Cooking frenzy

What a beautiful day we're having! I hate to brag, but this time of year makes the summer heat more bearable, it's 82 degrees, my dwarf peach is blooming, spring is springing. I'm harvesting broccoli now, and my purple cabbage have little heads on them, should be ready in a couple weeks. The chickens are laying about a dozen eggs a week, just enough to enjoy regularly but not too much. I'm planning a garden, hope to get it rototilled next weekend.

OK, I've been up to interesting things in the kitchen. Last week I decided to try my hand at soap making. I opted for an olive oil soap- better on our skin. Not cheap, but cheaper than the spa type you buy in the store that's made with olive oil. I added citrus essential oil and oatmeal to the mix as it was being stirred and cooling. Stirring took the longest, it takes very little time to mix and heat, but a long time to blend it properly and get it to the right consistency. Once I poured it into the mold, it had to sit overnight before it can be cut into bars. Now they are sitting on the shelf, curing for 3 weeks before we can use them. Can't wait to see if they're worth the time and effort! Today I'm making more hand cream- they are yummy, with shea butter and coconut oil, really moisturizes nicely.

I also created a cookie recipe. For most people, cookies are pretty easy, flour, sugar, baking soda and chocolate chips. What, they make cookies without chocolate chips? Not at my house! I have to grind rice, both brown and white rice, then blend it with tapioca flour, potato starch, and I like quinoa flour- gives it a nice nutty taste. Once all the flours are mixed together, then I can start baking. I make a big batch of home ground flours, then mix them together for a 'master mix', so I can use it for bread, cookies, etc. Anyhow, I used a "Allergy Free" cookbook for part of the recipe, then went to my good ole Betty Crocker cookbook to get the taste I like the best.

The result is chocolate chip cookies made with a no-wheat flour blend, fresh egg, oil, applesauce, oak honey and of course chocolate chips and oatmeal. They are a dark cookie, but boy they taste good! Wheatless flour mixes tend to be drier than regular flour, and I have to use more wet ingredients in order to have a good product. Then, I eat myself sick on them- that's a requirement, I'm sure. If anyone wants the recipe, leave me a comment and I'll post it later. I'm sure you could use regular wheat flour instead of master mix, and with applesauce, honey and oatmeal, it's pretty healthy for the family.