Easy Watermelon Rosewater Granita

This isn't really a recipe, just a super easy trick to making watermelon granita. And the best part, it doesn't need a high-tech blender or ice cream machine or any fancy tool so you don't have a mess to clean up after!

I was planning to make a watermelon sorbet all along (using a blender after flesh was frozen) but when I cut it in half, I thought, "why can't I just freeze it like this then serve?" Scooping out its frozen flesh, it worked great as a granita.

So that's exactly what I tried. And it worked out great. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

No need for the rosewater but I love the flavor it adds. You can also make rose water if you have rose petals and an hour.

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Rosewater Watermelon Granita
1 Personal size, seedless watermelon
Couple Tablespoons rose water

Slice personal-size, seedless watermelon in half. Freeze overnight or at least 8 hours. Take out and thaw for 30 minutes. Using ice cream scoop or sturdy spoon, scrape out flesh and drizzle with a tablespoon of rose water. Serve with mint, basil, or berries.

If you prefer to buy rosewater, amazon sells it: Heritage Flower Water Rose 8 oz Liquid

Black Tea Chia Seed Tapioca with Figs and Honey

I love, love, love FIGS! Figs by themselves, figs with honey, figs for breakfast, figs for dinner, figs everywhere!

My wonderful mother bought some for me from the farmer's market in Spokane. I devoured them! And then I found these beauties!

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This is an easy breakfast that you prepare the night before and then indulge the next day! It's a great way to incorporate omegas into your diet. My rule for chia pudding is one tablespoon per 1/4 c liquid, but this is pretty thick. If you prefer it thinner, add more liquid.

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If you want more of a creamy pudding, almond milk is delicious mixed in. Almonds, honey, and figs seem to have an infinity for each other.

Here is another chia seed pudding recipe that also includes tea!

I love having a little chia seed pudding before Amaressa wakes up. I've been waking up earlier than her so I can work on photos and prepare breakfast. However many times, she wakes up two hours after I do and I start to get quite hungry. This helps tide me over and sometimes fills me up!

1/2 c black tea
2 T chia seeds
Figs, sliced in quarters
Honey, to taste
Almond Milk *optional

Combine black tea and chia seeds. Leave overnight or at least 20 minutes. Slice Figs in quarters and arrange on top. Add honey to taste.

Other chia seed combination ideas: green tea and melon sliced on top, jasmine pearl infused coconut milk chia pudding with raspberries, roobois (or black tea) and sauteed apples, blueberries and coconut milk with lemon zest, coconut water and mango, etc.

How to make your own Rosewater DIY

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Rosewater in the drugstore is normally synthetic rose fragrance in water. Pure Rosewater or Hydrosol is harder to find and more expensive. It can be just as easy (and free) to make your own when the season is right. Use non-sprayed roses (Damascus smells absolutely divine!), organic when possible. If you don't grow them yourself, ask a neighbor or family friend. Offer to split the rosewater with them or make them a treat with rosewater in it (ideas listed below). Farmer's Markets are also a great place to look.

Gracious Granny (mentioned before) allowed me to pick some of her roses one evening. Pick in the morning (or evening), when the dew has dried but the sun isn't in full force. The roses will be their most fragrant during these hours.

This picture explains how to make your own still. Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?

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It's basically two heavy glass bowls (I used the smaller bowls of this set. Pyrex Prepware 3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Clear ) and a large stockpot with a lid.

How to make your Rose Water or Hydrosol with Makeshift Still
Ingredients
3-4 c packed rose petals (non-sprayed)
12 c water
Several cups of ice

Directions:
1. Set one bowl, upside down, on the bottom of the stock pot and then the second bowl, facing up, on top of the other bowl.
2. Scatter the rose betals in the bottom of the stock pot around the bowl and then pour the water on top of the petals. Cover.
3. Bowl then turn to low. Invert the lid and pour several cups of ice in the lid.
4. The steam will rise and then when it hits the cold lid, drop into the top bowl. This top bowl contains the rose hydrosol or rosewater.
5. Let it simmer for 20-60 minutes or until 1-2 cups has gathered in the top bowl.

Ideas for RoseWater:
*Fill ice cube tray with rose water and stick a rose petal in each compartment. Freeze over night. Use in lemonade or with sparkling water or champagne. Makes a very elegant beverage!

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*Mix in pavlovas, ice cream, frosting, meringues (or vegan meringues) and homemade chocolate bars. Also great in warmed honey as an icing for baklava.

*Combine equal parts rose water and aloe vera juice for a toner. Add to homemade lotions, sunscreens, and facials.

Here is Big Blue Eyes pouring herself some rose water.

Also, I shared this one allergy-free wednesdays! 

Rethana's Surrender and Supporting Creative Artists

It's important to me to support creative artists, especially being one myself. Normally, I wouldn't post a novel review here (this being a herbal blog and all); However, I wanted to share this wonderful book I read this weekend and the author behind the series.

Besides writing novels, Courtney Cantrell also writes at her blog Court Can Write, where she's brightening her corner of the world. You can read more about her passion for storytelling there.

I met Courtney back in Oklahoma at a yoga class. I could tell she was a strong individual, the person who could bring a storm (or write one) but could also (and did always) brighten up the room with her smile. I wished I got to know her a little better before we moved but I'm glad we still made a connection.

When I heard Courtney was writing a fantasy novel (a favorite genre), I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy. And I'm so glad that I did! The novel exceeded my expectations and thrilled me. I devoured it in two days (I had to force myself to go to bed the first night).

And so I introduce you to Rethana's Surrender...

Here is a little background story over at Courtney's blog and I've pasted my review from amazon below.  This book is only available as an ebook. If you don't have an ereader, don't worry. You can download the kindle app to your computer and read it there!
"Mrs. Cantrell has built a wonderful, detailed world showcasing strongly written characters with believable powers and honest shortcomings.

My struggle with fantasy books is it seems the power comes too easily and is just handed to the protaganist, but I can't say that for this book. The addition of Chel really made Rethana's character all the more convincing. There were battles on personal levels (and not just that of romance) and battles on more "Save-the-world" levels, which I'm sure will be explored more in later books.

I loved, loved, loved Rethana. You could feel the struggle with the men in her lives. Her hunger for knowledge of the comori. Her desire to protect her sister. At times I wanted to shake her awake (I won't tell you why). But most other times I was cheering her on.

I do have to say, at first, I thought I might have to talk notes on all the different names. The names were complex (and lengthy) but each character seemed to fall in place and I found myself easily remembering who each one was.

Also I wished Allasin had pursued her a little more. And that's all I will say so I don't spoil it. But I don't feel it was detrimental to the story, just a small underlying wish for myself.

I'm recommending this book to anyone I know! Thank you Courtney for such a wonderful new literary world to transverse. And please, please publish that second book soon! "

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did! And when you do, give a little love and support to all the creative artists out there and link to it on your blog.

Courtney has published another series Demons of Saltmarch also available on Amazon:
Colors of Deception

Shadows after Midnight: Demons of Saltmarch

Stains of Grace (Demons of Saltmarch, #3)

Question of the Day:
What's on your reading list for the summer?

Make your own Non-alcoholic Coconut Extract (or Vanilla)

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Glycerin and water is used in place of alcohol to extract the liquid. This can be used in recipes that need no baking for kid-friendly results!

You can buy food grade vegetable glycerin from azurestandard or amazon has several varieties:
NOW Foods Glycerine Vegetable, 16-Fluid Ounces and
Glycerin Vegetable Kosher USP - 1 Quart


I followed pastry pal's recommendations on how to open a coconut. She uses alcohol to extract her flavor, so if you were looking for an alcoholic version, follow her recipe. She also grates her coconut meat. After I peeled mine, I felt it was easier to dice. Decide which is easiest for you!

Brief summary of how to open a coconut (and relieve stress): Hammer Nail into Eyes of Coconut. Drain. Wrap in towel and hammer around the midsection of the coconut on cement (you'll have to hit this hard so don't try it on the counter). Hammer into several chunks. Carefully slice the meat off the husk with a knife, slicing away from you. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any more husk pieces from the meat. Dice or grate.

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Non-alcoholic Coconut Extract
Ingredients:
1 c glycerin
1/2 c warm water
1/2 diced fresh coconut meat *see above for preparing coconut(vanilla version below)

Directions:
1. Add ingredients together. Shake vigorously for a couple days. Let sit for 1 month in a cool, dark place.
2. Drain and Use.

Non-alcoholic Vanilla Extract
1 c glycerin
1/2 c warm water
2 vanilla beans, sliced open

I hope you enjoy your coconut extract! Looking forward to making some delicious cookies with this. What do you plan to use it for?

Wondering what to do with leftover coconut meat? Make coconut milk!

Coconut Milk DIY

Prepare the coconut as detailed in this blog post.
Brief summary of how to open a coconut (and relieve stress): Hammer Nail into Eyes of Coconut. Drain. Wrap in towel and hammer around the midsection of the coconut on cement (you'll have to hit this hard so don't try it on the counter). Hammer into several chunks. Carefully slice the meat off the husk with a knife, slicing away from you. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any more husk pieces from the meat. Add 1/2 c diced coconut meat to blender and blend with 2 1/2 c water and pinch of stevia leaf, agave nectar, or honey and 1/3 of a vanilla bean. Strain through sieve (use doubled up cheesecloth if you want to avoid pulp).

ENJOY!

6 Things You don't think to Declutter in your Kitchen

Decluttering can be exhausting but also a great way to feel refreshed. I'm still doing our deep spring clean and de-cluttering every room, every nook and cranny. Here are several places that we don't always think to Declutter in the kitchen. Trust me, you'll feel much better when you do!

Happy Decluttering!

"Simplify, Simplify, Simplify!"   ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler."    ~ Albert Einstein

1. Recipe Box - Do you also think you can make all two hundred of those recipes you've stashed in that box in the corner? I must have thought I had better time management and ate more because there is no way! I even had recipes that were loaded with dairy and wheat flours - I guess it's been a while since I went through this. Twoof them I kept because I'm always intrigued by making a recipe allergen free and delicious but the rest recycled.
Easiest way to do this is dump all the recipe cards out and sort them into five piles, Made it and Loved it, Made it but needs to be tweaked, Made it but didn't love it (there might have been that snuck back in), Never Made it, and Never Will Make it. Throw out the ones you know you won't ever make and the ones you made but didn't love. Look through the Never Made It and ask yourself Why? Why didn't I make this recipe? The ingredients? Was the process too long? The ingredients pricey? If you really still want to try your hand at the recipe, give yourself two weeks from your next shopping trip (don't forget to put the ingredients on your list) to make it. Put it on your fridge as a reminder. But if you don't make it, throw it out. You can always look something similar up on the internet later.

(Do you like my cigar box as a recipe box?)

2. Spice Cabinet - Herbs and Spices do have expiration dates (in a way). They are more like flavor expiration dates - after six months, their flavor fades. Throw old ones out and catalog what ones you use most frequently. Maybe you don't use all 2 oz of that ground cardamom? Buy from a bulk store or Mountain Rose Herbs and share with friends. You could have a great spice-mixing party! Buy spices and make your own mixes - I am now wanting to do this.

3.  Under the Sink/ Cleaning Supples - Do we really need five different bottles to clean five surfaces?
You can replace almost all your cleaning supples with Hydrogen Peroxide, bakins soda and white vinegar (you can remove hard water build up with this simple green trick). Hydrogen Peroxide kills 99.9% of bacteria (just as much as bleach) without the awful chlorine smell. Natural cleaning companies actually sell "chlorine-free bleach" or hydrogen peroxide for an exorbitant price but you can pick up a bottle of it at your local drug store for under $1. Pick up at least two - one for first aid and one for cleaning.

4. Cookbook Shelf - Goodbye Wine Lover's Dessert cookbook I've made one recipe out of that I majorly tweaked! If you have several cookbooks that you only make two or three recipes out of, utilize your recipe box and write those down. Then get rid of the book! You can sell it to hastings or even amazon and invest in some newer cookbooks. Another idea would be to hold a cookbook swap with your friends.

5. Tupperware and Bottles Drawer - I went through Big Blue Eyes' sippy cups the other day and realized I had several pieces that didn't fit together with anything else. Rubber nibble anyone? Did I think perhaps I might need it someday? No thank you.
Check to see if you can recycle any plastic before throwing it away. (Is there some sort of donation where you can donate pieces of bottles - the neck, the nipple, the bottle? Hmmm)

6. Food Magazines - This is right up there with Cookbooks. I realized the other day I had over twelve issues of Vegetarian Times and about two dozen of Whole Living sitting in the magazine rack in the bathroom.... Because you never know when someone might spend 24 hours indisposed reading your food magazines, all five dozen of them. A great rule of thumb is keep the last two issues plus the current issue.

My sister shares my love for vegetarian times so I always pass them on to her. See if there is anywhere you can donate. Usually hospitals or libraries will take them off your hands (and help someone). And then what you can't donate, recycle recycle recycle!

Question of the Day:
To clutter or not to clutter, that is the question! Do you enjoy decluttering? Does it invigorate you or exhaust you?