Angela's Skin Food... Another Recipe... Shampoo

I've been experimenting again...
This time with a recipe for 'Natural Shampoo/Shower Gel'
I found the recipe in the Organic NZ magazine. 

 
 I decided to use Camomile Tea as I have blond hair. I used all the fine
bits of tea that I don't like in my cup of tea. I made it with 2 cups of
hot water and left it 24 hours to brew.
 
 
 Here I have strained and reheated it ready to stir the soap into...

 
 The soap I use. It's absolutely the best soap and works the best to makes
shampoo. From Viola Organics...
'Beautiful creamy soap made with Organic Olive Oil from the Marlborough
 region of NZ. Fragranced with pure steam distilled essential oil of Lavender.
No colouring, no synthetic additives, just pure luxurious soap'.
This business is owned and run by Janine Matchitt. She makes all sorts of
beautiful organic products. She will send you a free catalogue and
you can shop on-line.
I have found some other soaps, although sold as 'natural' don't
work as they have too many fillers in them and go gluggy. 


 Grated... Ready to go...


 I had to keep stirring it for a while. The soap went all sticky but
eventually all dissolved.


 All bottled and ready to use. (I didn't use pectin this time)
It looks a bit like a Rotorua mud pool, (when you do  use pectin) but
 it's deliciously lovely... And so easy to make.
Recipe
2 cups strong herbal tea
1 block natural hand made soap, grated
1/2 teaspoon  pectin (optional)
Essential oil of choice (optional)
Make tea with herb of choice & leave to steep overnight.
Next day bring to the boil, remove from heat and add grated soap.
Stir until melted, add pectin, essential oil.
Pour into wide mouth jar with lid and keep in the shower. It will set.
To use: scoop a little out with fingers,  it's very concentrated.
Final rinse - 1 tab lemon juice or cider vinegar in 1 cup of water.
Pour a little over hair to restore pH balance. Do not rinse out.
It may take a couple of weeks for your hair to adjust
and the build up from commercial products to dissipate.
Suggested teas:
For dandruff or itchy scalp, eczema etc - Nettle tea
Blonde hair - Camomile tea
Other - Peppermint or sage, yarrow flowers or kumarahou leaves
(Without the pectin the mixture would not set and could probably be put into a pump bottle. When I put the pectin in (jam setting agent) as expected it set 'like jam'.
Try it, experiment...
Be kind to your skin and hair.

My Travels Continue...

I've moved further north. I'm in the far 'Far North' of New Zealand. 'O' on the map shows where I am now. A small place called Houhora, it's about 75km south of Cape Reinga where the famous lighthouse is.
From Awanui north (look at map) it's the Aupouri Peninsular, one of New Zealands remotest areas despite being popular with tourists in buses that whizz up and down on day trips.
I love it up here, the remoteness, quietness and lack of crowds really appeals to me. I could never do a 'day trip' there is too much to explore.
The Maori call this peninsular 'Te Hiku o te Ika a Maui', the Tail of Maui's Fish, a name derived from the legend that North Island was a fish hauled out of the ocean by the god Maui while he was seated in his canoe.
The peninsular is almost entirely sand dunes, some have been planted with Pine Trees and grasses to stabilise the sand. Other areas have been developed into Avocado and Olive orchards.
In the early days after the Kauri trees were cut down this whole area was gumfields, the valuable gum was dug from the ground by the early Dalmatian settlers. There are some wonderful museums depicting all this.

The pictures show where I have been parked, overlooking the Houhora Harbour with Mt Camel in the background.
Pictures:
1 A lovely place to sit at the bottom of the garden.
2. Map.
3. Looking south along the harbour, Mt Camel in the background.
4. Looking north along the harbour to the wharf where I tried fishing - no luck though!

Girl's Can Do Anything...

Well...
I'ts one thing to catch the fish but then what?
Several options...
I could gut it then bake or smoke it or fillet it and cook in the pan.
I opted for filleting, partly to make sure that I could.
I don't want to rely on 'mere males' who think they can do it better than me.
Well at the moment they can... But I'm learning as you will see.
I rolled these fillets in a little flour then cooked in Olive oil...
Delicious.
I also learn't from a fellow motor homer how to use
my portable BBQ as a smoker.
Just use the tray and rack out of my smoker, sprinkle some Manuka sawdust on the tray, put the gutted and split open fish
on the rack and turn on the gas.
What could be easier.
And one less thing to find room for in the motor home.
He smoked some Snapper which we ate hot at 'Happy Hour'...
Mmmmm!
Finger lickin' good.

A Spot of Fishing Anyone?

Here I am my laptop is up and running again, I hope! It had a battery problem. I'm not convinced it's fixed but time will tell.

I haven't been sitting around since you last heard from me.
I've been fishing, with a friend...
And what a catch.
Beautiful Snapper, all a good size.
Plenty for dinner and some to share.
Tokerau Beach has certainly been the place to be. Although the weather has been a mixture, the fishing has been great.
Pictures:
1. 2 Snapper on fancy traces - they liked the beads!
2. The balloon coming in, its attached to 1.5km of line.
3. Yes... There were 6 more.
4. A bucket full of fish.
5. Fishing's finished, nothing left but footprints. 
Snapper are an iconic Kiwi (New Zealand) fish, slow growing, long lived (up to 60 years). One of the largest most valuable coastal NZ fish. Commonly caught round the North Island and top of the South Island, mainly by bottom longlining or trawling at depths of 10-100 meters.

Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be...

My laptop is sulking...
It's in the shop for repairs.
It's like I'm missing my right arm.
I'm going to pick it up soon...
So watch this space. I'll be back soon.

Delectable...

I often make these delicious little - anytime of the day - treats.
I first made them for Xmas with fruit mince and peel and nuts. I still do.
But I adapt the ingredients to suit what I have in my cupboard, or what I feel like...
Or if I am making them to give away I put in that persons favourites.
This time they were for me and to share with friends when they call in...
Certain standards must be maintained when living in a motor home at the beach...
This time I put Lexia Raisins, dried NZ Apricots and Macadamia Nuts.
HERE IS THE RECIPE
250g cream cheese
1 teasp lemon juice
1 teasp honey
Mix this together then add:
1 cup muesli
3 cups of any fruit and nuts...
So 4 cups total of anything.
Or chocolate...
Mix well, with wet hands roll into balls
Roll in coconut ot chopped nuts or muesli

Tuatua Anyone?

I went for a long walk along the beach, as I often do, but went a bit further than usual.
The tide was out, the sand was hard...
When I emerged from my own thoughts I noticed a lot of big sea birds gathered at the water line.
Being curious I investigated and to my amazement found huge beds of millions of Tuatua. I have never seen so many or on the surface like this before. Usually they are buried and have to be dug up.

Tuatua are an edible bivalve endemic to New Zealand rich in Omega 3. They live on sandy beaches and are found at low tide.
They move up and down the beach at night when the tide is favourable then burrow into the sand when the tide changes. I collected a bag full, the daily limit is 150 per person. I left them in a bucket of sea water overnight - they spit out all their sand. Then I shuck them, I am going to make them into fritters so I never double cook them - otherwise I could steam them open and put them in a vinegar, onion and brown sugar brine. The last pictures show the size in my hand...and a bowl full ready to chop or mince, add a little onion, parsley, egg and flour - fritters for dinner. Yummy!