Crab apple facial toner diy

Its crab apple season where I live, so to take advantage of these marvelous little fruits I decided to try out a new toner that worked surprisingly well. 

This toner uses crab apples to deliver nourishing vitamins like vitamin A and C to your skin. 

Ingredients

4 crab apples, or one small apple cut up
1/2 cup of water
Optional 2 Tbsp of witch hazel or floral water/hydrosol 

Directions

Simmer the apple in the water for 10 minutes. Let cool, add in witch hazel or floral water if desired. Place in either a sparay bottle or apply to the skin using a cotton pad. 

Foraged goodness.

   I made two delicious treats yesterday, bolth with foraged goodness in them. One was a cherry pie filling, and the other was a delicious pineapple smoothy. For some reason I forgot to take a picture of the smoothy, but the next time I make it I'll put a picture up.

To make the pineapple smoothy, cut off the skin and the pokey things. Core it and dice it. Put the diced bits in a blender with some foraged mint,  you can also add in some other greens such as comefrey, dandelion, mallow or barrage. You can also add in some alovera just not to much or it will make it taste funny. If it needs some sweetener then add in a bit of honey. Add in some water just to help it get started. You don't need much because the pineapple is plenty juicy. Blend and drink. If you want it a bit colder add some ice or frozen strawberry to your glass. This will make a meal for two people, but as a drink it will serve at least six.

It's cherry season right now, and that means that all those people who don't eat the fruit off of their trees let us go and pick all we want. If you notice a fruit tree on someone's property that isn't being harvested, then chances are if you ask they will let you pick to your hearts content. But, if the branches are hanging over the fence then in many towns the fruit is considered public property, just make sure your not breaking any laws. Or don't, just causally pick a few as you walk by, no one will ever notice. Well, except for maybe the old guy that always hangs out at the buss stop.

Step one, get a husband or a slave or something.  Step two, canoodle or order that husband or slave to go pick some fruit (in this case, cherries)
Feel free to pick fruit too, or don't, thats what we have them for! Lol
Step three, pit the cherries. If the cherry is still on the stem, hold the stem and pull the cherry off by pinching it away from the stem. Almost like rolling it away from the stem and off the seed. The seed will probably be attached to the stem and not to the fruit. It dosn't always work quite right,  but I'm sure you'll get it.
Step four, heat the cherries on medium heat, just until they start to let go of their juices.
Step five, add in some cornstarch or arrow root powder. The amount you use will depend on how much starch to add. About 1 tbsp for every cup. You may need to add more or less. Once the powder has turned from making the juice milky-ish to being the color of the cherries see if it needs to be a bit more thick or if you need to add a bit of water. To do this take a spoon and dip it in the stuff and let it cool. If you like the consistency then it's time to move to the next step.
Step six, sweeten to taste. If you have honey bees, use that honey, if not use whatever sweetener you like, and however much of it you want. I recommend honey,  sugar,  or like xylitol or stevia. Just not something thats going to alter the taste to much like maple syrup. 
Step seven, add in a touch of almond flavor.

You can use this in pies (duh), jam filles cookies, on ice cream, whatever sounds good. Y ou can can it, use it right away or keep it in the fridge for like a week.

Happy foraging!

Gummy Worms

I made gummy worms the other day from scratch. They are so easy, and so yummy!

This first recipe is for gummy worms completely from scratch.

1 cup of juice and 6 tbsp of gelatin. Heat up the juice, and stir in the gelatin. Place in a 8x8 inch greased pan and chill. Cut into strips, and with a spatula, scrape them up from the bottom. You have gummy worms!
*vegetarian alternatives below

With jello mix. You can also take 2 packages of jello type mix in a pan with 1 cup of water along with 4 tbsp of gelatin to the mix. Heat and dissolve  Place on a greased baking sheet with sides and chill. Cut in strips, and scrape out with a spatula. You have gummy worms! My grocery store has a brand called Natural Desserts which has a "jello" product that is supper tasty and great for vegetarians. 

I recommend using some sort of vegetable oil that doesn't have any flavor or one of those silicone pad things that you use in a dehydrator to line the pan with. I liked using a non-hydrogenated shortening and I did NOT like coconut oil. but that could have bean the flavor of worms I made also. 

If you want sour gummy worms, dip them in a mixture of half citric acid and half sugar or sugar substitute as long as it is not a liquid like honey or maple syrup.

*For vegetarians Marry Jane from "Marry Jane's Farm" has a product called, Chill over powder but Natural deserts also has an unflavored "gelatin". find the link for that here.

On the benefits of Gelatin

Gelatin is supper good for you. With our overly skinned and boned meats, under eating of dark leafy greens  and over use of the unhealthy vegetable oils we Americans are not reaping the vast benefits of gelatin. It is an animal product, derived from skin, connective tissue, and bones. I know that for some of you it sounds a bit weird, but it is so good for you! Even if you aren't a fan of "Jello" (which by the way is very unhealthy for you. Way to many processed sugars, artificial dyes, and who knows what else) you can still simply dissolve it in water and drink it. In fact taking it with water when you wake up, and before you go to bed is the most recommended way of taking it. I like to take it in the morning and then add it to food whenever I feel like it. I use Great Lakes Kosher Gelatin which is from grass fed cows and is only like $15 at my local health food store.
So what dose it do exactly? It supports skin, hair, and nail growth as well as tightens the skin. It also supports joint health and is a source of protean. It helps to move food through the digestive tract, and it has 18 amino acids. Have you ever heard of a little something called collagen? Well this a fantastic way to get it!
Basically it helps you to look and feel younger. Yes, I'm only 19, but hey, why not start getting this into my diet so that I don't have so many problems when I'm older.
Mamma natural has an awesome video on gelatin. Click here for that video.

Ready for a gelatin recipe? It is so supper easy. All you need is 2 cups of juice, not from concentrate, and 2 tbsp of gelatin.
Place 1/2 cup of the juice in a saucepan and heat on medium  When it has bean heated a bit, add in the gelatin, and stir to combine. Add in the rest of the juice and place in the container that you want it to chill in. Place the container into the refrigerator and chill, just until the mixture begins to set up, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. If you want to add in fruit, now is your chance. Stir in some fruit, then place back into the refrigerator to chill completely. 

Want to know how to make gummies that have fiber in them? Blend 2 cups of fruit with 1/2 cup of the juice from some sort of citrus fruit. Place in a saucepan with 4 tbsp of gelatin. Heat and stir until combined. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares with a knife or shapes with a cookie cutter. You have Gummies!

Here is a sight for a bit more info.