How to Open a Young Coconut

One of the most treasured foods on earth; the young coconut. It can stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol, heal and hydrate you. Coconut is life saving!...no really it is. Coconut water was even used in the Pacific during World War II as an emergency blood transfusion to soldiers who were injured since it is almost identical to human blood. How cool is that!?

If your looking for a sports drink while working out, coconut water is your go to. It has the highest concentration of electrolytes than anything else in nature! Wowsa! Toss the over-sugared gatorade. It can definitely help you stay hydrated. Throw it in a post/pre workout shake, or just drink it plain. Sometimes we just like to stick a straw in the shell and drink it...but first you need to know how to open it up.

I bought my young coconut at my local grocery store either by the bananas and other tropical fruit, or in the organic section. They sometimes carry them, otherwise look at an Asian market of some sorts. I like to buy young Thai coconuts. Than to crack it open all you need is a sturdy cutting board and a cleaver. I got my cleaver at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for maybe $14.99 if I remember right.

Hold the coconut still with one hand and start to cut off the soft part at the tip in a circle until you get down to the hard shell; kind of like prepping for the crack. (most people seem to skip this step, but I think it makes it easier)

The top should now be rock hard. It will then look like this...

Then hold the coconut firm with one hand and take one more wack at it. Hard enough to break through the solid part, but be sure to not cut off your finger. :) You will know that it made it through the hard part because the cleaver will stick. Sometimes it takes me a few times to get it.

{WARNING}- - At this point you need to be careful for coconut water may start to leak, so be sure to turn it right side up after breaking through.

oh my, look at all that fresh coconut under there!! I am getting so excited!

Next you need to stick the corner of the cleaver in and gently pull up to crack it open.

Like so...Did you hear the crack?

Yay! We did it! It really is not that complicated. After taking all these pictures I realized that a video may have been more beneficial. Oh well, I like photos. :)

You can then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh.  A.K.A the meat of the coconut.

If you have never had fresh coconut, you are missing out. Oh yummy.

Usually I take a glass and put it over the open hole and do a quick flip to pour the water.

Sometimes a little splashes out, but that's ok. :)

You could drink it all up, or store it covered in the fridge for a couple days. Also for the meat...be sure to scoop as much out as you can. Then I usually rinse it off and store it in an airtight container in the fridge...that is of course if it is not gobbled up before hand.

We like to eat the meat as is although it has a very mild taste and not sweetened at all like the pina colada that you are thinking about right now. So there are many things you can do with it.

-To make coconut milk you just blend 1/2 cup coconut meat to 1 cup coconut water and then strain through a mesh cloth.

-You could add it to smoothies, or make a real fresh pina colada. Yes, I'll bet you are still thinking about that. :)

-There are also plenty of other recipes that use coconut meat that you can find on the web. Lot's of raw desserts; you will be surprised with how much you can do with it.

Ok, ready to blend up the most perfect Sweetheart Coconut Smoothie?!

Throw in a handful of the coconut meat and about a cup of the coconut water. Add 5-6 fresh strawberries and 1/2 a banana. Then about a cup of ice and 2-3 medjool dates. Blend it up!

Doesn't it just look splendid?!...oh it was. :)

...and don't forget to add a little dried coconut flakes to garnish and a straw to match.

P.S. Be sure to do this NOT in the presence of children, for they may try to steal it in a form of asking over and over for just one more sip. :) Cheers!

Peppermint Laundry Detergent

Ok so the prices of detergent are outrageous! Every time I need to buy some more I keep thinking that surely there needs to be a better way to do this! I DO NOT want to wash my clothes in detergent with a bunch of chemicals in it, but I also DO NOT want to spend a whole lot of money on detergent. ick. I would rather spend that money on fun stuff, like...an English toffee blended latte from The Village Bean. Ha! yum....you get the point. :) So I researched a few ways to make my own! I have been using this recipe for the last 6 months or so and it really seems to clean our clothes well. No there is not a lot of suds, but that doesn't mean clean. It seems to get some stains, but not all stains out. That is just like any detergent you would get at the store. If you want to get a tough stain out you would need to treat the spot with something else before washing it.

So here is the tutorial. It is easy, extremely cheap compared to ready-made store bought detergent, and it has no harmful chemicals in it!...plus it smells pretty good. :)

*hint: if you have a larger than 8 qt. pot you could double the recipe and make two gallons to save time! 

ingredients and materials:

-1 large stock pot, 8qt or larger

-grater

-funnel

-1 gallon milk jug/container

-1/3 bar of soap, grated

-1/2 cup borax

-1/2 cup washing soda

-8-10 drops of 100% therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil (optional)

After you have gathered your ingredients and materials you can start by grating the bar of soap into your pot. Grate about 1/3 of the bar and then put the rest of it aside to use for the next batch or your next shower. :)

Sorry I realize that picture was not the best...oops, but you get the point. After your done grating, pour 1/2 a gallon of water into the pot and cook until the soap is dissolved. Then add the borax and washing soda. Stir and bring to a boil.

After it comes to a boil, take it off the heat and add a 1/2 gallon of cold water and let it cool. You do not want to pour boiling hot water into a plastic jug. :) After it cools add your drops of essential oil if you like. Any scent will do, but make sure it is 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oil. I used Peppermint! It's fresh and neutral. Lavender is nice too, but my hubby prefers to not smell like flowers. I used 8 drops and it really did not make a very strong smell, just a hint is all I wanted.

Then use your funnel to assist in pouring your detergent into your jug or container.

...and there you have your homemade laundry detergent! It will thicken over the next 24 hours. I use about 1/2 cup detergent per load; less or more depending on your load size. I need to do the math still and find out how much you would be saving per load and compare it to your average store-bought detergent. So I will update this post in the near future. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Tee to Baby Dress Tutorial

I have a tendency to pile up old t-shirts and materials in my studio closet thinking I will use them someday...days pass...and I get super excited when I come across my stash and have an idea in my head at the same time! Wahoo for creativity! Well really this is super easy. If you know how to use a sewing machine, you can do this!

1. First grab an old t-shirt and a baby dress that you want to mimic for size. Line it up along one of the sides of the t-shirt so you only have to hem one side. Then cut around the dress leaving a little extra room for a hem (1/4-1/2 inch). There is no need to cut around the straps because we will be making that later.

It should look like this so far...

2. From the leftover t-shirt cut a long 1-1/2 inch wide strip to set aside for the straps. Cut the strip the length of the t-shirt and it can be adjusted later.

3. Turn the dress inside out and pin the one side to be sewn together.

Also fold over the neckline on each side, pin, and sew. 

4. Take the straps that you cut out previously and throw one in your stash pile. (you never know when you might need a pink t-shirt scrap)...:) Then take your strap and gently tug on each end to make it look like this...

5. After you turn your dress back to the right side it is time to thread your strap. Grab a clothes pin and attach to the end of the strap. Thread through one side of the neckline loop. The clothes pin gives you something to grab and pull through.

...and thread through the backside like so...

6. I then sewed the ends of the strap together and tucked the seem inside the neckline so it is not showing. Make sure before you sew the strap that you have measured it to fit correctly.

7. Then put it on a cutie... :)

She REALLY likes it!

Creative Christmas Day 3-Gifts/Wrapping

picture by intermissions

As you have heard me say before that this year I have not been much of a mall-goer...I have been trying to get creative. Here is a list of unique gift giving options that I came up with and also got inspired from an article in this month's issue of Mothering.

1) Buy Handmade of course! Check out the gift guides on Etsy there are tons of ideas for just about anyone from the tech lover-to the sports fanatic-to the home chef-to the person who has everything. Or if you are wanting to be the artist but need some inspiration check outInstructables or Martha's page. Some of these websites can be a bit overwhelming if you are like me and want to try everything...but they are fun. :)

2)Look for items that have a Fair Trade label...<Fair Trade is an organized social movementand market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. >-Wikipedia. There are many places to shop fair trade, sometimes even your local supermarket will carry fair trade items, but a popular place to shop is Ten Thousand Villages. Also check out Earthlover.

3)Give a gift card that supports a worthy cause. For example Tisbest.org TisBest Philanthropy is a registered non-profit corporation in the state of Washington and qualified as a 501c3 charity by the IRS. (It doesn't seem like you need to worry about charity schemes). This would be particularly good for kids so they can maybe choose which charity that is associated with their own interests.

5)Even if you are giving a gift card there are many ideas on how to make it personal. Check out these handmade giftcard holders.

4)Give the gift of service!- A gift doesn't have to be an object. You could cook a meal, clean someones house, babysit, write a song, give a back message, etc.

I can't think of a reason why I would need to buy wrapping paper this year when I have loads of crafting paper, paper grocery bags, etc laying around my house. Plus the Internet has tons of crafty bloggers of course with tons of inspiration. Not to mention a few... :)

1)fabric gift bags

2)Seasonal Delights- cards and gift tags

3)Tip Junkie- tons of unique ideas!

4)Olivemanna-textiles and paper goods.

5)Use pine cones or holly (careful if it is poisonous) instead of a plastic bow.

6)Decorate paper grocery bags with stamps or markers.

7)Make use of the newspaper comics.(I remember this always being a hit at birthday parties when I was a kid)

8)prettytape has tons of fun tape and don't forget to mark it handmade when you are done.

Any other creative ideas?

Creative Christmas Day 2-Tradition

hats and mittens advent calendar by garnet hill

A native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant. Tradition! I love it...Each family and culture has their own traditions each year for celebrating Christmas. I came across this idea of an advent calendar ( I can't remember where I heard of it, but it was not my idea so I can not take the credit). Instead of the traditional advent calendar this one has a little twist. Placed inside each pocket is a piece of paper with something to do that night as a family. I came up with a list of 25 ideas that could be incorporated into the advent calendar, or just used as an individual new tradition. Some of them are probably already traditions in your family, but especially for kids there is so much excitement waking up in themorning to open up the next pocket on the calendar to see how they will be celebrating that evening. 1-put up the Christmas tree and decorate! 2-make ornaments. 3-drink apple cider and listen to Christmas music. 4-play a board game 5-feed the homeless at a local shelter. 6-make festive garland. 7-go ice skating 8-make a table centerpiece 9-make Christmas cards. 10-donate extra clothing to a shelter 11-go caroling. 12-make a button wreath 13-make a pinecone bird feeder. 14-watch a Christmas movie. 15-invite friends over for a holiday dinner 16-make paper snowflakes 17-shop for family angel tree. 18-bake cookies. 19-deliver cookies. 20-look through old holiday photos while sipping hot chocolate. 21-look at Christmas lights. 22-wrap gifts. 23-read the Christmas Story. 24-go to church. 25-go around the table and share why each person in the family is a gift to you. What traditions does your family do to celebrate Christmas?Have a lovely day.

I have too many hobbies :)

My new love is felting...needle felting and wet felting. I enjoy the soft colorfulness of working with fibers and even better this is a project I can do all in one sitting and it doesn't take a lot of materials. Although I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the exciting arts and craft ideas and gadgets that I have and yet to use/do, but this has been really exciting! I have made a few felted beads into necklaces that will be appearing in my store soon and I have also just had fun exploring with my felting needles and watching how the fibers interlock and form together. I have found it so exciting to blend them together like paint. I have realized how much I miss painting and might have to start that up again soon. Just a little update on my creative side. :) Hope you all are having a splendid week!

Mango Hedgehogs

I love mangos!!!...and finally figured out how to cut one. :) Thanks to Linda over at Craftapple for her great tutorial.- plus Will loves them.

p.s. I thought of you Nicole being where mangos are a staple. love ya! :)

Sewing Seeds

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

Sewing Seeds started 2 years ago when Randi's oldest daughter went on a missions trip to Africa. Bloggers across the country sewed 118 skirts for her to bring to the children! How wonderful is that!....only this time her friend Kimmie has a daughter who is traveling to Costa Rica for 2 weeks this summer. Would you be interested in sewing a skirt or two for these lovely children? Think of how excited and grateful their faces will be when they receive something of their own. They need all sizes for childen 13 years and younger. If sewing is not your thing but you want to participate, I believe they are accepting shorts for litte boys as well. Check out Randi's post here for more details and tutorials for a few simple skirts. Leave her a comment and she will give you the address to mail them to. Below are a few pictures of Bella's previous mission trips and a photo of the town they will be visiting this summer.

Please be praying about this. All skirts should be mailed by June 29th, so Kimmie's daughter Bella can get them ready to go. 

Spring Spring

I have been looking at a bunch of wonderful ideas that have to do with spring because I am so excited that it is finally here! Some days in the midwest it still does not feel like spring, but the sun has been shining this week and Easter is this weekend and it gets me in the mood. Below are a bunch of links to great websites, projects or etsy finds that have to do with spring. I did not want to forget these for future reference...so it is always good to blog and mark them down so I can find them again someday.

Here is an easy seed starter tutorial.

If you are growing anything you probably have these started already, but I thought this was a great tutorial that I wanted to remember.

 baby hat and  flower stacker toy....super cute for the kiddos.

birdie wallpaper silhouette...love it!

Here is a great tutorial on how to Make your own kite.

   

...and we all know there will be spring cleaning going on at some point. Here is a spring cleaning guide, and a great idea for storing all the STUFF we have...

personalized storage baskets.

Also click here for yummy stuff...so cute! 

Happy Spring! We are off to Stillwater to see family...have a good Easter!

love-