Slow economy, slow food, slow down..

I was reading one of my cosmetic industry magazines and they had a small article about how women are stressed about the economy and state of the union. I feel this strain as well (especially after paying bills yesterday, and accounting our spending for four months, yikes!) they found that women splurge during these tough times on bath/cosmetics. While yay for me, and is it biased (it is a cosmetic mag after all) so I tried to think back on my own impulse purchases or wants since the first Dow free fall. Yeah I have wanted more bath stuff, I was able to swap my products with other Etsy sellers for some great products. I guess the cosmetics and bath product don't make us worry about our waistlines like chocolate, or how our bust line looks in a blouse. It's one size fits all, doesn't make you look fat, shouldn't make you break out, and should always make you look and feel better. Who doesn't want that while they watch their stocks move like a roller coaster at Islands of Adventure. While looking at that financial break down I also noticed a trend in our life, eating out. I'm not talking going to nobu for sushi, more like Carl's Jr for chicken nuggets, and I don't even like fast food. So I am back to the way my mama raised me cooking at home, there is even a whole movement behind it called Slow Food. Most meals can be made in half an hour with a little prep, and some sesame street on TV. Monday I made a cauliflower soup that was reminiscent of the baked potato soup from bennigans, and then revamped it last night with some saffron powder and an ounce of goat cheese. It does require some heavy machinery (a food processor or blender) but hey most of us have that in our kitchens. So here if you want an extra kick use one of the colored cauliflowers (I used one head of yellow and a normal white):
Serves six
2 heads cauliflower roughly chopped
1/2 sweet onion chunked
3 T butter
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
cooked crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar
sliced green onion, green part only
chicken broth to boil the cauliflower and onion in, about 20 min, or until tender
Spoon a third of the cauliflower/onion mixture and enough of the boiling liquid to blend to a nice puree. Add one tablespoon butter and some of the cream, blend smooth, and empty into a serving bowl and continue with the rest of the cauliflower mix (it took me about three fill/blend/empty reps with a standard Cuisinart) stir to combined all batches and serve each bowl with some crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and slivered green onions. Leftovers refrigerate well, reheat on the stove with an ounce of goat cheese and a pinch or more of saffron powder, mmmmmm.

Trouble shoot

Well after getting the shipping fixed another bug appeared, my credit card processing. Seems my merchant account has been canceled but I am still getting billed, and they "don't have my new address" but I am holding this months bill. Grrrr.
Well it's not the end of the world pay pal still works. I just created a pay pal account for my hubby and ordered from www.ritual-bath.com with no problems. It takes one more step than just a straight credit purchase but with the customer service I have been getting from the internet merchant provider I may stick to just pay pal in the future.
Ok, so I hope this ends the run of hiccups, and I am very sorry if this affected your holiday shopping.
Resting her head,
Head Bather

Shipping is fixed!

So I had been wondering what had been driving away all the viewers from my store www.ritual-bath.com so I called in my most thurogh editor, and sure enough she found the problem. My shipping was set to charge each item in the cart seven dollars and not the weight times the aprox cost (this is for priority mail). Well I got that fixed and for anyone who wants even faster I have added UPS service to the shopping cart. Now everyone should be able to purchase with out exorbant shipping amounts, and for anyone in the LA/Valley area email me about pick-up instead of shipping.
Sorry for any confusion and I hope this makes everyone happy again,
Streching,
Head Bather

Extream Homeade Escargot, and winter veggi

I loved growing my own turnips, greens, radishes and other things in my "yarden" in FL, but here in CA I have a nemesis to all my best intentions, the Brown snail. Now I come from a family who values the culinary treat known as escargot, so I felt guilty at first with my desire to destroy what has graced my dinner plate in the past. Not anymore, my cauliflower has been reduced to Green twigs, the loose leaf lettuces are beginning to look the same, and I have still not had one of my own eggplants. So last night I went out with a flash light and a bucket and collected the little and big buggers, but decided to throw them away instead of squishing or cleaning for a later dinner. Before you gag too much remember these are the same animals you buy in the can at the store, but to eat the garden variety you have to clean them for two weeks by feeding them things like corn meal, flower and lettuce. While I am adventurous enough to have tried this, (I mean hell I have eaten wild boar that my DH took down back in FL) I just don't have the time/space right now.
While my own gardening attempts have been fruitless the Thousand Oaks farmers market has been a great find for all sorts of edibles. The latest has been colorful cauliflower, and why not science has shown that the more colorful the more vitamins and nutrients. So while I don't know if it was a genetically engineered or some old cultivar I went ahead and bought a head of purple and yellow cauliflower. They were delish and pretty I highly recommend it.
And now I head out with flashlight and bucket to stake my claim to my winter veg...sorry Mom but I doubt they would ship well.
Determined,
Head Bather

The new mini kit!

So I realized many of us may not have time for a whole bath ritual during this busy season, though I still highly recommend it before that holiday party or family affair to get you in the mood. In my first apartment I was lucky enough to have a room with an adjoining bathroom (meant that at every party it was the communal bathroom but whatever) so before just about every party (or at least the ones I remember being especially fun) I took a ritual bath. I would soak in the tub with homemade bath salts or something bubbly with just candles lit and nice music, and then take my time getting ready for the event. But as we get older and add more things into our lives, from jobs, to significant others, to kids, time to yourself becomes a thing that you will get to after you do xyz. As that becomes your life sometimes a hot shower can be just as rejuvenating as a hot soak, so for that I have created a smaller Ritual Bath kit perfect for you. The three items you need for a quickie ritual, the face mask which you could apply before getting in the shower, a paraben free shower gel to cleanse and scent the air for a brief aromatherapy treatment, and lastly the moisturizer from a lighter body lotion to the more rich body butter. I am very excited about them I hope you are too. The perfect office gift or stocking stuffer will only be available for the holiday season, get yours today!
Love, Laughter and Light,
Head Bather

Craft show afterglow

So I have just completed a whirl wind couple of months doing my first craft shows in my new home turf, and they were outstanding. Each one had it own flavor and flair and all were successful for me. There are so many new friends and vendors to list here so stay tuned I will be featuring some of my faves in the coming weeks. The great team at Ghetto Gloss are still hosting shows each weekend so if you get a chance check them out in Silverlake. I just finished the Bust Craftacular which was fabulous tons of great stuff and people to chat with. If you want to check out who was there just go to the Bust magazine website and check out the LA craftacular vendor list list and shop till you drop, I know I did. I didn't even get to watch my SNL, and had to stop my fam on the east coast from ruining it as we chatted after the Craftacular so for those of you who missed it here is my new favorite song.
Soaking my feet in the tub,
Head Bather