Fruits of Summer

Summer has set in with its usual severity.
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge~

Summer, I've mentioned before , is not my best time of year.  It plays havoc with day-to-day cycles of work, sleep, cooking, and cleaning.  As further assault, summer’s low humidity, dusty winds, and harsh sun, are especially brutal to dry skin and hair.  Maybe it’s an act of contrition, but summer also provides fruits, herbs, and flowers, with which one can create amazingly-effective and soothing natural treatments to mitigate the damage.

My favourite concoctions are facial masks and hair conditioners. They’re easy to make, their effect is immediate, remarkable, and surprisingly long-lasting, and the ingredients are available in most grocery stores.  Best of all, these therapeutic applications cost very little if choosing produce on sale.

Cucumber Sensitive-Skin Mask

It's messy work

Feels SO good, though!

Just a few words of caution.  First, since many of these skin and hair care products are made with fresh produce, their shelf-life will be much shorter than commercial products.  And, storing homemade products will probably require refrigeration and non-reactive containers. Also, be prepared:  homemade blends, without the stabilizers and binders found in commercial products, have a messier application.  Although, the refreshing results make any preparation well worth it.
                                                                                                                                                

Grocery stores needn’t be the only source of natural ingredients.  Gardens, meadows and orchards are rich sources.  If your garden produces an over-abundance of tomatoes or cucumbers, instead of more canning you might try some nourishing skin care, rejuvenating facial masks, and cooling treatments.  Or, if you grow certain flowers and/or herbs, or have the ability to forage for them,  their astringent, anti-microbial, and/or soothing properties are excellent additives in products such as body washes, and provide gentler solutions for specific skin care issues.

In fact, an individual’s skin type often determines the most effective produce.  Dry hair and or sensitive skin types will likely enjoy the benefits of avocados and cucumbers, while oilier hair and skin types often prefer the toning effects of lemon or tomato.  These aren’t hard and fast rules, however, as lemon also moisturizes and avocado’s natural fats easily cut through oily build-up.

While produce remains seasonably available, it’s simple and relatively inexpensive to experiment with a variety of applications.  As a bonus, leftover produce can be eaten and it’s nutrients will nourish skin and hair from the inside out.  Summer may ravage the body but, in a conciliatory gesture, offers us many remedial goodies which allow us to clean, soothe, and nourish weathered skin and hair.

Easter Egg Blues...and Reds...and Yellows

Without looking at a calendar, it's hard to believe this weekend is Easter. Few signs of spring are showing, and the prairie is still looking drab in its dun winter wear.

In an attempt to find something colourful, I researched natural dyes for colouring Easter Eggs. Some are unsafe for use on food products, but I've found a few that will produce food-safe, primary colours (blue, red and yellow.) With a little double-dipping, a variety of colours can be achieved. And, for the artists among you, get out your kids' otherwise-useless white (wax) crayons! They can be used to draw on the eggs, and are especially effective when using the double- and triple-dip methods of egg-colouring.

First you'll need to prepare the eggs (see previous blog post, 'Egg-cellent Food', for the "perfect" hard-boiled egg.)

Then, prepare each dye:

1. For a light blue colour, you'll need sliced red cabbage. In a pot, cover it with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for about 30 minutes. Allow this dye to cool completely as cabbage-dyes won't "take" when hot. Once cool, strain the vegetable matter. The liquid will appear purplish, but it will colour the eggs a nice, pastel blue.
   
2. For a reddish colour, you'll need a few cups of onion skins. (French onion soup anyone?) These, too, will need to be cooked, covered with water, and boiled for about 30 minutes. This dye can be used while still warm and, depending on the length of time the eggs are immersed in it, will produce colours in the range of orange, through red and brown.
   
3. For yellow, you'll need a few small apple tree branches. Scrape the bark into a pot and cover with water; one quart of water to a ½ cup of bark. Boil for 30 minutes and then add about ½ teaspoon of alum. A solution of turmeric can also be used for yellow dye; however this can also flavour the eggs slightly.
   

As an important note, you'll want to use glass, ceramic, enamel, or Teflon-coated pots for making the dyes. Some metal pans (tin, aluminum and iron) can alter the colours.

To add a glossy finish to the eggs, rub a little vegetable oil on their dried surface.

Have a happy and colourful Easter everyone!