Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Homemade Chocolate: Yes You Can...

Why buy commercial chocolate made from cocoa beans loaded with lead, lots of sugar (which is most likely refined, even worse), milk powder (a source of MSG) and soy lecithin (as the name says, made from soy)? Sometimes they also add "natural flavors", which we all know are far from natural. And to add insult to injury, the natural & beneficial cocoa butter is often replaced with a lower class fat, if not a hydrogenated one (which will clog your arteries).

After reading this, do you still want to eat store-bought chocolate?

Since I cook & take control of what I eat, I also take control of my treats and will make my own chocolate. It's really not as hard at it seems. You basically need raw cocoa powder, some good fat (like coconut oil) and a wee bit of natural sweetener (because cocoa powder is quite bitter). You can also add flavors like vanilla extract or spices like cinnamon, depending on your personal taste.

This first recipe is for making carob chips. Just use cocoa powder instead of the carob. Since you need to make a solid piece of chocolate first, you can choose to break it into pieces or not. Note that there are only 4 ingredients involved, can't beat that!

This 2nd recipe is with cocoa powder, and uses Rapadura as a sweetener (vs agave syrup for the first one). I think the Rapadura can easily be replace with coconut sugar (lower GI). The recipe has 5 ingredients which include a pinch of salt (which you can probably omit).

As I said earlier, making chocolate is really not that hard. Then you can also make chocolate fudge and truffles.

You can find plenty of inspiration, recipes & ideas just by browsing the web...Enjoy your chocolates ;)!

Happy New Year from Alchemille's Garden

Madame Alchemille wishes you a happy, healthy & prosperous year 2010!



To celebrate the New Year, Alchemille’s Garden items will be on sale on January 1st & January 2nd 2010.


I will be offering -25% off everything in my shop : artisan teas, natural & organic skin/body care as well as handmade accessories

(Discount will be refunded through paypal ~ Coupons aren’t accepted during sales)

Spring items will make their appearance in the shop by the beginning of February.

Also don’t miss the limited edition tea “St Amour” for Valentine’s Day!

Bright Blessings,

Alchemille


Alchemille's Garden: http://alchemille.etsy.com


Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sunflower Oil Mouthwash to Detoxify the Body

I found this technique in "Moon Time ~ The Art of Harmony with Nature and Lunar Cycles" by Johanna Paungger and Thomas Poppe.

"And old and effective method for the detoxification and strengthening of the whole body and at the same time decontaminating the teeth...This is how it works:
  • In the morning on an empty stomach and before you brush your teeth, take a soup-spoon of pure cold-pressed sunflower oil...
  • Slurp the oil, loud and vulgarly, like an old knight in the middle ages. This slurping fulfils an important function: it helps the entire body and all its internal organs to receive exact information, via the nerves of the taste buds and the brain, concerning what has just entered the body...When the body receives the information "sunflower oil" it knows that a substance has entered it on to which it can "load" everything that is undesirable, particularly everything that has negative radiations.
  • The important thing now is to keep the oil in the mouth without swallowing any! Suck the oil through the teeth and cavities of the mouth, let it roll and slide, push it through the gaps between your teeth, slowly, casually almost, so as not to arouse too strong of a flow of saliva. Do that for about 15 minutes. (If you feel an irresistible urge to swallow before the time is up, make sure you spit the oil first.)
  • After a quarter of an hour spit the oil into a wash basin and rinse both your mouth and the basin thoroughly. The oil has been transformed into a poison-laden substance: where it falls no grass will grow. Do not be surprised at the color of the oil: it has now turned white.
  • The most favorable time for such a cure: when the moon is waning and for a period of at least eight, preferably fourteen days."

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Secondary Edible Parts of Vegetables

It's important to eat a wide variety of foods and these secondary vegetable parts can be a nice way to do so (especially if you grow your own vegetables). I am myself very fond of beet greens, broccoli greens, parsley roots and fennel roots (great in soups & stews) ;).

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/may05/SecVeget.html

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

New Book Project

I've been wanting to write a book since my teenage years.
As I got older the project evolved and so did my inspirations for this hypothetical book.
I had completely forgotten about it until a couple days ago, after talking to a friend of mine.
The Muse has returned!

I can't say too much about my book project besides that it will be a children's book and most likely bilingual french-english. I will illustrate it myself (something I'm looking forward to) and I plan on publishing the book myself too.

I'm fully aware that such a project will require time and patience. That there will be days when I'll be inspired and others that I won't. That there will times of frustration too. But overall I think it'll be fun and rewarding!

Wish me luck ;)!
CURRENT MOON

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