My Go-To Winter Exfoliator

For my daily exfoliation routine I use exfoliating cleansing wipes to take off my makeup at night, and when I'm in the shower, I use a natural exfoliating sponge. This generally does the trick, but sometimes I want my skin to feel extra exfoliated! And in the winter, I want some good moisturizing too, but I have to be careful because my skin is so oily. Even oil-free moisturizers can make me break out.

I've made my own home-made exfoliators for years (there are some great recipes all over the web), and that used to be the only way I exfoliated my face. I would keep a dry mixture of coffee grounds, almond flour, and brown sugar in a little container in the shower. The moisture from the water would be enough to spread it around easily, and it worked great (it was also easily portable for when I traveled). The problem was: the particles would stick to the shower walls and shower liner and would go bad pretty quickly. This meant a lot more work cleaning the shower and either taking down and washing the liner or buying and installing new ones more often. I was just getting tired of the extra work, hence the routine I now use.

But every once in a while, I want to pamper myself, and this is what I do: I take some plain yogurt or sour cream (the dairy is good for your skin - I believe it's the lactic acids) and mix in some coffee grounds, cornmeal, and honey. The coffee and cornmeal do a bang-up job of exfoliating, the dairy makes my skin look better, and the honey provides some moisture without going overboard. My skin looks and feels so good when I'm done! I usually make a lot so that I have extra for my back, arms, etc. Here's what the mixture looks like:

It looks a little bit like melted cookies-and-cream ice cream, but trust, me it's not as tasty. You can make exfoliators that taste good though too. In the past, I've made yogurt, brown sugar, and almond flour exfoliators with spices like cinnamon and cloves, and if a little bit gets inside my mouth, so be it. Although sugar is good for your skin, it doesn't provide the kind of exfoliating power I'm looking for because it dissolves in the yogurt, which is why I gravitate towards the cornmeal and coffee grounds for that.

Pamper yourself some time this winter and make your own exfoliator to your own taste! Aside from the ingredients I mentioned, other common additions are oats and other kinds of ground nuts. If you have super dry skin, you could make an oil based exfoliator with olive oil or other face-friendly oil (like almond or jojoba oil). In that case, sugar would be a great idea, since it won't dissolve in the oil like it does in yogurt (oil and sugar are the base for sugar scrubs, which I like to use for my lips and legs). 

Happy Exfoliating!

Wheat Berry Salad

Another throwback post - this time we go back to August 2013, when I cooked up some whole wheat berries and added some olives, peas, onion, bell peppers, basil, and avocado. The dressing was uber simple: extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Although I made this in the summer, it would be great in the winter too, especially when you're craving something fresh amidst all the stewed, roasted, braised, and baked offerings. If you make this in the winter, don't take a shortcut with the lemon juice - go out and get a fresh lemon. Not only does it make a big difference in a simple dish like this, but that burst of freshness is a wonderful pick-me-up in the middle of winter (and the vitamin C helps ward off colds!). Here's to fresh food in the winter!

Pad Thai

I love posting pictures of food that I prepare on Facebook. It's like I almost forgot that I have a blog for that! Clearly I haven't posted in a while. I couldn't remember the website for this blog and I had to google myself to find it. So lame.

Anyway, making delicious healthy food is my main creative outlet and one of the things that brings color to my life. I have a bunch of pictures of things I've made over the last couple years and I'm going to start posting them on this blog retrospectively.

Today's throw back is from June 2013, when I made Pad Thai from scratch. I found a random recipe online that claimed to be "authentic" and I went for it. I had bought tamarind paste, fish sauce, and chili sauce/paste or whatever it's called. Clearly I can't remember the details. But I do remember: 1. It was a lot of work, 2. It was not as good as the Pad Thai I've had at some restaurants in Seattle, and 3. It was still better than some of the Pad Thai I've had at other restaurants. Maybe if I made it a lot, I'd be able to get it down to a science, but I think I'd rather just leave it up to the pros. It was a fun experiment though, especially when we were living in Long Beach and I was not a fan of the one Thai restaurant in town. One last culinary note: the tamarind paste I bought had big chunks of tamarind in it and that made certain bites taste overwhelmingly of tamarind. I wondered if maybe I should have pureed the tamarind paste with some water before using it in my recipe. Anyone have any thoughts on chunky tamarind paste?

Here's my final result:

Polenta Makes Me Happy

I made polenta for the first time last week and I am totally hooked! I don't know how I lived without it before. The first batch I made used white wine and water for the liquid and it was awesome, although I think I added too much white wine (2 cups + 6 cups of water). I think next time I'll try 1 cup of white wine and 7 cups of water. The next batch I made with chicken broth and water. The chicken broth flavor came through so beautifully that it reminded me strongly of Thanksgiving. I decided that chicken broth polenta will make an appearance this Thanksgiving for sure. Who cares that I'm not Italian?!

In the picture above, I cut the polenta into smaller cubes so that it would heat up faster in the microwave, because I like my food PIPING hot. Along with roasted veggies, I felt like I was feasting for lunch.

I knew I wanted to make creamy polenta, so I looked around online and decided to create my own recipe based off of Emeril's creamy polenta recipe. Here's what I came up with:

Polenta Recipe based off of Emeril’s Creamy Polenta Recipe

·         8 cups water (1-2 cups of dry white wine can be substituted for some of the water) (original recipe calls for 4 cups water, 4 cups milk; chicken or vegetable broth can also be used)

·         1 Tb butter

·         2 ts salt

·         2 cups polenta

·         ½ cup cheese

In a large saucepan, bring the water (and optional wine) and butter to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water and whisk in the polenta. Whisk constantly for 3 to 4 minues to prevent lumps. Simmer for 45 minutes, partially covered and stirring every 10 minutes, until the polenta is thick, smooth, and creamy. Add the cheese. Check for seasoning and adjust consistency by adding milk or water to the polenta. Polenta may be made up to 20 minutes ahead of time and kept covered until ready to serve.

Spread the leftovers in a 9x9 or 9x13 pan. Cover and refrigerate. When cooled, the polenta may be cut into squares. 

2010 in Food

I've been planning this post for months in my head, centered around the theme of foods I tried in 2010-early 2011 that I'd never tried before and that were pleasant surprises. The summer of 2010 was the first summer I got all my veggies from the farmer's market. I'd been meaning to do that for a few years, but didn't actually dredge up the energy to go out of my routine until this past summer. It was an absolute delight. I know all the gurus on the Food Network are constantly saying this, but there truly is nothing like local, seasonal produce. In fact, I was so converted that I've been privately semi-pretentious about it all winter. As I push my cart around the grocery store, I go whizzing by the tomato section, saying in my head, "I wouldn't go near those washed out tomatoes right now - they're not in season." And this while I remember the pints of glowing red and yellow cherry tomatoes that I halved and ate over arugula with home made balsamic dressing and shaved Parmesan cheese at the height of summer.

Without further ado, here are, in no particular order, 10 new things I tried this past year and really liked:

1. Celeriac. I had heard of this, but didn't really know what it was. Now, I must admit, I didn't make a coleslaw out of it like the French always do because I'm not really a fan of mayonnaise. I did, however, use it in pureed soups and liked how it helped out the texture and added a very delicate celery flavor.

2. Radicchio. As I discovered, radicchio is rather bitter, but that can be a nice touch to some salads. I did make the mistake of adding too much radicchio to a dish once, but I learned my lesson and now have a healthy respect for its potency. I also sauteed it once with some other vegetables as part of a stir fry and it was an interesting addition. I think in the future I would like to make a salad with it that includes some other strong flavors, like maybe a pungent cheese. I'll have to do some recipe searching, and if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

3. Asian gourd. I can't be more specific because it was at the Asian vegetable stand at the farmer's market and it was marked as "gourd." It was in the shape of an enormous sausage and was a pale green. When cooked, it had the texture of a cantaloupe and a refreshing coolness about it, even though it was warm. It also was mildly sweet. It was really special and I will totally be looking for it this summer.

4. Golden Zucchini. I absolutely fell in love with this over the summer. It is part of the zucchini family, but is bright yellow, has a firmer texture than zucchini, and a more delicate flavor. I sliced it up, sauteed it with thyme (salt added only later so it wouldn't get soggy), and served it with whole wheat rotini pasta and olive oil and fresh lemon juice for a dressing. I ate this meal so many times last summer and it was divine. It was even better when I added cherry tomatoes to it (and shaved parmesan if I was indulging). I have never seen golden zucchini at a grocery store, which means I will be haunting farmer's markets for it this summer so I can get my fix.

5. Arugula. I can't believe I'd never had this before. Trader Joe's sells a good-sized bag for $1.99, which I hadn't realized. It has great texture and a great flavor. I have now gotten hooked on salad greens with either great texture or flavor, which means I pretty much only buy fresh spinach and arugula for salads now. I can't go back!

6. Seven-minute eggs. I have always been a fan of poached eggs, but have never owned a poacher as an adult. When I was leafing through my vintage copy of Julia Child's The French Chef, I saw that she describes a way to poach eggs in the shell. I was immediately intrigued. The directions are as follows: boil water in a pot, insert egg and boil gently for seven minutes if the egg is right from the fridge, and 6 minutes if the egg is room temperature. Run under cold water for about 30 seconds, and then gently peel, halve and sprinkle with salt. SEVEN-MINUTE EGGS HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE! They are like the ultimate comfort food. The white is cooked, but the yolk is about half-cooked and has the texture of cheese sauce. Oh my gosh, I love seven-minute eggs. I actually just finished eating one on top of a spinach and grated carrot salad with balsamic dressing. Whenever I make them, I feel like I'm giving myself a huge treat. I was actually fantasizing the other day about making Challah and then having some toasted with some seven-minute eggs. That might have to happen this weekend.

7. Fennel. This came to my attention thanks mainly to Heather Davis, who loves to make apple and fennel salads. I'm not sure when its peak season is, but it's been looking lovely and fresh all winter long. So far, I've sliced it thin and added it to sliced apples with some lemon juice, salt and pepper on top (so yummy, especially the pepper). I've also thinly sliced it and added it to a Russian style salad, with beets, potatoes, pickles, peas, etc. It adds some nice freshness.

8. Purple carrots. They tasted just like normal carrots, but they looked so awesome when sliced! I made a home made pizza with onions and these carrots and it was just fun!

9. Purple peppers. They look just green peppers, but are purple and are less bitter. What can I say? Purple vegetables are just fun!










10. Risotto. I can't believe it, but I had never eaten risotto until this past fall. And as my friends at school will attest, I ate it for every meal for several weeks in a row! I made it with kabocha squash and it was dynamite. I just love how every bite was bursting with butter and white wine. That risotto may be why I had gained a few pounds by the end of the semester! (Well, that and all the pasta I ate during finals).

There it is, 10 new things I tried this past year and my life is better for it!

Thoughts on Marriage

Now I know we've only been married about 2 1/2 years, so it's not like we can go around dispensing loads of wisdom about married life, but I was thinking last week about something particular that I feel is one of the keys to a good marriage. To put it in a nutshell:

Your spouse deserves just as much common courtesy as anyone else.

This may seem axiomatic, but for those of you out there who have ever been married, you know how elusive common courtesy can be in a long-term relationship. It's so easy to take your partner for granted because they're always there - and often in your way.

As easy as it is to think of your spouse solely in terms of his or her relationship to you, it is so important to remember that he or she is also an independent person; and just because you are committed to be with each other, this does not mean you can treat each other worse than you would other people. Spouses have just as much of a right to personal space, privacy, politeness, kindness, compliments, etc. as anyone else: in short, they have a right to common courtesy.

I can already feel myself slipping into that mode of taking Mike for granted. Once the novelty wears off, you're not going to be constantly aware of how lucky you are to be with your spouse like you were when you were dating. Personally, I think marriage is way better than dating because your lives become intertwined in a much more concrete way and you feel that constant comfort and companionship of daily sharing life together. But I have been thinking recently about how if you don't cultivate treating each other with common courtesy, you will slowly drain your spouse's reserves of goodwill until they can no longer help but take offense at how they are treated.

No Shampoo Update

Well, it was about three weeks ago that I decided to go off shampoo and use baking soda and apple cider vinegar to clean my hair, mainly motivated by the desire to save money. Over a year ago, Mike and I decided to switch to natural, non-toxic products when it comes to anything that would touch our skin or that we would breathe in: household cleaning products, air freshener, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, soap, etc. Switching to natural products like baking soda, vinegar, salt, lemons, and borax has revolutionized the way we clean our apartment and it's so much cheaper! However, for the last year, we have been spending $6 a bottle for Nature's Gate shampoo and conditioner. It smells wonderful, but can be hard to fit into a weekly budget sometimes. Hence my excitement at finding out that you can also clean your hair with cheaper, natural products.

When you think about it, it makes so much sense. For thousands of years, no one ever used shampoo - it didn't exist. Why? Because our hair doesn't normally get that dirty and water is usually more than enough to get dirt or dust out. Why do most of us use shampoo? Because our hair gets greasy. And why does it get greasy? Because we use shampoo, which strips our hair of its natural oils. It's only when you regularly strip your hair of its natural oils that your head goes nuts trying to replenish that oil by producing more than it normally would. Which makes your head greasy. Which makes you reach for the shampoo bottle. What I didn't realize is that the hair's natural oil (sebum) is essentially naturally produced hair product. This is why old-fashioned women always brushed their hair a lot: because it distributes the hair's natural oils to the rest of the hair, making it sleek and shiny (I remember reading in the Betsy-Tacy books how Betsy would brush her hair with 100 strokes per night but never understood why).

Before going any further, here is my preliminary report: my hair feels fresher, cleaner, and silkier than it ever has, and I don't need hair product anymore! My hair now looks the same with zero product as it did when I was using Aveda's Be Curly product before ($18 plus tax). More money saved! However, I am still working out the kinks for my specific hair type. This is what I have learned so far:

• Baking soda can actually be kind of harsh on your hair and can dry it out unnecessarily. I am seeing this in my own hair, since it is more fine and delicate. After doing some more research online, I am realizing that I probably don't need to use baking soda at all, but can probably get away with just apple cider vinegar (2 Tablespoons to 2 cups of water).
• It's really key that you thoroughly massage your scalp with water while in the shower in order to break up the sebum. We're so used to being lazy hair-washers because the chemicals in shampoo do all the hard work for us, but without those chemicals, we need to actually get in there and do the work ourselves. I am positive this is why going off shampoo before did not work for me. I wasn't breaking up the sebum, and so it just built up and my hair got super greasy.
• So, to recap, for my fine, wavy hair, my shower routine needs to be massaging my scalp really well with water, and then doing an apple cider vinegar rinse (this is optional I think, but it feels really nice).
• Then, for the second (or third) days, I need to brush my hair through a lot with a boar bristle brush, which will not only take out any dust, but will also redistribute the sebum from the top of my head to the rest of my hair.

For a final recap, then, going without shampoo has been really great so far. My hair feels healthier, silkier, and shinier and I don't need to use any product anymore when I get out of the shower. However, the baking soda is making my hair too dry and brittle, and I am going to stop using it and switch to a new routine: massaging my scalp really well with water, using an apple cider vinegar rinse, letting my hair air dry (you can't blow dry your hair if you go off shampoo - it doesn't work at all), and brushing my hair thoroughly with a boar bristle hairbrush until I get it wet again. I promise to write another update in a few weeks to report on how this is going.

If you are thinking about doing this yourself, you'll want to do some research online, where there is detailed information on the different methods you can use. And you have to be prepared for a transition phase of greasier hair that can last up to several weeks. Going off shampoo is not for the faint of heart, but I'm determined to work out the kinks, wait out the transition phase, and reap the benefits in the end!

2013 Update: As it turns out, washing my hair with baking soda and/or vinegar was working so well because we had very soft water where we lived. Once we moved, our water was harder and we didn't have access to the water tank to add softener. So, I'm back to using normal shampoo and conditioner, although I look for ones made with more natural ingredients and no parabens. It was great to do while I could though, and it saved us a ton of money at a time when we were counting every penny.