Au Natural

 

 

 If you care about what you put on your body as much as what you eat, this quick and easy Almond Meal Cleanser is just the ticket. It only has two ingredients that you mix up fresh at home. I found this recipe on page 181 of Organic Body Care Recipes, 175 Homemade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin & a Vibrant Self, but Stephanie Tourles.

 

 

 

Do NOT use this recipe if you are allergic to nuts (duh!).

 

 

The Recipe: Almond Meal Cleanser

 

 

2 tablespoons almond meal (I use Bob's Red Mill)

Purified water (for oily skin), Milk (for normal skin) or Cream (for dry skin).

In a small bowl, combine the almond meal with enough of the liquid to form a spreadable paste. Allow the mixture to thicken for 1 minute.

Using your fingers, spread mixture on moistened face and throat and gently massage for 1 minute. Rinse.

 

I made my experience a combo mask/scrub by letting it sit on my skin for about 10 minutes before massaging and rinsing.

 

Tip: first remove as much paste as possible with a damp washcloth before splashing with water to avoid getting any grit in your eyes.

 

Now, here's the thing...this is not "harmful if swallowed" as many beauty care products can be. In fact, Tourles says that "when a large quantity of almond meal is blended with cream, it makes an excellent, delicious, nutty cereal, too!"

 

I have had an herb garden of some sorts since the early 1970's. In learning about herbs, I found out that they are not just for cooking, and over the years could not resist mixing up body care products using my home-grown herbs. If you haven't done so, why not pretend to be Cleopatra (famous for her milk-bath beauty regimen) and give it a try?

 

Marcheta *naturally maid

 

 

Spring Awakenings and Celebrations

Today we have Alita Daiber for our guest blogger. Alita was raised on a family farm near Bucyrus, Ohio. Here she reminisces about Springtime traditions during her childhood and shares two recipes.


I am so excited that OCJ readers are submitting and sharing stories and recipes, because sharing memories and resources is the main goal of this blog. If you have a story to share, please send me an email (the address is on the 'contact me' page in the nav-bar).

Marcheta *I like guests!

 

"I Like Spring", by Alita Daiber Phillips

 

I like spring.  I look forward to bulbs poking green spikes through the snow-covered ground, robins and bluebirds showing up early to give assurance that warmer weather is not far behind, and buds breaking out on the pussy willow and forsythia. 

Spring brings the celebration of family birthdays:  my sister’s, my daughter’s, my late in-laws’, and mine.  My mother allowed us to choose our favorite foods for our special birthday dinner.  Mine always included fried chicken, chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes, and angel food cake.  This was a Sunday dinner I ate often at my grandparents’. 

My heritage includes a long line of “country women” who made these delicious foods from “scratch.”  My grandma and aunts raised the chickens that provided the eggs and meat for these recipes.  They paired homemade noodles with angel food cake because the noodles used egg yolks and the cake the separated egg whites.  They knew how to make the most of their resources. 

It makes me smile to picture five-year-old me standing behind the bench seat of my grandpa’s car on the drive home from church.  When a red stop light changed to green, he would say I had to give him a kiss before the car could move.   Once home, my grandma and aunts finished fixing dinner.   They served it at the big green metal table in their true country kitchen.  After dinner, they washed, dried, and put away the dishes before other family members drove in from their homes.  The cousins played while the adults visited on those Sunday afternoons in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

I could not appreciate then how hard those country women had to work to make good nutritious meals and fun family times.  I am awed now by what they did day in and day out. 

Here are recipes for the best homemade noodles and angel food cake I’ve ever tasted:

 

 

Homemade Noodles

3 egg yolks	Beat until very light.
1 whole egg
3 tablespoons cold water	Beat in.
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour, sifted	Stir in and work with hands.
Divide dough into 3 parts.  Roll into sheets as thin as possible on a floured surface.
Place sheets of dough between towels until partially dry.  Roll up dough in jelly roll fashion.
Using a thin, sharp knife, cut into very fine noodles.
Shake noodles apart onto towels and let dry completely.   Drop dry noodles into boiling broth.  Cook until done.

Angel Food Cake
Preheat oven to 375o.  Set out but do not grease a 10” diameter 4” deep tube pan.
1 cup sifted flour	Measure and sift together 3 times.
1 ½  cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ cups egg whites  (approximately 12 eggs)	Measure into a large glass or metal mixing bowl.  Beat with a wire whip until foamy.
1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup granulated sugar	Add 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.
Sift gradually the flour-sugar mixture over the meringue.  Use the wire whip to fold in gently just until the flour-sugar mixture disappears.  Push batter into ungreased tube pan.  Gently cut through the batter with a knife to remove air bubbles.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done.
Remove from oven and invert pan to cool.
When cake is completely cool, run metal spatula or knife around edges to loosen and remove from pan.

 

 

 









John's Favorite Meatloaf

Noel Lizotte is back today with another one of her quick and easy (but very filling and comforting) recipes from her Apron Free Cooking Cookbook.

 

With the cold rain today, which may turn to sleet, ice, snow, or all of the above, this oven meal fits the bill.

 

What is  great about today, for me, is that I just got home from The Farmers Wife store, where I bought hamburger from Mendy for today's lunch of mushroom melt hamburgers. The hamburger I bought is already done up in patties, all I need to do is to fry them  (I start on low heat, after the meat has thawed and cooked I turn the heat up to brown them), then put sauteed mushrooms and a slice of cheese on top.   Healthier and better than burgers from a chain store, and just as fast!

 

For meatloaf, Mendy also has ground beef in bulk packages as well as farm-fresh eggs.

 

Both approaches to a hot meal are fast and easy. What could be better?

 

Marcheta *Y :) M

 

Here is Noel's recipe. Find more like it, as well as advice from Frankly Francine, at Apron Free Cooking. :) 

 

 

One of my husband’s favorite meals is meatloaf. Like many of us, meatloaf was a weekly meal at his house when he was growing up. Meatloaf is a good menu choice today, as it was back then. It’s budget friendly and it’s tasty!

 

John’s Favorite Meatloaf
Ingredients:2 lbs ground beef1 box (12 oz) stuffing mix2 lg eggs½ cup ketchup½ cup brown sugar



Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, break up ground beef with a wooden spoon or your hands. Add unprepared box of stuffing mix. Break eggs into a small bowl and beat, and then add to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients until evenly combined. Transfer mixture into 9×5 loaf pan. In small bowl, mix together the ketchup and brown sugar. Spread over the meatloaf. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Make It a Meal: Serve with baked potato and green vegetable. Also good with a side salad and macaroni & cheese.

Variations: replace ground beef with sausage for added flavor. If you’re cutting back on fat content, substitute ground turkey for all or part of the ground beef.

Approximate Nutritional Value: Servings Per Recipe: 8, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 303, Total Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 123mg, Sodium: 497mg, Total Carbs: 20g, Protein: 24g.

Storage: Keeps up to one week in the refrigerator and four to six weeks in the freezer. Thaw before reheating.
Download a PDF format of this recipe to your computer for printing, click here.

What is your secret to a great meatloaf?

Favorite Things: Vintage Cards

Aren't they lovely?

 

 

There's a lot of memories in this box of vintage cards. I came across them when we were clearing out my husband's mother's house after she passed away. I could not bear the thought that these beautiful cards would get tossed, so I brought them home with a specific goal in mind.

For the cards that were signed by family members, for instance Margie's sister Ida (who is also deceased), I made memory book pages for members of Ida's family that included pictures of Ida and Margie's parents and other memorbilia that I found.  This way the memories (including the person's handwriting) will last for at least another generation.



I know. It is sentimental and nostalgic, and sometimes sad, but all-in-all I believe that reviewing memories is an important part of keeping family ties from un-raveling during stressful times. This picture is of Jim's brother John, his daughter Darcy and Jim's aunt Esther looking through photo albums at Margie's kitchen counter.

Each winter I dedicate myself to getting family photos off of my computer and into photo albums and memory books. So far I am not all that successful, even though I have a wonderful photo printer and plenty of albums and scrapbooks. Do you have the same issue? Today is as good as any to choose file and print it out, yes?

Marcheta *walking down Memory Lane

Country Woman Profile: Denise Corney

Denise photographing me photographing her....LOL!

 Denise Corney is a woman of many talents. Artist, Designer, Caregiver, Gardener, Candy Maker, Market Vendor, Photographer, Set Painter, and Baker are the main hats that she wears. Isn't that amazing?


Trudy Kempf is today's guest blogger. This is the article that she wrote about Denise Corney for Galion Historical Society's newsletter. Trudy's article also was published in the Galion Inquirer. Thank you, Trudy, for sharing your writing skills with the readers of OCJ :)

Trudy says " It was such an honor for me to interview Denise; highlighting someone who is so talented and truly humble. I am glad to see her spotlight continuing to get attention." What a great tribute to her (and my) friend!

Although Denise now lives in town, she continues her farm-girl roots by helping her brother Terry, who farms the family land. Denise can be found at area farmers markets selling  homemade candy and "Corney Corn"...which includes several varieties of sweet corn raised by Terry.

Marcheta *awestruck

Volunteer Spotlight

January 2013

If you have toured Brownella Cottage, at some point you may have pondered who is responsible for keeping the beautiful stately home clean. Denise Corney, the January Volunteer Spotlight recipient is also the woman who carefully dusts, vacuums and otherwise keeps the home immaculate. Born in Marion, Ohio Denise, the fourth of six children; grew up on the Corney family farm located on Route 100.

After graduating from Colonel Crawford High School, Denise worked for 25 years starting as a merchandiser with Roundy’s; a health and beauty aids retailer and became a sales representative servicing 25 grocery stores in the Ohio and Pennsylvania region. When the company closed the Ohio division, it moved operations from Van Wert to Wisconsin leaving Denise without a job and contemplating a career change. For a little over 5 years she worked as a health care professional with Magnolia Terrace caring for the residents while also taking over the cleaning responsibilities for Brownella Cottage. Currently Denise continues to care for Bishop Brown’s home and has started her 3^rd year with Hydranamics, a division of Carter Machine, Co.

Decorating Brownella Cottage for Christmas was a natural progression for Denise since she not only knows every nook and cranny of the beautiful home; she also has a deep love for the structure. Denise was one of a small group of very talented women, who for the last two years have given their time and creativity to transforming Brownella Cottage for the Christmas season. It’s not uncommon to see Denise showing great care in nurturing the flower beds around the home as well. In preparation of the August membership drive and open house, Denise shared her love of gardening through helping to plant an herb garden on the grounds. Her eye for detail and her understated style speaks not only to her creative talent but also to her personality. She may appear to be quiet and unassuming but she is very attune to her environment and takes in the most subtle of moments.

Although Denise is a transplant to Galion, she has made her mark within the community with her skill at expressing herself through her art. She has wonderful memories from the many years she was active with the Galion Community Theater building and painting sets. Creating realistic looking props from cardboard was a challenge she enjoyed and was so skilled at that she gained the reputation for being the ‘cardboard queen.’

Denise is a doer and isn’t one to sit idle. Her preference is to be outdoors and if at all possible; with her hands working the earth. She is a farmer at heart and has a wealth of knowledge that flows from her so naturally that it leaves you spellbound even when she is describing the physical size and shape differences between an unhusked ear of bi-color corn and an unhusked ear of yellow corn. When she is unable to be out in the sunshine, she can be found gaining knowledge on any number of topics of interest through reading, visiting with elderly friends, or working on one of her many creative outlets. Whether she is creating furniture out of various scraps of wood and ornate metal cornice pieces, painting beautiful images or snapping photographs; Denise exudes a level of artistry that makes you wonder how her eyes view the world. However, if any one piece of her artwork expresses what she sees, it may be the serenity captured in the mural of the risen Christ on the basement wall of Peace Lutheran Church. It is obvious that Denise not only sees beauty in our world but she also creates beauty for others to enjoy.

Thank you, Denise!

The Galion Historical Society

recognizes, appreciates, and thanks you for your volunteer efforts!