Vegan Zucchini Pizza Crust

Some states have certain produce tied to it.  Idaho has their potatoes, Florida has their oranges, and Washington has their apples...and zucchinis!  Two things that we have excessively bigger here than anywhere else:  raccoons and zucchini.  My husband came home with 3 zucchinis from work and then at our congregation someone brought in more zucchini that filled a whole table.  I'm not one to let food go to waste, so if I see zucchinis sitting around that no one has claimed, I will snatch them right up.  This means, of course, that I must get creative with zucchini.  I know so many Washington peeps have their own special zucchini bread recipe because of our abundance here.  Zucchini noodles made an excellent raw spaghetti on my table.  One time I even made a batch of zucchini jelly (which I never did try, but was told was so good it could be an ice cream topping).  The latest new zucchini creation in my kitchen was a zucchini pizza crust, vegan and even optionally paleo.

Ingredients (2 10" pizzas):
1 WA-size zucchini (or 3 regular sized)
3 flax eggs (interpreted as 3 T flax meal, 6 T water, 1.5 tsp baking powder total)
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 T basil
1 T salt
1/2 T oregano
1/2 T cayenne pepper (or other pepper)
1 C flour (use a nut flour for paleo, and start with half amount of flour adding little by little until desired dough consistency)

Step 1
Shred the zucchini.

Step 2
Steam the zucchini.

Step 3
Drain excess liquid out of zucchini by squeezing.

Step 4
Mix squeezed zucchini and remainder ingredients, using a spoon to lay out crust onto 2 pizza baking dishes.

Step 5
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes

Then you can add your toppings, keeping the sauce low to prevent soggy crust.  Place back into oven to finish baking your pizza, and enjoy!

Bucket AC-Hack (and review)

Equipment needed:  

5 gallon bucket with lid

Gallon of water (or 2 to rotate)

Rotary tool

Desk fan

Tape

Step 1 -- Cut out center.

Step 2 -- Tape fan over lid.

Step 3 -- Cut out 3 holes in bucket.

Step 4 -- Place previously frozen gallon of water in bucket.

Step 5 -- Turn on fan and enjoy.

Review:
This works better than just a fan.  I wouldn't say it is as cold as an AC unit.  However, I have heard dry ice works the best with this system.  We just couldn't find any.

Ditch the Deo without the BO

Is it possible?  Yes it is.  Last Friday was my first day in attempting my freeing of the armpits.  I'm going to be honest and say I didn't do much research starting out, so I came by some knowledge just in experience and then wondering why it worked persuaded me to find the answer.

So when I began a week ago I read a blog where a woman was just documenting her experience to a point where it seemed her sweat moderated itself and all was well.  I hadn't heard this was possible.  It sounded like when I entered the "No 'Poo" method of hair washing, where we can get the sebaceous glands to take a chill pill in overproduction as we stop making them overproduce with stripping, but these are different glands.  If this can be done, then logically I approached it the same way -- just as hair needs sebum as a protector, so this excretion is also needed.  I didn't stop my sebum production completely when I went to the "No 'Poo" method; I just taught my scalp to not overproduce because I stopped giving it a reason to continuously replenish -- I stopped stripping it with detergent shampoos.  It was just a thought, but I wondered if overproduction of sweat was due to stripping moisture from the armpits, which in turn is linked to the body odor; to add, that over-kill of the skin's bacteria (odor contributor) made an imbalance of it as well.

First, you need to understand a few things about deodorant and why you should stay away from it.  Well, before that we need to establish that there is a difference between deodorant and antiperspirant.  Most sticks you label "deodorant" are a combination of both a deodorizing agent and an antiperspirant, though a true deodorant itself does not contain antiperspirant.  Most organic or natural deodorants are in this field.  They do not stop sweat production but handle the bacteria on the surface of the skin which causes the odor.  My issue with this is that they are quite costly.

Going back to body odor -- the apocrine glands are those that are associated with hair follicles, and are the ones you find under your armpits.  The fluid is odorless until it is met with bacteria on the skin's surface.  Logically, this should be good bacteria, unless you mess with it, which you often do in deodorants.  My theory above was perhaps the bacterial imbalance that would make very pungent odors are due to messing too much with the bacteria with chemicals in deodorants and antiperspirants.  Most natural deodorants will deal with the bacteria in the form of essential oils like lavender, tea tree, etc.  These oils are good antibacterial agents.

Your conventional deodorant-antiperspirant stick uses a form of aluminum to contract the pores to the point of keeping you dry.  It clogs them, in a nutshell.  I have an issue with this because you need to sweat.  There is a reason why God made those glands, and failure to expel toxins and pheromones, and failure to release sodium back into the blood stream after bodily stress each has their own set of consequences that can be quite damaging to other systems of the body, not to mention outpours of claims that aluminum is toxic internally.

Back to the problem I have with buying natural deodorants:  I already have plenty of items in my house that handle bacteria.  I actually used to make my own deodorant with lemon essential oil, coconut oil, and baking soda.  I was annoyed at how often I had to apply it.  I personally wanted a bit more freedom for my armpits, and not have a sandy, oily, substance sitting under them.  So I decided to just use an essential oil and see how long I could go.  My test was with ylang ylang, simply because I love the smell.

The week was especially interesting.  First, I washed my armpits each day with baking soda.  Since I was trying to handle the sweat-production imbalance in the same way I handled my sebum-production imbalance, I'd use the same product.  I'm not sure if that did much for the sweat production, but in the very least it did help out as I realized that the fluid of the apocrine gland will mix with sebum before it makes it to the surface.  So since sebum was involved, balancing it out with baking soda seemed to be a bonus to my deodorant-free trial.

On with the day to day... Day 1 was my day to clean my house for the week, filled with bathtub scrubbing, elbow grease in the oven, etc.  I only had to apply it once, first thing in the morning and I felt so free by the end of the day.  Weird, I know.  Day 2 was interesting since it was Saturday and I am a part of a flag worship team in our congregation.  I thought it mightily brave of me to do all the dancing and whipping of arms up and down without anything under those pits except for a single drop of ylang ylang applied to each.  Let me tell you, worked like a charm.  Day 3 was especially interesting because it was our hiking day.  We hiked up to a ridge at over 5800 ft elevation.  I applied a drop of ylang ylang under each arm before we even left the house and brought the bottle with me.  I was shocked to note that I did not have to reuse that bottle, and boy was I sweating!  Just in case my own nose was acclimating to my pits faster than my pits were acclimating to my new routine, I asked my family's input.  No body odor apparent.  The rest of the week was quite mild, though one day I tried bergamot instead and noticed that it did not work as well for me, another I tried lemon, and then another I tried lavender.  Both of those worked well.  I am sure they each dealt with the bacteria at hand.  Yesterday when I showed up to dance practice, a couple of people noted how I actually smelled good.  No deodorant and I smell good -- how about that!

Anyway, later I linked the ylang ylang success to the fact that it is a muscle relaxer of a sort.  It prevents muscle contraction, and though slight contraction is used to expel sweat from armpits, the excessive contraction is the science behind antiperspirants.  Therefore, I wondered if the freedom versus the constraint made my body happy and that even the more often that fluid reaches the surface, the less bacteria has a chance to build up to mix with it and make a pungent smell.  Going against an antiperspirant's contraction, it was the difference between being continuously moist, versus being dry but dumping sweat profusely when nervous.  My balance theory proving itself?  Note, my armpits were not dry, but neither were they sweaty.  Couple this with ylang ylang just smelling good, and hey, it worked!  I later read that ylang ylang is an anti-seborrhic, which tells me it further would balance out the over production of sebum.  I wonder if the oily substance (sebum mixes with the fluid that becomes sweat before it expels) has anything to do with odor lasting, and that even if I had odor from the apocrine glands expelling, it wouldn't stick around anyway without a fat like sebum.   Hmmm...

I'd enjoy hearing your experiences and successes!

Rampart Ridge Backdoor (with Lakes Laura and Lillian)

It had been 2 months since we attempted this exact route.  It was like a completely different hike.  The meadows were blossomed with flowers, the then bare bushes were overgrown to give us a real bushwacking experience.  It was every bit of beauty I expected it to be back when I first saw the landscape in March.  The trail was much easier to recognize, even in the bountiful, fresh growth.  The road to the parking lot still has one area of washout.

The parking lot was a full one on Sunday, though the trail was quite quiet.  Upon starting we ran into some campers coming down who said that Lillian was almost completely thawed, as opposed to the week prior when there still remained a great deal frozen.  I was relieved.  We initially said we wouldn't go up there again until August, because we wanted to go up to the ridges, which would be very difficult to do with frozen lake areas below it.  So we eagerly climbed up to Lake Lillian; and when I say "eagerly" I mean that we made it up there in 45 minutes.  I did mention, though, how I forgot how steep it really was.  Up to Lake Lillian, it is about P3's ridge equivalent on steepness, minus the loose terrain.  There is a point where the trail will split -- left takes you to Lake Laura, and right continues the climb to Lake Lillian.  From the Lake Lillian fork, there exists another fork further ahead -- to the right I believe is the trail to Mt. Catherine, straight ahead is to Lillian.  Moving past this we reached the entrance plateau to Lillian.  From before the entrance you can look to the left side and see Lake Laura below.

Lake Laura below

So I hear there are two ways to make up to Rampart Ridge behind Lake Lillian.  We did see a faint trail to the left of the lake, which looks like it will tackle Dungeon Peak first, then Rampart Ridge Highpoint.  We took the trail to the right, which climbs up a rock face slightly and then walks along the right side of the lake until you hit the backside of it for a loose rock/dirt climb.

Getting around Lake Lillian 

Once you get up that loose rock/dirt area on the backside of Lake Lillian, the ridge climb is not that back.  The backside is forgiving if there is a fall.  There are many bushes that keep the scrambling exposure to a less nervous level, but ample bushwacking.  Once you get past the first prominence, there is a trail that spurs left along the ridge, with the one on the right continuing to Rampart Lakes (from what it appears to be on maps).  We went left and up the ridge.

Left and up 

Left and up 

Second point, Lake Lillian below.  What a lookout. 

Last good push before a scramble.

Mt. Rainier in the distance.

The view of Lake Lillian below.

The beautiful ridge we just got through climbing.

From that backside, though, you catch glimpse of rolling hills and what looks like a very fun ridgeline that extends even further than you imagined.  I could see why people camp here.  I could hike here the rest of the year and maybe, just maybe, touch ground on the full ridgeline and the
gullies.  It reminded me of Europe.  I could almost hear, "The hills are alive with the sound of music."

We made excellent timing, and after sitting down for lunch, we took some snapshots and went back down, making it a 4.5 hour hike with a roundtrip distance (parking lot to Rampart Ridge Highpoint) of less than 5 miles.  It was enjoyed by the whole family.  Make sure you check out the waterfalls below Lake Laura and between Lake Lillian and Lake Laura.  We filled up our water bottles from their streams.

Homemade Scoby & Kombucha

I am fairly new to kombucha, only a few months but was immediately hooked.  It took me a while to purchase my first one because I just could not bring myself to spend over $3 on a beverage, and it really just did not look appealing.  Marlene's had them on sale -- $1 less than normal price -- and so then started the kombucha bottle collection in my cupboards!

Well if it didn't look appealing at first bottled sight, then certainly it doesn't when making it!  My husband could not believe I fell in love with kombucha.  He spent some years as a server in Florida -- the "South" part of Florida in the Panhandle, where sweet tea is ordered before the water comes out.  He wondered why I didn't just make it myself if I loved it so much.  I then looked up scobies and saw how unappealing the process looked and how much a kit would cost me.  He said they would make scobies all the time, not intentionally, but just by being so busy and never washing out the urns.  So I began my experiment.

From what I read online, I am finding article after article no longer recommended the homemade scoby method that I used.  However, even if you bought a scoby, in reusing it past your first batch you are still practically doing the homemade scoby method by using some of the old tea to feed the scoby, because each batch will make new scoby -- like you are initially atttempting to do with the homemade scoby method.  It's the same process in the second go-round if you bought your scoby.  It just sounds fishy to me to say it is not a recommended method, and seems more like a way to keep making money off of people on something that often unintentionally gets made in the South.  Yeah, you know what road I took!

I started with these ingredients:

1 bottle of store bought original black bottle kombucha
Homemade sweetened black tea

I wanted a good start so I used the black bottle kombucha.  If you are using GT's, this is the kind that says it contains alchohol because it has a slightly longer fermentation process than the clear bottle stuff.  I have seen in those non-recommended articles that the clear bottle is often used, though the darker bottles have much more of that cloudy blob on the bottom and I wanted a good starter for a scoby.

I started by steeping tea and molasses in a mason jar and a jam jar, halfway full, and then let cool completely.  I decided on molasses because I wanted the extra minerals in my kombucha.  Note -- I have read that in choosing sugar types for kombucha, since molasses has extra minerals, it is harder on the scoby; however, my scoby formed just fine in 5 days' time.  It didn't seem to have a bad effect on my batch!  I will stick to natural, raw sugars like raw honey and raw agave, because of contained minerals and ohter properties.  I just love that I can add healthiness (if I can even say a sugar source could be healthy with offending some) to something already healthy.

After the tea fully cooled, I split the store bought kombucha into the 2 jars.  I let it fully cool as to not kill the cultures in the kombucha I added.  Then I simply set the lids on top, not tightened, and let it sit in my pantry.

Right before I put the lids on. 

Day 5 gave me a healthy scoby, though I waited until day 8 to do the second fermentation on this batch and do a second initial batch. 

The initial fermentation can go from 7-30 days.  I thought mine would have to be on the high end since I was using molasses.  Yet, this wasn't the case for me, and the smell of tartness was to my precise liking on day eight.  It might have been because of the good starter black bottle kombucha that I used, rather than the clear bottle.  Our secret.

On day 8 I took the contents from this batch, removing the scoby and reserving some from of the bottom for another new batch, and bottled it into 2 kombucha bottles.  I decided on a gingerade flavor, squeezing fresh lemon into each bottle and 2 drops of ginger essential oil.  I gave it a quick try, and the ginger was very strong.  Next time I do this flavor, I will use just one essential oil drop per bottle.  Then I tightened the lids and put back into my pantry for another 2 days.  This is to enhance the flavor and to allow carbonation to build from fermentation to gain a fizzy kombucha.  With the scoby and reserve, I started another batch of kombucha, repeating my initial batch with a scoby this time.  

Second fermentation process.  The scoby did grow from day five to eight.

Second batch, reusing scoby.

It was a very easy process.  It's like ghee -- I can't believe I've been buying this stuff!  This second batch I will add chia seeds to make my favorite type of kombucha.  What are some of your flavors you have experienced making?  You know, I never was into sweet tea.  I actually even took a bit of pride in knowing it didn't get a hold of me.  Ha, but with kombucha... I guess in a way, sweet tea got a hold of me too.

Mt. Rose

Did I mention how much Lovecake and I love the Olympics?  It seems through our research, on a day's trip, hikes like Mt. Ellinor are hard to find in the Olympics.  On Ellinor looking down to Mt. Rose, we really were not interested in doing it.  However, figuring that we did not have the gear nor did the kids have the experience to continue with the Olympics, we decided we would give Mt. Rose a shot, as our farewell to the Olympics until next year (unless we do Enchanted Valley and the Glacier).  Looking back I would say what a way to bow out.  I thoroughly enjoyed this hike.

To get there, we took I-5 S to exit 104 in Olympia, then exited 101 N to Shelton until we hit Hoodsport.  Might I say that I would enjoy living in Hoodsport.  I imagine myself in that little touristic village, Lovecake working for the diving company there, Amira reading a book on one of the bay decks, ice cream walks... *swoon*  Moving on... So at Hoodsport we took a left on Forest Road 119 until it ended (a little over 9 miles).  Instead of turning right here to Mt. Ellinor, you turn left to Mt. Rose, past the road to the Mt. Rose community and you will see the parking lot sign on the right.  No pass requirement is posted.  You'll walk past 2 streams to the trailhead, where the registry and trail information sheets are posted.

So from the trail map, it is 1.8 miles to the summit loop junction.  Going left is another 1.1 miles to the summit.  If you go right, it is 1.7 miles to the summit.  If you did the full loop, from trailhead and back, it is 5.4 miles.  Doesn't seem bad at all, does it?

We started an immediate elevation gain, switchbacking until you hit the first viewpoint.  From there it has minor switchbacks, mainly a straightforward approach to the junction.  Keep an eye out between switchback 4 and 5 -- there is an eagle's nest in a tree above.

About a mile into it, we were feeling like it was a great workout.  So I hear that this is like the Mailbox of the Olympics.  When I looked at the math of the elevation gain and the mileage, I thought that to be a slight exaggeration.  However, I am a bit shocked at how it really is that steep.  I think it is a good trainer, because it is quite strenuous in its gain, but you have the safety of not having to deal with exposure.  I have yet to do Mailbox.  I would, however, compare this trail to the Old Si trail.  In fact, once you hit the summit loop junction, on the left hand side, after a bit of a bigger climb, you come to this boulder meadow area that reminds me much of Old Si's Boulder Garden Loop.  

We took a few minutes to catch our breath when we got to the summit loop junction, then moved left.  It immediately seemed as if the elevation gain grew steeper; but, alas, it leveled out about halfway through this left side of the loop.  This is the part that reminded me of the Boulder Garden Loop to the Old Si Trail.  At this point we were in the low cloud cover.  It was so serene, especially at a moment of not gaining much elevation in hiking.  I could have camped here, happily, and yet I don't even like camping.  

The last quarter of the way, the elevation tackling started once again for the final push.  Just when you think this little mountain can't get any higher, it does!  You see the red rock of this beauty as you climb through the old burn sites.  I can imagine on a clear day Lake Cushman can take your breath away.  For us in the fog, the climb itself was doing a good enough job of doing that.  

Finally, we made it to the summit, where we had lunch and came to see a lonely bird want lunch too.  Around 45 minutes into the summit lunch break, we heard hikers from both sides of the loop coming.  Up until that point we saw nobody.  What is neat is that today, the day after that hike, 2 hours away from that trail, at the zoo, I saw the left (back) side loop hikers we met on the summit.

As you can see, we did not have a view to look upon.  I really wanted to see the sparkling waters of Lake Cushman, and the reflection of the surrounding summits upon it.  I did have a spiritual reflection on this though... sometimes it is best not to see so far out, but rather to be tucked safely into the cloud -- that is, the presence of the Lord.  A mountain reflection upon the water would have been nice, but, ultimately, the reflection we want to see is the Lord.  How else is that obtained if not in His presence?  So above you see our summit picture, upon a solid rock and yet you can see nothing but the cloud.  I want to be that climber in life, whose end is the Solid Rock and who anyone can see none other than God's own presence in my life.

On the way down we saw another woman who commented on how she didn't think she would make it, then past the junction we met another one who said he did this 3 times and only reached the summit once.  I hope that man made it.  Again, it is not dangerous, just steep.  I enjoyed it with our family, but the fact that it is one of the smaller Olympic mountains and doesn't have much exposure will fool you into thinking this could be one of the first of the year.  We rated it a 7 out of 10, strictly for strength needed and not strategy needed.  The trail is kept up nicely.  It is a completely different experience from Mt. Ellinor, its neighbor.  I imagine, though, that all of the Olympics are unique and one of a kind.  

It took us 2:45 to summit, 55 minutes as a summit lunch break, and then 2:00 back to the car.  Total hike time was 4 hours and 45 minutes, then adding in the 55 minutes for lunch.

I normally don't like forest hikes, even if they have an elevation gain.  This one, though, was beautiful.  I don't know why they named it Mt. Rose, as I didn't see many roses.  (I did, however, see very many spider webs.  This makes sense since there were many gnats and mosquitos).  Perhaps, it is because it, like a rose, is just beautiful.  

Two Cents a Load, as Low as ONE (DIY Laundry Soap)

Yesterday I was trying to configure proportions in laundry detergent ingredients and ended up enlisting my husband's help on his lunch break.  We texted back and forth and the result was a laundry chemist walked through the door shortly before dinner.  He had spent some time reading the science behind detergent during his breaks.  Oh, what a man.  Then before we went to bed I changed my mind on the powder option and decided to go with liquid -- because the last time I used powder I had an issue with it clumping in cold water.  I stopped with an abrupt, "I think I need friends."  Please tell me there have been other women who are at home with their littles all day and have pondered such DIY projects down to the science.

Once I gave up the powder concept, the liquid formula was easy to figure out.  In a detergent I have to think of a few things -- 1) cleanliness; 2) natural; 3) gentle but effective, since I have a baby; 4) does not cause me to strip diapers; 5) does not tear down my PUL diapers nor bamboo.  With this, I opted to eliminate anything too high in pH and too low.  In fact, my detergent from Trader Joe's labels itself as pH balanced.  I know that may shock majority of the laundry detergent makers who understand that you need a high pH to degrease.  Since soda ash is high up there at an 11, I wanted to refrain from using it (bamboo does not like high pH anyway).  I know water is the biggest thing you need for cleaning.  I also know, thanks to my husband's research, that though you may not need soda ash, you need a surfactant.  Magnesium sulfate (Epsom) would be my choice in that -- it is also not too acidic, at an average pH of six.

When I looked at my Trader Joe's pH balanced detergent it reads, "Purified water, plant based surfactant, soy based fabric softener, cellulose optical brightener, lavender oil."  Honestly, I thought to sub a few things and stick with their sort of ingredients -- like Epsom for the surfactant, vinegar instead of fabric softener, salt for brightener, and lavender oil.  However, just by knowing those ingredients, it would keep the solution slightly acidic because of the vinegar.

I also use their dish detergent, which is quite similar in ingredients.  Dish soap is almost always used in liquid homemade detergent, if not a bar soap.  I wouldn't use a bar soap because of the chance of repel in the cloth diapers.  It was easy for me to just use their dish soap in my laundry soap.  So, so far I knew I would use the balanced dish soap and Epsom.  My last active ingredient would be baking soda.  Why?  Because it is a milder alternative of the soda ash.  It sits around 9 on the pH scale.

Using only a shy less than half gallon (multiply accordingly for more), my formula was:

3 TB dish soap
2 TB baking soda
3 TB Epsom salt
(Optional) essential oils

I stirred these in a pot with a few cups of sink hot water until dissolved, then poured into my old detergent bottle and filled the rest with cold water.  I am using the same measurements of others' post to use 1/2 cup per standard load.  For HE, my Trader Joe's detergent uses half (1/4 cup) to yield 26 HE loads, or 13 standard loads.  You could always work between these 2 numbers and go with a 1/3, as I've seen in other posts as well.

So let's talk cost and how I figured it was only 2 pennies a load.  Let me first say, I bought that smallest box of baking soda and smallest bag of Epsom salt.  If you go with the larger quantities, you will truly only spend a penny a load, as these things get cheaper the larger the package.

Dish soap -- $2.99 at 25 ounces (50 TB) That's $.059/less than $.06 an TB
Baking soda -- $.54 at 16 ounces (32 TB) That's $.016/scarcely over a penny a TB
Epsom salt -- $.88 at 16 ounces (32 TB) That's $.027/less than $.03 a TB

For once 13-26 (depending on HE or standard) load bottle (53 ounce) I need $.17 of dish soap, $.03 baking soda, and $.08 of Epsom salt.  Total, this is $.28 of ingredients needed for no less than 13 loads, and up to 26 loads.  Divide that into the 13 loads and it makes each load 2 cents, but divide that into 26 and you get...a penny a load.  I did also put some essential oils, rolling with 7 drops each of lavender and bergamot.  This is optional, as the dish soap already has lavender.  I added lavender to roll with the oil it already had, and added bergamot since it is such a good skin oil.  I imagine I'll switch it up each time, alternating between lemon, sweet orange, peppermint, lavender, tea tree, bergamot, etc.  Again, it's not needed, but at 1-2 pennies a load...why not?