Monday, October 7, 2013

Calendula Oil & What's Cooking, Oct. 7 - 13

We've got some stormy weather and tornado watch today in the DC area - after a little burst of summer, the weather is about to turn firmly to Autumn, and suddenly the trees are a riot of color.

This is my favorite time of year - the colors, the scents.... everything is earthy and smoky and delicious.  And it is definitely time for me to be planning meals to maike sure we get plenty of this season's bounty while it's here.  I find that when I fail to plan our meals, they become decidedly make-do and uninspired.

Here's what's in the works for this week:

Monday
Leftover Hash (Tri-Tip Beef, Mushrooms, Potatoes, and Veggies)

Tuesday
 (stew a chicken in the crockpot)
Chipotle Pulled Chicken
Paleo Tortillas
Salad

Wednesday
Leftover Chicken and Veggies
Mashed Cauliflower

Thursday
Bacon and Mushroom Quiche
Salad

Friday
Pork and Pumpkin Stew
Grain-Free Bread

Saturday
(Farm & Farmer's Market for meat & produce)
Leftovers

(slow cook a stewing chicken for tomorrow)

Sunday
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Stir-Fried Veggies

Today, I started on a project I'll be working on as a part of my Yule gifting - while I'm sure I'll be doing some purchased items, I really am wanting to try to keep most of our gifting handmade and personal.

So, as a part of that, I want to make up some healing salve that includes calendula as part of its properties.  Calendula is a variety of marigold, and is one of those herbal powerhouses that make a good addition to any all-purpose salve.  It is anti-inflammatory, soothing for burns and irritated or chapped skin and has some bug repellent properties.  It is gentle enough for those with sensitive skin and children to use.



Today's step was easy - I'm infusing some dried calendula petals (I got mine from Mountain Rose Herbs) in olive oil for the next couple weeks.  The ratio is easy - 1 part dried petals to 2 parts olive oil.  I used 1 cup of petals to 2 cups of oil - in a couple weeks, I'll be straining this out and making up some salve with it.  The oil itself could also be used as is, and it will keep for about a year.

The jar I used was a bit larger than necessary, so I used a baggie (weighted with some water) to hold down the petals below the surface of the oil.  After taking the picture, I moved the jar to a dark place until it's ready for the next step.


Before I go for today, I want to point you all over to Samhain's Sirens - today's lovely giveaway is two pairs of October themed earrings - one set is an adorable pair of witchy hats, and  the other a pair of pumpkins - just the thing for the Halloween fashionista!  Both of these were handcrafted and donated by Tess from "A Witch By Any Other Name".  Today's entry also includes a delicious medley of roasted veggies. Go check it out!

~ Lynda

Shared with: 
Menu Plan Monday, Busy Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Creative Monday Blog Hop, Frugally Crafty Home Blog Hop, Homemade Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Made By You Monday, Monday Funday, Marvelous Monday, Motivated Monday, Natural Living Monday, That DIY Party, More the Merrier Monday.
Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Time to Sparkle, Tuesday Greens, Tutorial Tuesday, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday.
Fluster's Creative Muster, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Inspiration Exchange, Lovely Ladies Linky, Make-Bake-Create Party, Party Wave Wednesday, Penny Pinching Party, Show & Tell WednesdayWaste Not Want Not, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday.
DIY Accomplished, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Home Sweet Home, HomeAcre Hop, Homemaking Party, Open House Blog, Home & Garden Thursday, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Treasures.
Be Inspired, Creative Friday, DIY Linky, Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Frugal Friday, Friday Favorites, Freedom Fridays, Old-Fashioned Friday, Pin-Me Linky Party, Pity Party, Show and Tell Friday, Small Footprint Friday, Thrifty Things Friday.           
           

7 comments:

  1. thanks so much for sharing :) so glad I found your blog through the project too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. we grew calendula this year and I'm cold infusing air dried calendula petals right now, this will be my first year trying to make calendula cream :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never heard of Calendula oil, but I'm guessing it has great effects if like you said it's natural and it has anti inflammatory properties! Thank you for sharing, very interesting Lynda! Lizy your party co host at Fluster Buster.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this time of year too! Hope you survived the storms. Thanks SO much for sharing at the Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop. Have a great day!
    Katie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting info! Thanks for sharing at TTF!

    ReplyDelete
  6. So glad to have you back on Tuesday Greens!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just learned about a year ago that calendula was a variety of marigold! I was so wowed. Good info.
    Thanks for sharing with us at The HomeAcre Hop!

    Please join us again Thursday at:
    http://summersacres.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-homeacre-hop-41-and-giveaway.html
    ~Ann

    ReplyDelete