I finally decided to splurge on 100% silk yarn made by Shibui.

When thinking of silk garments or silk threads, I think of soft and cool material. But with this yarn it’s a bit rough and warm.  Experienced knitters say once it’s knitted and used the material will only get softer.  (Which sounds to me a little like hemp yarn.)  Guess I will find out once I start working with it.

Since silk offers 100% UV protection, I am hoping to knit this into a little head scarf.  Silk is also one of those natural fibers that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I got the silk yarn from Noble Knits.  I also bought another silk blend yarn by Wisdom Yarns.  That yarn will be used to knit someone a hug.

My yarns came in great condition with a nice little hand written “thank you”.  I ordered the yarn on Friday night and got my stuff by Tuesday. That is fast shipping!

One of these days I will trek myself to a real local yarn store just to check out all the different yarns out there.  It might be a few towns over, but it will be worth it.

I was driving past the orchard this weekend and decide to see what’s in season. Nothing much really as the best time to visit is in the fall. That’s when all the fruits are ripe and ready.

In summer, everything is still young and green, from pistachios to pomegranate. I didn’t have a chance to snap a good photo as it was near closing time.

What took me by surprise was seeing the berries on the seabuckthorn bush. So I finally got the chance to taste fresh seabuckthorn berries.

The berries are super sour! Tasted just like lemon. It’s amazing how a tiny little fruit can pack such a sour punch. And inside these little berries was a hard little seed.

Seabuckthorn really does have lots of thorn. So picking out the little fruits, just to sample was scary. The thorns are very sharp and pointy.

These fruits are also known as seaberry. They are now fruiting at the International Fruit Orchard located at Emma Prush Farm in San Jose, Ca.

I’ve just added this new knitting book to my craft library. Knit Local: Celebrating America’s Homegrown Yarns by Tanis Gray.

The book has lots of interesting profiles of local and small yarn companies from across the United States. My favorite is the story of “Juniper Moon Yarns“.

There are lots of nice patterns included. I’m thinking this falling leaves interlocking cowl would be great for autumn.

Because the book is promoting eco-friendly yarns and supporting local business, I was surprised to see the book was published in China. Why can’t Sixth & Spring find a local publisher? Or better yet provide us with a digital copy? I would have love to add this e-book to my Nook.

Another e-book I’ve put on my Amazon wishlist is “Circular Knitting Workshop” by Margaret Radcliffe. Kudos to Storey Publishing for making it available to ebook readers.

Side note: Backdrop is of the WIP of a shawl… it was suppose to be a sample but it turned out to look pretty nice. So that’s become my summer knitting project. Oh, I also had coffee in the mug, but it was so good that by the time I took this photo the mug was empty!

Since we’ve had some chilly nights in the beginning of June, I thought summer would never get here. But the past few days have finally started to feel like summer here in Northern California.

And one of the first fruit ready to harvest are apricots.  I just love the golden color of ripe apricot. Along with this rich color is beta-carotene and lycopene. All good stuff that’s good for your eyes and skin. Thus keeping you feeling healthy and young.

This is only the first basket. It looks like we’ll have many more baskets to fill. And to think I was worried about them falling off the tree.

So what is there to do with all these ripe apricots?  For non fruit lovers, a great way to make them eat fruit is make apricot cobbler.

Peaches cobblers are pretty good, but apricot cobblers are just as nice. And any cobbler will taste better served with Breyer’s vanilla peach ice cream and some cinnamon powder.

Here’s my healthy version of the classic apricot cobbler recipe. Instead of butter I used only vegetable oil. And instead of white flour, I used wheat.

10 apricots sliced, remove the stone. Cook in medium heat with 1/3 cup of brown sugar in 2/3 cup of water. Add 1 tbs coconut oil. Let it simmer then remove from heat.

For the topping (which is more like a cookie):
1 cup King Arthur wheat flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
2 tbs of sugar
1/8 tsp  salt
1/3 cup skim milk
3 tbs canola oil

Pour the cooked apricots into a baking pan. Set the topping onto the apricots like cookies. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until brown. Let it cool and enjoy. Happy summer!

I just came across this herb recently and have to say it’s very pretty. I should have photograph the back side because it is a beautiful deep purple color.

Despite the purple color, it’s referred to as red perilla or red shiso. The herb is a member of the Lamiacea, or mint, family.

One of my mom’s friend grew some in her garden. She offered me a few sprigs to try.

The scent is truly amazing, a bit like cinnamon, mint and anise. So it’s very fragrant! And the taste is difficult to describe since it doesn’t taste like the way it smells, but has a little lemon tang with some degree of basil too.

We didn’t eat much of this herb growing up, so I can’t be sure what type of food it would compliment.

According to Sunset magazine, this herb goes great with a popular Vietnamese dish “Sizzling Saigon Crêpes: Bánh xèo”.

I have had this crepe many times and can say it’s one of my favorite Vietnamese food. Maybe next time I make some I will be sure to include some red perilla on the side.

Photo from Sunset Magazine. Recipe can be found here Myrecipes.com. Note making crepe with rice flour is not the same as pancake!

For a while I was brushing my teeth with the cassia and clove handmade soap. Then I decided baking soda would be nice because it’s a natural way to brighten teeth.

So I ended up making my own tooth powder. Although I do occasionally like to use Auromere’s natural toothpaste too.

The ingredients for my home made powder include baking soda, pink Himalayan salt, clove powder, Neem oil, and Peppermint oil.

Then I discovered Peelu fibers and added that to my mix for an even better tooth powder. The Peelu fibers are actually powder used for brushing teeth. Just take some and put in your palm and dip wet toothpaste into it. Doing it this way keeps the powder clean.

Peelu (Salvadora persica)has been used for centuries as a natural toothbrush, its fibrous branches have been promoted by the World Health Organization for oral hygiene use. The inside part of the twigs are used as chewing sticks in India and middle Eastern countries.

In Thailand they have their own toothbrush tree named “Siamese Rough Bush”. The powder is used in many herbal toothpaste and tooth powder.

Siamese rough bush or Streblus asper is a tree known by several common names, including Siamese rough bush, khoi, and toothbrush tree. It is a medium-sized tree native to dry regions in Thailand, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Since we don’t have any of these trees around here, the next best thing to natural dental care is using tooth powder. It’s a great way to take care of your teeth and gums naturally. It is nonabrasive and contains no artificial chemicals.

For those not familiar with agar, it is a seaweed gelatin substitute that is very popular in Asia. And it’s mainly used to make desserts.

Agar also known as agar agar, kanten or Japanese gelatin. In Lao it’s called “woon”. Agar is made from red algae (seaweed). For vegetarians or those concern about what they are eating, it’s a great alternative to the animal or chemical-based gelatin.

In cooking, agar can be used to firm up jellies, pies and puddings. It dissolves easily in boiling water and then hardens at room temperature. And for those in scientific research, agar jelly is also used in Petri dishes.

Agar contains no calories, sugar, carbohydrates, or fat. Something dieters would like. Eating agar also makes you feel fuller as it’s mostly fiber. And the fiber is also good for cleaning out your intestine. In some ways, agar desserts isn’t so bad!

I normally buy agar in strips and add coconut milk and sugar to make a gelatin dessert. Then I found this packaged of agar powder dessert mix at the Asian market and decided to give it a try.

Product of Thailand. Ingredients: sugar, coconut cream powder, brown cane sugar, non-dairy creamer (glucose, palm kernel oil, casein), whole egg powder, agar and artificial flavor. No preservatives.

The ingredients not that bad, but a bit too much sugar and artificial flavor. It tasted pretty good, a bit on the sweet side for me.

For the 2.0 oz package I didn’t get very much. Maybe enough for two servings. My version doesn’t look like the one on the package either. That’s because they used these cute little jelly mold. I just used my baking pan.

The good part is that it’s really easy to make, just add powder to boiling water, mix and let it settle. I wish the Asian stores would carry the powder version since that seems easier to make. Eden Foods has agar powder, but they are too expensive at almost $9 for 1 oz package. I think I will just stick to the agar sold in strips.

Note: Recipe for Chocolate Mocha Pie using agar from Whole Foods Market.

Sage is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, so it’s not commonly used in Asian cooking. But the scent reminds me of purple Japanese shiso or perilla.

Instead of using dried sage for cooking, this year I’ve decided to grow fresh sage. In the spring, I had started growing them in a container along with Italian basil.

Recently it wasn’t looking too good. Mostly because I forgot to water them and they started wilting so fast. And there were many times I thought they were not going to make it.

So I decided to transplant them to mom’s kitchen garden instead. She doesn’t have much room for anything else, but herbs are welcome anytime. And it’s a good thing since they look much better here.

Not only is sage used in cooking, but it’s also known have many health benefits. When distilled into essential oils, it becomes useful for all types of bacterial infections.

Below is a partial list taken from the “Herbal Resource Guide”:

- Traditionally, the leaves have been made into a poultice and used externally to treat sprains, swelling, ulcers and bleeding.

- It was also commonly used in tea form to treat sore throats and it is also considered one of the good herbs for the coughs.

- Considered by many herbalists as a good medicinal herb for treating eczema, canker sores, halitosis, gingivitis or bad breath and also to treat dandruff.

- Garden sage leaves may be applied to an aching tooth to relieve pain.

- This herb has shown great promise in aiding digestion and enhancing overall tone of the digestive tract.

So it’s definitely one herb that any gardener would appreciate in their garden.

Pierrot Yarns has a great selection of  yarns, from wool to silk. The company is from Japan and have been around since 1965.

I would love to get my hands on silk yarn someday. At the moment, their 100% silk yarn sells for $25 per cone. To make a silk vest would take 5 cones. So that’s $125 vest! In that case, a silk scarf would still be a splurge.

Silk fiber absorbs UV. No need for sunscreen! Silk 100 Sport Yarn. Photo from Pierrot Yarns.

Or maybe use a silk blend like the Yuttari Silky?  It’s made of  60% Ramie , 25% Silk, 15% Rayon and sells for $5 a skein.  Even a silk blend scarf sounds wonderful to me.

Another nice thing I like about Pierrot Yarns is the free patterns.  The “French Sleeve” cardigan looks really cute.  I want to try knitting a similar cardigan.

Because it’s cotton and short sleeve it would be good for California weather.  And when it gets colder I can still layer it with another long sleeve blouse.

This pattern calls for 9 skeins of Neat Cotton at about $3 per skein, so it’s much more affordable. A cardigan that is well made would last a while.  Knitting something that isn’t too trendy such as t his little cardigan means it would stay in fashion longer.  But of course if you don’t like it, you can always unravel it and recycle the yarn for another project.

I got a free PDF reader app from Google Play market on my Nook Android.  This way I don’t have to print anything out and I am never far from my pattern.

Oregano isn’t just used as cooking herb. Once oregano leaves are distilled into oils, this concentrated essential oil becomes beneficial to human health.

It’s mainly used in homeopathic care for digestive disorders, sore muscles, joint pain, headaches, toothache, insect bites and much more.

Back in 2001, a study from Georgetown University tested oregano oil on staphylococcus bacteria. This type of bacteria is becoming increasingly resistant to many antibiotics.

Science Daily reports, “They combined oregano oil with the bacteria in a test tube, and compared oregano oil’s effects to those of standard antibiotics streptomycin, penicillin and vacnomycin. The oregano oil at relatively low doses was found to inhibit the growth of staphylococcus bacteria in the test tubes as effectively as the standard antibiotics did.”

Before using oregano oil be sure to dilute it with either coconut or olive oil. Typically 1 or 2 drops of oregano oil to 1 teaspoon of olive oil. And apply to the effected area.

For fungal infection of the skin and nails, it’s recommended dosage is to mix 5-10 drops of oregano oil to 1 teaspoon of olive oil. For warts, you can just apply only oregano oil.

For teeth and gum care, add oregano oil to inflamed gums or canker sore. It’s also safe to add a drop of oregano oil to your toothpaste or tooth powder as a way to prevent plaque.

The leaves from flowering oregano are used to make essential oils.  Photo from wikipedia.

Other benefits of oregano oil is that it has antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antiseptic properties.  If there is one essential oil to add to your medicine cabinet this would be it.

Note:  A friend gave me a free bottle of this oregano oil.  There are many brands out there and when purchasing oregano oil, be sure it’s “Origanum vulgare”.  As this variety has lower levels of thymol. Thymol is an immune booster but in large amounts it can be toxic.