation, I put a little of this on my inner wrist, and they stop immediately. Huh! I'm going to talk to the doc about cutting back on the diuretic to see how I do without that.

I also deal with ovarian cysts. When I had a cyst flare up the other day, I put some Clary Sage on a cotton ball, and swiped it over the painful area. It seemed to help settle things down. 

As if that were not enough, this oil has finally helped me to SLEEP at night! Insomnia is a tricky foe. Just when you think you have it beat, there it is again, keeping you company all night long. Grrr. This oil can be taken internally, and is recommended that way for insomnia. However, I can't stand the taste of it. Blech. I only do that when absolutely necessary. For every day use, I have a spray bottle on my bedside stand (less than $1 at Walmart) that I filled with 1 oz of water, 20 drops of Lavender Oil and 20 drops of Clary Sage Oil. At bed time, I spritz it on my throat and upper chest, and in moments I am peacefully headed off to sleep. I normally can't get my brain to shut off, so this is such a blessed relief!

Here's what doTerra's beginner's guide has to say about Clary Sage.

(Use with caution during pregnancy. Not for babies. May enhance the effect of alcoholic beverages.)
~Helps regulate periods. Eases cramps and backache. Apply to ankles, lower abdomen, and lower back.
~Eases depression, tension, anxiety, boosts self-esteem, confidence, hope. Diffuse or apply to feet.
~Helps increase breast milk supply. Apply to top of breast once a day.
~Helps deal with body odor. Apply to affected area.
~Balances hormones. Apply to abdomen.
~Uterine health.
~Helps insect bites. Apply to affected area.
~Hot flashes. Apply to ankles nightly.
~Insomnia. Place up to 3 drops under tongue at bedtime.

You can do more research on this and other oils at www.eeoils.me. You can search by oils, symptoms or diagnosis. You can order oils at www.mydoterra.com/lenorapdavis.

I'll be back soon with more about our adventures with essential oils.
Blessings from my healthy home to yours!

Leni's disclaimers.

~I am NOT a doctor. 

~I do not have a medical degree of any kind.

~I am not dispensing medical advice. 

~I am a mom with a family that has numerous medical issues.

~My husband and I have been researching alternative medicine for about 17 years. 

~Western medicine failed us, repeatedly, and we had to look elsewhere. 

~Desperate times, desperate measures. Praise God. 

~I am simply sharing what we have experienced, take it or leave it. 

~There are AMAZING alternative practitioners out there. Go find one. Or two. Or five. We have three that we depend on and go to for treatment, advice and training on a regular basis. 

More upfront information.

~Yes, indeed, I sell essential oils. doTERRA Essential Oils, to be exact. Not because I need the money, because I love the oils.

~I suppose, in theory, I can make a profit. I haven't, but I could. I'm ok with that, but it's not my goal.

~If you know anything about me, I don't endorse anything I don't believe in 100%. 

~If the fact that I represent the company bothers you, I apologize, really. But it is what it is. I wouldn't endorse the company if I didn't think it was the best. There may be other great companies out there. I just don't represent them, so I don't know their stuff, therefore I can't endorse them. I don't talk down about other companies. I think it's low-class, and if you have a great product, you don't need to attack anyone else. Just do what you know. It's who I am. ;o)

--

http://lenisrecipebox.blogspot.com/
http://www.mydoterra.com/lenorapdavis/

Leni's Bread Recipe - Baking in Bulk

Is there any smell better than that of freshly baked bread? Not in my book (although fresh ground coffee is a close second!) 

This is a recipe I developed over the years when we were only eating home-baked bread. There was so much garbage in all of the store brands that I gave up trying to find one that didn't make my kids crazy. 

I ended up investing in a Bosch mixer after burning up numerous stand mixers, and all these years later, I can still say it's the best appliance investment ever. As I started to have more limitations from fibromyalgia and arthritis, I needed to have a reliable machine that could do the heavy kneading for me. This recipe makes 8 loaves of wheat bread, and doesn't even begin to bog down the motor. Makes this mamma one happy camper!

Now that the kids are grown, I rarely have a reason to make 8 loaves of bread at a time, but when I do, it looks something like this...

This time around, I divided it up into 2 loaves of bread, 3 dozen cinnamon rolls, 2 dozen dinner rolls and 2 pizza crusts.

Leni's Notes:
~Scale the recipe back if you don't have a heavy duty mixer.
~If you scale it back to 2 loaves, you can put this in a bread machine on the dough setting, and then remove from machine and bake in two bread pans in your oven.
~A gallon ziploc will hold 2 loaves of dough and it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. You might have to check it for the first couple of hours to make sure it's not continuing to rise, and breaking out of the bag!
~Dough is good for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, pizza, calzones, bread braids (sweet or savory) and bread sticks.
~You can replace up to 1/4 of the flour with another grain like whole wheat or oats. I used to get this great 7 grain mix that I used, made for a great texture.
~The wheat gluten is optional, but really does add a nice touch to the bread, better texture and flavor.
~I make this bread mostly from memory, so I apologize in advance if the instructions are incomplete. If anything seems to be missing from the instructions, leave a comment and I will fix it up until it makes sense! ;)

Ingredients:

5 Cups water or milk, warmed (about 80 degrees)

3/4 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup oil or softened butter

1 tsp salt

16 Cups white flour, more as needed

1/4 C wheat gluten, optional

3 T. dry yeast

Instructions:
~Fit attachment for dough making onto your mixer.
~Layer ingredients in the mixing bowl in the order listed, starting with water or milk, ending with yeast.
~Put top on the bowl and pulse the ingredients to start to gently incorporate them without making flour fly everywhere.
~Once combined, set the machine on the setting that kneads well without bogging down. (For my Bosch, that's the "2" setting.)
~Knead for 8 minutes, then let rest until doubled in size.
Note: The Bosch mixer is very efficient, and does not require a second rising. If you are using a different mixer, or working by hand, let your dough rise a second time.
~Pulse again to knock down the dough, then remove from bowl and divide up for use.
~Shape into loaves (or whatever else you are making) and let rise until doubled in size.
~Bake at 350 for 20 min, then remove from pan and place on wire racks to cool completely before packaging.

Blessings from my family bakery to yours,
Leni

The Long-Awaited Chili Recipe

Yes, indeed, the long-awaited recipe. Not that you've been waiting for it, but I sure have! Over the years, I have tried so many recipes I've lost count of them all. But none of them were just right. They were ok, the family said they enjoyed it, but it just wasn't "it."

Let's face it, if you ask 100 people for their chili recipe, you'll get 100 different recipes. I tried to mimic my favorites, but they were always off on the consistency or taste. I also have to take dietary needs into account. Do you know how hard it is to make chili with no seeds? 

I started a little research project. I polled a group of long-standing online friends, friends I work with on the social committee, favorite cooks, the spice seller guy (who shall from now on be referred to affectionately as "Old Spice", but I'm getting ahead of myself) and anyone else who would listen. I wanted to know if they had a specific recipe, a secret ingredient, something that made their chili stand out in a crowd. Everyone had a different answer, and none of them went together. When I told Old Spice that my chili needed some serious help, he asked, "Well, what kind of chili do you make?" And that's when I realized I missed the most important question. "How do you define chili?" 

After talking with Old Spice for a couple of minutes, we refined my definition, and he recommended a spice blend. I was a little leery, because I'm not fond of mixes and I really hate a recipe that reads, "Open a can of soup, add it to a box of XYZ mix and bake for 7 hours." However, this blend is just right, and he adds NO fillers, no MSG, no nasties. Just pure spices. So I had narrowed down my search.

I took all of the suggestions, and played with recipes until I got the taste I wanted, but the texture was still wrong. My husband likes a good brothy chili, and I just could not find a way to get that without crushed tomatoes, which are full of seeds. But I found a way, and it turned out exactly like we wanted. My husband hid the leftovers so he could have them himself. That's a good sign. 

Leni's Chili with sour cream and slices of sharp cheddar, because I was to tired to shred it.

Leni's Notes:
~The spice blend I'm using is Cool Chili Seasoning from Stuart's Spices in Rochester, NY. It's got a tiny bit of kick, but I can tell you I don't enjoy hot food, and this is not spicy. It is a blend of ground chili peppers, cumin, garlic, oregano and salt. If you don't have the pleasure of living locally, you can order from them, just click on the Contact Us button. Or, mix up your own blend!
~Adjust the meat and bean ratio to your own liking. We like a good amount of protein in ours.
~Turn up the heat accordingly, or leave spices on the table for folks to adjust the taste themselves.
~This can certainly be done on the stove, but it is nice to throw in the crock pot and forget about.
~The amount of masa listed will thicken it slightly, but still leave a very soupy texture. Adjust amount to your liking.
~Serve with some rolls or corn bread.

Ingredients:
32 oz Vegetable Juice (like V8)
2 lbs. ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, diced
6 large mushrooms, diced
1/4 C Cool Chili Seasoning

2 Tbls masa (corn flour)
salt and pepper

Instructions:
~Brown the ground beef with the minced garlic, then drain.
~Add everything except masa, salt and pepper to the crock.
~Let cook on low 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
~Half an hour before serving, taste the broth and add salt and pepper to your liking.
~Sprinkle masa over the chili, and stir in.
~Cover and let cook until you are ready to eat.

Blessings to you from my kitchen in the frozen tundra of Western New York,
Leni

Leni Goes Wild With Essential Oils

I've got some new stuff cooking up in my kitchen. Essential oils are my new passion. We've been using them for many years, but only recently began really researching the many ways we can use them for every day health.

Let's start with some disclaimers, shall we?

~I am NOT a doctor. 

~I do not have a medical degree of any kind.

~I am not dispensing medical advice. 

~I am a mom with a family that has numerous medical issues.

~My husband and I have been researching alternative medicine for about 17 years. 

~Western medicine failed us, repeatedly, and we had to look elsewhere. 

~Desperate times, desperate measures. Praise God. 

~I am simply sharing what we have experienced, take it or leave it. 

~There are AMAZING alternative practitioners out there. Go find one. Or two. Or five. We have three that we depend on and go to for treatment, advice and training on a regular basis. 

More upfront information.

~Yes, indeed, I sell essential oils. doTERRA Essential Oils, to be exact. Not because I need the money, because I love the oils.

~I suppose, in theory, I can make a profit. I haven't, but I could. I'm ok with that, but it's not my goal.

~If you know anything about me, I don't endorse anything I don't believe in 100%. 

~If the fact that I represent the company bothers you, I apologize, really. But it is what it is. I wouldn't endorse the company if I didn't think it was the best. There may be other great companies out there. I just don't represent them, so I don't know their stuff, therefore I can't endorse them. I don't talk down about other companies. I think it's low-class, and if you have a great product, you don't need to attack anyone else. Just do what you know. It's who I am. ;o)

Can I talk about oils now?

I'm going to do the unthinkable and not start with the basics. I'll get there eventually, but tonight I was just SO excited, I had to share an EO success. I have a child that gets nose bleeds. Sometimes they are really bad and really persistent. Scary, even. We've been to the doctor and had her checked for everything imaginable, they have found nothing wrong.

We tried a lot of stuff. Ointments, humidifiers, food elimination, acupressure, acupuncture, allergy treatment...you get the idea. Did I mention we do a lot of research? ;) After years of trying anything and everything, we have finally found something that worked. Cypress Oil. 

When she got a nose bleed today, I jumped into action. No really, I did. It was almost comical. I just got this oil recently, and have been waiting for a chance to test it. When I realized this was my shot, I jumped up, shoved my computer table out of the way, disentangled myself from my sleeping bag (Western NY is mighty cold this evening) and went running for the oil. I then wrestled her down and forced her to let me put some on her. She's a teenager, and somewhat resistant. I refuse to be thwarted.

I put a drop on the inside crook of each arm (about where they'd draw blood) because I'd read that this was a good place for this particular treatment. Within a couple of minutes, the bleeding had stopped. Now, might it have stopped on it's own? Maybe, but she doesn't usually stop that fast.

My husband had a lot of nose bleeds as a child, and there are a lot of circulation issues and vericose veins in the family, which all seem to be connected to nose bleeds and are treatable with Cypress.

I also read today that Helichrysum oil is great for nose bleeds, but it's expensive and I don't have any yet. It's on my list. Good for so many things!

Some folks have put together a great web site where you can search by oil, or by illness/symptoms. It is put together by folks that support doTERRA, but they try to make it usable for all. I only endorse doTERRA, but you do what you want and go with God. Just please, do not ingest ANY oil unless you know it is safe for internal use and of good enough quality to be ingested.

I plan to share more of my research as I discover new uses, and I hope you'll find it helpful. I really am having SO much success with these oils, I can't even believe it.

In coming posts:
DigestZen for ulcerative colitis, IBS, cramps, indigestion, nausea and heartburn.
Lemon Oil for germ killing and all around goodness.
Lavender Oil for relaxing, insomnia...man, did I not give this stuff enough credit!
Peppermint Oil for morning sickness, fever and energy.
OnGuard for the flu and nasty viruses going around. Everyone should have this stuff.
Clary Sage for all things female hormone related.
InTune for ADHD (family test subjects...we'll see what they think!)
Balance to bring you back into, well, balance. Hormones, anxiety, anger...
Eucalyptus for congestion and cough and so many other things!
Frankincense...where to begin. There's a reason the wise men brought Jesus this gift. Very expensive, very worth it.

OK, enough gushing about oils for tonight. I hope you find this as interesting as I do. If not, skip over it and find something yummy to cook. ;o)

Blessings and health from our home to yours,
Leni
http://www.mydoterra.com/lenorapdavis/

Happy 2014!

It's been brought to my attention (by my husband) that I've really been slacking off on blogging lately. ;) Sad reality is that I had barely enough time to cook, much less write about it!

Happily, I have changed my work status. Instead of working a full schedule, I am now only subbing. Yeay, me! I've been spending my newly found free time firmly planted in the kitchen.

Spent a couple days this week working on Pinterest finds. One was a total flop (Chili Lime Wings. Sounds wonderful, sauce was not my cup of tea at all) the other was great, after I fixed my own mistakes. Oops! I'll blog about that soon.

Looking forward to cooking and posting and hearing how things are going in your kitchens!

Blessings,
Leni

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's the most wonderful time...of the year! (Are you singing along with me?)

Ok, so it's about Christmas, but I really love the kick off of Thanksgiving. I love to cook with my family, have everyone over, wait to see what the inevitable disaster will be, you know, all the good stuff.

The turkey is brining, the bread is cubed and toasted, the mini pumpkin cheesecakes are cooling, the mashed potatoes are made and ready to be heated up. Tomorrow we will finish up all the cleaning and setting up and roast the turkeys, make the gravy...have I mentioned I love this time of year?

Can't seem to find any posts about my dry brine method, I'll have to post that soon. Easiest method ever.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Twice Baked Potatoes for the Freezer

Here I am, alive and well! I've been working on revamping my techniques for cooking ahead. Somethings, like lasagna, are really good when you freeze and then thaw and bake. But for the most part, I prefer to have things fresh-made. That does not quite fit with my current lifestyle. ;) 

So I have been filling my fridge and freezer with foods that are prepped for fresh cooking. It's a great time saver during the week. My veggies are prepped, my meat is butchered and brined, broth is frozen...you get the idea. 

Today I worked on a side dish. What you see below is one of the trays of twice baked potatoes that I made today. (I made 2 1/2 trays.) It was a lot of work, but I made enough for 6-8 meals, depending on how many are here for dinner. 

Leni's Notes:

~As I was making these, my family came along and put sloppy joes on top of them. Big hit! I'll have to remember that for later.

~I flash freeze them on these trays, then move them to ziplocs for long-term storage.

~The filling is very versatile. Make them with whatever flavors you like. But I recommend always using the cream cheese and sour cream, otherwise the potatoes tend to get kind of gritty when they thaw.

 ~I mashed mine down because I wanted mine level, so we can add toppings  You could mound it up if you want to. (If you make them level, you'll have extra mashed potatoes to enjoy!)

Ingredients:

10# Russet baking potatoes

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened

1 lg container sour cream 

1 stick butter

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp garlic salt

2 C shredded sharp cheddar

2 -4 Tbls dried chives

Instructions:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.(If you're eating them that day.)

~Wash the potatoes, and pat dry.

~Prick the skins, and rub skins with oil. 

~Place potatoes on a foil-lined pan. (I fit all of them on two large cookie sheets.)

~Bake until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size.

~Let cool until you can handle them, then scoop the middles out, leaving a small layer of potato in the skin.

~Put the scooped out middled in a large bowl, and put the potato skins back on the trays.

~To the bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, pepper and salts.

~Mash or blend until desired consistency. 

~Mix in cheese and chives.

~Use an ice cream scoop to put filling back into the skins, and mash down. 

~Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze.

~When ready to serve, place desired amount of potatoes in baking dish. (Temp is variable, put them in with whatever you are already making.)

~If putting them in the oven frozen, cover with foil. If thawed, you can leave them open. 

~Bake until heated through and slightly browned.