Kombucha: Ancient Fermented Tea

Kombucha has been a super trendy drink the past few years, and you would be hard pressed to walk into a health store without finding bottles upon bottles of the overpriced fermented tea. A 16 oz. bottle of kombucha produced by GT's Kombucha costs approximately $3.50, however you can make an entire gallon (or more) at home for a fraction of the cost. There are pretty extravagant health claims surrounding kombucha and it's often toted as an all-around "cure all" for everything from cancer to fatigue to arthritis. According to the American Cancer Society, however, none of these health claims have been proven. One thing we know for sure is that Kombucha is a carbonated alternative to soda that has way less processed sugar and is easy to make at home.

This ancient fermented tea originated in Northeast China at about 200 BC. With the extension of trade routes the recipe traveled to India and Russia. You can now find every new age hippie and health fanatic from Maine to L.A. slugging the drink. (For a pretty great spoof on Kombucha and our current foodie trends in general, click here.)

In order to make kombucha you have to start with a kombucha culture, which is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). The scoby (also called the "Mother") looks like a slimy, flat mushroom and it feasts on the sugars within sweet tea and poops out lots of probiotics. Or something like that... Kombucha does contain a tiny amount of alcohol, about 1%, due to the fermentation process. You could try to get drunk off kombucha if you were 15 years old and really desperate, but good luck with that, really. Here's a photo of Banjo hanging out with my black market kidney transplant kombucha scoby.

Kombucha Recipe (Makes about 1 gallon)

3 1/2 quarts distilled water
1 cup raw sugar
8 tea bags - I use a mix of black and green. (Or 2 tbsp of loose-leaf tea)
1 kombucha scoby (or a bottle of GT's Kombucha if you need to start your own scoby)
2 cups starter tea (already-made kombucha from a friend or the store)
2 cups organic fruit juice

Equipment

1 large stockpot
1-gallon glass jar
6 16 oz. glass bottles (ball jars or swing-top)
1 clean dish towel

1.  Make the tea base - Bring the water to a boil and then remove from heat. Add tea bags and sugar and let steep until the sweet tea has completely cooled to room temperature.

1. Add starters - Pour the cooled sweet tea into the gallon glass jar. Add your starter tea and kombucha scoby. Your scoby might float at the top, sink to the bottom or plaster itself to one side of your jar. It's all good in Scoby Land, just let the sucker get comfortable. A new scoby should form on the top of your jar in a few days, and that's how you know the magic is working. 

1. Cover and wait - Cover your  glass jar with a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band or twine. Try to keep your kombucha out or direct sunlight while it ferments. Allow the scoby to work its magic for 7 to 14 days depending on how strong you like your drink. Also keep in mind that fermentation happens faster in warm weather. Because I was making this batch in my cold apartment during a Kansas winter, I let it ferment for a solid 14 days. At this point I recommend labeling your jar with the start and finish date so you know when your batch is done. 
2. Second fermentation - You can technically drink your kombucha as soon as it reaches a level of sweetness and tartness that you like, but it won't be fizzy. To get a carbonated beverage you need to do a second fermentation - this is also when you add juice, fruit or herbs for additional flavor. For the second fermentation you will need to pull out your bottling jars and make sure they're nice and clean. I pour a ratio of about 1/4 juice to 3/4 kombucha into my clean jars. There will be little scoby "floaters" in there, so if that bothers you then pour your kombucha through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer first. Leave about 1/2 inch of head room at the top of each jar, seal and let sit in room temperature, out of direct sunlight for another 2 or 3 days. 

You can buy flip-top bottles such as the these from a homebrew and wine-making supplier. Midwest Supplies offers them in blue, brown or clear, at approximately $30 for a case of 12. 

1. Drink or refrigerate - After a few days of the second fermentation your kombucha will be ready to drink! Any bottles that you don't open should be placed into your fridge immediately so that the fermentation process is slowed down. These suckers can make a lot of carbonation really quickly and if you don't stick them in your fridge then you risk them exploding sticky sugar drink all over your kitchen. 

Extra notes

• I was able to get a healthy, large scoby from my friend Kale. If you're reading this, and live in the Kansas City area, I'd be happy to hook you up with a scoby to get you started. You can also start a scoby from a bottle of GT's Kombucha; here are instructions because I've never actually tried that method myself. 
• Using a glass jar for the fermentation is actually really important. You want your kombucha to avoid prolonged contact with metal, which can give the drink a metallic flavor and weaken your scoby over time. 
•  On a medicinal note, the acid and weak alcohol content of kombucha make it better at extracting the medicinal properties from plants than plain water. Pretty much anything you would brew as a medicinal tea can be added to a batch of kombucha during its second fermentation. For example, a few tablespoons of dandelion root per bottle would make a wonderfully bitter live tonic. 

If fermentation sparks your curiosity, then you may want to consider buying or borrowing The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz, which delves into the history and how-to of various fermented drinks, kimchis, krauts and so, so much more. It's a really incredible book. 

Fire Cider: Recipe and Trademark Controversy

Fire Cider has been a hot topic lately due to the trademark controversy surrounding the vinegar- and honey-based medicinal drink. The term "Fire Cider" was coined by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 70s and she has published variations of the recipe in a number of her books, including Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, which I referenced for the recipe below.

Shire City Herbals, an small East Coast business, started selling Fire Cider in a number of small health food stores across the nation, including my local co-op, The Merc. This would be great news, except Shire City Herbals has now gone on a mission to shut down any other small business that's also selling Fire Cider; they recently contacted a number of small producers on Etsy. This is akin to trademarking the term "Lemonade"  and then bitterly shutting down every child's lemonade stand that you come across. The fact that this recipe is very common among herbalist and is taught nationwide makes this trademark case even more complicated.

 Learn more in this article from Examiner entitled Herbalists Fighting Trademark of Fire Cider.
To watch a YouTube video of Rosemary Gladstar making Fire Cider, click here.

As a homage to Rosemary and a fat finger to greedy corporatism, I've decided to make Fire Cider today and to share the recipe with you guys. Enjoy it, and share at will!

Fire Cider - Herbal Vinegar

1 medium onion - chopped
4 -5 garlic cloves
3 -4 Tbsp ginger root
3 - 4 Tbsp horseradish root
1 jalapeno pepper 
2 C. apple cider vinegar (unpasteurized)
1/2 C. honey

(I left my camera at the office this weekend, so all of these photos were taken with an iPhone.)

Combine chopped onion, garlic, ginger, horseradish and jalapeno in a widemouthed, glass quart jar. Add enough warmed vinegar to cover them (warming the vinegar allows it to more actively draw out the properties of the herbs). Place Fire Cider in a warm spot and let sit for 3 to 4 weeks. Strain out the herbs and add honey to taste.

Take 1 tablespoon of Fire Cider a day or add it to salad dressings and marinades. At the first sign of a cold, take 1 to 2 tablespoons every 3 to 4 hours until your symptoms subside.

Fire Cider is essentially a tincture that uses apple cider vinegar instead of vodka. This makes it great for children and for incorporating into cooking. This healthful cider is spicy and sweet, and is ideal for winter sinus infections.

Flu-Fighting Ginger Tea

For the past month I've listened to everyone in my office cough, sneeze and blow their noses. I stood my ground and proudly represented the "healthy few" with the aid of my echinacea tinctures, plenty of sleep and my good friend the neti pot. However, last Monday I finally succumbed and came down with one helluva head cold. My sinuses were totally blocked and my head was pounding with the pressure.

It was time to take action, and I remembered reading about Stephen Bunner's immune-boosting, sinus-clearing ginger tea in the Mother Earth News article Homemade Herbal Medicines for Common Ailments. The recipe below is a variation of Stephen's recipe.

Ingredients

2 pieces ginger rhizome

1/2 lemon

1 tbsp honey

2 c. hot water

sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Put the ginger root through a juicer to extract the pure essence. If you don't have a juicer, cut the ginger into disks and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes to make ginger tea. Remove from heat and strain out the ginger bits. 

When juiced, the 2 pieces of ginger root made almost exactly 1 oz. of pure ginger essence. This is wonderfully spicy stuff, so use with caution. 

Pour hot water over the ginger juice, then add fresh lemon juice, however much cayenne pepper you can stand, and a spoonful of honey. You can really feel this spicy tea working on your sinuses; it tingles up in your nose like wasabi. Because ginger is such a fantastic digestive aid, this ginger tea would also make a great after-dinner drink. 

Skullcap Headache Tea

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) is a member of the mint family, and grows in shady areas near streams. It's a "nervine" herb, which means it acts as a tonic for the nervous system. Skullcap is a versatile nervine and it's useful for a whole range of disorders related to the nervous system including headaches, stress, menstrual tension and insomnia. To receive the full benefits of skullcap, it's recommended to use it over an extended period of time and in adequate dosages. Here's a recipe for Skullcap Headache Tea. The ingredients are pretty basic, which makes this an easy one to whip up when you feel a headache coming on.

Skullcap Tea for Headaches and Nervous Stress (Rosemary Gladstar's Recipe)

2 parts Skullcap
2 parts Lemon Balm
1/2 part Feverfew
4 parts Chamomile

Prepare as an infusion. Drink at least a quarter cup every half hour until the headache symptoms are gone.

I wrapped the ingredients in cheesecloth and secured the bundle with twine. I like this reusable teabag method. 

I chose to make my skullcap tea as a solar infusion. I let it steep in a nearby garden for about 4 hours in the sunlight.

The color difference before and after the infusion was made. It's not a very dark infusion. This tea was very mild and easy to drink. 

And this little guy just got to hang out and watch. 

Creating an Herbal Medicine Cabinet

Herbal medicine cabinet has arrived!

Lesson one in "The Science and Art of Herbology" course instructs you to take inventory of your current herbal medicine cabinet. Prior to this weekend, mine was seriously lacking. I had lots of dried chamomile that I had picked and dried from our office garden last year. I had about two cups of stevia powder that I had acquired through working on the Mother Earth News article, All About Growing the Stevia Plant. I had three supplements  - ginkgo, melatonin, and zinc - as well as some neem oil. My essential oils included cinnamon, sweet orange, peppermint, spearmint and marshmallow root. I'm not the type of person to collect products that I don't need only for them to gather dust around my house. I've decided, however, that in order to really take this herbal course the right way, I need to be able to whip up all sorts of elixirs, salves and teas with the blink of an eye. If my throat gets sore or my ear starts to ache, I want to be able to go experiment in the kitchen right away.

Stored in glass bottled with cork tops

So, with the help of my lovely mother who is also taking this course, my herbal medicine cabinet tripled this weekend. Saturday was like Christmas when my mom showed up with a trash bag full of dried herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs,  one of my favorite online herb shops. We spent the afternoon drinking tea, catching up, and sorting our herbs into newly labeled glass jars.

So now, in addition to my aforementioned medicine cabinet, the dried herbs that I have on hand are....

1. Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
2. Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
3. Lobelia (Lobelia infiata)
4. Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
5. Hops Flowers (Humulus lupulus)
6. Comfrey Root (Symphytum officinale)
7. Wood Betony (Stachys officinales)
8. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
9. Feverfew (Tanacetum Parthenium)
10. Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis)
11. St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
12. Scullcap (Scutellaria barbata)

With all these new herbs on hand I'm ready for less reading and more doing.

Herbal Home Study Course has Arrived!

The Science and Art of Herbalism 

Look what's here! I am soo excited to begin Rosemary Gladstar's home study course, The Science and Art of Herbalism.  It's up to me what time frame I finish this in, but my goal is to complete the 12 course packets within one year. I also just found out my enthusiasm is contagious and my mom will be joining me on this adventure! We're going to meet at our family's lake house every 3 weeks to experiment with making salves, tinctures and all the other herbal preparations waiting inside these pages.

This course includes materia medica, wild plant identification, tons of hands-on preparations and healing information on everything from pets and children to the nervous system. It will take us into kitchens, gardens, weedy lots, herb stores and apothecaries as well as the woodlands and fields to look for plant medicine. Enough writing, let the adventures begin!

Sourdough starter from Robin

Look what arrived today! Robin (our food editor) found out about this great family who has carefully nurtured the same sourdough starter for 150 years. The original starter was actually used on the Oregon Trail. Bringing this culture back to life is a bit Jurassic Park like...you find an old artifact with a bit of life in it an Voila! a part of history is brought back to life in our modern kitchens. I invested in a cast iron dutch oven this weekend to cook artisan bread right at home. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Making PawPaw Jelly

Pawpaw fruit hiding in the trees.

Once we correctly identified the mystery fruit as the edible pawpaw we knew we had to return for more. The next morning Chris and I met my dad at Kill Creek Park where we unloaded the dogs and took off in search of more pawpaws. We carried little Trudy across the rushing creek as the other dogs bound easily across. We once again let our noses sniff the way to the enticing pawpaw patch. 

Most of the ripe pawpaws had fallen off the small, shade loving trees. They all landed, somewhat bruised, among piles of fallen leaves. Some pawpaws, however, had managed to cling on for a while longer, and for those we stretched and jumped or shook the trees violently to make them fall to the ground. After we had a full bag of the green, mango tasting fruit we called for the dogs and trekked back to the cars. We ran into an elderly couple who curiously inquired about our nearly bursting, dripping bags. We explained to them that we were foraging these fruits for jelly and they smiled nervously, not sure if they should view us as adventurous foodies or scavenging beggars...we probably looked more like the latter.

A full bag of foraged pawpaws.

In our excitement about pawpaw's we learned that the fruit is native to Eastern North America and migrated as far west as Kansas and Texas thanks to the American Indians. The pawpaw tree grows to be 12 to 20 feet tall and prefers filtered sunlight. The pawpaws we found were small trees, all clustered together in a shady patch. Pawpaw trees are relatively disease resistant and have a natural resistance to Oak Root Fungus. Bees, for some reason, are not attracted to pawpaw flowers which leaves pollinating to less enthusiastic creatures and the wind. Commercial growers of pawpaws have to hand pollinate. The pawpaw is the largest native fruit of North America.

Chris removing the pawpaw skins.

The fruit looks and smells like a mango but has a custardy consistency. In fact it even belongs to the tropical custard apple family.The flavor is very strong and when I eat my pawpaw jelly on toast I spread it fairly thin. The pawpaw is rich in vitamins A and C as well as the minerals magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and manganese. The pawpaw fruit is also good for the skin, and when blended with yogurt and applied topically it treats both acne and cellulite.

Back at the house we pulled up this recipe for Pawpaw Jam and went to town. We had a great time  getting our hands all sticky with pawpaw juice and laughing about the shocked couple from the woods. We loved the excitement of stumbling across a mystery fruit in the land we all thought we knew so well and then returning to forage and store it for a later time. I now feel as though I have a deeper connection to those woods and will remember from here on out that the end of September is pawpaw season. I'm inspired to learn what else grows around here, and it's season, for future foraging expeditions. 

We swirled in cloves, allspice, cinnamon and ginger.

Pawpaw Jelly

Ingredients

• You need about 4 pounds of fresh paw paws peeled and seeded OR 6 cups of Paw Paw Puree (I used a puree)
• ¾ cup of apple cider Vinegar
• ½ cup of water
• 1/3 cup of Bourbon (optional but gives a wonderful background) 
• 5 cups of Pure Cane Sugar
• 1 cup of brown sugar (dark if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon ground Cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground Allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground Ginger
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon (I think this was a little heavy….add cinnamon to taste)
• 6 oz of liquid pectin

Method

1. Start water bath canner boiling.

2. Sterilize jars, lids and rings.

3. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place jars in position.

This "jar lifter" was our favorite tool.
It allowed us to drop the jars into
the water bath without getting burned
or splashed.

4. In a heavy saucepan, add paw paws and water. Bring to a slow boil, being watchful not to scorch.

5. Bring down to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. You could strain mixture at this juncture. I did not.

7. Add cider, bourbon and sugars at this point. (You might like to add a touch of vanilla too) Return to heat, simmering for about 30 minutes. If after adding all ingredients the mix seems too thick, add a little more water…not much.

8. Stir frequently.

9. The mixture will change appearance and become thick. If you place a metal spoon in the mix, pull it out and it “sheets” I think it is ready. My friend Leslie suggests that for really thick jam use the spoon test…running your finger down back of spoon. If the mix stays separated it is done.

10. Start water simmering for lids and rings if you haven’t already.

11. At this point, the original recipe says to add 6 ounces (1 pack) of liquid pectin. I suspect this is being overly cautious…..but I did include the pectin.

12. Bring up to rolling boil and boil for one minute. Remove from heat.

13. Fill jars leaving about 1/4 inch headspace from the rim. Wipe rims and edges making sure there is no jam to prohibit a good seal.
Add lids and place rings on finger tight.

14. Place in a water bath canner. Bring canner back up to boil and process 10 minutes.

Remove jars, placing in an area free from drafts. Leave overnight, giving jars time to seal.
Check lids for proper seal. Any unsealed jars can be reprocessed, or refrigerated for immediate use.
Store in a cool place, out of direct sunlight.

Makes about 10 Jelly Jars (8 ounces)

The finished product! We had extra pawpaws and ended up
with 12 jars! All the more for gifts.

Foraging for Pawpaws

My family reunion took place in mid September at my Grandma and Grandpa's farm in Gardner, KS. I caught up with family that I hadn't seen in years, cheered on the Jayhhawks as they played K-State and scarfed down baked beans and potato salad while enjoying the crisp, autumn weather. After a few more games of volleyball with my cousins and a few more hugs from my family, Chris and I decided it was time for a bike ride.

Pawpaws grow in clusters on small, shade loving trees

Chris, my dad and I plus our four-legged friends Rudy, Trudy and Stella, headed down to the new Kill Creek biking/walking trail that runs near my dad's house. My dad was excited to show us a new mountain biking trail that he had discovered. We  had only taken a few sharp turns and crossed a small creek when our noses urged us to stop and look around. No, it wasn't a skunk, wild onions or even sweet flowers....this smell was completely new to all of us, and delicious. The smell was fruity and ripe, as though someone was holding a fresh mango right under our noses.

After a little bit of poking around we noticed small, potato like fruits with light green skin that had fallen from small trees growing in the shade of the forest. Chris immediately took a bite and in response had me yelling "No! It might be poisonous!!!" He wiped his mouth and grinned, "They're pretty good!"

We were all three enchanted with the idea that there could be an edible fruit growing so near our home that we had never heard of or seen before. My dad has lived in the area his entire life and as an avid jogger he frequently stumbles across wildlife and flowers, but never these sweet, green fruits. We were determined to get to the bottom of this wild food mystery.

I walked the now bruised fruit over to my grandparent's house wrapped in a leaf for better identification. None of my older family members who had grown up in the area knew what the plant was either. As I turned to leave (and consult all-knowing Google) my Grandma had some final words of wisdom.

"I remember a song my mom used to sing when I was little, it went something like this..'Picking up Paw-Paws put 'em in your pockets, Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.'  Maybe what you found are paw-paws." I thanked my grandma for the clue and headed back to my dad's to solve the mystery once and for all.

At this point, Chris still hadn't dropped dead from eating the fruit so we knew it wasn't poisonous and we had a lead search term, "pawpaws."

After a little research we verified that yes, our wild fruit discovery was in fact a pawpaw. We decided that over the course of the next week we would look into the health benefits of this native, wild fruit and collect a bag of them to make jelly.

We Wish you a Soapy Christmas

This wonderful book is
overflowing with great ideas

 It’s that time of the year again! No, I’m not talking about college basketball,  jack-o lanterns or even the pumpkin pie right around the corner; I’m talking about the Christmas fairy that’s whispering in all our ears, “ Only six weeks left, what will you get your family? Your boyfriend?” For the millions of Americans whose bank accounts simply aren’t filled with Christmas joy, don’t be upset if you find yourself wanting to squish the Christmas fairy with her peppermint breath and bury her deep in your mothball filled stockings.  

The antidote to holiday gift-giving angst is being prepared, and for those of us on a budget it also means getting creative. That is why my best friend Elle and I decided that this year all the women in our family are getting homemade, organic, made with love (and a little bit of frustration), soap! I whipped out two trusted books “Natural Beauty at Home” by Janice Cox and “Basic Soapmaking”  by Patsy Buck.

Homemade soap recipes  can get pretty expensive once you start adding in various specialty ingredients such as coconut oil, almond oil, or goats milk so we decided to kept it simple and affordable with a three ingredient basic Castile soap recipe containing olive oil, lye, and water. Castile soap originated in the Castile region of Spain and must contain at least 40 percent olive oil, its as very gentle soap and perfect for children or adults with sensitive skin. 

Recipe for basic Castile Soap: (courtesy of Natural Beauty at Home, by Janice Cox)

2 cups olive oil

½ cup lye granules

2 cups cold water

1/2 ounce of the essential oil of your choice (optional).

Heat the olive oil to approximately 80-85 degrees F. Dissolve the lye in the water and cool to about 90-95 degrees F. Pour the lye solution into the oil while stirring steadly, you should not be applying any heat at this time. Stir until a thick honey like texture is obtained, this should take about 10 to 20 minutes (It took us closer to 40). When your soap reaches the desirable thickness feel free to add any additional ingredients such as essential oils, dried herbs, dyes, etc.  Pour the thickened soap mixture into your molds, cover and keep warm for at least 24 hours to allow the bars to harden. When the soap is set, remove from the molds and cut into bars. Allow the soap to age at least 2 weeks in a dry place. Yields approximately 12 2-ounce bars. 

Elle and I decided to each double the recipe and add essential oils, spending a total of $26 each for 48 oz. of soap. We cut our bars big, and ended up with 12 bars each. That comes out to $2.20 a bar, better than the prices of individual bars at organic grocery stores, and it's made with love! We plan on wrapping them in scrap fabric leftover from sewing projects and tying them off with good ol' fashioned twine. 

What we Learned

Olive oil slowly heating

• You can only buy lye from hardware stores and it's sold in the form of drain cleaner. The brands to look for are "Rooto" or "Red Devil" because they are both 100 percent lye.
• Wear rubber gloves! We thought the books were just being " overly cautious" but as soon as the lye touches your hands it really starts to burn. If you're unfortunate enough to have this happen to you, vinegar is the antidote and it soothes the burn quickly.
• Have 2 candy thermometers, one for the oil and one  for the lye. 
• Be prepared to stir! We took turns passing the spatula back and forth while the other one refilled our wine glasses, turned up Gillian Welch's folky singing, or daydreamed about what scents to use next time.

Drain Cleaner in Soap?
If you're anything like us, the idea of rubbing drain cleaner on your skin sounds a little strange, so we dug in and did some research. Lye, (sodium hydroxide),  is a byproduct of hardwood ash that is placed in a rain barrel and mixed with soft water. The reason lye is used as drain cleaner is because when mixed with water it instantly reaches temperatures as high as 200 degrees F and become corrosive. When making soap, the lye is cooled and mixed with fat which results in a non toxic combination.  As you can see from the how-to link below, making your own lye is quite the process and I thank Rooto for allowing us to avoid this messy undertaking!   http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye

Inspiration

Turmeric acts as a natural dye

Elle and I were on too much of a budget to experiment much with exotic spices or dyes. However if you have the extra spending money you can really get creative! Here are a few ideas..

Dyes

• Cinnamon - adds fragrance and a dark, earthy brown color to soap. It's also a natural deodorant but be careful, it can be scratchy if too much is used.
• Annatto Seed or Turmeric- both add a rich golden yellow color.
• Sea Clays - minerals in rose and green sea clay help remove toxins and impurities from the skin and tighten pores. Use the clay in the color of your choice.

                                                                                                     Skin Conditioners

Our finished product! Lavender Oatmeal Castile soap

• Lemon Oil- helps eliminate bacteria and is a natural deodorant.
• Tea Tree Oil- has antiseptic, anti fungal and antiviral properties. It is also an insect repellent so bring a bar on your next camping trip!
• Wheat Germ- contains vitamin E and is a natural antioxidant. It exfoliates and cleanses the skin when added as a ground powder. 
• Lavender- add ground lavender flowers for a scent that aroma therapists believe reduces anxiety and helps people relax.
• Oatmeal- serves as a mild scrubbing agent that helps exfoliate dry skin. Use traditional rolled oats or plain oatmeal - not the instant flavored kind.

Girls only? Think again! There are many scents that are loved by both men and women including peppermint, spearmint, musk, patchouli, tea tree and sandalwood. 

Elle and I had a great time making soap as presents, not only did we have an unforgettable girls day but we created something lasting that represents our true values of recycling, refurbishing, and re-creating the world around us with a special touch. The best part is we have enough olive oil leftover to make exfoliator next week! Olive oil, salt/or sugar and essential oil placed in an antique glass jar. hmm yes please :) 


At the end of it all the soap gods thanked us with the most beautiful purple sunset I've seen in a long time. 

Sunset on the lake, Gardner, KS