i did WHAT with milk?

My Dad gave me two cartons of milk the other day, saying he noticed I like drinking it.  I actually prefer almond milk, or sometimes low-fat milk when I need to stretch the budget - but I just received two liters of the full-fat variety.

I'm not exactly willing to drink full-fat milk, but I decided to accept the gift because it was a sweet gesture (minus my Dad's story about how he can't properly digest the stuff anymore, hee hee).  So I did a web search for recipes I could use milk in.  Just then I remembered a snippette I read in a teen magazine several years ago, about using milk as a homemade hair mask.  I remembering trying it out back then and that I was very happy with the result.

Image from yahoo.lifestyle.co.nz

So this is one of the things I did with the milk:

milk as a hair treatment

• After shampooing, apply milk to hair.  A spray bottle makes it easier.
• Work it into your hair.  Leave it on for a few minutes. For even better results, leave it on for thirty.  A shower cap is a good idea.
• Rinse well.

The result:  soft, silky tresses.  I find it more effective in taming my hair than store-bought straightening conditioners.

I was surprised to find a lot of beauty blogs discussing  the wonders that milk does for hair. I've read that it helps to remove product residue accumulated through the years, and it provides nourishment.  I also learned that the creamy beverage was used as a hair and skin treatment way before commercial shampoos were available.  This practice goes back all the way to Cleopatra, who bathed in milk because she believed in its healing and beautifying properties.

A lot of women are opting for traditional hair treatments nowadays, and milk is one of the ingredients in some homemade shampoo recipes.  This method of washing hair in milk is an all-natural, sulfate-free alternative to conditioner.

newspaper seedling pots

Here's a brilliant recycling idea, which is particularly handy if you have a garden at home: seedling pots made of old newspaper.   It's an eco-friendlier, biodegradable option to the usual material  (e.g. plastic cups, tin cans, or the often-used plastic seedling bag).  It's pretty convenient too - you can drop a "potted" seedling right into the soil.

It's surprisingly sturdy, and once you fill it with soil, it's stable.  And it's real easy to make, so voici --

How To Make Newspaper Seedling Pots

You will need:

• old newspaper
• a can or bottle

Procedure:

step 1.  

Open up your newspaper and separate it into sheets.  Tear a sheet in half along the crease, then tear in half again, like so:

All you need is half a page, or one-fourth of a sheet to make one pot.

step 2.
Fold this lengthwise, leaving a margin of about 1-2 inches from the ragged edge.

step 3.
At the folded edge, and make another fold to create a "lip" about half an inch wide.  La la la ...

step 4. 
Next, roll the folded newspaper snugly around a can or bottle.

It doesn't really matter whether the "lip" faces, just make sure the folded edge of the newspaper is parallel to the rim of the can.


step 5.
Holding the newspaper in place with your fingers, turn your can (or bottle) so the ragged edge of the paper faces upward.

step 6.
Fold the ragged edge in, like you would a parcel.

Keep folding.  As tightly as you can.

step 7.
Now, slip the can out, and flip your little newspaper cylinder over.

step 8.
Remember the half-inch lip you made earlier?  Simply tuck your newspaper into itself to lock your pot in place.

Ta-dah!  It's ready to use.

Repeat the process to make several paper pots.

Pepper Potts

er, paper pots!

Fill with dirt and plant your seedlings.   ^_^ Here are the ones we have at home, poised right where they will be transplanted soon:

how to make your own all-natural, chemical-free household cleanser /disinfectant

I picked up this really brilliant idea from a friend's blog, and I decided to try it out myself.  It's quite useful and it costs next to nothing.

You will need:

• A clean jar (or any container that can hold liquid) with a cover
• White vinegar
• Orange peel

.

You will simply have to:

• Pour an amount of vinegar into the jar.
• Immerse the bits of orange peel.
• Cover and let stand for a week or two, then fish out the orange peel from the liquid.
  

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, and the orange peel will neutralize it's rancid odor.

How to use:

• Transfer the liquid into a spray bottle - or any bottle you think will make it easier for you to pour out.
• Spray directly on surfaces (careful though - don't use it on colored material or anything that reacts to acid).
• Wipe with a clean, dry rag.
• If you need a less potent solution, dilute with drinking water.

Clever, huh?  I really appreciate this because I'm quite iffy about those commercial kitchen cleansers and disinfectants laden with all sorts of chemicals; I feel as if those things are not exactly safe for surfaces where I prepare food, like kitchen counters and table tops.  I mean, those products are poisonous, and what if the vegetables I'm chopping accidentally come in contact with the residue on a chemically-treated marble counter top?  Well, vinegar and orange peel are completely non-toxic.

An all-natural homemade cleanser is also safe for cleaning things that pets or children use (like toys that they tend to put in their mouths).  No need to worry about poisonous residue.  ^_^

tarragon love

The tiny patch of tarragon in our herb garden has been flourishing this year (whee!).  It's one of the herbs I am least familiar with, so I spent some time getting acquainted with it. 

Image not mine.  Nicked from this site.

my top three uses for tarragon:

1. For making a nice cup of calming tea

Tarragon tea is said to detoxify and reduce anxiety.  I've found that it's a perfect pre-bedtime drink; if I had a cup or two while watching television at night, I'd have an easier time falling asleep.

Procedure:
Pour a cup of boiling water over a teaspoon of fresh tarragon leaves (or half a tsp if dried, or two if frozen).  Cover and let stand for two minutes. And don't add sugar.  ^_^

It's nice as a cold beverage too:  Let cool, add cold water and ice. Add a drop of vanilla extract or honey if you want it sweeter.

2.  For not-so-plain rice

Procedure:
Drop a sprig or two of tarragon into the rice cooker before the rice boils.  When cooked, remove the leaves, mix and serve. That simple!  In effect, you would be cooking the rice in herbal tea instead of plain water, making the rice absorb the flavor.  Tarragon adds a mild fragrance and sweetness to rice, makes for a good companion to meats (like lechon manok), esp. spicy meats. 

This process can be done with almost any herb actually - mint and chamomile are excellent rice-spicers, me thinks.


3.  For adding a kick to mango shake

To reap the benefits of fresh fruit shake, it should have little or no sugar (not refined sugar at least).  Herbs like mint or pandan have long been used to add sweetness to beverages, but tarragon is a good choice too.

I.m.ho., the flavors of mango and tarragon complement each other. 

Procedure:
Make fruit shake the usual way, but this time, add tarragon instead of sugar.

And another one of my favorite uses for tarragon:

My rabbit Davey loves it.  He gets excited when he gets a whiff of freshly-picked tarragon.  It's a healthy bunny-treat, besides.
.

tarragon tea

I noticed how the row of tarragon in my dad's garden has been looking lively lately, and I got tickled by the thought doing something with the fragrant herb.  I don't know much about tarragon and what sort of dishes call for it; I do remember sipping a cup of tarragon tea at Sonya's in Tagaytay some time ago.

Tarragon is slightly sweet, and I imagine it would go nicely with mangoes. My rabbits love eating it.
To my nostrils, a whole bunch of it smells slightly of Mighty Bond superglue, but not at all in an offensive way.

It is said to have relaxing and stress-relieving properties.  I decided to test that by making myself some tea before bedtime.

Image mine.

* Since tarragon is on the sweet side, there's no need for sugar. But if you need a bit more sweetening, I suggest you use honey - it goes nicely with the flavor.  Besides, it makes sense not to use sugar if your intent for drinking is relaxation.

I've always been the type to have trouble sleeping at night (sleeping in the daytime however, often proves to be much easier) and it looks like the tea is already working its power on me.  Either that or the Heroes marathon the Hubby and I did today lulled me to ennui.

still crazy over coconut oil ^_^

It wasn't very long ago when I discovered the many good things about coconut oil, but it's now one of my favorite things ever. It's very affordable (especially here in the Philippines), all-natural and loaded with benefits.

I've been using virgin coconut oil as make-up remover and as skin moisturizer, and I quite prefer it over chemical-laden products (My skin is super dooper sensitive and it often breaks out when I use certain lab-concocted substances). Since I started using coco oil there's been a visible improvement on my skin.

I've also been making an all-natural body scrub with it. Previously shared the recipes here.

Speaking on homemade beauty products, someone recently tweeted this link to a recipe for body butter using coconut oil. I think I'll be trying that sometime.

It is said its subtle scent has a calming effect. Using it thus doubles into an aromatherapy session. ^_^

I've already tried cooking with it - it not only smells better than the usual store-bought cooking oils, but it also lowers the bad cholesterol. And it tastes yummy too.

The other day, I stumbled upon this lady's blog entry on 80 Uses for Coconut Oil. Intriguing. I'm a bit cynical about some of the claims, but I'm willing to test a few. ^_^

Photo from here.

I have a new "like" : virgin coconut oil

Someone told me that virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a good skin moisturizer. Since I happen to be allergic to a lot of lotions and stuff I decided to give VCO a try.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and I'm liking it. It has kept my skin from drying and helped my cold-rashes subside.

Since VCO is all-natural, there aren't any allergic reactions or side effects.

I did a bit of Googling around about VCO and I learned that it has a whole lot of other benefits. Aside from being useful as a skin and/ or hair conditioner, I mean. It is said to treat eczema, dandruff and fungal infections, and helps to keep skin looking young and healthy. It's also a good massage oil and stress-reliever.

VCO ingested in small amounts could help to regulate weight. You could cook with it too - it is said to be "the healthiest oil on earth".

I'm no pro on this though, so don't take my word for it; you can do some research yourself. And by the way, make sure to pick out virgin coconut oil, not just regular coconut oil.

There's this homemade body scrub recipe that I've been using. Instead of the usual olive oil, I tried virgin coconut oil instead this week, and I've found that and it works just as nicely. VCO is a cheaper alternative, and it smells yummy too.

temporary vegetary

Image from here.

I thought about going vegetarian for a week. Maybe two. Though I probably need to lose a few inches around me, my real reason has nothing to do with weight loss. I just think it's about time for a detoxification of sorts.

I realize that I've been eating mostly chicken and fish the past several months (it's my Dad's menu of choice for health reasons. And since we acquired a new helper to cook for us, I stopped bothering to prepare food for myself so I just eat what they prepare). I've been getting these bad rashes on my legs, and I remembered that I used to have these same allergic reactions to chicken and fish and eggs and seafood when I was younger. I thought that the allergies went away through the years, but apparently they just stayed away when I ate a more-or-less balanced diet. Now that I'm practically living in the poultry train, I'm getting chicken skin all over again.

But who wants to live with the itching and scratching and wheezing and sneezing, right? I decided to adjust my diet, at least for a while. Since we live with my Dad and he has pretty much outlawed beef and pork in this house, I thought it would be best to go vegetarian. I'm going to try to drag my Hubby and my Dad into this too, because I think it's a really good idea.

A local magazine featured vegetarianism a few Sundays back, so I went through that issue for some input. I was delighted to read people's testimonials and the health benefits they've been experiencing - increased energy, clearer skin, slowed aging. Just for those things, it might even be a good idea to go green forever ... but, naaah; I love bacon too much. :D

A vegetarian diet doesn't just mean steamed veggies and tofu. There are a lot of yummy, meatless dishes that are easy to prepare, so I'm not afraid that I'll be starving myself. I've already started to scribble possible dishes.

I could and should eat
(and force influence others at home to follow):

oatmeal
corn flakes
bread
pesto
veggie spaghetti
spinach / eggplant lasagna
bean soup
baked potato
baked tomato
waldorf salad
baked tofu
squash soup
onion soup
mushroom soup
tomato soup (i looooove tomato soup!)
banana sandwich
broccoli and cheese
apples and celery
carrot sticks
frozen yogurt
fresh or dried fruit

I'm quite excited about this temporary change. I need to plan menus carefully of course, to make sure I still get the right amount of protein and necessary nutrients. I don't want to end up being a vegetable myself.

girls talk: going green

Whew! It was a bit of a challenge for me to find something for this week's GT - I realize i don't own anything green. Anyway, I finally managed to find something to share. I might be cheating a bit, but it's still all the right color. ^_^

First off, I live in a home with a garden (garden = green, right?). Instead of flowers and ornamental plants, we have herbs:


I love adding herbs to my cooking - they add that richness to the flavor and fragrance. I am absolutely glad that I can pick them fresh from the garden - not only do I get to save money (herbs at the supermarket are usually pricey), but I also have an option not to put unnecessary additives found in instant flavorings.

Among my loves in the garden are basil, oregano, rosemary and mint.

And while we're on the topic of green, let me share about my fascination for vermarine. It's one of my favorite materials when making fashion accessories:


Vermarine is a semiprecious stone, a mint-green colored quartz. Natural vermarine is rare, but the cheaper, lab-enhanced kind is produced by heat-treating amethyst (purple quartz). This here is a photo of a choker I made using unnatural vermarine and amethyst.

Find more green-mindedness at ...

homemade body scrub

(Easy recipes included ^_^ )


I enjoy trying out trusted recipes for homemade beauty products - the kind that I can put together in my own kitchen. Aside from getting to do something fun and new, I get a free, all-natural product for pampering myself. I like these homemade things because they're a lot less expensive than store-bought products; more importantly they have no chemicals or additives, and are safe on ultrasensitive skin like mine.

In the past few years, I've tried making different kinds of all-natural body scrub, facial mask, toner, lip balm and hair conditioner - all of which produced satisfying results.

Today I made some more olive oil body scrub. It's one of the easiest things to make. It moisturizes and exfoliates skin safely.

I get no allergic reactions from it. I particularly like using it on my legs and feet - it helps to smooth out those dry portions on my toes and heels. It's also safe to use on lips; it sloughs off dead skin cells and brings out a rosy glow.

Olive Oil Body Scrub

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 tbsp. salt (or sugar)
  

Combine olive oil and salt.
Store in an airtight container.

TO USE: After your bath, massage this onto your skin then rinse off. Use at least once a week. Go easy on the scrubbing; the salt or (sugar) could be pretty abrasive if you rub too hard. ;)

With this, you don't need to put on lotion after your bath (which works for me, since I'm allergic to a lot of lotions anyway), and you don't have to worry about poisonous stuff accumulating under your fingernails.

Another nice, easy-to-make-at-home scrub:

Oatmeal Body Scrub

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp. rolled oats
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. sugar (or salt)
  
• Olive oil, coconut oil or any massage oil of your choice
  

Run the oats through a blender to mince them.
Combine oatmeal, sugar (or salt) and honey.
Pour in oil until it just covers the mixture.
Stir together.
Store in an airtight container.

SUGGESTION
Add a drop of essential oil to give yourself some aromatherapy. Try rose, lavender or vanilla if you want something relaxing. Use citrusy scents if you want it energizing.

This exfoliates and moisturizes, and nourishes skin. It smells yummy too.

Going back to our grandmothers' beauty recipes might be a good idea, now that we've become conscious of chemicals in commercial products - as well as the eventual harm those chemicals can do to our bodies and the environment. All-natural ingredients are SLS-free and they don't come in plastic packaging. They're non-irritating, skin-friendly and environment-friendly. ^_^

home-grown greens

I really appreciate my Dad's little herb-and-vegetable garden. I kinda thought that was just his thing, something he does for his recreation -- it was only until recently that I realized I was harvesting its benefits as well.


First of all, growing herbs saves a bit of money. If they were grocery-bought, they would have been a bit pricey and i would have had to use them sparingly.

I love Italian-esque recipes, and I love that I can go crazy on the herbs. I'm free to experiment and it doesn't hurt to use as much as a cup of basil in one preparation of pasta sauce.

Secondly, the obvious: When I need them, i can just pick them fresh.

So many times I've had sudden cravings for pesto, or tinola with malunggay, or soup, and I love that I don't have to drive to a store to buy the greens. It saves me a lot of time.

Thirdly, my rabbit-friends benefit from the garden too. Every now and then I serve them a treat of a fragrant herb salad. (The bunnies are not allowed to stroll in the garden though, because they will attack everything in sight). When we're out of pellets or the staple kangkong, it's refreshing to know that I don't have to run out and buy some because I can give them some garden greens.

Davey and Pepper know how to give back to the garden of course; they provide a daily supply of natural fertilizer. ^_^

Fourth, because they're home-grown, I am assured that the greens I eat are pesticide-free. They even have the holes to prove it.

Fifth, some of the other plants have medicinal or have some other practical use aside from being pretty. The tea trees, for example, ward off mosquitoes.

daytrip to sonya's garden

I've been wanting to go to Sonya's Garden for a long time, and I finally got to do it last week with the Hubby's family. On our way to Batangas, we stopped by Sonya's for lunch and it was utter bliss. Here are some of my favorite captures from that daytrip.

I love the lush, natural greenery nestling the entire site. It provides a relaxing atmosphere that distracts you from the stressors of day-to-day existece.

I love the scent of herbs, flowers and honey and the sound of birds that waft through the air.


I love that there are fresh flowers all around, some of them oversized. Some of them I don't see in the city anymore.


I love the architecture and interior of the bed and breakfast.

I love the 19th-century Fil-Spanish style combined with early 20th-century Art Nouveau. It gives off a romantic, slightly surreal ambience.


I love the oversized windows that let the sunlight and scented air in, even the diaphanous white curtains they are trimmed with. I love the crisp, white linens, the fresh flower arrangements, the glass chandeliers and the knicknacks and reading materials purposely choreographed to create a place like a home.

I love how things were cleverly repurposed - wineglass bases in the stained glass windows, old wood beams that have survived termite attacks and have been reincarnated as flooring or paneling, antique calesa chasis as benches, colored perfume bottles as windchimes, authentic capis latticework panels as sliding windows.


I love how everything is shabby-chic yet pristine and uncluttered.

I love the bathrooms and washrooms with the beach-mimic baths, charmigly furnished with organic soap and rosewater. Not a single inch of mildew or stains anywhere.


I love the restaurant snuggled in the middle of the greenery.

I love the menu. The dalandan juice with mint leaves. The bread and kesong puti. The salad with fresh-picked greens from the very garden, including rose petals. The make-your-own-sauce pasta. The tarragon tea (I never knew tarragon could be made into tea)


I love the serene feeling it left in me.

get those canvas bags ready!

I heard on the news yesterday that a bill was recently filed in congress regarding a tax on plastic bags.

House Bill 4134 pushes for the imposition of a P2.50 excise tax on every plastic bag. According to Rep. Al Bichara, the bill’s author, this will prompt shoppers to opt for environment-friendly alternatives.

Petrochemicals and nonbiodegradables, BOO!

Great idea. I really hope it sees the light. I wonder why this wasn't pushed locally earlier. ;)

I personally wouldn't mind toting around my own paper or canvas bag to go green (for that matter, I've already had some large-ish cloth bags for that purpose). I don't appreciate plastic bags anyway. They are quick to accumulate into an eyesore monster around the house.

But on a more non-personal level, this will hopefully minimize our country's own eyesores.

I personally don't believe Global Warming could be stopped - it is an inevitable event that the planet has been cycling into and out of for centuries, if you have been paying attention to Earth history, environmentalist ladies and gentlemen - it can only be delayed. But I'm all for prolonging the pleasantness of life on earth, ayt? I am well aware that my little plastic bag fast isn't really a large-scale solution, but at least I stop being a part of the small-scale problem.