Hemp Balm: Magic!

I bought some hemp butter from Texas Natural Supply the other week and just mixed some up into a healing salve. Let me tell you: it's amazing! That burn on my hand from Montauk was not healing well: nasty scab and lots of redness. I rubbed the salve on it and within hours healing was progressing more rapidly. Hot dog! What did i put in this magical balm you may ask? It's not a secret, so here it is:

• Hemp butter
• 2 drops rosemary oil
• 2 drops lavender oil
• 2 drops calendula oil

Bam. The rosemary and lavender have great antiseptic properties and we all know about how great calendula is for healing. I can't wait to make some infused oils and dried flowers from my new calendula plants in the front yard. Hemp is such a wonderful plant for so many reasons (perhaps i feel a wholesome wednesday post coming on) and the butter made from the ground seeds is so emollient and moisturizing that it alone is great on the dryest and unhappiest of skin. The essential oils and calendula just add some punch to the mix.

Have you made your own healing salve? What did you use?

Granola the 2nd

Hard not to snack on, but good for husband breakfasts - granola is easy to make and smells as delicious as it tastes. I had a couple over for a dinner last night - i made thai curry with butternut squash, kale, habanero, multiplying onions and cauliflower from the garden (the squash being the odd man not grown by me). Turned out scrumptions - i should have taken a pic of my one head of cauliflower, but i weighed it at least: 11 ounces.

Anyhoo, i gave Mary a taste of the granola I'd made that day and am posting the specific recipe here by request.

• 2 cups rolled oats (organic)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt (fine sea salt- could reduce this if using sea salt, but i kinda like the extra salty kick)
• 3 Tablespoons veg oil - i used 1/2 safflower 1/2 olive
• 1/4 honey or agave nectar or mixture of the two
• 1/4 cup rapadura (brown sugar if you don't have rapadura, but you should get some)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp (a splash) almond extract
• mixed nuts/fruits to taste, this time 'round i used:
• handful walnuts and pecans crumbled
• sprinkling dried wild blueberries
• handful coconut shavings (sweetened as i was a bit short on the honey)
• hemp seeds (could use flax as well)

You could use a lot more nuts/berries. The original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup nuts and fruit.

Preheat 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Toss oats with cinnamon and salt to mix well. In separate bowl mix oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, almond (the wet stuff) and add the oat mixture to blend well - occasionally squeezing with your hands to mush it together well. Spread this evenly in the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and flip/ stir and add nuts. Bake 5 minutes, remove and flip/stir, add hemp seeds (flax). Bake another 10 minutes, remove and flip/stir adding fruit and allow to cool. Will be softish when you take it out of the oven, but will crisp up as it cools. Store in a well sealed jar - if doubling recipe store some in fridge or freezer for longer shelf life.

Ta Da. Easy. Don't be limited to the recipe. Add whatever you have around, keeping in mind if it will burn or not. Things like chocolate or burnable seeds should be saved until the last or second to last step. Larger nuts and things can go in sooner.

Mary also inquired about yoghurt making - which i'm excited to say will be happening soon! My mama is shipping me her old yoghurt maker for my birthday (if she remembered to get that in the box) so i'll be yoghurting away with my local raw milk pronto. Can't wait for yoghurt and granola with seasonal fruits!